Starting in Miami

Today is already the 9th January, and we (my daughter Marlyse and myself) left Zürich on the morning of the 7th. However, the driver came a little bit early, and I wasn't quite ready! The upshot is that I still had to pack my computer, and in the end, somehow, I came away without my "mouse", but fortunately, Phil (my son) was with us yesterday when we went shopping, and he was able not only to recommend what to buy as a replacement, but he even managed to install it properly, so it works. The other thing I forgot was the paper I have with a listing of all the various passwords I use for different programs. As time goes by, I am sure I will become aware of many other items that I probably forgot.

Jet lag wasn't bad, except for the first night, when I could hardly get any sleep, and so I was quite tired all day yesterday. However, we went shopping at a famous Target outlet, and managed to find everything we were looking for in one place. The beauty of being in Florida is that they are geared to the elderly (that's me) and I was able to use a mechanical shopping cart that I could actually drive all over the store, saving me from having to be on my feet all afternoon. We (Marlyse, Philippe, and Gayle) had a wonderful Asian luncheon, but the public transportation broke down, and the connection from the Dade County Metro rail

on the shuttle to the hotel was no longer working, and we had to go, first by bus, and then by foot for 6 whole blocks before we finally reached the hotel, at which point, I was ready to collapse!

At breakfast today, I already saw a few familiar faces from previous World Cruises, and Marlyse and I had been invited to lunch with Susan Scrimshaw (the President of Russell Sage College) and her husband, Allan Stern, which was very pleasant. The weather here, today, is more like a New England day than a Florida one: very blustery, wet, and cold, such that the others are taking a nap, and I am trying to get my blog started.

Tonight, we will probably take a cab to some restaurant, and otherwise, just stay put. Yesterday at this tme, we were able to sit outside around the pool, and although it was cool, it was quite nice.

I shall try once more to upload some pictures. Regards to all my readers. Ann