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Sat Sep 16th Galway(Ireland): Firsttime visit to this city on the west coast of Ireland – charming place, abeautiful cathedral & the charm of the Irish themselves. And bustlingMarket Day with banners, music, some interesting stalls and overall afestive feeling. Evening: "The Howard & BillShow" – Together, we do a 45-min chat format in the theater – talking-upone another about our lives, careers, our interests & about being cruiseship speakers. Great fun – especially since neither of us would becalled shy. Later, one lady dubbed us "Abbott & Costelloat Sea!".Eastern fare: With mad abandon, Howard &I go exotic and dine tonight in the beautiful Indochine Restaurant hereonboard. A very impressive room: Lots of shiny blacks & greens,polished stainless and a bar as long as Chile. Happily for us, the mealis "de-spiced" – or at least you can ask for medium or even highspicy. Myself, I had three courses: the Black Pepper Warm Water Lobster(Asian Rock Lobster done with black peppers, onions, garlic, cream, ginger& Thai Chillies), the Malabar Chicken for the main (mustard-colored &crusted chicken breast done with – and quite a list – curry paste, slicedonions, ginger, more garlic, curry leaves, tomatoes, Tamarind plus Tamarindjuice & toasted coconut cream) and then finished it all off with a vastplatter presentation of Coconut Rice Pudding (done with Yasmin rice and thencoconut milk & cream, cinnamon and topped with pistachio nuts). Sun Sep 17th at sea in the NorthAtlantic: The Captain foresees a calm crossing to Canada – a 4-day passage toNewfoundland. Our first talks – I'm on at 10 in the morning withthe Floating Palaces; Howard has the 3:30 slot with The Gardensat Highgrove (that's Prince Charles's country home).Before dinner: Howard & I do a good deed– we join tonight's Singles Cocktail Party. Some lovelypeople. But one, Sheila – blonde & lots of rhinestones plus afew feathers & about 75 and so you get the picture – is veryspirited. From Texas, she tells us, "I stop at 2 drinks thesedays – cause at three I'm under the table and four I'm under the nearestman!"Photo: Nostalgia -- the brilliant SSUnited States was the fastest liner ever and crossed from NY to Southampton ona record run of just over 3 days back in July 1952.