At Sea

We will not arrive at our first destination---Dubrovnik, Croatia---until 1 p.m. So, I thought this would be a good time to tell you about my packing strategy.

I always start off with my travel check list that I keep on my computer. I have one for beach travel, regular travel and international travel:

I have it divided in sections---what I'll carry in my purse, suitcase, tote and laptop roller case. This list serves two purposes. 1st---so that I don't forget anything and 2nd---as a return list. I throw it in my suitcase to make sure I come home with whatever I left with.

I always like to take brown underwear. That way you don't need as many. (Just joking---or maybe not!)

The first thing I do is decide on a color scheme. I might go with blue and green, or since my favorite color is pink---I'll go with pink and coral. That's what I went with this time. That way, everything mixes and matches.

I take only costume jewelry because I've been known to lose expensive jewelry when I travel. I lost a diamond bracelet in New Orleans on the night I over imbibed. Then I lost the even better diamond bracelet replacement while we were in Scotland. As a result, we were dropped from our insurance company and had to pay a lot to get a new one. I lost a diamond necklace in Washington, DC. Now I'm pretty scared to even wear my good stuff. At the very least, I won't travel with it.

Here's a glimpse of the pink and coral blouses and tops I brought. I ended up taking two of the blouses out since I had too many.

I also bring several pashminas and scarves. I love that they fold up so small and can be tucked in my purse. That way, whenever it's a little chilly, I have something handy. Sometimes, just having something around my neck is all I need.

This all is working fine so far. But, I have discovered one little problem. I brought a white denim jacket and a pink denim jacket. I've worn the pink one twice and the white one only once and they are both seeming to be a little dingy. It's supposed to be 68 today, so maybe I won't need them that much. I don't  know what I was thinking---I always take a darker jacket. Wait, yes, I do remember what I was thinking---it's spring!! Wear the light stuff!

We are on the Regent cruise line. It's smaller. There are only 700 passengers on this ship. It's easy to get around. I usually spend 3 days figuring out how to navigate.

 Our closet is huge! I usually live out of my suitcase, but was able to completely unpack here.

Our suite is big too. We were greeted with fresh flowers, fruit and iced champagne. Talk about the royal treatment! We have a balcony. Our room is next to the Broussards, so they opened the panel between our two balconies so we can sit outside together. This cruise is "all-inclusive"---all drinks and excursions are included. My travel agent friend, Mary even had a car and driver pick us up. She takes good care of us. I just love her!

The food is fabulous. We had steak and lobster last night. They started us with a "muse":

It was the cutest, tiniest meatball sandwich. It's about 1 1/2 inches tall and about an inch wide. It's hard to tell. I should have taken a picture with me holding it. It was delicious! It tasted like a Swedish meatball. We ended with tiny brownies with a blueberry topping. Lots of drinks---too many for some, but not me. You know what a lightweight I am. For me, there's a fine line between having fun and being sick. I'm very careful!!!

More later...