It was an unusual summer with many episodes of Menieres disease which really means you can’t plan, although not to be daunted, I did. And I was often surprised with attacks. The good news, everyone, is that I will be having surgery November 24 to alleviate the attacks of vertigo. Check out Tenotomy for Menieres and that will explain the surgery. I have great hopes.

Meanwhile we took a wonderful trip to Tofino to spend a week with our kids, specifically the grands, Neve, and Sway, and their parents. I rented a VRBO that was lovely and very spacious, right on Chesterman Beach. It is always wonderful to spend time , 24/7, with our west coast family. It is such a delight seeing them all the time we are with them, and taking part in their activities. As I have often mentioned our son, Corby, and Kate , our daughter- in -law, do not want pictures of Sway and Neve on the internet so I can’t post pics of them in their wetsuits, surfing in the waters of the Pacific, or just having fun. They are now three and eight and tall for their ages. One wonderful aspect of our trip was that Corby and Kate have many friends, many of whom were in Tofino, so we got to spend time with them as well. And they were all delightful company.

Beautiful Chesterman Beach

and in the evening

girls playing

at dinner with Kate, my lovely daughter in law

That was August. My dear friend, Pam, and her daughters came for a long weekend visit to Toronto from Fargo and Minneapolis. We had a marvellous time, that included going to Stratford to see Annie. My friend,Liz ,came with us, and Sheila arrived to meet us driving in from London. It was a jolly afternoon and evening, with pizza in the garden. One night we went to my club where we celebrated Meredith’s birthday. Much laughter and joy was everywhere. Meredith drove my car home from Stratford as I was starting to have an attack! Murphy who is such a delight came too. Charles also went on this girl’s outing, and worked backstage with Cindy, the stage manager. He shadowed her and he loves that perk for being a sponsor. We ate lunch at a fun market, called The Wild Hog, which is definitely worth a visit if you are near Stratford.

various pics of my visiting friends

backstage at Stratford’s Annie

at lunch ,The Wild Hog

Then in September we went to Lisbon for three nights before a cruise to Spain. I am getting boring here, but I had a vertigo attack about two hours before the car was coming to take us to the airport. I was determined to not miss this trip so I closed my eyes, took some anti nausea pills and fortunately was all packed and ready. I was not in great shape or even in good shape, but the vertigo had subsided, although I was knocked out, but we got to the airport and when checking in I saw a wheelchair with a flight attendant and we grabbed it. She was very gracious. Thank goodness, as that was my transport through the airport to the lounge, where Charles ate dinner. I managed a chicken soup and then in that terrific wheelchair made it to the plane. Once in business class I settled in the lie flat bed and did have some cheese and crackers and a long sleep. The flight was delayed because of weather, but we made it to Lisbon and I was ready to walk off the plane, and ready for an adventure in Portugal. After a nice nap.

a beautiful space in the palace.

Addison, the well informed bell man

I had chosen a hotel called Verride palacio santa Caterina. It was splendid. There were 18 rooms, and ours was charming with a view of the rooftops of Lisbon, and the river in the distance. The staff was small and very personable. One young man quoted the hotel’s history to us, and told us about the owner, who had been a ballet dancer, had also owned a ballet company, and was a very interesting Dutchman, who wore a marvellous black tunic with a skirt and pants. We talked to him, and he was as delightful as his hotel. Every floor had wonderful rooms for dining, including a recommended by Michelin evening dining room. There was a terrace where we had the most delicious oysters, and a dining table where we ate breakfasts that changed every morning. They were simply delicious. There was also a club in the basement of the hotel, again dinners served here or just drinks. We had fun exploring the hotel that was also very centrally located. Whenever we went out and came back it was like coming home. The pool is not heated so I won’t been swimming, but a terrace beside it was pleasing.

waiting for a cab outside the hotel

We wandered around Lisbon , city of seven hills. I stupidly got us off track and we got lost. Charles, by now should know that my sense of direction is questionable, but he followed me. We stopped for a coke at a small park and then took a taxi back home. Eugene Levy did a documentary on Lisbon and stayed at this hotel which was featured. After much trying we saw the film, but it was a challenge to get our tv to co-operate.

We toured Lisbon in a tuk tuk which was fun and bumpy. Our guide was terrific and we tasted the traditional custard pastry in the place where they make the best and most famous custard traditional to Lisbon, Pastéis de nada, which has cinnamon and a burnt top, somewhat like creme brulé. People were lined up for blocks waiting for the custard treats. We ate out at a fish place, which was very touristy. Food good not great, but excellent view of the water. I forgot the name and for a good reason.

tuk tuk town everyone’s using them for tours

Classy holder for cutlery in one of the restaurants

pictures around hotel

chef in kitchen

fresh honey

view from our room

After Lisbon, we went to the cruise terminal to board the beautiful Ilma, a Ritz Carlton Yacht. They call it a yacht but it is in fact a small cruise ship, and very beautiful. We had travelled on it in January so knew our way around. We decided to head for lunch outside while our suitcases were being delivered to our cabin. I loved this restaurant on the last voyage, and was anticipating Ceviche. Our food had just arrived and I had a nasty attack of vertigo. Damn was all I could say. Charles helped guide me to our cabin and along the way a young crew member joined us. She was terrific and had a strong arm to support me. She managed to get my sneakers off, get me kleenex and a pail. About three hours later, I was ready to unpack and managed it quite well. A good sleep followed. The next day as per usual I was fine, but wanted to find my supporter. Turns out she was Ann and a hostess in Tides. She also remembered us from our last voyage. Ann is from Kenya and I gave her my card. We saw her many times as we loved the food and atmosphere in Tides. They also had a pianist who played soft dinner music.

our welcome on the ship

touring off the ship

the markets

One thing that was noticeably different from our last cruise on this ship was that the entertainment was much better in the lounge before and after dinner, and even one evening there was a fabulous show on the pool deck of flamenco dancing, guitar playing and singing. We loved eating and then going for a cognac/scotch to the lounge and listen to super music.

lovely singer

a beautiful park bench in one of the towns we visited

Of course the ship made stops of a touristic nature. Charles favourite by far was Gibraltar. He is a World War 2 afficionado and this was just up his alley ;the myriad of tunnels fascinated him. I am not a tunnels girl so went on a walking visit to the town and had some perfunctory snacks at the mayor’s offices. Cartagena promised horses with a show, but we were late and so just visited the horses in the stables and wandered around. It was pleasant. That night the theme was en blanc which meant we wore white. It was nice to see so many people in white. We ate in Memori, an Asian themed restaurant that had an excellent sushi bar and other delights.

mom and son in Cartagena

en blanc

This is the sort of ship that is low key. No fancy shows, only 180 passengers, gorgeous cabins, and stunning restaurants. I loved the pool and managed to swim every day. That was heaven. I am no longer sun seeker so even though there were many cots, and loads of towels, I just went swimming and returned to the cabin.

One extraordinary thing happened on our last evening. Ann to whom I gave my card looked up my blog and myself on the web. On the last evening we ate in Tides. In fact an invite was delivered to our cabin requesting our presence. Turns out we were the only invitees and when we arrived at our table it was strewn with rose petals and there was a gorgeous floral arrangement in the centre of the table. Not only that but the cutlery and dishes were gold. There was a poem that Ann had written and a card signed by the staff of TIdes that was a homage to me. As well a QR code on one card that took us to a site where all many of my performance pictures were shown. We were absolutely bowled over. She even arranged for an Opera cake to be baked for us by the chef, researching the ingredients online. I have the card and will try to copy it so you can read her delightful poem. I believe she thought I was some sort of star and that was her way of thanking me. Ann, from Kenya, will never be forgotten.

The next day we were in Barcelona, for our final night off the ship; just not possible to catch a flight home without that overnight. We stayed in a hotel where we had previously stayed , El Palace . I liked it better the first time , but it was fine. And we ate at a restaurant , Botofmeiro, https://botafumeiro.es/en/home, we had previously visited where we had jamon de belotta, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamón_ibérico, and I also had spider crab. The amazing thing was seeing other passengers from the ship that we got to know and like. They were at the next table. We chatted and laughed and enjoyed our last meal of the trip.

To make things really interesting I had another attack of vertigo that evening in the hotel, but managed to sleep it off, get to the plane, and arrive back home after a very comfortable flight and a wonderful journey.

I look forward to telling you about our time in Toronto this past autumn that included a fabulous opera event.

Meanwhile, take care, stay safe and smile alot.

Riki