A week from today we’ll be home.  It’s hard to believe.  On the one hand, I’ll be glad to get home and I love May and June in Vermont; on the other hand, I could go on forever cruising the world.  I’ve enjoyed this immensely, but probably a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  The ship has become like a neighborhood; some folk you know better than others; some you don’t know their names, but still smile, say hi, and have brief conversations when you see them.

We attended the cocktail reception for the bridge players, knitters, and spouses today.  It was a large and fun gathering filled with most of the people we know best.  Heather was there to thank Michael (bridge instructor and bridge director) and Beverly (knitting instructor and bridge director) and one of the bridge players (in his best British accent) gave heartfelt and eloquent thanks, expressing what we all felt.  They are going on the 240-day (!!) world cruise leaving in August and claim that will be their last.  We won’t be on it, I’m afraid.

I have wanted to say a few words about bathrooms (just what we all wanted to know about).  The public bathrooms are distinguished by occasional bird calls (various bird species) which makes them kind of fun.  But I am most impressed by the efficiently arranged and functional stateroom bathrooms.  I have long been a fan of European shower fixtures and don’t understand why American fixtures don’t emulate them. 

The shower head is attached to the faucet by a flexible pipe or cable and seated in a bracket on a vertical pipe.  You can easily move the bracket and shower head up and down as well as move the shower head from side to side and turn it any direction you wish.  The volume/on-off knob is separate from the temperature knob so you can leave the shower set at a desired temperature and not need to reset it every time you turn the water on.  Perfect, I think.

The shower has a curved corner—which should help keep falls from being serious.  The sink is a lovely rectangle, with counter and drawers to each side.  Unfortunately the sink does have sharp corners so I’d think people occasionally fall and hit their head on the corner.  Of course, even without a corner, hitting your head on a sink can be pretty serious. se