Well, today George is 66! No cake with candles, no fanfare or brass band but I guess a win by Geelong will make up for all of that!! He is keeping a check on score on another computer.
We have a late check out & our flight to Bangkok is at 9pm. This will be the last of my comments so hope you have enjoyed reading the trivia over the past 6 weeks. Maureen Go Pies!

Dinner with the Bowes was really lovely. David picked us up from our hotel & took a scenic route to Chiswick where they live. Colin Firth is just around the corner! Had a bit of a hangover the next day after David served French champagne & wines from France, Spain & Italy!
Yesterday we got off to a late start, took a bus to Heathrow airport then the tube to London. Had coffee with the lovely Sarah Farace (Willersdorf) who kindly let us leave a bundle of things at reception while we toured for a couple of hours. Then back on the tube to Pimlico. Problem though as some trains had delays etc & you have no idea how crowded it was - and HOT! If I ever come to London again I'm calling the Queen to ask for a carriage or at least an air conditioned Rolls to take me around!
Dinner with the Kettles was fun. They live in St George's Sq at Pimlico, just up the road from the Pimlico Kindergarten where Princess Diana worked & where that famous photo of her in her see through skirt was taken. John & Susan have a six week old baby Andrew & little George is nearly 3.
After a fabulous BBQ we again took the tube back to Heathrow.

Congratulations to John Philbrick on his retirement and hope the retirement dinner will be fun tomorrow night.

Back on the ship and attempting to pack when George discovered he'd lost his wallet. Turns out he last remembered having it as we got in the mini cab to return to the ship from Bruges. Panic! Cancelled the credit cards and sent an email to the cab company but no word until we checked into the Sheraton here at Heathrow. The message was 'someone has found your wallet'!! The very honest cab driver found it on the front seat. Many calls and much frustration later we think it is being sent here to London! Dear friends to the rescue again!
Very hot in London and will be 28C tomorrow. The air con doesn't seem to be as effective as in Aus or the US. Waiting to be picked up by our English friends & Hallmark summer neighbours Kate & David Bowes. Beverley, you will remember them from the Aus Day luncheon at the MCG.
Had a chat with both Caroline and Diana today, nice to hear that Happy Philbrick is expecting a new playmate soon, will keep him content when J & A are at work.

Went to an Impressionist exhibition in Rouen with many paintings by Monet, Pissarro and Gauguin, mostly painted around Rouen and the Cathedral in particular. Not a lot of emphasis on Joan of Arc except for an archway and a statue in the Town Hall.
Everyone is winding down now that we are on our last day of touring. We came to the beautiful city of Bruges by taxi this morning and have to be back on board at 3.30pm for sailing to Southampton.
Bruges is amazing, such lovely buildings and the chocolate shops make us drool.
Overall, we have been to and seen some wonderful places and for me Italy would be top of the list. Loved the food and the people but too many tourists- would be nicer in cooler months. Lyn W - thought of you as we came here today as there is a Dali exhibition on and banners everywhere!
Love to everyone, will maybe add a bit more from London

The Pritchards send love to Beverley Smith and will see us all when they come to Melb in Oct:
Yesterday at sea and today in LeHarve: Have been to Rouen and now in Honfleur: Really beautiful: Time on internet running out: More later

Had a lovely day in Ireland then the next day in Scotland: Were piped off the ship and scotsmen everywhere: They even had a wee dram for us to sample as we left the terminal: Kenneth and Gretta Pritchard were waiting for us and then drove us to Loch Lomond with morning coffee at the Cameron House Hotel. Then on to Stirling Castle and back to Edinburgh for lunch at their house: Very hospitable and anxious to hear about all their friends in OZ.

Arrived in Dublin at 6am & left the ship after breakfast. We are meeting up with our friend John Kettle for an early lunch. He & Susan now live in London so will be having dinner with them when there. Cool here, only 59C but that suits us!!
Enjoyed an hour or so with John, we had coffee then walked to the Dublin Castle & on to Christ Church Cathedral which to our surprise is Anglican! George & I had lunch at the Dubliner - guiness beef casserole and a pint of guiness each. Another hour or so in the shops & I'm ready to return to the ship as last shuttle from town is at 4.30. Looking forward to Scotland tomorrow. Go Pies.

Really enjoyed our tour in Lisbon. The village of Sintra was lovely, we then drove around mountains to the most westerly place in continental Europe called Point Roca. Windy as hell, in fact toupees and wigs would certainly have blown off had we been wearing ours!!! But rugged and beautiful. Back to Lisbon along the coast and absolutely packed with great beaches unlike most we have seen so far in Europe. Some people left the ship in Lisbon & after an hour walking around town decided to go back to the ship as they were constantly pestered about drugs. We didn't see anything like that but guess they think we are too old to bother.
Have had two days at sea and as usual we didn't do a lot. Actually played bingo one day. There are some very interesting people aboard, it's interesting watching the passing traffic. All shapes & sizes & next to some I look like Elle McPherson!!! haha
Had another formal night & actually met the Captain this time. He is leaving the ship in Scotland and will be replaced by the original Captain Andy Proctor who was in command on our last cruise. The current captain is a bit odd - in his holiday time he drives a bus (the number 74A & 74C route!!) in Penzance!!
We went to the Cocktail party on formal night (again) & won a bottle of champagne so enjoyed that with our table mates at dinner.
Invited 8 people to our room for drinks at 5pm yesterday. 2 Couples from Melbourne, 1 from Sydney & a couple of Americans. Had to make an impression on all the grog George has stockpiled since leaving Venice.

Nice to have another day at sea as the pace has been full on. Never much to report though as we do the usual ie eat drink & sleep! Was formal again tonight & the Captain,s Cocktail party. Meeting some really nice people.

GIBRALTAR
Left the ship after breakfast & shared a mini cab with others for 2 hours. Was great value as we drove to the top of the Rock, viewing beautiful caves along the way and many tunnels used during the wars. Such history here. The rock is like a honeycomb, not as solid as it looks~.
Loved the monkeys which seem to be all over the Rock. Some had babies as new as a few days. All look to be in great condition as are well cared for. Strolled along the main shopping area and all the British shops represented.

LISBON
Internet on the ship still awful so making a quick call to an internet centre in Sintra, Lisbon. Lisbon is lovely, should be here for longer. Will add more later.
Happy Birthday to Jan W tomorrow and Happy Birthday to Gill B on 17th. Hope you both have a great day & we,ll toast your health appropriately.

The rain is not in Spain today! Cooler this morning as we docked in Barcelona which made it more comfortable to ride the HoHo bus. In fact, I had to sit inside it was so cool. Barcelona is such a beautiful city and the architecture is amazing. We had lunch after a couple of hours sightseeing and will shortly make our way back to the ship. Will be at sea tomorrow so may have limited communication. Heard that the Hawks won - what a come back. Also Geelong had a good win so I hear. Contratulations to the Rappaport boys on graduation. Boston - here we come, eh, Harrison? Love to all my family, hope Molly is getting some details of our holiday.

Didn,t go to dinner as felt like something easy from the buffet but George went and ended up sitting alone. Seems the only other couple to turn up didn,t like the menu so left early!

GENOA
Up early to take our tour of Cinque Terre. What a day. 1 1/2 hours on the bus then a very long walk to a ferry which took us along the little towns and bays; very rough but really beautiful. Then walked what seemed like miles back to catch a train 2 stops with an hour break. Then back on the train two more stops and home on the bus. Would have been easier to make our own arrangements but Princess aren,t known for being the best tour organisers.
Our new table mates at dinner are a couple from Orange County CA and a couple from Wilmington, North Carolina!

CANNES
Today we are in Cannes. The ship is anchored right opposite the Majestic Hotel where we stayed for a week in 1992 for the IBA. Still looks the same. Have come across on the tender boat for a look around and just seeing all the VERY expensive boats in the marina speaks for itself: I guess there are some ordinary people like us somewhere around though! Will be in Barcelona tomorrow, haven,t been there before so looking forward to that.

Spent a few hours in Rome yesterday & took two hop on hop off buses around the city. As it turns out we should only have taken one tour as didn.t leave us much time to get the train back to Cittivechia. However, we had been to Rome before & were really just refreshing our memories!!! Actually very impressive but far too much traffic and really hot. I have caught one of the many colds around the ship so decided to give Florence-Pisa a miss. Sad, but I need to be OK as still have a lot of things to see tomorrow in Genoa. Instead of docking at Lavorno we are in La Spezia which is near to Lavorno but still 2 hours away from Florence. The town is beautiful, in fact not to be missed and the shops very elegant. Great news about the Pies win and nice that we are still up there on the ladder. Need to give the Cats a nudge!!! Right Beverley?
We have a new bunch of people on the ship, haven,t met many yet but will no doubt do so at dinner tonight. Will have to tell all the same old stories again.

Had a really nice day at sea yesterday, very relaxing after alll the ports we have visited. Last night was formal and we had the Captain,s Circle cocktail party to attend before dinner. We cruised around the boot of Italy from around 5pm and it was amazing with Sicily on one side of the boat and the beautiful coastline theother.wig
Today we are in Naples so left the ship at around 8.4 am with Jenny & Angus & took 3 Hop on Hop off buses around the city. Really interesting and much better than we expected really. This coastline is certainly worth a visit. It is quite hot so we are heading back to the ship for a late lunch and mabe a swim. Tomorrow it,s Rome and we will be saying goodbye to our NZ friends,Most people are getting off the ship in Rome I think only about 300 going through to Southhampton. - Lyn S - hope you had a nice birthday.

Santorini, Greece, is really beautiful. We arrived at around 7am & left the boat shortly afterwards by tender. Thought there would be crowds trying to get the cable car or donkeys or whatever but in fact it was rather quiet as we are the only cruise ship here today. Took a bus straight away to the town of Oia which was absolutely stunning. But is seems to be overridden with dogs! In fact they seem to adopt you and one actually accompanied us all the way around the village. We couldn't shake him & the only time he lost contact was when he chased a cat up a tree!!! Back in Porto Fira we had coffee overlooking the stunning bay, Caldera Volcano & of course the Crown Princess. Then along the narrow streets full of things we don't need to buy, followed by souvlaki & a beer at a restaurant with a fabulous view.
We have a day at sea tomorrow so probably no news until the Monday. Did hear from Diana today & she is in seventh heaven. Also heard from Caro & Jane.

Today we are in Rhodes. It's hot, around 29C and not much breeze in the streets. Had an email this morning from Diana who has arrived safely in Barcelona and was about to do her first training session - a jump into the pool fully clothed. Also heard from Caroline & Jane & all well there.
We have looked around the town, went to the Grand Palace then sat in a restaurant to have a beer, some gyros & to watch the passing traffic. After all, we are on holiday!!!

Kusadasi/Ephesus, Turkey
Up early as we had a tour arranged. Just 9 of us in a mini bus which was the way to go as most tours were of huge groups. Left the ship at 8am, our first stop was at Mary's (Jesus Mother) house at Ephesus - generally believed to be the house where she lived out the last years of her life. All very interesting & beautifully restored, of course lots of rosaries & things for sale. Angus has had a terrible bout of bronchitis & I think it improved after he filled his water bottle at the fountain!!!!! Not sure he was convinced but then I said 'ye of little faith'!! Next stop was at the ruins of Ephesus. Really interesting and partially restored although that will all take another 100 years! Lots of walking and we were certainly glad to see the exit gate! Many steps and uneven walking tracks. The Terraces are being restored, about 7 houses of the era complete with marble, mosaics, frescos. Probably the best ruins we've ever seen. In fact, George says we have a lifetime exemption now from ruins - the only ruin I want to look at in future is in the mirror each day!!
Stopped for lunch at a Carpet Factory - absolutely lovely, tables set up in a beautiful garden & excellent food served the Turkish way. Next stop was at the museum but only for 20 minutes then we called in to a leather factory. Didn't buy anything but J & A did.
Cocktails in the Skywalkers Bar followed by dinner and an early night.

Woke this morning to see beautiful white houses dotting the fairly barren hills of Mykonos. Finished a game of scrabble (don't laugh) before taking the shuttle into town. Walked around the narrow little streets, went to see the Windmills, stopped for lunch at a nice taverna on the main drag then did a bit of window shopping. Was walking past a shop wall & saw the name 'Margot 1969' carved into the stone. Wonder if it was my old flatmate????? Mykonos is really lovely, not much to do in 1 day but you need a relaxing day every now & then. Bought some earrings to match a pendant we bought in Olympia. Dinner tonight was really nice as generally the food on board hasn't been as nice as in previous cruises. But there are lots of options & we always go to the late sitting at 8.15pm and sit with the same people. Watched the crew show which was terrific. Usually a highlight of any cruise.

Today we are in Athens, arrived early this morning. Several large ships in port and the port is about 10 miles from Athens central. Have decided to have a lazy day as we were in Athens several years ago & I have seen the Acropolis etc and the Hilton Hotel so decided to save the energy for tomorrow on Mykonos! George has gone exploring for a few hours - I did a 'pink' job - the laundry then wandered down to the terminal where I found this internet cafe.
Diana will be in the air by now on her way to Barcelona. I gather it was rushed for her in the end and have to thank everyone who helped her get away. Crazy that she should get the call in our absence.
It is very hot now, and will probably remain that way while we are in the Greek Isles & Turkey. Looking forward to Mykonos and Santorini. I think we expected all the islands to have whitewashed houses & blue roofs but so far not the case. That will change!