August 26, 2025

Kyoto Day 3 - Culture Submersion - FUN DAY!!

Three girls on their way to Tea!

What a fun morning we had!  We went to an authentic tea house in Gion, the older section of Kyoto. We all got dressed in Kimonos complete with hair, socks and shoes. The staff are amazing and efficient & like ninjas with bobby-pins. They whipped our hair into updo's in no time! They also pulled, lifted, folded and tucked us neatly into those Kimonos with several fabric belts. Once we were all dressed, we went into a sliding screen Tea Room and met our hostess. She did brief introductions and asked us a bunch of, get to know you questions. The 5 of us Seniors were in with 6 other - 3 young couples - who all kneeled on the floor, while the 5 of us had mini chairs, to sit in! The tea service was very interesting and took about an hour. Then we could go out into the gardens and take photos. We had a lot of fun coming up with unique poses to highlight our inner geisha's!

Photo Fun in the gardens of Tea House.

STANDING STRONG IN THE STREETS OF KYOTO!!

L to R - Bosco, Me, Sherrie, Sarah & Bob

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - Family Fun

By Pat Patrick • March 24, 2026
Today was such a special day, because I got to spend it with a great family I have come to adore! Stacy the ship's spa manager and I became good friends, from our first meeting! We have had so many laughs and long chats over my numerous appointments, I love my spa time! I've been lucky enough to meet her sweet sister Sharon and her boys Dylan and Ryan , when they visited the ship last November and today I got to meet Linley , Sharon's hubby and their Dad, Roland , who is visiting from Mauritius . We got together at their home in the southeast suburbs of Melbourne, for a special feast to celebrate Linley's Birthday and this mini family reunion, since we were in Melbourne.

MELBOURNE , AUSTRALIA @ NIGHT

By Pat Patrick • March 23, 2026
Melbourne is great, I'm so glad we got more time here. Bosco planned a fun night of exploring for us! We took the tram into the CBD, and got off at the Yarra River Promenade , just as the sun was setting.

ST. PATTY'S DAY - HOBART, TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA

By Pat Patrick • March 19, 2026
Happy St. Patty's Day All!