Hi all

Got home this morning about 8.30am.

I always think the last night of a cruise is a bitter sweet experience - sad because the cruise is ending, but there's also the pleasure of realising just how many great people you met, as everyone stops to chat and say their goodbyes.

The ship wasn't cleared for disembarkation until 9.15, but we were soon off. Immigration and customes were very fast, and then i called the driver i had hired to collect us. Our flight home wasn't until 5.30pm so we decided to do our bit to reflate the florida economy. We headed off to Aventura Mall.......Gus was in shopping heaven, especially in our first stop - Abercrombie & Fitch. I realised that i was probably not their target customer when i found the instore music way too loud!

I am more of a Banana Republic person - and found a great merino wool sweater in the sale!

And then to the apple shop where we bought "i-trips" - a nifty little accessory that plugs into your ipod and plays through your car or home stereo. We can't buy them in the UK as they use the FM frequency and the government likes to sell those to the highest bidder. Hopefully we wont be arrested and thrown into jail!

The flight home was full....quite a few Silversea cruisers - the BA lounge felt like the bar on the ship!

I've been home for a few hours now; the mail has been opened, the large no's of emails dealt with, and the second wash load is on.

Oh...and several cruise brochures arrived in the post, and there were a lot of special offers in my inbox.....these next few days are a dangerous time......