I’m assuming smoking rates are declining, just guessing, but the cigar room here is tiny, not even as big as our cabin.
The General Chat Thread (2023)
- Thread starter Yorky
- Start date
- Status
The one on the ship I was on was BIG. Too big for the crowd it was drawing. I'm sure it was re-purposed between then and now.
CD
Some people argue over what that little jeans pocket is for:
Some people say it’s a holdover from pocket-watch days, some say it’s for loose coins, guitarists will tell you it’s for guitar picks, but…
…around here, it’s for carrying spare teabags!
Some people say it’s a holdover from pocket-watch days, some say it’s for loose coins, guitarists will tell you it’s for guitar picks, but…
…around here, it’s for carrying spare teabags!
Some people argue over what that little jeans pocket is for:
View attachment 106437
Some people say it’s a holdover from pocket-watch days, some say it’s for loose coins, guitarists will tell you it’s for guitar picks, but…
View attachment 106438
…around here, it’s for carrying spare teabags!
It actually originated as a watch pocket, and Levi's just never got rid of it.
CD
Another one of the drinking holes, a piano bar called Crooners:
The main piazza:
The main piazza:
Lullabelle
Midlands, England
Some people argue over what that little jeans pocket is for:
View attachment 106437
Some people say it’s a holdover from pocket-watch days, some say it’s for loose coins, guitarists will tell you it’s for guitar picks, but…
View attachment 106438
…around here, it’s for carrying spare teabags!
Maybe come in handy for a single man's 'little packet'
Today was an interesting day.
We’d scheduled one of the shorter shore excursions; city tour (bus), old town tour (walk), and olive oil & wine tasting with buffet - 4.5 hours, leaving at 9:45AM and returning at 2:15PM.
We departed promptly on time, drove through/around the city, then we all de-bussed and walked for a bit in the old part. All in all, Corfu city…meh. Not for me.
Back on the bus, and our guide told us, “Ok, now we’re going up to a family vineyard and olive oil orchard, where they’ll talk about the land and the production process, and we’ll have some wine, and some olives, some good bread…it’s good, and then we’ll continue up the mountain through an old, old medieval village, you will see views, beautiful views, then farther up still to the monastery at the top, where we will stop for photos, and then down the other side, where we will stop at a small cafe for baklava, coffee, beer, and some gifts if you like.”
I look at my watch, it’s already after 1PM, and I’m thinking, “Either this stuff is really close by, or we’re going to shoot through here like
through a goose, because we don’t have that much time left.”
Then we ambled on our way, up to the vineyard where, thankfully, the presentation was very short (and the woman conducting it, part of the family, looked like Lady Gaga, so I was quickly in love), but the buffet was fairly nice, not rushed at all, and I was checking the time, checking the time…and also picking up rumblings of other passengers wondering what exactly was going on, because it’s now past 2:15PM, and she’s talking about the monastery and how it’s a short 11 minute drive…and the cafe? And the drive back to the ship?
Up we go to the monastery (more on that in me next tale), we climbed out, and several people were now questioning themselves and others: “This was the 4.5 hour tour, right?” and “Aren’t be supposed to be done by now?”
I walked over to the tour guide, where a few people had assembled, and I felt like I knew why, and sure enough, I was right, only these folks weren’t being so congenial:
“We’re supposed to be back a half-hour ago! I have a spa appointment in 30 minutes! Am I gonna miss that?!?!”
“I can’t ride a bus more than a few hours! This was supposed to be short! How much longer are you going to keep us!”
Now, this is important, because I was standing there, and the first response from the guide was, “No, not 2:15PM, 4PM! Sixteen-Zero-Zero!” indicating that as far as she was concerned, this was the longer six-hour tour, I heard it with my own ears.
Well, while we were at the monastery, more people complained, and more still.
We finally piled back on the bus, got to rolling to our last stop, and the guide got on the microphone and said:
“Everyone! Everyone! I want you to have a happy time here today, no complaints! Yes, the tour was supposed to be 4.5 hours, but we were delayed in town because of the marching band! Remember the marching band you all wanted pictures of?! Well, that has delayed us! Also, 4.5 hours is just the minimum time, it can be extended! It has been extended to show you all the beautiful island of Corfu! Be happy! No complaining any more! You’re getting extra!”
That may sound somewhat cheerful, but her tone was fairly harsh and scolding, as in, “How dare you complain, I’m giving you extra, so shut it!”
Also, IMO, she flat out lied. We weren’t delayed in the least by the marching band in town, it was small and took less than three minutes to pass, and when she was first confronted, she said we were on the longer 6-hour tour.
Thirdly, I’m calling BS on the, “tours can be extended” claim, as I know the cruise ships run those tours with precision, and when they say 4.5 hours, it’s 4.5 hours.
We were gone seven hours!
Now, MrsT and I had an open day, so we didn’t care too much, and they fed us an excellent buffet with a good amount of wine, but many people on there had late lunch plans, spa appointments, salon appointments, other activities planned, and she fouled those right up.
Anyway, our opinion is, Ms. Tour Guide (who was up to that point quite pleasant) got her tours mixed up and thought we were the 6-hour tour, not the easy tour, and then she fibbed to cover it.
So that was fun…
Two more stories, coming up later.
We’d scheduled one of the shorter shore excursions; city tour (bus), old town tour (walk), and olive oil & wine tasting with buffet - 4.5 hours, leaving at 9:45AM and returning at 2:15PM.
We departed promptly on time, drove through/around the city, then we all de-bussed and walked for a bit in the old part. All in all, Corfu city…meh. Not for me.
Back on the bus, and our guide told us, “Ok, now we’re going up to a family vineyard and olive oil orchard, where they’ll talk about the land and the production process, and we’ll have some wine, and some olives, some good bread…it’s good, and then we’ll continue up the mountain through an old, old medieval village, you will see views, beautiful views, then farther up still to the monastery at the top, where we will stop for photos, and then down the other side, where we will stop at a small cafe for baklava, coffee, beer, and some gifts if you like.”
I look at my watch, it’s already after 1PM, and I’m thinking, “Either this stuff is really close by, or we’re going to shoot through here like
through a goose, because we don’t have that much time left.”Then we ambled on our way, up to the vineyard where, thankfully, the presentation was very short (and the woman conducting it, part of the family, looked like Lady Gaga, so I was quickly in love), but the buffet was fairly nice, not rushed at all, and I was checking the time, checking the time…and also picking up rumblings of other passengers wondering what exactly was going on, because it’s now past 2:15PM, and she’s talking about the monastery and how it’s a short 11 minute drive…and the cafe? And the drive back to the ship?
Up we go to the monastery (more on that in me next tale), we climbed out, and several people were now questioning themselves and others: “This was the 4.5 hour tour, right?” and “Aren’t be supposed to be done by now?”
I walked over to the tour guide, where a few people had assembled, and I felt like I knew why, and sure enough, I was right, only these folks weren’t being so congenial:
“We’re supposed to be back a half-hour ago! I have a spa appointment in 30 minutes! Am I gonna miss that?!?!”
“I can’t ride a bus more than a few hours! This was supposed to be short! How much longer are you going to keep us!”
Now, this is important, because I was standing there, and the first response from the guide was, “No, not 2:15PM, 4PM! Sixteen-Zero-Zero!” indicating that as far as she was concerned, this was the longer six-hour tour, I heard it with my own ears.
Well, while we were at the monastery, more people complained, and more still.
We finally piled back on the bus, got to rolling to our last stop, and the guide got on the microphone and said:
“Everyone! Everyone! I want you to have a happy time here today, no complaints! Yes, the tour was supposed to be 4.5 hours, but we were delayed in town because of the marching band! Remember the marching band you all wanted pictures of?! Well, that has delayed us! Also, 4.5 hours is just the minimum time, it can be extended! It has been extended to show you all the beautiful island of Corfu! Be happy! No complaining any more! You’re getting extra!”
That may sound somewhat cheerful, but her tone was fairly harsh and scolding, as in, “How dare you complain, I’m giving you extra, so shut it!”
Also, IMO, she flat out lied. We weren’t delayed in the least by the marching band in town, it was small and took less than three minutes to pass, and when she was first confronted, she said we were on the longer 6-hour tour.
Thirdly, I’m calling BS on the, “tours can be extended” claim, as I know the cruise ships run those tours with precision, and when they say 4.5 hours, it’s 4.5 hours.
We were gone seven hours!
Now, MrsT and I had an open day, so we didn’t care too much, and they fed us an excellent buffet with a good amount of wine, but many people on there had late lunch plans, spa appointments, salon appointments, other activities planned, and she fouled those right up.
Anyway, our opinion is, Ms. Tour Guide (who was up to that point quite pleasant) got her tours mixed up and thought we were the 6-hour tour, not the easy tour, and then she fibbed to cover it.
So that was fun…
Two more stories, coming up later.
Short sort of crazy story from the tour guide:
She doesn’t like Roma (she called them the outdated term Gypsys). She said that many people ask her how safe Corfu is, and she tells them Corfu is very safe, except that there are “small petty break-ins and dog stealings, and it is all Gypsys doing it, but you are safe, unless you brought your doggie.”
Then she told a crazy story, saying that a couple of Roma had stolen her dog, because they train dogs to hunt hedgehogs, and hedgehog is a delicacy, and she had a protracted negotiation with the men to return her dog, which eventually cost her 100€.
Dog-napping! That’s wild!
She doesn’t like Roma (she called them the outdated term Gypsys). She said that many people ask her how safe Corfu is, and she tells them Corfu is very safe, except that there are “small petty break-ins and dog stealings, and it is all Gypsys doing it, but you are safe, unless you brought your doggie.”
Then she told a crazy story, saying that a couple of Roma had stolen her dog, because they train dogs to hunt hedgehogs, and hedgehog is a delicacy, and she had a protracted negotiation with the men to return her dog, which eventually cost her 100€.
Dog-napping! That’s wild!
Another crazy story she told:
In the days of antiquity, fathers used to give their betrothed daughters a set of stirrups, to be hung from the ceiling above the marital bed, and it was sort of a traditional tender gift of love from a father to his daughter, on the eve of her becoming a wife.
The purpose of the stirrups was for her to place her ankles in them before consummating the marriage, as it was understood the young woman would be a virgin, and the stirrups would ease any “first time” discomfort, and then once the act was completed, she’d hang around upside down for a bit, to aid in conception.
Dog-napping, and then ankle cuffs from the ceiling! All within 15 minutes!
In the days of antiquity, fathers used to give their betrothed daughters a set of stirrups, to be hung from the ceiling above the marital bed, and it was sort of a traditional tender gift of love from a father to his daughter, on the eve of her becoming a wife.
The purpose of the stirrups was for her to place her ankles in them before consummating the marriage, as it was understood the young woman would be a virgin, and the stirrups would ease any “first time” discomfort, and then once the act was completed, she’d hang around upside down for a bit, to aid in conception.
Dog-napping, and then ankle cuffs from the ceiling! All within 15 minutes!
Last story:
We got to the monastery on the top of the mountain - very, very small, with a long decline of wide steps, worn in the middle over time, and pitched down themselves, so deceptively easy to navigate.
Down everyone descended, including a woman with her mom, who was probably around 80yo.
I heard the daughter at the top of the stairs ask her mother if she really wanted to go down and then back up, in that tone that said, “Trust me, you don’t!”
Mom did.
They made it down fine, arm in arm, and after a bit, we all headed back up. I looked behind me and there was Mom, attempting the first step on her own.
“We gotta go help her, I don’t know where her daughter is.”
Down we went, offered our help, she said no, couldn’t make the first step, then she said yes. We asked where her daughter was, and she said she was in the bathroom.
Slowly, slowly up we went, both helping her, one step at a time, and then the daughter showed up and wasn’t too happy with her mom, though she thanked us several times for helping.
Turned out, her mom had been very energetic right up until a lung issue waylaid her, and she was having difficulty accepting that she couldn’t just jog up and down the mountain any longer.
We got to the monastery on the top of the mountain - very, very small, with a long decline of wide steps, worn in the middle over time, and pitched down themselves, so deceptively easy to navigate.
Down everyone descended, including a woman with her mom, who was probably around 80yo.
I heard the daughter at the top of the stairs ask her mother if she really wanted to go down and then back up, in that tone that said, “Trust me, you don’t!”
Mom did.
They made it down fine, arm in arm, and after a bit, we all headed back up. I looked behind me and there was Mom, attempting the first step on her own.
“We gotta go help her, I don’t know where her daughter is.”
Down we went, offered our help, she said no, couldn’t make the first step, then she said yes. We asked where her daughter was, and she said she was in the bathroom.
Slowly, slowly up we went, both helping her, one step at a time, and then the daughter showed up and wasn’t too happy with her mom, though she thanked us several times for helping.
Turned out, her mom had been very energetic right up until a lung issue waylaid her, and she was having difficulty accepting that she couldn’t just jog up and down the mountain any longer.
PabloLerntKochen
Über Member
It's soo hard to stay happy when there's a spa appointment being postponed.... sounds like you'd at least some fun.
Yes it was bad communication and planning, but how can you be so frustrated in your holidays
Yes it was bad communication and planning, but how can you be so frustrated in your holidays
PabloLerntKochen
Über Member
Matthew Perry, Star of Friends died today at age 54
I find it very hard to believe that someone would prefer to be in a bloody spa than in an historic place with free wine and local food. Unbelievable!
It’s just different strokes for different folks. Had we scheduled something that the unexpected extended tour ruined, I would’ve been very upset, because I like to know what I’m doing and what my day will be, and it wasn’t like we got to lounge around, drink free wine and BS all afternoon - most of it was bouncing around on the bus, getting from here to there.
Some people just want a taste of something, not the total immersion.
- Status