An Uneventful Sea Day, Thank Goodness! (with photos)

 Wednesday, November 22, 2023

Another day on the briny.  I'm up early - surprise - and get some more photos added to the blog.  I should be all caught up by the time we get to New York! Nick isn't feeling great so when Ginger is feeling s bit peckish we swing through the cafeteria, grab a few snacks, including a sampling of the spicy Indian potatoes and the pouri,  and head up and out to sit facing the never ending, ever changing wake behind the ship. We've brought all our toys and entertain ourselves and each other.  Ginger is working on her calendar and actually gets it finished and ordered!  I'm pulling photos to make a book of this trip.  I'd love to have it finished and in hand by Christmas.

When we go down to check on Nick he is just getting ready to go to lunch and we head to one of the dining rooms.  It is nice to be waited on at every meal;  it's a fair exchange for not having all the choices in the cafeteria, and the menus do change every day. I have the cream of mushroom soup and it's divine! The Monte Cristo sandwich is all right and the tiramisu with coffee sauce is lovely.  It's a good thing Ginger helps me finish it, though! I'll have to fast for a month when I get home!

There's some reflection in the glass;  but it's too hard to get
out of the lounge chair to take the shot standing up!  I'll be better tomorrow!

Nick's trivia competition is right now!  He leaves quickly to find his team and we follow in a bit.  Again, their fourth player hasn't shown up and I reluctantly step in while Ginger goes to Guest Services to offer suggestions about how they could mitigate potential damage from the wind tunnel effect.  The lady admits that they have that happen a lot!  But she says she'll inform Housekeeping which seems like a very strange choice.  Hard to imagine that they will be authorized to add handrails to that corridor. And I'm sure they won't be allowed to suggest to the captain that he make an announcement when he sees rain and wind on the horizon, so that people can get inside before the weather arrives.  Oh well, as long as no medical charges show up on my bill, I'm okay.

Anyway, back to trivia.  I'm the only one who knows that hasenpfeffer is made with rabbit and that mousse is the French word for foamy or frothy. We don't do too badly and afterwards Nick wants to lie down for a while before dinner.  Ginger and I gather our toys and go back outside. 

Dinner has to be early because we have reservations for "Six" tonight and that only guarantees us admission, not particular seats.  We need to be early to get in line.  For dinner I have the stuffed mushrooms caps (all two of them) and the the pan-seared Pacific hake fillet with spinach mashed potatoes, glazed carrots and a lemon-butter sauce. It's very good.  Before the appetizers arrive Ginger and I have a glass of wine, shiraz for me, merlot for her, and Nick orders hot tea.  We know he's really not feeling well! And it's interesting that he can get hot tea since the crew member in the cafeteria this morning said there was no more tea for the rest of the trip! Happily they had an urn of chai, so that worked for us.

It's fun when people decorate their doors!

Dessert was créme caramel with fresh berries and mint, and lovely.  Ginger ordered the flourless chocolate cake and halfway through we swap.  We both agree that the créme caramel was the winner! After dinner (and the second glass of wine that came unbidden) Nick and I go to stand in line for the show while Ginger goes to get him some cough drops. I need a little help to get there, between the wonky hip, the rocky ship, and, I guess, the second glass of wine! 

When we arrive we are told that there are some technical difficulties to work out and our reservations have been transferred to tomorrow night.  We get back to the suite before Ginger leaves and we spend a few minutes looking at the Freestyle Daily to see what else is going on tonight.  Basically nothing, so we watch whatever free movie comes on the TV before dropping off to sleep.  We see part of "Are You There, God? It's Me Margaret" which is just as cute the second time, and part of "National Treasure" and I've had enough.

For the first time in a long time I have a lot of trouble getting to sleep.  All the food and the wine aren't sitting well on my tummy and I have to add a second pillow to get my head higher than my stomach.  By 11:30 I'm back on an even keel and drop like a stone.  The loud wind and waves outside make quite a lovely soundtrack and that helps.  Tomorrow is another sea day and Thanksgiving!!  I wonder if they will do something special for us!

Sea Day with an Adventure (with photos)

 Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Well we were supposed to be spending the day in the Azores, specifically Ponta Delgado, but the captain and the harbor master agreed that the winds and the swells were just too bad to risk docking so we’re heading straight for Bermuda.  That means we have five consecutive sea days.  It’s disappointing but I’d much rather miss an island paradise than the wonders we’ve already seen!

That's as much as we're going to see!

I had a really productive early morning, adding photos to several days’ worth of blog posts!  The workings of the internet out here at sea are bewildering, the the connection disappearing at will (but not my will!) but perseverance will out!

We went to breakfast at O’Sheehans and I tried the Belgian waffle with bananas, caramel sauce, and whipped cream. Oh, and crispy bacon and my own pot of hot tea. It was nice but I won’t do it again.  

It doesn't look bad;  but I guess they know what they're doing.

We’ve come down at the end of breakfast, so no one is waiting for our table;  but the guys need to get ready for lunch, so we go back upstairs to the cabin.  Nick thinks he caught a cold from the lady on our tour a few days ago who was coughing all the time.  He’s going to take a nap and Ginger and I grab our goodies and head up to Spice to get the air and watch the sea.  Ginger is working on a book for her grandkids for the holidays. It’s going to be so cool!! I’m learning to use Nick’s iPad to see if this is what I want to use the next time I travel! Typing takes a little getting used to because the keyboard is so much smaller;  but it's manageable and might be worth it!  I just have to figure out how to introduce photos since my phone doesn't see it.  But that's a question for another day.

There is a bit of breeze back here!

Eventually we figure we need to check on Nick, since it's been a couple of hours, and go back to the room. He sends us a message just as we're sitting down and we meet him for lunch.  I have a Cobb salad appetizer and the orange chocolate mousse. I don't need an entree.  Goodness knows I have had more food than any two humans should consume!

silky, creamy, fluffy chocolate!

We all go back to the cabin.  Nick is going to read and, maybe, go back to sleep. We're going back outside and Nick suggests the spot he had been in before lunch.  It's on the side of the ship and he said it was warm (ish) and out of the wind.  We find it and get comfy.  The chairs are a little deep for short people, but I can put my feet up on the table and that compensates. Ginger is working on a calendar of photos of her late brother-in-law's paintings that I think will be beautiful.  It gets a little chilly and she uses the table cloth she's been embroidering as a shawl! 

These were taken less than a minute apart, it came up that fast!
Ginger had just said it looked like a horror movie just before the sea monster
rises up! Who knew it would be a wind monster!?

The wind and waves are picking up and it's beginning to rain so we - and everyone else - quickly gather our things and head for the closest door.  Unfortunately, people on the other side of the ship do the same thing and the doors are exactly opposite one another. As I come around the corner to go inside I feel the resulting gale force wind throw me into the wall of commemorative plaques (with lots of sharp corners and decorations) where I bounce off and plunge to the floor. There's another lady who does the same thing.  Thank goodness Ginger was just enough ahead of me that she was able to avoid the collision with the wall.  Two strangers help me up while Ginger gathers my things that went flying.  She gets someone else's hat and another person's glasses as well. It felt like a giant's hand shoving me forward.

I was pretty sure I hadn't die but I wasn't sure what all is damaged.  I know there's an abrasion on the back of my hand from one of the plaques, and at least my shoulder and hip hurt, and I'm a bit woozy and shaky and really need to sit down.  There's nowhere handy to do that and Ginger helps me get to the closest chairs, in a venue called Shakers down the hall.  She goes off to get me some ice while I take inventory of the damage and try to reconstruct what happened! 

Ginger comes back with a female crew member who strongly suggests that we and the other lady, Linda, go to the medical facility. When we get down there the door is closed and she has to call someone to take care of us.  Once she's passed us off, she leaves and I'm not even sure I thanked her.

It turns out that Linda is from Tampa!  And she is a PT;  you might remember that Ginger is an OT!  And she has a daughter who performs on cruise ships, while Ginger has a nephew who performs on cruise ships!  Outrageous!  Anyway, she had damaged her wrist and thinks it might be broken, so I let her got first.  I know I haven't broken anything.  I just hurt.

We fill out a million forms and Ginger has to help Linda since it's her right wrist that's damaged and, of course, she right handed. Eventually it's my turn and the nice male nurse takes x-rays of my hand in two positions although it's just bleeding a bit and certainly isn't broken.  And he does my shoulder and hip and gives me a breathalyzer test. Good thing I didn't have a drink with lunch!  Then the doctor comes in and confirms my belief that nothing is broken or dislocated.  I've just got some ouchies and I need to rest my shoulder for a day or two.  He prescribes a painkiller shot (Toravel???) and gives me a tube of topical Ibuprofen and some more cream and bandages for my hand.  I go back to the waiting room and find Nick with Ginger.  They had called the room to try to find me because Ginger had asked for ice!

We have to wait for the security guy to come and ask questions.  He takes a picture of my shoes, hoping, I think, that they will have slick bottoms.  They don't.  And he asked if I'd been drinking.  I hadn't.  And he asked if Iwear glasses.  I don't unless I'm reading.  Basically he wanted this to be my fault.  It wasn't.

Then we go back to the scene of the event and I show him exactly how it happened, with the sharp decorations on the plaques and Nick shows him how the wind whips through the corridor even when there isn't much of a wind. Eventually he says he has enough information and we are able to leave.  The whole affair took about two hours and Ginger and I both need a change of clothing and a bit of clean up.  I can't remember the last time I wet my pants!  I'm just thankful for the extra padding around my hip and the twenty years of yoga (thank you, Nat)! Ginger says if I'd lost that weight I was hoping for before this trip I might have flown all the way out the other door!

Soon Nick goes down to get us a place in the seating order for dinner and quite quickly messages us to come down and meet him.  We are shown to almost the exact table we had for lunch! Ginger and I both want a strong drink and order Rusty Nails because we have had a hard afternoon! I order the Eggplant Caponata appetizer to honor my mother.  It was her favorite! And it's delicious! And the pork loin which I so enjoyed the last time.  And for dessert - the orange crepes with Grand Mariner sauce. They are little and delicious and perfect. 

We sit for a bit after dinner and realize that we don't care what's going on in the ship;  we just want to go to bed.  I'm down almost immediately and find that if I'm careful I can find a comfortable position.  I don't think I move until the next morning!

Sea Days Can Be Fun (with photos)

 Monday, November 20, 2023

I’m up really early and actually get to post yesterday’s entry with photos!!  And the seas are calm!  I don’t know if we missed the gales or if they are still ahead of us, but I’m hoping we get to stop at the Azores, since I’ve never been there.

There's no sunrise to speak of, but much calmer seas than we were expecting!

We plan our day backwards, because we have 5:30 reservations at La Cucina, the ship's Italian restaurant.  That means an early lunch and, maybe, no breakfast.  Well, actually, it means a visit to O'Sheehans where Nick can get his super thick French toast and Ginger and I get tea and fresh fruit.  And we bring the last of our custard tarts! Nick says that he's had enough carbs and Ginger and I can split his second one!  We make a token effort to talk him out of that;  but we don't try too hard!  

The tarts are not a work of art;  but oh my goodness they are still good the next day!
Nick has gone on line and found the receipt and also the real name, which is Pamela de Nata.
They were created to use up the egg yolks left over from making meringue!

They don't need our quiet table in the back and we hang out for a while before deciding that we need at least a little exercise and we walk around the deck and check out the seas - still fairly calm!  Maybe we'll make it to the Azores after all.  Nick canceled our rental car when the captain said the seas would be too rough to be able to dock, so if we do go ashore we'll have to come up with a Plan B. We find some lounge chairs right by the water at Spice and relax for a while, being mesmerized by the wake of the ship.

It's time for that early lunch and Ginger and I really want to Ruben we saw on O'Sheehan's menu.  That means waiting while they wrap up breakfast.  We should have just stayed at our table!! But we really needed to move a bit.  Anyway, we're only second in line so there's no problem getting seated.  The girls order a Caesar to go with the sandwiches and fries;  but we're right by the atrium where the games go on, so it's pretty noisy.

When we're finished Nick goes down the atrium level to find his trivia team for the one o'clock competition.  Ginger and I stay up here and watch the game.  It's the one where you have three words and have to figure out their common denominator.  It's fun to play and when it's over we go down to find the team and be cheerleaders.  Turns out they've gone back upstairs and we could have just stayed put!!  We go up and find that one of the team hasn't shown up.  I get drafted to fill her spot and Ginger goes up to Spice to hold our spots.

There's a little tiny bowling alley hidden away!

We don't do too badly and I contribute a couple of answers, so I don't feel too stupid! I go up to Spice but I don't see Ginger (I learn later that she is hidden behind one of the hot tubs, even though I thought I looked everywhere!).  I've got photos to edit, now that I can add them to the blog posts, so I find a shady spot and spend about an hour and a half being somewhat productive.

Hmm, guess I'll go back to the room and see who I can find.  It's Nick! We share a companionable silence playing on our devices until he and Ginger exchange texts and we go up to be with her for a bit.  Then it's time to dress for dinner and call Christine to say we are going down to the restaurant.

We claim our table and she joins us presently.  It's nice to have reservations for a change instead of being tied to a beeper and an uncertain schedule. We start with a "nice chianti" since it's an Italian restaurant and I have the Calamari Fritti with marinara sauce.  There's more light breading than actual calamari, but it's tasty!  My entree is the Osso Bucco alla Milanese (braised lamb shank, lemon, garlic and parsley Gremolata and saffron risotto) We've been told that it is a house specialty.  The meat is very tender and the risotto is creamy.  But the hit of the meal is the dessert selection.  There are five choices and four of us, so it takes a while to decide what to leave out!  We make excellent choices and do our round robin thing with Tiramisú, Panda Cotta alla Vanilla (blackberry marsala compote with meringue crunch), Cannoli  with pistachio, chocolate and tutti fruit fillings, and Torta di Chocolate e Lamponi (chocolate tartlet with raspberry, pistachio, vanilla sauce)  Oh!  Who cares about the Osso Bucco?  This makes up for everything.

The prize winner!

First runner-up

Pretty close

Nick's fav

Apparently we are old farts!  Our tummies are full and we're ready to go to the cabin!  We watch something or other about saving the sealife in Australia and I play a bit with the computer.  This is where I learn that most of my photos won't download from the cloud out here in the middle of the ocean, so I can't really post what I want to.  I guess anything is better than nothing!  I give up and go to bed thinking the middle of the night will be better. (spoiler alert - it isn't!)

Lisbon - With photos!!

 Sunday, November 19, 2023

We gained an hour last night, so when I wake up at four it’s really five!!  Yay!  And another yay because I was able to add photos to the last entry that already had some!  Maybe I’ll be able to add more if I can be awake in the middle of the night so I can use both of our internet accesses!

Anyway, we head down to breakfast in one of the dining rooms instead of the buffet and it is quiet with piano music playing in the background.  I have the special breakfast of the day, scrambled eggs with cheese and avocado in a flour tortilla, with salsa and breakfast potatoes.  It’s okay, but “flour tortilla” is an oxymoron in my book!  The hot tea is good, though, even though the little pot only holds three cups’ worth and we are supposed to both be sharing it!

We have ample time to finish and go down to deck seven to disembark. As we are going down the gangplank we see that Lisbon is lightly shrouded in the “Lisbon Mist”, which may complicate the day. We are to meet another Top Day guide and there she is with a smaller, silver bus that will hold all nineteen of us and be easy to spot amongst all the behemoths at the sites. Our guide is obviously a history major and she tells us all about Portugal’s complicated history., beginning with the Carthaginians, then the Phoenicians, the Romans, the Barbarians, the Moors, and the Second Crusades in 1147.

We learn that the Tagus River is vital to Lisbon and that it originates in Spain and flows into the Atlantic here.  It is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula.

During Portugal’s Golden Age it was the wealthiest country in the world in the 1400s and at one point Portugal and Spain agreed to split up the world between them!  Portugal got Europe and Spain got the Americas.

We see a statue to Magellan who circumnavigated the world and learn that during Napoleon’s invasion, Portugal’s king moved the capital to Rio de Janeiro and all the nobility moved there with him!  We also hear that there was a huge earthquake in 1755 called “Lisbon’s Earthquake” that devastated the city, including a fire that lasted for a week and a tsunami.  It was along the same fault line that contributed to Morocco’s recent major earthquake.

In 1908 King Charles and his son Prince Louis were assassinated, ending the monarchy.  Subsequently they became a republic and then in 1928 there was a military coup. The dictatorship lasted 48 years ending in 1976. 

In 1986 Portugal joined the EU, giving up the long-distance fishing rights and accepting quotas on their exports, both of which were hard on their economy.

Interestingly enough, Portugal participated in World War I but when World War II came along, they made a deal with England, their long-term Allie to provide intelligence and an important mineral instead of fighting.  However, the also provided those to the Germans as well!  Our guide said Lisbon was a nest of spies!

We’re off to see some of the sights. Our guide is having to make some adjustments to her schedule because saying “over there you can see the bridge” doesn’t work when you can’t actually see it!  But we do get to see several of the most iconic attractions.  The first is a big, red building which was the first train station in… It’s now a hotel.

As we’re driving we notice that many of the buildings are decorated with tiles that cover the entire front walls. They are in all colors and patterns and reflect the Moorish influence.

The center of the city is marked with a statue of Pedro IV and from there we go to see the Torre de Belém with a replica of an old airplane and a sixteenth century tower that served as a fort.  It marks Portugal’s Age of Discovery.

The Tagus River is so wide here that it looks like a lake!

Interesting pedestrian overpass - note all the electric scooters.  Portugal is trying
very hard to be eco conscious;  but they still love their cars.

Next we’re on to Padrao dos Descobrimentos, or The Monument to the Discoveries, which was built to honor Prince Henry the Navigator in 1960.  It payed homage to all those who explored the world during Portugal’s Golden Age.  It resembled the prow of a caravel, the Portuguese sailing ship with triangular sails, and also honors the priests, the cartographers, warriors, and artists, and the women who were left behind.

On the ground as you approach the monument is a large map, all in marble, which shows Portugal’s far reaching discoveries, and, of course, the parts of the seas with sea monsters!

We pass many beautiful buildings and pull into the parking lot of the Monastery of Jeronimos.  There is a Christmas market set up and we have twenty minutes to explore. And Ginger finds a bathroom!

We pass an impressive Roman aqueduct, visible through the mist and stop at an overlook to see the city spread out below us. It’s called Web Summit and Nick finds a cafe that sells the tarts we had been told were a “must eat” even though they don’t look all that appealing.  OH!  What a treat!  The filling is creamy custard at least three-fourths of an inch think and the flaky shell is amazing! There is a lovely fountain, a statue, and a talented street musician.

She's not always this serious!

We now stop at a monument to the engineers and craftsmen who build the ships.  There are two figures and, in the pavement is the symbol of Portugal.  It is said that two crows always accompanied the ships as the set sail.  You can see them in the stone work.  This kind of pavement ornamentation is everywhere!  So beautiful!

Here we have a bit of time to explore before returning to our meeting place.  We have the option of returning to the ship in the bus, or exploring more on our own and finding our own way back.  Of course we choose the later!  We have to be back to the ship by 3:30 which is barely enough time to get a feel for the city.  We check out the Christmas Market and some of the shops and find a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that seats about eighteen, called Taverna Alfacinha.  It’s highly rated on all the review sites and we are lucky that a table has just opened up when we arrive!  We have a liter of red sangria that’s delicious and split a Caprese salad.  Nick and Ginger share a Mixed Paella and I have the Cod Special which has lots of vegetables and the world’s thickest piece of cod!  Our guide told us that there 185 ways to prepare cod in Portugal. When we pay the bill there is a little surprise!  We each have a tiny glass of cherry liqueur!

People lined up waiting for a table!

The art museum as seen from the Christmas Market

We pass back through the Christmas Market and find a stall that is selling tarts!! Yes, please, six to go! Then it’s time to catch a cab back to the ship, well before our deadline.  We worry that they may not let us bring the tarts through customs.  We’d have to eat the all right there!  But it’s okay and we go back to the cabin to drop all our shopping treasures.

Nick goes to the spa and Ginger and I notice that there is something going on alongside the ship.  There is a vessel(?) smack up beside us and one of our lifeboats is visible along slightly behind us.  Much later we learn that we are taking on additional fuel because there are supposed to be gale-force winds between here and the Azores and we might not be able to dock there.  If not we need to have enough fuel to get across the Atlantic to Bermuda!

We all three meet up back at the room and while we’re watching the tanker pull away Christine calls.  We arrange to meet for a drink in a few minutes.

Ginger and I watched a guy doing the ropes course on the ship.

Last view of the city

The tanker pulling away

goat cheese tart

The server made a small slit in the top and poured in the sauce.

Oh!  There’s a line-dancing class in progress in the atrium right below us!  Ginger and I go down and join the fun while Nick and Christine find a quiet place to chat O’Sheehan’s.  When the class is over we join them for a bit, then Christine has to leave for her dinner reservation.  We really aren’t all the hungry and having a full tummy in rough seas doesn’t sound smart. We order a round of Caesars, although Nick’s is actually an American Dirty Caesar, and  Nick and Ginger each get a half dozen chicken wings, (I have one of Ginger’s), but nothing else there sounds inviting.

We wander down to Savor to look at the menu in case there’s something we just can’t miss.  There is!  Ginger and I want the goat-cheese tarts!  As luck would have it, they can seat us right now!  Nick has an appetizer and entree but Ginger and I just have the tarts and a Caesar salad (no ingredients in common with the drink!) and then the three of us share two desserts, the lemon-scented créme caramel and the warm chocolate hazelnut soufflé.  I was only going to have a small spoonful of each.  Ha!  Who was I kidding!  They both are to die for!

The cumulative effect of all the traveling is catching up with us and we decide that going back to the cabin is the best choice for now.  Nick takes a Bonine (like Dramamine) but Ginger and I decide to tough it out.  I’m down for the count in about thirty seconds!