April 18 - Oporto, Portugal

It’s the first full day of the cruise and I’m lagging behind already.  Yesterday I was picked up at noon and driven to the cruise terminal.  There, no fault of Seabourn, there were a couple of long lines.  Portuguese customs and immigration were doing their thing.  Since I’d been through that stuff at the airport I wondered why a repeat was necessary.  As it turned out here at the cruise terminal we had to go through the new ETIAS system for the EU.  When I eventually got to the window where two of the grumpiest looking fellows I’ve seen in a while were doing their thing, I found that my fingerprints had to be scanned and a photo taken.  Evidently it’s good for three years so I shouldn’t have to do this again in the EU.

Waiting in line was okay though, because I met some old friends including one of my Australian dancing partners and I met some lovely new people.  What is it they say in New Orleans, “laissez les bons temps rouler!”

The cabins were ready so I plopped my carry-on down and then headed to the Patio Grill for lunch.  As I walked to the salad station eager to have them make me an excellent salad, I ran into Orrin, a man I met and dined with on my last cruise.  We had lunch together and caught up on news of mutual friends.  My luggage came by the time I got back to my home away from home and I unpacked.  

Just before sailaway  there was a little party up by the pool. I went because the cruise director was introducing the entertainment staff and since that’s part of my reason for cruising I had to see who would be playing the music I love to hear. One band was on one of my more recent cruises and I enjoy their style.  The other is new to me but sounded good too.  I sat at a table with new friends from England and along came another couple I’ve sailed with a couple of years ago and who were on the same trivia team (we did very well that time).  I think we have enough for a new team already.  In addition to fellow passengers, there are so many staff members I’ve sailed with before.  I am always bowled over by how they remember our names, considering that they see hundreds of new people all the time.

Dinner was at the cruise director Nick’s table.  I last sailed with him when he was an assistant.  I went to the show which was performed by a great singer originally from Portugal.  I’ve heard him before and he’s very good.  Then as usual I went to the club and stayed until they shut down talking to more new friends from Switzerland and Belgian (but they live and work in Thailand), LA and Mexico.

This morning we arrived in Leixões, the port for Oporto.  I’ve been here a few times, both with Al and alone, and I had a tour planned, but I didn’t go.  I had a bad night with lots of leg cramps so I slept poorly.  I called to Guest Services to let them know I wasn’t coming so they wouldn’t wait for me.  Instead I slept until nearly ten once I fell asleep and am now enjoying my first sea day in port.

The central gathering place on Seabourn ships is Seabourn Square.  It’s here where they have a coffee bar which is better than any land-based coffee place I’ve been to and which has snacks and light fare.  It has recently been expanded with more of a selection.  For my late breakfast I had a cappuccino and a delicious puff pastry filled with almond cream.  I’m using the time to try to catch up, check mail and take care of any business.  It’s formal night tonight so at some point I’ll have to go and get gussied up.  For now though I’m going to close this and check out the gym. TTFN!

Just look at this beautiful coffee they made for me.

Hard to see, but some of the snacks and light fare available

April 16 - The other side of the bridge over the Tagus River in Portugal

I had an absolutely fabulous day today seeing part of southern Portugal I’d never been to. I booked a private tour through ToursbyLocals with Natalia, a naturalized Portuguese citizen who came here because she fell in love with a Portuguese man.  She is an interesting character.  She is Russian from a small town on the Volga River.  Before coming here she worked as a journalist in Russia.  Besides falling for the Portuguese guy she told me she was disenchanted with journalism because in Russia if you don’t write what the government line is, you can wind up in prison or dead. So she moved here, married the man (she has since divorced – the togetherness of Covid did them in), and changed careers.

Natalia in front of some beautiful tiles at the entrance to the market

Back to the tour.  I booked this one because it was a food and wine tour.  (I know, I know.  I’m going to have nearly two months of probably eating more than I should.  But this is one of the countries that specializes in glorious wine and cheese, and besides I’d seen the palaces, churches, museums and typical tourist sites before.) After a marvelous breakfast of fresh mango and blueberries followed by crusty Portuguese bread, Iberico ham, and a yummy local soft cheese, Natalia and I headed over the 25th of April Bridge crossing the Tagus River. I’ve been under the bridge a number of times but never had driven over it.  Designed by the same people who built the Golden Gate, it looks like a smaller version.  On the hill next to the far side of the bridge is a Christ the Redeemer statue which is the same size as the one in Rio.  I like the Brazilian one better; this one is more modern and stark.

Here's the statue taken from the ship

and here's the bridge

Since it was just the two of us I sat in the front seat and Natalia and I talked a lot along the way. She told me the history and geographical information of things we passed. Perhaps I shouldn’t have, though she didn’t seem to mind, I asked her about how ordinary people in Russia feel about what’s going on in the world.  She was very candid and told me that because the press is so controlled there, people don’t really know what is happening in the war with Ukraine.  She has her mother and other family living there and it has made visiting them very difficult.

Our first stop was at a big indoor market in the fishing town of Setúbal.  I am a sucker for markets and this one was very clean and interesting.  There was a huge variety of fish (it is a fishing village after all) but there were plenty of other food provisions..  I saw red bell peppers bigger than my outspread hand, luscious strawberries, gorgeous flowers, various meats and sausages, and homemade jams and crystallized fruits and  vegetables. Along the outer sides of the market there are a number of coffee shops and Natalia recommended one where I could get a typical Portuguese pasteis de nata.  I.ve written about them before; they’re small custard tarts, and this one was warm and fresh.  After some free time seeing the foods for sale and taking more pictures than I should, I met my guide by a cheese merchant. Natalia had fixed up a tray with a soft goat cheese and a harder sheep’s milk one.  There was crusty Portuguese bread and to finish the little tasting we had luscious ripe strawberries.  Natalia had met a fellow guide she knew who was escorting an elderly couple from rural Nebraska so the three of us shared the samples.  It was all wonderful!

Baked goods, produce and flowers in the wonderful market

These fish slept in the ocean last night.

We got back into her car and zipped off to a road that took us to the Arrábida National Park.  The Atlantic coast of Portugal is mainly mountainous with impressive cliffs and only small strips of white beach far below the road on which we drove.  We stopped at a couple of beautiful viewpoints. Fortune smiled on me today because it was a gorgeous day with Carolina blue skies and a nice temperature in the mid 70’s. 

When we left the park road we came to the little town of Villa Nogueira de Azeitäo.  Here we stopped and took a tour of the Fonseca Winery.  That name was familiar to me because  Fonseca is a big port wine producer and has a big operation in Oporto in northern Portugal.  This winery produces both red and white table wines and muscatel, the sweet dessert wine.  Our guide was very informative and I won’t bore you with all the information she passed on, just a few things.  The vineyard and winery were founded in 1805 and is now operated by the 8th generation.  It was the first winery to bottle and label wines in Portugal.  Prior to the early Fonseca implementing that wine was kept in barrels and tapped when someone wanted some.  If it was put in a bottle there was no printed label; instead it was wrapped in paper and the variety was handwritten on it.  Muscatel, the sweet wine is fortified with brandy to stop the fermentation process.  Once it has been bottled it doesn’t change or age; hence it can be drunk 100 years later and will still be good.  Once a bottle is opened it should be drunk within a year.   Oh, one other thing I thought interesting about muscatel. Back in the 19th century Fonseca was shipping muscatel to Brazil where it turned out the Brazilians weren't that fond of it.  Consequently several barrels were returned to Portugal.  When those barrels were tapped they found that the muscatel had aged much more than the wine in the barrels that had stayed here.  Apparently the motion of the ship in the months long voyage plus the salt in the air contributed to aging the muscatel into a richer wine. As with other European countries the vines here died from phylloxera in the 19th century, so the ones here are grafted from American vines which were resistant to the pest.  I tasted two whites and two reds at the conclusion of the tour and they were pretty good. I liked the whites better, but then I’m a white wine fan.

The original Señor Fonseca

These were some of the original barrels of muscatel shipped to Brazil and returned. That's when it was discovered that the sea voyage aged the wine faster.

These are several photos of  the lovely winery

We left the winery and a short distance away we stopped in a tile atelier. Portugal is famous for its tiles and this place is one where the tiles are all made by hand, no factory production.  I was shown the process from forming the clay into shapes, to etching, painting and firing them.  There were several artists painting tiles, very painstaking work.  Most of the tiles produced here are custom orders.  It was fascinating to watch these artisans.

Upon leaving the atelier we drove back to the Fonseca place because it was lunchtime and the winery has a lovely restaurant attached to it as do many in the US.  I treated Natalia to lunch and we had a delicious traditional Portuguese seafood lunch.  She had toasted bacalhau (cod) and I had pan-fried choco (cuttlefish).  I don’t think I’d ever had my fish so I thought I should try it.  It’s a relative of octopus and squid, but it wasn’t rubbery and chewy.  It was really tasty and I washed it down with a very nice glass of white wine from Fonseca.  It was a very enjoyable meal.

We went to our last stop, another winery, Quinta da Bacalhao.  There I was shown around the production in a small group, all of us from the US.  The couple from Nebraska that I met earlier in the day was there and two sisters, one from Virginia Beach and the other from New Hampshire.  What a small world it is!  Anyway, our guide Jorge showed us around from where the grapes are pressed, to the aging in tanks and then barrels, and then to the bottling itself.  Of course the best part was the end when we sat in a lovely arbor and sampled four wines and a muscatel.  To accompany the wine we had samples of a local soft cheese with local apricot preserves.  The wine was good, but the cheese and preserves were heaven!  I have no idea what the name of the cheese is, but it evidently won 3rd place in a worldwide cheese competition. I can only say that all of us thought it was divine.

Jorge, our guide

The grape press

The first stainless steel tanks the wine goes in

French and American oak barrels are the next stop to age

Part of the wine bottling line

Then it was time to go.  Natalia and I headed back to Lisbon, over the bridge and through the rush hour traffic.  As we crossed the river I could see two cruise ships sailing away.  That will be me tomorrow.  It was an absolutely wonderful day.  

Back at my hotel I went to the wine bar and sat in the outdoor courtyard and had a gin and tonic and tapas for dinner.  After all the other things I consumed today, the cocktail and tapas (tuna tartare mini-tacos) hit the spot.

The courtyard in the morning

And at night.  Kind of magical, isn't it?

April 15 - Lisbon! I made it. Hallelujah!

 It has been a long day but I wanted to write about some of my observations while they are fresh in my mind.  After my five hour wait in the British Airways lounge at Dulles I boarded on time and settled into the BA business class pod.  It was comparable in comfort to most other airlines business class.  Frankly I don't think any of them are terribly comfy. The prizes for best go to Emirates and Singapore Air first class, especially if you can get a deal on them.  I mentioned earlier that the BA lounge doesn't hold a candle to the United Polaris one at Dulles.  BA had a very limited buffet and I don't remember seeing anyone drinking a mixed drink; I only saw wine.  United on the other hand has a sit down dinner menu that's pretty tasty.

My fears about having to pick up my bags at Heathrow and recheck them didn't materialize.  It was a super-easy process that went very speedily.  I then got to spend a few hours in the business lounge there.  I didn't even look at the food buffet but I did see a few people walk by and they appeared to have mainly Indian food. It was an okay place to wait - more comfortable than sitting at a gate.  I did strike up a nice conversation with a British couple who live in Wimbledon and were on their way to visit a son and his family in San Francisco.  The time passed quickly.  Heathrow is one of those airports where you sometimes have to bus out to the plane and climb up the portable steps.  This afternoon it was very blustery and spitting rain, not a pleasant combination to march up steps, especially when you're very tired.  There was a nice couple from Oklahoma also on my flight, about my age, and just as tired who also evidently get wheelchair assistance in airports. (I've said before I'm not too proud or ashamed to request that service.  In some places I've been I felt like I was walking to my destination instead of flying because I've had to walk so far.)

Anyway, BA put the three of us on one of those trucks they use to load the galley food and drink, and they drove and elevated us to the plane so we skipped the steps.  BA serves a meal even though it was only a two and a half hour flight.  I tried it and it was a strange assortment of things not particularly tasty.  Our problems came up when we arrived at the Lisbon airport.  Most flights there don't pull up to a jetway so there were stairs and for the three of us they brought the lift thing.  That took a long time and then we transferred to a special bus that parked us outside a terminal door to wait for wheelchairs to take us on through immigration and baggage claim.  The Oklahoma people had booked a driver to pick them up as had I.  To make a long story short,  it took so long that the drivers left and we wound up taking taxis to our destinations.  I didn't leave the terminal until nearly 2 hours after touchdown. Despite the fact that I had been texting with my driver, I was considered a no-show so I was billed anyway.  The moral of this story is if you fly into Lisbon, require any kind of assistance, and book a private transfer, make it for a lot later than you would anyplace else.  Once I get on the ship and settled I may try to dispute it since I was texting with the driver, but I'm not optimistic it will do any good.  Lesson learned.

My hotel is nice and in a great location close to the Alfama district and with lots of restaurants and things around.  The room is not as nice as the last hotel I stayed at but in a better location.  It's the One Palacio da Anunciada, a converted convent.  I was so bushed by the time I finally got here that I showered, brushed my teeth and went to bed.  I'm up early enough today to write this before my tour.  I'm glad I made it and so did my luggage!  Tchau for now!  (That's portuguese for "ciao.")

 

April 14 - I made it to Dulles!

 Naturally since I was cautious and booked my pickup very early, we encountered only light traffic and I got here much too early.  (Better to wait than to stress over missing a flight, right?) The long TSA lines people encountered until recently were not in evidence and I zipped through the checks quickly.  As an aside, the TSA people I interacted with were uniformly friendly and smiling - no grouchy people here.  I did encounter my first glitch at the ticket counter though.  The agent, while very pleasant otherwise, refused to check my bags through to Lisbon.  That means I have to claim them at Heathrow and recheck them.  (Boo!)  I can't entirely blame him because my flights are on two separate tickets and he said they aren't allowed to do it.  (In the past they have done it but I guess something changed.)  Now as I mentioned in my last post I used BA miles for this trip and when I booked it, it wouldn't allow me to book what's called an open-jaw ticket either with miles or with money.  When I tried booking IAD to LIS (Lisbon) and home from London LHR it told me on the website that wasn't possible.  Well, I'll just have to deal with it.

I'm ensconced in the British Airways lounge and I will tell you it doesn't hold a candle to the United Polaris lounge here at Dulles.  I'll remember that in the future if I have to pass through Washington.  Still, this is better than sitting at a gate or paying for outrageously expensive airport food.

I can't complain too much though.  My day is much better than  a family I encountered on my way to this concourse.  The family included a couple of pre-teen kids and when they got off the train from the main terminal to the concourse one of the kids left a bag behind.  The train pulled away and lord only knows how they'll retrieve that.  On top of that they weren't English speakers; in fact they spoke some language which was completely foreign (no pun intended) to me - maybe Egyptian?  Anyway, I wished them luck.

So that's it for now.  Hopefully my changeover in Heathrow will go smoothly.  I have a little over four hours and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there are no snags.  Wish me well.

April 14 - Lisbon here I come!

Today's the day I set out on my next journey.  The car will be here shortly to drive me to Washington Dulles where I'll board my British Airways flight to Heathrow and then on to Lisbon, Portugal.  I discovered I had some leftover miles on BA and managed to snag business class seats for this trip which is why I'm leaving from Dulles.  I don't fly out until late this evening, but with the way airports are these days I thought I'd get there early.  Besides, British Airways has a nice lounge.

I'll spend two nights in Lisbon at a hotel I also managed to book using AMEX points.  (I like being able to use these things I've accumulated.)  The hotel is a converted convent listed as one of the 5 star hotels in Lisbon.  We'll see.  I have an all day tour booked for the 16th with a guide from ToursbyLocals, just me and a guide.  I'll write more about that later, but it will be something different from anything I've done before in Lisbon.

On Friday I board the Seabourn Ovation for 59 days.  I'll sail up the Atlantic coasts of Portugal, northern Spain, and France.  There are a couple of overnight stays in Bordeaux and Rouen, France.  Next we'll sail around the British Isles, then up to the North Cape of Norway, around Iceland and back to Dover,  England.  It may be quite cold in Norway and Iceland when we arrive there, so packing has been a little challenging.  As usual I probably packed too much.  I have some friends on portions of the cruise and I know I'll meet some new ones.  I've been to most of the ports and in some I will probably have a sea day in port.  I've rediscovered exercise here at home (after a couple of years as a couch potato) and I'll try to take advantage of the fitness center on the ship.  

I am an avid watcher of British mysteries on Britbox, especially Vera and Shetland.  So I was pretty excited to learn that Anne Cleeves, the author on whose characters those two shows are based, will be on as a guest speaker.  I often get invited to dine with guest lecturers so I'm hoping I get to meet her.  I have some excursions planned along the way and I'll write more about them as they happen.

So, that's it for now. 

January 13 - Time to go home!

I’m ready!  I’m looking forward to my own bed and pillows.  I’m looking forward to being able to read signs and speak to everyone.  That’s not xenophobic but rather frustration that I can’t speak Japanese or read its characters.

I have to talk about something very ironic about the last couple of days.  I had toyed with the idea of staying on the Encore until the end of the next leg in Hong Kong, but I decided to end here so I could see Tokyo.  As it turned out because of a major storm off the southern coast of Japan, the Encore didn’t leave Saturday afternoon as it was scheduled to do.  Instead it stayed here for two nights and only left Monday morning.  If I had stayed on I could have seen the city, probably with a tour or tours, and likely have gotten more out of it than I have on my own.  That’s the way it goes sometimes.

Last night I went to the very traditional Japanese restaurant Wadakura here in the hotel.  The only thing I didn’t have to do was sit on the floor.  I sat at a table and I had an authentic Japanese meal.  It’s called a Kaiseki dinner which is a multi-course meal that includes small dishes of seasonal foods presented very artistically.  I asked if they had an English list of the things I was given and they didn’t.  I’m not sure what all the things were that I ate, but I tried them all.  I know I had both cold and hot sake (I don’t really like either).  I had sashimi which is thinly sliced raw fish and which was delicious.  I had some tempura which included shrimp, asparagus, zucchini and what I think was a lotus slice. I had a sukiyaki course which was thinly sliced wagyu beef simmered with some mushrooms and other vegetables in a broth of soy, mirin and sugar in a little iron pot.  After the food cooked in the broth I was instructed to dip it into a bowl with a raw beaten egg. It was tasty!  Then there was some sushi with raw salmon and eel and a small cup of miso soup.  Last came a dessert which was some kind of custard.  That was the only thing I didn’t take a photo of.  Everything was pretty tasty and I’m very proud of the fact that I ate everything with chopsticks! I was given a fork and western spoon but I didn't use them.  I did the use the Japanese spoon presented with the soup and broth.  I was stuffed when I was finished.  While the portions are small there are so many of them.  I’ve decided I really do enjoy sushi and sashimi, especially when it’s prepared so well and so fresh.  It was a nice evening in a beautiful venue.  Next to me was a stone wall with water running down into a little watercourse along the edge of the restaurant.  The sound of the water gently falling made it a very relaxing place.

Hard to see but the wall has lots of little waterfalls running down and tinkling into the pebbly watercourse below

That's cold sake in a very flat bowl

I'm sitting in the Sakura Lounge in Narita airport.  This is the JAL lounge which evidently Qatar uses as well.  I have to say that I hope I never have to pass through here again.  I left the hotel at the time I was advised to by the hotel staff.  It was a long taxi ride (a little over an hour) and anyone who knows me knows that I like to talk to the driver along the way.  No joy here!  He spoke no English at all so we rode in silence.  It took a long time to get out of Tokyo.  Once past the very modern downtown and close environs we drove through what seemed to be miles of unattractive apartment buildings.

When we got to the airport the driver put my suitcases on a trolley and pointed to the Terminal 2 door.  That was all the information I got from him.  Inside was chaos.  I found an information desk which could only tell me I needed  check-in desks Q or R (I was near F) and that the Qatar check-in wouldn't open until  6:55. There were throngs of people, lines everywhere, and no sign of any seating.  That was about 3 hours later and when I asked if there was a place to sit, she told me something about a lower level for which I never found the elevator.  I lucked out and found a seat, one of five, near the sign that said Q. Around me were lines going to both my left and right and a line of people next to me waiting to get into a "Repacking area."  That stayed constantly busy as I watched people open massive suitcases and transfer things from one bag to the other.  None of the lines ever seemed to get shorter and I just sat and watched.  I asked the people next to me if they spoke English. No such luck.  As 6:30 came I used sign language to ask the lady next to me to guard my seat and my luggage trolley with my massive suitcases, while I set out trying to find where at Q or R I needed to be.  Success!  A Qatar Airways sign lit up and I saw a queue forming.  I retrieved my trolley, thanked my watcher with one of my few Japanese words and got into the queue.  At precisely 6:55 the many airline people who had been standing behind the counters turned the lights on and began check-in.  The young lady at my counter wore JAL clothing and spoke very limited English.  I'm no longer ashamed to ask for wheelchair assistance in these huge airports and that took forever for me to accomplish.  First she brought me a regular chair to sit in, which I told her I didn't need.  Then she finally understood I would like a wheelchair to the lounge and gate.  After a pretty long time which I'm sure annoyed the other people in line behind me, I got checked in, passed through security and was dropped off here.  I feel like I've been traveling for days and I haven't left Japan yet.  It's going to be a very long day!

January 12 - Coming of Age Day in Japan

Yes, that is the holiday being celebrated here today. Each year on the second Monday in January Japan honors people turning 20 years old marking their transition from childhood to adulthood.  Who knew there was such a holiday?

So what have I been up to the last couple of days?  Not as much as I would have liked to or planned to do.  I have learned, or at least realized, some things about me now.  I must start by saying that while I’ve had this before, I’ve never had it as acutely as I’m having it these past few days.  I’m suffering from really bad “land seasickness;” that is, I constantly feel like everything is rocking and rolling here in Tokyo and it’s not because they are having earthquakes.  I’ve experienced this sensation before, but this time it’s much worse and makes me move cautiously.  I hope it will be gone soon; fingers crossed.

On my drive into downtown Tokyo from the cruise terminal I got a glimpse of Mt. Fuji but I couldn't get a picture.  A friend on the Encore sent me this one so that I could include it here.

Next I have come to the realization that while I may be adventurous in places where I have some possibility of communicating with the people and, just as important, being able to read the signs around me, here I feel totally lost!  In the past when I came to Japan it was either with the Sister Cities group or on tours where I was always accompanied with Japanese guides.  Not so this time and I have found it very stressful and intimidating.  Finally, when I ventured out to the most historic area of Tokyo (Asakusa) yesterday, the crowds of people jostling and pushing were overwhelming.  While it is true that Japanese people are extremely polite, when you’re trying to move around on the sidewalks packed with people, none of whom speak  your language, it is stressful.  So, I confess I’ve become a wimp.

Just a few people on the streets

My first day here after I finally was able to check in (it took longer than expected – I don’t know why), I was dissuaded by the concierge from my plan to ride the bullet train.  I wanted to ride it at its top speed and she explained that if I got on here, unless I planned to stay on to go someplace far away like Osaka or Kyoto, the train wouldn’t get up to speed so I wouldn’t be experiencing what I wanted to and I didn’t feel like spending a day going someplace and just turning around and coming back.  I’ve ridden on trains before in Europe and I know what that’s like.  So I scratched that plan.

I also had in mind that I would like to go to a Kabuki show.  I figured that it’s January and not big tourist season so I didn’t try to make a reservation before I got here.  That plan fell through when I learned that the performances at the Kabukiza Theater, the place to go for kabuki, were sold out, maybe because it’s a holiday weekend.  Anyway, that’s my fault for not planning ahead.  I did drive by the theater in a hop-on-hop-off bus.  If I want to see kabuki I’ll have to come back and I’m not sure that will ever happen.

I did walk in the east garden area of the Imperial Palace which is right across the street from my hotel.  It’s obviously winter so it’s kind of barren but the trees are beautifully pruned.  I took the ho-ho as I said but only got off once and got back on shortly thereafter because of the crowds. I took a taxi to the Ginza area which is the upscale shopping area here.  There were lots of people there too and also lots of designer outlets.  I’m not in the market for Gucci, Cartier and all those designers so I found little of interest there.  I was going to a specific shop in Ginza which I’ll say more about in a moment and aside from the streets with those fancy places, a lot of other things looked closed.  I guess because of the holiday.  I have noticed as I traveled around these last couple of days that it’s spotlessly clean.  There’s no litter around and I’ve seen hardly any graffiti painted on anything.  It’s a lot like Singapore was last year. We could take a lesson from this city.

Street in Ginza

I went to a pearl shop that I’d read about and the hotel recommended.  I’m not a huge lover of pearls, but when in Tokyo it seemed like the thing to do.  I selected a very pretty, and I thought well-priced, strand which I then watched being restrung and hand-knotted between each pearl.  That was a very interesting thing to watch.  Before today I never realized that there could be such differences in the luster and colors one can see in creamy colored pearls.  It was an education looking at the various pearls I was shown.  It’s a nice souvenir of my visit to Tokyo.

The young woman stringing and individually knotting each pearl