31 May
There is no shortage of activities should we choose to participate – the programme offerings stretch to three pages every day. Musicians, including a harpist and pianists play in various locations, producing a genteel ambiance. Our activities have fallen in three areas thus far:
Wellness Centre
We have been making daily use of this – for gym, yoga or early morning and evening stretches. After more than two months on the road, Peter indulged in an urgently needed haircut, and Lynne a pedicure and a manicure to repair her finger nails, which kept catching on the various zips on her rucksack and bumbag.
We also had a massage but more than three times the price of those we had had in Bali and India – and not appreciatively better!
Lynne also undertook a course of acupuncture in the hope that she could alleviate the pain in her hip and start to run again. Not carrying her 15.5kg rucksack for two weeks will no doubt help!
The Royal Court Theatre
Every night there is a show. We are quite selective but have enjoyed some of the entertainers. There are also interesting lectures during the day. The theatre occupies 3 decks and seats up to 850! It’s impressive how the dancers make the stage look bigger than it is. The band is consistently excellent with a very punchy brass section.
Promenades
We seek the sense of being at sea, either by walking around the outside decks or sitting on our balcony. The weather has turned chilly and damp, so we are glad of the rain jackets and warm clothes that had been tucked away in our rucksacks.
We are certainly finding that we have more time at our disposal without constant access to the internet. Lynne has finally persuaded Peter to take a ballroom dancing class; the beginners’ quickstep, not the best to start with. The class was so well-attended, we had to split into 2 groups. Despite having the benefit of watching the other group learning the steps, we struggled to keep time to the music, as did everyone bar the professional dance teachers! We haven’t found it quite so challenging in the late night disco.
