The Amazing not a Race: Moving on

We eventually had to leave our cruise and get back to independent travel, but that transition was a bit hard. Trains, planes and automobiles loomed in our future, so it was nice to have a relaxing break from all of that for a while.

I have to show a photo, even though it is grainy and out of focus, of Jim being in the on board talent show! We went to a demonstration( we thought) of the Haka, a kind of ritual warrior dance done by Maori in New Zealand. Before he knew it, they were told that they would be performing it on the last day at sea for the talent show!

Glad I didn't get roped into it, too! There's Jim, in the back row, getting ready to stamp his feet, and stick out his tongue in a threatening manner. All part of the Haka. The next act of three young boys from Australia really stole the show, however.

So, that's one movie role, and one talent show for the trip.

Our last night in Italy was spent in the port town of Civittaveccia and Jim found us a lovely guest house accommodation in this " palace" from the 1800's that looked as if we were staying in someone's palatial home.

There was even an old marble bathtub!

The night before , over dinner, we met a couple from Seattle who were just about to embark on a cruise ( this city is full of cruise passengers) and discovered that we had both grown up in the same town( Tacoma) and attended the same high school, though several years apart. The next morning, we met them again over breakfast, coincidentally!

That evening we also took part in the Italian evening stroll along the pedestrian street, stopping for one last Aperol spritzer,,and the free cichetti that come with a drink. Too bad I didn't discover Aperol earlier - or maybe just as well!

Nothing elaborate, but all tasty. What a good tradition! Jim told me that before prohibition in the US,a common practice was to offer free food with a beer- perhaps a simple sandwich, but that all disappeared after prohibition.