Trudy Myers's Blog, page 18

Looking Ahead

Okay, there's only 2.5 weeks before SF in Bartow. The products I plan to take are packed, but what about other stuff?

What other stuff, do you ask? Well, for one thing, signs. I took 2 signs to Villicon, and couldn't put up either one of them. Our main sign, MoonPhaze, needs a base and pole to hang from. Somehow, the base was taken, but the pole wasn't to be found. So I couldn't put it up. The secondary sign, for Myers Prosthetics, also got taken, but I forgot to take any tape or bungee cords to hang that sign from the front of the table. So, let's see, I need to find the pole for my main sign, and pack either bungee cords or tape (or both) for my secondary sign.

Also, it's one thing to have foam heads displaying prosthetics on a table at an indoor event. It's completely different to use them for an outdoor event, where any tiny little breeze is likely to pick up a foam head and send it tumbling down the street. We've been thinking about how to anchor the foam heads so they can't go roaming on their own. Now it's time to get our act together and make the anchors so they can be packed and ready to go. So, find a couple dowels to stick in the foam heads (they each have a hole some 4 and 1/2 inches deep in the bottom), buy a couple boards to make the bases, and spend a couple hours cutting the wood accordingly. It shouldn't take us long, if we just do it.

And finally, some signs to tape down on the table showing the prices of what we have. Most—if not everything I take to Bartow—will be on sale, and I need to let people know that. So that will probably take an afternoon or two on the computer and printer.

There shouldn't be any problem getting this all done, everything packed and ready to go... as long as we don't procrastinate too long. I've got errands to run tomorrow, so maybe I'll start by getting those dowels and the boards. And a drill bit. He said we needed a drill bit, too.

So, I'll just pat myself on the back for thinking ahead and making plans. Now to just follow through on them. Wish me luck!

PS. We did get the supplies for making the head display. Step 1 of that project done. Today I plan to search for the sign pole and the box that holds my 'miscellaneous' stuff - tape, scissors, markers and so on. 

The Problem With Deadlines

How many times have you found yourself working in a frenzy to get some project done before a certain deadline? I've long since lost count, but then, I didn't try to keep count way back in school, when I had reports, science projects and other such things that were due at a certain time. Really, when you were in school, did you learn anything from having to go through a very uncomfortable day or weekend when you were rushing to get a project done? I didn't. I may have started that 10-page report a week before it was due, but I was still rushing to get it done before I had to turn it in.

It continued into my adult life, as well. Let's say I dreamed up a new costume that I wanted to wear at a certain sf convention. It was not at all unusual for me to be rushing, trying to get it done before I had to pack the car to go to that convention. I remember one costume in particular where I was still hemming the legs and arms as somebody else drove across 2 states to get to the convention.

I'd like to say I've finally learned my lesson, but that last week before Villicon where I was not only making prosthetics, but packaging them and packing them as well, that was not a joyful time for me. I spent an entire day standing at the kitchen island, sorting through prosthetics, packaging and pricing them, and then stuffing them into boxes in something resembling order. Since I'm usually sitting at my desk most of the day, it's no wonder I then spent 2 nights and a day suffering from leg cramps.

And the aftermath of that rushing around isn't really pleasant, either. Friday of Villicon, we got up and finished packing the car, dropped the dog at the kennel and drove into Orlando to the hotel. Once there, we spent about an hour unloading the car and carrying all our stuff to our tables - John was there with the Klingons, and I with my dealer's table. Then we each had to organize our stuff on our tables, and finally, about 2 pm, we hurried across the street to get some lunch. That was the first thing I'd eaten that day, and, it turned out, the only thing I ate that day.

I like going to conventions, but they are not relaxing for me. I'm an introvert, and being surrounded by a few hundred strangers grates on my nerves. Imagine spending 3 days listening to fingernails drug across a chalkboard. I need quiet time in my own place to truly relax.

It wasn't until Monday that I got to go back to my 'usual' day at home and could relax. Except I realized I wasn't really relaxed, I kept thinking I had to DO something to meet a deadline. No matter how many times I told myself I had no immediate deadlines, I still had the uncomfortable feeling that I did. That lasted for 2 days.

By Wednesday, I was over that 'Looming Deadline' fear, but I wasn't back to my usual routine yet. I found myself pushing aside almost all my daily chores in favor of... playing games. And not even the games I usually play; I dug up an oldie that I hadn't played in a year or so. Maybe that was the day I actually relaxed.

Now I'm facing another deadline, another convention, in about 3 1/2 weeks. I will be trying to make more product, more prosthetics, because I've got the raw material that is getting old and needs to be used before it goes bad. So I need to get started doing that. Tomorrow I'll be trying to catch up on the chores I didn't do today, and then I'll get started on that.

I hope.

 

Panic Time

This has been a hectic week. I finished editing a book on Saturday, and decided I'd better concentrate on getting stuff together for the convention we'll be at this weekend. This was in addition to the work I'd done last fall, taking inventory of everything I ever took to a convention to sell and organizing them in boxes so I could pick and choose what I wanted to take. My husband encouraged me to make more product (cosplay prosthetics) before the raw materials went bad, so we set aside a couple days to do that. Otherwise, I've been working on them every afternoon since last Saturday, and I've got quite a bit done.

And it's only Wednesday.

Wait, did I say it's ONLY Wednesday? Oh, no! It's alreadyWednesday! I've got product to package up, and then pack into the proper boxes, and displays to prepare, and table props to paint! AAAARRRGGH! (Run around the house like a chicken with its head cut off, and get absolutely nothing constructive done!)

Okay. That's enough panicking for now. Tomorrow, when I'm trying to finish everything up, plus pack a suitcase and load up the car, I may have a few more panic attacks. I try to keep them short, so I can use most of my time plugging away at what I need to do.

I suppose that since I have some control over how long they are, they might not be true panic attacks. Basically, they are moments when I feel overwhelmed by how much I still have to do, no matter how much I've managed to get done. And when I feel like that, I don't seem able to communicate to anybody else how to properly do one of my chores so that I can hand it off. Been there, done that, wasn't pretty.

I suppose I should train somebody—such as my husband, who's been prepping his own stuff to take for the Klingon table—how to do some of these chores for me before I'm overwhelmed. Then we can both be overwhelmed together!

No, I'm not sure that's a good idea. Better that one of us manage to remain calm even when one of us is being a headless chicken.

I am grateful that I did, once upon a time, sort through and organize all the boxes, and labeled them, so I know what boxes I want to take. You know, books are in boxes 4, 5 & 14. Prosthetics are in boxes 8, 10, & 12. Made it so much easier to sort out the ones I wanted to take with us.

Anyway, we're both going to be at Villicon this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the DoubleTree at the Entrance to Universal, 5780 Major Blvd in Orlando. If you're going to be there, stop by our tables and say hello! John (Lars Shoberg) will be at the Klingon table, and I (Trudy V Myers) will be manning the MoonPhaze table (basically across the aisle and down a table from the Klingons), selling prosthetics and books. We'd love to chat with you! 

Hope Springs...

Well, here it is, a new year. And even though the pandemic is still with us, making life miserable, I still keep hoping that Things Will Be Better This Year.

You know, that all my Loved Ones (including myself) will stay healthy, that Truth and Justice will win in the end, that I will get better at getting our books published On Time, and not have to keep delaying the publication date. Mostly, that we will sell more books. Or cosplay prosthetics. That we will sell more of something.

I seldom write about how we are doing, sales wise, because I'm embarrassed. Strangely, it never seems to matter that we get payments from our distributor regularly. They aren't for 1000s of dollars. And yet, everywhere I look, I see ads proclaiming things like, "Sell thousands of books overnight with no effort!", or "Learn from this fledgling author who hit #1 on the Best Seller Lists!", or something similar.

If it's too good to be true...

But hope springs eternal, right?

I've fallen for a couple of these, trying to learn how to market more effectively. I mean, if people don't know about our books, how can we hope to sell more of them? Alas, these programs all seem to call for skills I don't really have.

I mean, if I had an IT department I could go to and say, "Here are 3 pages I need added to my website. How long do you need to get them functional?" That would be one thing. I'd even give them exactly what the page should look like and what it should say. I can do that much. But it's the behind the scenes type of stuff that often leaves me confused and feeling inadequate. Where does this button link to? How do you set up a link between a file-sharing website and the buttons on this webpage? How do I include detailed instructions for doing something I've never done?

Okay, pity party is over. I am not my only resource. I have friends and family and groups who can help me figure out all those things I need to figure out in order to do what I want to do. No, I don't like marketing, but I can't afford to have somebody else do it for me. And, most of the marketing plans I've listened to are simply more of the same stuff I've already tried. So, time for new stuff. Time to get a little creative. That I can do. 

Italian Cruise 2021 - Day 9

Sunday, 10/24 - Getting Home

Remember, I said we had to get up by 5:30 on this morning? And that that was the equivalent of 11:30 the night before at our hometown? This truly was to be a lo-o-ng day.

We went to the only place to eat that early; the Irish pub in the casino. We got there before the big rush as others came in to eat before getting off the ship. After eating, we left the ship and claimed our luggage. The Barcelona port actually had luggage carousels for claiming your luggage.

After that, we took our bags outside and got on a bus to go to the airport. It was, of course, very dark. The bus dropped us off outside the ticketing center for the airport. We went inside and had visions of 'Grand Central Station' in our head, though we've never been there. I'm not sure 'Grand Central Station' does the place justice. Each airline had 1-2 windows to take luggage and issue tickets, and hundreds of them were packed into peninsulas sticking into the lobby. But we couldn't figure out where to find the window we needed. Thankfully, John wandered off to the restroom, and when he came back, he had found the window we needed! Hooray!

I honestly don't remember how we got to the gate to wait for our airplane. From the time we left that window until the time we boarded the plane is a big blank spot in my memory. Did I fall asleep? I doubt it. I vaguely remember getting up out of a chair to try and figure out if it was time for us to get into line to board the plane. It's hard when you don't speak the local language, but the airlines made it easier by holding up signs as to what group could now get in line.

The economy class of this plane had 9 seats across; 3 on the left, 3 on the right and 3 in the middle. John and I were in the middle seats. I wanted to sleep, but I don't think I did. Shows I had been watching on one airline going over were not available on this airline coming back. In fact, there was very little of interest for me to watch. I know they fed us once, but I don't know if they fed us twice, like the trip over. Maybe it was a meal and a snack.

Anyway, we got on the plane about 11 AM, and we got to the Atlanta airport about 6 PM. We had about an hour to get to the gate we needed for the next leg of our journey, and it seemed to be on the opposite side of the airport. Before that, we had to claim our luggage, take it to the next room and turn it over to catch our next plane, then we had to go through another TSA checkpoint. Then we walked forever (with memories of Rome going through my head) and then I finally convinced John to take the train, or we would never make it to our gate. We barely had time to sit down when we reached our gate.

Times are approximate here; I've thrown out the paperwork that would have confirmed them for me, and we were very tired, having been awake for about 18-19 hours. But we got on the next plane about 7 PM and probably got to the Orlando airport about 8 PM. It probably took us an hour to claim our luggage and grab the bus to where we had parked the car. I remember it was rainy in Orlando, and when we got to where we had parked our vehicle, it was standing in at least 4 inches of water. The 'pond' was bigger than just our vehicle, too, there were several cars sitting in it.

So about 9 PM, we got in our car with our feet all cold and wet, and the windows quickly steaming up, and we started home.

We stopped for hamburgers to go on our way, and ate them when we got home, then watched a little television to relax. We finally got to bed about 11:30 PM - 24 hrs after we had gotten up!

And that was our trip to Spain and Italy, mostly Italy.

PS. Remember when this journey began, and we were rushed to get through TSA, and lost John's shoes and my belly bag? We couldn't claim them when we got in on this day, because the Lost and Found department had already closed. But we drove back the next day about noon, and I was able to claim both items. Phew! What a relief!

Italian Cruise 2021 - Day 8

Saturday, 10/23 - Day at Sea

At last! A day with no excursions as the ship made its way back to Barcelona. We could sleep in!

Well, not really, because this was the day they were giving people a covid test so they would have the (hopefully negative) results to get on their planes to go home. And although we weren't scheduled for that until 10 AM, we got up about 7 so as not to miss our place in line.

I don't remember where we had breakfast, or what we had. I continually felt like I had to hurry and get to the theater, and then I would remember that there were no excursions. By comparison, taking the test was easy, no last-minute cramming to get the answers right. We were told the results would be sent to our cabin that evening.

John wanted to read, but knew from experience that the library/computer space was too noisy for him to get any reading done there. I have a little better luck blocking out noise when I'm writing, so I went to the library to try to get caught up on these blogs. Alas, the library was awash in people panicing over getting their e-paperwork ready for Spain, and the (at this point, 2!) computer specialists were loudly and repeatedly explaining that the website didn't work, hadn't worked for weeks, that Spain was aware it wasn't working, and noone would be asking us for that paperwork this time. Even I had trouble thinking in that madhouse.

So when John came to tell me he had found a quiet place on an upper deck, I grabbed my laptop and followed him there. It was much quieter than the library, but I had to pick and choose what table to sit out, so I didn't get a bunch of glare off my screen. But we spent a couple hours there, each doing our own thing, until we decided to go have lunch.

We ate at the Irish pub in the casino. John had enjoyed the Korean wings so much the first time, he repeated it. I had had their corned beef stew during our first visit, and opted for something else, possibly a hot dog. I really can't remember.

In the afternoon, we spent some time in the hot tub. Okay, in the warm tub. We hadn't found a 'hot tub' during the entire trip that was actually hot. Disappointing, but not enough to make us decide not to do it.

Eventually, we wandered back to our cabin and packed our bags. New tags had arrived for us to use, and we had to get the luggage out into the hall by a certain time.

We were one of the first people scheduled to get off in the morning. In order to have time to eat, we had to get up by 5:30 AM, which was 11:30 PM the night before in our hometown. So even though we weren't that tired that night, we were climbing into bed almost as soon as we finished supper.

We had a long day ahead of us.

Italian Cruise 2021 - Day 7

Friday, 10/22 - Pisa

I don't remember where we had breakfast on this day. Possibly in the Taste, one of the main dining rooms, since our excursion didn't leave until after noon. Or shortly before noon. We started off with a long bus ride to get to Pisa.

We were there to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but the bus didn't take us all the way there. It took us to a bus parking lot near the edge of town, where we switched to a 'train'. It was an open air vehicle, as the small cars didn't have any windows in the window slots. And it didn't operate on rails; it used rubber tires like a car. I am reminded of 'trains' that the Shriners and some other organizations use in parades, only the one we rode in wasn't painted so brightly.

The train was packed rather tightly as it drove us through the city streets and deposited us about a block from the Tower. We hadn't gotten a glimpse of the Tower as we approached, as it is located in a religious complex, and there were some large buildings between the streets and the Tower.

There we were met by the specialist guide, who led us through another open market selling trinkets and souvenirs until we could see the Tower from a particular angle. It looked to be perfectly straight up and down. I wondered if engineers had actually managed to correct its leaning proclivity, but as soon as we changed our position, it became clear that the Tower had been leaning right at us. That gave me a little bit of a chill.

We walked a quarter of the way around the Tower and listened to the guide tell us all about the history of the Tower, and the efforts made to make it cease leaning. When the guide continued to walk on, directly away from the Tower, and around the church, John was busy trying to get a good picture of the Tower. I wasn't even sure he was aware we had continued on, and as the minutes ticked by, I began to wonder if he would ever catch up to us. But eventually he did. I still don't know if he got the picture he wanted.

For some reason, this church had been built in two pieces; the main portion with the pews, which we were not allowed to enter, and then a round or octagonal piece several yards away, which we were also not allowed to enter. But the guide filled our ears with 'interesting' facts about the church, like pointing out that the details carved into the 40-foot tall doors got larger and more exaggerated as they went up the doors, so that they could be seen by those standing on the ground. And a lot of other facts that I can't remember now.

Then we walked around the other side of the main portion of the church, and were soon looking at the 'backside' of the Tower. Now she told us that the Tower actually has a bit of a bend to it, as the architects tried to compensate for the leaning by adjusting the length of the pillars as they went around the outside of the Tower. But she got me confused when it seemed she said the pillars were longer on the side that was on the 'top' side, which would have made the lean worse. Consequently, even when she took us to a position 3/4 of the way around the tower, I could not see the bend that she kept trying to point out. My brain was confused, and my eyes would not cooperate.

Finally, she took us back to our starting point, where the Tower once again seemed to be standing up perfectly fine, right after telling us all that if it were to lean just a few more degrees, it would come tumbling down!

Well, I was ready to leave. So we walked most of the way back to the 'train stop', where we were given half an hour to go in the restaurant, use the bathrooms, visit the gift shop and get some snacks, if we wanted. But please do not wander on our own. Well, somebody got the memo that tourists were not to wander around on their own.

As we all collected in a group across from the restaurant at the end of our half hour, some merchants from the market came over to try to sell us things. The guide finally got a count to make sure she had all of us, and took us back to the train, which took us back to the bus.

Traffic on the bus ride back to the boat was horrendous, and at least once came to a complete standstill as emergency vehicles made their way past us. It took us much longer to get back to the boat than it took to get to Pisa, and we were beginning to get worried that we wouldn't make it back in time, but we did. Later than we expected to get back, but we got back in time.

I'm not sure where we ate that night. It might have been the Irish pub in the middle of the casino, which seemed to have some of the best food on the ship. But their menu didn't change from day to day, so I guess they got lots of practice with what they made.

We didn't have any excursions the next day, but we were still pretty worn out, so we went to bed.

Italian Cruise 2021 - Day 6

Thursday, 10/21 - Pompeii

Now these blogs will become a little hazy, because despite my best efforts, I didn't get a chance to write on them while we were still on the ship. Consequently, I'm working from old memories, and I probably don't remember a lot of detail.

On Day 6, we visited some city (I didn't catch the name, I was still worn out from Rome.) and Pompeii. I dozed during the bus ride to the city, and don't remember much until we stopped in the city limits, the bus stopping in a bus parking lot just long enough for everybody to get off, and then it scooted off somewhere else. Then we walked 4 or 5 blocks to our first stop. You guessed it, cobblestones, but at least we had sidewalks to walk on, and didn't have to share the roadway with the vehicles.

They took us inside a big furniture shop, where we were given a lecture about how difficult it was to do inlay. There were probably dozens of ways the worker could mess up during the process and have to start all over again. Their inlaid furniture was absolutely beautiful, but I was afraid to brush up against any of it, for fear I'd have to buy it.

Then they gave us half an hour to walk around and see a little bit of the city. (I was surprised by this, because didn't the government object to us tourists walking around on our own?) Anyway, there was an ice cream shop across the street, and I was still tired, so John bought me an ice cream cone and let me sit at one of their outside tables while he wandered a few blocks away. He came back having bought a small bottle of lemon liquor, which is a known commodity in this city. It still sits, unopened, on our kitchen counter, having made it home with us. Well, we don't drink much, and not very often, but it will be taste-tested one of these days.

Then we all gathered together and walked back to the parking lot, where our bus waited for us. We were off to see Pompeii!

There is a modern Pompeii built up around the excavations. I didn't expect that, but I'm not sure why. The excavations are a tourist attraction, after all.

After the bus parked, we had to walk about 3 blocks, and about half of that distance was through an open-air market, past booths that sold all sorts of trinkets and keepsakes. But before we got to see ancient Pompeii, we were taken into a small shop, where we got a 3-minute lecture on how cameos are created. I knew about as much about the art form coming out as I did going in.

There was a pizzeria attached to the cameo shop, and we were given about half an hour to get ourselves something to eat and drink, if we wanted any. At the end of that time, our 2nd tour guide showed up, the group split in two, and we were off.

We entered ancient Pompeii through the gladiator school. It was, I have to admit, the cleanest, well-kept and greenest spot in the town, having a grassy spot in the middle arena. Of course, if that's where the gladiators practiced their fighting, it probably didn't have much grass growing there back in Roman days.

After that, everything was cobblestone or gravel and dust. We saw one of Pompeii's auditoriums, and our guide discussed the ingenious way they constructed it so that all the audience could hear what was said on stage. Then we were taken through a narrow alleyway to a street.

It was obviously a street, complete with raised sidewalks. All cobblestone, and big stones, at that. The guide tried to impress upon us how much shorter people were 'back then', and I couldn't help but wonder how they ever managed to cross the streets, because the difference between street level and sidewalk was about a foot. I wasn't the only one who needed help getting up and down every time the guide decided to cross the street!

She paused to tell us that Pompeii was a dusty town, and every time it rained, the streets became muddy rivers as the water rushed down the hills and out of town. Then we walked to the corner, where this street crossed another, and 3 big blocks semi-blocked the street, stretching from corner to corner, while other blocks crossed the others corners of the intersection. So it wasn't necessary to cross the street in the middle of the block, you had the option of walking to the corner and walking across these stepping stones. But there wasn't a lot of room between them, and I wondered about horses threading their way between them. Also, it meant all the carriages and carts had to be a standard distance between wheels, or the vehicle would never get between those stepping stones!

So we walked all over ancient Pompeii for weeks (or so it seemed). Despite my efforts to 'get into shape' for this excursion, and no matter how close I was to the guide when she started walking again, I would always wind up at the end of the group, trying to keep my balance and keep track of where the group was headed.

Near the end of the tour, we visited the 'red-light' district of town. Back then, the method of attracting the attention of potential customers was to howl like a wolf. This is where some of the best kept murals in town were found, a series of 7 or 8 pictures showing various sex positions. That way, a visitor who didn't speak the language could merely point to a picture to indicate what he wanted.

One of the last places we visited was a series of semi-buildings that were being used to store what had been excavated. In those, we saw 3 plaster casts of people who had been covered in volcanic ash. The cast of the small child actually had a bar between the legs for support, and thus made me think of a body cast.

Then we were headed out of the ancient city. It didn't take long for the guide to leave me behind again. I found myself at the top of 2 sets of stairs going in opposite directions, and I had no idea where I was supposed to go. Thankfully, John had heard her say, "Just keep turning left.", so we did that until we got to the gate and got out.

So, I was sort of disappointed in my exploration of the ancient town. I wish I had been in even better shape, but I am not a fast walker, and my balance isn't the best, so I'm not sure I could have kept up with the guide anyway. And while we got to see the 'summer' master bedroom and the 'winter' master bedroom in one house, I'm not sure why they needed 2 bedrooms. As always when it comes to excavations, I am always interested in the daily life of the people who lived there. Much more interested in that than in holiday festivities and religious rites. Or who knows, maybe the guide went into that sort of thing when I was trying to keep my balance and not get lost.

And then we had to wait for the other group to join us outside in the marketplace. Then we retraced our steps to the bus and were taken back to our ship.

I think that was the night we ate at the Moderna, a Brazilian Steak House. If you've never been to one, they had a 'salad buffet', which had more than salads. Then when you returned to your seats and were ready for meat, there was a card you turned over, and various waiters came around with chunks of meat on skewers. If you wanted lamb, you told that waiter, and s/he would carve some off for you. Chicken drumsticks, pork, beef, just tell them you wanted some, and they'd deposit it on your plate.

John tried everything. I guess I wasn't paying much attention until I finally got a filet mignon deposited on my plate. I cut into it, and... I swear it mooed! Okay, maybe not, but it did bleed. I caught the attention of the main waiter, and explained that I liked my meat well done, so was there anything we could do about this bloody piece of meat? I expected them to take it back and let the cook show it to the flames a few more times. And maybe they did. I can't say, because what came back looked much different than what they took away.

But I liked their cocktail so much, I had 2 of those.

Our excursion the next day was not until the afternoon. But we were tired, so we were soon setting our alarms and going to bed.

Italian Cruise 2021 - Day 5

Wednesday, 10/20

Rome

Walking til the cows came home

Another breakfast in the buffet, at about 6 am, because most of the restaurants didn’t open early enough to let us eat and get to the auditorium on time. I had one skinny little omelet, 4 pieces of bacon, 2 slices of pineapple, and some orange juice. I dawned on me that I wasn’t eating much, but honestly, nothing else appealed to me.

Rome is not a port city, it was located about 70 km from the port. It took us about an hour to reach the city, where the guide immediately started pointing out churches, the old city wall, important buildings, while the driver took the bus off the highway and through progressively skinnier and skinnier streets. Eventually, the bus stopped, and we all got off, were introduced to the woman who would be leading us through town and to the various sights we would see.

First was a famous fountain, but to get there, we had to walk about 45 minutes through very narrow streets over cobblestone sidewalks where the stones were not necessarily sturdy, some of them wobbled as you walked on them. We were given about 15 minutes to admire the fountain, and then we were off again.

Walking, walking, walking, until we reached a ‘new!’ monument, only 100 years old. According to the tour guide, nobody liked it because it was the wrong style, and didn’t fit in with its surroundings. Here we were given a few minutes to take some pictures of this unliked monument, and then we were off again.

We could see a bit of the coliseum from that monument, 3 or 4 blocks away, and that was where we were headed next. On the way there, we walked past excavations of pieces of ancient Rome, and the lady guide occasionally stopped to tell us about one or another. Otherwise, I would not have managed to keep up.

We reached the Coliseum about noon, and had to show our vaccination cards and go through a security check point to get in. We were about to climb a couple of staircases to the third floor when Philip, the tour guide from the bus, gathered a group of about 6 who were having trouble keeping up, and took us to the elevator to go up to the 3rd floor. I found out later that the coliseum originally had 28 elevators in it, each operated with weights, ropes and the muscles of 40 slaves to transport them up and down. These days, the coliseum only has 1 elevator, or, technically, 2; 1 to go up only, and 1 to go down only.

On the 3rdfloor, we reunited with the group, and walked past various displays explaining the history of the coliseum. After the games were discontinued, it became homes for the poor, and sometime after that, the rich moved in, making homes for themselves. The footing we were walking on was not very smooth, and I was rapidly losing my capacity to pay attention to the voice in my ear. (Each member of the group had been issued a small radio and an ear phone, so the tour guide did not need to bellow for us to hear her.)

The same small group that took the elevator up was peeled off to take the elevator down with Phillip, while the rest of the group followed the woman around the 3rdfloor of the coliseum. When we met up again, the group was headed for the Forum. But Phillip took pity on 3 fat old ladies (myself included) and took us to a small ‘snack bar’ about a block away, where we sat and cooled off and had a drink. After a while, Philip took us to the bus, which had relocated to be closer, and a few minutes later, the rest of the group appeared and rejoined us.

This time when we got off the bus, we walked ¾ of the way around a city block to get to a restaurant. We went inside and down the stairs to what appeared to be an ‘event’ room, where we all took seats. This was around 2 in the afternoon. We were served some pasta and bread to start with, and the wine was opened. John told me it a dry wine, so I didn’t bother to get any. The 2nd course consisted of some sliced beef and French fries, and neither one of us can remember if there was anything else. Dessert was a wedge of two-toned gelato (ice cream). Certainly nothing to write home about. The meat was so bland, it reminded me of my mother’s cooking, and not on a good day. We were, to put it mildly, disappointed in the meal.

Then we had one more thing to see, and that was the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. Vatican City, it turned out, was just the other side of the street, but once we crossed that street, we still had to walk 2 or 3 blocks to skirt around the edge to an entrance. After giving us a short talk about the chapel, and pointing out where we would meet, we were given 15 minutes to snap pictures and shop. John bought a magnet from the shop and 4 bracelets from a street vendor. I found a stone to sit on and waited for the tour guides to take us back to the bus.

Finally, it was time to go, and the bus was around 4 or 5 blocks away. I was beginning to think the walking would never end. But we finally reached the bus, and bade good-bye to the lady tour guide.

I had dozed on the drive into Rome, but dozing was beyond me on the way back to the ship. It was horrifyingly fascinating to watch the drivers in Rome. Philip had already mentioned that Romans park wherever they liked, and there was certainly plenty of evidence of that! Vehicles were parked with mere inches between them, and sometimes perpendicular to the rest of the cars parked there. Or double-parked. Motorcycles were parked on the islands between lanes. It struck me as madness.

I am left with a definite impression of Rome as a dirty city. Graffiti was everywhere, but I kept telling myself that it was a time-honored tradition, because the coliseum had had lots of graffiti dating all the way back to the early days of its existence. Some of the ‘dirt’ was probably leaves that had fallen off the trees (it was the latter part of October, after all) and been trampled into something resembling dirt. But everywhere I looked, there were bits and pieces of paper scampering about on the breeze. 

Italian Cruise 2021 - Day 4

 Tuesday, 10/19 - Sardinia

Lots of wine and cookies

The next day was another shore excursion on another island. The island was Sardinia, part of Italy. We got up and had breakfast, and went to the theater to wait for them to send us out to the bus. We drove through the port city on narrow streets, looking at various buildings and ‘points of interest’. At one point, we drove up a hill and stopped to take pictures. On one side of the bus was the ocean and some salt ponds. We were told that these salt ponds were no longer used to produce salt, that was all done on the other side of the island, but these were maintained for the benefit of the flamingoes and 230 other bird species that use them.

After a few minutes, we were back on the bus, and headed out of the city. A farmer in a local village would welcome us into his house for some folklore, traditional clothing, music and refreshments. We arrived at the farmer’s house, in the middle of the village, at about 1. We were joined by a 2nd tour group, so quite a large gathering in the courtyard.

There was a small group of performers. One man played the accordion. Others played an ancient instrument consisting of 3 pipes of different lengths. The longest one had the deepest sound, and needed to have air blown through it consistently. We were told that, starting as a child, they were taught to practice that constant blowing by blowing into a straw into water while breathing normally. One of the men did a short demonstration with a mouth harp. Most all the performers sang the songs, and at least 6 performers participated in the dancing.

Generally, we got a short history lesson of the song or dance about to be performed, and then they performed a song and a dance. Then they would tell us about the cookies they were handing out, and the wine being poured. Then another song and a dance, then another type of cookie and wine. There were, I think, at least 6 different cookies and wines served. By the time we were getting ready to leave, at 3, everything above my ears felt slightly fuzzy, but I made it back to the bus and thus to the ship.

We had a reservation to see one of the stage shows at 7:30. It was an interesting and entertaining show, but had its confusing moments, too. A dress made of flip flops? I guess I don’t hang out in the LGBT world enough to understand. Or maybe that was pertaining to ‘high fashion’? Certainly I think some aspects of high fashion are hideous and not functional.

Afterwards, we went to supper, I’m not sure where. Possibly we tried to go to the Manhattan, but we didn’t meet their dress code, so we went down one deck to the Taste. Unfortunately, we were seated in the chandelier area, which was quite noisy, so talking was next to impossible.

We knew the next day would be a long excursion (10 hours), so we went to our cabin and went to bed.