Nice start to our holiday
One lovely thing was that we left home a day before our cruise so we were able to spend a lovely evening over dinner with members of our family, David and Jan catching up with all family news. Onwards then to an overnight stay in a hotel and then we met up with some special friends of ours from when we lived in Spain. They have a home too in Poole so we made a slight detour and visited with them for an hour before we moved on to join our ship. In one of my earlier blogs I say how Freda made a 40 mile trip to visit just for a drink when we were on holiday in Looe so it was delightful that we were able to meet up with them both and catch up, this time on Spanish news. All in all the two visits made a perfect start to our holiday.
So home again after our cruise around the Baltic's. Our ship was called Celebrity Eclipse and it is a really beautiful ship indeed. We had a lovely state room that had plenty of room for my mobility scooter and one of the best bathrooms I have ever had on a ship, and I have been on many. Our veranda was quite large and there was plenty of room for sunbathing on it if we didn't wish to take up one of the many beds and loungers up on the pool decks. Alas I forgot about the effect of my meds in the sun and I ended up with a very red sunburnt face. It isn't as though I was lying in the sun, I deliberately didn't, always making sure I was ensconced under a cabana and out of the sun but the power of even a little sun does us much damage. It is a lesson learnt and I shall make sure I am always even more careful than I am now.
I wasn't TOO bad on the cruise but alas my health did not allow me to attend any of the shows that were put on in the theatre in the evening. After my meal I hastened back to my bed to rest up ready for another day. I missed out on going into Tallin as I really didn't feel up to it, in fairness this trip was on the day following my two very hectic days in the amazing St Petersburg and this was so exhausting for even the most able bodied so no surprise then that I needed a duvet day to recover.
St Petersburg was the highlight of the trip and the beauty of the places we saw were breathtaking, magnificent, outstanding, amazing, oh I could go on and on. I was fortunate to be provided with a "pusher", his name being Alexi. He was a man aged around 23 and this was his job, to take people wth walking difficulties around all the sites. He was so professional. He always made sure he parked me directly in front of any sites to be seen and he never once ran into the back of anybody with the chair. He politely asked people to move and they did with ease. We had been fortunate to book with the company we did for the tours as many of them took 40 people in on big busses. Nightmare as trying to get tickets and keep track of so many just delayed everything. Our guide had taken us early to the one that she knew would fill up quickly, The Hermitage and so we were able to get around with ease whilst the queues were forming longer and longer outside. There were only six of us in this tour so it all run like clockwork.
Have posted a couple of pics here of some of the places we saw but to be honest no picture can do this city justice.
The Hermitage
Catherine's Palace was just out of this world with the amber room and the gold room where Elton John often hires this room to entertain friends, very impressive it was too!
A lovely trip over to Peterhoff was a huge success as this was a truly beautiful palace, an amazing site to see and the many, many fountains, some trick ones as Peter the Great loved playing tricks and he designed them to fool people and get them wet!
It all just looked so magnificent. The fountains switched on at exactly 11.00 to the sound of some music playing and they were just mind blowing. The gardens here were gorgeous and very peaceful I could have stayed all day just watching the world go by. It was Peter himself who masterminded the gardens and the fountains, he was a very clever young man. He liked peace and tranquility. He left behind an amazing legacy. Peter the Great was actually responsible for the founding of St Petersburg, which became the new Russian Capital in 1712. This remained the capital of Russia until the war when fearful of invasions the capital was moved to Moscow where it would not be such an easy target.
We all said that at the end of two very tiring days we do not believe we would have the strength to do a third day!
One site I did wish to visit but was just too exhausted, even in the wheelchair was the resting pace of the last ruling family of Russia, including Czar Nicholas, his wife and three of his five children who were executed by the Russian revolutionaries. I was told that they are not all interred here at this time as the two remaining who had not been found at the time of the other members are still waiting to be laid to rest with their family. Alexi and Maria were only discovered eight years ago and they will join their family in October of this year. I did ask for pictures to be taken so I do at least know where their final resting place is and can see their tomb.
Faberge
Originally I wasn't bothered about this part of the tour and felt I may just stay in the taxi. I changed my mind however and I was so pleased that I did. The eggs were so beautiful, so much work gone into each and every one and we were told the story of them all individually too. One of them held so many sad memories as when it was shown to the public many people died due to the overcrowding that it was never looked on again with affection. My personal favourite was the one that opened to show pictures of Czar Nicholas and his family, I just loved this one and was sad to see it too as I know not long after this egg was given to his wife they were exiled and eventually killed.
The Metro
Who would ever have believed a trip to a metro station would be so good. This metro exhibits many typical Soviet decorations , designs and artworks, making it one of the most attractive and elegant metros in the world. Due to its geology the metro is one of the deepest subway systems in the world and during the Cold War threat they were built to double up as bomb shelters and many of them still display features such as blast doors. Stepping onto the moving staircase it seemed to be an endless journey to the bottom but with such beautiful lights and artwork it was fascinating. No graffiti to be seen on these walls at all was a bonus, what a delight a trip to the metro proved to be! All in all it only took us a few minutes out of our schedule but it was well spent.
Stockholm
I would have loved to have visited the Vaasa museum but the bus would only have allowed around two hours to look around and I knew this was not nearly enough time to enjoy it fully. When I feel better I shall return and immerse myself in this museum and enjoy the beauty of this ship that sank just twenty minutes from shore on its maiden voyage. This almost fully intact 17th century ship was built as a warship with 64 guns, more than likely it was top heavy. It remained at the bottom of the ocean for 330 years until it was found and salvaged in the 1960's. Even if you find the word maritime boring I doubt you would with this ship. So beautiful and powerful and such a story to be told, history unfolds when you take your trip around this museum. I had my appetite whetted by my hubby who took a tour around here when he visited Stockholm a year ago. One day I shall see it. It is on my wish list.
Copenhagen.
To be honest I saw very little of this city. We took the shuttle bus in and I spent about around thirty minutes wandering before I knew I needed to get back. I caught the shuttle back on my own and left my husband in the city with his camera. Friends spent time in the Tivoli gardens and said how beautiful it was. Pity I couldn't make it as I should have loved this.
Eating on board
The food was excellent quality. I love that there was very much fresh fruit, I do tend to eat a lot of this so always had plenty for breakfast. We were both good in that we didn't bother with lunch after having had a decent breakfast and didn't bother with afternoon tea. I doubt anyone could have had a complaint about the food or the service, I gave it top marks in my survey.
We were blessed with two very lovely people at our dinner table. We had stated we wished to dine at a table for two. We are not anti social but we knew my condition makes it hard sometimes for me to stay long over meals, We were surprised therefore to find ourselves at a table for four and we were told we could change the following day. On meeting our table companions it quickly became clear that we were going to get on like a house on fire and John and Dianne became two lovely people we looked forward to spending time with for our evening meals. One day I missed dinner, needing a duvet day as stated above but my husband felt in no way out of it with them both. We have exchanged contact derails so hope to keep in touch.
Brexit
All the furore of this is behind us now and rightly or wrongly the decision has been taken to leave the EU so now our politicians need to stop bickering like children in a playground and get on with the job we pay them for, running the country. We talked to people for America on our cruise who had been watching the vote and they said they applauded when we got the vote to leave. They too wished they could be in a similar position in their country but we also spoke to people who wished the vote had gone the other way and now despaired for our country, Only time will tell but I hope all the racism that has reared its ugly head stops now and we can settle down again.
Preparing for our Scottish trip
So here we are, home again and a busy time ahead as we are getting ready to begin our tour of Scotland, The Scottish 500 miles it is called and we aim to leave a week on Thursday. Our friend who had believed he would not be able to join us due to a health issue has been given the green light so he will now be with us, good news this. Lots to do, not least ensuring my tablets are ordered and collected from the various places they come from. All my ph family will know just what a task this is, to get four weeks supply all made up and put in their various slots in my medicine cases, if I forget anything then trouble lies ahead. I have rung the chemist and ordered yet another load so shortly there will be many packets and boxes laying around the table whist I get my head around them all. My Health care at Home delivery is due on Wednesday so all should be in place by Thursday.
So much banging is going on outside my window. The scaffold which has been up for months now whilst we were waiting for the builders to do a job is at last being removed. Our windows are filthy, and I mean filthy with all the dirt and cement dust from the planks they walk on. It will be a major task to clean the windows as all the casings surrounding them need to be cleaned very well too. I feel that I shall give this task to our cleaner when she arrives on Thursday (she has said in the past she will do it) there will be plenty of time for her to clean the house again before our return. I look forward to looking out of clean windows to the park outside instead of the ugly metal structure that has been my view for so long.
Funny lady ....... Gone
Sadly we lost yet another person well known throughout the UK for her brilliant sit coms The Royle Family, Mrs Merton and The Fast Show. Caroline Aherne died alone at home as her condition deteriorated more quickly than anyone could have known. Having been born with cancer she has battled all her life with one form or another. She lost her battle for life to cancer of the lung. She made many of us laugh until we cried, yet she herself suffered many bouts of depressions and seemed unsure of her place in the world. I for one will miss her wit and comedy, her one liners were legendary and will never be forgotten. Rest in peace Caroline.
Tennis
I did get to watch a little tennis whilst on holiday when I was resting and saw Andy Murray safely come through to the semi finals. We have lost number one seed now, Novak Djokovic so let's hope Andy manages to pull everything out of the bag and win at Wimbledon again, would love it as I love this young man.
Izzy
We saw Izzy yesterday as her mom and Chris are house hunting and we went to view one they are thinking of putting an offer on. So lovely to see her and she was excited to see us again. A few days before we came home we received a text message from my daughter asking if we would ring when Izzy was home from school as that morning she had cried and said she missed her grandad. Of course we rang her and was able to FaceTime her so we saw her face light up with joy when she saw her beloved grandad. She told me she wanted a harmonica so I said I would buy one for her birthday. Anyway I saw one in a toy shop for the grand total of £2 so I bought it her. She was thrilled and hugged it to her chest as her face lit up with joy. We were delighted to see her and I wonder just how I will cope being away from her for almost four weeks! Thank goodness for face time.
As I had very little wifi on board the ship I sadly didn't get to keep in touch with you all as I like to. I hope you are all as well as can be. Thank you for reading my rambling blog, can't get my head around things yet, it takes a few days to catch up when being away from you all but I will in he next day or two.
Take care everyone, please click like if you liked this log and share if your choose to. I am happy to be back where I can keep up with all the goings on!
Warm love to you all
Carole xxx
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