Gibraltar

Hooray for warmer weather!! It is already feeling warm and tropical here, not surprising as we are functionally in the south of Spain. It is a nice change from the gloom and rain we were getting in Norway. We are only in port today from 8am til 1pm, so I haven't got much time in port. I have been to Gibraltar before, on the Century, so I'm pretty familiar with it and have seen all of the main sights already. Its nice not to feel much pressure in that regard. I am, however, a creature of habit, so I found myself retracing my steps and looking for some familiar ground. My memory led me right to a little pub called Gibraltar Arms, which I vaguely remembered as having wifi. I was right! I just had a very english breakfast of beans on toast, along with some tea, and after posting this I'll be heading back towards the ship. I bought a new camera today as my current one has problems with the dust inside the lens. Gibraltar escapes some taxes and duties, so it is a little cheaper here than in the rest of Europe. Probably not as good a deal as I would have gotten back home, but it will have to do. Making sure I have good pictures now, is a worthy investment for me. On my way back to the ship I'll be stopping by the pet shop that I remember being here - they have kittens!! And living on a ship you get starved for animal interaction at times. So I'll go play with some kittens for a while. Not a bad day.

The other night our WABS show (welcome aboard show) got cut short because of a pit malfunction. The cast was in the pit awaiting the beginning of the number, we were ready to play, but something didn't work and the cast was stuck under the stage. So, no closing number. These things do happen sometimes, it is live entertainment, folks!!

Last night we played for a string duo - Rafael and Monika. It wasn't until after rehearsal, after the first show, and halfway through the second show that I remembered them. I realized they were one of the first acts I played for on the Galaxy. After the show I said to Rafael, "I remember you now!" He said, "I remember YOU now!!" I guess the realization was synchronous at the same point during the show, where I remember making eye contact with him while playing the same certain number years ago. Funny how things like that happen.