DARK SHADOWS FORUMS

Members' Mausoleum => Calendar Events / Announcements Archive => Calendar Events / Announcements '25 I => Calendar Events / Announcements '08 II => Topic started by: Gerard on September 27, 2008, 12:28:44 AM

Title: OT: I'm Leaving All Of You!
Post by: Gerard on September 27, 2008, 12:28:44 AM
But not for long!  I'm going on my first vacation in over four years......on a Mediterranean cruise on the brand new Queen Victoria!  I'm leaving this Sunday and will be gone for almost three weeks.  We sail out of Rome and go to Naples, Capri, Istanbul, Athens, several Greek Isles, Dubrovnik and end up in Venice.  My friend and I will be staying for a few more days in Venice!  I'll try to get everyone a T-shirt, and if I can't, I'll save up the small bottles of shampoo from our cabin bathroom!

Gerard
Title: Re: OT: I'm Leaving All Of You!
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on September 27, 2008, 12:31:17 AM
Have an absolutely wonderful time, Gerard.  [ghost_smiley]
Title: Re: OT: I'm Leaving All Of You!
Post by: Taeylor Collins on September 27, 2008, 12:36:24 AM
WOW!  I hope you have a marvelous time.  I hope to travel more one day! :)
Title: Re: OT: I'm Leaving All Of You!
Post by: Julianka7 on September 27, 2008, 01:39:36 AM
Congratulations! It sounds like a wonderful trip.
We'll keep a [Candle] in the window for you Gerard.
Title: Re: OT: I'm Leaving All Of You!
Post by: Teresa on September 27, 2008, 01:42:50 AM
Oh I just love those little bottles of shampoo!! [ghost_wink]
Have a super trip!
Title: Re: OT: I'm Leaving All Of You!
Post by: Midnite on September 27, 2008, 01:53:33 AM
Have a great time!!!  [love2]
Title: Re: OT: I'm Leaving All Of You!
Post by: MagnusTrask on September 27, 2008, 02:56:50 AM
How dare you leave all of us, after all of us have devoted the best years of our lives to you.
Title: Re: OT: I'm Leaving All Of You!
Post by: Lydia on September 27, 2008, 06:39:56 AM
I'm dying of envy.

Do the Queen Victoria's friends call her the Queen Vicki?
Title: Re: OT: I'm Leaving All Of You!
Post by: Josette on September 27, 2008, 07:06:59 AM
Sounds fabulous!!  Have a wonderful time!!!!
Title: Re: OT: I'm Leaving All Of You!
Post by: Annie on September 27, 2008, 11:03:45 AM
Hi Gerard Have a wonderful time we'll miss you!
I'm going next yr in 2009 to Italy i think i told you..
                    Love Anne  [ghost_smiley]
Title: Re: OT: I'm Leaving All Of You!
Post by: Gerard on September 27, 2008, 01:40:11 PM
Thanks, everyone, for the bon voyage wishes!  I've got so much to do today yet.  Go to the store, tons of laundry, making sure I've got everything, packing, and I even still hafta mow the lawn!  I'm hoping to check in once more tonight (especially to see my daily fix of episode stills since I'll be missing almost three-weeks worth of episodes!).  Queen Victoria, I mean Queen Vicki, here I come!

Gerard
Title: Re: OT: I'm Leaving All Of You!
Post by: Gothick on September 28, 2008, 12:58:36 AM
Sounds wonderful, Gerard.  I wonder whether the Queen Vicki will make a stop in Crete. I long to visit the Minoan ruins there.

If you stop in Samos, don't forget to sample the delicious local white wine (if you drink, that is!) and visit the ruins of the Temple of Hera, once one of the most beautiful in all Greece.

cheers!  Steve
Title: Re: OT: I'm Leaving All Of You!
Post by: fridfreak on September 28, 2008, 04:38:25 AM
Enjoy you trip Gerard.  Many Blessings!
Title: Re: OT: I'm Leaving All Of You!
Post by: Patti Feinberg on September 29, 2008, 07:54:08 PM
...hey...uh, wasn't his last trip on the Queen Mary?

(Patti, who doesn't look good in green)


(For newerish cousins, it's definitely worth a perusal on the search CE/A for the above mentioned trip.)
Title: Re: OT: I'm Leaving All Of You!
Post by: GooberCollins on September 30, 2008, 01:28:22 AM
Bon voyage, or, as they say in French World, Buena Vista Home Entertainment!
Title: Re: OT: I'm Leaving All Of You!
Post by: Gerard on October 16, 2008, 05:10:42 PM
Well, I'm back, after a marathon flight from Venice, Italy!  And, needless to say, I'm exhausted!  But I had an incredible time!  The Queen Victoria is simply stunning in her elegance, just as the Queen Mary 2 is grand (yup, Patti, I did spend a month onboard her!).  I and my friend shared a small, inside stateroom (one of the few ones on the ship) but so what?  We flew to Rome via Amsterdam, stayed overnight in a brand new hotel suite at a ridiculously low price (what expedia can do, let me tell you) in the port town of Civitavecchia and boarded the ship the next day.  From there, we sailed to Naples, Italy, and then onto the Greek Isles and cities of Santorini, Samos, Athens, and Zakynthos.  We continued to Izmir, Turkey followed by Istanbul where a 50-knot gale prevented us from docking for most of the first day there (an incredible experience which kept the entire passenger and crew load glued to the panoramic windows of the public rooms - the outside decks were temporarily closed and people were asked to stay off their stateroom balconies - but the stabilizers prevented the ship from rolling as waves crashed against the hull).  There was a stop in Dubrovnik, Croatia and finally we docked in Venice where we stayed aboard overnight followed by four nights in a Venetian hotel with a blessed low price, again courtesy of expedia, that was featured on Passport to Europe with Samantha Brown on the TravelChannel.  Thank goodness for that low price because Venice is expensive!  Our cheapest meal was at McDonalds (my friend and I make it a tradition to stop once at the golden arches every time we go to Europe):  two cheeseburgers, two large fries, and two sodas cost thirty dollars!  (Save up your money, Annie, if you're going to Venice!)  Along with walking, we utilized the fairly inexpensive water bus public transportation system to get around.

Now I need to pick up the mail, tend to sorely mandatory laundry, sort through hundreds of e-mails and try to catch up on our beloved board.  It's so good to be back with all of you!

Gerard
Title: Re: OT: I'm Leaving All Of You!
Post by: Midnite on October 16, 2008, 05:25:50 PM
Welcome back, Gerard!  [hall2_kiss]
Title: Re: OT: I'm Leaving All Of You!
Post by: Mysterious Benefactor on October 16, 2008, 05:28:50 PM
Welcome back. It's great to read you had such a wonderful time. And the forum will be here waiting after you've recuperated.  [hall2_wink]
Title: Re: OT: I'm Leaving All Of You!
Post by: rainingwolf on October 16, 2008, 07:54:11 PM
What a fabulous trip! Welcome back, and thanks so much for sharing your visit with us!
Title: Re: OT: I'm Leaving All Of You!
Post by: Bob_the_Bartender on October 17, 2008, 03:39:34 AM
Welcome back, Gerard!  Let me ask you, if you made it to Mykonos, did you happen to see Abigail Collins and the Rev. Trask, chilling out together on Super Paradise beach on that idyllic Greek isle?

Bob the Bartender , President of the Joy Behar Fan Club       
Title: Re: OT: I'm Leaving All Of You!
Post by: Josette on October 17, 2008, 05:56:11 AM
Welcome back!!  It sounds absolutely marvelous!  Thank you for telling us about it.

Title: Re: OT: I'm Leaving All Of You!
Post by: Julianka7 on October 17, 2008, 08:56:33 AM
Welcome home [92c5]
Title: Re: OT: I'm Leaving All Of You!
Post by: Teresa on October 18, 2008, 12:59:58 PM
Wow $30!! That is one expensive fast food meal.  Sounds like a lovely time otherwise and I'm glad the 50 gale winds did not rock the boat too much. Welcome back!
Title: Re: OT: I'm Leaving All Of You!
Post by: Annie on October 18, 2008, 07:20:40 PM
Welcome Back Gerard and yes  i wlill save up my money..   We are going to fly thru London, Brussells and then to Florence.
                      Love Anne   Ps  Glad you are back missd u