This is what we woke up to this morning... churning, gray-blue waters and dark, stormy clouds.
As we make our way back to the port at Barcelona, Spain... (where this great adventure all started)... we get to spend a wet, dreary, rainy day at sea!
After 10 gorgeous, perfect days of sunshine and wonderful Mediterranean weather...
we don't mind this at all!
We slept in a little... and then had a nice, private, and relaxing breakfast upstairs at the Parrot Cay restaurant.
Dogan was the Head Maitre D' for this restaurant this morning and came by to take his picture with Kathy.
Our usual table waiter, Matt (from Poland), took a minute to sit with Kathy for a picture.
We were lucky enough to be here for breakfast when the Disney characters came around to play jokes, pose for pictures, and to sign "autographs" in our little notebook!
"Huh-yup... that food sure looks yummy!"
Goofy said about our breakfast plates.
Here's
Mickey! The comical star of the Walt Disney empire!
Check out this ham and cheese omelet with sausages and a great fruit plate... yummy is right!
Hey... is this
Chip or
Dale giving us the two-thumbs-up pose?
It's
Chip, of course... we can tell because his nose looks just like a small chocolate chip!
Pluto stopped by for a quick picture and gave a "paw autograph"!
(Did you know that
Goofy laughs and talks, but
Pluto never does... he only barks!)
Now who could make 2 full-grown adults look so foolish this early in the morning?
Well... cute little
Minnie Mouse could, that's who!
We could tell by his nose... that this is
Dale the chipmunk stopping by to say "Hi"!
Somebody looking foolish was
not exclusive to our breakfast table!
This guy next to us was given a set of "
Stitch" ears (from the
Lilo and Stitch cartoons)... but, he kind of looks like he has Princess Leia's hairdo from Star Wars, too!
While Kathy was off at a little cooking demonstration, me and my best buddy...
Captain Jack Sparrow... were just hanging out, drinking ale, and looking for booty... (treasure, that is)!
(Note: He was a pretty good actor, too... he had the stance and the swagger... and said to me, "Let's go get some rum and booty after this, eh mate?" Pretty cool!)
This is the cooking demonstration... it was actually a "
cake and plate decorating" class... that Kathy attended. (It looks pretty fancy-schmancy to me!)
She said it was pretty cool with several audience participants helping out (but not her, this time).
In the mean time, I went out on the upper decks to take some last pictures, relax, and catch up on my writing in this "daily journal" of our trip... (I'm about 3 days behind).
When I got out to Deck 9, it was pretty windy and cloudy... so, I weighed everything down to keep it from blowing overboard... and started writing.
This is a view of Mickey's Kiddie Wading and Splash Pool areas... from one floor above.
A view of the Mickey's Hand Water Slide... swarms of little kids went down this slide hundreds of times each sunny day!
(The slide and pools were closed at this time, due to rain and lightning near the ship... good thinking!)
This is one of the gorgeous wooden staircases leading to and from the Pool Deck!
Looking out over the guardrail, everything was pretty windy, gray, and overcast with occasional streaks of lightning approaching from the distant horizon.
About 30 minutes into my writing, the dark clouds overhead turned into a light, steady rain... the first time it has actually rained during our whole Mediterranean Adventure!
I moved under cover and kept writing in this "journal".
There were a few other travelers braving the rain and getting up for some fresh air.
These guys were playing a relaxing, yet intense, game of mahjong... the old Chinese tile game.
This grandpa and grandson were playing a mean game of foosball... (I think the kid was easily whomping his grandpa, though).
Back inside for a few minutes, there was an impressive art auction going on... with the upcoming paintings on display along the rail until their time on the auction block.
We occasionally had to refer to these handy Deck Maps to find our way to and from special events... and sometimes just to find our way to our stateroom!
The dark clouds, wind, heavy rain, and the lightning are almost over us... so everybody is getting further under the upper decks for cover.
We continue to steadily chug our way through the choppy seas to Barcelona.
The storm comes and goes after about an hour of wet excitement.
The sun even popped through the clouds for a few minutes a couple of times... no open-water rainbows though!
I went up to Deck 10 (the top deck) and kept writing... (after toweling off the rain-drenched chair and table)... I'm almost caught up on my journaling!
I had one of Disney's great fresh fruit plates for a little snack and then went looking for Kathy about 1:00 pm. ...she was nowhere to be found.
Then I noticed that the Topsider restaurant had a special seafood buffet for lunch today!
After stopping to talk with Susanna for a few minutes... (she is a bubbly-friendly, table hostess [from Portugal] who we had met a few days ago)... I went to our room to find Kathy... still no-go!
Finally, about 1:40 pm she called and said she would meet me at Topsider for lunch.
By the time I stopped for extra Euros at the front desk and got up to Topsider... it was closed!
But, lucky for me... the nice, Disney staff had allowed Kathy to make up huge plates of "seafood samplers" for us both and then let us eat there while they reset all the other tables for the evening meal!
(Pretty darn nice of them!!!) (And the seafood buffet was great, too!)
Kathy went to our room for a little siesta nap while I went to Deck 10 to finally finish my notes.
Everyone on the Disney staff is just so nice to their guests (us)... for another instance:
While I was writing in my notes, a junior staff officer from the Captain's helm area stopped to ask me how I had liked the whole cruise.
Naturally, I told him how great everything had been and how we couldn't believe how perfect the weather had been for the trip until today, our "at sea day" anyway!
He then said he had called his "Mum" last night who lives up north of Manchester (England) (oh yes, he was very British)... and his "mum" said it was only 0 degrees Centigrade (freezing 32F)!
We both shivered at the thought... then he wished me "good travels" and off he went to finish his ship officer duties.
About 5:30 pm I went to the room and woke Kathy so we could get ready for the "farewell" production in the Disney Theater at 6:30... "
Remember The Magic"!
It was a great show... recapping all of the shows and performances that were presented during our cruise... followed by lots of singing, dancing, and then fireworks!
The juggler... (who we didn't get to see during the week)... was comical and pretty darn good... even when he muffed a trick, he started it again until he got it right!
The ventriloquist who was super good, too... a Britisher named Jimmy Tamley... this show was a very funny, PG-version of his act (not comically risque like his "adult show" a few nights ago).
And then a parade of dancing Disney characters who had been out and about all during the cruise... making the kids (and us old folks, too)... keep a smile on our faces!
Then, of course, it was time for the Princesses and their Princes to dance and sing their ways across the stage!
The fireworks were amazing during their romantic dances and songs!
A spectacular fireworks finish to the last stage show production of the cruise... with all the characters dancing and saying "goodbye"... as Mickey always says, "We'll See Ya' Real Soon"!
Mickey and Minnie making their way upstairs after the show... accompanied by their "handlers".
They went all out for our final night together dinner... including a flaming version of our "Baked Alaska" desserts!
The girls at our table all got a sampler platter of sweet desserts... to get them ready for...
their slice of Baked Alaska ! (Of course, I had to have 2 slices... it was soooo good!)
During the dinner... there was a "parade of the flags"... where many of the staffers, from many different countries, marched around the dining room... carrying their country's flags and singing the addicting song "
It's A Small World After All"!
(Note: please, watch the short video clip of the "parade of flags" at the bottom of this blog.)
They then surprised Kathy with her own personal Birthday Cake! (Somebody must have blabbed that it was her birthday during this cruise.)
She shared her cake with all at the table after we sang "Happy Birthday" to her... it had creamy white icing, with fresh fruit slices, and an edible "cruise ship topper" to boot!
Matt poses one last time with our whole table group... everyone is smiling, but inside we are a little sad it's over!
Just like Kathy's wise, old "Grandma Mamie" from Lawton, Oklahoma used to say:
"Don't be sad that your trip is over and you are leaving each other...
just be happy you had the time together... and take your good memories with you!"
After dinner, there was a comical stage show for the "adult" crowd in the Rockin' Bar D Lounge.
It was super hilarious... and a little bit risque in an entertaining, funny, slapstick kind of way!
Several staffers came out, one at a time, in different costumes to sing a song verse as if they are auditioning for a stage show performer job.
The first was a girl in a bikini who sang her verse and then "flashed" her bikini-clad chest at certain words in the chorus refrain!
Then during the chorus... the next person would come forward and sing their verse while standing in line next to the other auditioners... then they all sang the chorus together!
Each person, as they came out, had a different "movement" to perform as they sang and danced on stage.
The guy in the black trench coat on the far right... his movement during his chorus singing was to reach to his right and "grab" the raincoat girl's "chest" each time she flashed the audience!
This happened throughout the whole skit as each person sang and danced to their verses... it was totally well-synced and hilariously funny!
Then the cruise entertainment director guy came out on stage... in a "drag" costume of tights, a tutu, and a platinum blonde wig !!!
People were rolling out of their chairs with laughter as he tried to act serious and sing his verse with a straight face!
It was a great show for the last night of our cruise... clever, entertaining, a bit naughty, but especially gut-bustingly funny!!!
Following the comedy show at Rockin' Bar D we took one last stroll around the decks... everything was still wet from the afternoon rains!
There was a movie showing of
Mary Poppins on the ship's huge screen... but, only a few people watched it.
Most others were packing their bags or hitting the hay early, since we will depart right after a quick breakfast in the morning!
During the comedy show, our ship had actually pulled into dock in Barcelona, Spain... our cruise travels were now officially over!
We could watch the hustle and bustle of dozens of trucks coming and going to restock the
Magic for its next voyage... the Trans-Atlantic crossing westward to the warmer Caribbean waters!
There it will do winter-time cruises to the Caribbean ports of call.
A colorful, parting look at the Mickey Kid's pool all lit up at night... just gorgeous!
The main stacks glowed with bright, neon colors to announce our Disney arrival in port.
The Port of Barcelona, Spain... all lit up as dozens of ships load and unload their cargoes!
Our last night on board the Disney
Magic... and it has been a phenomenal cruise and experience!
The mighty "Cobra" was our last towel-animal creation... made by Komang, our clever and friendly room steward!
We've enjoyed his talents with the towel animals each night... and it just topped off each night for us... sending us off to bed with a chocolate... and a smile on our faces!
Our cruise ends tomorrow!
Look at the size of them thar wheels !!!
Just one of the several pools at the POP Century Disney Resort.
Super-Dude and Super-Dudette with their Hollywood shades on... having fun at a quick stop in Metropolis, Illinois ! (Yes, there really is such a place!)
It's always great to start a vacation when there is snow and heavy ice on the ground !
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