And then there was Tallinn

Another day, another port! We had an organized tour at this port as well. We'd signed up for "Countryside Cycling and Old Town Walking Tour". Well, the "countryside" was a circle around a housing development. It was more like riding in Greenbrook Estates than in the Estonian "countryside"! It was a nice day and a great day to be outdoors so we didn't complain too much...UNTIL...they brought us to an open air museum. What it was, was an park where they recreated Estonian country life throughout the ages. 1600s, 1700s, 1800s, etc. We were a little ticked when we were spending soooo much time here. The worst part of the tour were the two families on the tour with us. They were a group of about 10 people, 4 adults and 6 teenage boys. The boys were absolute terrors racing the bikes and skidding out in front of people for shits and giggles. At one point one of them skidded next to me, and I really had to bite my tongue not to give him a verbal lashing, but I figured I was the grown up and his mother should really be the one to discipline the little bastard. Not sure why I thought that though, the parents were almost as bad as the kids! At one point we stopped somewhere for a traditional Estonian snack and some tea, and when everyone was ready to go...all 50 people in the group, the father was in the bathroom. We waited 15 minutes for him---I guess the snack didn't agree with him! At that point the tour guide gave us some free time to wander the park. I knew this was going to be a disaster with the 6 derelicts roaming around. Sure enough, they were late. Not only were the kids late, but the parents as well. The one mother even asked me "Have you seen the boys?". First of all lady, I don't even KNOW you. Second of all, shouldn't YOU know where your own kids are. Instead of saying that though, I just said, "No" and left it alone. The kids finally showed up COVERED in mud...LITERALLY COVERED! They said they fell off a cliff...urgh!

After the whole bus filled, we headed to old town. We were really excited to see the old town as it looked beautiful from the ship when we woke up. When we got there we went into a church and through a few streets to the town center when our tour guide gave us an hour to "do our own thing". At this point we abandoned the tour and went to get some lunch. We wound up at a beer haus, where we each had a liter and some nice bratwurst with sauerkraut. After lunch it was another quick walk around old town and then walking back to the ship. I'd have to say that Tallinn really TRIED to be like Amsterdam, but it was just too small to measure up. Don't get me wrong, it was a very pretty place, just not a whole hell of a lot there.

Day 3: Klaipeda, Lithuania

Our first day was welcomed with open arms! Quite frankly, I was getting a bit of cabin fever, and there are only so many times you can play "Name that Tune" in succession. When we arrived at Klaipeda, I went out to the balcony to get my first impression of Lithuania. Let's just say there's not much to be impressed with, but I figured no port is ever that exciting, so I was still looking forward to our day in Lithuania.

We joined our tour at 10AM and hopped on the bus to the Soviet Nuclear Missile Site. What we didn't know was that we were in for an hour and a half bus trip to a lake first! The four of us were SOO bored at this stop, and quite frankly we weren't sure why we would have stopped there in the first place.




Our tour guide clearly saw how bored we were and must have decided to manage the expectations of the Nuclear Missile Silo. She just kept saying that this was never meant for tourism. When we arrived we were all ready to knock Mike upside the head (this excursion was his pick) when we saw the following:




What a surprise we got though! This was such a cool thing to see. First we climbed down some steps and entered a bunker type building. The Soviet soldiers had teams that used to take 12 hour shifts being in the bunker, being on call just in case they had to shoot the nuke. What I found most interesting is that the Lithuanian government hasn't done anything to upkeep the site. They are waiting for the EU to give them money, but it doesn't seem like that's happening any time soon or at all for that matter. A boy standing in front of me in one of the corridors put his hand on the wall to steady himself--part of the wall crumbled under his hand!

In the rooms where the soldiers slept, they have a few rudimentary exhibits, but the most interesting thing was a poster they had on the wall that showed the soldiers how to identify different military planes from the US, England, Germany, etc. I suppose this was to help them shoot down the right ones!

We went from room to room, seeing the electric generators, exhaust systems, where they stored the fuel, etc. The highlight of course was seeing the chamber where they actually kept the rocket. Obviously, there's no rocket there now, but they pretty much left everything else.




To enter the chamber we had to climb in this little passage which was a little difficult for me with my short legs, and a little difficult for Mike with his long legs---not sure it was EASY for anyone to get in there. Once we were inside, there was a railing that went around a large circle with a giant pit in the middle. We found out later that the pit is where the rocket was and was 27 meters deep. We also found out later that where we were walking was just a grate that went around the chamber. After seeing the wall crumble earlier, I was eager to get out! When it was my turn to exit, it took me three tries to get my way out (I was scared!). On the third, I think the tour lady was getting a little annoyed with me, so she grabbed my leg and pulled me down! I found out later that she had to do that with Mike too! After that, we had time to walk around the site a bit. Then it was another hour and a half ride back to the boat and we cut it close getting back before it was "All Aboard" and we were off to Estonia!

Back from our Cruise!

We got back from our cruise on Thursday, and I'll be writing about a port a day until the blog is done...otherwise, it's just going to be too long!

DAY 1:

We left Harwich (pronounced Harrich), England on June 27. We took a bus from Victoria Coach Station to our ship! Mike and I, along with our friend Chris and Kialee, who also joined us on the cruise, polished off 3 bottles of champagne on the 2.5 hour bus ride there! What a way to start your vacation, right? Unfortunately, the bathroom on the bus wasn't in working order, so when we arrived, it was almost an emergency situation for all three of us!

When we finally sorted ourselves out at the restroom, we joined the line to check-in. This was probably the smoothest check-in we've ever had on a cruise ship. Then we headed to our rooms quickly. The room was probably a little smaller than we've had on other cruises, but we were fortunate enough to have a room with a balcony so that added to the square footage greatly!

We then went to check out our table for dinner and were really peeved to find out that we were at a table for 10 even though we asked for a table for the 4 of us. We asked for a change, but were told it wouldn't be possible until the 2nd day. No worries!

Kialee and Chris came to our room for a "Sail-Away Party". We each had gotten a bottle of champagne delivered to our rooms---Champagne count now at 5! It was gray and cloudy as we left England, but we didn't mind. Mike, Chris, and Kialee were off work for 2 weeks, and me--well, I was just happy to be out of London for awhile! Surprisingly enough, this was the last grey and cloudy day we'd see for the next 2 weeks!

When we got to dinner that night we were joined by another 2 couples...There were the Christian Youth Ministers from Albany and a couple from Portsmouth, England. We never found out what she did, but he claimed to be the "Jack Bauer" of London for you "24" fans. We came to the conclusion that if he really was "the man" in the counterterrorist unit he wouldn't be spreading it around. It made for an interesting dinner though. It was a little awkward with the Christian Ministers on the other end of the table...we really felt like we had to watch our mouths and it was just not much fun.

After dinner we went to a bar onboard and had a few drinks. We'd have 2 sea days ahead of us to get to know the ship, so we turned in pretty early.



DAY 2:




We got room service breakfast and ate watching the sea on our balcony. How relaxing! Then it was off to find out if we'd gotten our change in table. WE HAD! Praise the Lord! After we knew we had gotten that all straightened out, we went to see what there was to do that day. We attended a champagne art auction (Champagne Count: 6), participated in some trivia, and attended a wine tasting, etc. Day 2 was our first formal night and we were excited to get dressed and ready to go. Mike especially loves wearing his tux, so he was in his glory. We got dressed early and went to take some formal pictures which actually came out nicely. Then, we went to the Captain's Welcome Reception (Champagne Count: 7) and then off to our 8:30 Dinner seating. We were out our new table and were excited to see that we had a window table with just the 4 of us. What we didn't notice at first was the table of 15+ next to us. Our waiter, Dragos from Romania, came and welcomed us and told us that we and that table of 15+ were the only ones in his section. He then introduced our asst. Waiter, Royston from India and took our orders. It's important to really get to know your wait staff on these cruises because they take care of you the whole vacation. If you get to know them, and let them get to know you, the service improves. On formal nights, the cruise line suggests that men wear a jacket and tie and women wear cocktail dresses. Tuxes are optional, but Mike and Chris both opted for them. Unfortunately, not many people really took the "suggestions". When the large table next to us arrived them were all slobbily dressed and VERY demanding of our waiters. They were even slipping mickeys in their drinks which is against ship policy. Dragos explained that they were Colombian and that it was in their culture to do that...not sure I get that though. That night we went to the first song and dance show. How can I sum it up? The singers were piss poor! The leading male reminded me of Jack Black in "School of Rock"...he even looked like him! The dancers were better, but the show really suffered. The one shining moment of the show was when the Cruise Director, Bobby Brown (That was his name, I kid you not), auctioned off several things for the "Make-A-Wish" Foundation. Between pre-dinner champagne, wine with dinner, and now drinks at the show, Mike and I were "Happy" to make a donation. We set our limit at $150 and finally won something--The Galley Tour. Chris and Kialee also made a donation and would be able to join us--More on the Galley Tour on Day 10.

Day 3: More of the same as Day 2. This was another sea day as we were going all the way to Lithuania on one shot. Trivia, Seafood Shack, Buffets, Bars, Name that Tune, etc.

Game, Set, Match!

Hey Everyone!

I took a chance and went to Wimbledon yesterday to see if I could get in. The original plan was to wake up at 6:30 to get there early, but when the alarm went off, it just wasn't happening. I continued to sleep until 9, and then headed out the door. I got to Wimbledon around 10:30, and queued up for a couple of hours. My number in the queue was 8777, lucky I guess since they only were letting in 9000 that day! It was a little overwhelming at first---there was tennis EVERYWHERE! I stopped at the first court I saw and lucky for me it was a women's match with a seeded player in it! After that match ended I was able to get a seat at the court and watched an American play. He was about 7 feet tall and kind of a jerk, complaining about every call, so I left! I went to get a drink and then to find another match, what a jackpot I hit. I landed on court 18, which you would think was full of crappy matches, but it's a "Show Court" with grandstands, so they put a lot of seeded players there. I remained there until about 7:30 when I was just getting too tired to stay. Had I stayed I would have moved over to Court 3 to see Venus and Serena play doubles. The "Day Of" tickets get you into everything except Center Court and Courts 1-2 and they were only 20 GBP.

I did get a little sunburn but it was a really cool experience!

Royal Pain in the Ascot

What a day! While it wasn't the brightest of days, and maybe even a little bit rainy, we had a wonderful day at Ascot. We took a 10:15 train at Waterloo and arrived at Ascot around 11. We went straight to the meadow where we grabbed some benches and set up shop for the day. We certainly had our priorities and the day wouldn't have been nearly as much fun if we hadn't gotten a seat! After that we sent the boys to get us drinks and when they got back, the girls grabbed some pizzas. Mike bet every race, but we didn't really win anything until the last race where we hit on an exacta. At the end of the day, it was probably an expensive way to spend the day--3 bottles of champagne, 2 pizzas, and 2 heavily blistered feet later, we got home around 11PM!

The pageantry at Ascot was at it's best. Men in morning suits and top hats, women in dresses with hats and fascinators (little hats attached to a hair clip), everyone swigging down the champagne, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh just a stone's throw away from us in the "Royal Box", the horse drawn carriages carrying the Queen and her family, the sing-a-long after the races! The list goes on! It was certainly an "English" day and one not to forget!

Today Mike leaves for Frankfurt and will return on Tuesday. I have a "Girls Night Out" planned with some of the other PwC wives. It seems like all of the boys are away this week so we're going to go to the movies on Monday. THEN, we head out to sea for our cruise on FRIDAY! What a week!

I'm conforming my cooking!!!

Steak and Ale pie is quickly becoming Mike's favorite British food---mine too if I'm being honest. You can even ask Drew and Cat...When they visited I think we had them for either lunch or dinner on more than a few of the days they were here! So, today I tried my hand at making one!

I went to the supermarket in search of a ready made pie shell. Shocker! They don't have those here, so I gathered the rest of my ingredients and came home to make my dough from scratch. I have to say that my pie came out fantastically and we had it for dinner tonight, Mike even had 3 helpings! Surprisingly it was easy to make and really very tasty. It would have be even easier had Pillsbury come to the UK with the wonderful ready made shell!

I'm putting the recipe here in case anyone would like to try it!

1.5 lbs. stew beef
1 onion chopped
1 can of lager
2 cloves of garlic chopped
2 Tablespoons of flat leaf parsley chopped
2 Tablespoons of Worchesteshire Sauce
2 Tablespoons of flour
1/2 teaspoon of Thyme
1 potato peeled and chopped
1 carrot peeled and chopped

In a saucepan, put beef, onion and lager. Let this simmer for about 30 minutes (until beef is tender). Then add garlic, parsley, worchestshire sauce and thyme. Let this simmer for 5 minutes. Add the potato and carrot. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until the potato is fork tender. Take out a small amount of the liquid and mix with flour. Add this to the pot and stir. Simmer for a few minutes until it thickens up.

Put the mixture into the pie shell and cover with the top crust. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 40 minutes!


Easy Peasey!

Tomorrow I think I'm going to go to Wimbledon and check out the situation there. They are playing qualifying rounds and I just want to see what's up. It's not TERRIBLY far from our house, so I might as well see what all the hub bub is for. I looked into getting tickets next week, but they want 500 to 1000 GBP. Apparently, you can get day-of tickets, but you have to SLEEP OUT for them! SICK! But who knows, maybe Rafael Nadal will be roaming the grounds and I'll catch a glimpse!

The Euro Cup 2008 in in full action. We're actually getting really into football here. England hasn't qualified so we have been going game by game on who we're cheering for. Last night was Italy v. France, and Italy won! Tonight we're watching Sweden v. Russia. We're cheering on Sweden because they are part of NATO...This is our logic! LOL!

Other than that, our sights are set on our cruise which departs 9 days from today! Mike can't wait to have 2 whole weeks off from work!

Trip home to the USA!

Hello Everyone!
I took me a little while to fight the jet lag (I suck at getting back on schedule here) and then had my bout with sickness, but now I'm back on top of the world and raring to go! This trip back home was billed to be a little more relaxing. Relaxing? Hmmm. I guess nothing is relaxing when you constantly have things to do, but it was still nice to be home.

The Friday before I left, Mike and I had tickets to see Springsteen here in London at Emirates Stadium. It was a great show with a great set list, but the crowd was really weird. Nobody stood up! I guess I was bopping in my seat a little too much when the lady sitting next to me asked if I was American. Hahaha!

I had to get up only a few hours from when I got home to catch my flight but it was worth it! When I first arrived at Newark I headed straight for Kim's birthday Luau. 29 ain't so bad--I guess we'll see when I get there in September. Kim was really excited and surprised to see me so I have happy I was able to be there for it. Sunday, Karen and the boys picked me up at Kim's a delivered me to Mom's house. It was a pretty relaxing day. Monday, I bought Macy's out of boxer shorts for Mike and did quite a bit of shopping. Tuesday was lunch with Mike's mom and more shopping. Wednesday was the Yankee game w/ Prail and his fiance', Thursday more shopping, Friday was Matty's Graduation! Pre-K is a pretty big deal in Randolph! Proper caps and gowns and all! He led in the whole group. It was priceless. Saturday, I went to Christopher's baseball game. It's hard to believe that he's not in t-ball anymore!

I've included some pics of Matty's graduation and Chris' game. I guess looking back it was a relaxing week. I was able to spend a lot of quality time with my family and in the end, that's all that counts!

This week, Mike's got training in Buckinghamshire today and tomorrow and we have Royal Ascot on Saturday!

Yesterday we started a big project in our back yard clearing out all the overgrowth and weeding. I'm not sure where I'm going to put all the clippings, but I guess we'll figure it out!