Poland August 12-15

Fountain in old town

We just spent four days in lovely Gdansk Poland.  There is a lot of history here, in addition to WWII, there are medieval castles and towns.  Unfortunately, some were rebuilt due to the bombing during the war.  Gdansk is about 5-6 hours from Auschwitz and some participants did visit, because the kids are still young, we opted to hang out in the Gdansk area.

The first day, we went on an SAS tour of some churches, had a wonderful and grand organ concert and then toured old town of Gdansk.





On day two, we went on a tour hour trip to another medieval old town, the town of Torun.  The highlight was a tour of the gingerbread museum.  They learned how gingerbread was made in medieval times and got try their hand at making it.  Unfortunately, it didn't tast very good, but it was fun.







The third day we went into the old town of Gdansk and enjoyed some last minute souvenir shopping.  There was also a large festival going on, so we enjoyed the booths, street food and a giant Ferris Wheel.

On our last day in port through SAS (sad), we spent time at a nearby beach where the kids were happy to run around and build sand castles.  We went back into old town to watch the end of the Gdansk marathon with a bunch of other people.  Eight of our voyagers ran the a marathon.  It was a fun way to end the trip.  The last thing Shannon and I visited was the Westerplatte Monument.  The monument was right next to where the ship was docked and is there to memorialize where World War II started.  We made Andy proud again.

Finland (and Estonia), August 6-9

Finland is one of the most livable countries in the world.  Great education, health, low crime, quality of life. That said, Helsinki looks like a great place to live (also looks like Minnesota), but doesn't have a lot of big tourist sites.  So, you had to enjoy just being there.  It is a lovely city right on the water with a lot of islands there is a great waterfront area to walk along and find cafes.

The first day was one of Shannon's favorite, we went out the of the city to a small medieval town that we toured  and then we went to a farm where they fed the whole tour group in a large farmhouse a traditional Finnish meal.  The part Shannon likes, was that it happened to be a horse farm.  We got to meet the horses, babies too, and tour the stable.

The second day we relaxed and then did the waterfront stroll to the market area.  There were tents upon tents of fresh berries and cherries and we chowed down-you don't get to see a berry on the ship, only melons and sometimes oranges, so it was heaven!  The food on the ship at this point, is getting very old, no cruise ship food here, more like college cafeteria.  Every day presents a form of pasta, potato, fish and meat (usually pork) and then an ice berg lettuce salad.  So, whenever we get to eat off the ship, it is a treat!

On the third day we had a wonderful trip to a different country-Estonia.  There is an easy two hour ferry to Estonia that we took advantage of.  We spent the day there touring the amazing medieval town of Tallinn.  It looks like Disney built it with its hilly cobblestoned roads and perfect buildings.  We ate at a medieval tavern where they do the whole tourist thing, Liam got to be the master of the table.

Day four, back in Helsinki, we went over to a little island with an old fort.  We wanted to make Andy proud.  We were with our friend Julie and son Michael.  There were many fun tunnels to explore and a little swimming beach that the kids loved.

On Ship August 4-5

On August 4th, we actually sat at the dock for most of the day because we didn't need much time at sea to get to Finland.  No one can leave on these days (in port academic day-IPAD).  We pretend we are at sea and have a regular class day.  We've had several of these on this voyage.   One of the highlights of this day was the auction.  Proceeds go toward SAS scholarships.  Crazy things are auctioned off, like a chance to blow the ship's horn or do the daily announcements and they go for a lot of money.

Wonder where I spend most of the day?

My office

My cabin

August 5th was TEDx day.  We have the founder of TEDx on board, Lara Stein.  She worked with some of the faculty and staff in getting selecting and working with six of our community members to present a TEDx presentation.  It has been an interesting process to watch.  The actual presentations won't be on the TEDx site for a few weeks, but here's an overview:

• Jessica Steele - "The Death of 'Poor Me'" - Jessica’s TEDx Talk focuses on the SELF, and on shifting our paradigm of focus from being outward to being inward. Her talk is about a sexually abusive relationship that began four years ago when she was sixteen years old and lasted until the end of 2012. In her speech, she’ll talk a bit about the aftermath — a journey out of torment that took place in three stages.  She is honored and feels blessed to have a shot at expressing herself at TEDx Semester at Sea. http://tedxsemesteratsea.org/speakers/jessica-steele/;  http://tedxsemesteratsea.org/meet-tedx-speaker-jessica-steele/ 
•  Stephen Deaderick - "Press Pause" - Stephen’s TEDx talk is about helping others find and understand their stories and themselves, he will share his story about finding his identity as a gay, mixed race individual.  He is passionate about identity development, social justice education, and interpersonal dialogue.  http://tedxsemesteratsea.org/speakers/stephen-deaderick/ 
•  Cosette Haugen - "Being An Open Book" - She is using her diagnosis of depression and anxiety as a basis for her TEDx Talk, in which she will attempt to encourage people to communicate their own needs and open a discussion on mental illness. She hopes that by sharing her story and experiences, it will allow listeners to feel like they are not alone.  http://tedxsemesteratsea.org/speakers/cosette-haugen/
•  Andrew Sayer - "Tolerance is a Dirty Word" -Andrew’s TEDx Talk covers “tolerance vs. acceptance” and reframing the conversation in America through education policy.  Andrew is a firm believer that our generation can change through education.  http://tedxsemesteratsea.org/speakers/andrew-sayer/ 
• Kristin Skarie - "Nothing New"- Kristin recently authored and published her first book, A Year of Nothing New – Tools for Living Lean and Green.  Her TEDx Talk is based on her book, which is about not buying anything new for a year. She wants to share her experience in order to give others the tools to change their lives, the way she has changed hers.  http://tedxsemesteratsea.org/speakers/kristin-skarie/ ;  http://tedxsemesteratsea.org/meet-speaker-kristin-skarie-sustainable-woman-extraordinaire/
•  Amber Johnson - "I Will" - Her TEDx Talk is about her journey to become an American Ninja Warrior. Simultaneously she’ll share how she came to love her body, not by “becoming skinny,” but by learning to stop criticizing herself for lack of meeting standard definitions of beauty and figuring out how to reward herself for being able to accomplish things she was never able to do before. She wants to inspire others all over the world to know that they can do anything they set their minds to.  http://tedxsemesteratsea.org/speakers/amber-johnson/

Sweden, July 31-Aug 3

Ya sure, ya betcha.  After visiting Sweden, I can see why so many Swedish immigrants settled in Minnesota, it felt like home.  Sweden is a beautiful country with many pines, water, islands, blue skies.  Stockholm itself is a wonderful city with many museums, parks and historical areas.  We had a great time, saw a lot, though we did not make it to the worlds largest Ikea, but we did eat a lot of great Swedish meatballs.

The first day we visited the Vassa museum, home to this awesomely big wooden ship from the 1600's that sank twenty minutes into its maiden voyage because of a poor design.  Oops.   That evening I enjoyed a dinner in the Old Town with some friends/colleagues.

Can you find Liam and Shannon?

Day two we visited a Pippi Longstocking Children's museum with some friends.  The kids loved it, especially after Russia where they couldn't touch anything, here they could touch everything.  Later in the day we went on an SAS trip to the ABBA museum and an ice bar.  Shannon loves Mama Mia, so she had a blast (we all did).  It was a very well done museum where you got to sing along and interact with full sized holograms. Afterward, we visited an ice bar where we donned fur lined ponchos and headed into a bar made out of ice-walls, bar, seats and glasses.  The adults received a vodka drink, the kids a juice.

They are recreating the flipper dancing scene from Mama Mia (Lay All Your Love On Me)

Shannon in the ice bar

Day three we took it easy on the ship and went on a short trip to visit the summer palace where the Swedish royal family resides.  They had lovely gardens and we enjoyed the ferry ride back into town.  I went out for mussels in the evening.  Yum!

Day four we went exploring on our own into Old Town, a very beautiful area, saw the changing of the guard at the city royal palace and did our souvenir shopping.  Shannon was excited that she got to have a sushi lunch.  I think it was actually less expensive than at home.  Afterward we visited an open air Swedish folk museum called Skansen and following that we joined up with some folks at a lovely garden area outside the folk museum.  We walked a lot that day, we are all getting stronger, even Grandma Alice!

Old Town

Russia July 24-28

So, as I mentioned in the last entry, we were not sure we'd be headed to Russia with everything going on in the world.  The night before arrival during the pre-port, we really laid on thick all the health, safety, and security warnings. To the point where people were afraid to get off\ the ship.  And then we did get off, and everything was anti-climatic.  St. Petersburg, at least, is a beautiful, modern city with lots of tourists, cruise ships out and about.  There were no left overs of the soviet regime, no guards with AK-47's, no KGB behind every bush, no anti-american protesting.  I am sure there are layers we did not see.
And the kids got tired of the stern museum guards at each site, there was no touching anything, not even the rope without being chastised.

We spent our days doing Semester at Sea tours.  Our first day was a lovely canal tour of the city.  This city's architecture is over the top.  Every other building used to be a palace and for those that are still palaces or converted to other types of museums, you got to see your fair share of excess.  Carvings, marble, gold, paintings etc.  The second day, in a converted palace, we got to see the Faberge Egg museum.  There were only ever 50 made, and this museum had thirteen.  Very beautiful.




The third day we toured a big summer palace called Peterhof.  It was super crowded and hot, not to mentioned quite luxurious.  The gardens were quite pleasant.  The kids liked the trick fountains that would get them all wet.

Liam got his hand swatted with the fan of a security guard for touching a rope, but overall, the kids were very well behaved.

 
The fourth day we took it easy on the ship, but in the evening went to an awesome Russian Folkloric show.  There was amazing singing and traditional Russian Dancing.

During the intermission, they served vodka, champagne and caviar.  Did I mention this all took place in a converted old palace?


On the fifth day in Russia, we went on a shopping trip and spent up our Rubles.  Every time we went in a store, the kids had to sit on the floor with one of those Russian stackable nesting dolls, take them apart to see how many and how small they got.  I know I got some more gray hairs, and between the stackable dolls and the stern security guards and two kids I was ready to get back on the ship, but happy to get a small taste of Russia.

July 21-23 At Sea

So, after Andy left, we had three days at sea on our way to Russia.  We were monitoring closely all the fun things happening around Russia, worried that there might be travel advisories, but thankfully we were still planning to go.

The three days were hectic with work and activities.   The highlight around day one was the talent show in the evening.  The students/faculty/staff performed  for the first half and various members of the crew performed for the second half.  They were hilarious.  It was great to see the men and women that normally function in the dining room or as cabin stewards (did I mention someone makes your bed everyday?) on stage having fun.    The crew come from the Philippines, India, Jamaica, Croatia,  Greece, England, Russia, just to name a few countries.  A hidden part of this experience is the interaction with the crew and getting to know their backgrounds and stories.  They are amazing and extremely hard working.  Earlier in the day we got to enjoy a beautiful sail in the straits between Denmark and Sweden.  They were so close on either side of the ship, saw a beautiful castle too.

The second day at sea was a non-class day.  The day was filled by the shipboard Sea Olympics.  The students living areas are divided into seas instead of floors in a residence hall, overseen by Resident Directors.  So, in the Olympics each student sea competed against each other.  Other teams were the faculty/staff/dependents and the Life  Long Learners, not sure if I mentioned that the Life Long Learners is a program on the ship for anyone that wants to sail, audit classes and live with the students.  They are typically retired folks, but can and are many ages.

The Olympics got off to a great start with the opening ceremony.  Liam got to help carry in the Olympic flag and Shannon was the torch bearer.  The kids were totally into the Olympics,  Shannnon and I competed in the team cheer, lip sync and yes, the synchronized swimming categories.  Liam participated and almost won the Ship, Captain, Wave (Rock, Paper, scissors) competition.  Alice came in third in Sudoku.  The absolute favorite moment for me was when the two kids competed together in the stand-up comedy competition.  They were fantastic and won first place over all the students and adults competing.  You will have to ask them to do it for you.  See photos below of some of the activities, and link for more:
See olympics      By the way, the faculty/staff/dependents (families) came in second overall!

Shannon and I are in this team cheer-

Sychronized swimming to "Dayo"

Shannon and Liam watching the frozen t-shirt contest (team of two has to be creative and thaw a frozen tshirt ball enough to get it on one of them:


Day three we spent doing work to get ready for the pre-port for Russia.  Lots of cultural and logistical information to get together for this particular port.  Scared everyone silly, then was pleasantly surprised when we hit St. Petersburg.

Norway July 16th-20th

So, Norway is just frickin' beautiful.  Mountains, lakes, rivers, waterfall, fjords, ya can't go wrong anywhere you look.  The only downside, is how expensive it is,  we were in one restaurant in a hurry, kids would only eat hamburgers, we paid $30 for EACH hamburger.  We now compare everything to that meal, "Well at least it's not as expensive as the hamburgers."

The ship first docked in Bergen, which is a smaller city for a day and a half.  It was a bit rainy, but fun to walk around, see the shops, the fishing market and ride the funicular up a mountain and hike around for a while.  Liam liked finding all the wooden trolls around town.  This was Andy's last port before he had to head home, so we made the most of it.

The ship left Bergen to then make it's way to Oslo.  We could choose to ride the ship or travel throughout the country and meet the ship in Oslo.  We did one of Semester at Sea's overnight trips.  It was really a great trip.  We took off from the ship in the evening, stopped by a gorgeous waterfall you could walk behind and started driving through some amazing mountain scenery.  We stayed the first night in a hotel on a gorgeous lake, and had a great Norwegian dinner (provided as part of the trip), lots of  wibderful salmon.

The next day was a combination of culture museums, fjord ferry cruise, cider farm (not apple juice, with alcohol) visit and a stay at another great hotel.  The last day on our way back to Oslo, did a two hour spectacular ferry ride to a town called Flam, had lunch and then through two trains and a bus made it to Oslo, incredible scenery throughout.

For the last day in Norway, we were now back on the ship but in Oslo.  We spent the day in the city getting it all in: Viking museum, which Liam loved; a cultural museum that has recreated old buildings with sod roofs, character reenactments etc; and a visit to the new opera house.  We then returned to the ship where we had to say goodbye to Andy, sad day for him and for us.

Ireland July 10-July 13

Well, we had one day on the ship between Scotland and Ireland, it makes for one heck of a crazy day for everyone, students and faculty running their classes, us getting ready for preport and other admin business.  And to top it off, for some reason Ireland blocks the satellite signal, so no internet for five days.  I have to say, I did a great preport, used a powerpoint presentation with a family feud game (thanks Jenn).  We had one of our theatre instructors play the game show host and he rocked.  It was a much more interesting way to give out the safety and health tips for the port.

We hit Ireland and again rented a car.   Andy drove, this time he had a stick, and not only are you driving on the left side, but your stick is on the left side.  He handled it like a pro, but again we went from the Scotland video game of Frogger to Ireland, I would yell-sheep, bike, person, roundabout, wide right, hedge, stone wall, giant tour bus, etc.  And of course the roads all change names about ten times making following a map pretty challenging.  Before we left, Grandma Alice arrived at the ship, we barely gave her ten minutes before we dragged her off on the adventure.

We spent two nights in a rental home near Gallway where there were 15 of us together- 3 families and 1 couple.   It was great, people came and went their own directions.  We followed some folks into the countryside where we went to a beautiful mountain castle/abbey (see photo).  Of course, the kids favorite thing in Ireland was the little park we took them to that was near the house, it had a decent park sized zipline.  That will be their memory of Ireland after all the effort to get them to the castle.  we played games one night, and went to a great pub with live music the other.

After Gallway, we went back to Dublin where we had a day in town before the ship headed out. We rode the hop-on/hop-off double decker bus.  We went through a medieval museum, ate fish and chips, Liam had his first beer :)  , see photo, and went to the National Leprechaun museum which had fascinating story telling.

After the ship sailed we had a couple of days at sea and are now docked in Bergen, Norway waiting for the ship to clear at 18:00.

 

Scotland, July 5-7

Scotland was pretty amazing since the kids and Andy met me at the ship and we got to go off for four days and explore together.  The ship docked on July 5th and the kids arrived at the ship around 1030.  It was awesome to see them.  I showed everyone their cabins, toured them around the ship and then we ate lunch before heading toward Edinburgh.  My kids who were at first nervous about being on a ship, didn't want to leave it.

Andy was our driver, he did a fantastic job driving on the left side of the road.  My job was to remind him to take wide rights and short lefts.  It's like a video game, I shout sheep, bike, car, big bus,  wide turn etc.

We spent two nights in Edinburgh where there is a large castle to explore.  We also went on a ghost tour within the city, we got to go underground by candlelight.  The kids liked it, though Shannon seemed a bit nervous when Daddy was used as part of the story of torture in the stockade.  Don't worry, it was all good fun.

From Edinburgh we drove to Stirling.  Stirling also has a beautiful castle, it had a lot of kids activities and a kids tour.  The photo of Andy and the kids is in the courtyard of the castle.  The knight with Liam is from inside it.  

On the last day on the way back to the ship, we of course had to stop by a battlefield.  The site where the Scottish actually defeated the English.  There was this very cool electronic reenactment/game we got to participate in.

Once back on the ship, we got to reconnect with friends, hear about everyone else's adventures and get the kids into their cabin for the first night.  Before the ship set sail, which the kids found fascinating, on the pier there was a full-on bagpipe band to serenade us as we pulled out, very cool!

From Spain to Scotland (July 1-July 4)

Hello from the middle of the Atlantic.  We have spent a couple of days at sea chugging our way to Scotland.  The weather has been chilly, in the 60's and seas are starting to swell.  I'm still hanging in there. We are in the longest sea stretch of the voyage, with four days (though one day we spent at anchor outside Spain).  Its nice to get into a bit of a routine even though no two days are alike on board the ship, here's a bit of what I do:  

• 8:00-Start the morning with a meeting with the ships officers-Captain, Hotel Director, Staff Captain, Chief Engineer and Purser.  We go over business related to the exchange between the program and the crew.  Sometimes serious such as student issues, sometimes fun like planning a reception, or supplying popcorn for the broadcast of the USA world cup soccer game.
• 9:00-I meet with the administrative team - Exec Dean, Academic Dean, Registrar, Field Office Coordinator, Dean of Student Life and and Assistant Dean of Student Life.  We review from my 8:00 meeting plus a wide variety of other topics
• Remainder of morning-run around helping people with whatever they need (My office is grand central station)
• 12:05 I get to broadcast the noon announcements to the entire ship, I'm working on my radio voice.
• Sneak in some lunch-the menu varies little, some version of pasta, meat and salad.  
• 1300-1800 (Ship time)-there are usually a variety of projects, including the Deans Memo (daily announcement newsletter)and on the night before arrival to port, I have to get a logistical preport presentation ready.  The other day I had to fill in as hearing officer on a case.  So, you never know what you're going to get. 
•  1805-I do the evening announcements, I usually through in some music-ie-Safety Dance last night, Jaws theme tonight.  Make sure they're paying attention.  
• 1830-Eat dinner or go to a reception-you are hungry all the time on the ship.  We figure its because its like we're on a big exercise ball all day with the rocking. 
• 1900/2000-there are usually some amazing World Cafe or insight lectures presented by faculty or staff.  I don't have time during the day to sit in on any classes, so it's fun to go to these.  Tonight we had a presentation on sharks (the kinds under the ship) by a renowned oceanographer that is teaching some classes.  He showed all of his pictures swimming with the sharks.  It was followed by a presentation on Irish poetry.  
• 2000-night before port-we do a cultural and logistical preport.  It's mandatory for everyone.  The Academic Dean leads a presentation  with an overview of the country culture, food etc.  I then follow up with the logistics-where's the gangway, how is immigration going to work, safety tips etc.  I have a gig right now going-my perfect game of golf is not about the score but not losing my golf ball before the end of the game, so I told everyone this and held up a golf ball, I said the ball was going to represent their passports and that I didn't want anyone to lose any.  So from port to port I hold up the ball if we still have all the passports.  So far we've made it three hole (ports).  
• 2100-?  Time in the Glaser lounge connecting.  The Glaser lounge is for faculty, staff and the Life Long Learners.  It's an awesome opportunity to spend time reviewing the day, reviewing the countries visited, getting to know people.  (And drink wine).  

Saturday, Shannon, Liam and Andy get to join in, so my days will be altered a bit, can't wait to include them.  I've included a photo of the ship at dock in Spin.  To get an idea of my cabin, see this website for deck 4 cabins:  http://www.semesteratsea.org/our-ship/cabins/  I will post some actual pics of my cabin and office later.  Happy Independence Day!

Bilbao, Spain June 27-30

So, as you can see, Spain is beautiful.  I am in Bilbao, Spain which is the Basque country.  In fact this area sees itself separate from Spain yet part of it with its very own unique culture, landscape and even language. It was very repressed under Franco's rule and has recently had a Renaissance.   It's a completely gorgeous area and the cities are amazing and very family friendly (lots of family dogs too).  The food is wonderful, they specialize in not tapas that you would find in the rest of Spain but something called Pinxtos (pinchos).  Basically whatever little creation they can pile on a piece of French bread,usually many layers, i.e. seafood with veggies and balsamic vinegar.  The custom is to buy a couple at one bar (all the restaurants are called bars) and then move on to the next one.  I can get used to this.

Guggenheim in Bilbao

So, I've spent time walking around town including a visit to one of the area's highlights, the Guggenheim museum.  It's an amazing piece of architecture inside and out, here's a link to better photos and info:

http://www.guggenheim.org/bilbao  ;  Some of the art I appreciated some, not so much.  There was a fascinating exhibit of Yoko Ono's art, learned a lot, not sure I get it, but very interesting.  The large dog that I am standing in front of is made entirely of  flowers.

Sunday, I spent horseback riding on the beach and then a stop at this beautiful little town with the cliffs, we're at an old castle.  It was one of the main export ports for Europe.

Today, Monday was another rough day with an amazing journey to the vineyards of  La Rioja area.  Saw the vineyards, the process for making the wine and of course got to sample the wine.  Tomorrow it's back to work as we set sail for Scotland.  Though I do actually have to work while in port, sometimes you are a trip leader, as I was today.  You are responsible for working with the tour agents in the logistics and also ensure everyone is behaving.  Also, in my role as Assistant Executive Dean, I am one of four staff that share in port on-call duty.  We have to carry a phone and respond in emergencies, thankfully nothing too urgent yet, a couple of students went home due to mental health related issues and we've had a few students robbed/pickpocketed.

I am very excited to see the kids and Andy in the next port, can't wait!

Lisbon, Portugl, June 21-24

We are winding down our last day in Portugal.  Lisbon is a beautiful city with red roofs, interesting architecture, cobblestone streets, the sea and a lot of hills.  Those hills have provided a lot of good exercise.  The streets are often narrow and certainly not straight, they amble up and down the hills, following a map was next to impossible.  We managed to find good local food and drink (sangria!), some food better than others, best was pastige de natas, they are like a creme brûlée in a pastry; the not as great was the salted codfish.  Link below to a pic of the pastries-


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Past%C3%A9is_de_Bel%C3%A9m.JPG

The attached photo is in a 16th century monastery, it's beautiful!  It's hard to see in the pic but the carvings throughout the building are amazing.  Saw a couple of churches and castles too, isn't that what you're supposed to see in Europe?  In Lisbon, many of the restaurants turn into these little night clubs called natos, basically the hosts and waitstaff start singing and playing folk/blues type music.  Some are awesome, some not so much.

Today I went on a yoga and surfing trip.  Let's just say I should stick to yoga.  Surfing was very fun to try, but definitely not going to be my sport!

Everyone has to be back on board tonight as we take off for Bilbao, Spain!

At sea to Lisbon, Portugal

So, I made it the first few days at sea, sea legs in tact, no sea sickness.  After a couple of days of training we got on board the ship, hardly had time to settle in before the students arrived the next day.  Things overall went pretty smoothly, seems like a great group of faculty, staff and students.  What is so unique on board a floating universe is the opportunity for everyone to live life together and to learn together.   There are also the dependents and a group of passengers called Life Long Learners.  One glitch was that the textbooks didn't make it to the ship before we left.  Oops!  They are meeting us in Lisbon.

In addition the obvious credentials that faculty and staff bring to their jobs, its the hidden talents that come out and are so much fun.  We have musicians that have played with the Grateful Dead, actors that have been on Broadway, piano bar piano players, yoga instructors and one of the faculty that competed on American Ninja Warrior.  So, throughout the ship in between classes and and community events, these various types of activities pop up all over.

The job I have as Assistant Executive Dean, its crazy but fun.  I am the center for all questions.  I am also the conduit to the ships crew and officers.  I start my day everyday with a meeting with the Captain and three other officers.  Tea and pastries are always served.

A day on the ship feels like a week, in a good way.  So full of a variety of things.  But you also get a little spoiled.  While the food is not cruise ship level, I don't have to make it, which makes it great.  I don't have to do the dishes or clean my room or make my bed.  Yeah.  I am enjoying being solo for the first couple of weeks, but miss my munchkins and hubby, so can't wait for them to get here!

We are now docked in Protugal in what is called an IPAD (in port academic day) day.  We got here early and have to have a whole day on the ship but docked.  They used to drive the ship slowly so we had enough sea days/class days, now they save on fuel and just dock us.  It's not a bad view.  The photo attached is coming into Lisbon, cant get it right side up, so you have to turn your hear or tablet, sorry!

Glimpse of the ship

The ship has docked, we can't get on until later this afternoon but I wanted to snap a shot and take advantage of the free and fast wireless internet at the hotel before we check out.  I just got the back end of I her,  but it's home for the next ten weeks!  

Out and about

Having fun in merry old England!  After a full day of training had to make sure we sampled the local beer, I mean cuisine.  The fab people I am with in this photo were shipmates from my '96 voyage and will be part of this summer's adventures.  

Southampton, England

Well, I made it to England and relatively smoothly. A big bonus on the flight, I ended up with a row all to my self, how often does that happen and perfect for sleeping.  When I arrived at the airport in London,  I was met by my friend Julie (from my Spring 96 voyage), I am excited to be sailing with her and four other 96 friends.  Her sister-in-law is from London and was kind enough to pick us both up and drive us the hour to Southampton.

W are spending two nights at a hotel here to do some training before getting on the ship on Sunday.  The students get on board Monday.  Tonight we had a reception to meet faculty and staff and families.  There are about 40 staff/faculty.  Afterward, we went out to dinner at a Greek restaurant in old town Southampton, next to a fort, are you reading Andy?  Now it's time to catch some zzz's.

Almost ready, leaving on the jet plane tomorrow evening; sad to say goodbye to the kids and Andy, but also looking forward to being a single woman for a few weeks!  I hope to post a photo of the ship when I get there Sunday or Monday!

One week to go and freaking out, too much to do.  Also, testing to see if I can attach a photo, this is paella Andy made, hope to get some more in Spain!

Testing

Hello, just testing in preparation for the summer with Semester at Sea.  http://www.semesteratsea.org/voyages/summer-2014/


10 weeks at sea, wahoo.  Check out the itinerary, should be fun.