My work has been sucked into a media viral vortex.

When I met Lee Wachstetter aboard the Crystal Serenity in 2012 I was captivated with her story. She loves to dance, and since her husband died she's lived aboard the ship so she could dance every evening.

I met her through  Emery Lendvay, a Madison Township man who was an Ambassador Host for Crystal. He danced the evenings away with women like Mama Lee, the affectionate nickname given Wachstetter by the ship's staff  His courtly European manners and smooth  dancing style made him a favorite. So, of course, I also wrote about him.
Not long after those stories appeared, I got an email from Dave Ashley who played trombone with the ship's Galaxy Orchestra. He was home in Lexington, Kentucky on a break between sailings and had found my stories online. He asked if I had any photos of the orchestra. I told him I'd look, and later I blogged about how he found the earlier stories online.

Fast forward to January 2015. Someone else wrote about Mama Lee. I heard it was USA Today but things have moved so quickly since then I haven't been able to check.
Soon the story had gone viral. It was picked up by other newspapers and TV stations and everyone was looking for another angle. The ship was at sea so calling Mama Lee was not an option.

Sharp reporters searched with Google and found my earlier stories and soon I was being contacted by other news outlets. First it was London's Daily Mail and then it was a German television network, both asking to use my video. I gave permission as long as they  linked back to The News-Herald. Newspapers these days live by hits, It's something they can take to the bank in terms of ad revenue.
The Daily Mail, with its one million circulation, credited me, Janet Podolak but at the Miami Herald. I asked for a correction, which they made. And we got plenty of hits.

 I haven't yet seen what the German TV network is doing but now when I Google "Mama Lee" I find my story and its video have been put up on many other newspaper websites. But you can click on the words in contrasting print for the original stories in this saga.
Simply amazing!

Papa, our butler aboard the Crystal Serenity, serves afternoon shrimp and champagne in our penthouse suite.

It’s almost embarrassing to reveal how much I loved having a butler aboard our Crystal Serenity cruise.
I am, after all, a woman who prides herself on being self-sufficient and not self-indulgent. Although the skill I bring to things may be debated, I clean my own house, iron my own clothes, cook my own meals and organize my own life. Although I do get my hair styled a couple times a year, I never even had a pedicure until I was 60.
So when my daughter and I arrived in Venice and checked in with the Crystal Serenity for our Sept. 30 to Oct. 8 cruise we were stunned to discover we’d been upgraded to a penthouse suite with a butler.
It all turned out to be far beyond our wildest dreams.
Our butler, all spiffed out in a tux, introduced himself to us with his Egyptian-sounding name but told us to call him Papa.
 “It was like having a daddy,” my daughter later recalled. She and I both lost our own fathers when we were just girls so we loved having this sweet man beam at us every time he saw us and treat us like we were his own princesses. Although he also served as butler to another half dozen penthouses on our same deck, every time we saw him it was as if he'd been waiting to learn how he could make our day even better. He proved to be a born nurturer.
When we arrived in our suite on Deck 11, Papa offered to unpack for us. But we were immediately smitten with its elegant spaces and wanted to do that for ourselves- discovering its clever nooks and crannies as we found perfect places for our things.
“Just leave everything out that needs pressing,” Papa told us. “And I’ll have it back to you shortly.”
We had initially planned to drop off our bags and go into Venice to explore. But I was just days removed from outpatient surgery and the long flight and jetlag had taken more than its usual toll.
The 491-square- foot suite was so welcoming I soon wondered if I would ever leave.
 Thick wool carpeting underfoot, tufted silk headboard, high thread count bed linens, a jetted bathtub and separate glass enclosed shower, pair of sinks, a desk and dressing table were just the beginning. The walk-in closet included lingerie drawers, wooden and padded hangers, and a pair of robes (Frette linen and terrycloth) for each of us. Dimmer switched lighting, Aveda bath amenities, two hairdryers and even a scale awaited.  A sofa and comfy arm chair framed a round cocktail table that we later learned could be elevated to dining height. Room service was available 24/7 although we took advantage of it only once — and that was on our verandah - a large space with lounge chairs.
There were two flatscreen TVs, a DVD player and a refrigerator stocked with wines - red, white and bubbly - plus bottles of flat and bubbly mineral water, all constantly replenished. Reidel crystal glasses filled the cabinet next to it. Fresh fruit appeared in a silver fruit bowl every day and delicate flowers were changed before they wilted.
Soon Papa was back with apertifs — a generous plate of shrimp and lobster and another bottle of chilled champagne. He asked about our beverage preferences, promising to keep our refrigerator stocked. This was to become daily tradition at about 4 p.m. — and we made sure to be back on board in time for it, even passing up lunches ashore.
One afternoon my daughter was feeling really punk and had taken to her bed. Papa expressed his concern and asked what he could do to help.
“A lemonade would be nice,” she said. After calling the kitchen on his cellphone he told us it wasn’t available. “But wait,” he said. “I’ll be back shortly.”
Ten minutes later he returned with a small pitcher of cold lemonade. He’d found a half dozen lemons, squeezed them, added sugar, ice and water and voila! Lemonade for Sascha.

A string quartet tunes up and cruise staff prepares a buffet of sweets for the Mozart Tea aboard the Crystal Serenity  

They tell me people prefer reading online to the newspaper, but for Travel I just don't think that's true.

 It's in today's paper with all sorts of great stories, including one by me about a Madison man who cruises around the world by dancing with the ladies. And then there's the a Miami woman who sold her home to stay on board the Crystal  Serenity and dance as much as she wants to.

Or read about Jeff Frischkorn's visit to Spaceport, where ordinary people will soon be able to take suborbital flights into space.   

Or go with Caitlin Fertal  to Alabama, her first excursion into the Deep South, where it's in the 60s this time of year.

There's lots more in today's Travel section to check out.

Here's a novel idea. If you no longer subscribe, stop at a newstand and pick  up the Nov. 11 News-Herald. 

I'm promising some good reading and it's something you can save to read again. Use it to fuel your dreams or plan your own getaways. It lists plenty of websites too. 

A small wooden shed holds nets that are lowered  into the sea to catch sardines near the mouth of the Po River off Ravenna, Italy.

Maybe it’s my Norwegian heritage or perhaps it’s my love of everything to do with the sea, but I adore the fish many others seem to avoid.
Sardines are one of those fishes and their anchovy cousins are another.
But I never knew how or where they were caught until my cruise last month in the southern Mediterranean.
I was up at the crack of dawn when the Crystal Serenity approached the port for Ravenna, Italy, where we subsequently went ashore. As we cruised in I saw in the darkness  what I  presumed to be some kind of offshore oil rig. But as dawn brightened the scene I saw similar wooden sheds on nearby piers with a footbridge extending into the sea,  connected with a device to lift and lower nets. Early that morning men were pulling in what appeared to be fine mesh nets wriggling with their catch.
When we went ashore to the customs and immigration building I asked about what I’d seen and discovered we were at the mouth of Po River and the fishermen were catching sardines — something done here for centuries.
Online I discovered the fish — members of the pilchard family—   probably got their name from the island of Sardinia where they are caught in great numbers. Technically, these small silvery fish are related to the herring —  which I met years ago at a herring market in Finland.
Sardines in America usually are found packed in oil in a tin  opened with a key, but I recalled from earlier trips to  the Mediterranean that they are prepared fresh in this part of the world. So from then on I scanned the menus at seaside restaurants at  every port call in search of them.

A lunch of grilled sardines, washed down with a chilled Mythos beer, was heaven on the Greek island of Mykonos.

    

I found my sardines at a small eatery along the shore of the Greek island of Mykonos, where I ordered them for lunch and washed them down with a good local beer.
My mouth has been watering for sardines ever since. Today I found the following recipe which I’m going to prepare at home and bring for lunch. I know my husband won’t be at all interested  and my coworkers will be likewise repelled. But I can’t wait to have them again.

Sardines for lunch, Ohio style
2 tins sardines in olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley leaves, divided
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest, reserve the lemon and cut into 4 wedges
Freshly ground black pepper
 4 (1/2-inch) thick slices crusty bread
1 ripe Hass avocado
Coarse sea salt
 Drain  oil from 1 tin of sardines into a small bowl and set aside. Drain  oil from the other tin into another small bowl and whisk in 1 tablespoon of parsley, vinegar, lemon zest, and black pepper, to taste. Add  sardines, stir to combine and set aside for up to 1 hour.
After 45 minutes, put a rack 3-inches from the broiler and heat the oven to the broiler setting on high. Brush each slice of bread on 1 side with the reserved oil. Put bread, oil side up, onto a  g rack set inside a sheet pan and broil 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.
Halve the avocado and remove the pit. Smash the flesh in each half with a fork.
Spread the avocado evenly onto the toasted bread. Top evenly with the sardines. Pour any remaining dressing on top and garnish with the remaining parsley.

The Crystal Serenity is now at anchor in the  Bay of Kotor, outside the walled town of the same name in Montenegro. It’s one of the world’s newest countries, established in 2006 when it voted to separate from Serbia. It is also Europe‘s poorest country with a monthly per capita income of  just 426 euros, about $541 at today‘s exchange rate.
 The reason I haven’t been blogging is that the minimum wi-fi fee aboard the ship is $50 per half hour, and the internet speed is so slow that my daughter got off just 2 rather short Facebook posts before she got a message that it was time to renew.  Knowing that most ports have wi-fi somewhere for less, I’ve been waiting to find one. Yesterday we were at sea all day and today, when we went ashore, I found a wi-fi hotspot right outside the medieival city’s walls. But of course I  hadn’t carried my Ntebook ahsorewith me. So now I’m back in  the stateroom writing with plans to go back ashore to send this.

This cruise is very well priced and it’s all inclusive ,meaning that tips and wine with dinner are included. So in theory I should not have to spend anything at all. But with such high internet fees I could easily spend money I hope top use for shopping in the Gran Bazaar in Istanbul. So I’m taking notes, shooting video and planning to give a  full report when I get home, accented by an occasional  blog when I can find a wi-fi signal.

This town is verry very pretty with a maze of cobbled streets leading up and around the mountain it’s built on to squares perfect for catching  your breath or taking notes over  a cup of coffee. There are lots of sweet kitties, including fairly  young kittens all around town. A fisherman had thrown small fish to one colony of maybe 7 cats and we watched as they devoured them. I stepped into an old Orthodox church and met the bearded, black robed priest  to ask if I could take pictures. Hanging candles, enclosed in decorative lamps, made it appear as it probably did several hundred years ago.

We are about 100 miles south of Dubrvonik, another beautifully  preserved walled city, which Ive visited in Croatia. I had a strong sense of déjà vu early yesterday as we cruised pats islands on the starboard side Sure enough, they were some of the same islands I visted a few years back on another voyage-- that one aboard a 100-foot wooden sailing ship. In contrast this ship has about 1000 passengers and a crew of more than 600.

On Sunday I'll board the Crystal Serenity in Venice for cruise of the southern Mediterranean.  Ive been following the ship through its live webcams which gives views from the bridge, starboard, port and computer lab. Right now, shortly after 2:30 in the afternoon in Willoughby, its close to 8:30 at night. The ship is off the coast of Croatia where it's dark. Everybody must be at dinner since the computer lab is empty. Have a look yourself by clicking on http://tinyurl.com/8llvhhz

 Then scroll to the bottom right side of the page to Live Views and  have a look.
Remind yourself to click on this link again at 3 p.m.Sunday afternoon. I plan to be in front of the webcam then at 9 p.m. Venice time to let you know I've arrived.
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