Day 55 – June 23, 2010 – Mykonos, Super Paradise part 2, Alexandria’s bday, Cabaret show

My last boat drill was so much fun! Mmmm kidding… it was awful and long and cut into the time we had in Mykonos :( Eric, Pieter and I headed off the ship as soon as we could, took the shuttle towards town and ended up renting three ATV’s for us to travel on to Super Paradise Beach! I was so excited that it was a nicer day than when I last went and hoped there would be more people there welcoming us with open Greek arms!

We made great time as we flew through the winding, rollercoaster roads of the island towards the gayest place in the Ionian sea. It was soooo much fun and so beautiful looking at all the mountains spotted with white cube houses, farms of goats and cows, stunning guest houses, boutique hotels, B&Bs, etc… and random TINY white chapels with red roofs. It only took about 20 minutes since we left the gas station next to the ATV rental place to arrive in the (FULL) beach parking lot. :) There were definitely a lot more people out, being a couple weeks later into the summer season and a nicer day and quite a few more gaggles of gays scattered throughout the beach chairs. We promptly ordered food and wine and laid down to make the most of our hour and a half there. After eating, I took a walk down the shoreline and I found the nude section (all the way to the right side of nearly every beach in this part of the world) and the largest gay concentration was of course, there. I held my camera discretely, as nudists aren’t too terribly fond of tourists taking pictures while they’re out enjoying their nature. Some Italian gays said “Ciao” and I was thrilled beyond belief to simply return the greeting, the nod, and the smile – and the international acknowlegement of shared experience. I walked back to the boys and made them take a stroll with me to gaytown. Eric posed for a quick photoshoot (as usual) and we hightailed it back to homebase to unfortunately pack up and head out. Stopping for a quick frozen bev’ for the road, we got a touch of the brain freeze and ran off to our trusted steeds! Of course, Eric’s wouldn’t start and Dr. Pieter had to use his charms on the manual starter. We were off and made it back in perfect time, drinking in the sunshine on the ride back to town shirtless and without a concern or worry in the world!!

After getting back on board, Eric and I hit deck 8 for the sailaway and some swimming time. Pieter joined us after a bit and we laid out, getting even more sun. We retired to Pieter’s cabin and watched “How to Train Your Dragon”, to which I promptly fell asleep! I got up, gave Alexandria a surprise birthday call and caught up briefly with the bumblebee of Midtown. Also had a very meaningful chat with my Lizard in Atlanta and got a chance to catch up on some important family stuff. I got ready to see the cabaret show that the singers did in the Atrium and it went much better than last time – they set up lots more seating, so it was less like a bazaar and more like an actual show venue. Andrew did “Corner of the Sky” from Pippin again and Teren and Heather did “Suddenly Seymour”, so I was very pleased with that Broadway moment!

Click here for the full album from today's adventures!

Day 54 – June 22, 2010 – Laundry training, vodka trials, Bistro Brunch, too windy for Santorini?

Well today was quite an interesting day… Mariya and I did show laundry, which was great to have an extra set of hands to do! We also got word that in order for us to get the vodka we’ve desperately needed to clean the costumes, we had to now find a couple extra spray bottles and mix the water/vodka solution in the finance office before taking it to the dressing room. As insane as this sounds, everything’s got to go through a procedure…the annoying part of it all is that it’s taken them two weeks to figure out what the procedure should be. So now, as soon as the vodka has arrived in the finance office, we’ll get a call to go down and get it. Meanwhile….the stinky costumes are growing new dancers inside them… LOL

After dealing with the work drama (isn’t it funny how those teeny tiny things are the most drama that’s involved? I love it!), Eric and Pieter got the wild idea to make a reservation for the Bistro Brunch, which is usually just on Fridays, but also today since we’re at sea during brunch! The three of us had a lovely meal there and enjoyed the jazz music, while we planned out the rest of our week running around like the 3 Muskateers.

We also got word around noontime that the seas are way too rough and there is too much wind for us to anchor in Santorini’s harbor today. We all anxiously awaited to see what the alternate plans would be, but they just made it a sea day unfortunately :( And a rough one at that!

Day 53 – June 21, 2010 – Corfu, reblock, Café del Arte, “Get Down Tonight”, Kevin’s bday

Today was an important moment for training of Mariya as one of our singers traveled home for a wedding for a couple days and we weren’t sure if she would be back for the show tonight. Because of this, our dance captain, Hannah, had to reblock the show without the singer, Heather, just in case she didn’t make all aboard time. This was crazy for everyone, but they did it professionally of course! Imagine trying to learn a brand new show and it also not being the same version as the one you’ll be working with on a weekly basis…. Not ideal, but we do what we must do!

I was doing laundry for the night’s show and took that early morning opportunity to be the first Birthday phone call Kevin received back in Hollyweird! It was only just after midnight there, and I hoped he’d be out celebrating at the stroke of year 38, and he was! We chatted for a good, much needed twenty minutes or so while the dance belts and fishnets were drying. It was so good to laugh, cry, and cut up together like we’ve been used to doing on a daily, if not hourly basis over the last 22 months of our friendship. We are so connected and it’s been such a strain being apart. Hopefully, we’ll get to celebrate our birthdays together in LA at San Luis Opisbo Pride on July 9th! I’ll be working there and am staying overnight, so I’m hoping he will be off from his new job at the Magic Castle and make it for some good times!

After the reblock and working with Hannah on alternate costume changes in the event that Heather misses a connection, I hit the gangway and led a pack of crew to Café del Arte, our favorite internetting and caféing locale in Corfu. By the time we arrived, rolling about 8 deep, Sortidia (the owner) was waiting for us with a huge smile. Pieter, Stephen and Stacy had already arrived and informed the husband and wife owners that we’d be following shortly. I had a chance to download a few discographies on Vuse (Rufus Wainwright, Jill Scott, Mika, and the Essential George Gershwin….. G-A-Y) and “Much Ado About Nothing”. I also booked my hotel for Milan – I’ll be staying at Hotel Duca directly across from the train station and only a mile from the start of the main sights I want to see while there (the Golden Rectangle where all the world’s top designers’ houses are headquartered and the Duomo Gothic Cathedral). With my Milan trip all set, I felt much better! 4 pm came way too early and it was time to head back to the ship. I bought a handmade candle from Sortidia to remember one of my favorite places I’ve been in ports over the last two months and wished her well as we left the quaint island of Corfu.

Day 52 – June 20, 2010 – Split, Croatia Internet café, “Single Ladies”

I started today bright and early, with Darrius, Eric, and Stacy in hand, on our way ashore for internetting and a brief stop at the Croatian Zara. I was thrilled to see Zara’s David Bowie t-shirt collection and almost got one, but they looked too long, so I didn’t. We then hit it to the café, which is a café-slash-used bookstore and if you buy books, you get free internet. Soooo of course I checked out the shelves and found a couple treasures…. An Oscar Wilde tale and a novel called “A House in Corfu” about an English family who buys a house in Corfu, Greece and moves there. I thought it would be a great thing to accompany me on my travels through Italy and France in the next week. After getting my Americano, I got online and got some work done, shows booked for when I return home and uploaded some blogs. :)

After boarding the ship, I had an appointment with Eric to help me choreograph Liza’s version of “Single Ladies” from “Sex and the City 2” for when I return to shows on land and it went brilliantly! I cannot WAIT to debut this! After a long day, I finished up with some dinner with Eric and Pieter and watched “Clash of the Titans” with them…which surprisingly was confusing considering my new knowledge of Greek mythology. Hollywood, I guess…

Day 51 – June 19, 2010 – Venice, Verona, H&M Mestre, replacement comes, Welcome show

This day is not and forever referred to the day that shall not be named… the only thing that I am permitted to report is that my replacement, Mariya from Pasadena has arrived!

Much time was spent preparing for this, getting notes together and cleaning things up in the dressing room. This week, I’ll be working with her on the handover, showing her around and teaching her the shows. She’s a veteran, to say the least, of wardrobe supervising, so it won’t take her long to get right into the groove of things. She’s on the ship for 6 months and works through the cast changeover in early October. During the changeover, at least one other wardrobe person is brought on to help with the enormous task of refitting all the costumes in the shows to the new cast. She’s pitched the idea of me coming back to work that changeover for 2-3 weeks at most since I already know the shows and ship so well. This could be a fabulous opportunity and I would get to revisit a wonderful cast I’ve grown to love…. Annnnnd see the Greek Isles once again!

Day 50 – June 18, 2010 – Sea Day, Tours, “World Beat”, Cruise Ship Diaries

Another regular Friday on board (it’s definitely becoming a routine…) – starting off with setting up for backstage tours, conducting two and getting ready for the night’s show. Not a whole lot of excitement, but…… another fantastic find from Gina is a show on the National Geographic Channel that her mom DVR’d for her – “Cruise Ship Diaries”! It’s actually a reality show that’s on TV right now about working on a cruise ship. Several of the production show cast and crew are main characters on the show, so it’s sooooooo cool to watch it. Her mom sent the first three episodes and they were such a laugh, I can’t wait to find out how to get the whole series. If you have that channel, you MUST watch this! It’s reaalllllly realistic and well, slightly dramatic, but still a great way to see what this world is like.

Day 49 – June 17, 2010 – Nafplion for the first time, Breakfast and Internet on the water

Click here to view my photo album from today!

Today was a fantastic, but early day that started off with my first visit to Nafplion, Greece. This is a small town on the mainland of Greece and we’re only there from 7 am until noon. We also tender, so it was almost 9 before crew was cleared to go ashore. I went ahead and got off the ship at 9 and met up with Teren at a great café on the waterfront that has very fast internet :). Pieter came and met us a bit later and we all had a wonderful breakfast of omelets and toast and coffee. MMMMMMmmmm…

The town was really lovely, reminiscent of Split in a way… Huge outdoor cafés with tons and tons of seating, giant fans, and awnings that must be so delightful at night when they all become nightclubs.