Friday 24th Rather a wet day

It started raining in the overnight period and pretty much continued throughout the whole day with the odd break. The previous day the Cafe owner had warned us about this poor weather (Winter he called it) approaching but after that it should improve he said.
A German couple nearby in a motorhome said following the full moon the weather should improve and so we hope it will.
Anyway we went doewn to Cormeilles to the market and walked around in the rain and bought some fish at our good fish shop which Becky want to cook tonight
Michael and Becky decided to go to Honfleur, Deauville and Cabourg but of course in the rain could not really benefit from it.
In the evening we got together and we had cod with veggies and it was really rather nice indeed.
Lets hope tomorrow is what everybody says it will be like.

23rd May - Shopping and lunch in Liseaux

After a bacon baguette for breakfast we drove in to Liseaux at around 11.30 and went to the Cafe near the Basilica where we had a coffee and a chat with the owners who we got to know well last year and finally ended up having a light lunch there.
After lunch We had a lovely evening dinner of sautéed chicken with salad and then watched a film called RED which is a numerous load of Bruce Willis rubbish but good fun to watch.
The weather for the next few days is not that promising unfortunately but we shall watch for the next week and if it is going to continue then we shall consider moving South although the weather further South is also not that great at the moment.
I suppose you cant have empty towns and caravan sites and good weather.
Oh well its market day tomorrow so lets go and get some decent fish for tomorrow nights dinner which Michael and Becky would like to prepare.
Must start taking some photos soon as have been a little lax.

Wednesday 22nd -Michael and Becky and the new pump arrive

The weather was fine today with quite a bit of sun and Michael and Becky together with Pickles their dog arrived at around 3.30 pm after a good drive from Calais. Becky had been that previous evening on an overnight 12 hour shift and had arrived home around 04.00 and they lefty a couple of hours later at Folkstone.
We helped them set up their tent and generally get things ready whilst I check when the plumber would be coming only to find that he could not come this afternoon but some time tomorrow??. As we wanted to go out down in to Liseaux rather than hang around all day waiting Noel decided to have a go at changing the pump which on second glance did not look to difficult at all and in fact 30 minutes later it was done and more importantly no leak.
In the evening we had a BBQ with our Costco sirloin steak and Cumberland sausages washed down with a few glasses of nice red wine.
As we were all pretty tired we headed to bed around 10 pm hoping that it would not rain and by some chance it didn't.
So good news on the pump and we now have hot and cold running water throughout the van...
After dinner we went for a walk around the site and then ended up in the bar along with a Dutch couple who met last year on site, he sold his business some years ago and due to high taxes in Holland he moved a short distance over the border to Belgium where the taxes are considerably lower.

Tuesday 21st May Dinner in the Chateau

Apart from visiting Liseaux for shopping in Decathlon and Le Clerc Supermarket we then helped the two ladies with their awning and were able to make it look nice and liveable and certainly usable rather than looking like a rather drunken tent on the side of a caravan.
Tonight we headed for dinner at the Chateau where Ingrid the owner of the site prepared a nice choice of starters, smoke salmon or mushroom vol-a-vent and followed by a choice of veal or the French fish dish called Boullabaise.
We both chose the mushrooms and veal washed down with a nice glass of red wine before moving on the the bar in the pigeonaire for a well earned cognac.
A nice evening and so to bed and looking forward to having Michael and Becky arrive.

Monday 20th May- Water pump hunting

By 0930 Noel was on the phone to the caravan shop in Redhill and thankfully they had one in stock which they were able to check it was working correctly and Mike collected it and then Michael collected it from him and so we had only to wait.
We then wanted to put up the new awning which we thought would not take long and it would not have taken so long if it had rained at the crucial moment and one of the channels where the awning slides was blocked with factory mastic which I could not see as my ladder was not long enough.
So of to reception and borrow a ladder as the rain came down I sorted the problem and eventually we got it up after and hour and half ish.
However it is a nice awning and we are very pleased with it indeed and now lets hope the weather improves.
We went in to the local town to the shops only to find them closed due to religious holidays and we made do with our stock items.
We did a quick walk around the site and found there were several couples who had been there last year as we were and were able to find out more about the dog passport scheme and vets so that we can arrange for Michael and Becky for their dog Pickles.
The couple of Scottish Ladies with a dog were able to help but looking at their awning we could only wonder what they had dome wrong?? so we said that tomorrow we would come and help them solve the problem.
A nice evening in watching a film and of to bed.

Sunday 19th May Back to France with the caravan

Well after an extremely busy time at home with two new bathrooms and extended dormer which overran by 2.5 weeks as most building work seems to do we were able to collect the caravan for our annual French trip.
So early on Sunday morning the 19th May we were up out of bed at 0500 and departed with wife car and caravan down to Dover where we arrived early and so were able to board and earlier vessel.
For us the holiday does not start until we sit on the ferry having our big English breakfast and watch the waves go by. A little after 11.30 local time we unloaded and headed down the motorways in the direction of Le Havre and crossed the famous Pont de Normandie bridge and arrived in Calvados Country at the site of our choice called Chateau Le Colombier at around 15.30.
After checking out the sites we found one to our satisfaction and after a minor mishap with wooden post not seen by the driver we set up and were ready for our first cup of tea.
For some reason the water pump although it was working hardly any water was arriving in the taps and then we realised one drain valve was open and to close it showed that the pump had decided to leak and was spraying water all over the floor. Dams and blast ids all I can say here. So we mopped it all up and decided on a course of action.
The plan was to ask Michael our son who was also coming to join us on Wednesday to collect a new pump we hoped only Michael would be on day shift as a paramedic and no doubt the NHS would not take kindly to him delaying his arrival at an accident to collect his dads water pump and so a call to neighbour Mike solved the problem.
So tomorrow I have to find a new pump????

20th March- Rome in day

There was a nice little notice saying the suitcases should be out side the cabin the previous evening by 2300 and to get off the ship by 0800 LATEST is not what I call a holiday but more like boot camp. Anyway we followed orders and had an early breakfast and left by coach to Rome for a tour of the main sites and then a short walk  in St Peters Square, which is actually round and not a square, and then on the Bernina Bristol Hotel where we arrived around midday and it was beginning to rain. We dumped our suitcases at the Hotel and started walking up the Via Venetio when it started to chuck it down with rain and so we found a nice little bar where we drank several large glasses of red wine and watched the tourist rush by with their umbrellas in the pouring rain.
So a little earlier than expected, as we had planned to visit several of the sites in the afternoon, we took a cab to the airport after having demolished an expensive ice cream in a shop where the waitresses tight tops and short skirts certainly increased my blood pressure, and arrived at the airport.
We were lucky enough to be able to change our flight home and caught a BA flight two hours earlier than planned and then got home in time for a shower, a cup of tea, in a non moving bed and looking forward to a restful night.
We don't think we will do any more cruises as neither of us sleep well on a moving ships and also we are not huge eaters or drinkers and agreed that we much prefer the flexibilty of being on shore, in a non moving Hotel bed in a town centre and not a port surrounded by cranes and containers.

We are now very much looking forward to our caravan holiday in France whilst considering a Far East trip at the end of this year, money permitting.


Now to sort out the paperwork from last few days

Tuesday 19th March- Pisa visit

Well the weather was very bad overnight and in the middle of the night you find yourself not sleeping at all as you move from one side of the bed to the other for hours on end with the ship creaking and other strange noises going on.
At about 0600  in the morning the Italian Captain, (no doubt the brother of Captain Schettino of Costa fame)   came on the microphone to wake those who were not already awake to the fact it would get worse when they bring the stabilisers in as they enter the Port of Livorno . So we stayed in bed and hung on..

We had a light breakfast before leaving the ship ,which had arrived about an hour late due to the bad weather, and we departed by coach to Pisa which is only half an hour away. I forgot to mention yesterday there was this English guy trying to make a presentation of the Tuscany area of Italy, only his computer was rubbish and kept on breaking down and had to be rebooted several times whilst he thought he was swearing under his breath only it was heard everywhere, this effin computer  Oh my god what f..k has happened now, oh s...t this is crazy until he realised what was being heard by all the grannies and  other guests. So we gave up and left...
Anyway we arrived at the coach park in Pisa only to be faced with a wall of itinerant African sellers of sunglasses, watches and handbags who almost blocked the way you wanted to go. We arrived in the main square and visited all the three main attractions but along one complete wall of the old city were hundreds of stalls selling Chinese made tourist junk, this should not be allowed as it ruins the complete affect of was once a great small city. The leaning tower of Pisa is tremendous bit of architecture and apparently the righting and stabilising was carried out by a Scottish firm,rumour has it they placed empty whisky bottles under one side!. We also visited the two churches and in one a priest? made some sounds to show off the echo, see video.

In the afternoon we took the opportunity to have a rest to recover from the poor overnight sleep and then hit the bar and to the Italian Restaurant where we found the food and service really excellent. Shame we could not go there earlier

Monday 18th March- A day out in Nice

We left the ship in the light rain and took the train down to Nice, about half hour ride. There we walked around the main town and had a coffee in a wayside cafe and then found a nice flee market and finally bought some tuna buns which we ate on the sea front as the weather was slowly improving. We continued walking around town but as we did not want to miss the ship sailing without us we headed back and boarded at around 4pm.  We both fancied a coffee and went to the observation deck where it is said they serve coffee, only they don’t serve it but leave it for several hours in a pump pot and it tasted revolting, and so we headed for the aft lounge. We ordered our coffee and there was obviously insufficient staff to serve everybody(two waiters for 35 guests) and then the waiter forgot our order and eventually after 30 minutes one, not two, coffees arrived and guess what, it was cold. So this time we made another complaint this time to reception desk. In the cabin we had brought our own small electric kettle and settled down for home made tea. Tonight we thought we would try the Italian Restaurant and went to book a table only to be told in a rather strange way that the room was fully booked as the Captain had taken over the restaurant for the night to invite some special guests (most likely seasoned Silversea Travellers) who were on board. The way which it was presented to us made us feel a little second class. If he had just said , sorry sir we are fully booked tonight I would have understood but his reply lacked respect.

Oh well back to the main restaurant and now they appeared to be aware that I was a dangerous passenger as the plate was extremely hot and food good but our neighbours to whom we had been appraising of or views then said well their food was cool tonight as well. It therefore pays to complain.

Tonight we sail overnight for Livorno and the weather was forecast was set to be bad.

Sunday 17th March To Monte Carlo

In the morning we wandered around the ship and had a late'ish breakfast and noticed that the plate warmer in the buffet area was not on and so if you had a hot breakfast collecting your scrambled eggs etc they got cold pretty quickly. Went back in the cabin and there was a message to call the Executive Chef and although I called about four or five times during the day we could not reach him.

We arrived in Monaco just before lunch with the weather being poor with grey clouds and light rain but in the afternoon we walked around the town, which was closed as it was a Sunday but did find the railways station and checked on trains to Nice as we planned to spend the day there tomorrow.

Back on board the ship there was planned to be a BBQ on deck that night which had to be called off due to the inclement weather and so they had arranged what they called a 'Galley Dinner' which is a basically a large buffet where all the dishes are laid out in the kitchen. No problems with that except all the hot dishes were warm and not hot and the carving pig was quite cool.

Part the way through the dinner the Executive Chef appeared on the scene glowing with pleasure with what had been arranged and talking to arriving guests and so I approached him and introduced myself and he started to apologise for the cold food etc from the previous night and I said fine, but tonight’s food is also just as cool. He looked surprised at my comments about the rice and curry's  etc with a low temp and he said he would check on it. I watched him for about the next forty five minutes and there was no obvious action and so I tackled him again when leaving the restaurant. He said he had been away to make some changes and I said he had not left the restaurant in the last forty minutes and nothing had changed. I then said, just try the temperature of this pork and picked up a bit which was ready for serving in my fingers and it was cool, he looked at the Chinese staff and asked him for a bit from the very top of the joint which was near the hot light to keep it warm, and yes it was hot only they were cutting the meat in advance and it would then get cold before being served. I was very pissed off with him and let him know it and then stormed off.

Not a good way to end the evening

Sat 16th March- Barcelona Town and Boarding ship

Breakfast prices at the Hotel were outrageous and so we found a little cafe serving croissants and a  ‘cuppa’ before joining one of the open top tour buses which ply around Barcelona. After about twenty minutes we got off and walked around the old part of town shopping area and stopped for a coffee in a place which was most interesting.

We walked for about an hour then headed back to the bus and continued the trip around town and getting back to the Hotel area about 1300hrs. We then went back to the Las Ramblas de Mer for a light sandwich lunch and then back to the Hotel to collect our bags from the Hotel.

The two minute walk to the Cruise check complete we were checked in and an on board the Silverwing Silver Wind within ten minutes and our baggage arrived soon after. The ship is not large and holds about 285 passengers and it had the usual complement of bars and restaurants etc. We wandered around the ship for a while and then a mid afternoon snack before heading back to the room to meet ‘The Butler?

The Butler in his nice black tie explained the contents of the cabin (oops suite) and the choices for dinner and anything we want he could arrange. He had explained that there was one restaurant which provided a hot rock where you could cook steak and fish yourself for a little fun and we said then please book a table for two at 1900 hrs. We had also discovered the cost of internet access is very high and so we decided to go incommunicado for a while unless we can get free wifi on shore somewhere

By now we had read the additional information left in the cabin about dressing for dinner, in the documents sent to us in advance it stated that if you were on a four night cruise that one night would be a formal night and so we had brought our best bib and tucker. The paperwork in the cabin mentioned nothing of a formal night only informal and casual nights. Well that was a waste of time bringing a suit and all the other bits.

We did not get any news from the Butler about the restaurant booking and so at 1830 I chased to see what was happening and was told that the restaurant in question would not be open tonight as it was being cleaned???, gee thanks. Didn't they have all day to clean it?

So after a drink in the bar we headed for the main restaurant and proceeded to order. Noel had a New York cut steak which arrived on a cold plate with the meat luke warm and the accompanying vegetables even colder. So a complaint took place and soon after they brought a new steak with a hot plate with a steak which was pretty tasteless and tough to eat. Not what I expect from a so called good restaurant and so another complaint which they said they would notify the Executive Chef of my complaints and comments and that he would contact me.

 And so to bed whilst we sailed overnight to Monaco.

Friday 15th March- En route to Barcalona

Packed our bags and took the Monarch flight to Barcelona where we landed ahead of schedules which was good. The taxi from the Airport to the Hotel took only fifteen minutes and we checked in to the Eurostars Hotel in Barcelona. (This turned out to be a good choice as we knew it was close to where the cruise ships often docked but this time it was two minutes from the Hotel to the Cruise check in.)

In the evening we wandered around the Marina area and had a light Tapas’ dinner and then headed back to the Hotel for a sleep.

A short trip this time

The weather is getting us down so we have arranged a short four night trip on a ship from Barcelona to Rome. Not sure if we will arrive in Rome to take part in the Pope elections or even if we can participate in the selection process but who knows.
We plan to fly to Barcelona on Friday and overnight there and catch the Silversea Wind ship and we stop off at Monte Carlo for the night and also at Livorno where we have decided to go to Pisa instead on Florence as we have been to Florence before.
Should be nice and getting the best rags out for packing.
Its not cheap but better than leave for the government to get their hands on.
Watch this space for the full report in due course.