Two Days At Sea

For the next two days land was not in sight, and occasional ships, including cruise ships for company.

We cruised through the Atlantic and the Bay of Biscay on the way to Gibraltar.

On the 31st we spent time doing a variety of activities on the ship including getting a workout in.

While working out ended up being approached by a Brit about my age with quite an accent and I could pickup about a word in five.  Figured out he was complimentary of how well equipped the gym on the ship was and we wished each other a good workout.  

There were treadmills (which I didn't use) recumbent bikes (which I did) regular bikes, and weight machines and free weights, both of which I used.

After the workout as a reward for our efforts we had handmade pizza for lunch in the Pizzeria and watched them toss the dough by hand::

 

Great pizza, especially accompanied by a Peroni beer while watching the ocean go by.

Then, much of the time was spent people-watching our fellow passengers.  The UEFA championship Soccer match was on between Germany and England and the ship played it on the big screen on the deck:

Two decks packed full of Brits watched the game, with cheers that could be heard throughout the ship.  England won. There was much rejoicing on board.

Then after dinner, we watched a British trivia show run by the crew with the Brit audience (seated in a large lounge having drinks) divided into two competing teams. 

It was raucous and hilarious.  

One question that had them stumped for quite awhile was "What are the top ten selling curries in the United Kingdom?

Do you know the top ten selling curries in the United Kingdom? 

I didn't either, and many were types I'd never heard of before.  I knew and have had Masala, Vindaloo, Saag, Korma, and Rogan Josh.

I'd never heard of Bhuna, Madras, Balti, Jalfrezi, and Dhansak.

There, that's now something you know too.

The Brits kept missing one in the list as the teams went back and forth trying to solve it. It got funnier and funnier each time and the quiz-master was hilarious with it.

We did get Princess Diana right as an answer to one of the questions but that was about it most of the time we had no clue at all but it was just fun to watch the Brits go at it.  Talk about inside baseball, or in this case inside football.

I also, during the show, got quite a liking for gin and tonics.  When among the Brits after all....

The next day at sea was again nice and relaxing.

We shot some hoops on the basketball court, played mini golf, walked a few miles along the upper deck jogging track, and had tea time on the ship.

Only downside was the shipboard wifi was absolutely terrible, as in taking minutes just to download a normal email and timing out completely on websites and was practically usdeless.  So I couldn't do the work I had planned to do on the first of the month. Well, it would have to wait until our landfall tomorrow.

It was a formal night so we put on our best before heading to the dining room. 

The Brits also put on their best, and yes, there were men in formal kilts and full tuxes. The Brits do know how to dress up/ Next time perhaps,  I think I'll have a tux in addition to/instead of the suits I brought.  There would be three formal nights during the cruise.

We also attended an informative talk on the history, culture,  the sights to see and shopping experiences at our first stop: Gibraltar.