2018-07-11

【Aiden in English】

        On the last day of Venice, I'm ready to set sail. Drunk on pizza, tired of pasta, sick of gelato, I think I've experienced the Italian lifestyle a little too much. I've had, for every lunch and dinner the past three days, pizza or pasta. That's incredibly unhealthy. I thoroughly enjoyed breakfast though. It is the only time I had any sort of vegetable.

        So the transition to a 12-day cruise was unbelievably grateful. I finally could have something without cheese on top. Furthermore, it wasn't the same thing every meal. We arrived at the ship 15 minutes after the boarding process had begun. It resulted in a quick check-in. Immediately, I checked out the sports courts, which had decent courts for a cruise ship. It wasn't special in any way, but sufficient for my needs.

        Before I go on, I must disclaim that Oosterdam of Holland America Line was built in 2003. That's pretty old. With that in mind, I had relatively low expectations for the ship. However, the interior design appears to have been remodeled several times. Although the ship structure cannot be changed, the style matches contemporary works. The architecture is somewhat lackluster compared to the modern cruises, but I'm not complaining. 

        Another interesting point is that this is the lowest stateroom level I've ever been on. It's the first floor available for staterooms. I can't say it's bad, because its location is near the middle, so food and sports courts are easily accessible. But a major issue is the number of elevators: there're only two in the main area. And to be honest, I don't feel like climbing nine floors for breakfast. Sometimes, getting around takes some time. However, it’s bearable.

        The final thing I want to mention about this cruise is the number of kids. Of the 1,800 available guests, there are over 370 kids on board. This not only shows the trip around Italy's popularity but also Holland America's child advertisement. It's crazy how many kids my age I bump into in the halls, on the court, in the lounge, by the pool, in the dining room. I see ages ranging from infants to college students. And I do hope I get to know some. I already familiarized myself with some kids on the sports court, but I want to know more. Hopefully, that'll be my mission tomorrow, a sea day.

【紅霞譯文】

        今天是威尼斯最後一天，我已做好遠航的準備，既吃暈了披薩，又厭煩了意式麵條，也膩歪了手工冰激凌，這回親臨意大利體驗生活略感興頭過余。前三天來，無論午餐還是晚飯，我欽定的不是披薩麵條就是麵條披薩，甭提有多糟踐身體，好在早點特合胃口，一天下來總算有頓食譜沾點青菜。

        有趣的是該船艙可謂我所住過樓層最低的，位於客房部一樓，不能說有什麼不好，畢竟地理位置居中，想去吃喝玩樂各種場所都非常方便，但關鍵問題出自電梯分布，主要區域僅有兩台正常運行。說心裡話，我可不想為吃早餐而先要幹掉九層樓梯，有時即便四處溜達也挺費勁，咱吃得消。

        幸虧從今往後十二天改乘遊輪出遊，我終於可以吃到外表沒有奶酪的東西，而且每頓食物爭相標新立異。十五分鐘後一家老少的登船手續便全部搞定，服務效率甚佳，我一溜煙跑去查看球場，對於遊輪而言運動條件相當可觀，雖談不上有什麼特別，但足以應對我個人需求。

        在繼續談論旅遊之前我必須刻意強調這艘“荷美遊輪·歐士特丹號”建造於2003年，當真老掉了牙，正因如此，我事先對它並無奢望。顯然，其室內設計已更新多次，儘管船體結構依舊，但風格追逐時尚，與新型遊輪相比頂多缺少華麗而已，我犯不上吹毛求疵。

        最後值得一提的就是遊輪上青少年兒童數量，全船共有1,800名乘客，其中年輕一代超過370人，一方面因為意大利名聲在外，另一方面則歸功於荷美遊輪孩童廣告，與自己歲數相仿的花季少年充斥着主廳、球場、娛樂室、游泳池、餐館，我還見到其他從嬰兒到大學生年齡各異的夥伴，真希望趁機廣交朋友，球場上已經認識幾位，但多多益善，期待明天海上航行日將付諸行動。

Today in History(歷史上的今天):

2017: Budapest—Pearl of the Danube, HUN(匈牙利布達佩斯—多瑙河明珠)

2017: Budapest—Matthias Church, Hungary(匈牙利布達佩斯—馬加什教堂)

2017: Budapest—Queen of the Danube, HUN(匈牙利布達佩斯—多瑙河女王)

2017: Budapest the Heart of Europe, HUN(匈牙利布達佩斯—歐洲心腹之地)

2017: Budapest the Capital of Freedom, Hungary(匈牙利布達佩斯—自由之都)

2016: Belfast—Linenopolis, NIR(北愛爾蘭貝爾法斯特—亞麻大都會)

2016: Gaelic Towns, NIR(北愛爾蘭愛爾蘭蓋爾村鎮)

2016: Glens of Antrim, NIR(北愛爾蘭安特里姆峽谷)

2016: Antrim Coast Road A2, NIR(北愛爾蘭安特里姆海岸A2公路)

2016: County Antrim the Lone Ridge, NIR(北愛爾蘭安特里姆郡—孤獨的農場)

2016: Giant's Causeway of NIR, UK(北愛爾蘭巨人堤道)

2014: YMCA Camp—Outdoor Pool-2(基督教青年會營戲水池之二)

Crosslinks(相關博文):

Italy(出遊意大利)

Europe(歐洲掠影)