Holiday Day Four - Stockholm

Hi Everybody,

Today we have arrived in Stockholm and again another city steeped in history, and another very beautiful place to visit.

It has another palace that you could get close to but it also had the guards outside to keep their eye on you

We went inside this palace but it was a very dark place with most of the curtains drawn against the sunlight and so it was very difficult to take photos and most of them are blurred.

However these are some scenes that I managed to capture inside

This beautiful chandelier was enormous and was only one of many.

But even with the lighting you can see that it was very dark inside.

This statue was at the bottom of one of the staircases and it was very impressive.

It is two lovers kissing and both of them have open eyes.

It was getting near the time for the changing of the guard as we came back into the sunshine and so we found a strategic position to be able to see the parade.

The band played as they approached the palace and it was quite loud as they passed close by.

We couldn't get into the square to see the actual change as it was time for us to head off for lunch at a nearby restaurant as part of our tour.

We had a typically Swedish lunch overlooking this busting square and it was very tasty too I might add.

All too soon it is time to head back to the ship as we sail again at 5pm. 

The sun is shining and the sea is calm and we head off to the Crows Nest for a sail away drink with some new friends we have made

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Holiday Day Two - Copenhagen

Hi Everybody,

Day Two of the cruise saw us visiting Copenhagen and of course everyone wants to see the Little Mermaid and it is not as big as I imagined it to be.

The Little Mermaid was made famous in the story by Hans Christian Anderson. She meets the prince and falls in love and she asks to be made human so that she can marry him.

But the deal is that she loses her tail and her voice. and if the prince doesn't marry her she will become the white tops to the waves.

Well she finds her prince and of course without the tail he does not recognise her ... and without the voice she cannot tell him who she really is and he marries someone else

So fickle these princes and she poor girl ... becomes the white foam on the waves.

From there we went into the city and there are bicycles everywhere and there are designated cycle routes for them to get about.

A really healthy way to go about your daily life

 We passed the entrance to the Tivoli Gardens but this was not on the guided tour we had chosen and so we did not go inside.

Our guide told us that there are big wind turbines in the harbour that create the electricity to power the lights and rides in this huge pleasure park

It was opened in 1843 and covers a huge area and is used for concerts and theatre shows as well as the rides and the gardens that are lit up at night.

This is the entrance to the Carlsberg Brewery and we went on a tour here  and this is the place that we where staying for lunch ...along with a free glass of Carlsberg larger

Sorry Mr Carlsberg ... not a fan ... rather have a glass of red wine any day !!

These elephants are life size and very impressive as you drive through them.

Later we walked around a very old part of the city with these wonderful quaint houses and the Hollyhocks where everywhere


This is another beautiful fountain and we saw many on out trip.

The sound of the water on a hot day is very refreshing and we sat and listened for a little while.

We walked in to a large square and our guide told us that the buildings around us are the Royal Palaces

It was amazing to see that you are so close to them  as you would never get that close to Buckingham Palace.

And the palace guards will talk to you and have their photos taken too.

One lady got a little to close to the windows of the palace and the guard shouted "Hey" at her and gestured for her to get away ... which she did very quickly.

Each of the palaces is situated in this square and if they wish to go from one to the other then Royalty have to walk across the square to get there.

We had a very pleasant canal cruise in the sunshine and then it was time to head back for the ship.

On the way we passed this beautiful church and the spire is covered in gold leaf.

The staircase on the outside of the spire is there for you to walk up and many people are on the way up to the top.

So Day Three is a sea day and we have the chance to relax.

We are off to the Spa on board for a little pampering time for both of us.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Holiday Day One - Oslo

Hi Everybody,

So here we are back at home and trying hard to catch up with everything that has piled up while I have been away.

We have had the most wonderful holiday and now it's time to get back to work.

But first I would like to share with you some of the photos that we took as we visited eight different countries.

We sailed from Southampton on the 29th July aboard Arcadia bound for the Baltics and although it was cloudy it was relatively calm.

We had a good look around the ship before it got too busy and altogether there were about 2900 passengers and 660 crew.

The next day it was fine all morning but in the afternoon it became windy and rougher and I spent about 18 hours in my cabin ... horizontal and so seasick.  I didn't have the inclination to go the formal evening and I certainly couldn't face eating and the travel sickness pills didn't work either.

But the next morning I was fine and ready for breakfast.  Please don't let that put you off cruising ... just buy stronger travel sick pills! Griff was fine and no sickness at all it's just me ... I am a wimp !!

The first stop was in Norway and we went on a trip to Oslo.  This is the huge Ski Jump at a place called Holmenkollen and obviously in the winter it is covered in snow.

But the day we visited people where coming down from the top on zip wires and it looked really scary

This is the top most section of the jump that you can see sticking up on the top photo and it was along way down.

The view from the top of the mountain was lovely though and worth the journey up and our guide told us that the price of the houses up there is astronomical.

Winter for them is from about the end of September until the following May so a long time to be cold.

Luckily for us the day was fine, warm and sunny and Oslo is quite a pretty, bustling place to visit

Would you want to launch yourself off the top of that and then literally fly through the air on skis ?? No .. me neither!!

This is a statue of Gustav Vigeland who created the most beautiful Sculpture park for you to wander through.

There are flowers everywhere and the smell of roses filled the air. It was a very warm and of course that accentuated the aroma even more

In the centre of the park there is a tall statue that represents the stages of life from birth to death.

The figures on the column are all intertwined and it is really very moving to see.

The central column is surrounded by more figures, kneeling, lying, standing and they are huge and carved from stone.

They show babies, children, parenthood, some are sorrowful,
one shows old people in various stages of their lives

As you walk down this wide stone stairway it leads you to a large fountain that is again surround by carved figures.

Our guide told us that each of the figures tells the story of of the sculptures life and the stages he went through as he grew old.

Altogether a very pleasant day in a lovely city and then it was back on board for the sail away and headed for Denmark and the second city on our cruise.

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

Tuesday Tutorial - Mystical Embrace

Hi Everybody,

This pretty card is a 5x7 size and there are lots of layers to it.

It has been created with the several dies from Spellbinders and they will be listed below.

I have used a vibrant shade of blue and dotted it with sequins

You could miss off the frilly bits and have a lovely male card to send out for any occasion.

Spellbinders Supplies:

• S6-012 5x7 Mystical Embrace
• S6-001 5x7 Matting Basics A
• S6-002 5x7 Matting Basics B
• S4-541 Majestic Oval
• Garden Lattice A4 embossing folder (Retired)
• Labels Twenty Three (Retired)

Other Supplies:

• Ribbon from Mei Flower
• Pearl flower from Wild Orchid Crafts

Instructions:

With  die #7 from Matting Basics A cut two pieces in white and hinge together to form the base card and leave to one side for the moment.  (Please remember that #1 is always the smallest die)

With #7 from Matting Basics B cut a colored layer. With #6 from Matting Basics A cut another white layer and emboss with any folder that you have.  Glue these two pieces together

From Mystical Embrace #3 cut one panel and ink  lightly through the die before removing the card

Add foam tape to the back so that it doesn't show through from the front and layer it onto the embossed panel from the previous step. Wrap some ribbon around these layers and add them to the base card

With dies #2 cut one panel in white and with #3 cut another in blue. Stamp and emboss a sentiment and then cut with Labels Twenty Three to fit the words you have used.

Use foam pads to stack these on top of each other and then add them to the base card

Glue in your tied bow and dot with sequins for a glittery effect and add the pearl flower to the bow to cover the knot.

Lining the inside of the card to compliment the front will give it a really neat professional finish

More tomorrow ...

Hugs xx

The Journey so Far ...

Hi Everybody,

I have managed to find another of those WiFi hotspots and so I am letting you know where we are in the world today.

I have so many lovely photos to show you once I get home again.  Early yesterday morning we sailed into Warnemunde in Germany and the view from our balcony was beautiful. I am not able to add the photos to a blog post from my iPad but they are collecting so that I can show you later.

This has been a lovely holiday and we have seen some wonderful scenery. We chose to dine on a table for six and so we have also met some very pleasant people.

If you have been a reader for sometime you may remember that we cruised a couple of years ago on a really enormous ship. This one is about half the size of that one .... but still quite big at about 87,000 tons.

I will give you all the details once I can add the photos so until then I hope you will stay with me and enjoy the Tuesday Tutorial I have scheduled for you for tomorrow.

Hugs xx