Back From the Hot Baths

 Before I get to the hot baths let me catch you up to date with what has been happening. The other night we did manage to get to Sabitini's - the Italian speciality restaurant dinner which was a result of our flood. As an aside we did pass another room the had the carpet completely wet. We did notice that the room is now empty. Anyway the Chianti wine was very nice and it went along with the 2 and half hour dinner. It was like eating at John and Yvonne's except that it was a much longer meal. We remember about 6 courses all together. Antipasto came first. They serve samplers of many things. Then it was the Pizza, followed by the soup. After that it was the 2 kinds of pasta with so much butter that we need to let out the clothes. Then came the main course - Judy had the lobster and finally the dessert! You would think that with all that food they needed a wheelbarrow to get us back to our room. However the pace was such that we did not really have that stuffed feeling. As Judy said, it was the start of a "tradition" for us on these cruises which means we will be doing that in the future. Quite a pleasant night.
Yesterday was a sea day rolling along at about 10 knots in a very calm sea. We did not do too much but I must mention that we did got to a lecture on the Titanic. It was the best thing that I have ever heard. The person giving the talk was a naval historian that had interviewed some of the survivors. His story telling was terrific. We sat for the 1 hour and I could not believe the time went so quickly. The little personal stories of the people made it great.
The afternoon was started with a pub lunch. We tried to go line dancing but they made a mistake in the schedule and it did not happen. We did get in the cha cha lesson and did go to the art auction. I won another print. Big Deal. The night was spent it the top bar having drinks and eats with Bill and Elli. The food was good as usual. This "Elite" thing is great.
Today we were out by 7:30 for our tour. We are in Akureyri which is the along the northern coast of Iceland. It was cool but not that bad. We headed to the waterfalls which were very nice. Again the weather was overcast so the pictures are not great. That is not an excuse but a fact. Even if I had a fancy camera I don't think it would make a difference. After that we headed to the mineral baths and spent about an hour in the water. Really a nice feeling. The area is along the rift that cuts the island in half. The volcanic landscape is nothing like we have seen before but does resemble Hawaii and western U.S.A. It was a really nice tour and we are glad we took it. We did not have much wandering time and since we got back later, we decided to wait for the next stop before having local beer. This way we can have 2! The weather here is early fall with the trees stating to change. Only about 17,000 people live in this area and are probably outnumbered by the sheep. Cocktail hour coming up. More in 2 days!
are in