Happy New Year!

To all who follow me and support me and have helped me through the hell that has been my life in 2009 I wish to say thanks!

May 2010 and be brilliant for you all, I hope that whatever goals you set yourself you manage to achieve and that life is kind to you and your families.

Best wishes and many happy crafting thoughts!

Naomi xx

Christmas Crafting Bits

Hi all! I hope you had a fab christmas day - sadly my hiding plan failed to work but who was I kidding right?

Sadly I didn't get that big a crafting stash this year as I'd hoped, but I did get the two cuttlebug folders I really wanted and then 2 surprise gifts as well - From Alex I got some adorable parchement toppers which I can't wait to play with (i'm just waiting for inspiration to hit) and then from Sue I got a new tilda stamp, what's incredible is that it's one i've been after for an age but can never find so i'm a happy bunny! A massive thank you to both lovely ladies!

I'm busy stiching a birthday card at the moment, hence the lack of crafting updates - stay with me, there will be updates soon i promise! I have a few cards that need to be made asap so it'll soon be back to the craft updates - and I promise to finish the egypt adventure soon too!

Hope all are well, take care and happy crafting xx

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all!

Hope you all have a wonderful time - personally i'm planning on hiding under the covers and praying the day disappears without me noticing it - but hey! i'm a scrooge! lol.

Take care, eat too much, drink in excess (so long as your not driving) and i'll see you on the other side of this mayhem.

Lots and love and crafting hugs

xx

Cairo and the Crew Show

Monday rolled in and it was Pyramid day! well actually it was Cairo Museum and the Pyramids, but nevermind. Another early start and about 2.5hours from the dock to Cairo. The museum is strictly no photography so nothing to share. It was, however, an interesting experiance. The museum is tiny really but its chocked to the rafters with artefacts and upstairs has a significant portion dedicated the finds of Howard Carter and Tutankhamun's burial chamber - which is, frankly the only reason we decided on this particular tour. Sadly for Egypt, there are more wonders of their ancient world in every other museum on this earth than in Egypt itself (past the actual monuments - pyramids, valley of the kings, temples etc). Nevertheless, the exhibition on Tutankahmun was an eye opener and our guide was fantastic! she managed to put 7,000 years of history into and hour- giving us a clear understanding of the importance of pharaohs at different times and the development and destruction of one of the greatest civilizations of all time - truly remarkable.

The one thing I would really recommend if you ever do Cairo museum is to pay for the additional 'Mummies rooms'. Whilst there are in total less than 20 Mummies on display, they are beautifully preserved and give you a brief, visual overview to the changing techniques of mummification - it also made us feel like giants - seriously those people were tiny!

Onwards from the museum and onto lunch. Another 5 star hotel, another splendid buffet lunch and we moved on for all of ummmmm 3 mintues?! across and up the road to the pyramids. I'm serious, Claire and I almost fainted in horror when we realised just how close the city is to these incredible structures! Biting my tounge against a rant on appalling conservation of a world heritage site I grimanced repeatedly throughout the next 2.5 hours as we walked the site, watching the blatent damage being caused by - and I was amazed at this - not the tourists, but the local egyptians who were all on holiday because of the 'great feast'.

The view from the carpark of the hotel of the Pyramids

Nevertheless, the pyramids are truly incredible. Similar to Petra I can talk facts, figures and endless random facts for far too long - so rather than bore you - here are some of my favourite shots from the day:-

So after we wandered the pyramids we were coached down the hill to admire the Sphinx - oh and because my brother was desperate to find out - I also took a picture of where all the holiday brochure photos are shot from - the top floor of..... pizza hut! I kid you not - look!!

So having been photographed out (if that was at all possible on this holiday) and more than a little sick of the locals offering camels to one or the other of us for marriage *sigh* we moved on for a tinie tiny little bit of shopping at a local jewellers where we had pre-ordered our cartouches to be made - £35 lighter off and very tired we headed back to the ship, actually discussing just getting some room service and crashing infront of the TV and a movie - of course that was never going to happen!

Back onboard and we wandered past the entertainment team getting ready for that nights show - they waved us over to ask how our day had been and if we were looking forward to the show that night. Not wanting to seem rude - after all they had gone out of their ways to talk to us daily- we forced out a cheery 'of course' and headed back to the cabin for showers and another long night. We ate dinner quickly, neither of us really bothered by much food and headed back into the show lounge to watch 'oh boy!' the story of the legendry Buddy Holly. Once again the team did an incredible job and we were soon far more awake as we watched and sang along to the show. By the time it was over we were ready to see the night out in our usual style. Deciding that if our normal pattern of drinking/dancing and sleeploss was going to take place again it would be an idea to line our stomachs with a bit more than the meager salad we had opted for we dived back into the restaraunt to grab some bread, cheese and an apple to munch on. We were joined in the que with the band and Ciaran once more commented on the serious lack of food we had. This time we managed to explain we'd eaten before the show but this was a top up and he stopped moaning at us. We chatted briefly before leaving them to their dinner in peace and we headed out onto deck to eat and get some fresh air.

Food devoured for the second time we wandered up to Liberties to start on the drinks before the band's show that night. Knowing once we were on the dance floor we wouldn't get off it we decided to get some fluid in us first and so we mixed between the cocktails and tonic water for about half an hour before we were - as predicted - dragged to the floor by Drew (the senior entertainment officer whose cabaret we'd seen the night before) and then kept there by various other members of the crew. Crashing out in our seats at the end of the band's set we ordered a couple of drinks and debated whether the cabin was calling. The answer was to be no as Ciaran came over to us and asked why we hadn't decided to head in to the crew show - with no real answer he told us to get a move on and we did! lol!

The show was fabulous - it was all the staff who aren't entertainment officers onboard - doing what they do best. And just incase you think im lying - some of them have made it onto youtube! including crew cuts (see here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irBTSd3dIwA) and bread and butter pudding (see here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYMrpLNtnEU). Another long night over (it was 1:00am by this point) we really did call it a night and with no one around to tell us off or guilt trip us into doing something else we quickly decended the floors to our cabin and bed with the the knowledge we could sleep in a little later the next day as we weren't due to disembark until midday.

Next time: Shopping, show and the deck party

Captains Cocktails!

So the one and only day onboard ship rolled around and we slept in (well 8:30am was a lie in given the early starts we'd had and would continue to endure) before wandering up for a lazy breakfast and a debate as to what to do that day. Whilst sunbathing was on the list for obvious reasons, I also wanted to attend the guest lecture onboard that day - Claire agreed to come with me and the plan was set; a couple of hours of sun before the lecture, late lunch and sunbathing again. We'd make a move about 3:45 to hit the shower as we had booked in to have our hair done for the night, but we needed to have it dry before going to the salon - easier said than done with a power limited hairdryer and us both having thick, long hair - but that was a bridge to cross later in the day.

Having finished breakfast we headed back to the cabin to don bikinis and suncream up before heading for some sun. The only problem with everyone being onboard? everyone wants to sunbath and it took a while to find an empty space to claim as our own. Nevertheless a couple of hours of sun and some lazy chatter past quickly and we donned our coverups again as we headed back inside for the lecture. Claiming some seats and getting drinks in, we sat back and listened to eminent Egyptologist and Historian- Dr Dan Jones talk about the evolution of Pyramids and the theories, conspiracies and ideologies which surrounded them. It was an enjoyable hour and a bit and we were glad we attended - even if the tan wouldn't be as dark as a result.

Not overly bothered with lunch we decided to settle on fruit and icecream - oh so healthy! lol but given that we knew we had a big dinner ahead of us and we'd stuffed ourselves at breakfast we decided ce la vie! its a holiday afterall - it was a choice of food that caused a throwaway comment from the lead of the band - who told us off for starving ourselves! sadly we got no chance to point out that we'd eaten more in 3 days of being on the ship than we would in a whole week at home as he headed off in a hurry - it was an argument that would have to be taken up at a later date (or at least later that day).

Finishing off our mediocre lunch we claimed our spots in the sun again for a couple of hours, both dozing off and just enjoying the heat before we headed to start preparing for that nights big event. Having washed and dried our hair - really an impossible task with a hairdryer that has no heat and thick long hair - we headed up to the salon where we were asked what we wanted to have done! ummm...... well the thing is neither of us really had an idea what we wanted so we'd reverted back to our old uni trick - photographed the dresses and shown them to the hairdresser with the comment of - do whatever you like! Always an interesting experience. Well our hairdresser squealed in delight and started attacking my hair with the straightners putting in lots of loose curls - 35 minutes later, a lot of pins and some swearing later (my hair never behaves as there's so much of it) and she was done and I was very happy - I love having curly hair. Swapping with Claire we entered into a debate as to what she should have done. The thing was, we'd been mistaken as sisters all holiday and we wanted to look really different tonight of all nights, so a chiffon/french twist design was decided on and our hairdresser set to work. A few tweaks to the standard design and a feature of loops down the one side of the head and Claire's hair was done and the two of us really looked different! YAY!

My hair

Claire's hair

With a lot of thanks we paid up and headed back down to the cabin to continue getting ready - as we weren't due until 7:30 we had about an hour and a half to kill. Taking our time we started on our makeup, making sure that it was - moreso than any other night - perfect. Then came the body butter with added shimmer and 20 minutes of dancing around in underwear waiting for it to have absorbed enough that we could put on the dresses, finally an hour after we arrived back at the cabin we slipped on the dresses, made sure the ribbon ties were perfect and slid into heels ready to face the world (well the cruise ship) and get a drink before we were due to meet and greet the captain.

We headed up to Hemingways and ordered our, by now usual, Champagne Royals and admired/scrutinized/commented on the dress choices of our fellow passengers - whilst giving and receiving more than a few compliments. As time ticked by we were directed to the photographers - here we go again! 2 different backgrounds, 3 individual photos each then 3 of the two of us together, followed after by a very unprepared photo with the captain - 13 photos in the space of 10 minutes! the smiles became a little forced. Having said that, we did get some fabulous photo's at the end.

Me!

Claire and Me!

As we were introduced to the Captain we had a quick conversation about where we were from and what we did etc - probably the same old thing everyone else went through, the only difference was that he then went on to say how much he'd heard about us from the crew! I think I paled in panic, Claire managed to maintain a neutral expression as the Captain then pressed on to conclude that he was glad to see the younger generation exploring the world in style and that the crew were having a great time entertaining and chatting to people closer to their own age! I breathed a sigh of relief and when released from his audience quickly acquired a glass of champagne to settle the nerves. We were guided to our seats and busy discussing the comments we'd just heard we actually didn't throw a cheeky smile at the band as we we're lead directly infront of them, an act that didn't go unnoticed. Settling in to wait out the arrival of the remainder of the guests we mused on the subject of our presence onboard - certainly we knew that at our age we were a bit of an anomaly on the spectrum of guests, but it seemed strange that we had turned into the topic of crew conversation. Deciding that it was probably best not to dwell on the issue and that in reality they were doing no less than us (or what we would be doing on our return home), we topped up the champagne and enjoyed the music and the band. Everyone in and the crew introduced, the Captain began his speech - short, sweet and very entertaining - I can only wish that my graduation speeches had been as good. We were released from the lounge to venture down the stairs into the restaurant.

Claire and I after we'd been seated

What can I say - dinner was a fabulous affair and we were seated with some absolute gems who kept us entertained throughout. Although now almost 10, the night was really just beginning and after a quick trip back to the cabin to touch up the lipgloss and re-secure a few pins in our hair, we went back up to the broadway show lounge to watch that nights performance - Hollywood! It was another spectacular for the eyes and ears and we were busy discussing our favourite songs when we entered into Liberties. Grabbing the first available seats we were soon presented with our drinks (having not actually had to order them lol!) and we debated how long it would be before we were pulled onto the dancefloor once again. We were therefore a little shocked to realise that the band were not playing that night - instead the Senior Entertainment Host, Drew was performing his own Cabaret. Nevertheless the evening continued and Drew was awesome and we were - like it wasn't going to happen - pulled onto the dance floor by members of the show team. After another 40 minute dance session and a desperate need for something to drink we were finally allowed to leave the dance floor when Drew finished. After saying goodnight to the show team who were all heading to bed (it was now about Midnight) we left Liberties to sit out on deck as we had every night so far. Due to the Captains reception, more people were still up at this point and many were out on deck, so we failed to notice that two of the band were busy talking to passangers at a nearby table. As the drinks were finished up the oldies headed to their cabins whilst Claire and I sat laughing at something - though I fail to remember what now. It wasn't until I had Claire telling me off loudly following a conversation about how Claire was getting all the attention and that if she continued to be 'Sex on Legs' I was seriously going to have to do something about losing weight that I realised the deck was all but empty and we had two sets of eyes boring into the back of necks.......

Claire was the first to turn round and by doing so we were invited to join the guys at their table. Making a move in the opposite direction I swiftly headed back to the bar to get another round in - I headed back out to join them and after a silently enquiry from Claire to ask if I was ok I sat down and the conversation started up again. It was mindless chatter, enquiries into our professions, where we lived, siblings etc filled the gap until the drinks arrived. With thanks for the drinks I pointed out it would have been possible for me to order them one too had I known their names and with that we finally did...... Ciaran and Dave.

The night passed in mindless chatter - lighthearted arguments about our eating habits (in response to my argument with Claire and our less than fulfilling lunch), enquiries as to which of the band had upset us enough that we didn't smile at them when we were being seated earlier that night (to which Claire said all of them had, by taking so long to actually come over and talk to us!) and subsequently a lot of laughter. Dave called it a night about an hour after we joined them, looking like the living dead, Ciaran left close to 2am when he had to head back to cabins for staff curfew and we followed shortly after, looking towards our own beds and the minimal sleep we would once again acquire before once again been up early for our trip to Cairo, the museum and the pyramids.

All in all it had been an interesting night and if one thing had been proven true it was this - sometimes all it takes is the perfect dress, a bit of pampering and a friend whose willing to make a prat of themselves and anything is possible.

Next time: Cairo and the Crew Show

Cocktail Confessions and Food Glorious Food!

Sorry for the delay in uploading - life has gotten in the way!

Day Three [Part 2] - Back on the Celebration
Having arrived back at our cabin we were both just about ready to call it a night then and there - but after a hot shower and a lazy debate over dresses (again) we headed up to find some food, safe in the knowledge that we'd wake up with something inside us (other than cocktails). We headed up to the restaurant and rapidly had our pashminas and handbags removed from our clutches and placed on what was to become 'our table' for the remainder of the cruise. Our debate as to whether we were drinking that night was decided for us as the bartender sent over 2 cocktails of the day! I still wonder if the staff were trying to get us drunk on a nightly basis, but who knows!

Having stuffed down a hearty plateful of food, we went to grab desert - afterall sugar is as good a substitute for sleep as anything else. The only problem was that the waitstaff had obviously decided the same thing and made us banana splits each as well! Feeling more than a little full by this point, the thought of finishing a second desert was, to the say the least, daunting - but not wanting to be rude, we dug in, aiming to eat a healthy amount at least in good will. The thing we hadn't realised at the time was the amount of stares we were recieving - happy in our own little world, chatting to passing members of staff - we didn't realise that the special desert we had been given was raising a few eyebrows! It wasn't until the napkin folding contest started between 2 of the waiters as we finished our drinks that we realised more than a few people were wondering exactly what we had done to deserve such treatment. The answer? who knows - retrospectively we think it probably had something to do with the fact that the crew were closer to our age so we had plenty of things to relate to and talk about.

Just some of the napkin folding we were presented with

After leaving the restaurant we headed to Liberties for a drink, little knowing that there was a quiz already taking place, not wanting to participate we headed out onto deck to take in some fresh air and see who was around. It was quiet out and we realised that many of the other passangers were watching the comic standup performing that night instead of the show team and so we went in search of conversation - or at least another drink! Settling in one of the other bars onboard - Hemingways- We caught up on the night's activities, having not looked at the newsletter that appeared every day in our cabin. It was a slow night until 11:00 when there was to be a Buffet Manifique in the Meridian restaurant, showing off the talents of the onboard chefs. Deciding that we would head there before going to the Rhythm and Blues cabaret in Liberties after, we still had a little under an hour and a half to kill! time to put a serious dent in the cocktail list!

What was to become 1 of our 2 cocktails of choice - Champagne cocktail

The only problem with an hour and half of drinking (and mixing) cocktails is that the conversation becomes one of two things - very silly or very serious. We did the latter as we began remembering the 'good old days' and lamenting how things hadn't turned out the way we planned. The only problem with having this kind of conversation is that things you've never said (even to your best friend) have a habit of slipping out - and did they ever! the funniest thing was that we both know each other so well that we already kind of knew what the other had been hiding - it was just nice to hear it confirmed and so, after some soul cleansing and another round of drinks we headed to the cabin to touch up the makeup, drink a LOT of water and make sure the room order for a new bottle was in so we had more to drink before heading to bed.

Onwards drew the night and we went to wait for the Buffet Manifique with everyone else on board. Somehow we ended up near the front of the line and having no idea what to aniticipate we entered- what we viewed blew us away!

This is just a small selecetion of what we saw - everything is made of fruit, vegetables or meat!

Having been totally amazed at the Buffet we made our way up to Liberties to grab some prime seats of the Cabaret- well we couldn't have got much better! centre on the edge of the dance floor! (a choice which we later regretted when we were dragged onto the dance floor yet again!). The show was fab, though we didn't expect it to be anything less and, after 40 minutes of dancing away with various members of the crew we begged off when the disco kicked in and headed out to cool off and actually attack the drinks we had ordered - which were softdrinks for the first time that night!

The Rhythm and Blues Cabaret team

We finished up our drinks fairly rapidly and decided to make a move for bed. The day had finally caught up with us and whilst we knew we had a day onboard ship to recover, sleep was well and truly calling - besides, who knew what the following day was going to bring? especially with the Captains Cocktail party to look forward too.

Next time: Sunbathing, Captains cocktails and a name......

Petra and Paradise

Day Three [Part 1] - The Red Rose City!

I awoke with an air of excitement, Claire woke with a grumble about unhumane hours and evil cocktails as we dressed and headed up for breakfast. Unsurprisingly, neither of us had fruit for breakfast that morning - infact I think both of us visibly paled at the site of it - instead we headed for toast with tomatoes and an egg to see us through. After forcing it down our throats and almost regretting the idea of having breakfast at all, we ran back to the cabin to pick up the bags and disembark.

As we waved a weary goodbye to the staff on the ship we were woken up rapidly by the overly cheerful and awake staff on the dockside who were handing out white bags - what they were? who knew, what we did realise was that the faster we got one and got on the coach, the faster it would be to napvill! So grabbing a bag, we all but ran to our coach and claimed the first available seats before settling in for the 2 hour journey to Petra. Even my excitement couldn't over-ride the physically drained state I was in and as there was no way I was dropping out half way down the valley due to sheer exhaustion, a couple of hours of kip was going to be required.

Having just dozed off, I felt the engine fire to life and the coach move off, putting it out of my mind I focused on returning to sleep and I was just there when........ our guide decided that it was time to educate us on Egyptian history and the importance of Petra! *groan* now there was no way of getting to sleep and normally I'd have just given in and listened - praying that enough energy tablets would see me through - but I didnt have any tablets and I already knew everything he was saying. Claire looked even worse than I did and soon her eyes glazed over and she managed to nod off again (I suspect its a skill learned whilst been oncall in a hospital). Sadly I had no such luck and I just prayed that sooner or later our guide would take a break and leave us to rest........ well the break turned up about 1 hour in, it just wasn't the break any of us was expecting! With no warning the coach pulled over to one side and the driver, followed by the guide, jumped out and were on their mobiles within seconds. Well by this point, the whole coach was awake and discussing in hushed whispers what they thought the problem was and whether we were actually going to make it to Petra. As for me and Claire, we settled back to wait it out - by this point, we'd figured out this wasn't going to be the calming, carefree, restful holiday we had planned, so why fight it? whatever was going to happen could happen and we'd deal with it when it came.

It was the right attitude to adopt as, not 10 minutes had passed since we stopped before a replacement coach had turned up and we swapped over, rapidly racing towards the back of the convoy of coaches who had passed us as we sat waiting. Preparing ourselves for another hour of chatter from the guide, we were shocked, but not displeased when he announced he was going to leave us to rest as he was required to make some phonecalls and check in/report the problem that had occured. Jackpot! one hour of blissful sleep later and we were woken to the announcement that we had arrived in Petra! Now the fun began.

The start of the path into Petra and the trade route through the hidden valley

We checked in, grabbed our tickets and started down the path - everywhere we looked there were carvings in the stone; tombs and temples which had long predated the Nabataens who made Petra so famous. As we continued on down into the valley we saw how occupations of the area throughout history had left their own mark on this unique place - roman archways soared over bedouin carved camels - syrian symbols etched into greek temples.

As we ventured further into the valley, the rockfaces suddenly soared above us and light became limited, highlighting small areas of rock after each turn and making the whole area come alive with mystery. The steady desent gave way to better surviving elements of the valley, including its unique water aquaduct system which had allowed Petra to survive hidden and prosperous for so many years.

The Aquaduct system carved into the rockface

Then, before we knew it we were there.... you know how something just clicks? and as we looked around I knew we were not 5 minutes from the Treasury - this path was exactly as it had appeared in Indiana Jones, although it was far more populated now then it had been during the movie - barely able to hold back, I grabbed Claire and dived through the slow moving traffic until it came into view, when I came to a speedy stop - causing Claire to crash into the back of me and some of our fellow passengers to burst out laughing at our antics! but who cared? this moment, this view, THIS was the reason for the holiday as far I was concerned and I was going to soak it up.

The First View of the Treasury [Al Khazneh]as you come out of the pass.

Now don't get me wrong, I could ramble on and on about Petra and its importance and how wonderful it is, but nothing can compare to being there - so instead of boring you with how Claire and I walked around in awe, taking far too many pictures and getting annoyed with tourists who like to walk infront of you just as you take the photo i'll try and share some of the wonders of this, one of the seven wonders of the modern world through a small selection of my favourite pictures from the day.

Did anyone spot the camel?

Petra was the experiance of a lifetime and I have just short of 500 photos from that day alone. It was probably the only day Claire and I also didn't pull any pranks on each other, or do anything too stupid whilst we were out and about. This day was all about the history and the memories - and they are memories which will last a lifetime.

Lunch was a late affair this day, about 15:00 - it was (as all our lunches were when out an about) in a 5* hotel, open buffett lunch, where we ate too much and spent most of the time drinking as much bottled water as we could possibly cope with! We headed back to the boat tired but happy and spent the two hour trip back napping and refreshing ourselves for yet another funfilled, manic night onboard.

We arrived back at the Celebration to be greated by a ships band made of the the waitstaff/cabin crew - who were awsome and totally mad! Oh! and those little white bags? they had snack boxes in them - just to keep you going if you failed to have breakfast. They were really cool, but little used by either of us as we always made sure to get breakfast- even when we had barely made it to bed.

And so the night onboard began and..... well you'll have to wait for part 2 as work calls!

Next time: Cocktail confessions and Food, glorious food!

'I pray that I may never see the desert again'

Ok 5 points if anyone can name the movie my title quote comes from...... anyone? no? well maybe it'll be clearer before this entry is through!

Day Two - 4x4 Adventure and Oh My!
Day two started off late, well 8:00 to be accurate - but as we were to discover later in the holiday, this was a lie in! After a quick shower, we headed up to breakfast, having already booked our expedition for the afternoon following our arrival in port. Breakfast was a lazy affair as we chatted to the waiters and discussed what we were most looking forward to in the week - for me it was all about the next day and Petra (it was the reason I begged to go on this cruise above all others). For Claire it was just the sights - and sun- in general, so as we finished our morning cups of tea (an essential) we decided to hit the deck for a couple of hours of sun before we had lunch and headed out.

That plan went rapidly down the drain as over the speaker came a notice of a practice for emergancy evacuation. So much for catching some sun! with a shrug and a bit of a groan we headed down to the cabin to grab our lifejackets and await the alarm. The whole procedure was a bit of a hoot really and had we thought about it, we would have got the camera's out the safe to take a picture of us looking stupid, but we didnt so you can't have a laugh - sorry. By the time we got up to our required meeting point, half of our 'lifeboat' was already there and we located the two ladies we had to check in with. Well, it was about this point we realised sunbathing wouldn't have happened anyway! there was a massive crosswind and whilst it wasn't cold, it would have taken its toll on the skin if exposed for too long. Meanwhile the crew were all trying not to be blown overboard whilst demonstrating how to use the life jackets - they survived, however, several of their caps didn't - I hope they have some spares!

So after a windswept 40 minutes and a lot of appologies (those life jackets are wider than you think) we headed back to the cabin with the single focus of fixing our hair - which now looked like it had been dragged through a bush backwards. A quick brush through and the addition of a couple of grips and we headed out again to explore the ship properly having not really had chance the night before. Several miles later, too many sets of stairs and a lot of introductions to staff onboard quickly ate up our time and we headed back to restuarant for a light lunch before checking off ship for our trip.

Our first adventure was a 4x4 desert run through the valley of Wadi Rum - famous for........ well this is where that quote comes in. Wadi Rum is where Lawrence of Arabia (the real one) spent much of his time and where Peter O'Toole later returned to film the 1962 blockbuster of the same name. We saw everything from the Pillars of wisdom to the trade route stopping points and the original settlement where the arab fighters used to hide in the valley when fighting for their independance. There's a feeling in that desert that history has never really entered into the past - it's truly incredible, and well worth the bruises we acquired from our mode of transportation [flat bedded toyato's with metal seats and very little padding]

Me at the starting point of Wadi Rum - In the background you can see the pillars of wisdom

Our mode of transportation - It was an experiance lol!

We finished this adventure at a Bedouin village where we had tea and live music. It was a brilliant end to what had been a highly charged 4 hours out in the desert, giving us time to relax before getting back on the coaches and to take stock of the bruises we had acquired - my left hip still isn't right! lol!

Our Bedouin Stop

We headed back to ship, unsure of what the night had in store, but content. As we watched the sun set behind the mountains we contemplated what dresses to wear - very important as we didn't want to clash, but also we didn't want to pull out the best dresses at the start of the holiday - and settled on the buffet dinner, as it gave us more flexability to see that night's show and still get in time at Liberties (the bar) and dancing. 

 

Sunset behind the Mountains of Wadi Rum

After dinner (and laughing at our arrival photo - it was truly hidious) we gave in to the plees of the ship photographer to let him take a better one before heading into the show lounge for that nights performance - Concerto. It was a high energy show of some of the biggest and best songs throughout the years and showcased the talents of the team that we were to witness time and time again throughout the remained of the cruise.

Me and Claire

As planned, the night finished in Liberties where we steadily worked our way through the cocktail menu and listened to some music, well listened to the music and appreciated the band members who were...... oh my! were they ever easy on the eyes (and ears). It was a deadly combination and from this point on, they were the singular reason we stayed up until all hours.
Having made sure we (by which I mean Claire) had been noticed by the band, we headed to bed about 2am and got a little under 4 hours sleep before the alarm clock rang and we rolled out of bed for the daytrip I had been looking forward to the most - Petra!

Next time - Petra and Paradise