Heavy Seas and Rainbows

White Rainbow

"Blow, blow, thou winter wind Thou art not so unkind, As man's ingratitude." 
William Shakespeare 

We have taken a very Northern route to avoid some weather, which is sort of disappointing to Thomas and me. The good news is it is December in the Atlantic so if you like wind you have come to the right place. It is blowing 50+ knots across the deck which made them close it officially, leaving just the intrepid and the lunch drinkers who took a wrong turn after lunch on deck. It was, as a man reported to us "Invigorating!!!"
I don't know what it is, but maybe there is extra oxygen in the air out here, or maybe one is just so happy not to be actually IN the scary turbulent lethal freezing sea below, that one has a spring in one's step. You want to quote Shakespeare and shake your fist and tell the Atlantic to BRING IT ON SISTER!!! you can't catch us!! But you don't because the ocean can indeed catch us and we know it. So we skip like children around the windy deck, avoiding the part close to the edge as the wind almost pushes us over. And we whisper :

Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow!
You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout
Till you have drenched our teeples, drowned the cocks!
You sulphurour and thought-executing fires,
Vaunt-couriers to oak-cleaving thunderbolts,
Singe my white head! And thou, all-shaking thunder,
Strike flat the thick rotundity o' the world!
Crack nature's molds, all germens spill at once
That make ingrateful man!”

Anyway, went in and had a pedicure, now soon dinner where handsome will bring caviar. Things are not exactly the same after the pandemic, and I hope it goes back to the way it was. There used to be, it seemed, more crew and there were four formal nights; now only two. Worst of all, the soft serve is only vanilla. We told this to our powerful friend who immediately got on the phone in front if us and demanded answers. It was hysterical. I told him if he managed to get chocolate back I would be duly impressed. 

We have been blessed with so many rainbows. One was the strangest sight- completely white, from presumably ice. 

Thomas admitted, much like an alcoholic, that when he takes the stairs two steps at a time, he regrets the loss of steps counted on his watch. 

The captain seems to be the most beloved we have ever had- all the crew says how kind he is. Every day at noon he makes the captain's announcement regarding weather and distance travelled etc. Then he gives a little anecdote usually about terms that came from mariners- chewing the fat for example came from the cheap beef mariners had to eat and gnaw at while at sea, and because it took so long, they did it while chatting. Today he told this story: 

The Japanese eat very little fat and have fewer heart attacks than the British

The French eat a lot of fat and have fewer heart attacks than the British

The Italians drink a lot of wine and have fewer heart attacks than the British

The Germans drink a lot of beer and have fewer heart attacks than the British.

Conclusion: Eat and drink what you like. The problem is speaking English.  

Ellie Selfie (Selliefie!) in her happy place

description of conditions

One of our two living rooms

Dining Room

Quick Log

 For those who are interested, we have just passed Cape Race of NewFoundland and heading out to the really deep blue. I am slightly obsessed with Newfoundland...is it Canada? Who lives there? 

The swells are pretty big, so we loll around a lot....I keep thinking that maybe some of you would in fact be seasick. The seas though are calm, and the air is really cold. We saw the deck hands salting the deck against ice, and we have never seen that before. As always the sleeping is incomparable. It is like sleeping in a giant baby rocker. 

Today we went to a 'behind the headlines' panel with British journalists who riffed on both the netlfix series on Harry and Megan, as well as Boris Becker being let out of jail early as well as funding for private schools. Of course the world cup is taking up a lot of our time. Osman says Brazil is going to win it. 

Sea is now a chilly 43 degrees (the day before yesterday, a balmy 57). Birds are sill near the boat, but not I suspect for long. 

I love my room so much; It is a source of constant delight. 

Pictures soon I promise. xx

Crossing

 

Hello from the North Atlantic where we will soon pass (south of us actually) the final resting place of the Titanic! I will keep this sort of brief today, because I am worried that the QM2 blogs will repeat themselves. But it is the first time we are back in three years, so some things have changed. The big news is that we some how landed what is likely the best suite on board. It is a long story, but Thomas found it at a discounted rate on some German travel agents website. We could throw a cocktail party for 50 in it...and if we had that many friends on board, you know I would. We have more televisions than we do at home, and a private elevator into our room. It is not just any elevator however, but our beloved glass elevator - the one that alert bloggers will recognize from old posts. Our status has reached people are gossiping about you status because we are under 70 and are positioned at the very front of the ship at the end of a mysterious little hallway. Of course, a table of Texans couldn't take it and had to introduce themselves to us, with the drunken words "YOU ARE THE ONLY ATTRACTIVE POEPLE ON THE SHIP" and then because they travel often and are not used to being in not the best suite, wanted to know just who the Fuck we were. The single man who is their friend and travels everywhere with them is particularly salty because he is always in the presidential suite and is having a hard time with his reduced status. If we are thrown overboard, tell the police about him. 

The view from our room is just insane..which is kind of the bad news, because we don't need to leave. Also maybe bad news is the manicurist from Jamaica told me about the very last trip which was "so bad geril. She be terrible" (direct quote.) By 'bad' she means four days of hellish seas and her having to stuff ginger in her mouth to keep from barfing. I asked her if the front of the ship was really worse, and since she works in the spa which is in the bow, she laughed. YES! GIRL!! 

So I decided to take action and introduced myself to the acupuncturist on board who told me if a storm came, to call her before it got bad. If I was already throwing up, there wasn't much she could do. Thomas keeps reminding me that I don't get seasick, but we are literally in the most forward cabin and it is December. Kind of hoping it will get bad, just for the blog. 

So far it is just rather cold, so we don't step for as long...the food isn't the best I have ever had, and the staff seems somewhat shrunken. I think this is all the covid hangover. Speaking of which, there is almost no talk of it here. Very few people wear masks, we are stuffed in together, and oh well. 

Handsome Osman is still here and just as funny as ever. I think he is making us pasta by the table...and the man can cook. 

The theme of the trip is a literary one, so all the lectures are a talk with an author or book signing. The Brits are champion readers and we see all kinds of strange apparitions of people reading actual books. Adorable. 

Ok will post photos asap. 

Over and out.