Saturday, January 30, 2010

112 more days...

Mail Call!

We got our first postcard request this week!


  The blogmaster from 'One Million Postcards' contacted me to request that we send him a postcard from our adventure, and so we will.  Be sure to check out his blog at http://onemillionpostcards.blogspot.com/

Our offer remains open to anyone in the world who wants to receive a FREE postcard from the cast of Operation: Poisson Rouge during our European adventure. Please click on the 'contact me' button below, and make your request. The first 5 requests will be filled, free of charge!
______________________________________________________________________

 
Last Call!
Guess the Exchange Rate! 
 
The bets having been pouring in over our latest contest 'Guess the Exchange Rate'. 

  • To get in on this contest all you need to do is submit your guess for what the exchange rate will be on Friday, May 21st, 2010 in euros per dollar
  • Guesses must be sent to me using the 'contact me' link below, and must be received no later than Saturday, January 30th at midnight. (THAT's TONIGHT!!!)
  • THE CURRENT EXCHANGE RATE IS  0.716025 euros per dollar (click here)
We will track the results, and the person coming closest to the actual exchange rate (even if they go over) will win 1 euro!  Whoo-hooo!  This contest is open to EVERYONE.

______________________________________________________________________


EMERGENCY CALL!

Did you know that the emergency call number in Europe is '112' (as compared to our own '911')?  Learn more about this exciting number at:
http://www.112foundation.eu/

Oh, and that reminds me...
112 more days!!!



Friday, January 29, 2010

113 more days...

Cruising with Cyn
Collection of useless information circuitous to the OPERATION: Poisson Rouge Adventure.

This 6 week installment of Cruising with Cyn, we will be exploring local cuisine from the regions we will be visiting. Ken and I will be preparing a traditional meal from Barcelona, Naples, Rome, Florence, Nice and Toulon. We will be posting the receipe and our review.


Pizza Margherita is a pizza prepared according to a recipe of the Italian chef Raffaelle Esposito. The pizza was first made in 1899 when Queen Marghereta visited Napels to escape a cholera epidemic in the north of Italy. The ingredients used to make a Margherita pizza, tomatos, mozzarella cheese and basil, imitate the colors of the Italian flag. Queen Margherata liked the pizza so much that she wrote a thank you letter to Esposito, who decided to name the pizza after the Queen.

Pizza Margherita 
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lb. plum Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed and finely chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1 12" uncooked NY Style dough crust
6 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
6 fresh basil leaves cut into julienne strips
extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh shredded parmesan cheese

Instructions
• Combine 2 Tbls. olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, and salt in bowl.
• Allow to marinate while making dough.
• Brush dough crust lightly with olive oil.
• Top with cheese, then tomatoes.
• Drizzle with olive oil.
• Bake in preheated 500F oven on pizza stone for 8−10 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly.
• Remove from oven and top with parmesan cheese, then basil.
• Cool on a wire rack for 2−3 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.
• Serve with a glass of good red wine.


Join us next week when we be making a pasta dish from Rome.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

114 more days...


Seasickness
Seasickness is hardly fatal, but with symptoms such as nausea, stomach cramps, and vomiting, it can certainly put a damper on your cruise fun. Motion sickness is thought to be caused by the visual disorientation resulting from being on an object in motion (ship) competing against our body's natural inclination for balance.

Prevention Is Better Than Cure

Diet - to start off with, eat "safe" foods for about a day before boarding (nothing acidic, spicy or fatty) … and don't over indulge (food/alcohol). Eating a light "safe" meal before you board will also help reduce the risk and/or effects of seasickness. Ginger is a great choice!

The motion sickness patch is probably the most popular these days - to be placed behind your ear 4 hours before boarding and changed if necessary after 72 hours. This is quite an effective way to prevent seasickness but causes things like a dry mouth and blurry vision. Better to be thirsty than sick, though! The active ingredient, scopolamine, is absorbed through the skin.

Over the counter medication (usually causes some drowsiness) - to be taken 1-2 hours before boarding. The most recommended are pills with the active ingredient meclizine (less-drowsy Dramamine, Bonine, Antivert), then pills with the active ingredient Dimenhydrinate (Dramamine regular). Marezine (cyclizine) and Stugeron (cinnarizine) seem to be less sleep inducing than all of the above. Other popular antihistamines (Benadryl - diphenhydramine based) also work for some people. (Money saving tip: ask your pharmacist for the generic version of the medication you wish to take.)

Acupressure bracelets - a drug-free product causing no side effects - the motion sickness band is worn one on each wrist for the duration of your trip. Some contain small magnets, others just a stud, which should be aligned with a pressure point (P6) on your wrist and pressure applied periodically. This won't work very well if you "miss" the pressure point.
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How to Get Relief
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The easiest and most economical way to stop sea sickness is to walk. This is what is meant by getting your sea legs. When you walk around a moving ship the fluid in your inner ear learns the motion of the ship in a controlled way. When you feel sea sickness coming on walk,walk,walk. The worst thing you can do is take to your bed. Lying down will make your nausea worse. Once your body becomes accustomed to the motion you will no longer feel ill and will be able to sit and lie down when you want to.

DO:
Look out the window (or better yet, go onto the deck and to the centre of the ship, facing forward) at a distant, stable object, like the horizon. The centre of the ship, close to the waterline, is the most stable part of the ship.

Use a fan or listen to some music… this will get your mind off things.

Eat some salty snacks with regular intervals to help dry up your stomach.

Relax if you can - lying down and closing your eyes might help.

Ginger is a natural remedy to general nausea and sea sickness. Drink ginger beer or tea, or eat fresh ginger, a cookie or suck on a ginger sweet (like Gin Gins) to help combat your green cheeks. Try Sailor's Secret, a branded ginger capsule or Quesy Pops, popsicles containing essential oils from natural herbs and aromatherapy in ginger flavour but also others like lavender, peppermint, etc. Any ginger product is most effective if taken before boarding.

Some motion sickness medicine (e.g. Dramamine patches) may help to reduce the nausea at this stage. Maybe one of the most effective if you're severely seasick and vomiting, is heavy duty Phenergan Suppositories. (That's one of those too sick to care I just want relief things. Like childbirth.)


DON'T:
Read or watch television once the sea sickness has kicked in, it will make you feel worse.

Drink big gulps of water. Tiny sips at intervals are better.

Face backwards.
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Conclusion:
For many people, seasickness won't be an issue. These days cruise ships are very stable; in fact most are fitted with stabilizers to ensure your voyage is as smooth as possible. Voyager of The Seas has an Azipod propulsion system. This system pushes rather than pulls the ship through the water which reduces motion and creates much less vibration. It also has the added benefit of allowing sharper turns for the ship without causing a lean. Coupled with weather forecasts which enable captains to plan their route away from rough waters, seasickness shouldn't be a big concern.
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Just for Fun:
What's your favorite term for getting sick?

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

115 more days...

SO MUCH TO DO...

...So Little Time!


There are so many great places and sites we all want to see while we are on the cruise at the 5 fabulous ports of call. There is only so much time and money and so I was wondering....
what places are you hoping to see in Spain, Italy and France
?
We can't possibly see everything, (I believe there are about 100 land excursions to select from!), but we are sure to get a fine taste of the Mediterranean culture and lifestyle, art and cuisine.

I, personally, would love to see the Trevi Fountain in Rome...The Fontana di Trevi or Trevi Fountain is the most famous and arguably the most beautiful fountain in all of Rome. This impressive monument dominates the small Trevi square located in the Quirinale district.


(Click on the image to see the fantastic detail!)

Aqua Virgo

The Trevi fountain is at the ending part of the Aqua Virgo, an aqueduct constructed in 19 BC. It brings water all the way from the Salone Springs (approx 20km from Rome) and supplies the fountains in the historic center of Rome with water.


Construction of the Fountain

In 1732, Pope Clement XII commissioned Nicola Salvi to create a large fountain at the Trevi Square. A previous undertaking to build the fountain after a design by Bernini was halted a century earlier after the death of Pope Urban VIII. Salvi based his theatrical masterpiece on this design. Construction of the monumental baroque fountain was finally completed in 1762.

The Fountain

The central figure of the fountain, in front of a large niche, is Neptune, god of the sea. He is riding a chariot in the shape of a shell, pulled by two sea horses. Each sea horse is guided by a Triton. One of the horses is calm and obedient, the other one restive. They symbolize the fluctuating moods of the sea.
On the left hand side of Neptune is a statue representing Abundance, the statue on the right represents Salubrity. Above the sculptures are bas-reliefs, one of them shows Agrippa, the general who built the aqueduct that carries water to the fountain.


Tossing a Coin

The water at the bottom of the fountain represents the sea. Legend has it you will return to Rome if you throw a coin into the water. You should toss it over your shoulder with your back to the fountain. Approximately $3500 is thrown into the Trevi Fountain each day and the coins are collected at night, and used to subsidize a supermarket for Rome's poor population.

Please comment on what excursions and sites you would most like to see!

Cruise along and enjoy...^_~
Karen

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

116 more days...

The Finance Report:




Hey, we're back!  Let's talk finances.  Regarding the strength of the $US, things just keep getting better and better.  In fact, this has inspired our latest contest! 







NEW CONTEST: GUESS THE EXCHANGE RATE
The dollar continues to climb and is currently at its highest point since we began tracking it, which is great for us!  Where will it end up?  Only time will tell, but that doesn't mean we can't have some fun with it in the mean time.  Thus, our latest contest: Guess the Exchange Rate

  • To get in on this contest, all you need to do is submit your guess for what the exchange rate will be on Friday, May 21st, 2010 in euros per dollar
  • Guesses must be sent to me using the 'contact me' link below, and must be received no later than Sautrday, January 30th at midnight. 
  • THE CURRENT EXCHANGE RATE IS  0.707464 euros per dollar (click here)
We will track the results, and the person coming closest to the actual exchange rate (even if they go over) will win 1 euro!  Whoo-hooo!  This contest is open to EVERYONE.



THE WEB REPORT:
 Hello WORLD!!!


This week it finally happened...  We have enough content, and we are logged on enough search engines to pull in some real traffic.  Here is the list of countries that have visited us so far, and a map showing where our hits are coming from:






And finally, our offer remains open to anyone in the world who wants to receive a FREE postcard from the cast of Operation: Poisson Rouge during our European adventure.  Please click on the 'contact me' button below, and make your request.  The first 5 requests will be filled, free of charge!


(Offer void to family, friends, and friends of family and friends...)







Monday, January 25, 2010

117 more days...

We interrupt our regularly scheduled blog for a Special Report:


All of us want to wish Karen, (my sister and our Sunday and Wednesday blog contributor), a very Happy Birthday today.  In addition, the cast and crew of Royal Caribbean wanted to extend this very special birthday wish.


CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO
  
We now proceed with our regularly scheduled Monday Finance Report, already in progress:




...but we tried it anyway, and boy were Mo and I shocked when it actually worked!  So make sure get your FREE 100 euro voucher before we leave! 

Well, that's all we have time for in today's post.  Please come back tomorrow when we will complete the Finance Report, and present the Web Report!



Our offer remains open to anyone in the world who wants to receive a FREE postcard from the cast of Operation: Poisson Rouge during our European adventure.  Please click on the 'contact me' button below, and make your request.  The first 5 requests will be filled, free of charge!

(Offer void to family, friends, and friends of family and friends...)





Sunday, January 24, 2010

118 more days...

Join me on Sundays...



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8XDx8MV-IM


(stay tuned for basic dirty words and phrases in Italian next week!)



Cruise along and enjoy...^_~

Karen