Day 5 - St. Petersburg, Russia

Day 5 has been an extremely busy one. We left the ship this morning at 8:00 am – yes, I managed to get Graham up, fed and out the door (so to speak). We were required by the Russian authorities to leave the ship as a group, to remain as a group throughout our stay and return to the ship as a group. Unfortunately, our tour guide neglected to get this message – she totally lost 6 of us at Catherine’s Palace and it took the better part of 30 minutes for us all to get back together again. There were a couple of other times during the tour when she was convinced that she had everyone gathered up when she didn’t - thank goodness the rest of us realized that she was significantly counting challenged and we managed to make sure that no one got lost again.

Anyway, we visited Catherine’s Palace – this is the palace where Catherine the Great lived throughout her reign. The Amber Room alone was worth the entire day – unfortunately we were not allowed to take any photographs within the Amber Room. We were able to pay a small fee to take pictures everywhere else within the Palace. It was an awesome display of opulence and power. Following this tour, we travelled to Pavlov’s (Paul’s) Palace (Pavlov was the only child of Catherine the Great). Pavlov and his wife Marie lived in this smaller, more austere Palace and raised their nine living children (one daughter died at birth). Marie continued to live in the Palace for the remainder of her life following the death of Paul. Again, this Palace was a display of the wealth and power of the Russian Csars and Csarinas.

Day 4 - Tallinn, Estonia

At 10:30 this morning, we docked in Tallinn, Estonia. From the deck we could see the “old town” – what an amazing sight. Once we were docked and cleared by immigration, we headed off to tour the old town. It is about a 15 minute walk from the pier. What an amazing place!!!!!! Cobblestone streets, old churches, the original fortification walls, the original town square, narrow streets, friendly people, awesome amber!!!

We spent about 4 hours walking throughout the town taking pictures and visiting the occasional shops. The best deals, however, were to be had in the old town square where I was able to buy a couple of beautiful cardigans for amazing prices.

One of the stores had this awesome, 5 ft amber “tree”

After walking about, we returned to the ship for lunch and, for me a foot and ankle massage followed by some time on the heated ceramic bed, for Graham, a nap.

That evening we both entered a blackjack tournament. Only Graham made it to the finals – he won!!!!!!

Day 3 - we're finally on our way!!!!

Day 3 and it finally feels like we’re on vacation!! We are more than half way to Tallinn, Estonia, our first port of call. We are scheduled to arrive at 10:30 tomorrow morning (3:30 am Ontario time) – every time we turn around, they’re adjusting the time on us – apparently there will be one more change this week.

Today we just took things easy, wandered around the ship and spent some time in the Casino. We both napped this afternoon – Graham in the cabin while I enjoyed my nap in the thermal suite in the spa – this is a room full of ceramic, heated beds and sauna’s – so relaxing.

Tonight was the first of our formal nights. Graham was a huge hit in his kilt. Surprisingly he appears to be the only gentleman wearing one during this particular cruise. We are finding that, despite starting and ending in a European port, most of the passengers are American.

After dinner and a bit of time in the Casino, we went looking for dancing and found some in a little out of the way lounge – bad band, but, that’s what keeps the dance floor empty.

Day 2 and we're still travelling

We arrived at Charles deGaulle airport this morning on time – 9:00 am after an uneventful and awesome flight. First Class is the ONLY way to travel!!!!! Free wine, scotch, perfect food on china with real silverware. Unfortunately our flight from Detroit landed in Paris 20 minutes after our flight to Copenhagen started boarding. Despite our best efforts, we missed our connecting flight to Copenhagen and are now sitting in the first class lounge at Charles deGaulle Airport eating and drinking more Free food, Scotch, Beer and Wine waiting for the next flight to Copenhagen. Such a hardship!!!!! We are now scheduled to land in Copenhagen at 3:00 this afternoon while our ship is scheduled to depart at 5:00 – again we’re cutting it very close. More to come!!

Day 1 We're on our way!!!!

The party’s over, but, for us the fun is just beginning. Here we sit in the first class lounge at the Detroit airport drinking and eating while we wait for our flight to leave.

We cut things extremely close in Windsor. We called for a taxi when we were still about 15 minutes away from Windsor. The company we called, however, wasn’t able to pick us up at the Freightliner dealership – it is outside Windsor’s city limits. The company very helpfully gave us the phone number for a company that could pick us up there. Apparently, it is a 1 person, 1 vehicle company – a gentleman informed us that he couldn’t pick us up for at least an hour as he was on his way to Harrow. Frustrated and unable to do anything else, we ended up driving the truck to the pick-up spot (The Holiday Inn). They kindly agreed to allow the truck to remain in their parking lot overnight and Graham arranged for someone to come and get it tomorrow. We boarded the Robert Q shuttle and here we are!!

Last Post until After the Wedding

Only 2 days left and so very much still to do. This will be my last post until we return OR if we connect to the internet while on the ship, I will post some pictures from our trip and hopefully the web site for our wedding pictures.
See most of you on Saturday. For those who aren't able to come, please keep an eye out for the wedding pictures - it will be awesome!!!!

Honeymoon, the End

After a day spent in Copenhagen exploring the city while other passengers leave and new ones arrive, it is off to Oslo, Norway where we again plan to explore on our own. We suspect that we will now be in the land of the "midnight sun" and are looking forward to some spectacular scenery. The following day we are taking a late day fjord cruise in Stavanger, Norway. One last stop in Norway in Bergen and then we head for the Faroe Islands - to a city called Torshavn. We're not quite sure what to expect in the Faroe Islands, but we think that it will likely be pretty cool. Finally, a day at sea to rest and recharge our batteries.
Our next stop is Reykjavick, Iceland. We have planned a full day of touring the "hot spots"

-From Reykjavík we will drive over the Mosfellsheidi heath to beautiful Thingvellir National Park, a place of tremendous interest as a primary site of both Iceland's geological and historical heritage. Walk through the geological fault known as Almannagjá, to the place where Europe's oldest national legislative assembly, the Icelandic Althing, was established in AD 930, and where it convened, in grandiose surroundings every summer for nearly eight centuries. After our walk in Thingvellir, the tour continues over the Lyngdalsheidi heath into the fertile farmlands of the south, to visit the most beautiful waterfall of the country, Gullfoss. Nearby, we'll also stop at the Geysir geothermal area with its multitude of hot springs, where the most active one, Strokkur, spouts every few minutes. A three-course luncheon and coffee will be served at a restaurant in the Geysir area. Returning through the Grímsnes region, enjoy a stop at the beautiful modern church of the historical parish of south Iceland, Skólholt. Our final stop is by Kerid crater, an extinct volcanic crater. We will also pass Hveragerdi village, where geothermal water has been used to build up an extensive greenhouse industry. Pass through Reykjavík's city center by motor coach before arriving at the pier.

Sorry - I cheated and copied this one from the shore excursion description.
After Iceland we have 3 full days at sea before we dock in St. John's, Newfoundland. Neither of us has ever been to Newfoundland and we are really hoping that my sister, Linda and her husband, Ted will be able to make the trip from Norris Arm and show us the city. Next is St. Pierre, France followed by Sydney and Halifax, Nova Scotia. We hope to see the Fortress of Louisbourg in Sydney and the Citadel in Halifax. A day at sea and we dock in New York City.

A very busy cruise - we will need a vacation to recover from this vacation!!!!

Honeymoon continued

After our 2 days in St. Petersburg, we dock in Helsinki, Finland where we plan to explore the city on our own. After Helsinki we visit Stockholm, Sweden. Again, we plan to sightsee on our own. After being in port for 5 days in a row, we get a day at sea - a day to relax, spend some time in the spa?? the casino (definitely). Now it is Warnemunde, Germany. Warnemunde is the port for Berlin. Berlin, however is a 3 hour train ride from the port. On the advise of a couple we know from dancing we chose a shore excursion called Rostock by Road, River & Rail. We leave the quay by motorcoach and transfer to Rostock where we have time to wander and shop. Then we board a boat for a 1 hour cruise back to the ship.
The final stop on the first part of our cruise is Arhus, Denmark where again we will explore the city on our own. The following day we return to Copenhagen where the cruise ends for many of the travellers. We will take the opportunity to explore the city.
That wraps up the first 10 days of the cruise. More to follow.............................

Our Honeymoon

On Sunday, right after brunch at the Elmhurst, Jamie is going to drive us to Windsor where we will catch the Robert Q shuttle to take us to the Detroit airport. We are flying first class, Air France. We fly overnight from Detroit to Paris where we have to change planes (and terminals). We then fly to Copenhagen where we will board the Eurodam. The picture is a typical Verandah suite - we will spend the next 25 days in a similar room.
We saik from Copenhagen at 5:00 and spend the next 41 hours at sea on our way to Tallinn, Estonia. We have chosen to simply wander in Estonia - no tour.
The next day, we dock in St. Petersburg for 2 days. The first day that we are there we are taking a tour to Catherine's Palace and Paul's Palace. Personally, I am anxious to see the Amber Room.
To be continued........................................

Three Weeks and Counting

Time to bring everyone up to date on our wedding plans. Only three weeks to go!!!!!

I've been busy putting together the ceremony and the programs. The ceremony is done, but I ran into a significant snag with my printing. I was merrily going along, printing my programs and managed to get about half of them printed when my printer refused to work any more with the cardstock I was using. I called my trusty friends "The Geek Squad" and a wonderful young man came out and spent about an hour trying to get things working again without any success. He kindly gave me the phone # for Hewlett Packard. I called and explained my problem to a very helpful young lady who apologetically explained to me that my printer was made to print photographs - it was never meant to print on card stock SOOO, it will be off to a printing place to get the rest printed.

We are at our final number of guests - there will be fifty-four of us celebrating together on 2 August.

Final fittings for all of our outfits was done today. I hope that I haven't forgotten anything!!
Flowers are done. Photographer is booked. DJ is booked. Cake is arranged. ??? hopefully that's it.

Our ship is finished and is currently on its maiden voyage in Scandanavia. The photographs on the Eurodam blog are absolutely amazing. We are so looking forward to our month off. It looks like we will get some amazing photographs on our honeymoon - we will post some on the blog when we get home.

Tonight I finished our program and I thought that I would share it with all of you. It will look very different but the content is all there.

Graham Hawksby & Nancy Downard’s

Handfasting

Saturday, August 2, 2008

5:00 P.M.

Elmhurst Inn

Ingersoll, Ontario

“So powerful is the force of love that it is the foundation of all religions and the unbreakable thread that binds us together as a tribe, a community, a nation, and a world.”

~Anonymous~

Introduction

Handfasting is a term used for Pagan weddings. Pagans are those people who do not hold to the traditional concept of deity as found in Christianity, Judaism, or Islam. Pagans generally worship Deity in the form of the Goddess and the God also called the Lady and the Lord. Some Pagans are also known as Wiccans and Witches. Handfasting is a very old concept, dating back to the days when most people could not afford expensive metals for rings and such. In the old ceremonies, the man and woman would come together to have their hands bound together – thus the term “handfasted”. Some of these ceremonies were only binding for a year and a day, while others made the commitment for life, and some even made it for eternity, throughout all lifetimes. Modern handfastings usually include both the binding of the hands as well as the exchange of rings.

Another common element of most handfastings is the “jumping of the broom”. This is a sub-ritual found in many cultures, but most commonly recognized in the south as a remnant of slave customs. By jumping the broom, the couple symbolically leave their past behind and make a fresh start, with their lives “swept clean” of any past negativity and burdens.

Like any conventional wedding, handfastings are a time of great celebration and rejoicing. We invite you all to join our celebration and to share in our joy.

This Day I Married My Best Friend

This day I married my best friend

…the one I laugh with as we share life’s wondrous zest,

as we find new enjoyments and experience all that’s best.

…the one I live for because the world seems brighter

and our happy times are better and our burdens feel much lighter.

…the one I love with every fibre of my soul.

We used to feel vaguely incomplete, now together we are whole.

~ Author Unknown~

Outline of Handfasting Ritual

Introduction of Ritual ………………………… Apryl Millard

Opening of the Circle …………………………Apryl Millard

Casting of the Circle …………………………Apryl Millard

Greetings to the Lord and Lady ……………….Apryl Millard

Blessing of the Elements …………………………Apryl Millard

Blessing of the Goddess and God ………………..Apryl Millard

Binding of the Hands and Exchange of Vows.Greg Currie

Exchange of Rings ……………………………… Greg Currie

Jumping of the Broom

Farewell to the Lord, Lady and Elements……Apryl Millard

Closing Blessing

The Knot

There have been moments I’ve wondered

If we would ever stand here

With all the tribulations and trials

And things that just wouldn’t come clear

But here now I stand before you

My heart is pounding away

As I fall into the depths of your eyes

And forget what to say

Tying the knot of eternity forever

Two souls working together as one

Feeling the magick upon us

And from behind the clouds comes the sun

Tying the knot’s not the answer

To all the problems we’ve had

But all I know is with you at my side

You conjure good from the bad

Tying the knot is the main thing,

The final way of promising true

That wherever I go, whatever I do,

I’ve chosen to share life with you

Tying the knot makes us stronger,

With you as my partner I’m fine

And with time things get better

We’ll age together like wine

Members of the Handfasting Ritual

Bride – Nancy Downard

Groom – Graham Hawksby

Officiate – Greg Currie

Priestess – Apryl Millard

Wedding Party – Ryan Evans

Deb Evans

Austin Evans

Krista Evans

Jamie Evans

Richard Hawksby

Why Marriage?

Because to the depths of me, I long to love one person, with all my heart, my soul, my mind, my body

Because I need a forever friend to trust with the intimacies of me,

who won’t hold them against me, who loves me when I’m unlikeable,

who sees the small child in me, and looks for the Divine potential of me…

Because I need to cuddle in the warmth of the night with someone who is thankful, with someone I feel blessed to hold…

Because marriage means opportunity to grow in love, in friendship…

Because, knowing this, I promise myself to take full responsibility for my spiritual, mental and physical wholeness…

As I create me, I take half of the responsibility for my marriage

As together we create our marriage…

Because with this understanding, the possibilities are endless…

Explanation of Pagan Customs:

Casting the Circle: this is a method of creating “sacred space”, or a place of positive energies for a magickal working. The Circle represents the perfect symbol of eternity, with no beginning and no end, and thus is a symbol of Divine protection. When Witches (and honoured guests) stand or sit within the circle, it is said that they meet “in a time that is not a time, in a place that is not a place, between the worlds.” In such a magickal place, anything can happen!

Magick: This is one of the most misunderstood terms found in the Craft, so spelled as to distinguish it from so-called stage “magic”. Witches define “magick” as “the deliberate manipulation of energy toward manifesting a specific goal or intent.” Therefore, magick is quite simply using thoughts, and sometimes tools as a focus, to bring something to manifestation. Magick is worked for the good of all concerned in the situation, bringing no deliberate harm to anyone. Most forms of magick relate to healing, protection, fertility, prosperity and enhancing relationships of all kinds.

Elements/Quarters: The elements/quarters refer to the four elements and directions: North–Earth, East-Air, South-Fire, West-Water. The four elements make up physical life on this plane. They are also represented in the pentacle (5-pointed star enclosed in a circle), which includes the fifth element, that of Spirit, which combines and activates the other four. The element of Spirit is represented, in terms of direction, by the centre. Again, this serves to tie the other four directions together.

Blessing for a Marriage

May your marriage bring you all the exquisite excitement a marriage should bring,

And may life grant you also patience, tolerance and understanding.

May you always need one another – not so much to fill your emptiness

As to help you to know your fullness.

A mountain needs a valley to be complete; the valley does not make the

mountain less, but more; and the valley is more a valley

because it has a mountain towering over it. So let it be with you and you.

May you need one another, but not out of weakness.

May you want one another, but not out of lack.

May you entice one another, but not compel one another.

May you embrace one another, but not encircle one another.

May you succeed in all important ways with one another,

And not fail in the little graces.

May you look for things to praise, often say “I love you!”

And take no notice of small faults.

If you have quarrels that push you apart,

May both of you hope to have good sense enough to take the first step back.

May you enter into the mystery which is

The awareness of one another’s presence –

No more physical than spiritual, warm and near when you are side by side,

And warm and near when you are in separate rooms or even distant cities.

May you have happiness,

And may you find it making one another happy.

May you have happiness,

And may you find it loving one another!

` James Dillet Freeman ~

More Pictures

I thought that I would share some more pictures of the Elmhurst Inn and the area where our ceremony will be held. These pictures were taken in April, before the leaves came out. I still think that the area is beautiful, especially with the water feature.
The first picture is taken from above - up where the Inn itself is. The picture that includes me is a picture of the main Inn. The other building is where our reception will be - it is a 3 storey building, so there will be lots of room to spread out. At the extreme right of the building is a silo which has the Inn's name on it. This is visible from the 401. The last picture is taken on the pathway down to the area of the ceremony. For those who find getting up and down hills difficult, the Inn will be providing a golf cart to assist.