Saturday 1 October 2011

Late summer heat, and cruise part 3 !!


Hello Friends,

What a beautiful week we have had here, the sun has shone and the heat has built up and up...a real Indian Summer...I hear that it is soon to come to an end early next week so we are making the most of it until is does. Tonight I have all the doors and windows open to catch any breeze that might float past..It is getting quite dark now and I don;t want to switch on the lights as I am sure they generate more heat. On Wednesday Mary and I went to the Courts Gardens I have previously told you about only to find they closed on a Wednesday however on the gate was an invitation to go to another garden and house called Chalfont Manor. I am so pleased that we went, again it is only about 10 miles away and I had never even heard of it !! The Manor dates way back to the early 1400's and has hardly changed throughout the years..the gardens are lovely and there is even a moat surrounding it all..It is still a “lived in house” and only open certain days in the week by the National Trust. I was chatting to the lady of the house in the garden she was picking something up on the lawn and I thought it might be chestnuts (although I hadn't seen chestnut trees so I was being a bit daft.....nothing changes LOL) anyway what she was picking up were lovely walnuts I can't remember ever seeing anyone pick walnuts.. There were beautiful herbaceous borders full of lovely autumn coloured flowers. It was a truly lovely day out. Yesterday I had an appointment for an eye test so had to be in Bath quite early we left at 8.40 for a usual 20/25 min journey.....well the traffic was awful an dit took almost an hour to get in and parked. When I did I left Mary to walk herslef slowly down town and I took to my heals...metaphorically speaking....wheelchair at top speed...to make my appointed time...I got there...just....Turns out I needed new prescription and I have a small cataract developing, hopefully it will take a long time before I need to have it seen to...I will collect the new lenses in about 10 days..



Now back to cruise mode :

After Florence our next port stop was Citivechia this is where most people got off to go on to Rome by coach a two hour journey in Rome the heat had been terrific and they mostly came back exhausted so we were glad we had not gone.anyway  we had heard that it was not really suitable for wheelchair so once the rush to get away was over we slowly left the ship and had a lovely morning in the town. The streets were rather steep//to say the least ! But as usual I found a way around and we had a lovely time just mainly window shopping. There seemed to be an abundance of gorgeous bridal wear shops...and of course coffee shops... Next day was Ajaccio on the Island of Corsica. Here we had booked a coach trip and very nice it was. Renowned as the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte, Ajaccio's many squares and streets pay homage to the conqueror. We went inland and up into the mountains it was very beautiful ad we had an excellent guide who gave us so many facts and figures that I would have to have had an encyclopedic memory to remember even a 10th if the info she gave us...Suffice to say that I enjoyed the visit very very much and would like to go again some day...13th Sept was Pam's 70th birthday and we had decided we would not stray far from the ship ( I had arranged various surprises for her) but we did get off for a short walk into Seville Spain. It was an easy flat walk but I think Pam and Henry were a bit tired so after a while we left them behind to go back on baord and Mary and I walked a bit further into the town which if we had had longer to explore I think would have been a very interesting town. ...but.....birthday lunch called and we were soon back on board to visit Pam and Henry in their cabin. I had arranged for it to be all decorated and it was such a surprise for Pam. Their room attendant had done it beautifully with streamers and paper bells, etc etc and Happy Birthday Banner on the door... After lunch Pam decided to go for her one and only swim (she thinks she is overweight and didn't like to be seen in a swimsuit) It was great fun sitting by the pool encouraging her to stay in the water she also enjoyed it very much !! That evevning at dinner there was even more celebrating Henry had kept her present till evening and gave it to her at dinner it was a beautiful diamond ring...she was needless to say thrilled...even though it was a wee bit big and she has had to take it to be made smaller since we got home....at the end of the meal all the waiters around arrived with the cake we had ordered and sang Happy Birthday to her....what fun it was...To end the evening we all went to the Theatre to be entertained by a piano player called Bobby Crush who was way back in the early 60's a British “star” he was still very very good and we had a lovely end to the birthday day .....

Only 4 more days of the cruise to go before you can all relax and imagine you have travelled with us !!!! If you are not bored out of your minds by now.....

Good Night Friends.......... Love One Another....

6 comments:

  1. Our weather is quite the opposite of yours but later next week hopefully the sun will shine and it'll be warmer. I too have a cataract forming but the doctor said probably won't worry for about 10 years on that. It's time for me to go in for a check up soon. I'm thinking maybe after the 1st of the year. Your trip sounds just wonderful. I'm glad you had such a nice birthday surprise for Pam . It'll be one she'll never forget. I love hearing of all you did. I will be waiting to see what you did next.

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  2. Hello dear Sybil
    I have been thinking about you so much so thought I should check on you.
    Glad I did because what a lovely post you wrote for all of us to enjoy.
    You made me feel like I was there with you in the gardens and then again on your amazing cruise.
    Oh how I would love to see beautiful places like this but for now I am enjoying my trip via Sybil and company. lol
    Yesterday was our first day with cooler temps. Late afternoon it was only 85 and believe me after a 105 degrees the 85 was nice. hahaha
    There is a huge antique show going on here this weekend but I don't think I am going again today. I did go last week for a short time but my back and heat kept me from enjoying it like I always do. Today the weather is prefect but the crowds will be overwhelming and so I guess I should stay home and work on my unbelieveble "to do List". I have one for the house in town which should be empty again by tomorrow and then one for out here on the North Forty. They both take up a full page...hahaha
    Now if you were here I could take a break and here more about your awesome trip.
    Guess I have wrote you a letter instead of a comment.
    Much love to you
    Maggie

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  3. too hot for me at moment,but this weather will help the heating bills.thanks for taking us with you on cruise,lol.good luck with that cataract,it is a simple operation these days,done as out patients.you take care,love mort xxx hope this posts.blogspot dont like me at mo,lol

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  4. Well Hello Stbil once again,I cannoot believe how long it has taken me to get into blogger commenting this Windy morning in my part of England.I am hoping after writing all this it is kind to me and posts my comment.Talk about the pacience of Job,you certainly need it at times with these contraptions LOL!!Thnkyou for your kind welcome home words,much appreciated.I havn't been doing Blogger lately for this reason only.I miss reading the ones I still follow,but you do lose interest when thier are so many probs on here.Well love you sound to have had the most wonderful holiday and outings.Just up my street.I hope the cataract doesn't cause you many problems and like Mort says,it seems it is a simple op in today's world.So have a great Wednesday,it's very cold as i said and windy here not been good weather at all since I returned home from the over 100 degreesin USA and you certainly feel it.Bye for now then and I shall follow you while ever possible.Please do not think I have forgotten if I do not comment as regular.Probs are the only reasonfor my comments being scanty.Take Care God Bless Kath xx

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  5. Dear Sybil
    Loved reading your comment tonight. As always I love opening my site and see that you have visited.
    So wish there was not an ocean between us dear friend so we could visit.
    I think the two of us together could have some interesting adventures.
    I worked all day over at my home in town....six hours of raking leaves and honey these were last years leaves. If I could just have five minutes with my lazy nephew I would ring his neck. heehehee
    I have a bad feeling I won't be able to walk tomorrow. My fault for overdoing it I suppose
    What are your plans for the weekend.
    Hope whatever you do it is fun.
    It is only 9:30pm here but I am headed for bed since the day was a hard one.
    Love ya
    Maggie

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  6. Gonna go read Part 1 and 2 now. Reading backwards. lol I've never taken a cruise so I really enjoy reading about it. Our weather has been fairly warm during the day 80's F. And 50's over night for the low. It is a nice little chill in the early mornings.

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