Euro Trip Photos

 At the Louvre in Paris

Dave & I can't even remember where we were at this point in our trip we both seem to think it's on the way to Interlaken, Switzerland. Somewhere in the Swiss Alps

At the "Disney Castle" We took a tour of inside and got to see where the king slept. Pretty cool inside and was only built a little more than 100 years ago. (Southern Germany)

Munich, Germany at Oktoberfest with our new friends from Canada, one of the best nights on our trip. They had beer as big as my HEAD and couldn't ever have pictured it being any different such an amazing experience. Everyone should see it one day! I got drunk pretty much off one beer. 1 liter of beer for just one beer and I had....I don't remember.

Paragliding off Mount Blanc

Before we took the plunge off Mount Blanc the tallest mountain in Europe.

This was where we landed the paraglide once we were finished. Such a beautiful place, Chamonix, France.

Euro trip

Eurotrip: 2014

Cornwall, England is where my month long journey started. I met up with Dave in London.  We were going to stay the night in London to see the Lion King show live and to explore London but as soon as I got into London we worked out the prices and it was going to end up to be a big chunk of money we didn’t really want to spend. London is such a high travelled place we thought that we would be back in no time and be able to make a trip out of it another time. (As time goes on you’ll see how much I’ve influenced Dave into NOT spending any money at all.) Before I met him, he was keen on spending every penny he had on stupid shit. Not being careful of his bills (which he has very few of) and not caring about spending money on food, drinks, or where he stayed. We didn’t go to London because we were going to spend a lot of money staying a night and gas money getting into the city which was only 40 minutes away. So after arriving at the airport we started our way down to Cornwall. London to Cornwall is about four hours. You also will learn Dave came sometimes be worse than a growing child, except he can speak. Every hour he has to eat something and has the smallest bladder for a grown man I’ve ever seen. I can’t talk really because I have the worlds smallest bladder as well but he will have a sip of something to drink and about 10 minutes later he will have to go to the bathroom. Needless to say we haven’t got too far on our trip to Cornwall before he has to stop to eat and go to the bathroom. We stop only one other time in four hours which must be a record thus far on our trip. 

Seeing Cornwall for the first time; having this picture in my head with small villages and sheep everywhere is exactly what it was! Rolling hills plush with bright green trees inland and huge cliffs overlooking the ocean. Cows and sheep everywhere you looked, eating the fine green grass, all with amazing views of the ocean pretty much everywhere you looked. All of the roads a villages were so tiny and when I mean the roads are tiny, I mean that my eyes were closed half of the time because I was so scared we were going to side swipe the car coming towards us or the eight foot hedge on the other side of us. Reminder: the English drive on the wrong side of the road, so scary coming around corners and thinking you are going to go one way then the car and driver do the opposite. I screamed a few times and normally I’m not a screamer. Rock, Cornwall is where Dave lives and its a small quant village about six minutes away from the nearest town. First day we went out to have a “full english breakfast” eggs, bacon, sausage, tomato, beans, and toast. Nothing like a big Bob Evans breakfast or anything, you think that sounds like a lot of food but I’m used to “American” sized food plates and it was a very small amount of food, but that’s just how Europe is in general. I was in Cornwall five days total, we went out to dinner a few times, met his mom, brother and sister, they invited us over for dinner at her house. His sister goes to college in Bristol and his brother works there in Cornwall. His dad lives in France but was in Cornwall working so was staying at Dave’s house so I met him the first night. His family is all really cool, easy to talk to and very English! Met many of his friends, one night we went to Saint Kew which was just another village but there was a festival there where all his friends went to listen to the bands and have a good time. For sure had an eventful drinking evening, the next morning another couple, Dave and I went to the strawberry farm and picked strawberries and acted like little kids on the slides and in the meadows, frolicking like idiots all while pushing through our hangovers. After the strawberry farm we went for a hike along the Cornish coastline along with a jump off one of the stunning cliffs into the Titanic-like ocean. We wore full wet suits but still was breath taking because it was so cold. A few nights here and there in all the tiny villages around Cornwall it was time to set off into our real vacation! We took the drive back up towards London and to the Eurotunnel. It’s a train that carries cargo and cars under the english channel and to Northern France. 22 minutes later we are in France; heading straight to Paris.

First stop PARIS!! —

Driving into Paris was a treat. The cars in Europe are about five times smaller than any car in America and there are about ten times more of them on the roads. We saw all of the touristy things on the first day we were there; Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysees, Notre Dame De Paris, Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, and so much more. Amazing how many people just in the day we were there seeing all the same sites. I was more impressed with the Eiffel Tower then expected but not really with anything else. For the amount of people always around and the prices I wouldn’t book a trip there again. If I happened to go back on a whim I wouldn’t mind but it wasn’t particularly my cup of tea. 

Next stop was Dijon, France…Dijon is a small French village, wasn’t expecting much to be there but I was presently surprised. We sat down for a beer and decided to walk down and explore and came upon a small market going on. Found some local food and just took in the different cultures. 

Dijon was still pretty flat and next stop was Val d’Isere which is a small ski village in the French Alps. Beautiful little village but because there’s no snow yet everything was shut. It was almost like a ghost town so we spent the night there outside the village and woke up to the brisk mountain air and headed to Chambery, which was just another ski village but a little bigger. Pretty much the same thing there, only one lift open and couldn’t find much to do so we headed to Chamonix which was unreal. Mont-Blanc is the tallest mountain range in Europe and I went hiking on top of it and then paragliding off the top. We had to wear our full ski outfits, rent hiking boats and crampons (big metal spikes) to be able to go on top of the mountain. We had a mountain guide who we were harnessed to and then wore helmets and walking sticks. We walked down the biggest ridge of the mountain. Sept. 16 had at least 2 feet of snow on it. 80 degrees in the valley and still that much snow on the mountain. We had to walk foot in front of the other to stay on this ridge it was so thin. The guide told us if someone slips to one side, no matter what you have to jump to the other side or else we were all connected and we would all slip…and DIE! (He didn’t say the die part but he was very serious.) Once we walked down the ridge we then got all strapped in and took off in our paraglides over the French Alps. Stunning views of the entire mountain range and into the Chamonix Valley. We were up in the air for 35 mins or so and just landed softly in a big grassy patch next to a cow. Paraglide just softly landed behind us and he put it in his backpack. Amazing journey and will probably be the highlight of my trip. We stayed three nights in Chamonix and then started working our way into Switzerland. 

Being in Switzerland three days now my view of it has completely changed. I imagined perfectly cut hedges, posh people walking around in european driving moccasins, designer sunglasses and white pants. Smelling of flowers and bentleys rolling around the streets, but that’s not the case yet. I must have missed that part of Switzerland. They are lots of open grassy fields with ringing bells because all the cows have them around there necks and what comes with cows is the poop smell. Warm sun beating down on my face as we traveling across the meadows and then WHAMMM; shit smell stuck in the car for five miles. We first stopped in Interlaken which I don’t remember what I had heard about the city but I knew I have heard about it quite a few times, but all I can say is if you aren’t asian…don’t go there. We were pretty much the only white people there. Asians and their cameras = Interlaken, Switzerland. More beautiful mountain ranges but not much else to see and I felt as if I was in an asian country instead. We took our mouton bikes up to the next village by train and thought it would be an easy ride down…We thought wrong. I had to walk my bike half the way (over an hour) and then at one point thought my brakes were going to catch on fire because I was using them so much. Downhill mountain biking was no joke in Grinwald/Interlaken. Once that little adventure turned bad, we knew Interlaken wasn’t for us. We headed for Zurich.

Current location is Zurich and it’s Saturday night…

Another charter closed

It’s been awhile since I’ve had enough time to sit down and actually make my brain work enough to put together a few sentences. I am currently sitting in the Zurich airport (Switzerland). After a interesting, exciting, and long nine months I have decided it’s time to move boats and allow myself a little R&R before I’m off again for another year or so. This time I won’t go nine months of work and no vacation time. The “rules” on the boat I was on were a little skewed. 

Going from Fort Lauderdale - Azores, Portugal - Gibraltar, UK - San Remo, Italy - Morocco, Africa - Monaco - Genova, Italy - Corsica, France - Naples, Italy plus a lot more small cities all down the Italian coast and then over to Sardinia, Italy for the past five months, I’ve learn all of about six solid words of Italian, working a little more on my French and I feel as if I know more Spanish than I thought. 

We just came off two back to back one day turn around charters. First trip was all Italian ladies who were supposed to come for five days and ended up staying nine. One day in between trips and then another trip with 11 guests for ten days. Giving my notice and knowing the date I was leaving was brutal. Even though all my crew was very supportive in my choice of leaving I was sad to go because they were such an amazing crew. For reasons I can’t really put out on the internet I only left for one reason and that reason seemed little by little to drive me to insanity. I’m happy with my choices so far and headed to Palma, Spain to see my boyfriend and travel around Europe with him. After i have some relaxation I will return to Palma for the new job search and see where the wind takes me. 

(As the sun was setting, I was taken ashore and leaving behind Big Eagle - Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy)

As I sit here thinking about my journey so far, just today I don’t understand why I like travel so much. I have been super stressed out just trying to get from point A to point B. I started off by getting off Big Eagle and into the tender with all my crew for a small booze cruise and my sending off. We docked the tender right in the heart of the town and turned up the music and all had to shotgun and beer in memory of me. (As an American, I taught a lot of my crew what that is) We then opened a bottle of wine and sipped away as we waited for my cab to arrive. I came to the boat with a large rolling bag and a small duffle. I left with the same two plus an oversized purse/bag, a backpack and a trash bag full of stuff. I don’t know how I acquired so much stuff (well you can guess) but I had to get rid of some stuff unfortunately just to be able for the tender to stay afloat. After trying to get a taxi and get to my hotel for the night, I was able to get into my room and was expecting a nice big comfy bed and AC. I got neither of those two things. It was two cot sized beds that flipped up like a beach chair when I sat on the end of it and an AC that blew out warm air. The shower was smaller than the size of the one I had on the boat and I had to turn off the shower to shave properly and had to step OVER the toilet to get into the shower. To top it all off, I was trying to look pretty before seeing Dave and curl my hair…I don’t have an Italian converter, so that was a no go and I left my toiletries bag on the boat. No tooth brush, tooth paste, deodorant etc. Just a great start to my vacation so far.  No wifi in the room and they didn’t give me my ID back. Thus far my travels have been not so good. I wake up and go to the airport and the line is out the door but not to worry I am there in plenty of time. I get up to the front of the line and they say I haven’t paid for a 2nd piece of baggage. I have to get out of line to go pay an extra 85 euros just to check another bag then get back in line. By this point, I’m very hangry (hungry and angry). Somehow I make my flight in time and now in Zurich, but my flight is the only flight delayed an hour. I just want to get to my destination and have no responsibilities for at least a solid 24 hours. 

Made it to Palma…Dave picked me up at the airport and went back to his flat and just explored around old town the first day. Second day we got a cute little hostel in Daia which is north of the city in the mountains. Small town, not a lot around but has such a cute Spanish influence. Before we came to Daia we looked around and had lunch in Sollere which is another town north of the city in the mountains but a lot more touristy and crowded. The town was right on a port and had a lot of small boats and a few beaches. After a winding 30 minute drive to Daia we found our hostel at the tip top of the peak of a mountain. Covered in ivy and a spanish style roof, we had a room with a tiny little balcony and kept the room cool with the breeze coming through and we could look out into the valley of the entire town of Daia. The chickens were talking in the wee hours of the morning along with the birds singing and the enormous drops of rain hitting the roof. It was like I was dreaming. Laying in bed listening to all the amazing sounds early in the morning was exactly what the doctor ordered. We now are heading back to the city of Palma and going to go for a spa day because the weather hasn’t been good since I’ve been here. I’m ok with that because I’ve been in the sunshine and amazing weather for pretty much the past nine months and the cool mountain air is perfect. 

This photo is in old town Palma. Amazing old buildings and architecture.

Hostel in Daia, Spain

Famous Roman Catholic church in Palma. 

More than half way there

Current location: Sanremo, Italy

Sanremo is a small town on the northern coastline of Italy, closest big city is Nice, France. Right at the French/Italian boarder on the Italian Riviera. I am only about a ten minute train ride away from Nice, France; five away from Monte Carlo and Monaco and my old stomping grounds - Antibes is about a 45 minute train ride. Though we have been docked in Sanremo for about three weeks now I haven't made it back to Antibes yet. I'm dying to go and reminisce on my life changing study abroad spots and experiences.

While August is slowly approaching, we still have not had a charter this season. Hard to believe coming from a very busy Caribbean season with nine charters, two boss trips and countless amounts of tips....to nothing at all, I'm going a bit stir crazy. I love seeing money flow into my bank account and now that it's not flowing as much as I would like it, I'm ready to move on and ready for a change. I know what I want and I'm going to try my hardest to get it.

We have had a very interesting last few months though, two new chefs, new chef stew, new stew, two new deckies and the list goes on. People are on and off all the time, doesn't seem to bother me much anymore. When the first crew member said they were leaving I was shocked and didn't want them to go but now that I've been on Big Eagle for eight months nothing is a surprise. People in and out isn't always a bad thing, getting to meet new people, making connections here and there in the industry isn't always a bad thing. Having three chefs in an eight month period is somewhat impressive because everyone cooks so differently. My palate has opened tremendously since arriving on Big Eagle. Willing to sample and try most anything that is put in front of me. Which actually isn't working in my favor. I'm going to see Dave for the first time in almost four months and I want to look fit, but "trying out my new recipe" is my enemy one liner right now. But the great thing about getting new crew is that I now have another stew, Cara, who loves to work out as much as I do so we will do all types of workouts together, morning and night on some days. She's so tiny and english, I love her! We work well together and have a lot of the same interests but are able to do things on our own.

So fun being able to be in all these small towns all over the world, it really opens my eyes to what I had my whole life, what I want in the future, and also what I don't want later on down the road.

Spain was less thrilling and entertaining than Gibraltar and Italy but Italy has been an experience just enough to know that I would only want to visit here. Breath taking coast line, enthusiastic people every corner you turn, and the typical city scene; narrow corridors, colorful laundry hanging on the lines outside a little flat, and people up all night talking in the echoing streets. But as I age, I seem to find the little things I can or cannot live without. Being so far away from home and only being able to speak to my family a few hours of the day is very frustrating. Not being able to jump on a "quick" and "cheap" flight home is tough. Even though a flight from Salt Lake City was never really quick or cheap it was better than my situation now if I really needed to just go home and recharge, which is what I'm thinking I need right about now. I think being almost completely shut off from my life at home so quick has really opened my eyes and made me realize all I have at home. I am in love with my job and know this is the perfect place to be in life at this moment, but I have matured vastly in these last ten months of being far away and need a small holiday to be able to stand back and see all that I have.

Today, Saturday July 19 and Sunday July 20 will be the last few days of freedom for me. We are headed to Pisa, Italy (leaning tower of Pisa) on Tuesday to pick up for a charter on Wednesday.  Right after that charter finishes we will have a two day turn over and right into the next 10 day charter which will leave me mid to late August and Big Eagle will maybe have only one more boss trip before they cross back over to the States.

Days off are very rare but I am so thankful each and day we get one. Hopefully I'll be able to blog again soon.

Cheers to a great rest of the Med season!

Stuck

Current location: Gibraltar U.K.

Sitting in Ocean Village Marina now for seven weeks and counting. No charters booked until August. Sadly, I think we are all starting to go a bit crazy. 

Last season we were fully booked, also in some cases had charters back to back weeks. Going from a full season to almost half way through the Med season with nothing planned until August is really hurting my bank account. I still get paid monthly but getting a tip for two grand or more for a weeks worth of work is always a nice thought. Gibraltar is in U.K. pounds and the dollar to the pound is almost 2 to 1. Every time I eat off the boat it's over $15 American dollars (those are the specials) and drinks are at least $8 per beer. I need to get out of Gib and move to the Euro. The Euro now to the American dollar is better; it's only about 1.3 to 1. We have had a few inquiries for upcoming charters, we had one in Turkey and the latest one that we all got very excited for was Croatia but because we are on the very West side of the Mediterranean it's not working out in our favor. We are still a four to five day trip to most of the popular yachting countries. Both obviously fell through but I think we have come to the conclusion that we NEED to move farther East to be able to land a good charter; a charter at all actually. 

Even though we are on a very relaxed 8-5 schedule and having the weekends off, I'm getting very stur crazy and want to see a lot more of Europe, and I'm stuck in the random country of Gibraltar which is a tiny little country stuck on the bottom of Spain. Last weekend I took a trip to Tarfia, Spain which is a small coastal town about an hour away closer to Portugal. Surfer, beachy town with surfing, kite boarding and very laid back atmosphere. Something I really needed, just to get off the boat and away for the weekend really helped. We sat at a beach bar on swings, sipping on a Pina Colada and watching the sun go down between the ocean and the rolling hills of Spain. After the sunset there was a game on from the World Cup and we cheered with the locals and drank beers. Football (soccer) over here is already their biggest sport but this is like the SuperBowl times ten to them. Everyone has a team and is cheering for them until they die. Every night people are at the bars getting pissed (drunk) screaming and yelling at the TV screens. Right behind our boat there is a line of about nine bars all right on the water front with big flat screen TVs like Buffalo Wild Wings in the States. Even when we aren't at the bars we can tell when someone scores a goal because everyone is going crazy. Very cool to say I've got to experience the celebration of the World Cup in Europe. 

Other then that I've been just working and trying to keep the pounds off because Sam, our chef, has been "trying food out on us," to make sure it's up to guest standards. I know that sounds like a complaint but in all honestly, I love it!!

More of an update on where we end up next when I find out. Today is Sunday and we are planning on moving the first of the week fingers crossed for all of our sanity.

Peace&Love

What my job entails...

For many months now people at home would ask me what exactly does a super yacht stewardess do? I'm sure many thought  I just smiled nicely whilst serving tea and coffee to the guests on board (similar to that of an airline stewardess).

So what exactly does a super yacht stewardess do? 

A super yacht stewardess wears many hats, think housekeeper, waitress, safety officer, guest relations, butler, laundress, florist and well groomed hostess.

A typical day may include:

Drinks Service: 

Drinking is at the cultural epicenter of every social group on the planet and  a yacht stewardess must be extremely competent with serving all types of beverages. Skills a stewardess must possess are: 

• Wine knowledge, wine pairing wine storage and wine service.
• Champagne service. 
• Port and Cognac service. 
• Beer knowledge and beer service.
• Cocktail knowledge, preparation and decoration.
• Spirits knowledge.
• Hot beverages, tea and coffee service.
• Storage knowledge of fine tea and coffee.
• Soft drink and other non alcoholic storage and service.

Further to beverage service a good stewardess will also be educated about tobacco  and service of cigars, cigarettes and pipes.

Food Service: 

Broadly speaking there are five types of service that a stewardess is required to competently master. These are as follows:

• Silver service.
• American service or plate service.
• English service.
• Buffet service.
• Russian service.

In addition to the styles of service a yacht stewardess must be well versed in table management, table settings , courses and order of service. These duties and the success of a beautiful dinner or a bodacious party primarily lay with the Head Chef and Chief Stewardess.

Housekeeping: 

A super yacht is full of fine fabrics, and expensive art work, so a yacht stewardess must be extremely proficient to handle such pieces; or may be required to work under the supervision of the Chief Stewardess until that level has been achieved.

• Housekeeping duties will include cleaning cabins.
• Cleaning public areas on board.
• Cleaning the officers cabins.
• Cleaning the crew mess and other crew areas.

The details of housekeeping will depend on the size of the vessel and will be co-ordinated by the Chief Stewardess.

Laundry Care:  

The most common types of fabrics a stewardess must know how to launder correctly are: 

• Cotton.
• silk.
• microfiber.
• Wool.
• Rayon.
• Polyester.
• Leather.
• Linen.

Laundry details and co-ordination will be explained by the chief stewardess, and must be executed by the stewardess. This is an area where many mistakes can happen so extra diligence is required here.

 

Flower Arranging & Plant Care: 

Flower arranging and plant care is a fun part of the job. The reason why every good stewardess should know how to arrange  flowers is that is yes, you are on a yacht and you may not have access to or the budget to call a florist every time your flowers or plants need attention.

Personal Appearance: 

Yes I'm sorry to say that looks do matter in this industry. It is one of the things that I found hard to handle when I was being instructed to hire model like stewardesses.

However there is  a light at the end of this (some times) superficial tunnel; and that is grooming and presentation. Grooming , personal hygiene and personal presentation is not hard to  manage. Knowing your colors, what hair style suits your face and how to wear your uniform can make a great impact on your overall presentation.

Professional Etiquette & Interpersonal Communications: 

Professional etiquette and personal communications in my opinion is one of the most under rated assets of a stewardess. These skills must be learnt over a period of time; where a stewardess will learn how to speak and  when to speak (a skill that many struggle to master); how to walk on a boat, and how to carry herself in front of very important people. Communication skills are not only limited to verbal communications, but   also includes non verbal communications, like a pretty smile, or non direct eye contact (depending on the culture of the guests). All of  these small things make all the difference to your guests having a truly relaxed and enjoyable experience on board.

STCW 95 & Safety Responsibilities: 

Finally  a super yacht stewardess must fulfill her safety role in a case of an emergency. Her role will depend on her position, the size of the vessel and her qualifications. Her role will be allocated to her by the Captain or Chief Officer (again depending on the size of the vessel) and must be taken very seriously.

So that is what a super yacht stewardess does. We can do it all.

Cheers

Exact

This word for word is exactly all about the first couple of stages of being a yachtie...most of yall wont get it but it's hilarious if you do.

http://theswedishafrican.wordpress.com/2014/04/20/the-four-stages-of-being-a-yachtie/