Port: Venice (Day 2)
Well, I woke up today. Which considering how I feel – this was a major accomplishment. I feel very sick – the throat is on fire; I have a severe headache; and sinus pressure; and I am very dizzy – probably due to the pressure on my ears.
It is an easy decision for me – I will not go ashore today into Venice. I saw it yesterday; yesterday’s memories (for me) will have to be enough until next time. Hubby does decide to go ashore – I am grateful, as I am glad we are both secure enough to do things alone every now and then. We are both happier this way. He will conquer St. Mark’s Basilica today and whatever else he can squeeze in. He leaves to go ashore around 8:45 am.
I stay in bed for a while but they are washing balconies today and the (rather loud & annoying) spraying starts. I decide to go upstairs to the pool deck and lay out side, as the weather is delightful – cool but very sunny. A nice, gentle cool breeze is blowing.
I head upstairs with my book in hand - there is a plethora of loungers to choose from. I choose a lounger near the Sky Bar – so I can get fluids easily – and settle in…dozing…reading…dozing some more. Soon, my tummy – which is feeling just fine - is calling for food – it’s about 11:00 am and so I head to the Windjammer for some corned beef hash. I run into Dave & Kerry who have also opted to not go in. Kerry is not feeling well – she has an ugly-looking rash on her legs.
After eating, I head back to my lounger. The pool is filling up now- more and more people are returning from Venice, as the last shuttle back is at 1:20 pm and all aboard is at 2:30 pm.
I start to get nervous about Hubby – I pray he doesn’t miss the last shuttle. Can he possibly do this alone? Without me to guide him? I am normally “the navigator” when we travel – what if he gets lost? Misses the boat? What if my 7 children lose their father?
I head back to the cabin around 1:30; still no hubby. Hmmm….I leave a note for him to come find me when he gets back. He finally comes up on the pool deck around 1:50 pm. He made it! He is excited – he went into the church and up the bell tower and explored all on his own.
He decides to go get some lunch at the Windjammer– I decide to head into cabin and take more drugs. The pool deck is getting very crowded now. I order Room Service about 2:30 pm – soup, burger and cookies. They tell me it will be about 30 minutes before it is delivered – and that’s fine.
I sit on our balcony and enjoy the nice air and sunshine. Hubby joins me. It actually gets chilly for me – so I get a blanket and cuddle up. My lunch does not arrive until 3:30 pm – the porter apologizes and says they are really very busy. Apparently.
My clam & mushroom soup is very hot – and very good. Okay, this may have been worth waiting an hour for. The bistro burger was okay – just a burger. The 3 chocolate chip cookies were a little hard and crunchy, but tasty. We began leaving Venice around 3:00 so Hubby and I sit on the balcony, watching the passing scenery and enjoying the solitude.
At 4:15 I leave for the spa for my seaweed wrap/massage. I have Silvana – I strip and lay on a sheet of aluminum foil. She slathers me with liquid seaweed mixed with peppermint for a good smell. She then wraps me up in foil – think of a Martian mummy. I lay like this for 20 minutes as she gives me a scalp massage – it was wonderful. She played with my hair which felt really good. I then got up and took a shower and then got back on the table. She wrapped me in warm aluminum foil and then put very warm blankets over me – a steam sauna – I was sweating out impurities, apparently- and I laid like this for 20 minutes as she gave me a very thorough foot massage. Ahhh….bliss.
I then got up and took another shower using lavender (for relaxation!) soap. I then got back on the table face down for the full body massage. Silvana used warm oil and massaged just about every square inch of my body – back, shoulders, arms, hands, legs, feet – it was a 1-hour massage and it was one of the best I’ve ever had. She then left the room; I got dressed; she came back in with water and my champagne (because of the mix up the other day). We talked about Spanish – she is from Argentina; we compared notes on how difficult it was for her to learn English and how difficult it has been for me to learn Spanish. It was time for me to go – I paid using my 15% Platinum coupon – and then saw the time. 6:30. Yikes! That’s what time our dinner reservation is for! I am late!
I run back to the room – Hubby is patiently sitting in the room in his tuxedo waiting for me and I am still covered with massage oil. I tell him to go on to the Dining Room and make my apologies to the group and tell them I will be late.
I shower, put on make up, blow dry my hair, get dressed – and make it to dinner by 6:45 pm. I am not kidding – I moved in fast motion and did not waste one second. Even I was impressed on how fast I moved. And formal night – no less!
I ran down to the dining room and the group had not ordered yet – bless their hearts – they had waited for me. I’m glad I was fast!
I had crab salad for an appetizer, but Dejan brought another appetizer for me to sample that I enjoyed better – some type of pasta like a ravioli in butter/cream sauce. One of the reasons Dejan is so good is that he knows his guests – he has learned our likes and dislikes – and he just knew I would enjoy the ravioli – which I did. For my entrée, I got the beef shoulder & mashed potatoes – pretty good – and for dessert - the Bailey’s Crème Brule and the chocolate trilogy dessert – yummy.
During dinner we heard Susan’s story of setting off the smoke alarm from too much steam in her shower. (She had seen a button in the shower (royal suite) marked “steam” and pushed it.) She got a call from the 1st officer and even after she explained what happened, she still got a visit from security – while Pete was now in the shower who had to scramble out for decency’s sake. She had me crying with this story I was laughing so hard.
After dinner, Hubby and I went back to room to put on my comfortable shoes. My designer yellow heels were a little tight – I have fluid retention from this cruise – or else the 5 extra pounds I’ve gained are all in my feet!
We headed back to the Theater where we watched the British comedian, Jeff Stevenson, do his bit. He was...average. A lot of it was ad-libbed because we had a British heckler in the audience who kept yelling things out. Stevenson was good at coming right back at him. Stevenson did two shows tonight - one at 7:15 pm and one at 9:00 pm. We did the later show.
After the show it was 10:15 or so – and we were tired –so we headed back to the room – no masquerade ball for me. The Venetian Masquerade Ball was scheduled for 10:45 pm until midnight in the Colony Club. My only mask I wore was my sleeping mask – as I drifted off, hoping I would feel better in the morning.
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