Back to the real world....

And I would really rather not be! I am telling you, a person could get used to the treatment we received on board Celebrity! What a ship! Gorgeous to the nth degree.

We had cooler weather than normal in Ft. Lauderdale, which worked to our favour. It is hard on old people to go from freezing to boiling too quickly. By the time we hit the islands, we were able to walk around in the searing heat. We shopped a little on each island, but our favourite was Dominica. Friendly, happy place. Didn't seem to be as mad a rush as it was on St. Thomas, St. Maartens or St. Kitts. I forget the other islands...they all sort of run together after awhile! The thing to do there, it seems, is to buy jewellery. Well, who am I to argue? I came home poorer for it, but whatever! My most useful purchase was a Philip Stein watch. It has some sort of gizmo in it that really helps a body...literally. Can't explain it, but it works. I thought it was hocus pocus until I tried it. Now I am a convert! My only regret is that I bought a large white one, perfect for vacations. What was I thinking? I should have sprung for a dressier version. Ah, well. Next time! And there will be a next time. The one thing I learned was that it is well worth the extra cash to stay in a better room on the ship. We had little privileges that made life so much easier. Room service through the night, champagne, fresh flowers, Frette bathrobes ( a really good quality cotton...if it would have been big enough!) attention above and beyond the norm. Early embarkation and disembarkation. We ate at 8:45 every evening and we all enjoyed the formal night.


I also tried a new type of shoe,

thanks to Heather. She had these cutey patooty shoes on that I just loved, and she said she put them on and they were the best walking shoes ever. I was hesitant to try them, but WOW. by poor old feet carried me many kilometers completely without back pain! Can you believe it? I want to throw out every shoe I own and just wear my ShapeUps! They have thick "rocker" style soles that are quite amazing. Isn't this world we live in amazing? Comfortable feet. At last! I wore my other new shoes, but not with the glee that I wore these. Made my holiday very enjoyable, for sure. Rick bought some too, and the three of us looked like the Munsters from the ankle down, but only in a very cute way!