Canes, France

We are back in France for the last stop at Canes. The famous film festival has just ended. The French Rivera is beautiful and much cleaner than the stops in Italy. Monte Carlo was also this stop but the ship left Port at 3PM, and we got a late start (cause we’re late night people now).

We stopped for lunch at a street side café’ called the melting pot. I thought I’d try a French dish called pasta and sausage. It turned out to plain spaghetti (no sauce), and two hot dogs. I got thinking about the starving guys back home. We sort of, had the same thing as you yesterday, ravioli, ours with goat cheese and a nice cream sauce and yours out of a can and prepared by Chef Boyardee. I’ll be home soon.

This is our last night on the Ship. We are going to Paris for three nights and then back home.

Livorno

This is the stop for Florence and Pisa. Erika took a bus to Pisa and Elaine went into Livorno to shop. This small costal city had good bargain shopping and Gelato to die for.

Free style cruising is true if by that you mean that nothing is free. We are feeling “Nickel and dimed” by the NCL line, every time you turn around there is an up charge. This is turning an affordable vacation into a costly one.

I had a talk with myself to not let that ruin our good time so today we are doing our best to get some of it back, by doing everything offered onboard. We talked the cruise director into buying our dinner at the Specialty Restaurant of our choice (we were sworn to secrecy on this so don’t tell), ate four times, smuggled a bottle of Vodka into the Ship, saw two shows, one by an international star (loved by millions), played the Quest game, and brought a spa robe back to the room. So there!

Rome

I stayed at the Spa all day, and had the place to myself. Erika and Elaine went into Rome “on their own”. The cruise ship excursions are expensive but they allow you to cut through long lines to see the sights. They covered a lot of ground but it only served to wet Erika’s interest in going back for a better look. They teamed up with a nice couple from Pennsylvania, and only got ripped off by one cabbie.

The entertainment on the ship has been first class. The magician tonight was Vegas caliber, and the Second City Touring Company was a hoot. We have seen a variety of great dancers and musicians to suit any taste. From string quartets to marimba phone players, one was better than the next.

Napoli

Naploi

We visited Naples today. The city is densely populated and chaotic. It sits at the base of Mt Vesuvius, and the views of the Seacoast are breathtaking. The tour bus company was unorganized and frustrating, and the first bus route that we took sat mostly in uptown traffic and smelled of smog. The second loop, however, took us on a trip with views I will always remember.

We are having a great time onboard. I gambled a bit and made a deal with Erika that she could have the $100 dollar bill or let me take it into the casino and she could keep whatever I won. She chose the casino, and came away with a cool $180. We are all pretty amazed at the late nights we are keeping. We found an acoustic guitar player doing a Beatles night at the Star Bar and stayed out until nearly midnight. Wow! Erika has so far resisted our suggestions that she attend the single functions on the ship, and she seems totally unaware of how the beautiful Italian men are enamored by her.

The weather is perfect, and the Internet still is terrible. Over half done with our trip, see you all soon! On to Rome.

It's my birthday and I'll cruise if I want to

I woke to the rocky shores of Malta as the view from my balcony. The only thing that I know about this beautiful, ancient Italian island is that I think food network star Mario is from here. I feel so ignorant and isolated as an American, it is almost embarrassing that everyone around the world knows so much about us, and we know so little about other countries or cultures.

We have had some trouble communicating while at sea. It seems odd not to have any contact (phones and internet have been impossible) and time seems irrelevant. We can’t figure out what time zone we are in and the displays on our phones all have different times. Oh well, I guess we don’t need to know exactly what time it is.

The styles here are very European (go figure). The women all wear scarves, tied perfectly (we all bought one and will probably never wear them again), and the men all wear man-capris, and Speedos (just for you Beth & Molly).

Cruisin'

This post is a surprise from Erika. Mom wrote this, but I've been complaining and reluctant to help with matters of the Internet, as it is slow, it is expensive, and i am a selfish kid...anyway mom wrote this, it rocks and you should comment on it! Happy birthday tomorrow Mama!

We are on the NCL Gem heading to Malta. I am not great with Geography, so I was very surprised to see that we would be closer to Africa, than to Italy on our way to Malta. The ship is a giant grazing station, with continuous food stations to please any palate. We had breakfast delivered to our cabin, just in case we were too weak (from several hours without nourishment) to make it to the breakfast buffet.

Vacations for the Lenhart’s always included at least one health emergency, usually suffered by poor Briana. Bri fell off a bike in Disney, got food poisoning in Yellowstone, Sea sick in Key West, a sty in her eye in Paris. Erika has taken over her job on this trip. She has been bitten by invisible bugs on her legs, and has welts that we are referring to as Ebola-like. She doesn’t think this is very funny.

We have a balcony in our cabin and can watch the sea go by. It makes the tiny cabin “suite” seem bigger and brighter. I have decided not to buy the expensive shore excursions, but am splurging on the spa package on the ship. For a price we are allowed unlimited access to this cool spa on the bow of the ship. It has saunas, hot tubs, heated stone lounges etc. all geared to pamper. E &E are going horseback riding in Malta tomorrow.

Hey from Spain, I think it's rude that we gave Espana a nick name (Spain). What if they called us Estados Unidos. Oh never mind, they do. But seriously if the name of the country is Espana, why not call it Espana?*

Barcelona is a beautiful port city. The architecture is varied and diverse, making it very apparent that the city has been occupied by many cultures throughout history. These European cities have evidence of thousands of years of history, and are in sharp contrast to our US cities that are only a couple of centuries old.

Elaine finally caught up with us here. She missed the whole first leg of the trip as Continental flight from Rochester was delayed and she could not make the connection to Paris. We took one of those touristy double Decker bus tours and are now about to get the drink-o-the day at the hotel bar.

Cruising the Med tomorrow. If I can't get the pictures up here check out Erika's facebook.

*This gem of profound insight evolved from a conversation that I had with Erika, all rights are reserved.

Gay Paris'

We are in Paris today. The city of lights is magnificant! After the marathon flight, I have no idea what time or day it is. We took the the subway to dinner at Saint Michelle, and Notre Dame. Erika has me a bit worried about leaving her alone here in Europe, as she is very friendly, polite and niave. Several stangers approached her and tried to get her to accompany them to (reference the movie Taken) their place, and she politely responded "No thank you, you are making my mother nervous. Yikes!

Pictures are available on Erika's site, as I have not yet mastered the art of posting photo's. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2043747&id=47001341

Off We Go!

It’s finally here! We leave for our European adventure tomorrow. I am cautiously venturing out of the TV bubble. I have mixed emotions. I am going to try to do a travel diary, maybe even learn how to “tweet”. A marathon flight gets us to Paris by way of Chicago, Newark, then across the ocean. We have a whirl wind trip planned complete with a Cruise of the Western Mediterranean, I think I should have added a few more days as I may not get to see my dear daughter/friend Claudia, and that will make me beyond sad.

I have been packing, and re-packing trying to guess what the weather will be. The internet says 60’s and it is rainy season. That is the most difficult temperature range to plan for (not too cold but not hot either). I guess I have become too accustomed to my TV daily sunshine. I was watching the rain this afternoon and thinking how rarely we have to endure a whole day of rain like this. The tropical summers usually bring a mid afternoon down pour preceded and followed by blue skies and sunshine. I know we need the rain badly but, I so love to be spoiled by Florida weather.

I will miss you all, friends and neighbors, make sure the boys don’t starve!

Mickey says Happy Birthday RC!

If you ever want to feel special, spend your birthday at Disney World. I have always loved the place, but this week RC and I spent our “Day-O-fun” at Disney to celebrate his milestone (now eligible for social security) birthday and they know how to treat a birthday boy! You not only get in for free on your special day, but they give you a button notifying everyone of the day of your birth.

From there it only gets better. Every single employee that you encounter all day greets you with a warm smile and a big “happy birthday”. RC has been known to get a bit grumpy on his birthday, but even a party pooper like him couldn’t help but get into the spirit when the Oompa band at the German Restaurant in Epcot sang Happy Birthday, complete with Alpine horn and accordion, to him at lunch.

Happy Birthday RC! Now you can finally let the younger generation support your lazy retiree's butt!

Shamefull Health Care USA

I hate dwelling on health problems. It’s a shame that as we grow older this topic has to occupy so much of our time. I long for the days that I got up in the morning pain free and went through my day without a single thought of health related issues crossing my mind. That is no longer the case and I am gravely disappointed at the state of care in this country.

Flash back to 1963, Elmwood Park, Tonawanda NY. The neighborhood that I grew up in was nice middle class and both my Doctor and Dentist lived across the street. Dr Britt was a GP, and he and his family lived in a modest 2 story home in our quiet neighborhood, not in a gated Mc Mansion. I had a high fever and at 2AM my mother got concerned enough to call Dr Britt to get some advice. He came over in his PJ’s and gave me a shot of antibiotics and the fever broke in a few hours. This was not special care for the privileged; it was compassionate responsible application of his Hippocratic Oath.

Flash to 1987, Lockport NY, my youngest daughter, 18 months old at the time, was up crying and clutching her right arm to her chest in obvious pain. Thinking she may have broken her clavicle, or dislocated her arm at day care, I called her Dr’s service at 8PM. He returned my call much later and informed me that I should give her a Tylenol and bring her to his office in the morning as my insurance (supposed to be the best around) frowned on the use of the emergency room. He wanted me to put a baby to bed with a possible broken bone because the insurance company didn’t always pay for emergency treatments (not smart to rile the mama bear). I told him that I had plenty of money to go along with my insurance and not to ever make my families medical decisions based on an insurance company policy. Furthermore if he did not wish to meet me at the emergency room, our new pediatrician would. He met me there, put her dislocated elbow back into place and I found a new Doctor the following week. Doctors were by then being paid bonuses by the insurance companies for minimizing care and testing of their patients and insurance guys were now directing medical decisions.

Fast forward to 2009, American Doctors are now the millionaires in our society, well paid with the best educations in the world. Technology has advanced at such warp speed medical care concerns must be all but erased, right? Not so fast! I find myself in a system that ranks 37^th in the industrialized world supported by inadequate expensive insurance plans, staffed by ambivalent Doctors, that treat patients (especially Women over 50) as invisible and expendable. Today one in 8 deaths in our country are a result of medical mistakes. The number one ranked country, France, has a national policy that doctors salaries are capped at $50,000 a year so everyone can afford medical care. Millions of families, mostly the working poor, are uninsured and are unable to get any care at all.

http://www.photius.com/rankings/healthranks.html

I have recently developed a painful and potentially dangerous condition and called my new Florida doctor, only to be told that it would be 3 weeks until he could see me. I went to urgent care and $150 and two hours later I left with an antibiotic (just like in 1963). When that only temporarily helped my condition, I again called my physicians office. I was told that I could see another doctor in the practice (again 3weeks to see my doctor: why wasn’t I offered this option before?). I agreed to come in the next day. I arrived 15 minutes early and waited an hour. As I sat in the exam room I heard the doctor in the hall, pitching a temper tantrum because he had patients scheduled during his lunch time. He blew into the exam room and rushed me through a terse conversation, dismissed my request for a specialist referral and rudely scolded me as I was supposed to be only “quick rash appointment”. I paid full price for the half assed appointment and started looking for a new doctor that afternoon. Medical professional or not this man is my employee and he is fired.

Our system is broken, and I don’t know what the answer is. I don’t want to live in a country where people die because they cannot afford medical care. I don’t want to live in a country where only the rich can afford preventive medical care. I don’t want to live in a country that ranks behind Costa Rica and Dominica for any reason! Maybe we could sample the 36 countries that rank above us in the world and take their best practices and learn from their mistakes. Mr. President, we are waiting, because you promised……