July 31, 1995: Sandy Janetzke

I worked with some fun people at the Plumbs deli.  I didn't like cleaning the fryer and things like that, but I did like working with Donna, Joyce, Helen, and Sandy.   Sandy worked  3rd shift making donuts.   Her son, Aaron who was a little younger than me, was a stocker at Plumbs.
       
Sandy sang the song, "Amy is a nutt, she has a rubber butt and goes putt, putt, put". She kept singing that over and over.  It made me laugh so much.    I will never forget that song.

June 20, 1995: Flight Home

We left Venice, Italy at 8 a.m.    We took a boat to the airport which was so strange to me.    Imagine bringing our luggage on a speed boat to the airport, instead of by car.     We took the airline, Alitalia, to Milan, Italy.    From Milan, it was an 8 hour flight to Newark, New Jersey.     My ears were really plugged on the flight home. My inner ears were draining which was very painful.   It was very miserable.      After this trip, Charlene bought me one of the best presents in the world.   They were ear planes.    You put these in your ears and they relieve the air pressure. I don't travel anywhere without them. I never want to experience that inner ear pain ever in my life again.   It was 100 degrees in Grand Rapids this day. 

This was a wonderful first cruise.   We all had a wonderful time.  Little did we know that Grandpa would be taking us on more cruises all over the world.   We were truly blessed.

June 19, 1995: Venice

We had breakfast at the top of our hotel.  Then, we went on our own to see Venice.   I got to the Rialto Bridge and Grandpa found us.    We also saw where the local people lived.  The streets were narrow and the names of the streets were on flat signs on the buildings. If you didn't have these signs, you would definitely get lost in this city.    

In the afternoon, Charlene, Kelsey, Mom, and I went on a boat to our hotel's sister hotel on the island of Lido.  The name of the hotel was Excelsior.     It was on the Adriatic Sea. We rented a cabana for the afternoon.    The cabana had a dressing room, table, pillow, and water to rinse your feet after swimming.    Kelsey and I went swimming.   We had pizza for dinner.  It was about a 30 minute walk from the Excelsior.   After dinner, we went inside the casino.   Our boat back to Hotel Danieli was full of wealthy looking people.  We looked like hicks compared to these wealthy people.  Charlene had her big fanny pack on and my mom had her white sandals that said Hawaii on them.   Kelsey and I laughed so hard.

June 18, 1995: Venice

Kelsey found out that many of the dancers and waiters on the ship were gay.    

We disembarked the boat shortly after breakfast.   It was sad to see our room getting prepared for the next guests who were to board the ship later in the day.    We stayed at the Hotel Danieli.   It was in the movie, 'Only You', starring Marisa Tomei.

Walked around Venice with Grandpa and Grandma while our rooms were getting ready.    The whole family went on a gondola ride. Kelsey and I were happy we got a cute Italian driver.      It was such a peaceful ride.   The birds were singing and chirping.

We had a great pizza for lunch at Cafe de Roberto.  In Italy, you pay a different price if you eat and stand than if you eat and sit down at a table.   I liked their pizza as it was thin crust, with light tomato sauce and light cheese.

Had dinner at "Alfredo, Alfredo'.  I had lasagna and a chocolate malt.   The Brooklyn ladies, whom Charlene met on the cruise, also ate there.   They had gone to the Amalfi Coast with Charlene, Kelsey, and Grandpa last week.    

Our rooms at the Hotel Danieli were gorgeous.   They were really big with marble bathrooms.    Our room key was a large old fashioned key. There were also doorbells outside of each room.     When you left the hotel, you gave your big key to the front desk to hold.     

June 17, 1995: Venice

I got up early to see the boat go through the canal in Venice.   It was so neat.    Took a tour of the islands, Burano, Murano, and Torcello.  Burano was so cute. Each house was a different color with flowers in flower baskets.    Saw how glass was made in Murano.  Saw a church in Torcello.  Burano was known for its fine lace.  One thing that was interesting in Murano were the bathrooms in one of these glass chandelier stores.    The toilets were flat and in the floor.  We had to squat in order to go to the bathroom.   It was so weird, especially for an expensive store.

The islands were so far apart. The canal was like a big highway full of boats and not cars.   

After dinner, Charlene, Kelsey and I went to Venice to see the town and our Hotel Danieli.   It was the same hotel that was in the movie "Only You" starring Marisa Tomei.  We went inside via the gorgeous door.  The people looked so wealthy.     It cost $300 a night to stay there.     The red awning where the boats were parked was also in the movie.    We walked around St. Mark's Square.   

When we got back to the ship, I fell on the boat over a piece of wood.  A good looking Italian man helped me up. Kelsey and Charlene laughed.

Our room was on the Fiesta deck (room 422).   Charlene and Kelsey were next door in room 426.    Grandpa's suite cost him $15,000.  The whole trip cost Grandpa $33,000.

The workers on the ship worked 6-7 days a week and only got about 1 to 2 days off in a 6 month period, so it was very hard work.  

June 16, 1995: Day at Sea

Today, I relaxed on the boat.  It was a day at sea.   I had breakfast on the sun deck.   Sergio and Marion came over and talked to us.  Spent some time laying on the deck while listening to my music. Then, I went and played cards.    Tonight was formal night and the captain's farewell dinner.   At dessert, Mario, along with the other assistant waiters went through the dining room with lighted Alaskan baked cake along with Italian music.

Watched a terrific show called "As Time Goes By."  It was music from each decade along with clips of movie stars, shows, and world events on the screen.   The 60s costumes were great.    Charlene, Kelsey, and Grandpa watched the water glisten shortly after sunset.

June 15, 1995: Greek Isle Zakynthos

Watched a slide presentation about what went on behind-the-scenes on the boat.   Underneath us was where the Princess Patter program was made.   Also, there were large storage rooms for vegetables, liquor, pop, etc.    They had washing machines that did about 10,000 pieces of laundry a day.

The kitchen was running 24 hrs a day.  They put soup in 920 gallon pots.   Our waiters, Sergio and Marion, came and talked to us.  They looked different wearing their sunglasses and Hawaiian shirts.   Mario was single and from Romania.   Sergio was from Portugal and had a wife and 7 month old.   He was going home in one month. He didn't  think he would return to the ship to work. 

Went on a tour of the Greek island, Zakynthos.   Saw a beautiful Greek Orthodox church with sold gold in the inside.

Went to the beach and put my feet in the turquoise blue ocean.    There were topless women there that Grandpa liked looking at.    He acted like he was taking a picture of me in the water so he could get a picture of the topless ladies. Just as he was about to snap the picture, a large wave came up and covered the ladies up.   I laughed so hard.

Grandpa and Charlene said I danced very well last night.   Charlene said I did the twist really well.  

This lady we met on the boat, Marianne, bought a necklace made with an eye.  It's supposed to shield away the evil.  If you are beautiful in Greece, you had to spit 3 times in order to get rid of the evil. 

Chris Nichol performed the song, 'Love Boat' for the evening show.    During the show, the emergency buzzer went off.   The show had to stop because there had been a fire in the engine room on the boat.  Crew members came out with life jackets.  Thank goodness the fire was extinguished.    

We went on a tour of the kitchen.  Everything was stainless steel.

Grandpa and I took walks around the boat after each dinner.    It was very windy on the top deck. Sometimes, I felt like I was going to be blown away.