All Good Things Must Come to an End...

and one must re-enter back into our real lives!  The building below is our apartment we rented.  We were on the top floor which was great:  until it was time to load and unload.  You can see the steps in the bottom photo!

We had our breakfast at "the Rosebud' which is on the first floor of our building.  It was so good and we had the best waiter!  Even had to take a pic with him.  You know, one of the things that made this weekend so much fun was the waithelp we had where ever we went.  Maybe it was our attitudes but, everyone was so nice. 

Had to load up the car:  We seem to bring way more things back with us....duh... I guess that would be the shopping we do.

That's when we were wishing there weren't so many steps. 

We feel very, very blessed to have this special relationship and know we are very fortunate DIVA's! 

A night at the Theater!

We stopped for a drink before the big show.... It was so nice and relaxed. Then off to the Fifth Avenue. This show is so high energy and so much fun. If it comes to your town, we definately would recommend going to see it!

Spent the day at Pike Place Market! Julie, being the ultimate chef, knew the best stores to visit.... her main choice: "Franks"...Black Radishes, Delicata Squash, Black Kale.... and Chas from the Franks was so helpful. Then, John, also from Franks, was busy helping Cyn with her fresh fruit, we all ended up in a spirited conversation and next thing you know he made reservations at "Matts" up above the stores for lunch. And, trust me, it was yummy!

I was on hunt for 12+ year Balsamic Vinegar... Found a little shop, where there was Vinegar tasting......... so good... Bought some, them some truffle butter.... and then truffle salt.... Julie was just as productive. And the owner, Rei, was a doll. Tonight we go see "Legally Blonde, the Musical". Can't wait!

University Village.... Shopping....Woohoo!

Let's spend some money.... and we did, but we didn't spend too much... We were good girls... course, had to make a spectacle of ourselves.... A pretty little courtyard we ran across.... well, didn't run across it, we just happen to see it..

Time for some girl fun in Seattle....

So, here we are, in the big city.... watch out.... here we come! Julie found a great place on Capital Hill through VRBO. Nice, 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment. Take a look at the door and the toilet. I guess, that was an opps! but they made it work. We went walking went we first got here, the store below, "Babeland" we caught sight of right away..... check out the wonderful specialty items that are available.....
Later we went to dinner at Voltarre in Ballard (Liz and Gary are friends with the owners....) what a yummy dinner. Yummy white pear martini, the Pinor Noir was delightful and a special pasta both Cyn and I ordered with just olive oil, garlic, crushed red pepper.... fortunately we all had garlic so no one offended anyone during the rest of the evening. The owners presented us with an absolutely delish apple galatte...... and dessert wine complementary. I'm almost hungry thinking of it now.... Later we went to Egan's where a Haiti Relief concert was happening. Julie knew one of the performers, MaryJo Bishop (she used to work with her at the Law Offices, a gazillion years ago) and didn't tell her we were coming. After her set, she told Julie she almost had a heart attack seeing her. It really worked out perfect, cuz we walked in just as she was starting to perform. Being the bodacious, lively ladies we are, we were in our jamies by 10..... good nights rest, and out exploring the older homes in the area this morning with a walk. I am not in as good a shape as they are, but I managed to keep up.... glad Julie pushed me to go!

Our last evening and then waking up in the port of Ft Lauderdale

Wow.... the week went so fast.  Our last day on the water blessed us with a gorgeous sunset from our veranda.  So pretty....  Went to bed about midnight and when we woke up, I peeked out the window... we were at dock in Florida.  That's the nice thing... you sleep right through those things.  There were several other ships that were in port and with the sunrise, the quiet, the lights... made for some pretty pictures (and an awesome end to the trip as Jerry and I sat on the chaise in the solitude of the morning)!
I also included a short video I put on youtube... the elevator... it doesn't totally do it justice, but you get the idea of the open area in the center of the ship.  The tree you see at the end of the video is actually 'hanging' in the lobby.  The bottom of the container it is in is located at about the 6th floor.... one keeps going "I don't believe this!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWgJereYvJY

Elevator Video.... There are 15 floors on the boat accessible by public elevator... (first 2 we don't get to see up close and personal, except to go to the gangway for shore excursions), Deck 3 is the bottom of the stairway,  Deck 10 is the Bridge, our room was on Deck 11, the pool was on Deck 14 ...

Valletta, Malta

The place of my dad's birth, and the registry of our ship... sigh!  Someday we hope to visit the island!

From the deck of the Soltice

It really is a beautiful ship and the Bridge shines.... We were fortunate to have been invited to tour it. The wings out to the side of the bridge had a clear floor so you could see the water below and also provided a view of the length of the ship.

This is the joystick that actually steers the boat..... The wheel you see in the other photo is only used when they are docking the ship.....

First time for Baked Alaska….our last ‘formal’ night!

Traditional on cruises, the last big formal night is the time the staff are introduced (well, mainly the chefs, etc), then all of them and the waitpersons parade around the room. I learned that we then are supposed to wave our napkins above our heads…. And, the whole room actually did it! You have the same wait staff every night, so they get to know your likes and dislikes. Pretty cool…. Patrick was a good fit for us! At 9:00 we went on to:

THE SOLSTICE SHOW…. THE LAST BIG EXTRAVAGANZA IN THE THEATER…

Oh… It was something. They were hanging from the ceiling throughout the theater; hanging on hoops, spinning hoops and spinning square hoops; I swear one performing couple looked like the gal had THE most limber bones… oh the positions she got in. It was a nice way to end the evening. No Martini’s tonight…. We were tired… big meal, bottle of champagne (we saved it from the first day, it was in our room) and then a sweet dessert.

Forgot to tell you, I got a bug bite on the bottom of my foot… right near the arch…. My shoes irritate it…. Gee… I guess even my feet are sweet to them critter.

Towels…. Welcome to our world….

Got ready to go to the beach, standing at the elevator…. “Dan and Halley, do you have your towels?”
“No, we didn’t know we would need them”
“Dan, go get the towels” (Halley giving that order of course.)
Dan trotted down the hall to do as Halley ordered. He returned and said
“Got them”….so off we go…. we thought
“Wait, Dan, did you get the beach towels and not the bathroom towels?” (Jean this time)
“I just got the ones from the bathroom”
“That’s all we need” (per Halley)
“Did you guys read the note that was included with the huge yellow beach towels that were placed in your room?”
“Ahhhhh, oh I didn’t know that’s what they meant….Dan, go get the yellow beach towels”
“I don’t know where they are”
“Dan, they’re in the skinny closet in our room”
“Where’s that?”
You get the drift…. Right…
Jerry hit his head on the wall, laughing to himself, saying “I need a vacation from the vacation”….. LOL

Cloudy and a chance of rain…. And it did! And I was glad!

H and D came over this morning to prepare to go ashore for the beach at Labadee, Haiti. Yes I said Haiti. Labadee is a peninsula leg on the north-northwest side of the island that Royal Carribean (parent company of Celebrity Cruises) actually purchased a 100 year lease on a few years ago. They have made improvements on it and it is for only the cruiseline guests. Local artisians come in and sell their wares. You cannot believe how weird it felt to know we were coming here when on the other side of the island there was such destruction. RC had a decision to make right after the earthquake and after speaking with the Haitian government, it was decided they would still come to the ‘port’. The ships would bring water supplies and other aide each time they docked. Still feels weird, mainly because we know there was such destruction here. The sun did not break through the clouds while we were on the beach and we had some showers early in the afternoon. Somehow it just seemed right.
Oh yeah, As we were leaving for the beach, the boat staff gave Halley a ride in the most skookum wheelchair…. Huge, fat wheels for pushing it in the sand…. Pretty spiff….

Christy - The Espresso Martini's....

Nummy!