Hi Ducky Have you recovered now ?

It was bloody fantastic! And extra-specially so cos we had the booklet to follow too! I do like having instructions  

Yes - me too

It's been a lovely day, but I have to go now - Goodnight Bazzy and Duckles - sweet dreams - Goodnight all

From the wedding or the holiday?  

Just got in but wanted to say a quick Hi to everyone despite me going to bed in the next hour. 

Hiiiii 

Hi

Hi EC How are you ? Come and join us in the Wedding thread  

Hi Baz 

It's a flying visit as I am pretty tired and fancy an early night. 

I will be around a lot this weekend as it is a clear one with no commitments, well apart from my morning walk and coffee Sat/Sun.

hi bazzy ducks and ECok-was gutted to miss everything

Oh ok I am hospital visitiNG tomorrow , so won't be around during the day , but will catch you later  

So, you ready to hear my horrifically embarrassing holiday moment story Bazzy?

I can't remember if I told you that we were going kayaking around the city walls in Dubrovnik? Anyway, we did, and very lovely it was too.  Mostly...

So... they are double kayaks and I was thinking this is a good thing cos then Duds can do most of the work There are 28 of us...so 14 kayaks, plus 3 instructor/tour people who are in there own single kayaks. 

When we get there they give us our life jackets, an oar, a bottle of water, and a very brief (and frankly lacking in detail) introduction to kayaking, and then we were expected to hop gracefully into our kayaks and paddle off into the sun. 

In reality, I fell off the harbour wall and onto the stone ledge below, grazing my knee and narrowly avoiding falling straight into the water.  

When I finally got into the damn thing, it was then that we discovered we are the worlds worst kayakers.  The whole way round we were constantly heading in the wrong direction and struggling to keep up with the rest of the group, including people a lot older and less fit than us. At one point we crashed into one of the instructors who then said (in a very humourless way) "you could you use your brakes you know" 

When we reached a little beach where we were having a break, I (and 26 other kayakers) managed to exit the boat fairly gracefully.... but Duds fell flat on his face in the water. I'm laughing from relief....cos if this hasn't happened, I know for a fact he'd have spent the next 5 years telling me off for embarrassing him But now he doesn't have a leg to stand on (literally). 

It doesn't end there though  

After struggling back to the harbour, we were the last kayak in, (so therefore all the rest of the people were stood watching us from the harbour wall) and when I tried to get out I did that classic mistake of putting my hands on the wall and kept my feet in the boat....so of course I pushed the bloody thing away from the wall....and fell completely into the water.  

It was up to my armpits deep, I lost my shoe, and NO ONE made any effort to help me out, so it took me 4 attempts to drag myself on to the wall.

And then....AND THEN!!! I was so bloody wet that a stroppy Croatian shuttle bus driver refused to allow me onto his bus.   

Luckily, it turned out that our tour guide was only trying to get us onto a shuttle bus cos it was faster....and our original coach was still coming to take us back, and that driver wouldn't refuse to let me on because I had paid a tonne of money for a bloody kayak tour! Unfortunately, this was not made clear to me BEFORE I had a bit of a melt down and started crying cos I thought I was stuck in the middle of Dubrovnik with no quick way of getting back to the ship so I could hide in my cabin and wallow in my humiliation. 

Anyway, once we did get back to the ship and I dried myself off....we went for a walk back to the old town and spent a lovely afternoon in Dubrovnik and I enjoyed it immensely. 

I think they call that getting back on the horse?  

It did make getting into a gondola in Venice the next day, a slightly more nerve wracking experience than it needed to be though.  

How are things at the hospital? 

Yes, I will catch up with the thread and you tomorrow or over the weekend.

Good night then Baz, Ducky and Ros. 

O M G !!   Comes to something when a bliddy Duck can't paddle !!!    

Well, I don't normally paddle with me damn wings do I? 

I think our kayak was defective.  

Anyway, once we did get back to the ship and I dried myself off....we went for a walk back to the old town and spent a lovely afternoon in Dubrovnik and I enjoyed it immensely. 

I think they call that getting back on the horse?  

It did make getting into a gondola in Venice the next day, a slightly more nerve wracking experience than it needed to be though.  

I am real life lolling here  

Despite falling over/in a lot....it was beautiful though And the little beach we went to was amazing! It was bloody hard work, but I did love bobbing about on the waves  

So, you ready to hear my horrifically embarrassing holiday moment story Bazzy?

I can't remember if I told you that we were going kayaking around the city walls in Dubrovnik? Anyway, we did, and very lovely it was too.  Mostly...

So... they are double kayaks and I was thinking this is a good thing cos then Duds can do most of the work There are 28 of us...so 14 kayaks, plus 3 instructor/tour people who are in there own single kayaks. 

When we get there they give us our life jackets, an oar, a bottle of water, and a very brief (and frankly lacking in detail) introduction to kayaking, and then we were expected to hop gracefully into our kayaks and paddle off into the sun. 

In reality, I fell off the harbour wall and onto the stone ledge below, grazing my knee and narrowly avoiding falling straight into the water.  

When I finally got into the damn thing, it was then that we discovered we are the worlds worst kayakers.  The whole way round we were constantly heading in the wrong direction and struggling to keep up with the rest of the group, including people a lot older and less fit than us. At one point we crashed into one of the instructors who then said (in a very humourless way) "you could you use your brakes you know" 

When we reached a little beach where we were having a break, I (and 26 other kayakers) managed to exit the boat fairly gracefully.... but Duds fell flat on his face in the water. I'm laughing from relief....cos if this hasn't happened, I know for a fact he'd have spent the next 5 years telling me off for embarrassing him But now he doesn't have a leg to stand on (literally). 

It doesn't end there though  

After struggling back to the harbour, we were the last kayak in, (so therefore all the rest of the people were stood watching us from the harbour wall) and when I tried to get out I did that classic mistake of putting my hands on the wall and kept my feet in the boat....so of course I pushed the bloody thing away from the wall....and fell completely into the water.  

It was up to my armpits deep, I lost my shoe, and NO ONE made any effort to help me out, so it took me 4 attempts to drag myself on to the wall.

And then....AND THEN!!! I was so bloody wet that a stroppy Croatian shuttle bus driver refused to allow me onto his bus.   

Luckily, it turned out that our tour guide was only trying to get us onto a shuttle bus cos it was faster....and our original coach was still coming to take us back, and that driver wouldn't refuse to let me on because I had paid a tonne of money for a bloody kayak tour! Unfortunately, this was not made clear to me BEFORE I had a bit of a melt down and started crying cos I thought I was stuck in the middle of Dubrovnik with no quick way of getting back to the ship so I could hide in my cabin and wallow in my humiliation. 

Bobbing about , bobbing about , in the beautiful briny sea  

oh thank god it's just not me   

YES ROS!!! YES! I thought so too! 

After the fact, and in an attempt to make myself feel less embarrassed.... I have decided that people falling in must be such a common occurrence that they just didn't think it was a big deal.  

Bobbing about , bobbing about , in the beautiful briny sea  

Bobbing about, bobbing about, in the beautiful briny sea

losing my balance, losing my balance and grazing my poor little knee  

I also have bruises and cuts on my other leg from the second fall. 

I also have bruises and cuts on my other leg from the second fall.