This Emerald Princess is above and beyond any superlative description I can think of. The transition from Costa has been so wonderful - I even met lovely people in the ship terminal during check-in (and was called "delightful" by one older lady). I have a stunning cabin, D109, a kingsize bed, huge three cushion sofa with coffee table and side chair, more walk-on closet space than I know what to do with, two plasma screen TVs, a bathtub and a balcony that has a table a four chairs - gee whiz, waaaay over my head! The bed has a down duvet and lots of pillows. What incredible comfort! The transition from Costa to Princess has been like going from darkest night to brightest day!
My dinner table (set for 7 people) has only had me and one other couple for the first two nights, but the maitre'd says he's going to add two couples to us as the cruise progresses. My table mates now are simply wonderful people from Kansas City, where the gentleman was the President of Park University for 14 years. There is terrific, intelligent conversation (I try to keep up). They have traveled extensively and have been sharing their adventures while on an African Safari. They are going again in 2009 and say I should think about that trip. Too much!
Today is a sea day before our arrival in Naples and my tour of Pompeii tomorrow. I went to the bridge lecture this morning at 10am, played Mah Jongg at 10:30 (won two games (my favorite hand of 2 flowers, NEWS, and two kongs of dragons)), joined a team trivia competition at 11:15am (we got 15 of 20 answers right) and then broke away to come update the blog. Duplicate bridge begins at 1:30 this afternoon. There were so many at the lecture this morning, there will probably be over 16 tables!
Everyone is very friendly and nice, although there are indeed a few "travel snobs" who love to let you know every little detail of how fabulous thier travels have been. I still consider myself very lucky to be out here doing this at all. I thank you all for your support of me and for your continued encouragement in all that I do. I miss you all --- it's indeed a long time to be away from home!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Sunday, October 7, 2007
All Rhodes lead to Rome
Those early Romans were everywhere! While docked in Rhodes several days ago, I took the tour to Lindos. On the way, we of course passed by the Roman ruins of the old walled city. I'm beginning to be able to use that one college semester of Art and Architecture History now. You remember me reminding you of the three different Greek column types in an earlier blog, well now I can pick out an ancient Roman fort with the best of them!
Lindos was by far the highlight of the Rhodes visit. Those early Greeks sure know how to pick a site for a temple! We must have climbed 8,000 steps (none of them the same size as the next, no hand rails, great drops to the sea, and lots of tourists trying to get both up and down at the same time -- yikes!) to get to the top acropolis, but once up there, it was stunning! Both the front and rear columns (Doric) of this small temple remain, along with the altar stone. All of this reminds me that my own home, built in the early 1980's, can hardly be considered old!
Some general observations I've noted over the past 11 days --
-the Turkish cabs are spelled Taksi
-some yogurt flavors are universal (black cherry, mixed berry, vanilla)
-those wacky plastic Croc shoes are everywhere! Even the old Greek ladies hawking embroidered tablecloths to the tourists in Lindos were wearing them!
-older Japanese couples are probably the most well dressed tourists....Chanel suits, gorgeous subdued REAL gold jewelry, perfect leather shoes and bags, walking slowly and regally, never seem to be in a hurry to get anywhere
-Barbra Steisand, George Gershwin and Frank Sinatra are universal
-the Italians have a different line dance for every song - mambo, samba, even polka. The really enjoyable watching is when two different groups, one at each end of the dance floor, start their own little group. It's kind of like watching the Sharks and the Jets have a "dance-off"
-every time this ship, the Mediterranea, leaves a port, we hear Andrea Bocelli sing "Time to Say Goodbye" over the ship's loudspeakers. It never gets old.
-Bridge really is an international card game. Yesterday I played with two French ladies and a Belgian man (really old, but sharp as a tack!). They all were very serious about their game and played like they had 17,000 Master points! You can imagine how distressed they were that they had to play with me! Thank goodness Stayman, Jacoby transfers, and other normal rules of play are used everywhere. (And thank you to all my bridge friends at home for having taught me the etiquette of duplicate bridge!)
It's raining in Dubovnik today. Tomorrow is Venice and my transfer to the Emerald Princess. As much as I feel like a duck out of water as an American surrounded by so many international others on the Costa ships, I'm sad to leave this atmosphere. Every now and then it's good to be reminded that we Americans are not the only people in the world. Sometimes another point of view is worth listening to.
Lindos was by far the highlight of the Rhodes visit. Those early Greeks sure know how to pick a site for a temple! We must have climbed 8,000 steps (none of them the same size as the next, no hand rails, great drops to the sea, and lots of tourists trying to get both up and down at the same time -- yikes!) to get to the top acropolis, but once up there, it was stunning! Both the front and rear columns (Doric) of this small temple remain, along with the altar stone. All of this reminds me that my own home, built in the early 1980's, can hardly be considered old!
Some general observations I've noted over the past 11 days --
-the Turkish cabs are spelled Taksi
-some yogurt flavors are universal (black cherry, mixed berry, vanilla)
-those wacky plastic Croc shoes are everywhere! Even the old Greek ladies hawking embroidered tablecloths to the tourists in Lindos were wearing them!
-older Japanese couples are probably the most well dressed tourists....Chanel suits, gorgeous subdued REAL gold jewelry, perfect leather shoes and bags, walking slowly and regally, never seem to be in a hurry to get anywhere
-Barbra Steisand, George Gershwin and Frank Sinatra are universal
-the Italians have a different line dance for every song - mambo, samba, even polka. The really enjoyable watching is when two different groups, one at each end of the dance floor, start their own little group. It's kind of like watching the Sharks and the Jets have a "dance-off"
-every time this ship, the Mediterranea, leaves a port, we hear Andrea Bocelli sing "Time to Say Goodbye" over the ship's loudspeakers. It never gets old.
-Bridge really is an international card game. Yesterday I played with two French ladies and a Belgian man (really old, but sharp as a tack!). They all were very serious about their game and played like they had 17,000 Master points! You can imagine how distressed they were that they had to play with me! Thank goodness Stayman, Jacoby transfers, and other normal rules of play are used everywhere. (And thank you to all my bridge friends at home for having taught me the etiquette of duplicate bridge!)
It's raining in Dubovnik today. Tomorrow is Venice and my transfer to the Emerald Princess. As much as I feel like a duck out of water as an American surrounded by so many international others on the Costa ships, I'm sad to leave this atmosphere. Every now and then it's good to be reminded that we Americans are not the only people in the world. Sometimes another point of view is worth listening to.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
I'm the "weakest link" on the Italian Weakest Link
So hard to believe that I was in Santorini this morning -- and really difficult to understand just how those Greeks built those little towns on top of that volcanic cliff! Wow. But it was just as beautiful as all the pictures that you've ever seen - whitewashed homes, Greek orthodox churches, blue domes. The ancient volcanic caldera held four cruise cruise ships at anchor this morning creating a traffic jam of tenders to the little port and the cable car. Adding 10,000 tourists to the 8,000 already living here made for more lines for everything!
I've had a bit of time to watch international TV over the past 10 days and have discovered that it's a lot like American TV. I've seen the Italian version of Dancing With the Stars, The Bachelor, Who Wants to be a Millionaire and Weakest Link. It's really scary that I could actually figure out one or two of the questions during the game shows and know which was the correct answer! But I only made it to the 50 Euro level before the language got away from me!
I played bridge for the first time today. We knew we were in trouble when an Italian man, who spoke absolutely no English whatsoever, seemed to have no idea of the concept of No Trump! I ended up playing one rubber of party bridge with an American honeymoon couple from Richmond, VA, and a British lady. The new groom and I won. We're playing again at 2:30pm on our day at sea, whenever that is. I seem to have lost all track of time!
Well, they're announcing our arrival into the Mykonos harbor now. This trip we get all the announcements in seven languages - they've added Japanese and Portuguese to the now normal Italian, German, Spanish, French and English! I'm off to join the lines for the shuttle buses into town!
I've had a bit of time to watch international TV over the past 10 days and have discovered that it's a lot like American TV. I've seen the Italian version of Dancing With the Stars, The Bachelor, Who Wants to be a Millionaire and Weakest Link. It's really scary that I could actually figure out one or two of the questions during the game shows and know which was the correct answer! But I only made it to the 50 Euro level before the language got away from me!
I played bridge for the first time today. We knew we were in trouble when an Italian man, who spoke absolutely no English whatsoever, seemed to have no idea of the concept of No Trump! I ended up playing one rubber of party bridge with an American honeymoon couple from Richmond, VA, and a British lady. The new groom and I won. We're playing again at 2:30pm on our day at sea, whenever that is. I seem to have lost all track of time!
Well, they're announcing our arrival into the Mykonos harbor now. This trip we get all the announcements in seven languages - they've added Japanese and Portuguese to the now normal Italian, German, Spanish, French and English! I'm off to join the lines for the shuttle buses into town!
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Alone again, naturally
I'm back in Bari today, on the second leg of my three cruise adventure. This time I'm without my favorite sister, Mom and Brenda. I waved goodbye to them yesterday in Venice after an exceptionally internationally cosmopolitan afternoon. We four were having lunch on the Campo San Polo (I just love the whole idea of being able to say that!) when Brenda's cell phone rang. It was my cousin Bernhard from Germany. He and his wife Marion were in Venice, we told them where we were eating and they arrived at our table about 25 minutes later. Now the conversation began to include some German, along with our normal American. After about an hour, Brenda's cell phone rang again. This time it was her friend, Christina, from Pensacola, who happens to be Italian and had been visiting her mom in Genova. The two of them (Christine and her mom) were now in Venice, so Brenda told them where we all were and they soon arrived to join our little international club. Christina's mom speaks only Italian, so a great time of charades was had by all as we spent the afternoon chatting away (in various levels of American, German, Italian and universal sign language) in a little outdoor restaurant on a plaza in Venice. Amazing!
This Costa ship is a little smaller than the last - I think it only has 1750 Italians on board instead of the over 2000 on the last ship. This group either doesn't seem quite as pushy or I've just gotten used to it all. I woke up about 7am this morning, got dressed and went upstairs for coffee (I'm in a tiny little inside cabin hovel this trip. I thought it would be dreadful, but it's not too horrible afterall), then back to my cave to change into a swimsuit (thank you Brenda) and upstairs to lay in the sun and people-watch until noon. I've just finished lunch and now I'm off to find a quiet place to get in some good reading.
It's a rough life, but someone has to do it!
This Costa ship is a little smaller than the last - I think it only has 1750 Italians on board instead of the over 2000 on the last ship. This group either doesn't seem quite as pushy or I've just gotten used to it all. I woke up about 7am this morning, got dressed and went upstairs for coffee (I'm in a tiny little inside cabin hovel this trip. I thought it would be dreadful, but it's not too horrible afterall), then back to my cave to change into a swimsuit (thank you Brenda) and upstairs to lay in the sun and people-watch until noon. I've just finished lunch and now I'm off to find a quiet place to get in some good reading.
It's a rough life, but someone has to do it!
Friday, September 28, 2007
Bingo, Super Bingo
Bingo is on every ship, but here on a ship with over 2,000 Italians, 100 Americans, 300 Spaniards, 150 Germans, 250 French, and a smattering of Brits, Japanese and South Africans, nothing is easy. Every announcement, and I mean every announcement, is translated into five languages -- and this makes for a very long Bingo game.
First, the musical soundtrack to Bingo is the theme song from the Flintstones (as in...Flintstones, meet the Flintstones), only they all sing Bingo, Super Bingo, followed by lots of Italian. Then come the instructions for the game which take at least 20 minutes because of all the translations -- it seems there is always someone from each language who has never played the game before. The actual game playing goes something like this: B-Bingo undici, onze, once, elf, eleven......G- Genova sieben und funfzig, cinque cinquante, cinco cinquenta, ciq cinquante, fifty seven....B Bingo eins, elf, un, uno, uno, one. It took at least 45 minutes to play one straight line game. But fun anyway. Mom won 200 Euros in the coverall bingo!
Istanbul, much to my surprise, is a city of over 11 million people, with the smog to prove it. But that smog made for gorgeous sunrises and sunsets. With over 3,000 mosques you can very easily hear the calls to prayer from everywhere. Our dock was exactly opposity the Golden Horn, where the view from our balcony included the dainty Blue Mosque with its six minarets, the ancient Hagia Sophia with its four minarets and the Topkapi Palace fortress - absolutely amazing! We visited the Blue Mosque (a working mosque, where worshipers wash their feet before entering and where we all had to remove our shoes and carry them around in a plastic bag while we were inside), then it was a short walk to the Hagia Sophia, a former Christian church transformed into a mosque and now displayed as a museum with incredibly intricate mosaics. We also spent several hours in the Grand Bazaar and bargained with the best of them for spices, scarves and pottery. Brenda, Cindy and I then bravely took a taxi from the Bazaar back to the ship. It seems that street lane markers exist just for looks in Istanbul! Yikes!
First, the musical soundtrack to Bingo is the theme song from the Flintstones (as in...Flintstones, meet the Flintstones), only they all sing Bingo, Super Bingo, followed by lots of Italian. Then come the instructions for the game which take at least 20 minutes because of all the translations -- it seems there is always someone from each language who has never played the game before. The actual game playing goes something like this: B-Bingo undici, onze, once, elf, eleven......G- Genova sieben und funfzig, cinque cinquante, cinco cinquenta, ciq cinquante, fifty seven....B Bingo eins, elf, un, uno, uno, one. It took at least 45 minutes to play one straight line game. But fun anyway. Mom won 200 Euros in the coverall bingo!
Istanbul, much to my surprise, is a city of over 11 million people, with the smog to prove it. But that smog made for gorgeous sunrises and sunsets. With over 3,000 mosques you can very easily hear the calls to prayer from everywhere. Our dock was exactly opposity the Golden Horn, where the view from our balcony included the dainty Blue Mosque with its six minarets, the ancient Hagia Sophia with its four minarets and the Topkapi Palace fortress - absolutely amazing! We visited the Blue Mosque (a working mosque, where worshipers wash their feet before entering and where we all had to remove our shoes and carry them around in a plastic bag while we were inside), then it was a short walk to the Hagia Sophia, a former Christian church transformed into a mosque and now displayed as a museum with incredibly intricate mosaics. We also spent several hours in the Grand Bazaar and bargained with the best of them for spices, scarves and pottery. Brenda, Cindy and I then bravely took a taxi from the Bazaar back to the ship. It seems that street lane markers exist just for looks in Istanbul! Yikes!
Today was a very lazy day at sea. Tomorrow is Dubrovnik. It's so hard to take it all in. But I'm doing my best.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
It's all Greek to me
I have to tell you that swimming pool etiquette is different than I am used to onboard the Costa Serena. I have traveled all over and know that sensibilities are more relaxed in Europe, but it is still a surprise to the system when you are faced with public nudity. I was minding my own business, sitting at a back table in the shade, near the smaller of the three pools on the 9th deck. A mother, in her 40's, was there (along with about 400 other people) with her family - husband and son (about 14-ish maybe) an they were enjoying the sun and water. I have enjoyed the people watching on this trip and they caught my eye as they were actually interacting with each other in a friendly familial way. It seems that most families on the ship are multi-generational tribes, all in a great hurry to get past you, each member seeming to be in charge of each of the other members of their own group, and all are yelling at each other from different points across very crowded rooms. (Have you gotten the idea that this ship is full? I have never seen so many people in my life! We are packed to the gills - the sun worshipers are literally cheek to jowl on at least 5 outside sundecks!) But I digress. The afrementioned mom gets out of the pool, towels off and begins to then remove her wet two piece suit. She not only begins to remove it, she succeeds in removing it, right there, in front of God and everyone, and then calmly digs around in her carry-on for a dry suit. She leant a whole to meaning to "air drying". All parts, seen and unseen, were being air-dried. She finally found what she was looking for, put on her dry suit, oiled up with sun-block and began her tanning. Amazing!
Our tour of Olympia included lots of columns. I refreshed my memory of Doric (plain and square), Ionic (rounded at the sides like ram's horns) and Corinthian (leafy and ornate designs). We saw all of them. The overwhelming sense I've had yesterday and today is that I cannot imagine how it must be to be here in the summer, with all the tourists. It could just not be any more crowded than it is now. Lines to get off the boat, lines to board the tenders, lines of buses, lines to get on the buses, lines to get in the Olympic site, lines to listen to the tour guide, lines to the potties, lines to pay for the necessary tourist trap postcards, lines to reboard the buses, lines to board the tenders to the ship, lines to have your Costa card swiped, lines to have all your personal possessions x-rayed, lines for both the stairs and elevators to get to your cabin. Whew!
Our tour of Olympia included lots of columns. I refreshed my memory of Doric (plain and square), Ionic (rounded at the sides like ram's horns) and Corinthian (leafy and ornate designs). We saw all of them. The overwhelming sense I've had yesterday and today is that I cannot imagine how it must be to be here in the summer, with all the tourists. It could just not be any more crowded than it is now. Lines to get off the boat, lines to board the tenders, lines of buses, lines to get on the buses, lines to get in the Olympic site, lines to listen to the tour guide, lines to the potties, lines to pay for the necessary tourist trap postcards, lines to reboard the buses, lines to board the tenders to the ship, lines to have your Costa card swiped, lines to have all your personal possessions x-rayed, lines for both the stairs and elevators to get to your cabin. Whew!
The pizza on board is fabulous - the best I have ever eaten anywhere - and it's available, right out of the brick oven, constantly, every day, from 10am until midnight. Sadly, the pizza is only one floor above us (way to convenient!). The chocolate souffle with vanilla sauce for desert last night was to die for, too.
Today was Ephesus. Much larger than I expected. A stunning city layout and amazing to comprehend that I walked on the same marble roadway, touched the same columns, climbed the same uneven amphitheater steps, saw the same statuary and walked under the same arches as people did 2000 years ago. The sublime feelings that brought about were quickly wiped away by the frenzy of activity at the next stop on our tour today -- the "state run, non-tourist, good deal today only, cooperative" oriental rug emporium where "we hand make everything following all the original patterns." I successfully fought the urge to buy a rug. Cindy and Brenda were not so successful and will find their pruchases delivered to their doorsteps in the US in 6-8 weeks.
Tomorrow is Istanbul, but for now, I'm going to go find a quiet place (there has to be one somewhere on this ship) to sip a champagne and contemplate the fact that I am lucky enough to be able to do all this in the first place. Life is indeed good!
Monday, September 24, 2007
Well. Dorothy. We're not in Kansas anymore!
OMG! The odyessey has begun! I flew from Atlanta to Yorktown (thanks for the ride to the airport, Marcia!), overnighted there and then flew with my sister, Cindy, to JFK (5 hour layover) then to Paris (3 hour layover) then to Venice. A long walk to the water taxi and then an hour boat ride to the island of Venice. Mom and Brenda were at the hotel (stunning, new money, marble, high-falutin') when we got there. Brenda and Cindy went on the walking tour of Venice, I began to collapse. By the next morning, we all felt much better and started in on Venice.
What a gorgeous city! Quaint old houses with overflowing flowerboxes clingling to wrought iron balconies - and a Dolce and Gabanna store housed on the first level. What shopping -- every big brand name you can think of is here. Cindy bought some stunning red leather gloves at a very foo-foo store and then completed her ensemble by buying a "real" red leather Prada bag from the display set up on the steps of one of the bridges! Too much fun! The city is very easy to walk - lots of signs. We walked to St. Marks Square, fed the pigeons and ate gelato (yum!). Then we walked to the Rialto Bridge and back to the square. The morning was over too soon.
The bag drag and slog to the ship began at 230pm. We finally were in our cabins at 5:30pm. We have lovely balcony cabins and had the cabin steward unlock the balcony partition.....so we have one huge balcony adjoining both our cabins.
Cruise ships in Europe are not quite like US cruise ships --- this one has so so many people and all the announcements and introductions are made in five languages - Italian, English, Spanish, French and German. The food is OK so far - I had Sea Bass for dinner. Cindy had Prime Rib, Mom had Smoked Salmon with Salmon Roe and Quail. (Not Waffle House at all!) The ship seems somehow noiser and livlier than I am used to. The dancing was no Frank Sinatra, but great Italian polka tarantala type music had them all out on the floor. This week will make for great people watching, that's for sure! The evening's entertainment in the grand salon was horrible --- an acrobatic magic act that would not have made it to the Motel 5 in Las Vegas. I suppose it's hard to cater to such a diverse crowd. What's funny for some, just isn't funny to others, I suppose.
Today is Bari, Italy - Cindy and Brenda are going ashore. I'm going to check out the card room at 3pm and then there's bingo tonight (some things are the same on every ship!)
My hearfelt thoughts go out to Sheryl and Carolyn! I'm thinking good thoughts for both of you!
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Preparing for life
This past week has been a lesson in continuity, the ebb and flow of my life's calendar. Even though I'm preparing for my somewhat scary month long sea odyssey, the hum-drum of daily routine serves to comfort and calm me. Pay bills (even plan to have them paid while I'm gone), read the paper, attend bible study Wednesday night, play bridge on Friday. The more time I spend alone, the more I seem to be happier with myself. It must not be time for me to be in a new relationship just yet. But I will continue to try new things. A fulfilling outcome in anything is all in the preparation.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Biting off more than you can chew
I have already told you about the vicious feral cat that continues to stalk my yard, well, he again cornered one of my cats on the back deck yesterday afternoon! Mother frenzy went into overload. I grabbed a fresh can of Fancy Feast, raced outside and popped the top. No matter where a cat may be from, they know that sound. It was enough to break the kitty-tension and and Muffin, tail and back all puffed out, raced into the house. I closed the door behind him and flung a few forkfuls of Fancy Feast out onto the deck. The thug sniffed around and ate it. I then went in through the kitchen and out the front where I already had the capture cage at the ready. I clinked the can with the fork and waited for the kitty Pavlovian response to take effect. As the cat turned the corner of the house, I place more food at the entrance to the cage, leading to more food in the back of the cage. I set the trap and went inside,
Watching through the front window was an exercise in being on both sides of a fence -- I really need this horrible cat out of our lives (he has beaten up on both Muffin and Lucy on their own deck and has attacked and scratched me, as well), but I know his fate will lead him to the farm you cannot visit and I am very sad about that. But in he finally went, and down came the trap door. Animal Control has been called. They'll be here this morning. I did not sleep well last night. (Update - Animal Control just came to take him away. I cried like a baby.)
From the horrible and scary (the thug cat) to the exciting and scary --- my waitlisted cruise cleared yesterday afternoon and I am now officially on the high seas, back-to-back on three different cruise ships, for total of 31 days! YIKES! But the lure of Venice, Dubrovnik, Olympia, Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes, Ephesus, Istanbul, Naples/Pompeii, Rome, Monaco, Barcelona, Seville, Lisbon, the Azores, and Ft. Lauderdale was too great. I'm on. I'm trying to learn how to blog from afar with pictures so that I can share the trip with everyone.
I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew.
Watching through the front window was an exercise in being on both sides of a fence -- I really need this horrible cat out of our lives (he has beaten up on both Muffin and Lucy on their own deck and has attacked and scratched me, as well), but I know his fate will lead him to the farm you cannot visit and I am very sad about that. But in he finally went, and down came the trap door. Animal Control has been called. They'll be here this morning. I did not sleep well last night. (Update - Animal Control just came to take him away. I cried like a baby.)
From the horrible and scary (the thug cat) to the exciting and scary --- my waitlisted cruise cleared yesterday afternoon and I am now officially on the high seas, back-to-back on three different cruise ships, for total of 31 days! YIKES! But the lure of Venice, Dubrovnik, Olympia, Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes, Ephesus, Istanbul, Naples/Pompeii, Rome, Monaco, Barcelona, Seville, Lisbon, the Azores, and Ft. Lauderdale was too great. I'm on. I'm trying to learn how to blog from afar with pictures so that I can share the trip with everyone.
I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
A traitor in the stadium
There's nothing quite like college football in the South and I had my first full immersion into this tradition this last weekend. Dear friends from Oklahoma came to Georgia for the OSU v UGA game Saturday night and the whole experience almost (almost) made me want to go back to college.
I did feel like Benedict Arnold, though. After spending six (!?!) wonderful (?!?) years with a Georgia Tech student, I knew that even saying the word "Athens" out loud may be cause for excommunication from the GaTech parent ranks.....and now I was actually going to that "other Georgia school" campus for a football game. My only saving grace was that I was cheering against Georgia - not necessarily for Oklahoma State, but certainly against Georgia.
Red was everywhere as we drove onto the campus - tents and tailgaters everywhere on every square inch of grass and parking lot. Coeds in cute little summer dresses, every guy wearing a UGA red shirt; satellite dishes, TVs, music, bar-b-que pits, fried chicken, guacamole; the "Dog Walk" where everyone watches UGA, the bulldog mascot, walk into the stadium; cheerleaders executing incredibly precise routines; the "Salute to Mayonnaise" half-time show; the fourth quarter chant; everyone singing the UGA alma mater.
UGA won the game, but that's ok because those boys at Georgia Tech womped up on Notre Dame. All is right with the world.
Go Jackets!
I did feel like Benedict Arnold, though. After spending six (!?!) wonderful (?!?) years with a Georgia Tech student, I knew that even saying the word "Athens" out loud may be cause for excommunication from the GaTech parent ranks.....and now I was actually going to that "other Georgia school" campus for a football game. My only saving grace was that I was cheering against Georgia - not necessarily for Oklahoma State, but certainly against Georgia.
Red was everywhere as we drove onto the campus - tents and tailgaters everywhere on every square inch of grass and parking lot. Coeds in cute little summer dresses, every guy wearing a UGA red shirt; satellite dishes, TVs, music, bar-b-que pits, fried chicken, guacamole; the "Dog Walk" where everyone watches UGA, the bulldog mascot, walk into the stadium; cheerleaders executing incredibly precise routines; the "Salute to Mayonnaise" half-time show; the fourth quarter chant; everyone singing the UGA alma mater.
UGA won the game, but that's ok because those boys at Georgia Tech womped up on Notre Dame. All is right with the world.
Go Jackets!
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