EURODAM 2013

     Well, a lot has changed since my last blog update! I am currently working on Holland America Cruise Lines’ Eurodam, their largest ship in the fleet. It’s a beautiful ship and I’m much happier with the quality of shows and the company overall in comparison to Royal. I have 6 shows- Listen To The Music (the Welcome Aboard show), Dancing With The Stars (a dance competition amongst the guests which I will explain later), It Takes Two (our show without the male dancers), In Concert (I dance pointe in this one), Dreampark, and Nightlife. I like them each for different reasons. Dreampark is a lot of fun just a lot of partner work so it can be pretty tiring. Nightlife is probably my favorite because I dance a lyrical type section with the four boys. Our stage has a pit that drops down so we can enter and exit on it, as well as 4 risers, a turntable, pyro, and smoke. It’s been interesting working with so many technical elements. It adds a lot to our shows. So far, our audiences have been very happy with them, our ratings last week were higher than the cast we just replaced! Turnover was pretty tough just because it was so long and we had so much to get done. Our schedules were ridiculous. Rehearsal all day, then a few hours off to sleep then rehearsal starting again at midnight and running til 3 or 4a in the morning, then back in the theatre at 8 or 9a. I literally had to sleep every free second. We never actually slept, it was more like napping, which you all know I love but I also like to have a full night of sleep as well….lol. I know that if I do another contract it won’t be as bad since the Eurodam has the most shows. 

     It’s nice being on the bigger ship because I don’t feel the rocking as much on the normal sea days. Of course since we started with the crossing, I was taking my motion sickness pills to get thru rehearsals. But now that we are in the Med, it’s much calmer. I did throw up once, even though I took my Dramamine, but that was because they hadn’t turned the air on for our rehearsal and it was burning hot so I overheated. :/ But Casey, our Stiletto director, was very happy with my cast and we had a great turnover. He said he was returning to the studios with glowing recommendations and asked me to come back and request to work with him again. :) 

      We had some issues with one of our male dancers in rehearsal and we are actually surprised he made it to the ship with us and didn’t quit or get fired. It was frustrating to work with someone who is so lazy and disrespectful, especially since there is so much partnering in our shows. Before we left to join the ship, the entire office had a talk with him and gave him a second chance, mainly because they are so desperate for male dancers right now. Casey had extra rehearsals with him on the ship to get him caught up and he was able to fake his way thru our opening shows. At least now he is acting like he wants to be here and trying to be a part of the cast. I hope he continues to work hard and help make our shows great. 

     Since install was three weeks long, most of which was spent at sea for the crossing, we didn’t get to go out much and explore the ports. The ship even had to miss a port because of bad weather in Ponta Delgado, Portugal, making it ANOTHER sea day. I was at sea for 9 days straight, my longest yet! I kinda went crazy with cabin fever near the end lol. The first port I was able to get off and explore was Malaga, Spain. We started at the old Roman theater and walked from the fort to the castle. It was a bit of a hike but the view of the city below was wonderful. We saw the bull-fighting arena from above and walked there next. Meghan, Erin and I looked inside the arena and happened upon the policía practicing their formations in the sand. We ventured into a local grocery store for a peek at their food. They like to hang full pig legs for display and you can buy the whole thing. Gross. We then stopped for lunch and had delicious sangria. I ordered a cheese plate expecting various cheese samples and ended up with just a plate of parmesan slices lol. We made our way to another square for some cocktails and internet. We stopped at Cheers, Malaga! Holland America recently stopped serving hard liquor to crew onboard, in the hopes of reducing the number of employees they have to fire for excessive drinking. It stinks for me because I hate beer and though I like wine, I want to enjoy it with my dinner or as a nightcap. So it was nice to get a pina colada, strawberry daiquiri, and a rum and coke while having a lot of laughs with my girls. :) 

      The next day was Cartagena, Spain. Erin, Brit and I made the mistake of going off the ship at 9 in the morning, thinking we were being smart since we had to be back early for a tech rehearsal of Dreampark. I definitely forgot that we were in Spain and nothing opens til at least 10a. HAHA. We walked around and saw some ruins and Roman bathhouses. We found a small church that was really pretty, and really quiet except for my squeaky sneakers! 

      After another sea day, we stopped in Civitavecchia, Italy. A bunch of us got off and headed to the train station. We missed the first available train because we didn’t realize you have to validate your ticket at another machine after you buy it from the kiosk…..what? Eventually we made it on the train and took it into Rome. We headed into the Vatican City, which was a lot different than what I was imagining it would look like. I thought there would be all these popes running around and that it would feel more religious and serene. It was insane how many people were there, and lines like crazy to get into everything. Oddly enough, there wasn’t a lot of helpful signs or information for being such a popular tourist destination. We ended up waiting in the wrong line at one point. We finally realized we wanted to be on the other side of the city for the Sistine Chapel and headed along the outer wall to the museum. It was so beautiful inside and I got to see Michelangelo's Creation of Adam painting, which was a bucket list item for me! 

    The good news, I saw the Sistine Chapel. The bad news, I got separated from the group. I looked up at a painting, looked back to make sure I could see Brit cause I knew she was following Alan and his wife Janette. I looked back at the ceiling and a second later looked back to the same spot and the crowd closed around Brit and they were gone. I stopped at various exits to scan the crowds but I knew there was absolutely no way I would find them the moment I stepped outside and saw about a million people walking around. I knew we all made plans to meet back for the 1 o’clock train when we originally split into the groups. I only had a split second of panic when I looked at my ipod for the time. When we were making the crossing, the ship would set the clocks forward an hour every night to be at the correct time when we landed in Spain. I have to manually change the clock in my room and my ipod for when I’m off the ship. I realized that I hadn’t bothered to double check my ipod time lately so I checked its settings and saw it was set to the Canary Islands. I switched to Rome, Italy and the time went forward an hour making it 1!!!!!! Luckily, as I was retracing my steps back to the train station, I saw the local time posted and it was still noon. I’m still not sure why my ipod has the wrong time. I stopped to get my souvenir magnet and postcards and found the station relatively easy considering I’m not familiar with Italian at all. I surprised myself by how much I actually pay attention to details, even when I’m not trying. I was enjoying being with my group and following along; not concerned about where we were going or how to get back. This is the second time in my life where I was genuinely impressed with the way I handled a scary and extremely stressful situation, the other being the Valentine’s Day debacle in LA. Everyone was so relieved to find me at the train station and seemed to have a new respect that even though I’m the youngest in the cast, I can clearly handle myself responsibly. I enjoyed my day in the Vatican but I would like to return when I have more time to study all the religious symbols in the art the city has to offer. I would like to use the Da Vinci Code series as my tour guidebook :) 

     Livorno, Italy was our next port. Lizy, Erin and I took the train to Pisa for pictures with the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. As soon as we got there it began to rain sideways and literally flooded the streets. It was pretty hilarious trying to take pictures of dance poses with the rain soaking our bodies and the wind blowing our hair uncontrollably. My boots were definitely made for fashion and not to withstand weather because the water soaked thru to my socks and froze my feet. I guess it’s the perfect excuse for me to buy some nice Italian leather boots ;) We hopped on a bus and took a train to Florence or Firenze (and yes my Harry Potter nerd mind kicked in and I was telling everyone that’s the name of a centaur in the series haha). I think this is my favorite city we’ve been to yet! We wandered from the station and the alleyway opened to a square with an exquisite church. We ate lunch in the Piazza del Duomo, right across from the church. I had the BEST meal. I started with Minestrone soup, which our waiter thought was weird to ask for the soup as the first course. I then had four cheese gnocchi, AMAZING. Our waiter was so awesome and he kept bringing over his coworkers and other waiters at the neighboring restaurants and he would tell them “I want you to meet my friends”, even though he didn’t know our names hahaha. I think he was just tickled that we were American. We asked one of our new “friends” where we could get the best gelato and he gave us directions to a cute little gelateria. I had the most delicious chocolate and caramel gelato. We looked at the art being sold on the street and then took the train back to Livorno. We still had some time before we had to be back on the ship so we stopped in a couple of shops. Our timing was so impeccable that day, arriving right in time for a bus or train; and we were very happy we explored all three cities. 

       Our next port was Monte Carlo, Monaco. This city was on my bucket list after seeing it on Cars 2 when they are racing the Grand Prix. We started by exploring a castle on the other end of the port. Buddy (my dance captain) and his boyfriend Evan (another dancer in my cast), Lizzy (my company manager and fellow female dancer) and her boyfriend Pete (our drummer), Erin (one of our singers), Brit, Ann and I all went off together and had a blast taking photo shoots all over the castle. We came into the little town and walked down the alleyways. I bought one of the best chocolate éclairs I’ve ever had and pretended to reenact the spaghetti scene in Lady and the Tramp with Ann. I’ve been buying coffee as much as possible because it is amazing in every European port. So strong and delicious :) Then the group headed to the other side and we saw the popular casino, with lots of luxurious cars parked in front. “Lifestyles of the rich and famous” was our theme of the day. I had another remarkable experience with gelato, this time a thick, dark chocolate mousse that tasted just like icing. We walked along road for the Grand Prix and headed back to the ship. 

      I love my cast, my roommate, Rachel, is amazing, and I’m traveling again to a lot of new and exciting countries. Life is beautiful!

Ford Family Trip

Traveling with my family is an experience like nothing else. It's the best way to do it. Though I love the opportunity to explore various ports of call by working on the ship, my favorites were the ones I spent with my family on board. Traveling to New Jersey and Washington D.C. last week was no different. With family, we create the best memories to last a lifetime. We remember the food, the sites, the laughs. I put together the video montage because I wanted to capture those memories. I also kept a list of some of my favorite moments:


1. “Butt Up!”
2. Oprah went to college…
3. Driving right up to our plane-surreal, I felt like the president!
4. Mimosas on the jet-Cathy with a “C”!
5. The beautiful Princeton campus
6. Hillary’s intense save by her hand
7. "Why is you there!?"- Aunt Sheryl
8. Civil War Cemetery walk
9. John hiding in the backseat and popping up
10. Grandpa trying the chocolate habenero gelato
11. Smithsonian Air and Space Museum with Corona space shuttle-Celeste talking about the secrecy involved and one of her
employees at Stellar Solutions worked on it!
12. Tailgating party outside the museum
13. An amazing dinner at the seafood place- John’s miniture tuna! Grandpa and I had made a bet on what he would order, so
John ordered the most ridiculous and unlikely meal so that neither one of us would win and he would get our quarters!
14. Uncle John, Nathan and I getting “shafted” to the back
15. Another amazing meal at an Italian restaurant where Miranda trys to break open the lobster and drops it on the seat
16. Nathan’s fierce dance moves at the Tiger Inn, “eating clubs” on Princeton campus.
17. Uncle John...enough said
18. Dinner in Chinatown, Washington D.C. at Matchbox and Rita's Italian Ice for desert
19. Tour of the Library of Congress, the Capitol, the White House, National Archives
20. Spending time with my Grandma
21. Dinner at Marrakesh, authentic Moroccan food (which you eat with your hands!) complete with a belly dancing show :)
22. Three sister statue in the street-Reta, Kathleen, & Sheryl!!!!
23. Monuments at night- so beautiful!
24. World War 2 Memorial with my Grandpa
25. Les Miserables!!!!!!!!
26. Cousin time!!!!
27. Every moment with my family!!!!!

Thanks to everyone for making it not only POSSIBLE for me to come, but for making it so special. I will be sending the video out to the Ford fam in Cali, and the rest of you will receive copies on Thanksgiving!!!! :D

Love you all!!!
Shannon <3

The Windy City

Alright, my sincerest apologizes for not blogging sooner, I was caught up in the whirl of work and trying to make plans. Now that I'm more settled, my plans are out the window and I will just be riding the wave from here on out. I'm known for stressing and over analyzing EVERYTHING so I need to focus on taking things as they come, not worrying about the future.

That said, this last month has been an emotional roller coaster, as all big life changes are. But unlike California, there has been more good days than bad! I love the city and its diverse melting pot of people. However, I am feeling much the same way I did in LA about audition life because it is a commitment to years of inconsistent work and I'm not sure I'm willing to dedicate my dance career to just that. I feel I'm stuck in two worlds, that of an academic and one of an artist. And I'm very picky on how I want them to intertwine.

With all these thoughts running freely in my head, I've begun to piece together a sort of tentative 5 year plan. I would like to return to ships to travel while saving money. On my vacations from this "work", I would do some traveling on my own through programs that work with animal conservation around the world. Eventually, I will return to school to, most likely, prepare myself for a career in animal rescue either with an organization, as a animal policewoman, or a scientist dealing with conservation. Or possibly even being a trainer or marine biologist.

I've made a list of things I want to do/see in the time I'm living in Chicago. Of course, most of them are the tourist things, but with the help of locals that I meet or friends that I have in the city, I'm also racking up a list of popular local things to do. :) My idea is to treat this like any other port that I'm visiting. Unfortunately, I don't have the same schedule as my roommates since none of them are unemployed dancers like me (ha ha) so....a lot of these adventures I will have to embark on my own. Sean challenged me to go to a movie by myself, something I argued I would NEVER do because I see it as an activity to do with friends or on a date. He told me to grow up. So, that was my first step towards my goal of soaking up this city. I went to Lion King 3D by myself. Yes, it was weird. Yes, I was slightly lonely and would have enjoyed some company. But I'm independent and I hold myself back if I wait for others to be ready to do the things I want to do. So, my second solo escapade was a trip to the Shedd Aquarium. This was spectacular because I have a real soft spot for animals. My eyes literally teared up because it was my first time seeing Beluga Whales. They were so cute. I was inspired by the live show, where they showed us how the trainers worked with the dolphins and the seals. Unbelievable. I think I would make an amazing dolphin trainer. The make it a game for the dolphins, with only positive reinforcement and treats. There's no whips, no cruelty like what I imagine happens in the circus. The point of the live show was not for our entertainment, the animals were under no pressure to preform. It was to educate us on the way the trainers work with the dolphins for stimulation and even for their own medical care. Dolphins will work on a behavior like laying its tail on the trainer's lap and allow the trainer to rub its tail. This is a training they repeat everyday, but once a month the trainer will draw blood from the tail for a check up, followed by the tail rub. This way, the dolphin knows exactly what to do and what to expect. It's genius.




Ok ok, let me stop rambling on about animals! I'll talk about people now. My roommates are all really cool and so different from me. Laura is my age, so a senior attending DePaul University. She is studying film and might look into marine videographer. I joked with her that she can film me working with dolphins. It could happen. She's also working on her scuba instructor certification. I suggested that if I book a cruise in the Caribbean, she can come scuba dive with me! Laura has the basement bedroom and I rarely see her but we try to make plans together. A few weeks ago we did a mini trip into the city and she showed me some amazing buildings and we has a fabulous dinner at Elephant and Castle, her favorite pub. I saw a few things on my list during this trip! 1. The giant reflective lima bean in the middle of Millennium Park where you can take awesome pictures of the skyline in a mirror. 2. The 26 foot tall Marilyn Monroe on Michigan Avenue, in her famous billowing white dress and "The Seven Year Itch" subway-grate stance. FABULOUS. 3. The Tribune Tower which encases various stones from around the world into its exterior limestone frame. It includes fragments of India's Taj Mahal, the Great Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt, the Berlin Wall, the White House, and the Great Wall of China. The Tribune is loaded with hidden artifacts and I look forward to creating a scavenger hunt for myself! 4. A stroll down the Magnificent Mile. Of course. Michigan Avenue is prime shopping from couture Burberry, Armani, and Louis Vuitton to a few of my personal favs- Forever 21, Urban Outfitters, and Victoria's Secret. I have also found a new love, a fantastic find called Akira, exclusively in Chicago. From wacky boots to amazing apparel, its heaven. And on the cheap side! If only my aunts were here to appreciate my great discoveries!



Roomie 2 is Brooke. She lives across from me upstairs. Brooke graduated and is currently working a grown up, serious job to pay off college, but will be taking her LSATs this week! I remember when I thought I wanted to be a lawyer...HA glad I changed my mind! She is very smart and I love listening to her opinions on various topics from religion and politics to her small minded co workers. But, she has a very loud voice. Even when she is just talking with someone face to face, it's a bit overwhelming. And her laugh carries out around the room, and not in a good way! :/ At least she is nice and sociable, not at all a stereotypical law student!

Roomie 3 is Caitlin. Super nice and funny. She lives next door to me and we are both cramped in the same size room. She also just graduated and is working on paying off her student loans. She just got a job as a preschool teacher and is looking for a serving job. I must say, I am glad to not be in debt! Although I complain about not having money because I work a part time job and it all goes to rent, I can't imagine living this life AND having college bills to pay for....the next 10 years. EEK. For example, Laura has RACKED up some loans since her freshman year she attended school in Hawaii while she was going for a marine biology major. Then she transferred to DePaul, which is an EXPENSIVE school. I can't even imagine how much she will owe when she graduates.

I was considering taking a class or two at DePaul but I'm not sure I will be able to commit to a semester. It's hard for me to commit to anything right now when I'm considering returning to ships to continue more traveling. I looked into volunteering at the Aquarium but they asked for 6 months to a year commitment. As much as I would love that, I can't guarantee that I will be here and available for that long! My tentative plan seems to be the best course of action for now.

Backing up to my first few weeks in Chicago, I will mention the amazing time I had seeing my cuz, Nathan Ford. His girlfriend, Lauren, literally lives a street away from me! It's crazy what a SMALL world this is!!! I had a great lunch and caught up with them. Hopefully, Nathan will be able to steal away from his spy job in Washington to come visit Chicago so I can see him more. It sucks they lived in Cali and we were in Colorado so we rarely got to see each other growing up. But, it made the time they did visit that much more memorable! And now that we are all spread out over the nation, and the world (Chinese Sean), our time together is an incredible occasion. Lauren and I went to the Chicago Air and Water Show the following weekend. Her friend's uncle had a boat docked in the pier so it worked out perfectly. We watched the jets and parachuters perform their spectacular stunts. I would scream in fear and anxiety every time a jet would fly high above then shut off his engine and spiral downward, leveling out just in time. She just laughed at me. This show was just one example of the many incredible events Chicago has to offer, year round. It is a bustling city, but not overwhelming like I believe New York would be.



Cameron and I have started a bit of a tradition to meet up every week or so for brunch at some of the unique and sensational breakfast restaurants. Our first stop was Southport Grocery and Cafe where we dug into delicious Cupcake Pancakes. This coming Sunday we will be hitting up the Orange Contemporary Brunch restaurant where I might indulge in either a Cinnamon Roll Pancake or the Chai Tea French Toast. Cam is a great connection for me into the musical theatre world and loves sharing the knowledge he is getting from school. He will graduate this year then work a few choreography jobs he has lined up and be in a few shows both home and here in the city. Then he will move back to Colorado or stay out here to start building his resume in preparation for New York. Funny enough, I've taken New York off my list. I still want to visit, of course, but I don't want to live there. It's the new way I am thinking, where I want to do EVERYTHING and not spend my time waiting for one chance. I've got a packed bucket list, and I gotta progress thru it all!!!!!

Wrigley Field was also on my Chicago list and last week I went to a Cubs game against the Milwaukee Brewers with my friend, Tim, who just moved to Chicago. Tim was our sound tech on the Vision so I did both contracts with him! We had amazing seats, in line with first base! Not that there were any bad seats, the stadium was SO SMALL. I think Coors Field was modeled after Wrigley, they were extremely similar. Wrigley opened in 1914 and is the oldest National League ballpark still in use. The scoreboard is hand turned and there are beautiful ivy fields along the outfield wall. Wrigley is iconic for its unusual wind patterns off Lake Michigan, which will favor either the pitcher or aid home runs. Maybe that was the original inspiration for the "Windy City" nickname, because it is not significantly windier than any other US city. In fact, Boston has a higher average annual wind speed than Chicago. Some sources claim the nickname was a term being used metaphorically because Chicagoans were supposedly braggarts. Thankfully, the current population is losing this reputation. However, downtown Chicago does earn the title of the "Windy City" as unforseen side effects of the tall buildings sucks the wind into the streets. I did experience this passing the Tribune Tower. While other places are calm, you dip into the skyline and you might have to hold on to your hat!



All in all, the city has a lot of amazing things to offer and I look forward to spending my time here exploring every nook and cranny. I'm excited to have the opportunity to return home for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year and hopefully I will have a few visitors in the new year! (HINT HINT ya'll....come visit!!!!) I'm creating an ever growing list of things I want to do while on land, some are here, some in other cities, like Celine Dion in Vegas. And some are even back home in the 303 because after all my travels, I've realized there are so many amazing things Colorado has to offer that I can take advantage of! :D

The Adventures In Chi-town Begin

So, for all you who have been requesting an update, here it is!

Roadtrip Fun:
Bumbles...late start + need all new tires (eek!) = 4 hours behind schedule, Iowa state fair means "NO room at the Inn, Mary!" for the next 30 miles, flat and boring Nebraska, smelly Iowa, we forgot toothpaste, cop pulls dad over for speeding but really just wants to search our "suspicious" car for drugs with the canine unit

Best part: Guess this artist game with dad. I play Edge of Glory by Lady Gaga and give the hint "crazy costumes". He says Elton John. :D


Chicago's Welcoming Arrival:
Beautiful blue skies and perfect weather turns drastically to grey, threatening clouds, which in turn becomes rain. Rain that is peaceful until it rains harder then hardens into golf ball-sized hail! All within 3 minutes.

Best part: Having lunch at a legit Irish pub. Irish waitress named Brid, Irish rugby game on the tube, and rowdy Ireland supporters drinking their Guinness and Killian's.


Chat with my roomie, Laura who is a wicked awesome girl originally from here, but moved to Hawaii for freshman year marine biology. Now is a film student at DePaul and will graduate this year. Funny thing is, her free spirit reminds me a lot of my old roomie in LA, Kayla. I need to latch on to her energy and hold on for the ride because it's an attribute I so admire.


Accomplishment: Backed into a parking spot!
Goal: Get to know the city and find my happy place!

Second 7 Day Cruise!!!!

Copenhagen
Dani, Jess and I headed off in Copenhagen, our mission was Christiania. When we reached a small square, we stopped to double check our map and find an exchange place for Dani. Jess and I were contemplating where to go when we looked up, and saw a strange man shaking Dani’s hand. He had been standing near us for a while until he finally spoke. He mumbled, clearly under the influence of something, talking about how he was from Australia and asking if we knew where we were. We politely said we knew and he started talking about the “hippest bar in town” and that we should go there. He slurred out something like “I don’t call it ‘prostitution’ I term it boom boom.” We told him to have a nice day and walked away, not sure if he thought we were prostitutes or he was suggesting we could get that job. LOL.
After a bit of walking, we finally reached Christiania. We walked thru the market, and I bought a pair of wool socks from Afghanistan and a scarf. We walked past hash stands, the presentation of drugs was even more open here than in Amsterdam. We stopped at a food stand and ordered lunch. I asked for the bread and cheese, thinking it would be a grilled cheese, but it was quite literally just bread and cheese! It was still good though; they provided some yummy strawberry jam. There were these crazy birds that flew so low and so close to us, we felt their wings brush our skin as they zipped by. I think they were under the influence of something too!
As we ate on the benches, we were visited by the cutest little puppy. He hopped up on the seat like he belonged there too! He was very polite as he begged, we hand fed him and he was a gentleman, taking the food with great caution so he wouldn’t accidently bite us. We laughed as he tried Jessica’s raspberry jam and made a sour face, he clearly didn’t like that! He didn’t touch the lettuce we gave him, he only wanted the eggs and ham from Dani’s scrambled eggs. Eventually, he hopped up onto the table and began licking her plate, finishing her meal for her. The best part was when he looked her in the eyes and snatched her unopened plastic butter tub, jumping off the table and running away before any of us could react. It was so unexpected; we couldn’t stop laughing!
The hippy town was an awesome place to spend our Sunday evening. Although it rained and even hailed a bit, it was a nice day to be out and enjoying the company of friends. We took the train back so we could have time to souvenir shop in the port before getting back on the ship. At the train stop we found a small grocery mart, much like a mini Sams. I bought a chocolate ice cream bar for 4.50 kroner, less than a dollar, and Dani stocked up on wine and candies. In the port Jess and I bought our magnets (we have one from each country), then got back on the ship. :D

Estonia
After boat drill, Holly, Joel, Jess and I headed off in Tallinn, Estonia. We made a few stops in the little market near the pier. Holly bought her sheep booties, made with real wool! We all bought lots of delicious chocolate from the famous chocolate truck we had heard so much about. Then us girls sat on the Wishing Bench, closed our eyes, and made a wish. The legendary bench came from the ocean floor of the Baltic Sea.
Once we had walked into the city, we headed to Molly Malone’s, an Irish pub Joel raved about. I ordered a nice mozzarella, lettuce, and basil sandwich. The internet was great, so I was able to send a few emails and search the web for various things. It was a nice day to just relax and de-stress.
Tonight is our cast dinner in the dining room, to celebrate the end of the contract. It has been a struggle for us all to get here, and we’ve lost a very special person along the way. But we will use the dinner to reminisce on the good memories throughout our time together, and to chatter excitedly about what’s next to come. Most of the cast will be doing other contracts; I’m the only one that didn’t request something. Although I’m not as close to this cast as I was with my last, I wish them all the best with their futures and we will be keeping in touch via Facebook. :D

Russia
After a chaotic morning of organizing tickets for the evening ballet, Jess and I headed off. We only had a few hours before we needed to catch the shuttle back, but that was ok because it was freezing! We wandered for a bit, and stepped into a Chinese buffet place, partially to get some warmth and partially to look at the menu. Theiri door was labeled “we speak English, a little”! Lol. The buffet didn’t look too good so we headed out into the cold again. Next, we came across a nice Italian restaurant that accepted euros as well as roubles, so we stayed here. We had really good thin crust, four-cheese pizza and used their internet for a bit. After our lunch, we walked the streets to get our bearings even though the wind was frigid. We happened across a random coffee place, it was so difficult to find a café that provided coffee. I was surprised because everywhere we had been in Europe had a coffee joint on every corner, but here it seemed rare. We had to literally walk in rubble and construction to get into the place! We ordered our coffee to go and headed back to the shuttle because the wind was too bitter to deal with any longer. Back on the ship, we excitedly prepared for the ballet!
The group consisted of De-Rock, Dani, Michelle, Jess, Philip, me and Holly. It was a great group! On the bus ride to the theater, we tried to remember the Swan Lake story because there are so many versions, like the animated film or the newest movie that just came out “The Black Swan” with Natalie Portman, one of my favorite actresses. We all laughed when I asked, “Is there a donkey in this one?” and then realized I had confused Swan Lake with A Midsummer Nights Dream! After sitting in traffic for the longest time, we finally made it to the theatre. It was not as glamorous as I thought it would be, it looked more like a convention center. I was expecting a palace! We hurried to our seats, and the ballet began soon after. I recognized the music instantly, and even knew some of the variations in the ballet, having learnt them in my years of ballet classes. I was really surprised and amused by one of the musicians, who was texting on her phone rather than playing her instrument during the show. At one point, she put her violin ON THE STAGE and showed a funny text to a musician behind her, who laughed too! It wasn’t like they were hidden away in the pit, like our musicians on the Vision; they were at the same level as the audience. We could see everything they were doing. I wish they had a pit that went down though, because my seat was right behind the conductor, so he blocked my view for some of the dancing. I wonder if this isn’t where the dancers normally perform, if this was just a show for the cruise ships so they brought the ballet here.
At intermission, we toasted the group and the end of the contract, and being at the Russian Ballet in Russia, with the free sparkling wine they provided. A poor server popped a bottle and the cork ricocheted out, hit the ceiling and hit her in the head. She was standing behind us and we saw her face- from the initial pop it looked like she was having a heart attack of fright, then she looked shell shocked from the explosion, then pain when the cork hit her, then embarrassment from the entire episode. :(
We were having such a good time, chit chatting and laughing, until one of the tour guides came over and told us the second half had already started! We had been waiting for an announcement, or for the flashing lights, like all the theatres I’ve been to in America. I felt so bad climbing over the people in my row to get back to my seat! One of the ladies next to me tried to hold my dress down because it was getting all twisted around from being smooshed between chairs and people’s legs. Lol.
Although some of the ballerinas weren’t the best I had ever seen, I really enjoyed the show. The lead was solid in her movements; I miss that. I was very inspired by her. The boys weren’t very good at all, and I feel like this was the younger group from the company. I enjoyed looking for the dancers that gave me passion; that loved what they were doing and performed for us. The joker was really great at that!
When the ballet was over, we had a short question and answer session with two of the dancers. It was interesting because they needed translators to answer our questions. They travel all around Europe in part of their season, and stay in Russia for the rest. The girl had been dancing since she was 11. The guest who had held my dress down gasped when she heard this, thinking it was impressive. I thought to myself, if only she knew I started when I was 3!!!! Lol.
As they ushered us out and back to our buses, we realized that it was 10 minutes to 11:30, which is when our ship was scheduled to sail away! Because we paid for our tickets like the guests, we were on a special security list, or else we would be in big trouble for not being back at 10:30 for crew on board. We weren’t too worried because we knew they would hold the ship for the guests, but it was still a bit unnerving to think that we were so late!
I had another fabulous day in Russia and getting to listen to Tshiacheviosky’s elegant music where it all began, we such an amazing experience. It’s the Russian Ballet afterall; they are like Brazil in soccer or Canada in hockey. They own it!

Finland
Today I got off with Dani, Michelle, and Jess, a girls day out! We ate at Memphis again and I had my delicious sandwich! It was a nice lunch, using some internet to check mail and chatting like girls do. We intended to buy the rubber duck mascots as a souvenir, but the guy just chuckled when we asked and gave them to us. We stopped at a champagne bar; the girl asked if we were all over 20, HECK YES I AM!!!! That’s interesting that it’s 20 here, I thought everywhere in Europe was 18 or maybe 19, but I’ve never heard of 20 before. We toasted to us girls and the end of the contract. We had to squeeze into the little space; a table for two, it was pretty funny. After relaxing in the bar and people watching, we took the shuttle back and souvenir shopped for a bit in the port.

Sweden
Troy, one of our dancers, is throwing a baby fit. Last Rhythm and Rhyme he slid on his knee with a bit more force then he intended, and bruised his knee. He has been complaining about it since, making it a huge ordeal, which we’ve ignored because that’s his character. But its now gotten out of hand because he went to the doctor and we are now rebocking him out of the shows. For our LAST cruise. Unbelievable. The thing with ship doctors is that they cover their butts by ASKING if you can be fit for duty. When I went for a personal issue earlier in the contract, the doctor asked me if I could still work. I was caught off guard, thinking that was his job to determine if I am ok to work or not. Of course, I said I was perfectly fine and could dance, no troubles! But somebody like Troy can manipulate the situation and claim that he can’t work, which is what he is doing. The nerve of him to pull himself out of the shows for a bruise, acting it all up, pulling the same drama fest I used to see from kids all the time at my dance studio. This is a 40+-year-old man, a “professional dancer”. He is letting his team down and he completely ruined all our plans for the day. Most people didn’t get off today in Stockholm, because of the extra rehearsals. And he didn’t even show up for that, he was off wandering around the city! There are various theories as to why he is doing this. He wasn’t offered another contract with Royal and he isn’t getting a job as a choreographer with them, so maybe he is trying to get as much from the company as he can before he leaves. Or he is just pining for attention, like always. Connie has been like that too lately, calling herself fat and complaining of a “fever”. She was supposedly too sick to take a picture with the cast but could party at the Philippines karaoke party. I’m just over these fake people. I’m disgusted that they are needing all this attention, at the cost of everyone else. I’m so glad we have ONE WEEK LEFT! I’m trying to be positive but I’m still pretty frustrated!
Anyways, after rehearsal Jess and I ran off and caught the shuttle to the city. Unfortunately, there was so much traffic that the driver had to let us out about 10 minutes away from where we were supposed to be dropped off. We had originally planned on going to the ice bar, but there was no way we would have enough time, crew on board was in 2 and a half hours. We got our bearings of where we were, and where we needed to be to catch the shuttle back, and headed off to find a nice place to eat.
We looked at a few restaurants but couldn’t understand their menus and everything was expensive, so we asked for a 7-11, always reliable! I ordered a fabulous spicy pesto calzone, and “honey bun”, cinnamon roll. Europe’s 7-11s provide much better food than the ones back home BUT we have the slurpees! :D
Troy showed up to the second Boogie, and had the moxie to come backstage afterwards and congratulate us on a good show with the air of a guest who had come to visit his friends and see the show. I can’t wait to surround myself with real people again, people who are dedicated and hard working and love what they do. Artists who have real passion for what they do, and a WORK ETHIC. Growing up in a military style dance studio has pushed me to constantly demand better from myself, and I’m shocked when others around me don’t have the same drive. I guess it separates the meek from the bold, the weak from the strong. I know what side I’m on.

You Know You're A World Traveler When...

I opened my wallet the other day and counted nine different currencies; reais from Brazil, pounds from England, St. Peter’s Port pounds used just for Guersney in the Channel Islands, roubles from Russia, krons from Norway, krons from Denmark, krons from Sweden (different from Denmark and Norway), euros from countries that have transferred to it, and the US dollars of course. I guess I’m truly an official world traveler!

First 7 Day Cruise!!!!

Tallinn, Estonia
Today was a girl’s day out. The weather was beautiful, a light breeze; Europe’s finest spring offering. After boat drill, Holly, Jess and I headed off into Tallinn, Estonia. Immediately off port was a market full of souvenirs and a money exchange for various currencies. Estonia only just changed to euros last year. I was also able to get roubles (the Russian currency) to be prepared for St. Petersburg tomorrow. I got 1,000 roubles for $50! How crazy is that!?! When the guy was counting out each hundred I couldn’t help but stare in shock, I felt so rich! I guess tomorrow will show me how far that will go in Russia… :/
We glanced at a few stalls as we brisked through the market, and Holly fell in love with a pair of sheep’s wool booties. She, like me, loves animals and said she wouldn’t mind wearing pure sheep’s wool because the sheep NEED to be sheared. Not like fox fur or murderous things like that.
The old town was close to the port; no more than 10 minutes, especially for us fast walkers! Tallinn has two parts to the city; the modern section has a giant shopping center and large, shiny office buildings. And directly inside of it, enclosed by ancient towers and walls, is the old town. When we walked in, it felt like stepping back into medieval times. The people are dressed in attire straight from the Renaissance era; from the floppy, feathered hat to the tights and boots.
It was so nice to have the time today to just wander aimlessly around the town and enjoy exploring random alleyways as we saw fit. The other ports were planned out ahead of time because we only went there once; and I wanted to see everything we could possibly see. But now, I’m so much more relaxed knowing that I will have three chances in each place to experience what it has to offer. We meandered through the various markets, munching on glazed sugar almonds Holly bought from a vendor. We got lost in girl gossip, and I could feel a good bond growing between us all. It’s a hard thing on ships because you become close with the people you have been with basically 24/7 for the past few months. Then, when it’s the end of your contract, you are off in separate directions. Most of your friends from the ship live in other countries far away from you. I’m grateful that I live in the modern age of technology, so I can keep in touch with everyone!
We stopped for lunch at a nice outdoor cafe with great wifi, a luxury that’s hard to come by. I had a tasty sandwich for a cheap price. After our meal we walked around a bit more before stopping in a bakery to get Bavarian cheesecake and lattes. We walked to a park on the outskirts of the town and ate our desert on a bench. We continued exploring random streets that caught our interests, more involved in each other than where we were going. Tallinn is nice to walk around and just be in the middle of the crowd, there’s no need to rush here and there taking pictures because it’s just a quaint little town.
We learned that there is a truck that sells cheap chocolate right next to the ship, so we will have to hit that up next time. We also have to make a wish at the wishing bench, a log that was brought to Tallinn from Africa and promises to grant your wish if you sit, close your eyes, and seek your heart’s true desire. I love Tallinn; it was such a relief after the hustle and bustle of all the other ports in our itinerary. It was the perfect day.

Titanic 2
So we had just finished R & R and Jess and I were in our room listening to music from the animated movie Anastasia to get in the mood for Russia. We heard scraping and the sound of rushing water beneath us. Our room startled rattling too. Instantly, I thought either a pipe burst or we are sinking. Jess calls 1800 and tells them she thinks a pipe has burst and is leaking water on Deck 0. They said they would send someone to check it out. I was very unsettled by this, so I wandered the hallway to try to find the source. I was astonished that nobody else was peeking their heads out in curiosity or alarm. I hiked up to Deck 2 to see if the noise was audible in guest areas. Then I climbed down to Deck 0. I heard a watertight door beeping, signaling someone was closing it. In my head, this assured me we were sinking. As I approached the door, I asked the security guard what was going on. He said we were sailing thru ice. I choked out my words “Ice? As in iceburgs!?!” He seemed confused by my reaction and asked “Don’t you feel that?” referring to the rumbling of the ship. I said, “Of course I do, why do you think I’m down here freaking out!?!” He told me to go upstairs on the outdoor decks and watch the ice float by the ship. I immediately returned to collect Jessica and put on warm clothes. Then we headed upstairs to Deck 5. Floating thru this ice felt exactly like the movie Titanic. Whitney started singing “My Heart Will Go On” and even though I love Celine; that was too much for me in that moment. It was unbelievable to watch the chunks of ice surround the ship, and see in the distance the island of ice we were headed towards. Thrilling, overwhelming, stunning, incredible. No words can properly describe what I felt. We headed back down and prayed that the captain knew how to get us thru the maze of ice and safely to land. I focused on my goal for the next day, diving into Anastasia’s life.

St. Petersburg, Russia
We had an early start the next morning, helping load tours and escorting a tour group out to Pushkin to see Catherine’s Palace. After spending an hour in the immigration security booths, I was understandably annoyed and scared when my tour guide told me that the tour was full and I wouldn’t be able to go! In Russia, this is a huge problem, because you either have to get on a tour or pay for a special ticket to get off. Since I had planned on this tour, and been penciled in by the Explorations manager for this spot, I didn’t buy the crew ticket. If I couldn’t get on the tour, I would have to wait for the HR office to open and by then, all my friends would already be off the ship. Luckily, they moved some people around because there were two buses going to do the same tour, mine and Jessica’s. I even got the best seat in the bus; right next to the driver with a complete open view out of the window of everything that was in front of us.
My tour guide was named Svehana, such a Russian name! She had Jane to help, a girl who was in a 6 month training program. It was so interesting to talk to her because although we grew up in completely different scenarios, we had similar dreams. She also longed to go to New York, Paris and London. What an eye opener it was to be with a girl about my age from the other side of the world, who spoke such a foreign language to mine, yet we could connect on such a personal language. It just strengthens my love for the world. We are all human and we have the same emotions, the same need for love, the same yearning for dreams and the drive for a better life.
Russia’s streets alone were a pretty intense experience. They have a tram system running in the middle of the street! Traffic was horrendous; it reminded me of all those infuriating hours I spent stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic in LA. I enjoyed trying to guess what the signs said, because Russian uses a completely different alphabet! I thought I was being clever with my guessing, until I realized what I thought advertised a chiropractic office, was really a store selling backpacks.
Our tour guide, who was very knowledgeable, used the driving time to inform us all about Russia. St. Petersburg was founded in the early 18th century, but Swiss architects designed and built the original buildings in the city. This was because the Czars didn’t trust Russian architects, so they hired Western European employees and instructed them to make St. Petersburg look “European”. I found this very ironic; even back in the beginning Russians didn’t trust each other! The original name of the city was Dutch, for Peter the Great lived in Holland before becoming Czar and loved the Dutch culture.
St. Petersburg is the biggest seaport in Russia. Smaller ships can tie up right in the Neva river, but our cruise ship is too big! We were on one of the 32 islands of St. Petersburg. While we drove along the river, Svehana spoke of the 18 rivers and canals that divide up the city. December through March these rivers are frozen, and they are not allowed to walk on the ice for safety concerns. On average, there are 30 days of sunshine a year! Russia has the famous “White Nights” from the 25th of May to July 16th, where it doesn’t grow dark. The sky just instantly goes from dusk to dawn. I would love to return to Russia to see this city coated in snow, and to experience the White Nights.
We passed St. Isacc’s Cathedral, the fourth largest cathedral in the world! The 19th century cathedral can hold 14,000 people and has a beautiful dome made of mercury and 100 kilos of gold! The bus driver took us over the first permanent bridge, built in the 19th century. Each bridge is designed differently. We also passed the famous Hermitage, which is 200 miles long! I was lucky enough to go there on a tour last year, but you need at least a week to get through the entire museum!
There were some people in what looked like Militia attire walking along the streets, and Svehana explained that they were students attending St. Petersburg State Mining University (“you-knee!”) and these were their college uniforms. They take oral exams at the end of their semester, which is pretty intelligent because there is little chance of you being able to cheat your way to a better grade. Out of a population of 4.6 million, she told us that there are over 450,000 uni students in the 50 universities of St. Petersburg. She also said that 1.3 million people are retired, so I guess St. Petersburg is like the Miami of Russia. We passed the Morinsky Theatre of Krof ballet, a company created by Catherine the Great. The theatre was built in the second half of the 18th century.
We saw the Cathedral of St. Nicolas, which was active even when communism reigned. There are 200 churches in St. Petersburg and 2/3 of them are Orthodox. There was the Institute of Technology where the famous Professor Demetri, inventor of the periodic table, taught. Although, I think this building appealed to only me because of my love of chemistry! “Speaking of chemistry,” Svehana had said, “we have the ‘perfect composition’ in our 40% alcohol Russian vodka!”
As we continued driving, I noticed there were giant tvs in the middle of the street, billboards to flash various advertisements. I’ve only seen that in pictures of Times Square, New York! We saw the 5th biggest library in the world, with 35 million books, magazines, the sorts! There was the Russian Academy of Fine Arts, one of the most prestigious art schools in the world. The statue of Minerva, the ancient goddess of wisdom, sits atop this building. It was given to the city in 2003 as a present to celebrate the 300th year of foundation. I, of course, heard Minerva and instantly thought of Harry Potter! I didn’t know the story behind the name Minerva, but it totally works for the character she used!
Svehana told us the fastest way to get around were the trains, to avoid the terrible traffic. You can travel from St. Petersburg to Moscow in 3 hours on their speedy trains. She also suggested taking the subway, with trains every 2 minutes. Not only is it safe, St. Petersburg has the deepest tunnel in the world! It was built under marshlands so the escalators run really deep, almost 300 feet! You spend 4 to 5 minutes on the escalator ride to get to the subway!
WWII began for Russia in 1941 and ended for all involved in 1945. We passed Victory Square, a memorial to commemorate the 25 million people that starved during the war. In St. Petersburg alone, 1 million people died of starvation after the Nazis besieged the city. We also saw a building with a hammer and sickle atop the roof. The symbols represent the union of the workers and the peasants. It had originally been built for the government but it was too close to the frontline when the Nazis came in; so the state building remained in the city center.
Svehana pointed out the Lenin statue, mayor in the 1990’s. I made note that I wanted to research more on him, along with most of Russia’s history. I’ve always thought that the way different countries teach and learn history is incredibly bias. Everyone tends to sweep their sins under the rug and distract youth with emphasis on the success of the noble feats. Being in the countries I had learned about, the countries that felt the war hit home, because it was on their land, threatening the lives of the innocent. I’ve learned about the struggle to recuperate after war, to rebuild what was lost. The aftermath of this land, although it’s been several years, is so foreign to me because rarely has the states had this.
As we drove into the countryside of Pushkin, Svehana explained that this town was named after Aleksandr Pushkin, the “Russian Shakespeare”. The earliest Russian railroad was built in the early 19th century with the sole purpose of connecting all the palaces for the Czars. Peter the Great and his second wife, Catherine the First, enjoyed a smaller palace, the original build of Catherine’s palace. But Elizabeth the First of the 18th century was fond of splendor and ordered it to be amplified, making it the magnificent spectacle it is today. It was originally used for receptions in the summer.
Much of the palace was destroyed during WWI. The Nazis didn’t occupy St. Petersburg, but they did occupy Pushkin. The staff of the palace loaded precious art treasures on the only train of the area and tried to evacuate the valuables. When the Nazis were forced to withdraw at the end of the war, they set fire to the palace and left various slow-to-defuse air bombs. Restoration is still going on, but since it’s extremely time-consuming and expensive, they are only halfway through.
The palace was named after Catherine the First, contrary to the popular belief that it was named for Catherine the Great. Legend has it that Peter the Great’s grandson was married to Catherine the Great but fell in love with another Catherine, who was a waitress in town. He sent Catherine the Great away to a convent so he could marry his beloved Catherine the First. We weren’t allowed to bring in coats of oversized bags because the palace had extremely fragile gold leaves used for the décor and we needed to use caution wherever we were. We even had to wear plastic booties over our shoes and were asked to slide rather than walk, to preserve the flooring!
Inside the palace, we saw the illustrious Amber Room, which took 2 billion dollars to restore. Catherine had 15,000 dresses spread throughout her palaces, with jewelry to match each one! In one of the dining rooms, Svehana told us the Royal Family used to mix fake fruit with real ones in the fruit bowls. When they had parties and somebody got too drunk, they would mistakenly take the fake fruit and crack their teeth, and everyone would have a good laugh. The esteemed guests invited to these parties were allowed to take part of the service home, so often you would see respected generals carrying silver away from the palace! That would be pretty humorous to see! :D
The painting room was filled with paintings from all over the world, except (for unknown reasons) from Spain and Britain. The art hung together with only slim frames to separate. Sometimes, the painting was even cut to fit in the puzzle on the wall. My favorite room was probably the green dining room, not only because green is my favorite color, but also because it was decorated with Greek mythological Gods and Goddesses. :D One room contained its original furniture and chandelier. There was a hallway roped off because it still had the original flooring from the 18th century!
Apparently the government and the historical restoration company are in constant battle because the city needs space to expand for the growing population and therefore old buildings are being threatened of demolition to provide this land. As of now, the government is not allowed to move a building without the permission of the historical organization. It was very frustrating to see the modern structures mixed around the historical sites. I found myself hating all the industrial areas because I wanted everything to look and feel like it used to, like the Russia I imagined. I’m happy they are working so diligently on the restoring of these historical places, but I wish I could have been there to see them in their genuine glory. I hate how industrial the city is, I would have loved to been there to see the palace without telephone wires around or cars surrounding it. To be captured by its stunning beauty in the pure state it used to be, that would be unbelievable.
Driving back to the ship, we passed the Annunciation Church. Cathedrals were misused when the Nazis came, like this church which was turned into an artificial skating rink! How terrible, to trash somebody’s sanctuary, to have no respect for something so sacred and special to lots of people. But I suppose that’s how they gained control; by destroying the things people valued and replacing it with terror.
When we got to the pier, Jess and I checked with the explorations manager to see if there was another tour we could join rather than going back on the ship. We lucked out and were able to hop on a canal cruise and shopping tour. Our guide, Marina, was really nice and she kept emphasizing we had big plans for this tour- “Napoleonic plans!” She told us there are 500 bridges in St. Petersburg as we cruised along the canals beneath the city. I was excited when she pointed to a building and I knew before she announced it that this was St. Issac’s cathedral, I felt like a local! She explained that it took 40 years to build the brick church.
St. Petersburg was founded on the 16th of May, 1708. Moscow was the first city mentioned in ancient chronicles, dating back to 1147. We cruised by the winter palace, where a major arrest of city officials occurred. The clock inside the palace has been set at 10 minutes past 2 am to show this mark the time of the arrests. We passed the Hermitage, which was a summer palace for the Czars. I made note to research Rasputin, because she mentioned him being assassinated but I have no idea who he was.
Marina told us the legend behind the popular faberge eggs. Long ago, there was a soon to be emperor, who didn’t believe in Jesus. Lady Magdalene presented him an egg, to which he said if this egg turns from white to red, I will believe in your Jesus. And sure enough, it did! In Moscow, a skilled egg maker presented Nicolas II an egg every year, starting the tradition.
Overall, I absolutely fell in love! The entire time I was here, I was yearning for more time to explore. I’ve been inspired by Sean and I’ve considered looking into a similar program for future traveling! All day I couldn’t get the idea of coming to teach in Russia out of my head. It’s a crazy plan, because it would be difficult with the language barrier and living in a completely different country, but what an experience that would be! What a challenge!

Helsinki, Finland
Toby, our Activities Manager is from the countryside of Finland, so we went off with him when we ported in Helsink. We took the shuttle, which dropped us off in the city center. I labeled him Tourguide Toby. :D All the streets have two names, because they speak both Swedish and Finnish in the city, but only Finnish in the country. They also learn English in school. I’m so jealous that everyone on the ship is at the very least bilingual, except for most people who had English as a their first language. As we walked thru the city, we discussed WWII and how Finland chose to side with Germany and fight for independence rather than become a part of Russia. We talked about how Europe has evidence of their wars, yet the US, being a relatively new country, has had few battles fought on our soil.
In Finland, they don’t have “please”, so they say “thank you a lot” which is “kiitos”. I remember this by “cheetos”, and then adding in the k! Toby showed us some major buildings and monuments of the central city. Then we enjoyed a “Typical Finnish day”, we sat on the steps of the State Senate, overlooking the city. We ate a delicious lunch at Memphis, a fancy diner. I had a sandwich with toasted Memphis bread, grilled chèvre (goat cheese), bell pepper, garlic mayonnaise, Asli sauce, apple, cucumber salad, tomato, lettuce, and marinated red onion. It was SO GOOD. It came with “Dipping Strips potatoes” which are French fries and seasoned mayonnaise as a dip. Memphis had a wall display of rubber ducks, a fish tank filled with their mascots.
I asked Toby where the bathroom was and he told me to go to the bathroom around the corner on the right. There was only one door and it was labeled “m”. I walked in, and immediately walked out. It was definitely a urinal! I asked the waiter where the bathroom was and he pointed to the left. This door was labeled “n”. So now I know, m for males, n for females! Luckily no one was in the urinal when I made that mistake!!!!!!
After lunch we walked to the mall and bought some traditional Finnish chocolate. I bought milk chocolate and peppermint, Jess bought milk chocolate and lemon. We headed back to the shuttle and discussed plans for next Finland; hopefully we could take the ferry out to a castle. It was a nice and relaxed day after the frantic and exhaustive “tourist day” in Russia.

Stockholm, Sweden
This was the port I was most looking forward to, after finishing the Millennium Series, which is based in this city. Jess and I bought the map for the Stieg Larsson Tour and decided we were going to do one of the walking tours on our own. We chose the Södermalm area because it had the most references from the book and the movies.
The first stop was Bellmansgatan 1, where one of the main characters, Mikel Blomkvist lives. We took pictures like we were entering his house. :D The next stop was Moteliusvägen, one of Stockholm’s most beautiful views. Across the river you could see the Stockholm District Courthouse, the scene for various important trials throughout the series. Jessica and I started a video commentary to commemorate our travels.
The next stop was the Lundabron, the Lunda Bridge in Lundagatan. This was Salander’s old apartment, the setting of her miserable upbringing. Walking down Ludvigbergsgatan brought us to Mellqvist Coffee Bar at Hornsgatan 78. Not only was this Mikael Blomkvist’s regular hangout, it was also Stieg Larsson’s own hangout. We bought coffees inside and asked the man what pastry he recommended. He said something in Swedish and pointed to a bun with what looked like poppy seeds. I asked what that was but he just repeated the name again so I shrugged and we bought two. It turned out to be the most delicious thing EVER! It was just the right amount of cinnamon sweetness, with a hint of something fruity.
Adat Jisreal Synagogue at St. Paulsgatan 13 was next. This was where Detective Inspector Jan Bublanski has a meeting with Dragan Armanskij of Milton Security. It’s a random part in the story and Jess and I hardly remembered the significance to this place; because in the midst of all the details logged into the series, this one particular spot wouldn’t stand out. Turning right on Götgatan and on the corner of Hökens gata is Millennium’s editorial office, the magazine Mikael Blomkvist writes for. This location in reality only holds apartments but in the books, it was located above Greenpeace’s and had a glass façade facing Götgatan.
The 7th stop on the map was the 7-eleven Salander always shops at. I was most excited about this part! There are several 7-elevens in Stockholm and around Europe, really. But this specific one marked was so special because of the book. Jess and I ate Billy’s Pan Pizza, something Salander always gets. I had the original, and was surprised that it had ham in it. I guess I’m used to American standards where an “original” would traditionally mean just cheese. I had to scrape off the meat but I enjoyed the micro-waved snack nonetheless!
We then headed all the way down to Tjärhovsgatan to find the Kvarnen club, a regular hangout for Salander and her girls in the Evil Fingers rock band. The bar actually opened in 1908 and is one of Stockholm’s oldest taverns. Next was Fiskargatan 9. Salander comes into some money and buys a 3,800 square foot, 21-room apartment on the top floor of this building. She furnishes only three rooms with IKEA goods and lives in it under the alias V. Kulla. Villa Villekulle is the name of Pippi Longstocking’s house. The building is from the 1910’s and caused a scandal when it was built because it blocked the view of Katarina church from the water.
Traveling by route of Svartensgatan, we made it to Mosebacke Square, where we took a picture of “The Sisters” statue mentioned in the books. The tour ended at The Stockholm City Museum, where they had an exhibit to see part of the film set of the Millennium editorial office. It was an amazing experience to walk in the day-to-day lives of the characters we have fallen in love with in this series. It wasn’t over advertised so it didn’t feel touristy. It’s awesome that I can bring this adventure home with me, and when the movies come out in English, I will be able say, “I’ve been there, I’ve walked that street! Or I drank coffee at that café!” :D
After the tour, we had a bit of a scare getting back to the ship. We got to the port fine, thanks to our amazing map-navigating skills, but thought the Vision was a lot closer than it really was. We saw our ship, but not the two long ships ahead of us! We were cutting it close to the time crew needed to be back on, so we started running. We ran through gates as a car was exiting, because our eyes were focused on our vessel and not necessarily the proper way to get there. As I ran forward, out of the corner of my eye I saw security being radioed and heading our way. We flashed our cards, knowing someone had just called them announcing “THREE GIRLS JUST RAN THROUGH THE GATES!!!!” Luckily, security was nice and pointed to where we needed to be, rather then making us walk all the way back around and take the appropriate route to the gangway. We made it back on the ship just in time!!! :D