Day 5: At Sea

RAINBOW AT SEA

Sunrise: 5:04 a.m. sunset: 9:28 p.m.
Today's Treat: Shrimp Cocktail
Today's Towel Art: Swan (We returned to our stateroom this evening after dinner to find a towel twisted and folded into the shape of a swan. In the days to come we will be greeted each evening by another towel creation in our bedroom.)

Brad has not been sleeping well so he decided to sleep in today. I got up at 8 and headed to the fitness center. I figured out how to program the treadmill and gave myself a cardio workout. After breakfast Brad attended a lecture about Stockholm and St. Petersburg. Meanwhile I took care of some adminstrative business (turned in our departure form and made an appt. for a massage) and then attended a cooking demonstration. The ship's chef prepared paella. I learned that there are more than 2000 guests on the ship and there are 106 cooks on board. The cooks (and I imagine the other employees) work for about 6-8 months at a stretch. Then they get a 6-8 week vacation. I thought, hmmmm, I could handle a schedule like that, until I heard that they work everyday for about 10-14 hours a day. No days off! Pretty brutal schedule. What a strange life it must be to work on a cruise ship.

Brad and I met up later in our room and hung out on our balcony for awhile. Incredibly it was another beautiful day with gorgeous sunshine. I felt quite comfortable in shorts. I read while Brad played around with his new electronic toy, the Zodiac. (It's a really cool multipurpose hand-held device. You can use it to display digital pictures and play electronic games. Brad has even found a website where he can download entire books to be read on the Zodiac.) We went to lunch together and then went our separate ways again. Brad strolled the ship taking pictures and then went for his workout at the fitness center. I went for my massage. It was wonnnnnderful!

Tonight's dinner was formal. We learned that Nick owns a chain of fast food restaurants in England. He didn't seem inclined to divulge the name of the chain but I'm awfully curious about it. We learned that Jerry's daughter or niece owns a business called Goats R Us. Her company raises herds of goats that are hired out as "natural lawn mowers". Go to the Goats R Us website for details.

The entertainment tonight was provided by Gary Lavini, a British violinist who seems to have quite a following. He's said to be popular with the ladies because he is so good looking. He performed several different genres; classical, bluegrass, folk. He is a skilled violinist but Brad and I both wished he would have played at least one song all the way through. His repertoire consisted entirely of medlies of popular tunes. The audience ate it up though and gave him a standing ovation. Afterwards he stood outside the theater and sold autographed CDs.