2006 World Cruise

2007 World Cruise

2006-12-28T12:39:00.000-06:00

The 2007 world Cruise has begun, so I have created a new blog at called 2007 World Cruise

The first post is 2007 World Cruise: Fwd: (no subject)

CANCER WELLNESS CENTER FAMILY WALK - 4/30/06

2006-04-30T21:22:00.000-05:00

My family will be participating in the Second Annual Cancer Wellness Center Stepping Up to Wellness Family Walk on Sunday, April 30th at 10:00 am at Independence Grove in Libertyville, Illinois.

Please help me in supporting this cause by visiting my fundraising page and making a monetary contribution. ANY amount would be appreciated.

Last year my family was in the top ten for fundraising, and I hope to achieve this again. So again, please help us in surpassing our goal of $500.

If you are in the area and are interested in joining us at the event at Independence Grove on the 30th of April, please post a comment to this blog entry and I will tell you how to register and start fundraising.

I thank you in advanced for your support!

- The Rootbergs

End of the Cruise

2006-04-27T21:05:00.000-05:00

Last sea day. Last day. There were a lot of goodbyes today. There is a benevolent fund for the employees. Passengers had donated $10,000 into it since Egypt. Today there was a white elephant sale. Any junk passengers no longer wanted or could not fit into luggage was donated. Then it was sold to others. One woman paid $1,200 for a T shirt. When it was over there was almost $10,000 more. With these donations they had bought TVs and DVDs for all the crew’s cabins. It has paid for their emergencies and emergency trips home.

We are unexpectedly entering Port Everglades this evening, instead of tomorrow morning. They have given the ship permission for this early entry due to a medical emergency. Someone has to be evacuated and removing them at the dock would be the best for that person. We still will not be able to go ashore until the ship is cleared tomorrow morning. Our van is supposed to be waiting for us at about 11:00 AM.

Bobbi called the dog lady today. She will have Spike ready anytime we want to pick him up. She said he is absolutely wonderful. He is a perfect dog she says, but he already knows that.

This will probably be the last world cruise letter this year but don’t stop writing me. I hope you enjoyed reading about our adventures and experiences. I certainly have enjoyed the comments and notes.

End Of Cruise Sherm Out.

Hamilton, Bermuda

2006-04-25T07:15:00.000-05:00

Hamilton, Bermuda, our last port. Today we had a Virtuoso Voyager Club event. The ship had a very long channel to get to the port. At about 9:30 AM we went down to the dock and met our driver guide and got in our VW mini van. I don’t think we get this model in the states but it was about the size of a US mini van and it had comfortable seating for seven. Real American size seats. There were supposed to be six passengers per van so we took another couple with us. They were from California and quite friendly.
We took a drive around the island. We had not been here in several years and it was good to see that the island was still very clean and everything was well kept. There were some new fabulous homes but basically, everything was pretty much unchanged. We stopped at a house built 300 years ago. It is supposed to be the oldest house in the western hemisphere that is still in the original foot print.

There were many very interesting sights and it was a pleasant drive and our driver was very nice. At about noon she took us to Le Coquille restaurant for lunch. Lunch was excellent. It was only a five minute drive from there to the ship where we were soon dropped off.

We had a lot left to pack so we stayed on board even though we were docked right down town and literally just steps from many stores with good shopping. We spent some time packing, or rather Bobbi packed while I spent some time napping. By 4:00 PM the ship left for the long trip through the channels around Bermuda. We watched out on our balcony for quite a while.

At 6:00 PM we had a party for the whole ship thrown by a passenger named Barbara Clutz. It was held in the atrium on the fourth floor. She called it a stop your packing party. There are still clothes hung up all over the atrium lobby, that were decorations.

At about 6:30 we left the party and went into the dinning room. We were to be a table of eight tonight. The Pritzkers had invited a couple they met today. They turned out to be originally from Chicago and went to Von Steuben. He also had lived in the same area as we do.

Bobbi had given the head chef a recipe for blintzes and he was going to have them served this evening. They had folded them instead of making them into a roll but they did come out very good tasting. That was the end of my new diet. I had seconds and thirds.

Over Blintzed Sherm Out

Rubber Boats (Sea day)

2006-04-24T20:47:00.000-05:00

Sea day. The fifth and last before Bermuda. All night long we had gone slightly south of the best course to Bermuda. That was so we could meet the Regent Navigator at sea on her way from FL to Madeira. At about 10:15 AM we did meet her.

The wind had died down to about nothing but there were some big swells. The captain of the Navigator had been the staff captain of this ship. The two ships did circles around each other and did the horn honking bit. Bobbi likes the loud deep sounding horns. Our ship played music on loud speakers that could be herd for miles. There were many people out on decks on both ships.

It was cool when the other ship got directly along side and the music echoed off it. It sounded like they were playing the same music a few seconds later and a bit softer. Then the Navigator let down an inflatable boat with outboards, as did we. Captain Dag got on and drove it. The two rubber boats raced around between the two ships for a while and then they paged Jamie, the cruise director, to come to the open door to the sea. He got in the water. It had to be cold. The air temperature was only about 65. Then he went skiing up and back between the two ships while Dag drove.

Bobbi was having her hair done at the time. She came out on deck just a floor below our suite. I took pictures of her wearing tin foil on her head. I knew she would like that. Finally, after playing for long enough, the Navigator took off and we did a U turn and went off in the opposite direction.

Tonight we had a party in the main theater. It was only for the world cruisers. They played part of a DVD they made of our cruise. I saw Bobbi on it twice. They are going to give us a copy of the DVD and then you will all have to watch it. After you watch that you have to watch the 7,000 pictures we took and put on CD. They also have about a dozen kids aboard. They showed tape of some funny stuff they did with them.

The ship’s orchestra played live. They put on a short show with all the singers and dancers from the theater company. There are also two couples that sing and play music, a singer from Latitudes restaurant, a classical guitar player, and two dancers. They all preformed and many from the crew sang. Jamie and the captain sang a couple of songs together. They better not give up their day jobs. Jamie read some comments from passengers. He had requested them and Bobbi had taken a couple of my blogs, that I send you, off the internet, and submitted them. There too were many sent in to be able to read them all, but he did include the two of mine. There was a third that was exactly the words I sent you and a fourth that was very close. I wonder if there are a couple of people plagiarizing my on line blog. I know of two on board that know about it. Anyhow, I guess my blogs must have been funny because they got big laughs.

It was a really good show and not one person left during the two hours it was on. I am going to miss this constant entertainment and some of the great people.

Happy Cruiser Sherm Out.

Sea Day

2006-04-23T18:53:00.000-05:00

Sea day #4 to Bermuda. The ocean is rough again today. We had a bunch of good lectures today. There was one on the Bermuda triangle. I have been following this subject for many years and I can tell you, this guy knew less then nothing. It was like he put this subject in to sell himself onto the ship. He said he had never even been in the Bermuda triangle. His big claim to fame was that he helped develop Bold and something else for Proctor and Gamble before he retired and did lousy speaking. All he had was a list of some ships that went down under mysterious circumstances. He never even read any of the good books on the subject. However: There may be something to this Bermuda Triangle stuff. Cousteau is getting off in Bermuda so he will not have to go through the Triangle.

Tonight we had dinner in the crew’s galley. The Kapels had too much to eat for in room appetizers and did not come. It was just for the world cruisers. We had to bring place mats they had delivered to our rooms to gain entrance. There are crew members from over 50 countries on the ship so we had to come dressed with something we had picked up in one of the countries we visited. The only thing we had that hadn’t been packed and removed from out suite was the two hats we bought in Madeira. If you remember, they were the ones with the long hard tassel sticking straight up.

We went into a couple of crew’s quarters on the way to dinner. They were a little bigger then the first cabin we had ever cruised in, but now I couldn’t spend a night in them even on a bet. One did have a port hole. Our first did not. They were less then one quarter the size of our present suite.

Food was buffet style. One line had German and Philippine. Another had French with a chef making Fois Grau , or however you spell it, to order. There was a counter with a sign that said Chicago Hot Dogs. However, They were not. There were various kinds of sandwiches. Captain Dag was manning the smoked salmon bar. He was slicing up different kinds of the salmon. Of course there was a desert line with fruits and pastries. There was the Italian line. They had three chefs cooking pastas and sauce. Good sauce needs some good wine. I guess good chefs must need good wine also. They were sure sampling it often enough. That must have been, to make sure it hadn’t gone bad or something, I’m sure. Whenever it got slow, they were making each other bowls of pasta and eating it with plenty of wine to wash it down. They seemed to be having a good time. It was a lot of fun and the food was very good.

Madeira Hat Sherm Out.

Two Days until Bermuda

2006-04-22T18:52:00.000-05:00

Sea day. Two more to go until Bermuda. The sea has been rough all day but has started to let up a little this evening. The bridge said we were having waves averaging 18 to 23 feet.

They removed the three crates and two rolling duffels full of junk, from the room, that Bobbi calls needful things. Maybe we will see them again when we get off. Maybe not. We are scheduled to get off at 10:40 AM on the 28th but they are lucky if they are within an hour and a half. My slave is ordering us a van to meet us then, I hope.

We’ve had some very good lectures the last few days. Lou Harris of the Harris polls is doing political stuff. Bill Miller is doing some really interesting stuff about cruise and passenger ships from the earliest to the future. Michelle Cousteau is here. He has Hi Def pictures and is doing stuff about the underwater national parks of the US. There will be Hi Def stuff of his on public TV in the next few months.

Betcha didn’t know there are 13 US underwater national parks covering some vast areas. The last one he did was Hawaii. They filmed a commercial fishing boat doing illegal fishing. They called the Coast Guard who sent a plane and then a cutter to arrest them and confiscate the boat.

He told of some other good stuff like the Japs are on the security committee of whatever international organization sees to it that endangered species are not being fished out. That is exactly like putting the wolf in the hen house. They admit to killing and taking whales but claim it is only for scientific studies. It seems that their studies consist of selling whale on the open market and they are even finding canned whale for sale. The same with other endangered species including Porpoise which they openly net and fish for. Norway also kills and fishes for all of the above.

Crusader Sherm Out.

Sea day

2006-04-21T18:04:00.000-05:00

Sea day two crossing the mid Atlantic. Today we talked to the cruise consultant. We decided to take an eleven day cruise before the world cruise next year. It runs from December 29, 2006 to January 9, 2007. Both are on the Regent Seven Seas Voyager as is the one we are now on. We had to do this to get the onboard booking discount. January ninth is just too late when it gets so crowded around us in Miami, that time of year. The Kapels signed up also.

This evening we had dinner with the couple from Virtuoso. The Pritzkers joined us also.

Cruising Sherm Out.

Funchal, Madeira, Portugal

2006-04-19T20:13:00.000-05:00

Funchal, Madeira, Portugal. Madeira is an island owned by Portugal. Funchal is the capital city and most of the island. When the island was discovered many, many moons ago it stunk from fennel. The herb grew wild all over the island. Funchal means island of fennel. Now you can’t say I never learned you nutin.

From about the 1890s until the 1940s, Madeira was a popular wine. It comes in regular and sweet. It is priced by years of aging. Standard is the two year old stuff. Better is five years old and very good is ten years old. Ten year old is quite pricey and the two year old is just fine. This is a fortified wine. That means alcohol is added. I think they said about 40 proof or maybe it was percent. Whatever, it’s pretty strong. The white or regular has the wonderful flavor of turpentine. I have no clue why anyone would drink this paint thinner. The sweet, however, is a whole different thing. It tastes quite good and really has no taste of alcohol at all. Back in those old days, it was known as what we would now call a date drug. I even have an old folk song about this famous wine. It is on an old Limelighters album. The chorus goes, have some Madeira, Madeira, mah dear. Have some Madeira, my dear. And all this time, I’ll bet you never, knew this was an educational session.

This is a pretty small island. The harbor is nice sized for such a small place. There are different areas for commercial, cruise ships, ferrys, fishing boats and private boats. There is a replica of the Santa Maria that takes people for rides. It is supposed to be as close as possible to the original except it has engines. The pier we were docked at was very old and paved with cobble stones. It was clean and in good condition as was the entire island.

The entire island is extremely mountainous. There are many tunnels and bridges and all roads are steep and winding. It looks as if every inch of the island is built on or used for growing something. We were at a sea cliff that is supposed to be the highest in the world. This is a very beautiful place and the weather is perfect. Never too hot or cold. Over 90% of the island income is from tourism and the locals are very friendly. When we were in Lisbon, some time back, this was not the case.

We have been here before so we just took a tour that rode around and refreshed our memories of the island. After a very nice ride on a bus that was really too big for the twisting, winding roads, we were dropped off downtown. Our guide led us to a wine lodge. They gave us samples to try and then when we asked about the good stuff for purchase, they gave us more. Bobbi became very happy. Bobbi bought the ten year old stuff. Bobbi also bought two Madeira wine and honey cakes. Sherman got to pay for the wine and cakes. Sherman also got to schlep the wine and cakes back a couple of blocks to where the bus would pick us up. While standing there, waiting for the bus, Bobbi had this big grin on her face. Bobbi was very friendly and gave me a big kiss and said, “I love you.” Bobbi was very drunk. I could now see the value of this old fortified wine. What a bunch of dirty old men they must have had back then.

Once back at the ship we went up for lunch at the buffet and as usual ate far too much. This afternoon there was a segment event for the entire ship. The Kapels did not go. There was a folk band and dancers. There was also supposed to be drinks and several different kinds of local foods to taste. All was held in a huge white tent in some gardens at what was formerly the British Country Club. They had not warned us that they were going to serve tons of food after we had just done lunch on the ship. They came around with many different kinds of foods and drinks of which 90% went to waste. They grow bananas on the island but a different variety then we get. They are the same color and circumference but much shorter. They are very sweet and have a stronger banana taste. We took six back to the ship with us.

Their folk singing and dancing was hysterical. The singer sounded like a screaming, wounded cow. The dancers all wore hats that look like the ones Muslims wear but with a stick, at the center of the top, standing straight up. All were so bad you could not stop laughing. They got many of the people to dance with them.

After restuffing ourselves and taking a bus back to the ship Bobbi had to shop some more at some stands on the dock. We are now the proud owners of two hats with things sticking up on them. Besides the two extra suitcases we bought, we now have four cardboard boxes stuffed with stuff Bobbi just had to have. I know we will never be able to get all this stuff home let alone through customs.

Restuffed Sherm Out

Sea day

2006-04-18T15:58:00.000-05:00

Sea day. It was pretty rough today. Cap. Dag said it was just the normal north Atlantic swell that is almost always there this time of year. It had been very rough a couple of nights ago and we found out that a big window had cracked on the fourth floor from the stress of the ship flexing.

At 11:00 AM we had a town hall meeting in the main theater. The vice president of operations was aboard and he answered questions as did Captain dag. They have a new ship on the drawing board. It will be about the size of this one but the smallest suite will be about 540 square feet. Very, very expensive fares I’ll bet.

There were some real stupid questions and complaints. After it was all over I captured the VP and told him how bad his offices were both in Nebraska and Ft Lauderdale. The absolute worst of any line I have ever been on. If their ships were not the best of any ever, I would not be here. I am sure that made his day. Several others had said the same.

This evening we had dinner in Latitudes. It had been made into a Spanish Bodega. I don’t know what that means but I thought it had said Spanish Bordello. Oh well. I’ll just have to keep trying. We did have a good singer with a three piece band doing Spanish songs and then a Woman Flamenco Dancer. She was mostly naked and did wiggle a lot. She came over to the table and took a picture with me.

Bodega Sherm Out.

Malaga, Spain

2006-04-17T15:17:00.000-05:00

Malaga, Spain. Malaga is a very old port city but the main attraction for this stop is Granada. We‘ve been there, done that. Besides it’s a two and a half hour ride each way.

After breakfast we decided to go to town and see what ever there was to see. The Kapels did not want to. There were several taxis just off the gang plank. Their little union demanded 50 euros for an hour or 40 euros per hour for 2 or more hours. Far too much for my thinking . There were horse carriages there also. They wanted 50 euros for about 45 minutes but they were different.

It was about 60 degrees out but very windy so it felt much colder. I never did find out what our horses problem was but it kept whinnying very loudly.

We went past old well cared for buildings in the downtown area. Several were very impressive. Most were made of large blocks of stone. The city was very clean.

We went past a Tony Roma’s restaurant and a Burger King. We also saw the bull ring and went down the beach area. Obviously this is a place for tourists in the summer. This is the first place in Europe, we have seen, that has a large, very nice beach. All the other popular spots have very narrow and, or very rocky beaches. The street along the beach had many restaurants. Some looked very upscale. There were several Chinese restaurants.

Bobbi enjoyed the carriage ride. She said it was very romantic. That was about it for the day. The captain said we would be passing Gibraltar at about 10:30 PM. We should be able to see the lights.

We have had a death aboard ship today. Actually it was a murder and Muriel did it and has admitted to the killing. Not only did she kill the victim, she ate it up to the waist. That’s half a chocolate bunny and there can be no further reproduction. That’s because she ate the chocolate eggs too.

Carriage Riding Sherm Out

Sea Day

2006-04-16T07:22:00.000-05:00

Sea Day. Last night, when we got back to our room, there was an Easter basket of chocolate eggs and a bunny. Today there was a person sized Easter Bunny in the Atrium on the fourth floor. He was made of bread and was surrounded by Easter eggs and all kinds of chocolates. They were also at each computer in the computer room.

Tonight we dined with Lynn and Nick. Small chocolate Easter eggs were served with everything. The Kapels had been invited to dinner at the hotel manager’s table.

Chocolate Easter Bunny Sherm Out.

Barcelona, Spain

2006-04-15T09:57:00.000-05:00

Barcelona, Spain. We have been here several times before so we didn’t take a tour this time. At about 1:00 PM we took a shuttle to Columbus Square. It is a little over a mile from the ship. There is huge statue of Chris in the center of a very busy traffic circle. It looks to be about 100 feet tall. In an open area there were a dozen or so tables set up like a flea market. When I say junk, that’s what this stuff was. All real junk. There were 100 year old and older cameras and pictures and all kinds of other useless junk and do dads. Absolutely nothing you would want to buy. As if they had cleaned out their attics and tried to sell what should have been thrown out.

The old buildings in the area are elegantly built and in perfect condition. This is one of the prettiest cities I have ever seen. We were thinking of getting a cab and taking a ride to the Gaudi section. We never tire of seeing his works. We never saw even one cab and just took the shuttle back to the ship.

That evening we had what they called Cocktails and Dinner with Picasso. This was only for those that took the whole world cruise. We met at 6:00 PM and boarded buses to the Gothic Quarter. We entered Casa Llotja de Mar. This is an old castle that has been renovated into a huge banquet hall with 80 foot high ceilings.

There were many people serving drinks and dozens of different kinds of tapas that never stopped. Dinner was a little unusual. First was soup. First they put a cold poached egg in a soup bowl in front of you. Next they poured potato soup into the bowl. Then they served round hunks of chicken with apple and onion in the center. The first dessert was fruit salad with peach sorbet. After dinner we were going to walk to the Santa Maria del Mar, one of Barcelona’s finest Gothic Churches, ablaze in light especially for our visit. I copied that last sentence from the brochure. Instead of going on to the church and the museum there was the option of taking a bus back to the ship. The Kapels did go back.

It was a walk of a couple of blocks over pretty rough cobble stone side walks. The church was huge and the exterior architecture was very nice. The interior had ceilings several stories high. The walls looked very plain with smooth blocks of gray stone. The interior wasn’t much. From there we walked several blocks to the Picasso Museum.

We toured the museum, in small groups, each with separate guides. After about a couple hours of that we went to a large room in the museum. It was time for dessert number two. There were more slaves walking around serving tons of different kinds of chocolates, cakes, brownies, fruits, ice cream and you name it. Now came the best part. the walk to the bus.

There was a separate guide, a cute girl form the ship, to walk just Bobbi and I to the bus. It was only a four block walk and should have been no problem, but big problem. Just as we got outside it started to sprinkle a little. As we got a little further it started to rain. Then came the lightning and thunder. By the time we got a block away it was coming down in buckets. The poor girl had only a light sweater which she tried to hold over her head. It was no help at all. I had no problem. I was wearing a suit jacket and of course my long afro hairdo kept the rain from bouncing off my scalp and running into my eyes, NOT. Our Idiots from the ship had managed to totally screw up an otherwise beautiful event. Not one of the dummies thought of having umbrellas. The ship has hundreds.

Totally Soaked Sherm Out

Sea Day

2006-04-15T07:20:00.000-05:00

Just another sea day. Nothing out of the usual so it is lesson time.

Anywhere on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the equator, is the north Atlantic. However, there are three main routes across this ocean.

The northern route is from northern Europe or Great Britain to New York or north. That’s the route that is considered the roughest and most dangerous. That is the route the Titanic took and most of the sea traffic to and from Europe before the advent of the jet plane.

What is called the middle route or Mid Atlantic route is from southern Europe or Madeira to about the latitude of Bermuda. This route is considered less likely to have very rough seas and almost never an iceberg. That is the route we are now taking. So far it has been totally calm since we left Madeira. From the mainland to Madeira, it had been quite rough.

Last is the Southern route. That one takes you to a latitude past the Canaries Islands and over to Barbados. That’s the one we will take back should we take the world cruise again next year. It is supposed to be the smoothest.

Another day, another fact.

Factual Sherm Out

Monte Carlo, Monaco

2006-04-14T21:35:00.000-05:00

Monte Carlo, Monaco. We docked at about 7:00 AM. We were at the harbor right at the Royal Palace. There were many yachts here, well over 100 feet long. In the past we had been at a harbor just out of this area.

As we had been here a couple times in the past, we elected to just get a tour that rode around the outskirts and saw a few attractions that were not in town. The tour was scheduled to leave at 1:30 PM. We arrived ten minutes early only to find the bus almost full.

At the rear were about five old women sitting with their legs up across two seats each and they were not about to move unless forced. On top of that, these seats were smaller and closer together then any we had encountered. This was not for me. Art said there was no leg room for him either if he couldn’t have two seats. So off the bus we went and after a small hollering session I was given back our tickets which I returned for a refund.

There were no taxis at the dock so that was about it for the day. We just went back to doing the usual stuff we did aboard.

Seat Less Sherm Out

Rome, Italy via Civitavecchia

2006-04-13T14:27:00.000-05:00

Civitavecchia, Italy. Port city for Rome. We have been all over, through and around Rome and a bunch of the area around. It is normally an hour and a half ride from the port to Rome. This is Easter week. It will be a mob scene and take twice as long. We decided to just go into the port town and walk around.

It was very cold this morning, about 48 degrees when we got up. The sun was out brightly so I kept delaying going out until it got a little warmer. By the time I got done waiting for it to get warm out, it was already lunch time. Gotta have lunch.

After lunch we finally went ashore and got on a shuttle bus for the 3 block walk into town.

Oh darn! You have no idea how upset I was. By the time we got there all the stores were closing up for nappy time and would not reopen until about 4:00 PM. We would be unable to buy a thing. How sad. I don’t know how I will ever get over it. That’s two days in a row this most terrible thing has worked out just right, I mean befell us.

We walked around for a while and went back on the shuttle. Today is the first day we get free internet so I spent some time there.

Highly Disappointed Sherm Out

Sorrento, Italy (via Napoli)

2006-04-12T21:58:00.000-05:00

Sorrento, Italy, NOT. We were supposed to anchor at about 7:30 AM. When they did anchor they found it was far too rough to use the tenders, not to mention the ship bouncing around.

The night before had been very rough too. Many were sea sick and more were taking all kinds of remedies and preventives for “ill de mare.” (French meaning sick of the sea).

AT about 8:30 AM captain Dag came on the intercom and told us the bad news, but he had good news too. We were going just an hour down the coast to Napoli. (Naples). Most of the tours would still be able to run and now we could dock instead of anchor out and have to tender in.

The Dag also gave us some interesting news about the day before. It seems we had been about ten minutes from passing on the port. Originally we were supposed to use the ships tenders. Then as we were anchoring they said we couldn’t use them and had to use the local boats. They were supposed to provide four of them but they only held 40 people each and who knew how safe these old pieces of junk were. Cap Dag said he offered to pay for their tenders and use ours. They had to be a real bunch of jerks and just liked the idea of pushing us around. When we were ready they now only had two of them. It would have taken all day just to unload the ship. Just as we were about to leave, they changed their minds again and said we could use both the ships tenders and the rented ones. I might not get off here if we do go again. I found the locals to be a bunch of unfriendly jerks both this time and several years back.

The reason we originally were supposed to go to Sorrento is that it is mostly a very pretty tourist area on a pretty coast line and is closer to the pretty costal drives and scenery. Naples is a large and somewhat unsafe city with few tourist attractions.

We did not like any of the tours offered and decided to see if we could get a cab or van on our own. We found a guy with a nice large, new Nissan van. He spoke perfect English with just the right amount of Italian accent. He had a good sense of humor and we joked up and back all day.

The big attraction had been the Amalfi drive. A drive along a breath taking coast toward Sorrento. We also went through a few very long and winding tunnels through some mountains.

Once in Sorrento we realized it was lunch time. Our driver guide, Mario, took us to what was supposed to be the best restaurant in town. The restaurant was very nice looking. Just how you might picture a large Italian bistro. The help was friendly and they too joked with us. I have not been able to find good pizza in Florida and the stuff on the ship had been mostly just okay. Muriel thought a small pizza might not be enough so she ordered antipasti too. The waiter suggested she have the pizza first and then get the antipasti if still hungry.

They had individual pizzas listed on the menu but they seemed a little expensive for just a small pizza. 8 to 10 Euros. Euros were about $1.25. We each ordered one anyway. When they came they were huge. They were very good but no one could finish theirs, except Muriel and Bobbi.

As we were leaving the restaurant we met other people from the ship. They too were advised to go to this restaurant.

By the time we left it was almost 2:00 PM and closing time for the stores. They would not reopen until 4:00 PM. Oh darn! I was so disappointed. There was going to be no shopping.

On the way out of town, Mario took us down many winding, tiny, very interesting, back streets. Once back to Naples he showed us the few old buildings, of interest, in town. We then went down many teeny, tiny back streets and what were really alleys. Some barely the width of the van. There were both houses and stores on these mini streets. If someone were to walk out without looking they would be killed. These old streets loaded with mostly young people and motor scooters were as interesting to see as the rugged cliffs on the drive to Sorrento. We had a great day and it was no over yet. Tonight was the Pesach Seder.

The Seder started at about 6:00 PM. At about 7:00 PM the ship was going by the Isle of Capri. The ship went around the island so close you could reach out and touch it. Too bad the Seder was going on at the same time. Surprisingly the food was good and we all had a good time at the Seder. They had used Bobbi’s recipe for Apple Cake for dessert and it was very good. I read the four questions and Bobbi read a big part at the end.

Seder Sherm Out

Syracuse (Sara Goose Ah) Sicily

2006-04-11T15:58:00.000-05:00

Syracuse (Sara Goose Ah) Sicily. We have been to Sicily before but not at this port. In the past we docked but this time we had to use tenders. We were only here from 9:30 AM to 3:00 PM. Just after we anchored it was announced they changed their minds and decided not to let the ship use it’s own tenders and could only use the local ones so they could make more money on us. That is how it was announced.

We waited to about 10:30 AM to go ashore. Their tenders were old pieces of junk that would only hold 40 people maximum. Once ashore there was pretty much nothing to look at. There were some taxis but they wanted 80 Euro an hour and there was no way I was getting ripped off for that much. There was a horse cart that could seat about 8 and wanted 50 Euro per couple if shared. They wouldn’t take dollars and the bank would not exchange money if you did not have a passport. The ship did not give us our passports.

We just walked over a bridge and when we still saw nothing to see we went back to the ship.

Tonight we all had dinner at Signatures with the Browns from One Island Place in Aventura.. They will be leaving in Rome on the day after tomorrow.

Tonight, at about 10:00 PM we passed the island of Stromboli. The volcano there is erupting and the captain stopped so we could see the fire works at night. It was something to see in the darkness.

On the way back to the room the Rabbi waylaid us and we were shanghaied into reading at tomorrows Seder.

Shanghaied Sherm Out

Katakolon (Olympia), Greece

2006-04-10T07:15:00.000-05:00

4/10/2006

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise. This was supposed to be a sea day but the captain decided to surprise us. At about 10:45 AM he came over the loud speakers and announced that we were going to make a stop at the Greek port of Katakolon, the port town for the city of Olympia. Olympia is where the first Olympics were held.

We were to dock at noon and leave a t 6:00 PM. There was also a letter left on our door with a little further information. There was a second letter for Gold and Platinum Seven Seas Society members. Those are people that have sailed over 75 days with Radisson/Regent, not including this world cruise. They were having a special lunch, for just us, at a restaurant on the waterfront, just a few blocks walk from the ship.

This was just a small port village that must get a lot of tourists because there many little tourist stores and open air restaurants. It is a very typical looking little Med village as you might see on postcards.

There were a dozen or so taxis just at the end of the pier but really no where to go. Olympia is 45 minutes away but there is really nothing to see there, so the taxis sat unused all day.

As we walked by these taxis, on the way to lunch, every single driver had to ask us if we wanted a taxi or if we wanted to go to Olympia. You would think they might have figured out that you did not want to go anywhere when they could plainly hear you tell that to the last several drivers who just asked the same question. But no. Each driver would have to ask every person walking by the same question. Some would even get a little nasty if you just waked and paid no attention to them.

It was only about 60 degrees out but the wind was mild and in the sun it was warm enough to be comfortable as we walked along the waterfront to about the third restaurant in a row. The signs out in front of each advertising exactly the same food items. This little town was quaint and very pleasing to walk around.

Once we got to the restaurant, we had been invited to, Moutagio, there were tables set up and three buffet lines. There were also far too many people to have been all gold and platinum members not counting this year’s cruises. No one was taking names or seeing if there were people that didn’t belong there but there were plenty of tables and chairs.

The food was good and there was plenty. The captain was seated just across from us. He was really stuffing his face. The ships officers were acting as waiters and were bringing around wine, beer, soft drinks and water. I guess they didn’t give the restaurant enough time to hire some help.

After lunch Bobbi and I wondered around the stores on the waterfront and a few blocks on the street just inland. After a while my stomach didn’t feel too good and I started back to the ship. Art had already left. I started to feel a little better just before getting to the ship and stopped to wait to see if Bobbi might be coming. Silly me. There were stores of course. Finally Muriel came by and I gave up and walked back to the ship with her.

Something was still bothering me when Bobbi did finally show up at the room. By about 7:00 PM we went to dinner and met the Kapels at the Veranda restaurant. It was an Italian Bistro again. I had gone to the appetizer buffet intending to get just a drop of stuff to taste but as usual it turned out to be a plate full. The onion rings are always the culprits. After sitting down I had a few bites and believe or not, started felling really bad and left without eating dinner. Yep. You heard it here first. I finally missed a meal. This has got to be a first, at least for this last half century. Something I ate at lunch really didn’t like me. Finally by 10:00 PM or so I felt well enough to type this thing. Looks like I might live after all.

The surprise had made for a very nice day, excepting of course their trying to poison me.

Poisoned Sherm Out

PS Bobbi is going along with the therapy. We are slowly weaning her off of purchasing everything in sight. Just to show she could kick the habit, she bought nothing. However she told me it was a battle. She had found this gorgeous, huge sculpture of a fish. She knew we had no place to put it but that would not have stopped her. Not being able to lift it did slow her down some.

Kusadasi, Turkey

2006-04-09T16:59:00.000-05:00

Kusadasi, Turkey. If you recall, we only went here because the crazy colonel Gadafi of Tripoli, Libya went off on a nut spell for a change and decided no one can visit there anymore. So we didn’t really expect much from this second choice. Boy oh boy, were we wrong.

We had rented a private van with a driver and guide just for the four of us. We left the ship at about 9:15 AM for a 9:30 AM tour. It was a pretty long walk, maybe a couple of blocks, to the end of the pier. At the end of the pier was a very nice, new building, with some shops, they make you walk through to get out. Just outside is a parking lot for buses and vans to pick up cruise ship passengers doing tours. Ours was a VW mini bus for just the four of us and the driver and guide. There is nothing like it in the US. Our names were plastered on a large sign attached to the windshield. It would have been pretty hard for us to miss it.

Our guide was nice enough and did try hard but I found him hard to understand due to his accent.

The parts of the city we went through were very clean and modern looking. There were a few resorts lining the Sea and no poor or rundown area in sight. The roads were two lane but not overly crowded and they were in very good shape and well made. The driving was far less crazy then in Egypt and most of the other places we have visited.

One of the seven wonders of the ancient world is the Temple of Diana. All that is left now is a lone column which we stopped to take pictures of.

The main attraction here is the Ancient city of Ephesus. It took about 20 minutes to get there. We keep visiting unbelievable sights and then thinking, after seeing each, we can never be as amazed again. I am not sure, anymore, which has been the most amazing, but this one is surely different and in the running.

This city was started by the Greeks sometime BCE. It was originally on the sea shore but over the years, the river it was also on, silted up, filled in to make some land, and changed course. It is now about five to ten miles inland.

Over several centuries it was taken over by different peoples and governments. One good part is, the walking is all down hill. You start at one end and the van goes around to pick you up at the bottom.

The city lies in a valley between two mountainous areas. In around the sixth century there was an earth quake that caused the mountains to come tumbling down and bury the city. For about the last 124 years, they have been excavating and restoring whatever and wherever possible.

It starts out as Greek then the construction goes to Roman style and on and on. You would never think they had the technology to build the intricate buildings let alone the infrastructure. Running under the main road was a vast sewer system well constructed and still able to work today. There were viaducts, with fresh water from the mountains, leading to the city, and then connected to clay tile pipes that ran to every building.

The buildings had central heating. There were a series of clay pipes under the stone floors that could heat and circulate hot water. There is a huge public bath. There are several fountains.

There is a large men’s bathroom with rows of toilet seating, cut key shape, in slabs of stone. There is a huge library with a menorah sign carved on a marble step that points to the synagogue. There is an amphitheater that had been increased in size by different peoples over the years to finally seat 24,000 people. There is even a brothel. Along the street there are signs showing the way to it from the original harbor. Most could not read so the signs were in picture form. This was a picture of a woman’s foot carved into the marble walks. There was an arrow next to it and another small picture saying, no money – no honey.

A very nice thing we found was they must be good to the animals and the people must not be too poor. We came across a dog lying on the main walk or road through the old city. He was very well fed, friendly, and not at all afraid or timid when people approached and pet him. Further along the way a cat walked to the same road and sat and let people pet her. She too was well fed and both were clean and not bug infested.

Again, trying to describe this place, as with the others, cannot do it justice. Pictures help a little but not much. We walked through about two miles of the old city and could have spent a month and not seen nearly all that is dug up so far.

Next it was my biggest bargain of the day. It was time for a rest stop . It said there was a 50 cent charge but the guide got the two girls in for free.

Naturally there were shops at the ends of the city and naturally Bobbi and Muriel had to buy more junk. Then it was back to the van.

We then drove back toward the city. We drove just past the dock area where the ship was and to a carpet factory. Shortly before entering the city, our guide got a cell phone call. His attitude changed some after that. Now he was telling us that we had to take all of our belongings with us as the tour was over and we would have to walk back.

It had been about 58 degrees out when we left. It had warmed up quite a bit and was hot in the sun. We were all carrying jackets not to mention the bags of junk the girls bought on top of which I did not want to see or buy any carpets. I said we would have to return to the ship. About then a woman came up and motioned our driver to move the bus and pull up to a parking area. She then boarded and started tearing our name signs off the inside of the windshield. Obviously they had gotten another job and they thought they would cheat us out of an hour of our tour. I had no desire to see anything more as there wasn’t anything worthwhile left to see anyhow. So we went back to the dock where there were still people from the ship’s tour desk. I made a complaint of being ordered out of the bus an hour early and later I met the tour director on the ship. He said they claimed we voluntarily gave up the bus and noted my earlier complaint and returned one quarter of our tour costs.

Just past the dock parking lot there were tons of nice stores. Maybe a hundred or more of various types. After returning to the ship for lunch, Bobbi and Muriel needed a further shopping fix. I do not have that affliction and had no desire to see any more either. We already have more junk then will fit in all our luggage and the two large new pieces I bought. That fact does not slow them down for even a split second and off they went.

Several hours later, carrying more bags of junk, they were late getting back to the ship. They said they were not worried about the ship leaving without them because the captain was with them. Then to add insult to injury, Bobbi shows me the 7 boys leather jackets she bought. Upon which I asked who they were for. She says her grandchildren of course. All the boys. My next question was, did someone have one you forgot to tell me about? First I get a blank expression then she is mumbling something while counting on her fingers. Finally she says, oh yeah. I guess I got one too many.

This is getting serious. Shopping is like a drug for them. If they get too much they blow their minds. I can now see it is far too late for Bobbi. I am not sure if it is better to take them off it cold turkey or to wean them off it gradually. I decided cold turkey was best so we just left Turkey. Ha, ha. Okay. That was terrible.

Terrible Sherm Out

Suez, Suez Canal, Port Said, Egypt, and the Mediterranean Sea

2006-04-08T15:09:00.000-05:00

Suez, Suez Canal, Port Said, Egypt, and the Mediterranean Sea. We had been at anchor in Suez, all night, waiting our turn to join a convoy through the canal. It is not wide enough for ships to pass, in some locations, so they only go in one direction at a time. After getting our clearance, we joined a convoy at about 6:00 AM. There were 28 ships in our convoy. We were number 7 and the 6 ships in front of us were all US Navy. Normally there is a stop with a layover of various times in a lake at about the middle of the canal. As our convoy was with the US Navy, there would be no stop. We went right through. The US Navy gets priority. All the Navy ships also get tugs accompanying them in case they have to maneuver in tight spaces.

The east side of the canal is the Sinai Peninsula and is almost all sand and totally barren. The west side is Egypt. In many places it is very green with various types of farms. There are also some small towns along the way. There is one tunnel under the canal and a bridge or two. In populated areas there are free ferries.

At one point there is a monument celebrating their great victory in the 1973 Yom Kippur war. I guess their history is just a little mistaken. It seems to me, actually I remember very distinctly, they got their butts kicked so badly, the US and Russia had to step in to stop Israel from going all the way to Cairo. But then again, that’s how the Egyptians have been recording their losses in wars since the Pharaohs. The hieroglyphics tell of Pharaohs victories where they really got their butts kicked too. Why change now?

Along almost the entire length, there were soldiers, in various numbers, lining the west bank. I guess they want to make sure no one steals the canal or maybe it’s the sand they are protecting. There must be a big shortage.

Port Said is at the far north end of the canal, at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. There is nothing special to see or do there and it is really just a fueling station for ships. Shortly before entering Port Said harbor there is a fork in the canal. The Navy ships took the right fork which leads directly out to the Mediterranean as we took the left fork to the harbor.

Originally this was just supposed to be a very short stop, only to pick up passengers, who took an overnight Cairo trip from Suez. Now we had several hours as we made better time then expected. There was an announcement aboard that we could get off for a short time if we wanted.

By the time the ship docked and put down the gang plank, out of nowhere, appeared dozens of vendors setting up tables. The port area where we were docked was bordered by buildings that kept you from entering the city. There was a large gate but it was locked, so you had no choice of where to go if you did walk off the ship.

Besides the usual tourist garbage they had some weird stuff here. Bobbi tried to buy some Rolex knock offs. Naturally she needed many. The vendor didn’t have enough with him but left three with her as he went to get more. I walked over to Bobbi and started to try setting the watches to see if they ran. I was zero for three, so we put them down on his table and walked on. Nothing was a bargain, that I saw, but I forgot to bring a small calculator and our large one was to clumsy to carry. I really drove a hard bargain and got a great price. From $10 I finally got him all the way down to $2. I know that back home they are $1.50 at Walgreen’s but they won’t haggle there and where’s the fun in that.

They had all kinds of power and hand tools along with steel pipe and lots of other stuff cruise ship passengers would not buy. It must all be stolen off cargo ships.

Remarkable! We only spent $2 there and Bobbi really spent nothing. I think this is a first for her. The first time ever she has gone to a port from a ship and bought nothing.

Great Deal Sherm Out

Suez, Egypt

2006-04-06T09:00:00.000-05:00

Suez, Egypt. This is really just a commercial port town with nothing of interest to tourists. We made a stop here for those wishing to take an overnight bus trip to Cairo. We intend to do a world cruise again next year and that one goes to Cairo, so no use for a long bus trip today.

There is a shuttle into town but there is nothing but a grocery and a few stores for the locals. This is, however, the filthiest port we have been in yet. The entire dock is covered with oil.

Nothing special happened today but I did get a letter of inquiry that you might like to see, or not. Here it is anyhow.

This is the email to me:

You did not mention if you ran into Charleton Heston (Moses) while you were there. Did any of the locals offer you Matza ? Inquireing minds want to know. It is the season!
Marty

This is my reply:

No, Chucky was no where to be found, however, funny you should mention. According to the bible, Petra is the place where Mo hit a rock with his staff and made water come out. Mo’s brother is also buried there. We saw the monument at the top of a mountain. I don’t have my papers here and I can’t remember if Mo’s brother’s name was Larry or Curley.

There is an awful lot of sand but I don’t know how anyone could get lost for 40 years here. It is an awfully small desert. I think the navigator must have been fooling around and was afraid to go back to his wife.

Found no matzo but the pita at lunch was great.

Resting Sherm Out

Aqaba, Jordan

2006-04-05T21:02:00.000-05:00

Aqaba, Jordan. At 8:45 the four of us left to board our private van. The main attraction is Petra, about two hours away. So far we have been very lucky with guides and drivers. This one was no exception. This one had a PHD in Political Science and was doing guide work. His English was perfect and you could see he was very intelligent as well as very nice. The kind of person that might be a friend under different circumstances.

It was a lot cooler then we thought it would be. Muriel was freezing even though she had a jacket. This guy, Sami was his name, took off his jacket and insisted she wear it, which she did all day.

The roads here were the best we have seen in the mid east. We were on a four lane divide highway going across mainly desert. There were mountains in the distance which soon became near. The city of Petra was actually up in the mountains. As we entered the city it was very hilly and the roads were narrow and very winding.

We drove to a gate that led to the ancient city. After paying admission there was a two mile trail to get to the first ruin. No problem it was all down hill and all paved. Big problem. It had been paved by the Romans and never improved or kept up since.

Our friendly tour director on the ship, Roger, told us about the horse drawn carriages we could hire for the ride. He should only be spit on by a thousand camels.

We did hire those carriages. The word carriage describes the things we rode as closely as limousine describes a roller skate. Old falling apart sulky is accurate. That is a two wheeled cart with very hard bicycle tires and no suspension of any kind.

It was all rocks and slabs of rock. It was very busy because of the ship load of tourists and they were making the horses gallop over this pile of rubble. Muriel started screaming to be let out until the camel jockey finally stopped and let her out. These things were made for just two people but these rag heads had to crowd in next to you because they were going so fast. Uncomfortable does not even come close to the ride. Extreme pain and injury is accurate.

We had been going through a pass through the weirdest mountains I have ever seen. In some places it got so narrow, only four people at a time could squeeze by. The ceiling would close in at times and it would be like a tunnel. The mountains themselves looked as if they were the phony kind you see in some zoos. They were very smooth and looked like they had been poured and free formed out of concrete. This had been a very easy place to defend. No army, no matter how large, could come crashing in.

Finally we came to the end of the cart ride at a wide opening in the mountains. We thought we had seen the most amazing stuff that ever was built by man. Wrong again. Carved into the mountain, 130 feet tall, was the front of the US treasury building. It does look a lot like it. It too had been prepared as a tomb but never used and no doors had ever been attached. Inside was just a large empty room with several smaller ones to the sides.

Further down the trail was a town like area with small houses cut into the mountain and even further down was a large open air amphitheater with seating for thousands. Again, you could see it, feel it, walk in and on it, but still not believe it.

Besides the people from the ship there were tons of young local girls from different schools in the area. Many wore uniforms and traditional head dress but many also wore western style clothes. A few got so brazen they even said hello but their friends would drag them away as if they would be eaten or something. When we were standing on the front steps of the treasury like building, a group of three walked up to Bobbi and I and said hello. One of them was dressed in western style clothes with blue jeans and a sweater. The other two wore babushka like things and long dress like uniforms. The western dressed one was doing all the talking. She asked us where we were from and said she had relatives in New Jersey. She was 18 years old, very nice, and seemed very bright.

In this area there were all kinds of very nasty vendors constantly bugging you. There was a guy with two camels selling rides or rather a photo opportunity on a camel. There were also mules to rent to go down the trail to the coliseum or part way up to where you could rent horses.

Going back up the trail was just as much fun, not. We had paid for round trips and we had to take the cart back if it killed us and it felt like it was doing just that. Our poor guide had to walk both ways. We would have been there all day had he not gotten us a couple of carts out of turn.

Right near was a place he recommended for lunch. The food was good and very reasonable. We offered to buy Sami, our guide, and the driver lunch also. He could have ripped us off for the $10 each but said they gave him lunch for free for bringing us there.

Just down the street was a junk store he recommended. Their profits went to a woman’s relief organization or so a sign said. Bobbi bought all kinds of stuff I never saw or knew we needed before. Boy am I lucky or what.

Then it was a two hour ride back to the ship. We saw many tents of nomads. They had flocks of sheep and goats. Where it looked like barren desert, there were really enough tufts of grass and plants to graze the animals. At one point he showed us people still living in an area that had just been flooded by very unusual rains that had drown three people and washed away their belongings and most of their animals. He said there are more rains forecast but they have been living there for as long as they can remember so they keep coming back. He also said most have no desire to improve themselves. The attitude is, what was good enough for their ancestors is good enough for them.

Just the other day the Rabbi’s wife said to me just what I have been saying also. How could these Arabs have been so smart to have been able to construct those monuments thousands of years ago and you don’t see a mind anywhere today.

Non Arab Minded Sherm Out.

Pictures Updated

2006-04-05T11:20:00.000-05:00

I have updated the World Cruise Photo gallery with the latest pictures received from Singapore.

The Photo Gallery can be found here or clicking on the "World Cruise Photos" link under the links section on the right side of this blog page.

Luxor, Egypt day two

2006-04-04T21:01:00.000-05:00

Luxor, Egypt day two. We woke up at 6:00 AM for a 7:00 AM breakfast. Breakfast was in the same place as lunch the day before. At 7:45 AM we boarded the bus for the 45 minute ride to the Valley of the Kings. The day before we had been on the east bank of the Nile. The east side of the river is for the living to visit the temples. Today we were going to the west bank where the tombs are. The west side is for the dead.

After a thousand years or so the Egyptians finally figured out that all the pyramids were being robbed as soon as they were finished. They were obviously slow learners. This area called the Valley of the Kings was an area of mountains that were naturally shaped like pyramids. They had the strong belief that they must be buried under a pyramid to be able to make the transfer to the new life. Now, instead of being buried in the pyramid, where everything could be stolen, they were buried far under the pyramids in secret tunnels and passages. If I remember right, there are 62 of these tombs that have been found so far. King Tut was one of only three that got to go to the next life as all the others had been robbed. Tut’s was not meant to be a royal tomb. It was smaller then the others and not decorated like other royal tombs. He had died unexpectedly at a very early age. His head had been hit by a small hard object that made a hole in the skull but hey were very sloppy with the dead back then and they could not tell if this is what killed him or if it happened after his death. At any rate, Tut was not at home. He was out visiting museums around the world. As these tombs were deep in the ground, there had been no light to fade the painted etchings on the walls and ceilings. Some were still in very vivid colors.

After a long, long walk visiting some of these tombs we went to the bus for a short ride to the Queen Hatshepsut Temple. It was a huge building that looked like a modern one. We just took pictures from the outside.

Next it was on to Medinat Habu. We didn’t know it a first but that was where we had dinner the night before. It is second in size only to Karnark’s Temple. Ramses III mortuary temple is here. He was the great builder that built far more then any other ruler. There are carved walls telling the stories of the great battles he won. His version is quite a bit different then what is believed to have really happened. Then we went to see the Colssi of Memnon. Two 60 foot enthroned statues of Amenhotep the third. They originally guarded a mortuary temple but all that remains is the two, now faceless, statues. Then it was back to the hotel to check out and have lunch.

Our guide had been wonderful. Her English was perfect as was her figure. She was about 5 foot one inch tall with jet black, curly hair and was very cute. She had sold necklaces and shirts to many people on the bus. These things were made up overnight with the peoples names written in hieroglyphics. Due to our late return they were not ready in time to be delivered at the hotel and were to be delivered and paid for on the bus.

After everyone got on the bus, two men got on with all the necklaces and shirts. That’s when the fun began. Our guard wore a sport jacket under which you could see was a gun if you knew where to look. When these two guys got on, he jumped up out of his seat with his hand held under his jacket. He hollered something unfriendly, in Arabic, and these two guys turned very white and quickly got off the bus. Now our cute little friendly guide became incensed and jumped off the bus. She went over to some guy that was obviously in charge of security and said something to him. He said something back to her that she must not have liked very much. This little broad started yelling at him in what sounded like babble. She made so much noise he could not get one word in until he finally gave up and did it her way. So kids, our guide, Godia was her name, saved your shirts. That might make you happy, but now I had to pay for them and Bobbi didn’t even get me one.. We checked to see all the names were spelled right in hieroglyphics and they are.

Three and one half hours later and we were back at the ship in our 20 bus convoy. Art was okay now and we met him and Muriel for dinner. We had reservations at Latitudes. It had now been turned into a cabaret. Most of the food was very good but the decorations, the costumes, and mainly the show, was great. We had a band and a lady cabaret singer that was really terrific. We were exhausted but still stayed to the end of the show.

No Shirt on His Back Sherm Out.