BARCELONA: Arrived
5/8/2014, Thursday. We will update
you on Barcelona later. Meanwhile, we
will update you on our voyage across the Atlantic. See below…

After eight comfortable and entertaining days at sea, where
the scenery never changed, except for occasional clouds and some rough waves,
we are so excited to step foot on solid land. We finally have arrived on the
island of Madeira, which belongs to Portugal. It is also called "the Garden of
the Atlantic", because of its lush landscape. The place we are going to explore
is called Funchal and is considered "the Hawaii of Europe". Three days later we were happy to make it to Barcelona.  

Meanwhile here are some pictures in and around the ship as we traveled east for 8 days. It is
mindboggling to me, how a huge ship like the Epic, 155,764 tons, can function
for 8 days straight, have enough power, water, food etc. for 4100 passengers
and 1753 employees.
   

    On deck 15 by the
pools and waterpark.

Auf der 15. Etage bei den Schwimmbasins und Wasser Park. 
That looks like a lot of fun.

    The spider web/slide
another activity on deck 15.

    He didn't want me to
play alone on the spider web.

Er wollte nicht, dass ich alleine auf dem Spinnengewebe
spiele.   Basketball anyone?

    Got chimneys? 
  Lunch on the sunny deck 15. Those 2 towers in the background are elevators to the sport decks, fitness center, spa and sundeck on level 16, 17, 18 and 19. There is something wrong with this picture. If you like to be fit, why not take the stairs? Case closed.  


The chandelier in the atrium.

 
Leaving Miami on Sunday 6pm. Seen from our balcony. Instead of sailing into the sunset, we sailed away from it.  

  There is another cruise (Disney) ship leading the way. 
  The “slums” of Miami. Of course I am just kidding. 

Nosey me, looking into the “slums”. 

    Making sure we get at least 1 mile walking into our daily activities next to taking the stairs instead of the elevators. With all those 19 floors on the Epic (our cabin is on level 10), there is a lot of huffing and puffing going on. It’s good training for climbing the Matterhorn later on…In your dreams. 

315        Outdoor Movie Theater. Never mind seeing a whole movie, because the weather got on the cool side, we had to move indoors before Jim got to be an icicle. So much for romance under the stars.  

Yes, eating again and many more times after this. It’s a cruise thing.

    Going out on the town. Actually, this is the entrance to one of the many theaters on the Epic. 
How about some dinning in the garden café? Yes, I am eating again.  

  Even the Wal-Mart people are enjoying cruising.   

  That’s the aboriginal speedo man dancing to “Hot, Hot, Hot!”  

Day 4: Relaxing on our balcony. The scenery hasn’t changed since Miami. Yep, there is still water everywhere, it’s blue and and so is the sky.  

    Bowling is another option to pass the time.  

 
    Look what we found? It’s a Kangaroo from down under. (These are Australians from Melbourne.) Can you find Jimmy-Joe working hard on another meal? Clue: picture B.  
   Some of the art on the ship is interesting. This horse might be taking off any minute.  
  Colorful landscape. Art up for auction. Farbige Landschaft. 

  Captain Jimmy-Joe is checking the horizon for land. Good luck! 
   Even the Wal-Mart people are enjoying cruising. 

That was a great show. The next day we missed a comedy show, because we didn’t change our watches an hour ahead. You talk about being confused. I think all the rough sailing got to our brains. But so far we didn’t get sick and are still eating. 
An evening at the Epic Theater. 
  Going to see the “Blue Man Show”.  
Nelly has the blues, because this fun show was over too fast.  
  A green man with a blue man.  
   Nelly huffing and puffing to get in shape after too many meals.  
   Funny man around the ship. I think he must have brought just a suitcase full of funny hats, because he has worn many others. Too bad we didn’t have the camera with us all the time.  
ELVIS the PELVIS & Nelly the Belle  A “ hunk a, hunk a man.”  
  The showbiz-man, Jimmy-Joe, is having a blast with Katy Perry. 
  Making friends. Bertha and Wilma are from Canada. They are originally from Germany. Lots of Germans (280), and other Europeans are on this crossing of the Atlantic. The majority are Americans (2,319) and Canadians(491). The other day I met a young couple from Schaffhausen, Switzerland. It gave me a chance to practice my Swiss German. 

   How about this cabin: # 10017? It’s ours for 10 days. Nice and snug as a bug.