(Editor’s note: Every time we go on a trip, something outrageous happens to me. So much so that it requires its own sidebar, or “side piece,” as Rebecca says, similar to this one. Our last river cruise in 2019 to the Bordeaux region of France involved a one-hour, full-body massage with a Romanian masseur that changed my life. And his. It was called “International Cover-up.” Click on the title to read it, after you read this one, of course.) COMO, Italy – On Tuesday, September 20, at precisely 9:30 a.m., the hotel fire alarm started blasting. I was sound asleep in a semi-feverish state, nursing a rotten cold, cough and sore throat. Startled,…
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The big sick
Starting at birth, more than half of your body weight is composed of water. The average percentage of body weight that is water remains above 50 percent for most or all of your life, though it does decline over time. I beg to differ. After being sick for two weeks and nearly coughing up both lungs, I’m convinced my body is at least 70 percent water with a mucus chaser. Quite possibly even more. That said – and with all due respect to my dear readers who may have just lost their lunch – we returned on September 22 from our long-awaited/twice postponed seven-day river cruise on the Rhine. Fourteen…
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Taste of Bordeaux
A half-dozen middle-aged women just flew in from two weeks vacationing in Europe – and boy, are their arms (and feet) tired. Being abroad with these broads was a blast, swollen ankles and all. Divorced, widowed, partnered and hailing from various cities, we converged in France earlier this month to experience an AmaWaterways “Taste of Bordeaux” river cruise on the AmaDolce. This elegant ship holds 144 passengers, but we had just 98 guests on board. Sort of like a family reunion at my sister Sandy’s lake house but without the jet skis. And more wine — a whole lot more wine. Ninety-eight passengers to 45 crew members. A nearly 2:1…
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International coverup
BORDEAUX, France — More men have seen me naked on this trip than in my entire life. Monday’s one-hour, full body massage with David the masseur from Romania was at 11. Rebecca had had one at 9:30. Our paths crossed briefly, and I asked her how it went. “Oh, you’ll see,” she said. Hmmm. The last time Reb said something like that to me I wound up on my stomach straddled by a Chinese woman who called me a whiny American baby. Good times. The full treatment was 60 minutes for 60 Euro. Not bad for a fancy add-on cruise perk. Before David stepped out of the room, he handed me a…
