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07/26/2005: "Newcastle trip (part 4)"

music: Talking to Phil
mood: Tired, but good

We had boarded the boat again, took most of what we had bought to our hut.

After putting most of it in our cabine we went up to the boarding deck as there was a lady playing piano during boarding. She was very talented and also quite good looking So we decided to have a chat with her.
She was a very charming lady and we had great fun talking with her. I tried to guess what language her sheet music was but did not totally get there: it turned out to be Bulgarian. I was just a bit cross as she told me I sounded American. Nothing against American as such but I want to sound British! She then said: 'you will have to find yourself a British boyfriend then.' At that point I threw my arm around Angela saying: 'I don't need a boyfriend anymore, I have got her!' She was looking at me as if she didn't even believe me at first. 'You are kidding me!' 'No, I am not kidding you, we are a couple and have been together for 6 years. It's much better than being with boys.' She was a bit startled but said we looked great together after she had recovered. She also said that she hoped to see us in the Nightclub later as she had to perform. We promised her we would try that and with that we walked away, up on deck.

It was windy but dry so it was still nice to see Newcastle glide away from us while we set sail for the sea again. I had taken one of the books we bought up on deck (The world according to Clarkson) and that's how we started chatting with a Newcastle couple. I don't understand those people who say that it's difficult to get in contact with Englishmen... no problem for us. We had a really nice chat and later on they went to explore the ship and maybe already eat something. We stayed up on deck for a little while longer until it became quite cold and we decided to get ourselves dinner too.
This time we did not go to the Seven Seas Restaurant, but to the Blue Riband Steak restaurant. At first we could not sit near the window but quite soon a table was available and we moved to it.

The food and service were great! We had a very nice special burger which was so big and so unbelievably tasty! I also had the ice dessert with it: for one amount you were allowed to eat as much ice as you could, making all kinds of weird combinations yourself. Just perfect for me! It was again so relaxing. Just sitting there, having all the time of the world! Chatting, joking, eating and talking about the piano player. That we had felt something but weren't exactly sure how to interpret it. Maybe that she was more interested than she had let in, just some hunch of a feeling.

So, after dinner we immediately went to the nightclub. We finished our dinner at 21:45 and the show would start at 22:00. Luckily there was a non-smoking area in the nightclub and there were still enough seats so we settled down. After a bit of a slow start (with some weird game) it basically became a spectaculair show. With lots of good dancing and a lot of good music. It turned out that Sylvia (the piano lady) was the bandleader even! How cool is that? A good looking woman, talented and leader of the band. I tried a couple of times to draw her attention but it didn't work. Officially there was one show and then after that the next but we did not leave after the first part of it...we stayed until the second part. Quite amazing performances! It was only around midnight that the 'Dreamteam' (the band) would take a 15 minute break. I thought: this is my chance. So, when she walked over the dancefloor I ran up to her and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and was quite happy to see me. A short while later Angela also joined us. Sylvia asked us how long we had been there and we honestly told her: 'from the beginning'. She seemed very pleased with that. Somehow we ended up on the topic of relationships again and she then mentioned that she sometimes thinks about it too! There we knew our hunch had been right! Anyway, after some talking she really had to go as her break was already so short. She quickly explained that this was the last evening they were on board but that they weren't going home. They were going to the ferry which sails in Denmark for two months. But, she said this with such enthousiasme that we couldn't take it any other way then a clear big hint, they would be back aboard this ferry again in October and November. Her voice sounded like she had hoped to hear: of course we book a trip again then. We didn't say this as we can't promise anything but it would be great to see her again. She then said goodbye to us and said: Enjoy the last bit of the trip and each other! And we answered that we would obviously do that... We then went to our hut and she went to have her break. We honestly felt like we were both chatted up at the same time...and that if only there would have been some time to get to know her: who knows what would have happened. We certainly would not have any problem with meeting her again, if you know what I mean

We then went to sleep and luckily I slept a lot better than the night before. It was early morning and just the like the morning before the breakfast was delicious! Just after breakfast we went up on deck to experience sailing into the IJmuiden harbour.
It was funny: Angela and I were talking English to each other when suddenly a family who was standing next to us started a conversation as they had seen the GPS running. However, he tried talking in English so I thought: I might as well continue in English. Even though his English was not the best it was fun to keep on pretending we didn't understand Dutch. Even when their daughter asked in Dutch what the GPS was (and English person would have understood the question) I explained that it was just like the fairytail with the breadcrumbs...her dad had to translate for her. Then her dad started telling we all about the beach and the lighthouses etc... It was so difficult not to start laughing, but always funny if things like that work.

We then docked and got our belongings from our hut. Just a couple of pictures from the hut itself and then we were off. Outside the terminal building the Newcastle couple were waiting for us and we got their email address. It was nice seeing them again just before they set off to Delft (organised one day trip). We walked to the car. Tired but relaxed and just a little bit disappointed about the fact that we had not seen Sylvia anymore that morning.

The trip was really nice, it was great being back in the UK again and it was nice meeting new people. It was relaxing and tiring at the same time but a good amount of quality time together for me and Angela. It was just nice not to have to think about anything but just relax and enjoy ourselves. It was a really nice birthday present for her and much appreciated by both of us.
So thank you all sweet friends of ours who payed for it. Your money has not gone to waste... we absolutely loved it and it did us good!