If there is one thing that will get you out of a grumpy mood it is of course sunshine, good food and great company……………oh and being stranded on an desert island with Uma Thurman, winning the lottery and seeing the Miami Heat win the NBA championship next year and owning an Aston Martin and having another way to see your thingy apart from shiny shoes are also pretty good………….but after the joys of Easy Jet, the price of fuel and being assaulted by a Hong Kong toilet ……………a day in Naples sure does lift the spirits.
The plane landed and we breezed through Immigration and went to collect our luggage. This is always a worry especially in Italy however the good news is all our luggage is safely by our side.
The one thing I do have to tell you is that someone was having a laugh I am sure at our expense because the luggage carousel was faster than I have ever seen before. This meant you literally had to run alongside the thing trying to grab your luggage. I saw one older lady really struggling and she completely failed to get it of the conveyor………….I offered to help the next time it came around.
I didn’t have long to wait and this time I made a dive for the suitcase and managed to grab the thing nearly taking my arm off. I think Grandma had bought lots of treats for her grandchildren from London or she had Jimmy Hoffa in her suitcase……………..she was really happy though and said a big Gracie and slipped a two Euro coin into my hand. I tried to refuse it but she started waving her hands in the air as though me not taking it offended her…………..so I did. I wanted to stay and help everyone and make some real cash but Heidi insisted we go.
We were met by Adolfo Aloschi. You may remember me mention him before …………….. Adolfo is the owner of the largest and most successful tour operation company in Italy. His family have been in the business for three generations and currently provide scintillating tours and excursions for Carnival and all our sister companies. Adolfo’s father Nino is a true character and knows everyone involved in shipping. During dinner tonight he received a call from Lord Sterling who was the Life President of P&O Cruises and one of the most famous names in European shipping. Anyway, we had a wonderful dinner by the old castle in Naples. Now, although it’s not June 1 yet I did start preparing for my diet by ignoring the pasta and say bollocks to the delicious-looking breadbasket and had tomato and prosciutto for an appetizer and fresh fish for main course…………no bread…………no pasta. I will have to start keeping a close eye on my sugar levels as I start to reduce the carbs.
The hotel we are staying at is superb but it has been made even better by the gifts you have sent in advance and the numerous phone calls I have received. I would like to say a huge thank you on Heidi’s behalf to Catherine and Bob who somehow managed to send a beautiful flower arrangement to our room and to the Johnsons who sent us the delicious basket of fruit and the bottle of champagne. ……………I have no words except thank you ……so very much.
The first phone call came just a few minutes after we had checked in and a special thank you to all of you who took the time to say hello. I stopped counting after 11 calls and as I write I see that I have a red message light flashing so I guess more of you have called to say hello……….once again, you are all so special.
Tomorrow we will catch the ferry to Capri where some great friends are staying. We shall catch up with Jan and Mick who we have not seen for some months. Mick is an old mate and like me he spent years in the wilderness looking for the right lady to come along …………..any lady for that matter. Mick found Jan when he was buying some tropical fish from her fish store…………..she lives for fish………….and now they are the perfect couple and due to be married in Las Vegas fulfilling Jan’s dream to have an Elvis impersonator pronounce them as man and wife.
It will be great to see them and our other friends Mr and Mrs. Packer and Mr and Mrs. Bee some friends of Heidi’s from Holland. This means I will be sitting at dinner with three Dutch people and when three Dutch people get excited and start talking a lot you can guarantee that you will be washing spit out of your hair for weeks.
OK, let’s say huge congratulations to the Carnival entertainment and video services teams for winning some special awards as you will see from the below.
AWARD WINNING
Carnival’s entertainment and video services departments continue to earn accolades, receiving awards of excellence for Web site design and video animation in two recent industry competitions.
The line’s newly revamped entertainment recruitment site, www.carnivalentertainment.com, received two distinguished honors – the Silver Award in the 2008 Communicator Awards and a Bronze Award in the 29th Annual Telly Awards.
Carnival’s video services department received a Bronze Telly Award for its role in creating custom-designed video animation in conjunction with the launch of Carnival’s top-rated teen program, “Club O2.”
Congratulations to all!
If you have not visited www.carnivalentertainment.com please take the time to do so and you will see why they have won this award. Congratulations to everyone involved ……..I am very proud of you all.
I am not grumpy………….I am very happy although I have every reason not to be and it has nothing to do with Easy Jet or Gordon Brown…………..it’s because during dinner tonight I was stung……………by a wasp.
Now, I don’t even know if you have wasps in North America……………..do you? ……………..well let me tell you they have an almighty sting and tonight I met one up close and personal. For those of you who are not familiar with the common European wasp, let me tell you all about them.
Firstly, I think they are aliens………..yep………..they are not from the Planet Earth and in my opinion they are the first wave of creatures sent over here to destroy humanity. Unlike any other animal, with the possible exception of the Duck Billed Platypus, a slug and the French, they serve no purpose.
They’re not in the food chain meaning no other animal or predator looks at a swarm of wasps and thinks “buffet,” they can’t make honey and they’re not fluffy. ………………so why are they still here?
Nature has a habit of extinguishing its more useless experiments. The dinosaur became extinct when the caveman realised that a Brontosaurus tasted just like chicken and the dodo when its wings fell off
But the pointy yet strangely pointless wasp soldiers on. Why? There’s more, too. Wasps can smell a bowl of sugar from five miles away. How? Sugar does not smell. What’s more, they can organize flight paths from their nests to known sources of food. Again, how, unless they have been trained in the complexities of air traffic control by creatures with three heads.
Here’s another fact. Wasps attack for no other reason. Most animals attack when you provoke it. My sister’s cat for example would try and scratch my eyes out every time I sprinkled packets of pop rocks in his litter tray………………but the wasp………………he needs no excuse and tonight while I was happily munching on my fresh piece of fish Willy the Wasp came high out of the setting sun and stung me on my right arm. Now, luckily I am not allergic to wasp stings but many people are and that is why in Europe wasps are responsible for more deaths than lions, sharks, elephants, hippopotamus and piranha combined.
As I writhed in pain and squealed like a girl whose Barbie Doll’s head has just fallen off I wished I had been at home. Wasps are a huge problem in the UK and I like many Brits bought a weapon to defeat this army of alien creatures.
I now have an electric tennis racket that turns the art of insect control into a sport. Instead of catgut, the strings are made from metal strips connected to a powerful battery. One touch will kill anything up to and including a hamster…………I know this for a fact………sorry Henry.
But wasps? They sit there mincing around until you take your finger off the power button, whereupon they sting you and bugger off using their antenna to send a message to other wasps to come and get me…………………….which one did ……………. tonight …………. I am telling you ……wasps are aliens and we should prepare ourselves that one day they will rule the world.
However, being attacked buy a monster from another planet, standing in a line for ever at the airport and having to pay for the right to have a few extra pairs of underpants in my suitcase has not stopped me from enjoying being in Italy.
I want to leave you with one visual……………earlier tonight, as I stood on my balcony looking at Vesuvius I saw a cruise ship sail away into the sunset. This sight always gives me a special warm feeling inside and I never tire of experiencing it. Tonight, as I watched I realised how lucky we all are to be able to enjoy the best vacation in the world ………………. the enjoyment of seeing a place like Naples and the surrounding area and then to return to the safe and luxurious surroundings of a cruise vessel or ocean liner to head to another port and new adventures……………..cruising is a vacation like no other…………….Why would anyone do anything else?
Goodnight
your friends
John and Heidi
Look, friends — there are a few things you should remember before you comment. The space below is for you to post your comments about the post I've just written above. If it is something that's unrelated, please use the Ask John tab above. Now, while I may not be able to reply to your comment below, I do sit in my underpants almost every morning and read everything that is here. So feel free to comment on the comments and then if someone wants to comment on the comment to the comment then go ahead as well. Please be courteous unless the poster is French...........then you can say whatever you want.
John so happy you love your job, congratulations as you are the best at it, hugs to your beautiful wife Know we are jealous as we have to wait until Jan 31 for the wonderful Splendor. Keep up the good work. Hugs Judy and Jim
Hi John – All I can say to your comment about cruiseing being the best vacation in the world is…AMEN…..
Hi John and Heidi,
Glad you arrived in Italy safely. Looking forward to more info on the Splendor.
Just be glad you don’t have to fill up a motorhome with a 125 gal. tank and it only gets about 8 miles per gallon.
See you soon.
Linda
You are so right John, cruising is the BEST, why would anyone do anything else? And YES, we have wasps in the US, especially here in Florida, they make nests and the nests look like a small corn husk, and if you try to knock one down you are likely to get stung. We always have a can of wasp spray around to spray the nests and avoid getting stung. Poor Baby! Did Heidi kiss it and make it better? HA! HA! Lucky you being in Italy, you have a fairy tale life, traveling all around Europe and the Caribbean. What more could you ask for? Well, enjoy your stay, and keep us informed on how your diet is going. Watching carbs is most important for diabetics. Ciao, Your friends, Linda & Mike
I agree with everything you said in the last paragraph.
Thanks for making me relive my time in that precious country. I have been there, thinking the same thoughts.
Giving thanks for the blessing of being there and share it with love ones. I want to feel that same way again.
Enjoy it!
Nanni
John:
Yes we have wasps. Red ones that hurt like the devil color they are!!
This however is a good time to have a friend that smokes, because if you unroll a cigarette and chew the tobacco slighty and then put the wad on the sting….it removes the pain!
Linda (Mom of your friend DJ)
Sorry to hear about the boo-boo on your arm, John. Boy, with your luck lately you’d better keep a close eye on Vesuvius – I fear an eruption is imminent.
So, you think a platypus is useless, huh? Well, I bet if you asked a platypus he’d say the same thing about people! And the French – why they are VERY useful. Or at least they used to be. In the past, you could count on them to say something to piss off the Republicans every six months or so. Then the news would be full of Republican senators with veins popping out of their necks and Republican liquor store owners pouring French wine down the sewers, and the rest of the country could go quietly about it’s business. But now, the French have elected that Sarkozy guy who loves America so much that he won’t say a word against us – and what’s the result? The Republicans had to find another nationality to hate and they latched on to the Mexicans for their despicable habit of sneaking into our country and working hard for low wages! So now fruits and vegetables cost more because there’s nobody to pick them, and the government has added billions to the deficit to build a giant wall on the Mexican border which helps to depress the dollar which makes French wine too expensive to drink OR pour down the sewer! And all because the French couldn’t keep their big mouths open!
I agree, why would anyone travel any other way. I am currently trying to book fall 2008 & Feb. 2009, because if you want a suite this is how far in advance you have to book. Thanks for some good laughs today, always appreciate your blog(s). Italy is truely heaven on earth, the food alone…well never mind that…Good luck on the upcoming diet.
Jan
John & Heidi
Your comments on Naples and cruising ring so true. I’m sure I’m not alone in the conclusion that cruising is the greatest vacation you can take.
All the best to you both- I’m leaving in the AM for a 5 day cruise on the Elation, so Bon Voyage and I will catch up in a week or so
John,
I was going to call then i remember i paid $140 to fill up my gas tank today and if i want to eat tomorrow i need to save some money on the phone bill. But feel free to drop me a line if you want I think you still have my number or a email I like those also they are even better when you need something to laugh at while at work and trying to figure out how you managed to get linguine down you pants with sauce on it and not notice. I know most of the evil crew are aware of this thanks to ED and Stephanie sharing but make sure if your booked on the 2009 bloggers cruise you have the proper code entered on your booking if not your out of luck and the party. CPBL is the promo code you need on your booking. Back to the Wasp yes we have there here in the united states also. They are world wide i think. Yes they sting I too have one of those tennis rackets of death I use it in the morning to make sure I’m still alive so far so good. It might also come in handy if someone you know has a heart attack you can just zap them back to life and watch them twitch. Hope you and Heidi are enjoying Italy I can’t wait till I visit Venice and pay for another person’s child to go to university off a slice of pizza and a t-shirt. And Rome where a glass of water is my yearly salary. Yes June 1st is quickly approaching so what is your diet plan going to be just no carbs or is there going to be some book involved in it. I would like to know. have a great time
Kevin
John,
Good question? Why would anyone do anything else for vacation than take a cruise…a ship is the most perfect place in the world!
Looking forward to reading your experiences on the Splendor.
Kisses to you and Heidi!
Princess Elaine, the quiet and single
Hi John & Heidi,
Seems like forever since I have commented. I can’t remember the last time.
Wasps are nasty little creatures in North America also! I have been stung by them. I am not allergic either, but the place were they sting hurts for days and swells up. I hate them! Yes, I know that is a strong word!
Cruising…there is no other vacation like it. Every time we go on a land vacation, I ask my husband why we are choosing this instead of a cruise? He just likes to be on a vacation. I watched a cruise ship sail away in Key West last year and I too experienced the same warm feeling. Cruising is the best!
Well, have a great time in Capri. My dad & mom spent a weekend in Capri the winter before my mom passed away. It still is a memory my dad likes to tell us about. He said it was a wonderful place.
Hopefully things will go well as you prepare for boarding the Splendor in a few weeks. I guess your time off is officially over for now. Can’t wait to see some pictures from your adventures over the next few weeks! I have enjoyed all your stories while you were off and exploring!
Karen
So John, was the ship a Carnival Corp ship, and ‘of the seas’ Corp ship, or some other ship. Inquiring minds want to know.
John, I think Mr. Murphy must be permantly attached to you. From Easy Jet to wasps you just better avoid anything that flies.
TO ALL GOING ON 2009 BC
As Kevin said if your going on the 2009 Bloggers Cruise make sure your booking has the promo code CPBL or you will be on the Bloggers Cruise as a plain passenger. You will miss all the gifts and activities.
BIG ED
John,
It isn’t fair that you had to waiting in line for a long time after paying for the speed line, then being charged extra because of a few extra undies, and then getting stung by the wasp. It wasn’t a very good day but think about it. It wasn’t all bad. There were some positives: your luggage arrived with you and you are in beautiful Italy having a wonderful time visiting with friends and you are headed for the Splendor.
Hoping you and Heidi are enjoying all the positives and are putting all the negatives behind you.
Enjoy sunny Italy!
John I’m sorry to hear you got stung. Boy that had to have hurt like H*^^. I read recently that if you put a penny on it, it will take the pain away. I don’t know if that is the truth, but I’m sure going to try it the next time I get stung.
I have to agree with you whole heartedly. Cruising is the best way to take a vacation. Our RV will probably sit more than we travel in it anymore due to the costly fuel. Ours is like KICIASKI, it takes 125 gallons of diesel fuel, and diesel is higher than gas now. Just figure we get 9 miles to a gallon ….and that is probably doing a lot of coasting down hill….lol
Now we are going to have to dig deeper in the vacation money to buy the gas to drive to the port , and the ones that fly, are going to have to pay a hefty fuel charge to the airlines, plus the fuel charge to the ship, I sure hope the high gas prices don’t keep a lot of people from cruising.
Heidi, please get the camera ready to take the pictures of the Splendor We’re looking forward to them.
Carolyn.
John, I know this may sound hokey, but old fashioned.. using “Final Touch” or the like hairspray, stops a wasp in its tracks. lacquerred.
I surely hope you do not have to use this method as you avoid wasps, but if you have a need, a small carry on type should surfice.
also, a cup of coka cola or such placed ways off from you will attract them away, they like sugary sweet stuff and may drown in its delight. When we have garden parties, we always put cups filled with that soda, faraway from every one, and keep the empties in closed bins.
John you are just a pleasure to read! Also, can you please help?! We would love to have a meet and greet on our 6/21/08 sailing on the Glory – what do I need to do? We have about 92 on our roll call! Thanks for any help you can give!
My hand slipped once with one of those “tennis rackets”. It hit me right in the head – those of you who have read my previous posts now understand them better, LOL.
“……………..cruising is a vacation like no other…………….Why would anyone do anything else?’ Indeed!! But I have many friends who would no sooner get on a cruise ship than volunteer to be stung by a wasp… sorry, John…
I KNEW that all would be better when you made your way to Napoli!!! It’s ITALY, John, it’s ITALY!!
Congrats to Carnival’s Entertainment and Video production department! They certainly are first rate and they deserver the accolades!!
Have a wonderful time, my friend, and think of us poor landlocked Bloggers from time to time… and DON’T FORGET THE PICTURES!!!
Hello, Stephanie! You’re doing a bang up job!!
Cheers!!
GregB
john why would anyone take a vacation any other way’ cruise is the only way to go. you are starting to worry me about loosing our luggage when we fly to rome in july for our Freedom cruise do we really have that much to worry about , John i found an ashtray from my very first cruise 3 ships are the carnival fleet can you name them for me , will let you know on my next message also does the cruise ship have Euro’s exchange or do we need to do that before we start our cruise in Europe if you can just E-mail me or just an answer on this blog will be fine thanks
I just did one and next will train. In six months or so, we hopefully will be on Captain Albert’s ship to Alaska…if the budget holds up. She says crossing fingers and toes. But trains are good too.
Hi John,
I agree about those nasty little wasps… they are alien life forms from another planet! I keep things on the deck to trap them… until they die a natural death. I’ve been stung to many times by them.
Glad to read you are not grumpy anymore… and are picking up a little extra cash now and then… LOL!
Hugs to you and Heidi both!!!
Princess Barb
I still recall being a child and getting stung by a wasp. It was like one of those movie pictures. Fade in to a bee flying across the house towards an open window where Deanna is standing outside of. The wasp flies through the window and yup, lands and stings me. And then flies off never to be seen again, while I stand there crying because I got stung on my leg. Charlie has been opening our umbrellas outside every so often to kill them off as they like to make nests under them. Also under the cover of our hot tub. Ug, just another joy to living in the country. They haven’t made any homes in our attic though so that is a plus
Charlie and I have decided we want to do the Europe tour to St. Petersburg in 2010 so I am keeping my eyes pealed for when those get announced so we can get booked.
Thanks for the laughs……
Deanna
Hello John, Heidi and all. I agree, cruising is what keeps me going. Ever since my first cruise in 2003, I have almost always had the next one planned and booked even as I am on one. It gives me consolation when things go wrong (wasp stings!) to know that there’s cruise in my future. I enjoy land travel too (you just can’t take a cruise to the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone National Parks) but cruising is the most relaxing way to see new places each day and not pack and unpack each day.
Shirley
Hi John & Heidi,
Yes, yes, yes – cruising is absolutely the best vacation in the world!
Except for the wasp sting, you sound so happy to be in Naples. I know I’ll never be there, but I see it through your eyes (and photos).
I don’t know if you heard this piece of news yet, but yesterday on a national news program, it was reported that because of the current economic conditions, purchases of SPAM are up 14%. I still have not tasted it. Maybe I should buy a can. If I don’t like it, maybe my cats will.
And there was also a story about how people are avoiding flying, using the exact same words I used when I said I want to cruise out of NY – the hassle of flying, security, fares, delays, additional fees, etc. So again I plead – more cruises out of NYC please.
If I don’t comment later on a new blog thingy, enjoy the weekend and your time in Naples. I’ll be looking forward to the next installment of Travels with John & Heidi.
Love,
Carol
John,
I knew I forgot something – Congratulations on avoiding the pasta & bread. Keep it up.
C.
Dear Jon,
thank you for posting all this interesting things. I`m new at your blog – but i will stay long.
Your Kreuzfahrt Fan from Germany
John,
Isn’t it amzing they we are dedicated cruisers continue to love to watch other ships leave a port, knowing on them are some 3000 sould about to have the time of their lives….
Living in San Diego and working high on the hill overlooking downtown I often watch the Elation sail in or out of our bay. It never fails to leave me smiling…and wishing I was there.
Wasps… Gosh I had no idea about the wasps in Europe, sorry for your pain, and thank you for posting that. I am one of those highly allergic people. So I have made a mental note not to travel to Europe without my emergency medicine.
I look fowrd to this blog every morning, a smile as a start the day.
Best regards and have fun writing Capers!
Nancy
John, first off sunshine, great food and good company are not “one thing,” but however many “things” it takes to get you out of your grumpy mood is fine. Glad to hear you are once again at peace.
Heidi should have let you work the baggage conveyor. You could have earned enough to fill up your polar bear killing SUV. She needs to look at the big picture. Plus, the exercise would have been a good start for your weight loss program. I can just see you…jogging around the conveyor chasing bags, then lugging them back to their owners for a couple of Euros. Oh, and you shouldn’t cut out all “grains” from your diet. You need to eat at least a little each day, especially whole grains.
Sorry to hear about the alien attack. I was once stung on the upper lip by a wasp (yes, we DO have aliens, including wasps, in the ‘States), and my mouth looked like Angelina Jolie’s, but only on one side and only on top. And it hurt like heck! Hope you didn’t suffer much.
Congrats to the entertainment and video services departments on your awards! You’re great, and we appreciate your hard work and the wonderful results.
John, I imagine you and Heidi both are “chomping at the bit” to get on the Splendor and bask in the atmosphere of a gorgeous ship and the comfort of being “home again” with life back to normal. (If your lives could ever be considered normal.
Hi John & Heidi
Love reading the blog, just returned from lakeside (awful) my feet hurt and my credit card keeps saying stop NOW! So fantastic to read about you both in Capri, what a lovely place, but you cant beat a cruise. Tell Jan getting married in Vegas is the best, 9 years ago I was given away by the best looking Elvis ever, the singing and dancing was great at the time, although i cant bear to watch the video. Dave & me said we would go back in ten years (time flys)24 Dec 09 and renew our vows, but I have told him to book a cruise instead. Maybe you could dress up as Elvis! Anyway its a great way to start married life. Thank God the sun has now come out in Thorpe, still telling everyone about our meeting last week, they look at me as if i am totally mad! Our docs for the splendor still not sorted out, its now with the IT guys (been with them for two weeks) but hopefully will get done before July 10th.
Take care enjoy
Michellex
Good Morning John,
Finally caught up with my reading. I laughed when you mention your “tennis racket”. I have one too and get a huge amount of satisfaction swinging at flies, you have to swing at them from behind because when they take off they fly backwards (can you believe that but they do). We also have wasps and I love going after them too. Love my tennis racket.
Love hearing about the Splendour and Europe….someday….someday Jack and I will go on a European cruise until that time I always have your blog. Thanks.
Miami Heat beating the Pistons in the Finals, I see the cold meds are still working. ;D I really would love to see the Heat and the Pistons compete in the Eastern Conference Finals next year. Sigh we all have our dreams don’t we?
Don’t complain too much about Heidi and her cosmetics, creams and what not. It’s expensive to be beautiful for our “darling husbands”. John everything wonderful has some price. heh heh
You take care
Joan
John, I forgot to mention that you should go to dashdiet.org and order the DASH Diet Action Plan book. It is a really good “manual” for changing one’s eating and exercising habits to reduce blood pressure, cholesterol and to aid in control of type II diabetes. I recommend it highly!
Your Pal,
Myra
Wasps, yellow jackets and hornets to name a few. Also plain ol’ Honey Bees, which scientists tell us are disapering at an alarming rate. I too have one of those rackets, and I say good riddance. I’ll go without honey! Here in Oregon (surrounded by forrest) the mosquitos are also as big as bees!
I had a wasp nest as big as my head develop under a gable on my house last summer. I used 3 cans of death-to-bee spray before winning that war. I hope they don’t come back this year.
See you on the Splendor in July!
John, just reading about your wasp sting makes me go “oooooooo!” I have been popped numerous times, and the pain is so intense! I know this put a damper on your evening — I’m so sorry.
Watching ships set sail — Aaaahhhhh! I go to Galveston often to watch the ships leave. Even though I can’t be on one, I can sit at a restaurant, having a nice drink, and I can recall the pure pleasure of cruising. It never ceases to put a smile on my face.
Hi John/Heidi:
I’m really sorry to read about your wasp sting. That’s awful. I hope it gets better soon.
I believe i have a wasp colony living on my patio, so i get to deal with that this weekend.
Enjoy Naples and keep us informed.
Good luck with your diet starting this weekend.
Take care!
David
…CRUISING… the only way to fly!!!
You unpack, you travel and sight see, you take it all with you, the food is 5 star, EVERYTHING!!!
…CRUISING… simply nothing better!!!
In the southern US we have wasps and hornets. Black hornets are viscious little brutes that hang on with their mouths while repeatedly jabbing you with their stingers. Yellow wasps are smaller, called Yellow Jackets. Certain types live in holes in the ground and attack as you walk by.Both types are very active the first weeks of school, probably released there by pharmacutical companies who sell Epipens. If you do not have tobacco handy for a poltice, scrape the inside of an Irish potato and hold it firmly on the sting. In order to do this you will probably have to tackle the child who has been stung, then sit on him.
Hello John,
I hope your are very good!
First of all I thank you your coment about the Telly Award recieved by Video services, if you like a picture of the Award to update your blog please let me know.
I wish you Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
)) PP MAS ((