We recently
returned from a cruise to Bermuda; we had a great time--I would like to tell
you about it. It was a rather brief; two days in New York followed by a five-day
cruise.
We arrived
at our New York hotel, The Giraffe Hotel, on 26th St and Park Avenue
Park Avenue South. This was a mere two blocks away from one of our favorite restaurants—bad
décor but excellent food—Saravana Bhavan, which has a branch in Chennai
which we have frequented. I had onion and tomato uttappam. I got sick
the next day, but I’m not sure of the cause. Nirmala said the maavu
might have been a little old, since it’s the same batter used for dosa.
We walked
about a bit and picked up a sandwich at Pret-a-manger, which we ate at our
hotel.
The next
day, a beautiful one with a cloudless azure sky--I remember humming “Nothing
but blue skies from now on,” as we headed for Central Park. Our walk through Central
Park was really quite invigorating and brought back lots of memories from the
time we lived in the city.
I made it
to the Metropolitan Museum, although my Parkinson’s was acting up.
The visit
to the museum was far from the highlight of our trip. I had a frequent need to
sit down. I couldn’t read anything due to my poor vision. Nirmala wanted to see
the exhibit on the Harlem Renaissance, which, when we found it, disappointed.
It might have been a good exhibition, but there were no seats and I couldn’t
see much.
We visited old
friends in the Asian section; we had lunch at the museum. The food was not
particularly good and I got very ill. We took the subway home.
That night,
we attended a performance of John Adams’s El Nino at the Met Opera, our
old haunt. The music I found fascinating in parts, but not very emotionally
riveting. We don’t need another oratorio about the nativity in this age full of
doubting Thomases. (It was indeed an oratorio; little to no stage action,
crucial in an opera. (I, of course, could not read the subtitles, so maybe I
missed a great deal.) In spite of everything, we enjoyed the music and had a
very good time. We took the subway back and arrived at the hotel around
midnight. (Yes, New York is safe.)
On day
three, we took an uber to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal and boarded our cruise
ship, the immense Meraviglia, an Italian liner operated by MSC cruises.
It is an immense ship. After waiting a while I was whizzed on board via
wheelchair.
Day four
was spent at sea; days 5-7 were spent in Bermuda; after a day at sea we returned to New York where we got
our train back to Baltimore.
Days 3-7, The
Cruise. The ship was immense. We had a
nice little room on floor 13. There were a whole lot of staterooms—if the ship
were at full capacity, we could have been on a slightly rocking version of
Grand Central Station. Unlike on other cruises, we could always find a seat at
the food courts on deck 15.
The
entertainment was better than on most ships. The highlight was an Irish
comedian named George Casey. (I remember at least one memorable joke: two
Irishman died and met St. Pater who told them they looked unsaved. “If you tell
me a poem with Timbuktu in it, I just might let you through the Pearly Gates.”
The first person recited doggerel which
didn’t please St. Peter at all. The second recited a little poem the content of
which related that after two women entered a bar, Sean bucked one, but Tim
bucked two! St. Peter laughed and let the man through.
Nirmala
chose an MSC cruise because there were reportedly a lot of dance lessons. There were. We participated in nearly all of
them. We usually started the day with calisthenics. Mostly Chinese tourists, who were in good
shape and good form. So many whites and blacks were fat! We received many compliments, especially from
couch potatoes. (If you believe that someone with moderately advanced
Parkinson’s is a good dancer, you’re not a good dancer)
We took an
all-day tour around the island of Bermuda, We visited Hamilton the capital, and
St. George on the opposite side of the island. The beaches were splendid and
the water crystal-clear Wouldn’t want to live there, though.
The food wasn’t
particularly good, but we got by quite well. We made friends with a couple at
dinner. The wife was Ukrainiana; she loved it when I said, Slava Ukrainie!
(Victory to Ukraine.)
There was a
lot of shopping onboard; along a huge corridor on deck five were many shops. We
didn’t buy much.
Most
onboard were very kind and went out of their way to help me, a handicapped old
man. When I fell flat on my back while exiting the theater, I was helped to my
feet quickly. (I escaped with a few minor bruises.)
I wrote one
poem onboard, but was unable to read it due to my Parkinson’s micrographia and also
due to my very low vision. Here’s what I salvaged:
Be humble,
yet noble; remain nobly and humbly selfsunfulfilled;
self-ish,
self-critical, self aggrandizing; self-less, which
side of the
dashes are, doubting Thomas, vanity of vanities,
you? Humbly
and nobly accept the truth: you, liar you,
nobly and humbly, accept nonsense, your slippery self:
Almost Nothing, doubting Thomas,
redemptively still is.
Although
the trip home was a bit difficult, we had a very good time; a vey good time
indeed.
