Acapulco

Cruising with the Rents is proving to be quite the experience. Day 12 of being in closed quarters with family.. and I must say, overall, we are really doing wonderful. But of course, as usual, today I learned lots of things about my family . 1) We are especially non-functional in the morning. Group activities before 10 am should be scheduled with precaution. 2) Don’t pick meeting times or places the night before... 4) The universal language is spoken with smiles, music, and food –Mom. (I’ve heard it before but it is important to repeat). 5) Life is the greatest teacher. Last night I was thinking I don’t want to do a cruise gig ever again, and today I was really moved and decided I have to keep traveling (however, I don’t know if it will be via cruise ship.) We started our day off with an excursion, which was a cruise to see the Acapulco cliff divers. They are one of the cities claims to fame, along with being the home of many American celebrities. We took a triple decker boat to the home of the divers. We saw about 5 jumpers, each at different levels. The last jumped off the highest point and did 2 flips. Three of the divers swam to the boat at the end and came on board for pictures and a ride back to the main town. The youngest in the particular group was 15, however they said the youngest diver ever was 11. They all belong to and are paid by a union of divers. At the end of the trip we were served chips, pico de gallo, guac, and other Mexican snacks, at 9 am (!). We took the boat back to a shopping area, and ended up going to the flea market. There was a lot of hassling and the same odd items repeatedly lined along the streets. It was overwhelmingly intimidating. I didn’t enjoy it. We returned back to the ship. Shortly after coming back, Michelle was going out to the beach, so I decided to give Mexico another go in Spanish speaking company. We didn’t need to walk too far to find a breezy, open restaurant serving cold beers and pico de gallo. We sat on the backside of the restaurant which was right in the sandy beach. While chatting and catching up, merchants would walk up to us every other second. Finally, one was much different from the others – a very small and skinny 6 year old boy. He was selling magnets. Michelle asked him to sit down, and talked to him in Spanish. We got him apple juice and he ate the rest of our chips, which he smothered in mounds of salt. He was so afraid to eat or drink because he didn’t believe that we would pay for it. He was missing some education, and was obviously very poor, but had a bright smile and a fun heart. He said his mother was coming over (I was scared she would be upset he was hanging out with us) who selling hanging glass mobiles, and ended up being very friendly and lovely. She had a baby hanging from tied blankets around her waste. She had one other son at home. She was genuinely interested in us, and the two of them looked at Michelle’s pictures from her camera in awe. The woman looked young and was very warm… I will never forget her smile. Weather she was or not, she seemed content with herself and her life. She was open and so friendly to us. I can’t explain the ways I was moved by this interaction, but it showed me that joy and is everywhere, and life can teach you anytime, anywhere, if you are willing to learn.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays. I am so grateful to have my grandma, mom, dad, and brother Theo on board the Azamara Journey with me. We are having so much fun! Tonight we are all having dinner at the fancy restaurant with Takis, then it's time for our Christmas show! I'm looking forward to spending Christmas day in Costa Rica with my family... then putting on the production of Twisted TV! Cheers to my wonderful family here and all over the place, new friends, and of course, all of my lovely friends back home.

Coast of Panama (guest blogger)

Hi, Kathy (Molly’s mom) here. Molly pulled some strings, (actually a lot of ropes) and we are here with her on the cruise. We have been enjoying ourselves immensely. We have been at sea every day except one. The food is so tasty and healthy. Miso soup, fruit and sushi are always available, as are freshly made sorbets and every kind of seafood. There is a deck with chairs, wind and abundant sunshine. Today we saw a pod of tiny dolphins of the side of the front deck. There are also small seagull shaped birds with brown tops and white undersides that skim the water alongside the ship as we move through the water. People are friendly and Theo has even met a few teens. It is refreshing to hear many languages and interact with people from all parts of the world, both crew and guests. A few days ago, we went to Aruba and rented a taxi that took us to a beach. The waves were imposter waves, but the water was salty, clear and warm. We walked about Oranjstad, a small funky town, as well. Yesterday, we cruised through the Panama Canal. We went though a series of locks into an elevated lake and then through another set of locks to cut through Panama. The canal is a true engineering marvel. Someone must have had incredible vision and imagination to conceive of and plan the canal. There is dense vegetation lining the canal and people claim that alligators live in the water. We entered the canal around 7 am and left about 3:30 pm. Today Santa was onboard our cruise. Molly and the other performers escorted him about. He gave presents to the kids. Of the three babies on board, two cried and refused to go anywhere near him. I think they were upset because he was dressed in a heavy white and red furry outfit and it is about ninety degrees out. Molly’s grandmother and the rabbi posed for a picture with Mr. S as well. There will be caroling later, and then Molly and the other performers will do a Christmas show. Tomorrow, we will arrive in Costa Rica. I hope you are having a good time wherever you may be!

Rubbish

I'm getting better at relaxing. We have our first Christmas show tonight. The entire entertainment department is in it. I'll be singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." I'm still a sucker for slow songs...I'm supposed to grow out of that someday. We sing "Hero" at the end and there's a power point presentation of pictures of soldiers and war. It's causing a quite stir among everyone in the show... I feel a little weird because we just elected an anti war president, and it feels like we're dragging it out. On the other hand, weather we like it or not, millions of people are torn from their families and will be in very undesirable circumstances and living conditions come the holidays, for one reason or another, and it's important to acknowledge them. I wonder how it will go over. I've taken a little break from playing guitar and writing the last couple days, and life has consisted of eating yoghurt, working out, laying out, and having a martini. Cheers.

Somewhere in the Atlantic

A voice with nothing better to do keeps saying “lost at sea” inside my head… here I am on a 7 day transatlantic crossing, scheduled to arrive in Miami on December 18th, umm, apparently going a little crazy. It’s the second full day at sea, and I’m already quite sick of it (luckily not as literally as I’ve been before). We’ve been banned from eating at the usual buffet café area, and are encouraged not to be around guest areas… even the gym is quite full during the day – so you can imagine how restless I am already becoming. Gary told me I need to learn to do nothing. Luckily, I have a show today, a Christmas show the 14th, and our last show the 16th, so I will feel a little more useful. Additionally, I’ve now played 3 sets in the lounge areas of the ships since last cruise, and I’m having a great time – but maybe getting myself a little too worked up about it. Yesterday John, the ‘real’ singer/guitarist on board, gave me a popular song book of 1200 songs, which I dove into, and then tried to force a song out of my system… and everything just SUCKED. I want to learn so many covers and write a lot of new material, and of course whenever I really want a song to come to me, I get intense writer’s block. I’m just creating it for myself though, I know because I am very frustrated and feel trapped… which essentially I am. I’m always finding myself wanting what I don’t have at the time – when I have no obligations or nothing to do, I’m creating stress and extra work for myself, and when I’m ultra busy and stressed I want nothing but a free day to lounge around. Maybe I’m really just finding myself at sea… and getting a little too cheesy. To be continued…

Happy Thanksgiving + News + Rome

A happy Thanksgiving from the (rocky) Mediterranean seas! I am very thankful for so much in my life; above all my mom and dad for supporting and encouraging me to follow a challenging and adventurous career. I’m also thankful that I currently have a job, the best cast mates I could ever ask for, and health. I spent the holiday with the cast, at the semi-american thanksgiving dinner on board… there were sweet potatoes and apple pie, and that’s all I need. Every cruise is always different from the last, weather it’s because of the ports, the new passengers (they become good friends by the end), events, etc. This cruise has been different in other ways, in that I performed in the Welcome Aboard show, singing and playing guitar. It was a different element to the show then they’d had before, so I was a bit nervous and anxious, but I felt happy with my 4 song performance. Afterwards, the entertainment team asked if I wanted to play in the lounge area of the ship a few nights a cruise, and I agreed. Since then, I have played a 2 hour set in the "Cova Cafe." I was aloud to play whatever I want (within reason) because technically it's not my contracted job, so I played mostly original music, with a bunch of covers mixed in. In the long run, I want to be able to support myself as my own artist, so I'm glad I can further develop myself in a low key setting as just a solo act for now. I had requests to come back again during the cruise, which I am scheduled to do, and next time in the Martini Bar. Even though it’s much more low key, I feel like this is more of a challenge then the production shows, because I am stripped down to just guitar and my voice, to keep a room entertained. So if you wonder what I’ve been doing, it’s practicing… and visiting… ROME! I finally got the chance to go to Rome one last time on this contract. I went with my friend Takis, who has been on ships for years but has never gotten the chance to go into Rome. He requested special permission to have the day off so we were able to leave in the wee hours of the morning and have an entire day. Arriving early, the city was quite cool, and the crowds significantly smaller being the off season. We were able to walk right into the Vatican (last time there was a 1 ½ hour wait)! The architecture, art, and size of the building are breathtaking. The ceiling itself is really a miracle, with the gold detail and paintings. There are enormous statues of popes and angels, marble floors, stained glass, candles, and so much the eye can’t physically take it all in at once. We also went into the tomb of the popes below the Vatican, which had caskets and information on all the popes. The detail and time that was put into creating this place is overwhelming. I can’t imagine something that is anywhere near that caliber being built today – people were so creative and motivated, and must have been geniuses of a sort to be able to physically put a structure like the Vatican together. We continued our journey across town, of course reveling in all of the countless monuments and buildings along the way. Rome has just too much to see and do, you can get distracted easily. Eventually we made it to the coliseum. From the outside, it’s how I saw it in middle school history class, but the inside asks you to use some imagination to be able to see how it used to look as a stadium. Most of it is gone and ruined, but is still quite large and allows one to walk around different levels. I can’t imagine however, watching the fights and craziness that went on in there. I think I prefer to just see the remnants of the building. Next, we went to the Trevi Fountain and made a wish. After quite a walking excursion, a bite to eat was in order, and we stopped at a quaint restaurant in an alley near the fountain. We had a fresh cheese plate, vegetarian pizza, and pasta. Even the food is good in an alley! I’m beginning to think it doesn’t take much to please me in Europe. Anyways, I’m so glad I got to visit Rome again, and this time be lucky enough to catch among of the most important places to visit in the city, without huge crowds. If you can stand a bit of cooler weather (about 50º F) then it’s well worth it to visit in the off season.

November 15 already?

Time is flying by! Sorry I have been so bad about posting my blogs lately! Here's a whole bunch of them. Pace yourself! Recently I’ve been visiting some of the same ports I’ve been to before; I’ve been taking it easy and doing lots of walking and window shopping. I’ve gotten into a bit of a routine on the ship, but to be honest, I am missing the feeling of a genuine, familiar home. Everyone on the ship is incredibly friendly and loving (our crew got the record score in the whole fleet for friendliness last cruise!), but people come and go all the time, and it’s hard to always connect with everyone on a certain level. There are over 50 nationalities represented on board, and while I am taking in and learning so much, sometimes there’s a bit of a language and even cultural barrier I am hitting from time to time. Our shows are going very well. We get great response from the audience and are always recognized and praised around the ship on our down time. I am so thankful to have free time to be able to go out into most of the ports, but I am starting to feel a little restless. I really miss being in a band, and playing everyday, and feeling challenged musically. I have been writing and practicing my guitar, but do miss the outlet to perform in that light. This morning I stepped off into Bonifacio, Corsica, and climbed to the top of the town for a island’s great view of the sea. It was raining on and off though, so just a bit of walking through the very quiet town was enough to get a quick fix of my feet on land. I did shore excursions yesterday and the day before though, so there’s some new updates to read about! Take note of my new European shoe collection. The photo doesn’t do them justice, but I utterly adore them and they keep me happy. That’s not superficial, right?

Olive Oil and Scenic Drive

I did a tour again today –which has been my favorite yet. This tour had a 45 minute drive to an olive farm, with scenes of Tuscano’s bright green rolling hills from the recent rain. We stopped in town to get a view of the countryside, and I met Lindsay, who was on the other tour bus, where we were treated to espressos by the tour guide. When we made it to the farm house, the surrounding area was really just breathtaking. The air was SO clean and fresh, it was the first thing I really noticed stepping off. There were olive trees surrounding the area and you could literally just pick an olive off of the tree. We sampled different olive oils; I had the extra virgin, roasted red pepper, and garlic. They were very robust and flavorful. They also had artichokes, beans, cheese with honey, and unsalted bread, which is best for olive oil and bruschetta. It felt like such a fall day, and reminded me of the feeling I get at the orchard (Milburn’s) in Maryland during fall. Except instead of apple cider donuts and pumpkins there are vines crawling about and olives scattering the ground. Very rustic, fresh, and peaceful.

Florence

It was a rainy morning, which turned into an overcast day, which was actually quite lovely. The “Glimpse of Florence” tour consisted of 2 ½ hours of a guided walking tour, followed by 3 ½ hours of free time to explore the city on our own. The guide took us through some of the main squares to see the big, beautiful, churches covered with statues and detailed designs. Orcagna’s Loggia is pictured, which was an open building with many roman statues. Florence is known for it’s shopping, but even the modern and popular stores reside in gorgeous stone buildings. There are countless leather and jewelry (gold is most popular) stores. I spent my free time walking through the city, getting a feel for it and taking in the sights. There’s definitely a much different atmosphere in these European towns then U.S. cities. Since there is so much more history then our cities, there seems to be an underlying character of wisdom that the U.S. hasn’t acquired yet.. It’s much more relaxed and easy to take your time to wander and appreciate the scenery. I walked along the water, the Fiume Arno, with had a bridge made of colorful buildings, “Ponte Vecchio.” There were bright jewelry stores that lined the walkway of the fairytale looking bridge. Not one building in Florence looks like it was just thrown together in a few days – they all have their own personalities and charm.

Cannes

We’ve been to Monte Carlo a handful of times now, and the prices prohibit me from doing too much, so Gary, Lindsay and I decided to venture to Cannes. It was about an hour train ride which took us along the water for some great views of Nice and the surrounding towns. We thought the red carpet for the film festival would be layed out as it is in summer supposedly for tourists, but it wasn't out along the water today. We ended up walking through the city where I got some very inexpensive and trendy boots. I swear… I’m done shopping now. I have some really cool stuff and it’s all very rockstar that I’ll put to good use when I’m done here, I promise!!!! We had lunch of pita, hummus and falafel, at a pita house… which I haven’t had in a long time (usually I live off of hummus) so I was happy. It was fun to get out of the usual port and do something more adventurous.

Portifino

Some people on board have said this is the most beautiful port they’ve been to. I can certainly see why. It’s not catering to tourists, just a quaint town by the sea where sailors, fisherman, and travelors by boat pull right up to a waterside cafe. The mountains are sprinkled with sidewalks leading up to what seem like secret hide-a-ways of houses. The buildings lining the water were marigold yellow, brick red, and cantaloupe orange with green shutters. I went with my friend Takis today, and we walked through the town and up a steep, thin sidewalk/road leading to a lookout spot, where we could see a residential area, the boat, and down to some houses by the water (the picture with me in it was taken at this spot.) The sidewalk had smashed olives all along it, because there were olive trees growing all around, and I actually thought they were blueberries at first… nope, not in Italy. After walking for a while we stopped at a small restaurant on the water and had pastas – mine was a thin shelled vegetable ravioli with a walnut sauce. Um, melt in my mouth best pasta I’ve ever had. Wow. And it was a nice reasonable portion that was just right and satisfying. This place was a little magical!

P.S. - bonus pics

A pic from the fashion show a couple weeks ago; and the ladies night out for Marsha's birthday last cruise. We got to go to one of the fancy restaurants on board and had plenty of girl talk and laughs to go around! Then had a party for her at the night club afterwards. She had a great time!