Steve The Wandering Aussie

27/10/2024The hotel in Kensington is swarming with Aussies, eating and panicking and just being tourists. The busses to take us to the ship are parked out front and there is pandemonium as to which bus is whose. Hope this ain’t setting the scene for the rest of the trip.While the two hour trip to Southampton was uneventful, it’s always a joy to watch the English countryside slide past the windows. I usually drive and miss this simple pleasure..Southampton:Always good to see old friends. The girls talked. Lots. And Phyl and I had a beer and mostly listened. Polite little introverts, us.Onto the ship and wow 😯 it’s BIG. No, Robert, I’m not concerned it will turn turtle..On an obscenely selfish note it seems many people have cancelled their trip due to the excitement in Gaza. This means that there is room to move on the decks and in the restaurants. I had read the Virtuosa tends to be stuffed to the gills. Not this time.New Zealand is playing South Africa tonight and all the Kiwis on board are easily identifiableIn their silver fern jackets and braying cheers. Have not seen a single SA person yet.Lyn paid for access to the spa and sauna section. I thought it was a silly waste.I WAS WRONG!!We had a fun hour of sauna and blasting showers and boiling spas. Followed by an ice bath. Yup. I’m alive.The food, remembering this is the first night and thus too soon to judge, was rubbish. Still. We enjoyed the plastic splendor of our floating home as we slid silently into the English Channel in the inky darkness..Thanks for reading, my friends and I hope you enjoyed.Stay wellSteve