Nonnax9's Blog

I found living alone quite lonely so decided looking on line might be the way. This proved to be a interesting exercise and I did have a couple of ordinary dates before a rather nice man Keith Tayles popped up. We had our first DATE at the Currumbin RSL a nice safe spot. Pretty much the rest is history. I decided this bloke was a keeper.

Keith lived about 30 – 40 minutes drive away from my home in BANORA so it wasn’t long until I sort of moved in with him. Keith thought my home in the over 55’s Village was too much of a rest home and wasn’t keen staying there. I must say he would probably die of Boredom with not enough to do.

It wasn’t until we had a trip to New Zealand and we’re staying with his sister in Snells Beach and Nancy queried if we might marry he decide to pop the question.

I must say a lot of people thought we were mad. My children probably glad he had taken me off their hands. I didn’t care he makes me happy.

On the 24th May 2023 Keith an I were married here at home in Highland Park in the presence of Family and Friends. His sister Nancy came over from NZ.

We had Brenda caterer extraordinaire do the food

It was 26 degrees on the deck so quite hot for a winters day so we actually had to stand in the shade for the actual ceremony. The Celebrant was Paige Mengle when were found they Google and she was great everything went smoothly without any hiccups.

The Holiday/Cruise/Honeymoon

It’s was only a month or so after I met Keith that we decided a trip/cruise might be nice and I heard a trip advertised on Radio 2GB 873 . It was a cruise around Italy with a radio announcer as Host Chris Smith. However he blotted his copy book at a works Xmas party and was dismissed so the the host is Luke Grant a night time announcer. Anyway Keith agreed to it so we booked it. This trip has now become our Honeymoon. I’m looking forward to it and only two more sleeps until we depart leaving from Brisbane via Singapore Airlines. Stop over in Singers and then Milan.

Stay posted.

Well we are now on board. After spending some time at check in and been given exit seats although now actually together. No Premier or Business Class. Well one seat only in Business but I could hardly take that and leave Keith behind😂.

Moving on to the departure gates. My carry on did no pass muster. Half a small tube of tooth paste was too much as was a new 150ml face wash. only 130 ml allowed.

Into Duty free I March to Keith’s horror that I’m buying stuff in duty free. My he’s on a big learning curve. I have told him Milan is the shoe capital of the world. Went to purchase a new face cleanser at the Clinique Department however I was told it would be confiscated in Singapore and better to buy one in Singers where I can then carry it onto Milan. Apparently it is Singapore Airlines way to get you to shop in Singers. However we have now discovered we are t in Exit seats at all but row J window and middle. Hopefully Singers to Milan will be better seating. I loath to be hemmed in. It is claustrophobic. I should have insisted when booking. Need to turn off for a bit now.

We have finally arrived in Singapore at about 8.30pm. Have a two hour wait. Must say I’m feeling somewhat exhausted. It is 11.45 pm our Aus time. Not to mention dinner repeating on me so my wonderful Keith has offered to walk a mile back in the terminal to get me some gaviscon or the like.

I did purchase some face wash here which they assured me would be OK and have out it in a sealed bag. I would like to use it to wash my face and freshen up. Not too sure how we will look out feel for that two hour walk in Milan when we get there. Somewhat smelly and grubby I suspect.

I hope we won’t get another meal til morning.

Well after a long and exhausting trip we finally arrived in Milan. Straight thru customs although I’m not sure if it was customs we sort of just walked thru one collected the luggage and onto a bus. Unfortunately it was peak hours something similar to the M1 road works so instead of 1 hour bus trip it became two hours it so which then made the two hour walk seem a lot longer. We actually bypassed Milan and ended up in Verona. Got rushed thru Verona with loads of history pouring through our ears thru the little Whisper thing they gave us so we could hear the guide. I was really too tired to take anything in but I did take a few photos. My phone has decided to burn up the battery at a great rate of knots. It only lasts a few hours before it dies and the charging thing on the plane wasn’t working either.

We eventually arrived at the Hotel. Our room is only marginally larger than the damn Ibis we stayed in in NZ. And somewhat depressingly dark however we are only there to sleep. We actually managed to stay awake until just after 8pm and both slept until about 3am. We had to swap sides in the bed because of the CPAP machine needing power so fortunately Keith managed the power cords for me. Only problem with sleeping on the wrong side if the bed I kept nearly falling off the bed when I went to turn.

Wednesday was a new day. A lot of the group were more concerned about watching the Football. I think we were the only Queenslanders in the group.

So a three hour stroll thru Venice today. It was 29 degrees with a promised storm which didn’t happen unfortunately.

Our Hotel. Handy to the ferries but a good walk from anywhere else.

Wednesday

Started the morning with a chilled glass of Aperol at 9am. It was so hot and stupidly took ourselves for a walk. We had time to fill in before the two hour bus trip to Ravenna.

FRIDAY – Ravena

Another busy and early morning. It’s shaping up to be a stifling day. A different guide today and we visited three places. Early in the day I sat attentively thinking oh I can remember this but as c the morning wore on and it be came hotter and hotter and I was becoming dehydrated as well my brain shut down completely. The guide was very thorough and was even carrying books to show us references. What she didn’t notice was most of the group had wandered off. We were visiting three UNESCO sites Dante Grave one of them. Although his bones aren’t exactly there. They have been moved many times. So the huge thing they built and pulled to bits over and over (apparently various Bishops did this) for his bones they never really went in there. On Bishop opened the coffin to find gold coins. I’m pretty sure she said his bone are now in the outside things see pic below.

A little about Ravenna. It is on the Adriatic coast in north east Italy. It was briefly the capital of the Roman Empire and later the Italian Capital of the Byzantine Empire. Amazing mosaics were constructed during this time. They are still very beautiful. Of course they all tell a story because in that time most Italians couldn’t read so this pictures told them the story apparently. I suppose history is peoples interpretation of it really. They could probably tell you anything.

Keith has just pointed out that I have lost a day and it is Friday. I’m becoming a little dotty. I think I have sorted it now. I’m actually writing this this morning Saturday.

Saturday – Zadar

We have just docked in Zadar. It is shaping up to be a beautiful day. Hot and sunny

SUNDAY – Dubrovnik

Another hot and sunny day as we were bussed into the Old City. One of the first things the guide pointed out to us was a swimming pool. Not hard to guess what was coming next. Everyone plays water polo here. Kids learn to swim and then to play water polo.

However a bit about this town.

Dubrovnik is a city in southern Croatia fronting the Adriatic Sea. It’s known for its distinctive Old Town, encircled with massive stone walls completed in the 16th century. Its well-preserved buildings range from baroque St. Blaise Church to Renaissance Sponza Palace and Gothic Rector’s Palace, now a history museum. Paved with limestone, the pedestrianized Stradun (or Placa) is lined with shops and restaurants. (Google)

I must say it is a very beautiful place but Keith and I opted only to do the tour with the guide it was hard work shuffling around with the crowds and the heat making it worse. One would never know that it had had 2000 bombs land on it over a 12 hour period in the late 70’s taking 10 years to restore so there is a real mixture here of the old and the new. The guide showed us where she lived and has 95 steps up to her front door. There is a real mix of the new and the old. They all seem to blend in quite well.

I’m writing this sitting at the top of the ship in a lounge looking over the sea. The boat is rocking so I’m trying not to look out at it but Keith loves it. I think he has explored every bit of it now like a big kid.

MONDAY – A day at sea

Much needed rest day today. Sailing our way to Naples. Lots of games happening on the ship people everywhere.

TUESDAY – NAPLES – SORRENTO – POMPEII

Arrived in Naples about 8.30am. It is fine, hot and sunny. Into a bus with Bossy Luigi our guide for the day. He certainly has the gift of the gab and a very well informed guide not that I can remember a fraction of what he told us thru the little whisper thing.

We bypassed Naples and unfortunately saw none of it and went straight to Sorrento. This is a little place I could live. It was so pretty and managed to fit in a couple of shops while the rest of the group were lemoncello tasting and buying. I don’t like it enough to buy it and lug it home. Once they had finished in the lemon shop the guide had us running again. Up hill and down dale so glad I wore my walking shoes today. The ground was very uneven.

POMPEII

Back to the bus for the drive to Pompeii. Pompeii is a vast archaeological site in southern Italy’s Campania region, near the coast of the Bay of Naples. Once a thriving and sophisticated Roman city, Pompeii was buried under meters of ash and pumice after the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. There hasn’t been another eruption since 1945. People living in the region are considered to be living in the RED AREA as the predict the Vesuvius will erupt again but no one knows when.

An so after a very long day it was back to the ship. My legs are suffering big time and feet very puffy. I have actually developed vasculitis. Worried it was cellulitis I took myself down to the medical center. As I write this a couple of days later they look better. I bought some cortisone crème today. Several ladies seem to have developed this as well. Day at sea tomorrow so it will be good to rest for a bit.

WEDNESDAY- DAY AT SEA

Easy day and day of rest. Ship is very busy with activities which we didn’t do. The swimming area was packed. There are 3000 passengers on board and 2000 crew. I feel the pool might have been like pea soup.

We did take ourselves off to a wine tasting which cost us about $70 each. It was the worse wine ever. The best was a Hardy’s Merlot and a NZ Sav Blanc. The rest almost stripped the membrane from our mouth. It was very badly organized.

Then it was off to the Trivia with Luke Grant who was suffering from Man Flu. It was all a bit of fun. Dress up night tonight for dinner. We have had two of these so I’m glad I bought the correct clothing. We tend to all eat together in a group in a dining area. Took ourselves of to a yes or no thing and then bed. Strange it seems to have happened to us all after been in Pompeii. Legs not so bad after resting today

THURSDAY – PORTOFINO

SATURDAY – Cinque Terra

There are five town to Cinque Terra. Montoeosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore and the five towns is a string of five old fishing villages perched high on the Italian Riviera in the region of Liguria and until recently were linked only by mule tracts and accessible only by rail or water.

Wet and raining today our first wet day. We left the boat early and onto the bus for about one hour or so and the onto a train for one train stop to Monterosso. It was a pretty little town but as it was pouring rain and pretty miserable Keith and I decided a restaurant was the best bet. We did a little wander before boarding the train to go an view Vernazz