Going Solo.
Category: Cruise Ships
Kerkyra. Corfu, Greece.
Another cruise stop back in August.
It was a lovely little town . The last time I was in Corfu was on an 18 -30 holiday in 1983 when I was 17! Then I’d was all beach and mountain jeeps. I wandered around the town reminiscing and reflecting.
Split. Croatia.
Next port of call on our travels was Split in Croatia.
Split was a whole mash up of architecture and history: ancient ruins, open-air flea markets, centuries-old cathedrals; a cobblestone city frozen in time. And just beyond the Adriatic Sea, with it’s picturesque beaches and turquoise waters.
A wonder around a very hot Split, sustained by the best ice creams ever and back to my ship for the next port of call.
Valletta. Malta.
Today I took a huge walk down memory lane when I re-visited the cut of Valletta in Malta. I spent time here as a teenager with my Parents in the early eighties. I had just finished my o’levels and the summer in Malta was a reward for all the hard study I put in.
Valletta is the tiny capital of the Mediterranean island nation of Malta. It’s a walled city dating from the 1500s, built on a peninsula by the Knights of St. John, a Roman Catholic order.
I took the glass lift up to the Upper Barrakka Gardens
When I came in 1982 this was the place where the local people would come out to socialise in the evenings, walking around in their best clothes, chatting, flirting and generally being seen. I loved it. In the day it was somewhere to grab a bit of welcome shade in the heat of the day.
I walked out of the gardens and found the hotel we stayed in; still there, unaltered apart from a vibrant little cafe underneath where I had a coffee and ice cream.
I then wandered the streets, soaked up the atmosphere and the memories before heading to the cruise ship I was due to pick up to travel around the beautiful Mediterranean coastline.
Death In Paradise Christmas Special.
I usually go to the Caribbean after Christmas. Last year I didn’t, for obvious reasons. This year I won’t be either, choosing skiing over sunshine. This Christmas special, however, meant I spent Boxing Day in the Cazza, with friends old and new 🙂
Lessons I’ve learnt from books.
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.
– H.Jackson Brown Jr., P.S. I Love You
Which is why I travel at any opportunity. I don’t want to regret not seeing somewhere 🧭.?
Together in the UK. Valentine’s Day.
As followers of my blog will know my partner is a musician on a cruise ship with his band Funky Blue. We say ‘goodbye’ a lot ‘Standing on the Docks in Southampton’ (Lennon and McCartney) and ‘Hello’ in lots of different countries as I travel the world to be with him. This year has seen a huge change in our lives. We flew back from Cuba in March and have been together 24/7 ever since. I’ve missed the travelling, but loved having him around.
Wherever we are in the world, together or apart, this is our song- the iconic Mr Louis Armstrong with All the Time in the World.
New Experiences.
“Once a year go someplace you’ve never been before.”
Dalia Lama.
The possibilities are endless. Things can only get better #2021.
More Funky Blue…
“Music is the moonlight in the gloomy night of life”
John Paul Friedrich Richter.
There has been nothing roaring about 2020, but music has been a lot of people’s moonlight in these dark times.
And on that note here is a little bit more from the Funky Blue gig at the Grove Theatre, Eastbourne last month (October 2020).
Funky Blue gigging again. 💙
‘…if you love what you’re doing, you can’t stop. It’s obsessive.’
Labrinth.
Sunday 25th October saw Funky Blue back on their first gig since Lockdown in March. Held at the Grove Theatre in Eastbourne, East Sussex in front of an invited audience this intimate gig showed that nothing had been lost in Lockdown.
Many of us have missed live music in 2020 and this felt like a small step in a positive direction. The venue felt safe to be in with all Covid measures in place. Thank you Grove Theatre Eastbourne.
Have a look at the night here…
Funky Blue on tour.
Happier times. Barbados Boardwalk February 2020.
Sadly not playing cruise ships at the moment, due to the worldwide situation. However in rehearsals this weekend for function gigs across the uk, Europe and internationally.
World Photo Day 2020
It’s World Photo Day 2020 (Wednesday 19 August).
World Photography Day is an annual, worldwide celebration of the art, craft, science and history of photography
Here is my Caribbean contribution.
Travelling.
Willemstad waterfront in Curaçao.
The vividly painted architecture lining the Willemstad waterfront in Curaçao did not happen by design. The capital city developed after the Dutch claimed the island in 1634. The only materials available for construction, mismatched bricks scavenged from ship ballast, were finished with lime plaster made from crushed shells, which dried to a dazzling white facade in the intense Caribbean sun. Apparently a former governor of the island suffered from severe headaches and thought this was made worse by the sun’s brilliant reflections off the white buildings. He ordered that building exteriors be painted any color but white. Despite later discovery that the governor was a shareholder in the island’s only paint store, the tradition of painting in vivid colors has endured, making Willemstad’s Dutch and Spanish colonial style architecture a stunning Caribbean sight.
Willemstad, Curaçao, the last of the ABC islands to visit, was the final port of call on our Six week West Indies and American cruise. A cruise that had it’s ups and downs due to the start of Covid-19. Unfortunately although we could dock here, we didn’t get to go ashore. Another time, another cruise…!
Cartagena, Colombia.
Cartagena is a port city on Colombia’s Caribbean coast. The walled Old Town, founded in the 16th century, has squares, cobblestone streets and colorful colonial buildings. It was a South American stop on our Caribbean and American cruise. During the fabulous sail into port my head was full of Pablo Escobar and his drug charged career. This was soon forgotten when we hit the streets of the Cartagena, the Colombian capital. A riot of colour and noise filled the senses and left me reeling. The atmosphere was electric, the weather hot and sultry. My only regret for this beautiful and vibrant city was that I didn’t buy an emerald!
Milly Space 