Raining in Roma, nice day to explore. The crowds will be lighter and I can spend some quality time in the Forum and the Pantheon and find some new stuff. I have been to Rome before and it is a great city.

Some new adventures this week. pause....

wow! just made it back to the ship, almost late! ahhhh

Pictures! Dubronik, went on a bike tour, saw houses with bullet holes in it. My friend Jonathan is just like me! He likes to sneak into abandoned houses too. I snuck into the house to look around. There were still cups still sitting on a kitchen table, probably sitting there for at least 15 years.

Climbed Mt. Vesuvius yesterday. Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD and covered Pompeii with over 6 metres of ash, preserving it for centuries. We got to the top of the crater and there is steam coming out, no lava. :( I brought back a bag full of rocks if people want souvenirs! And yes, I am laying on a brothel bed. The Romans had a very large red light district.

Off to Livorno tomorrow, a lot of people going to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I think I will just relax.

Have some cool patient stories coming soon.

Hope you are well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Work Hard, Play Harder

Greetings from the "Bridge", where the ship is driven. I just got my personalized tour of the bridge, the command center of the ship. It is pretty cool up there. Will post pictures after. This is our last day in Venice. I went ashore, said my goodbyes to the Venetians, the canals, the boats, the cute gondoliers, the labyrinth of corridors. My friend got lost for 4 hours a few weeks back in the maze. haha! We now start "The Crossing". Next week our itinerary will be completely different. Roma, Firenze, Pisa, then on to Spain, Cartegena, Barcelona, Cadiz and then....the Azores Island. Our last stop before 5 days at sea to New Orleans. Kind of excited to get back to the USA, things will be much cheaper!! I didn't buy much here in Europa at all, too damn expensive.

Ok, lot's o pictures! Rented scooters with Kim in Dubrovnik, played in the bunkers from the war in 1991. I was looking for bombs, obviously didn't find one or I wouldn't be able to type right now. We are on the border with Bosnia-Hervecgovina. Remember that Cranberrie's song, Sarajevo? Yeah, it's about this place. You can see Bosnia in the black and white photo of Kim.

Also, pictures of old town Bari, Italy where I took a nap and a homeless man thought I was homeless and gave me a hat to shield my eyes. He scared me as he was standing about 3 inches from my face, I screamed, then he called me his wife, gave me a hat, asked why I wasn't in a hotel, and then we had a nice conversation and I got a nice hat out of the deal. haha fun!

getting ready to work now, Later!

Noel

The Captain

From the spa at sunset.
This little cute meow just kept looking up. (Koper, Slovenia)
I'm in Italian chocolate heaven. (Venice)



My friend Gigi from Romania, nice smile.
I always seem to take a lot of pictures of food. Right now, I am getting a pedicure...ahhh....

A little more detail on the "crossing" to the Carribean. We will be at sea for 13 days and 7 of those are "sea days", 5 of them in a row while we are in the middle of the ocean. Everyone says the seas will be a bit rough. Last night as we were sailing back to Venice the ship was at its rockiest yet! It makes you feel so drowsy. You walk and everyone is almost running into the walls of the corridors. Of course, I actually do run into the walls.

So far one of my big goals has been made. I am treating the Captain. Captain Frank is now one of my regular patients. The Captains switch on and off the ship every 10 weeks. Captain Bang left last week, but he is going to start seeing me in December for arthritis. Captain Frank is very young and from Norway, gotta watch out for this one I think. He said I have a good sense of humor...now where did he get that idea??

It is getting chilly here, the waves are getting biger, the smell of fall is in the air, even in the Adriatic. I keep doing better and better wtih my patient numbers and finances, looking good!

Next week I go on a tour of the "bridge", where the command of the ship is held. Sorry no, big ship steering wheel anymore, all computers.

Do it Now!

Snow capped Alps seen from Venice.

San Girogio Church with a modern art exhibition. Smoke rising up symbolizing the Assumption of Mary.

This guy is so cool.

Dubrovnik Old Town and my Parrot friends.



I have one piece of advice this week. Do it now. Mostly I am talking about travel. This cruise was the first where I saw an influx of older, elderly passengers. I also went on two excursions through the cruise line, so I was with a lot of passengers. The older people get, the harder it is to get around, especially Europe. It is tiring to a lot of people to travel and many cannot enjoy the things travel can offer. They can't go kayaking, they can't climb up the big bell towers, they can't rent a scooter and ride like a maniac in scary traffic. So I say GO NOW! We all have heard the news about who recently died, he probably followed most of his dreams and could have never regretted anything. It is also not all about having money either. I started this adventure with debt up the yinyang, and somehow everything is working out perfectly. When you are following your path and your heart, life works. Get on your trail now!

Ok, so what is new? We are gearing up for the crossing, we leave for the Carribean on October 22. Along the way we will be stopping in Rome, Barcelona, the Azores, etc.. I cannot wait for Rome, it is one of my most favorite places in the world! I am getting to know many more people on board and my social life is picking up. I like to dress up about once a week and go dancing. We start at The Vault which is the dance club for the guests, then we go to the crew bar and continue the party. I end up going to bed either around 2 or 4 am, just depends on the theme night.

Today it is raining in Venice, ahhh, nice and refreshing! And it pushed all of the haze away and I have been staring at the snow-capped Alps in the distance today. Guess what it reminds me of?? I went to Murano, an island near Venice, it is where the famous glass is made. I bought glass shaped candy. I had bought some 14 years ago when I was here before and it all broke, so what the heck, I'm here again. Tonight I am going on a date in Venice with a Romanian from the ship. The ship is here overnight so it will be nice to see Venice when it is quiet and all the tourists have left the Lagoon.

I hope everyone is safe and enjoying the fall and the fresh apple cider!