August 17 (day 41 of the cruise, by the way)

We are sailing in the English Channel, or as the French call it – the “Channel Sea” – they don’t like to give an inch to the English.  Last evening we had dinner for the second time in the Italian restaurant on board, Toscana, which is amazing.  All of the pasta is made fresh on board, they prepare your Caesar salad at the table, and all of the bread is also made fresh on board. They have an olive oil and vinegar actual menu and will suggest the pairings to dip your bread.  We had a table at the back of the ship and watched the sun go down as we rounded the Isle of Wight.  Perfect end to the day.

We CAN see France from our balcony!

A couple of things I didn’t write about – the Belgian hot chocolate for example.  They give you hot milk with the chocolate pieces separately and you mix the two together.  Pretty heavenly – and I don’t have hot chocolate very often so it was a real treat.

We have also discovered one of the secrets of our happy 33 year marriage.  Can you guess??  Well, neither one of us is cranky in the morning.  That means the day has a great start and gets even better.

On the ship, we are enjoying the balcony for quiet time, I really like the art classes as I have mentioned before, and Terry Bishop’s lectures are great –  he did one to explain the game of cricket.  I still don’t understand.  And I (but not Norm) like the casino!

A couple more signs to share:

Love the name of this shop

Note the price of this NY Times in Amsterdam. 18.25 euros or about $20 US. We didn’t buy one

Again, graffiti with a message – in Amsterdam

Good advice!

Tomorrow we will arrive in Bordeaux.  We have a tour during the day and an elegant dinner at Chateau Giscours in the Medoc region – this is an event just for the world cruise travelers – we are looking forward to wonderful wine.  Stay tuned.