Music: Hugh Laurie & The Copper Bottom Band

I've been a fan of Hugh Laurie for ages...from when I first saw him in A Bit of Fry and Laurie together, of course, with Stephen Fry, which is...20 years ago?
That series, together with Jeeves & Wooster, are among my most treasured dvds.

Fashion: new shoes!

I'm one of those people who never ever has enough shoes. And with the current trend of brogues, I was looking for a pair for some time. But it's hard to find something 100% to my liking.
And I did in Hamburg when we were there...but I didn't buy them.
Once back on board of our cruise ship, I already lamented my decision. So, once back at home, I just ordered them online. :-)

Beauty: Garnier Ambre Solaire BB Cream

In the May Deauty box, this BB cream by Garnier Ambre Solaire was included.
It has a factor 30 sunprotection.

Nails: Barry M Grapefruit

I'm a fan of Barry M's nailpolishes. They last days and days without chipping, they are cheap, they are vegan, they have great colours and are so glossy.
I bought this one some time ago but hadn't used it yet cause it's very summery and the weather was...well, not that summery.

Beauty: May Deauty Box

Because of all my travel updates, I'm a bit late with the update on the Deauty box of May.

Travel: Cruise Northern Europe part 11 - conclusion

Sunday & Monday, 19 & 20 May
Our last day at sea starts off very hot. There's not so much a whisper of wind. We have to attend an info session about the disembarking procedure and afterwards we quickly go and find a quiet sunny spot to do some reading (I finally start the Curious Incident … I love it!) Around 2 pm the weather starts to change…there's a fog coming up quite rapidly and all of a sudden a strong wind appears out of nowhere. one by one, people leave the deck and so do we to have a bite to eat. When we're done eating, you can hardly see anything anymore because of the fog (think some pirates' movie when something wicked is about to happen…that was the feeling you got when you saw all that mist!)

So we recline in our cabin and start preparing our suitcases. These have to be ready before we go to bed cause they pick them up to collect them during the night.

In the evening, it's our last gala evening with a spectacular show. We go and collect our drinks (vodka! cognac!) at the duty free shop (you can't have alcohol in your cabin, except wine you have bought in the restaurant) and go to bed.

It's noticeably colder in the cabin. Yep, we're approaching Amsterdam! We arrive right on time (9am) and disembarkation goes very swiftly. The bus that has to take us to Antwerp is (again) late. But the drive doesn't take that long because it's rather quiet on the road due to it being a bank holiday. We arrive in Antwerp, take our cab home and arrive at 3pm. 

And so a wonderful, sunny, beautiful trip has come to an end….  

Travel: Cruise Northern Europe part 10

Saturday, 18 May
We arrive in Copenhagen right on time despite having left st Petersburg an hour and a half late. Weather is just too good to be true: blue skies and incredible temperatures. At times it was around 30 degrees if not more. 

We set off and first encountered the Little Mermaid, then went into the city where we visited some churches (we are both atheists, but I love the architecture of churches and cathedrals) and they were really impressive. Especially Frederiks Kirke. Then onwards to the summer palace of the monarchy, onwards to Nyhavn, the shopping street, city hall and tivoli. There was something special going on in the shopping street because for hours and hours, groups from South America were dancing in the street. In bikinis.  

Then we had lunch at the Grand Theater (quiche with mushrooms), then onwards to Christiansborg, and back to the shopping area. 

There are a lot of quaint shops in the smaller streets!

After that, we headed towards the port and walked across Churchillparc and finally ended at the shops across the dock where our ship was moored. I bought a skirt and shirt with 30% reduction. Both Inwear. 

Once on board, we had a piña colada and got ready for dinner. The show this evening was Ikè, inspired by the Norse gods. There were some stunning balancing acts. 

Dinner was great again: salad, risotto with shrimp and mushrooms, grilled sea bream with pepper stuffed with rice and papaya ice cream. 

We're now having a glass of white wine. Tomorrow our last sea day. Hoping to be able to do more sunbathing on deck!

 

Travel: Cruise Northern Europe part 9

Friday, 17 May
Today, we had another sea day. We woke up at 10am after a good night's sleep and went up to have our breakfast....obviously many others had the same idea. No wonder, st Petersburg was exhausting. 

Then we went to some shops and did some reading in l'Ametista bar. Had lunch (pasta) and then went to level 14 for some sunbathing. Weather was gorgeous. Many sat there in there in their swimsuits. 

I had an appointment at 5.30pm for a facial, so we went to the aurora spa for a sauna and whirlpool session first....I can't get enough of sitting there on the whirlpool watching the world go by. 

Then it was time for my facial treatment...divine...I felt so relaxed afterwards and my face super soft and radiant. 

I was of course a tad late for the evening show but did catch the main act. Fantastic acrobatic act!

Then dinner. As it was Italian day, we had a special menu: calamari, Italian salad with mozzarella, pasta with clams, mixed fish grill and then the waiters paraded a huge tiramisu around (divine!). 

Afterwards, we had some limoncello as well. 

We took some white wine into our cabin, which we are enjoying now. 

Tomorrow Copenhagen. 

Travel: Cruise Northern Europe part 8

Thursday, 16 May
We rise and shine (not) at 6am for our day trip to Petrodvorets and the Hermitage. Weather is once again stunning and traffic is once again awful. We spend hours trying to get to Petrodvorets palace where we are faced with some tough as nails babouchkas but eventually we get in. The palace is beautiful. It was the summer palace of Catherina the great and all the chambers are rather small compared to other palaces but that just increases the appeal. The Turkish sofa is quite something. (she entertained her many lovers here...not all at once)

The gardens are mind blowing. Fountains, gold statues, chequered patterns...

We have a great guide who talks about life in Russia, the various presidents, and how so much treasure was saved from the war by sending everything to Siberia until the war was over. They used the many gowns of the empress to shield everything from harm. 

After that, we have our lunch (starting with a glass of vodka) and then set off to visit the hermitage. We have to run our stuff through a scanner and are then faced with hundreds and hundreds of visitors. 

It's mad but it's impressive. The old winter palace houses some great collections of impressionists, but also Picasso, Rembrandt, Titian, etc etc. plus the peacock clock that goes off once a week and is quite a spectacle. I was most amazed by this visit. Just stunning. 

After that, we get some time for shopping and I buy some souvenirs and an amber ring. 

We head back to the ship that was meant to set sail at 7pm but because of heavy traffic, one group only arrived at 8.15pm! So, we are now 1,5 hours behind schedule. 

For dinner I had the salad, pasta with tomato sauce and mushroom, grilled salmon with spinach and a Sacher torte. 

We are now relaxing in our cabin..sun is setting slowly (it's 10.15pm).time goes back one hour tonight and we have nothing planned tomorrow except a facial massage for me. So that'll be an afternoon of wellness. And they predict 20 degrees again. :-)

Travel: Cruise Northern Europe part 7

Wednesday, 15 May
We had to get up at an ungodly hour cause our ship moored at 7am and our trip started at 7.30am. That in combination with the extra hour ahead proves lethal. And then there's the traffic. We spend hours just getting to centre of town, which is really close. Because of traffic works on one of the bridges, traffic is mayhem. And there's immigration that works as quickly or slowly  as they fancy. 

In the morning, we go to Pushkin where we visit the palace of Catherina the Great. It's a beautiful palace, very over the top, with a room made of amber. 

After that, we return and have a verrrrry quick bite to eat, and then regroup for the afternoon excursion. Because we only have group visas, we can't stroll alone in town. We can only leave the ship if we've booked an excursion. 

The excursion takes us to St. Peter and St. Paul (where all the Romanovs are buried), church of spilled blood (stunning), and basically the rest of this huge city. 

We then do a cruise on river Neva. With (sadly) a folklore group and (happily) russian sekt. The views are great, and the weather is still amazing. Yet again a very hot sunny day!

We are just in time for our final trip...Swan Lake at the ballet! Obviously stunning. 

Afterwards we return to the ship and after more frustration at immigration, we quickly go for our first hot meal of the day: spanking hot fresh pizza with Chardonnay. Man, we were hungry. 

It's now midnight, and I'm just so tired. Tomorrow it's an early start again for our second and last day here. Btw, the sunset ended at 11 pm.