Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

#50 Barbados – Day 2 (Day 2 of Week 1)

Posted: April 28, 2024 in Another Cruise, Cruising, Memories, OaP, P&O, Podge, Retirement, Travel, Tubbs
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Had a lovely breakfast in the Epicurean. The main man Maître d’ recognised us straight away and had a long chat with us asking how we were and how long were we on board,: Our reply was that we would be staying on for six weeks all the way back to Southampton prior to the Britannia heading to Rotterdam for a refit/refresh. Remembering that we always had a favourite table by the window, this was duly prepped for us: 

This is why we sail P&O.

We then recognised a couple of passengers from the same cruise last year and had a very pleasant breakfast swapping cruise stories and plans: It seems we’re all booked all the way through to 2026.

After breakfast we had a lazy time, apart from visiting shops ( day 2 in Barbados always meant the now traditional trek to the shops to see if there’s anything we need 🥺 there never is but we always seem to come back with something 😅 ). We also took the obligatory photo of our ship after which we returned and made our way to the Glass House: again, we were recognised and got the table we wanted. We ‘warned’ them that we would be back for dinner 🫣

We then retired to our balcony and viewed all the Grockels disembarking before eventually more newbies arrived.  I’ll never cease to be amazed how they can disembark 3000 passengers and embark 3000 new passengers over two days, all while restocking the ship, cleaning and preparing all the cabins ready for the arrivals.

And so it was, we checked out the Sunset Bar, the Bestest Bar. Cocktails today were Pink Gin Spritz and a Mai Tai.  Oh my days: How is it that I’ve taken until now to realise just how yummy Mai Tai’s really are (for yummy, read dangerous). I found myself drinking two for every Pink Gin Spritz that Debbie drank 🥴. Eventually however, we had to return to our cabin and rest before our evening escapades. These really consisted of returning to the Glass House for our evening meal and wines (Bacchus as recommended by Olly Smith as a really, really god alternative to Sauvignon Blanc). Post meal we sat back and enjoyed our evening favourites of Cosmopolitan for Tubbs and Cotswolds Signature Single Malt Whisky for Podge.  By then, we were whacked and called it a day but, not the same day we go up.

This was going to be tiring cruise.. 

The [Pre] Retirement Cruise Starts

Posted: April 25, 2024 in Another Cruise, Cruising, Memories, OaP, P&O, Podge, Retirement, Travel, Tubbs
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#50 Flight and Boarding – Day 1 (Day 1 of Week 1)

3 whiskies and 3 rosés for breakfast then head to gate 571 for boarding. Phew, got the right gate and the right time (unlike a previous occasion). Boarding the plane was actually quite painless except that two passengers went awol though they were finally located but caused us to take off 50 minutes later (when all the blue sky had disappeared!. 

First greeting was with a glass of fizzy pop: So, so nice to be back on a Tui Flight (Premium of course 😋).

Second greeting was complimentary drinks (Johny Walker Black Label for me, G&T for Tubbs) twice, each being doubles. Then, it was time for lunch accompanied by 2 glasses of white wine with a brandy chaser post lunch. Poor Podgeness is feeling weary now while Tubbs is fast asleep. 

One of the passengers spots me and says “I recognise you, you’re Podge”. It seems people have been reading my hints and tips on Facebook! Ooh Err 🥴

Now, one of the hints I had given on Facebook was make sure that they were comfortable before landing as when we alight from the plane, we DO NOT go through the airport terminal: we are taken directly from the bus to the ship where we just check in and go on board. Our luggage magically appears in our cabin after we’ve boarded and, true to form, it all worked perfectly.

Hats off to P&O.

By the time we did reach our suite, we were truly very tired and in need of a long lie down to recover from the journey 🥱 but, before we do, we needed to meet our Cabin Steward (We called him Ninja – more on that in a later post) and our Butler, both of whom would be looking after us for the next 6-weeks. I have to say that we were pleasantly surprised to find our Butler was Asmita who had in fact looked after us on our last Caribbean Cruise: We like to think that Asmita was as pleased as us.

And then, it really was time to hit the hay, as they say. 🛌

That Was The Year That Was

Posted: January 1, 2021 in 2020 Challenge, Another Cruise, Cruising, Cycling, Diet, Hadrian's Wall, LeJog, My Virtual Mission, P&O, Podge, training, Travel, Uncategorized
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Well, 2020 wasn’t the kind of year anybody had been expecting was it. Just like most people, Me and Mrs Me, had so many plans for 2020. Just like most people, hardly any of the plans came to fruition: In particular the two cruises we had booked, one in March, from the Caribbean back to the UK (a repeat of the March 2019 cruise) and one in August to the Fiords. We also had another cruise in March 2021, from the Caribbean back to the UK. One by one, the cruises were cancelled due to Covid. Hopefully, we’ll get back normal in 2021 / 2022.

There was however somewhat of an upside to this new way of ‘life under Covid’ whereby Me and Mrs Me discovered a website for virtual walks and rides. Using this facility (myvirtualmission.com) we were able to complete two virtual walks, Hadrian’s Wall and the Inca Trail, without travelling outside of the boundaries of Sleepy Hungerford. In addition, I (His Podgeness) was able to cycle, again in a virtual world, Lands End to John O’Groats and The great Ocean Road. In total, Me and Mrs Me walked 142 miles and His Podgeness cycled 1,255 miles. Having now been bitten by the virtual bug we then [virtually] walked The Ring of Kerry walking 124 miles through the mystical Iveragh Peninsula in Ireland followed by The Mount Fuji Virtual Challenge of just 46 miles after which plus many more. For my part, I also [virtually] cycled Route 66 (2280 miles across the USA) and St Francis Way (312 miles from Florence to the Vatican). Why virtual you may ask! well, Podge’s COPD (Codger’s Old Puffing Disease – see endnote) is now rated as severe with overlapping Chronic Asthma with a lung effectiveness of just 44%: Even walking round Hungerford can be a struggle and the virtual rides on a static bike mean I can stop whenever I want / need to. Poor Podge.

I, His Podgeness, also planned to escape Obesity during 2020. Well, I’m here to tell you that [despite all the exercise] Podge did no such thing. Despite walking and cycling all those miles, and not going on any cruises, Podge is still a Podge. Poor Podge.

Cruising Dietary Habits

Posted: June 10, 2020 in Another Cruise, Cruising, Diet, general, Health, Memories, P&O, Podge, Travel
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The Dietary Habits of a Cruise Ship Passengers

I wrote this while on a long-ago cruise: Ahhh, happy days.

So, when at home my daily dietary habits include:

  • Breakfast
    • Porridge or cereal
  • Lunch
    • Sandwich, maybe an omelet
  • Dinner
    • In the hands of Mrs. Me there I’m afraid.

Obviously along the way there may be a few drinks involved, a couple of glasses of wine, a couple of glasses of whiskey and of course coffee / tea and yes, even water. And this, along with occasional biscuit, cake, crisps etc. does me quite adequately for any day of the week. So why is it that as soon as I and, I suspect many other people, throw caution to the wind; discard common sense ignore what one’s body is saying and devour anything on offer.

When on a cruise ship however my dietary habits change and might typically include:

  • Breakfast
    • Porridge (maybe), fried eggs, bacon, sausage(s), beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, fried bread, and [sometimes] black pudding, followed by toast and jam and a plate of fruit.
  • Lunch
    • Fish & chips, or curry and chips, or pie and chips plus a chocolate desert and maybe some fruit and a pint of lager
  • Tea
    • Sandwiches (small and various) plus a small cake and a glass of Rosé
  • Fivesie’s
    • Large gin & tonic plus a bowl of nibbles and maybe another gin & tonic
  • Dinner
    • Starter) Prawn Cocktail, Foie Gras or melon:
    • Main Course) Chicken or salmon or steak, with chips, maybe some peas;
    • Desert) whatever is on offer but normally includes cream / custard or, if I’m feeling a little too plump by this time of day, a sorbet.
    • All accompanied by wine and whiskey.
  • After Dinner
    • Retire to see a show or listen to a band to enjoy a couple of glasses of wine / champagne / prosecco / or whiskey.

Obviously along the way there may be a few drinks involved, a couple of glasses of wine, a couple of glasses of whiskey and of course coffee / tea and yes, even water, but, no occasional biscuit, cake, crisps etc. I’m not a pig you know.

I like Whiskey; I like Wine; I just can’t make up my mind which to have; So, I have them both 🙂

Now, taking all this into account, is it really the case that salt water (in abundance on a sea cruise) truly shrinks out clothes or can the be another explanation. Also, in my case at least, adding insult to injury, even my feet need bigger shoes when I go cruising: How on earth does that happen? Does the salt water affect shoes as well?

I leave these thought for pondering.

Navigare Necesse Est

Podge v COPD Week 6

Posted: June 1, 2020 in COPD, COPD - Codgers Old Puffing Disease, Cycling, Diet, general, Hadrian's Wall, Health, LeJog, OaP, Podge, Rome-2-Home, training, Travel
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On the 18th May, Podge reported that he’d lost 4 packs of lard: Yay, go Podge Go. On the 25th May, Podge reported that he’d put back on 4 packs of lard: Poor Podge had to go and sit on the Naughty Step 😢. Podge went into meltdown and took drastic measures including the Toal ban on Jammy Dodgers: The ban did also include Anti-Viral Medications (AVMs) but that ban was quickly rescinded. This week, Podge is happy to say that in the past week, he has lost two packs of lard (that’s a loss of 50% in 1-week, of that lost in the first 4-weeks). I therefore conclude from this that Jammy Dodgers clearly encourage Lard and AVMs make little or no difference, 😂🤪 and Podge is sticking by that.

In edition to losing the lard, my BMI has dropped to 30.3 and Body Fat has also dropped to 44.6 while Body Water has gone up to 39.7. The changes are small but, they are all in the right direction: Despite all being, currently, the wrong side of the trend line, all is good in Podge’s world.

Anyway, back to the job in hand. Over the past week, Podge has cycled a total of 74.45 miles and walked a total of 9.4 miles (not bad for COPD St3).

This means that some serious progress has been made on the challenges currently underway (Lands End to John O’Groats [LeJog] and 2020 in respect of cycling and Hadrian’s Wall and the Inca Trail in respect of walking).

I’ve added the Inca Trail purely to encourage Mrs Me to join me on my walks but I don’t report on it. The progress report on Rome-2-Home has been dropped as it is running alongside LeJog and I don’t actually like the route; cycling along major highways just isn’t realistic. For 2021 however I will remap Rome-to-Home to follow the route I would have done if I’d done it for real; as originally planned for at the beginning of the millennium. That route will be sooooo much longer, but prettier.

All rides on Bkool and reported through Strava. All walks measured using my Apple device.

All virtual challenges are tracked through  ‘My Virtual Mission‘ and challenges entered through The ‘Conqueror Virtual Challenge‘ site.

All rides are done in my garage (walks done elsewhere 😋) as my GP has banged me up for a minimum of 12 weeks (reset to start from the 11th May ) due to having Codgers Old Puffing Disease (COPD Stage 3). 😭

Wish me luck – I surely need it.
Go Podge, Go. 

Podge must stop eating

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