DAY 2 OF 8 AT SEA DAYS

As I wasn't able to get off the ship yesterday, when Brenda came back she had a treat for me. I had heard that the pastel del nata, Portuguese custard egg tarts, were wonderful to try.  So, she not only brought me back 2 of those, but also a Napoleon withe the same custard egg cream.  They were delicious!

We are on our way to Ponto Delgada in the Azores.  I am glad we are having another day at Sea so I can hopefully feel able to get off the ship when we dock.  Today we played Uno with Stan and Susan.  We have run into this couple from Utah a few times and we get along quite well.  I think that we will be playing games with them a few times before we get off in Port Canaveral.

There certainly is no shortage of things to do around the ship while at Sea.  There is Bingo, bowling, of course the casino is open and it is quite large, trivia, dance classes etc.  If all that fails....you can always eat!  We haven't taken advantage of many of the activities, but plan to try Bingo one day.  It is always entertaining.  (Yah won't be playing Bingo, cards start at $50.00 US and go up from there.)

For the first time ever on a cruise ship...there are no towel friends.  I miss those.  Maybe in cabins where there are children they make an appearance, but we haven't seen any.  I used to like to see them on the bed before turning in for the night.  There are some watermelon carvings around and sometimes you can see a cabbage animal.  I know ... I wondered about that too!  This was an especially weird watermelon carving...not offensive at all!

There is an ice bar on board.  I really want to go look in there.  You put on a heavy cape and enter and drink Vodka or something.  Ahh here is a description.  "Inspired by the ice hotels in Scandinavia, the Skyy Vodka Ice Bar is a unique  arctic like chamber where the bar, seating and glasses are all made entirely of ice.  The bar is 17 degrees F and features specialty drinks made from Skyy Vodka." will try and have a look at that before the cruise is over.  I'm sure there is much that we won't see.  

This ship has  Starbucks.  Twice I have had a coffee drink there, but it is not the same taste or feeling as being at the Finest Cup.  I miss my friend Dereje, his coffee, his family and his staff.  I look forward to a visit there quite soon after I get home.

Christmas decorating around the ship is quite prevalent now.  They seemed to make a gradual appearance.  There are many trees and garlands everywhere.  Christmas songs are becoming more noticeable in the mix of music playing around the ship.  It is really helping to keep reminding me that Christmas will arrive a week after we get home.

So now time to get rocked to sleep.  Tomorrow we will be ashore for our last bit of looking around and shopping.  Have a great day everyone!