Friday en route to Civitavecchia

Even though we scheduled our breakfast later, we were still both asleep when the doorbell rang. I think we’ve discovered that their mint tea, which we have in the evening, actually has caffeine – not good. While we were enjoying our breakfast we saw land out of our window and it turned out to be Majorca which is part of the Balearic Islands which are part of Spain.

It was a nice clear morning and not too cool. As the day went on, the seas grew stronger as a quick moving low pressure system was heading our way. We ended up with rain and gale force winds by later in the afternoon. I went down for dance lessons at 12:30 – today was the Swing. It was easy compared to some of the other dances I have tried. The dancing was over by 1:30 and I was ready for lunch. We had a very light lunch in the dining room and went down to listen to the string quartet.

Of course it was then time for tea, and we never seem to tire of the scones! We went back to our suite and were going to work on a crossword, but I had to go in search of a pencil sharpener. That was easier said than done. About 30 minutes later I returned with a sharp pencil and another crossword puzzle. While Mom worked on that I went down to the gym. Tonight was formal and Prakasan even brought us a special treat. In addition to canapés, we had some fantastic sushi. Since we’d had such a nice snack, we didn’t go to dinner until 8:30. We really do enjoy seeing everyone dressed up.

Tonight was the Masquerade Ball in the Queen’s Room. I had my mask on, but found it difficult to dance since your peripheral vision was obstructed. We had a parade of all of the masks and even a waltz with them on. It was a lot of fun. It is now about 11:30 and we are passing through the Strait of Bonifacio which separates Corsica and Sardinia. We have a VERY early morning, at least for us as of late. We have to be down and ready to go at 7:30 am as we head into Rome. We are very excited about seeing the inside of the Coliseum and the best news is that it is supposed to be sunny. A very good evening to all.