The Anonymous Widower

My Unused Sunhat

I took a sunhat with me and it wasn’t used.

My Unused Sunhat

My Unused Sunhat

It really wasn’t expected that I would have ten days holiday, with only a few minutes of strong sun.

March 31, 2013 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , | Leave a comment

My Unused Balcony

Except for taking a few pictures, the nice balcony was unused.

My Unused Balcony

My Unused Balcony

It would have been an ideal place to share a drink.

It may look enticing, but I suspect that the temperature was one or two degrees at most.

March 31, 2013 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , | Leave a comment

Promenading On Deck

on the second sea day returning to Southampton, there was an hour or so of sun and I took the opportunity like many others to walk the deck.

Promenading On Deck

Promenading On Deck

I suppose though in the ten days of the cruise, we probably had about three hours of sun.

March 31, 2013 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , | Leave a comment

The Things I Forgot To Bring

I didn’t bring everything I needed on the cruise.

The main omission on my part, was not to bring a thick coat and plenty of cold weather clothing. But at least the jacket I did bring was very waterproof.

I also forgot my temperature and humidity meter from Maplin. It would have enabled me to do some experiments to find the atmosphere that is best for my health.

I also forgot to bring a pack of cards, which I was able to borrow on board. So I spent the last day at sea, playing Canfield.

Playing Canfield

Playing Canfield

And as always, I beat the bank. But then Mr. Canfield in Saratoga Springs made a fortune, as there were more mugs than people like me.

Incidentally, the rules I use, were from an old edition of Hoyle’s Games given to me at about eleven and are tougher than those generally used or indeed given in Wikipedia.

So this might be why, Mr. Canfield made a fortune.

I don’t gamble on cards, but if any casino decided to allow punters to play Canfield, I’d certainly check them out!

I think the only other thing I forgot was a shoehorn.

March 31, 2013 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , | Leave a comment

The Only Sun On March 26th

I did find a bit of sun on March 26th, as we came back from Lisbon to Southampton.

The Only Sun On March 26th

The Only Sun On March 26th

But as you see it wasn’t very strong.

March 31, 2013 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , | Leave a comment

Smoker’s Corner On Oriana

The weather wasn’t good on the way home, with cold winds sweeping the decks.

I thought this might be a good place to shelter, but the smokers had got there first.

Smoker's Corner On Oriana

Smoker’s Corner On Oriana

I suppose I was surprised that smoking was allowed on board.  You just don’t see it in hotels and restaurants these days.

March 31, 2013 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , | Leave a comment

The Only Failure I Saw On Oriana

It was only small really, but this was the only thing I saw that was broken.

The Only Failure I Saw On Oriana

The Only Failure I Saw On Oriana

And it only happened as high winds blew on the way h0me.

March 31, 2013 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , | Leave a comment

Summing Up Lisbon

Lisbon was as I remembered it, when I came here with C twenty or so years ago.

The trams still have their old charm and are sticking up two fingers at the modern age, just as their bigger cousins do in Hong Kong.

Perhaps, I should fly to Portugal and come back by train via Madrid, Barcelona and high speed train back to London.

March 31, 2013 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , | Leave a comment

Lisbon’s Unique Lift

Lisbon is one of the few places I know with a lift to raise you up the hill.

Unfortunately, it was so busy, I decided to give a ride a miss. But I did ride it twenty years ago with C.

I do sometimes wonder, why we don’t see more lift systems like this in cities!

March 31, 2013 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , | 4 Comments

Santa Apolónia Station

Santa Apolónia Station is the station by the Cruise Terminal of the same name.

These pictures show the station and the view from my room looking down on the station.

So if you are lucky and are berthed by the Cruise Terminal, you can use the station just behind it.

March 31, 2013 Posted by | Transport/Travel | , , , , | 1 Comment