Some animals and a shirt

One fun thing about cruising is that we get treated to a variety of towel animals.  This trip, in addition to animals, we had a towel folded like a shirt.

Paint the Shell First

I spent Day 2 on board ship, and then on Day 3 in St. Petersburg, attended a Nesting Doll Painting workshop.  The group that puts on the workshops is geared toward teaching arts and crafts to local Russian citizens, which meant only one of the group really spoke any English.  But, with the use of hand signals and blank looks, we were able to get the help we needed, or should I say the help I needed. Some of the participants were quite artistic and started right in.  I was at the stage of, "please help - how do I draw the face...please help, where do the hands go?"

Once we got the drawing done, then it was time to paint.  One woman asked where should we start with the painting, should we do the clothes first, or start with the detail of the face first.  The leader said, "Do the shell first."  Well, yes, we understood we were to paint the shell of the nesting doll, but should we start with the face or with the clothes?  After going back and forth and back and forth, we finally realized the leader was trying to say, "Paint the shawl first."

As we departed St. Petersburg, Dennis mentioned he'd learned that there was an under-sea highway. We were fortunate to see the entrance from our balcony.  It's part of their flood protection system and dam.

Entrance to under-sea highway outside St. Petersburg

St Petersburg, Russia

We had three days in St. Petersburg.  On Day 1, we went on a "Panoramic St. Petersburg" bus trip.  It rained all day, which our tour guide said is typical for the city.  Apparently, they get all of 30 days of sunshine a year.

Can you guess which stop on our cruise accepted all forms of currency, including US Dollars, Euros, and local currency?  Why, St. Petersburg, Russia!  They are quite obviously set up for tourists.

Church of the Spilled Blood, in the rain, through the bus window

Scene of "Panoramic St. Petersburg" from the bus

This statue of Nicholas I is apparently unusual in that the horse has only two feet on the ground

An original lighthouse; the city has saved their two original lighthouses

Next Stop Tallinn, Estonia

Our arrival at Estonia was a tight fit with a neighboring cruise ship directly across from us.  We could see from our balconies to theirs.  I did not go ashore, but stayed on board.

Neighboring cruise ship

View of Tallinn, Estonia

On to Stockholm

Our Scandinavian/Russia cruise departed from Stockholm.  We flew to Chicago, then had to traverse to the international terminal for our SAS flight departing for Stockholm.  I splurged on "Premium Economy" seats, which meant wider seats, bigger armrests, more legroom, and refreshments that were a bit fancier, but it also meant we were farther from the lavatories.  Our flight left late evening, and I was expecting we'd have some sort of snack before bedtime, and I was expecting breakfast. But, we started off with a snack, then a full dinner, then more snacks, and then breakfast.  For Europeans, breakfast means cold meat and cheese, what we Americans would call lunch meat.

Once we landed in Stockholm and made it through Passport Control and Customs, we got on the train from the airport to the city center.  My brother met us as we got off the train, and led us to our hotel.

Next morning, on to the ship.  Royal Caribbean has implemented a new boarding procedure - arrival times based on deck number.  Last cruise, everyone arrived at the same time and there was a long long line.  This time, boarding was quite easy and fast.

The ship stayed overnight in Stockholm, and we had a  "Panoramic Stockholm" shore excursion the next day.  But, we ended up on the wrong tour bus.  We signed up for tour #S19, but were given tickets to #SJ9."  Even when I protested, I was assured we were on the right bus - but - well, not so much.  Fortunately, we did get a panoramic tour of the city of Stockholm, and we also got an unexpected "Sky View" trip.

View from Sky View

View of mechanism that moves Sky View gondolas

Outside of Sky View showing tracks for gondolas

View from Panoramic Stockholm tour bus

Here's an amphibious bus used in Stockholm

We caught a glimpse of the royal color guard going by

Our departure from Stockholm was joined by many many sea birds, as seen from our cabin balcony.  It seemed odd to me, until those up top mentioned later that a woman had been feeding the birds!

Luggage Assistance

I've found that when one is packing or unpacking,one's cat will try to be very helpful.  Once I got my suitcase out and started assembling the clothing I was going to pack for an upcoming cruise, Miss Molly decided she needed to help me by holding down the growing pile.  And, once I started packing the suitcase, she decided to kick my items out onto the floor, so she could burrow out a spot for herself.

And, again, when we returned home, Molly decided she needed to inspect my luggage as I unpacked it, to make sure I hadn't missed anything.

Molly burrowed into my backpack

Edgar Allan Poe and His...Crow?

I belong to several Facebook stitching groups.  People post photos of their stitching, ask questions, seek advice, etc.  Well, yesterday, someone posted a photo of a needlepointed portrait of Edgar Allan Poe, complete with raven on his shoulder.  It was quite interesting, but even more interesting was one of the comments, "Love the crow!"  Crow?  I just shook my head.

She must have been referring to Poe's earlier version of his poem, now lost to posterity, in which "quoth the crow nevermore."

I've gotten two autumn ornaments stitched and actually finished, for the CyberStitchers ornament tree for the EGA Auction at Seminar.

"Gingerbread Quilt" from The Victoria Sampler

"Falling Leaves" by Jennifer Rodriquez, finished onto a miniature horn book

Our latest play was "The Importance of Being Earnest," put on by the University of Iowa Summer Rep.  It was quite fun.  We've always enjoyed going to Summer Rep, but the program has been on hiatus for several years to allow for remodeling following the flood of 2008.  We were glad to see the program back.  Unfortunately, in their remodeling of "infrastructure," they did not redo the seats.  My seat had lost most of its stuffing, and the woman sitting next to me found a big tear in her seat covering.