At Sea on the 28th and Sailing into Dubvronik

Picture over the sofa in the Living Room

George and the Dragon-carved Walnut

We had a great day at sea yesterday, the 28^th. Wonderful breakfast in the Pinnacle Restaurant- a special amenity for "suite people." Hung out in our wonderful suite as people dropped in to chat and play hide and seek- the kids of course. In the afternoon the four youngest children went to the Club Hal program which gave them a different fun time and gave the adults a chance to rest, chat, or read.  The art our temporary living space is beautiful. We keep discovering lovely and clever things about this suite. What a marvelous treat this is!

           We all had corsages and boutonnieres delivered for the first formal night. Everybody got all clean and shiny and looked terrific. Will brought his camera and took lots of pictures and so did the ships photographer. We sat at our regular table, 163, and the kids were served quickly. Ella and Christopher went to the Club Hal to build volcanos- which seemed appropriate since we had sailed by Stromboli in the morning.

This morning we sailed into Dubrovnik. The city began as a Roman settlement. History says from the Middle Ages it was a prize sought by Venice, Hungary, Turkey, and other’s who coveted the city’s logistical value as a maritime port. As we sailed in you could understand why people have for centuries deemed this the “Pearl of the Adriatic.” The part  called “old town” is a beautiful walled city that was settled in the 7^th century. The name Dubvronik was adopted after WWI. It was a Turkish invention. The phrase “dubro-Venedik” means ‘Good Venice.’ The old city is rich in cultural and historical monuments. Last time we were here we thought it was almost an open-air museum of history.

Will and Jack

Will and Christopher

Bill watches the sail-in

As we sailed into Dubvronik, I watched Will and Jack on their balconies, then Bill and Kate, then Will and Christopher. Everybody seemed to be enjoying the scene. There were many different kinds of boats in the harbor where we docked. Lovely houses were spread all across the hillside. Today is Friday and already there was lots of activity to be seen.
The nine of the family are off on a tour of the old city together. Can't wait to hear what they have to say and what experiences they have.
Today is our anniversary and we plan to just hangout in our fabulous suite and share good memories about our 50 years together. Who would have ever imagined we'd be celebrating in such a magical place and with such marvelous people.