Hi, everyone! I have lots to tell you about what I’ve been doing since last weekend! The Memorial Day weekend started for us on Thursday evening, when Uncle Steven and Thomas stayed out at the bay by themselves.
Thomas’s school started the holiday early! Grandma and Grandpa and I joined them on Friday after lunch. Aunt Kara and James came after school on Friday. Thomas caught two small crayfish in the creek. He didn’t have a container with him, so they pinched his fingers all the way back to the house!
Friday afternoon, Uncle Steven showed me where some birds had built a nest in the bend of the gutter downspout next to the upstairs bedrooms. There were two baby birds in it! I got ready to make s’mores after supper. Uncle Steven and Aunt Kara and Grandpa got ready to put in the dock and marine railway for the season. They put the kayaks out on the lawn, so they would be ready to go down to the boathouse.
Saturday morning when I got up, Grandpa and Uncle Steven and Aunt Kara were already down at the boathouse putting the dock sections in the water! James was playing video games. After everybody else got up, we had our first family waffle breakfast of the year. It was too chilly to eat on the porch, so we ate inside, instead. When the dock installers went back to work, I helped too! Somebody has to hold onto the rope, so a dock section balanced on end doesn’t flop over into the water too soon!
Once the dock and marine railway were in place, Uncle Steven got the boat ready for its first run of the season. It was supposed to rain in the afternoon, so Grandma waited lunch until Aunt Kara and Thomas could get their first ride! I’m glad she did, because rain started right after lunch! We had a thunderstorm! One of the parent birds came and sat on the nest to protect the babies.
Monday was Memorial Day, and there was more rain then! It began raining just when the Memorial Day parade was starting, so Grandma didn’t take me to the parade or the ceremony afterward. She let me wear Uncle Bill’s dogtags all day. Our friend Rita-san is coming to town soon! Grandma said a rainy day was a good day to make Rita-san’s favorite biscotti and put them in the freezer for her, so that’s what we did. Wednesday, Grandma came home from choir rehearsal with birthday balloons! Grandma shares her birthday with another member of the choir. Someone brought balloons to celebrate.
Last Friday, Grandma and Grandpa put me in my backpack and started us on a long trip! First, we drove to Toronto Canada and had lunch at the airport there. Then we flew to Montreal. In Montreal, we got on a plane headed for Rome, Italy to start a cruise!
The flight to Italy takes a long time! We left Montreal at dinner time and were still flying over the Atlantic Ocean when the sun came up. I was excited when I could see the Alps poking through the clouds! When I could see the Ligurian seacoast, I knew we were close to arriving! The plane flew through a layer of fluffy clouds as it came down.
The actual seaport for big ships isn’t in Rome. We got on a bus and drove to Civitavecchia, about 35 miles away from Rome on the coast. We checked in for another cruise on MS Marina. All the passenger cabins had been remodeled since our cruise in the Baltic. I liked the new look!
When we were unpacked, Grandma and I took a walk around the harbor. Civitavecchia has been a port since Roman times, and maybe even earlier! There’s one stone tower still standing from the days of the Roman empire. Later, one of the powerful leaders of the Catholic church built a fort on the foundations left by the Romans. It’s called the Michelangelo fort because that famous artist designed the towers. The Italian armed forces still use the fort today!
There were several other ships moored in the harbor around MS Marina! When it was time for Marina to depart, there were ships close on either end. The crew used side thrusters to push the ship sideways away from the dock. Lots of the passengers came to the deck to watch Marina leave Civitavecchia harbor!
Grandma put me to bed early after our long travel day, but our cabin attendant said I could stay up while Grandma and Grandpa were at dinner. When I woke up this morning, we were in Saint Tropez France! Saint Tropez is a fishing town that became famous as a European movie star’s favorite place! MS Marina anchored out, so Grandma and I took a ride in one of the Marina’s lifeboats to get to shore.
When Grandma was in college, she took an art appreciation course about styles of painting among French artists. There is a museum in Saint Tropez with examples of those styles, so she wanted to visit it. She got walking directions from Google maps, but none of the streets around the harbor had their names on them! We walked around for a while and were about to give up when we found one of the streets in the directions! Then we saw the museum’s back yard!
Many of the paintings in the museum created their images from tiny dots of paint colors, instead of brushed on surfaces. Some of the paintings were in the blockier, bolder style called “Fauve” or “animal”. There was a temporary exhibit of works by a current artist who reimagines those works in a totally different style, using cut-out layers. I liked seeing all the ideas!
We got back from our shore visit in time for my favorite part of cruising — afternoon tea! It’s always hard to choose what fancy sandwich or small dessert to have! We have a favorite spot to sit, where we can look out over the front of MS Marina. I like listening to the string quartet, too!
Now we’re off to another port! I think there will be another busy week of adventures for me!
Love,
Lion-san
It sounds like your cruise got off to a wonderful start! I have no doubt you will have more adventures to come!