The best time to see them is at dusk, when they emerge from their suites en masse and head for their second home, the cocktail lounge. A walking parade of near skeletal women of a certain age with skin drawn so tightly over their bones there is hardly a wrinkle to be seen, except on the back of their hands, which no surgeon, no matter how well paid, can get rid of. The sun is not their friend and those daylight hours are kept for visits to clinics, spas and salons.
They have starved themselves to what they consider to be perfection – they have not eaten a thing all day and it is time to come out and graze on a couple of arugula leaves, or if they are particularly hungry perhaps an entire carrot.
But more importantly still, they need to follow their doctors’ advice and drink some water. That comes in the form of an ice cube dropped into their vodka. They all learned an important lesson many years ago. A shot of vodka may have 120 calories but it has zero carbohydrates. They order their drinks and ask for a bowl of peanuts. The vodka is inhaled rapidly, the peanuts are never touched. They are purely for show.
They wear beautifully tailored tight fitting dresses in either black or cream with not a splash of colour or an adornment to be seen. The dresses are sleeveless allowing everyone to admire their bony shoulders, and skeletal arms, and finish above their equally bony knees. No ordinary woman of a similar age would ever dream of wearing such a style, but these are no ordinary women.
Tom Wolfe’s Bonfire of the Vanities “society X-rays” are alive and well (although they don’t look it) and taking a world cruise of 180 days on Seabourn’s equally elegant ship, the Sojourn.
It is day 80 of the world cruise and we have joined them in Sydney. We are only doing 24 days and feel very much the poor relatives. A feeling that is encouraged by these stick women who completely ignore us. We are interlopers in a world we know nothing about.
Ed: Sorry…… but it took a lot to dissuade The Fabulous Blogger from including “passengers of the week” pics which could have resulted in expensive lawsuits!
Andrews Fabulous Travel Blog 