CatLadyFemme

I’m glad someone likes peeking at the food from others folks as much as I do!

I spent a lovely evening after the ice show on my balcony, and finished the night tucked into bed reading. I had wanted to go down to Sorrentos and get a snack, but just didn’t have the energy. Tried to be better about outfit pictures today; it’s hard when you don’t have anyone to take them for you! Today woke up with a flare. Not sure if long COVID, fibro, or POTS, but I snoozed for an hour before dragging myself down at 11:30 for brunch in the MDR. I asked for a quiet two top and got one in an area where no one was sitting. My meal had already been pre ordered last night, and all came out ok. The virgin mojito I got seemed to have been with no sugar; it tasted more like a mint lime sparkling water…which was fine, but nothing special. The fruit plate was self explanatory, though the watermelon was hardly ripe (which is how I prefer it, but I know most people don’t). The butternut squash risotto, which has been delicious in the past, was…ok? Definitely overcooked and a bit mushy. Not particularly great, but edible. In lieu of the coconut cake (which I had been told they would make GF), they sent a GF blueberry bar. I am not a huge fan of baked fruit desserts, but it was not bad. I had it if orange juice pushed on my as well, so my vitamin C is excellent 😂 I used my CO2 meter and air filter; seems to be working well! Headed back up to my room after to lie in the shade on the balcony, which was really lovely, though I wish we had actually been moving. Once the sun started to encroach on me, I went inside and took another nap from which it took me 90 minutes of snoozing to get up. Chronic illness + burnout is no joke! Dressed in 13 minutes (including hair and make up 😬) for dinner, so please excuse me not showing up properly for formal night. I will say, I have notice more people dressing up nicely for formal night than the past few years, which I really enjoy. Gave lots of compliments! Planning to bring a ballgown or two on our transatlantic with MxCatLady, who enjoys dressing dapper as well. I failed at dinner and only took some pictures. COVID brain! I had preordered the butternut squash soup (solid, needed salt), the wedge salad (which turned out their GF veggie version was just iceberg, chives, tomatoes, and Italian dressing, so it was a reconstructed version of last night’s salad), the vegan asparagus and pea risotto (Oy. Rice part was better cooked than lunch, but it was also about 66% blended pea purée [which is sneaky and looks like pesto but absolutely is not] and had only two small spears of asparagus - I ate about half of it), and their GF version of the apple crumble. Which was…not good. Like it literally was just apple filling with plain oats on top. I had about two bites. I also don’t understand why they’d make the veg dish at lunch risotto, and then risotto for dinner the same night (same with two butternut squash). Like, I LOVE risotto, but a) make it better and home and b) risotto twice in a day is A LOT. My friends next to me were back. I am so relieved to have nice folks to talk to, and their family reminds me of mine when I was a kid, before my father passed. Their feedback tonight was that the French onion soup was almost inedible: the alcohol in it had not been cooked off properly and it was watery, the butternut squash soup was ok but needed salt, escargot were tasty again, the seafood linguini was delicious (in fact, the father’s salmon was so over cooked and the crust was just patted on top instead of seared; see picture, that he sent it back and go a linguini instead), crème brûlée was good, and the mom declared the apple cobbler the best item of the day, for what it is worth. I preordered for tomorrow, though am not 100% sure I am going to go off the ship. It’s a lot of walking with no one to be a support or help me find seating, hydrate, etc., plus the last time I was at CocoCay, the GF veggie meal they came up for me was fresh fruit and two plain, cold corn tortillas. We will see what type I awake tomorrow and go from there. After dinner, I went to the Cafe Promanade to try and get a few GF cookies to keep in the room, but apparently they don’t offer those anymore, which is frustrating. Then I tried to go to Sorrento’s to pick up some roasted veggies, olives, and other small plate stuff for a late night snack. Apparently, they don’t have those anymore either. Very frustrating. I don’t need a whole pizza, but it would be nice to be able to get some cookies of veggies as a snack. I have $100 of non refundable onboard credit (no idea why this wasn’t applied to other stuff, but ok?), and needed to spend it, so was excited to go shopping. However, slim pickings on this ship. I ended up with a $20 tank top for sleeping, and am hoping tomorrow or Thursday they have a good sale. Now debating about running up to windjammer to see if they have something I can take down with me for later. CocoCay tomorrow! Also, ran into my cabin steward, who did my room while I was gone, and made me a cute towel animal I haven’t had before. So adorable.

Oh my gosh! You’re making me blush. My outfits aren’t as cute this trip because I packed in a last minute panic, but will do my best!

Typed this all once a lost it, so forgive me that it isn’t as good. Still have not met my cabin steward. However, he left a card in my door. Before I left for dinner, I called him and asked for an extension cord, an extra pillow, and a bucket of ice for my ice pack. When I returned from dinner, all three have been delivered in my room, and then turned out. As of right now, no issues yet with the new housekeeping system. That being said, The cabin stewards definitely look more harried in the hallway. Less smiles, jokes, and asking how you are, and more nose to the Grindstone. I feel kind of bad for them. I had meant to go up to the diamond lounge for my first diamond lounge experience before dinner, but time got away from me. I headed down to deck three around 5:45 PM, and they were able to see me right away. Similar to our table on Voyager of the Seas in May of last year, my requested table was in a very back corner, next to the window. Absolutely perfect! Less traffics, less COVID risk, less sensory overwhelm. So thankful! Everyone keeps asking me where my partner is, why I am alone. Getting a tougher skin, but it’s definitely a lot. Luckily, the table next to me is a very nice family with a 7 and 11 year old, all very friendly, and we chatted a bit. My head waiter helped me figure out some things to eat safely tonight, including the tomato soup (no croutons), a garden salad with Italian dressing, the vegetarian Indian dish from below (still available to request!), and the vegan peanut butter bar. I would say fine, good, tasty but very spicy, and meh, in that order. My virgin blueberry mojito was tasty! The table next to me got escargots (they said were done well), the soup, the vegan portobello (tasty but way too small; she wound up getting a salad too), spaghetti bolognese, and the prime rib (he ordered rare but it came out way too rare; sent it back to make it less bloody, and said us was disappointing). Key lime pie was well received, the chocolate custard was so so. Kids liked the ice cream. Even with out another person, I promise to report on the normal MDR menus! I pre ordered for tomorrow MDR brunch (8:30-12) and dinner. After this, I headed to the ice show. Full disclaimer; I used to be a competitive figure skater, and much better at performance than athletics (for those in the know, I always scored much higher in artistic and interpretive than freestyle or compulsory). Ergo, I am more judgey in some ways, kinder in others. Let me start with the fact that the skaters were absolutely talented. Not only skating on a small rink, at sea, but also, during the finale, they hit all their moves, landed all their jumps, and nailed their spins. GOOD quality skaters. So I don’t know why the choreography and costumes were so off. Like, the theme was the early days of the internet, but a third of the show was hippies, a quarter pirates, and then some pan Asian culturally appropriative Yang Yang stuff. Afros on non-Black folks. Everyone in ying Yang coated karate outfits. SO many wigs that clearly pulled or itched. Whhhhhy? Also, the two pairs teams were AMAZING so why the heck would you put two singles skaters together in a pair like duo right before the amazing pairs? It makes them look shabby and they were not shabby skaters. Similarly, how do you have someone skate to If I Were A Rich Girl with nary a shimmy? And how is this call connected to searching the World Wide Web (in the description) for the word FREEDOM? It was fine, worth seeing for the pair teams alone, but not nearly as good as some Royal ice shoes we have seen. I think the Tarot themed one was my favorite so far. One of the centrum elevators, at least, is out of order. We were waiting forever to get up! Am now on my balcony, enjoying the sounds of the waves (though not the persistent small of fried food), and deciding what mocktail I’d like before bed.

Two chaises, two chairs, and a table. Am very much enjoying the chaises. Only issue is it is right below windjammer or el Loco Fresh, and even when we are moving, it smells like fried food, especially fried seafood, which is making me a bit nauseous. Alas! Still hanging out anyway

Phew. I made it on board, but dang if DaKahuna isn’t right; it’s is crowded as all get out! Last year, we did Allure (but at about 60%), Voyager (about 70% in Europe), and Quantum (close to 100%). This one is likely full and it is crowded and LOUD. To be honest, if I wasn’t already planning on adding Florida to my embargo list (and Texas is already on there, so Galveston is out), I would certainly not plan on any other Caribbean cruises, at least not shorter ones. Checking out this morning, again a massive line. Getting a Lyft was simple, and my driver was lovely. His wife actually works at the RCCL terminal! However, Monday morning Miami traffic was something I had not accounted for. Got to the port around 11:45 for my 11:30 time slot. This is where it went downhill. Most complicated and frustrating boarding process I have had in over a dozen cruises. No wheelchairs outside; was sent inside to wait. No seating downstairs, so sent to second floor. No clear signage. Over 45 minutes, I asked at least 8 different people. All of them said they would send a chair, but no one did. by the time I gave up, I felt a panic attack coming in (wearing a mask in a humid space didn’t help), but I talked myself down. Finally, I realized that junior suites (the one and only time I am in one!) count as suites, so I moved over to that area. Security was super quick, but then they only had 3 people checking folks in there, and there were two large groups (20+ people each), so again, waited close to half an hour and then finally walked myself on board. My feet are already swollen and I was feeling pretty dizzy. Got checked in; still loving the easy muster still check in and glad they’ve kept it. Circled by the dining room to make sure my GF and veg notes were there and that I had a solo table on as out of the way area as possible; check! Made it in to then Solarium because by then, WJ was too crowded to navigate and try to get GF food and accessible seating. The solarium was packed too (including with some kids?) so it was not possible to find seating away from folks, but I did find a seat next to a nice older Canadian man and his nephew who was family, which made me feel a smidgen safer), and we chatted while I drank a virgin mojito. Once the rooms opened, I let the elevators clear and then went down. The room is LOVELY. It’s the accessible junior suite and dang! So much space and what ai really like is many seating options; a couch, a chair with footstool both perfect to elevate my legs to help with my POTS), two chaises and two chairs outside (room service breakfast!), a vanity with a chair, a bed, and a walk in closet! Plus the shower with a shower chair (the number one reason I need an accessible room), and even though it is pretty similar to a regular bathroom, the trim and products are nicer. Other than the TV being oddly placed (you cannot watch it from any of the seating options), and the usual lack of plugs near bed, full marks! When I told them MrCatLady would not be joining us, I didn’t realize that would cancel the internet too (it had been in his planner), so dealt with the drama of a canceled package, tried to buy a new one (for way more $$, of course), but still had issues. Zoom folks on deck 5 helped, with a line of course. Some drama in cancelling then beach bed; they told me it needed to be done 48 hours in advance, which it was (today in Monday and CocoCay is Thursday), but was still given pushback. However, he finally called his manager and was given permission. Was able to order a gluten free pizza from Sorrentos, no problem at all, and took it up to my room to eat it. While not a fan of GF pizza often, theirs is fine (Udi’s crust I think), and they did a good job keeping it safe. No issues. This is good to know that worse comes to worse with the new MDR and WJ situations, I can always rely on medicore pizza. (Not sarcasm; I get anxious about not being able to find safe food, so this is reassuring). To those thinking about noise; Oy! I am SO glad I had my Loops earrings on. I had them plugged in about 90% of the day outside my room. The band by the main pool was doing Reggae covers of the Cranberries, Michael Jackson, Simon & Garfunkel, etc. and it was so loud that even in the Solarium, we could not hear each other. Similarly, on the promenade, they were playing the music so loudly that people had to shout, and there were a bunch of drunk folks shouting along with it. If that is your vibe, I totally get it, AND it is not mine at all. Glad I plan to spend a lot of time on my balcony, and hope that my dinner table really is in a quieter area! Luggage isn’t here yet and haven’t seen the cabin steward. Planning to take a bit of a nap and then go check out the Diamond Lounge, as this is my first time as Diamond!

I made it to Miami! Flight was ok, though my air filter died half way through…wondering if I didn’t charge it enough. Got from the plane to the wheelchair to baggage claim to the stop for hotels shuttles in less than 20 minutes…and then proceeded to wait about 45 minutes for the hotel shuttle. I called, and was on hold for 13 minutes before I gave up and just waited. When I got there, the line was 4 parties deep with only one person at the front desk. I felt bad for him! The phone in my room doesn’t work, but when I tried to call on my cell to report this, no one answered. Room was fine. Since they don’t have bathtubs here, I was ok skipping the accessible room, and it is smaller than I expected and way further from the elevators. That said, it’s fine; same colors as the one in MI, and all the work out gear that EVEN hotels have. Pool was only open till 8ish (Sundown), which was a disappointment, but I got a lovely picture of it from my window. Ordered delivery from Moonbowls, an all gluten free and mostly vegan place, through DoorDash. I did the BBQ cauliflower wings and a build your own bowl. It was solid; nothing amazing to write home about, but also, it broke my traditional of almost always getting glutened the night before the cruise. Just vegging in the room, watching some copaganda shows (NCIS at the moment); a guilty pleasure when I used to travel, and moving stuff around for ease of getting on board tomorrow. Still anxious, but a smidgen less so. So glad you are all along for the ride!

I have made it to the airport and my gate! Hurrah! MrCatLady and Marla Pooch drove me to the airport. Power line is still down in the backyard 😬 The airport was surprisingly less busy than I expected with it being Michigan’s Spring Break, but the lovely young man pushing my wheelchair told me it was just a lull. I have seen one family wearing N95s and two people with surgical masks around their chins as they are, and that is it out of about 200 folks observed. Several folks have sneezed or coughed, and no one seems to care. What a difference than the last time I flew (to Seattle in August for Quantum). A reminder of the state of the world I suppose, and glad for my anxiety meds! I couldn’t find my reliable FloMask last night during my rushed packing, so am trying out this Breathe99 option. It’s much lighter weight and more comfortable than the Flo, but still working in the seal. For those of you with sensory stuff, if you haven’t tried Loops, I can’t recommend them enough. I turned two of my pairs into earrings for travel, so they dangle down as earrings normally and then pop in easily without my having to search or lose them. I’ve also brought a USB chargable personal HEPA filter (see below) and my family in Israel sent me Enovid. Crossing my fingers that this is all enough. Long COVID has been kicking my butt for 13 months and I don’t know what another infection would do. Fingers crossed. Have done my health screening and watched the safety videos. I think I am as ready as I am going to be. Thanks y’all, for joining me on my anxious adventure.

Hey all, I’m baaaaaaaack for another live review. For those who don’t know me, I’m Shanna, aka the CatLady. This will be my first RCCL cruise as Diamond 💎. I am a queer, nonbinary femme, also am disabled and chronically ill (including navigating over a year of long COVID), autistic and anxious. Usually I travel with one of my two partners (MrCatLady or MxCatLady), but due to the Michigan State shooting and recent ice storm that has made MrCatLady’s house uninhabitable, I will be cruising solo for the first time ever. Super anxious about traveling alone for the first time in 3 years (I used to travel alone monthly; so much changes!), and about being fairly visibly queer in a state passing such hateful laws. But also really ready to be out of this house, so here we go! I am going to be in a junior suite (accessible) for the first time, though sad to have all that room and no one to share it with! I also am vegetarian and have celiac disease (meaning I am gluten free and have to be super careful). More than happy to answer questions about being autistic and navigating sensory stuff, being disabled and navigating accessibility, and/or the food allergy stuff. I am especially nervous about doing all of this alone, as my partners often help in PCA roles and helping me navigate stressful situations, and with the new MDR stuff, and the changes in housekeeping (I usually ask for ice twice daily to help with my migraines), everything feels a bit up in the air. But first world problems, I know. I am immuno compromised so will be masking in indoor public places outside of eating, and avoiding crowded spaces. Also, I plan to take Enovid daily, and have a personal HEPA filter for the airports/plane ride/cabs. I usually love entertainment, but my attendance will be based on crowd size. I don’t plan to get off in Nassau (been there, done that), and while I have a beach bed booked for CocoCay, will likely cancel it as I don’t have anyone to push the beach wheelchairs or help me into the water. That said, I still have plans to do Giovanni’s one night, have the internet package, am bringing a ton of books, and plan to spend much time in the solarium pool and in the shade reading. I fly from Detroit to Miami tomorrow, and am staying at the EVEN hotel near the airport. On Friday, I have a lot of time to kill before my flight in the evening. We had plans originally to see MrCatLady’s mother who lives in Jupiter, but I don’t think she wants to hang out with just me 😂, so I’ve booked a day use room for the first time ever, at the airport ALOFT, and plan to do that. I usually post at least once a day if not more while on board, if the internet cooperates. Happy to answer questions to to seek things out (if safe/not crowded) to find things out for you. Bags are packed, and I am ready (ish!) to go! picture of me so you know what’s coming down the pipeline.

I need ice for my ice pack (chronic migraine) so appreciate having ice twice a day (and always tip extra for this), but also long as I can guarantee the evening before bed, I’ll be just fine. It’s just not as good; at home, I have access to and use ice packs at least 12 hours a day.

Assuming I get there. Assuming I am not screamed at by people for masking in public (which has happened). Assuming I don’t have a panic attack or POTS episode en route due to traveling without a PA or partner. Assuming I can safely eat without severe, something that is not always assured. Then yes, I hope I will. I wish it was a simple as it is for you apparently. I’m glad you don’t have to worry!

You are so kind. This made me teary. Thank you.

Hey all; sorry for the long story. Please feel free to skip, and if you don’t have anything nice or affirming to say, I’d ask that you please don’t write mean messages. It’s been a hot minute. Doing my best to survive as a chronically ill and disabled person in a world that has forgotten about us is hard…but I’ve finally got medical permission to on on a cruise again, providing I mask whenever possible. That said, it’s been a comedy of errors. I booked this cruise on Freedom out of Miami with MxCatLady…but they were not able to take this time off at work. No problem; polyamory for the win; switched it to MrCatLady. Then Florida puts for all these hateful anti LGBTQ and anti-trans bills…as a trans man (him) and nonbinary person (me), both queer, we are quite nervous about traveling to the state. In fact, despite his mother and my aunt living there, this is going to be our last trip to the state for a safety (and to be honest, if our flights had been refundable, we might not have even continued along our plan). I was already anxious over COVID and trans stuff, but was *finally* ready for this. Have a FloMask for the plane, good masks for onboard, Enovid spray, and a personal HEPA filter. Then, the MSU shooting. MrCatLady is a PhD student there, and obviously this has been super traumatic. Then, this massive ice storm. The house is without power, branches knocked down power and cable lines, and even pulled the electricity meter out of the house. Animals are safely staying with a friend, but he doesn’t think he feels like going on the cruise for which we leave Sunday (understandably), especially since power might not even be back by then. Fine, I will go alone. As an anxious, autistic, disabled person, this felt super stressful, but it’s too late to cancel, plane ticket isn’t refundable and I don’t want to lose all the money. I will likely cancel our CocoCay beach bed, as I won’t have anyone to push the carefully research beach wheelchair to the beach, and no one’s hand to hold to help me into the water, so will pretty much just stay on the ship. I came in here to get try excited about it, to assuage my anxiety, and it seems like MDR is a nightmare with the new menus. I am gluten free (celiac) and vegetarian. While service has depended ship to ship, usually folks have bent over backwards to make sure I am not stuck eating garden salads and berries. However, it seems many of my go tos (the cheese plate, asking for them to make a cold soup, whatever the vegetarian Indian option was) are now gone. Yes, I can order the night before, but this makes me so anxious I am going to be seen as a burden and/or get stuck with garden salads all week. WJ seems to have many less options and poor labeling. I know these are first world problems and I am lucky to even be going…AND if the whole point is to relax and try to recover from burnout, a rough time isn’t going to be worth it. I would love to hear from anyone who has sailed Freedom lately, or had their own comedy of errors, about their experiences and whether it was worth it for them. Would love to hear any and all positive things especially. Thanks in advance for your compassion. cat photos, of course, for tax 💜

Be careful if you are celiac. Many of the items are it well labeled, there is a ton of cross contamination, and we have been hearing some items are mislabled as GF.

Dang. As a gluten free vegetarian, this was often my go to app the nights there wasn’t anything else to be easily made safe for me.

We did Quantum in August. It was fairly solid most of the trip IF you get the higher package and you don’t plan on actually using it to stream. Did just fine for social media, email, FaceTime, posting here, etc.

I always bring a small blow up air mattress pad for each of us, and definitely did last summer on the Quantum. Beds are super hard and uncomfortable.

Wait, really? Even if it as allergy? May I ask what ship you are on?

So I really love 150 Central Park, though that is a more modern type place. MxCatLadyFemme would say Giovanni’s: we went twice on our cruise because they loved the steak so much!

Super avoidable! I am pretty allergic to cigarette smoke, and while I was wearing a mask while indoors, never smelled it except on the area of the pool deck where smoking is (we were in the wrong side and walked through). There is also a small deck off of deck 4 or deck 5 that is smoking, but folks were rarely out there. Only real issue was the casino, and I don’t know if was the masks or that they’ve gotten better ventilation compared to older ships where it absolutely is an issue, but I didn’t smell it from there even once. I hope you have an amazing cruise!

Awww shucks. Thanks so much! I love MxCatLady’s dapper dandy vibes so much 🥰

Enjoy! And if you like interesting food, make sure to check out Wonderland. Such a lovely experience there.

Day 7 was basically a sea day. Started with room service breakfast plus some fruit that my love grabbed for me as well, and left over eggplant from the previous day. So beautiful on the water. I had preordered food in the dining room for lunch. WJ just didn’t seem safe in a COVID world, it’s always harder with allergies and potential cross contamination, and to be honest, lots of people spoke about how much food quality has gone down hill. MxCatLady enjoyed more cheese sticks and we both tried to go for a caprase salad. Like this sticks, however, this was not mozzarella. Unlike the sticks, this did not taste good. We both skipped the cheese (unusual for us) and just ate the tomatoes, which were surprisingly delicious. I also had the four lentil chili, which was a surprise with how much I liked it, and a cold strawberry bisque, which was very tasty. We then napped, and headed to the pools at 4, as we were pulling into Victoria. They had been crowded all week, but then Solarium upper pool (the accessible one) was empty, so we spent a lot of time chilling in there and watching the port of Victoria before we headed to our final dinner. We were the only diners in our area (we were only docked 5-9:30pm), so it was nice to get to know our staff better. I had the beet and orange salad which was super tasty; I almost ordered a second, plus an Indian veg plate of the day with added raita; so good! And of course, another cheese cake for dessert. MxCatLady had coconut shrimp, fish and chips, and Royal cheese cake. All in all, a satisfying end to the cruise. Back in May, I signed up for Port Valet; for $20/bag, they take your luggage that you put out the night before and check it direct through the airport home. This was so brilliant for disembarking the next day (though two bags came through on an earlier flight, and dealing with Delta at DTW was a nightmare). After our bags were out, tips had been delivered to everyone, we settled down for our last night of hearing they waves, and finished our book.

Both MxCatLady and I love dressing up, and in November 2019, I had purchased this lovely velvet smoking jacket for them. They hadn’t had anywhere to wear it, so when I found a matching dress and bolero on clearance at Torrid, it was a no brained! We had such a fun time dressing up, even though almost no one else seemed to. I had the vegan menu potato soup (GF version), which was pretty flavorless, a GF version of the vegan polenta fries (sometimes these are amazing, but this found, were tasteless to the point I took a COVID test when I went back to the cabin), a special request of GF pasta with a gorgonzola sauce (so yummy!) AND GF CHEESECAKE!!! This was also a special request, but they said it was easy to make, and I loved it. Had it both day 6 and day 7 because it was delicious! MxCatLady did the caprase salad, the lobster (they said they weren’t that hungry and weren’t even sure they wanted lobster, but they still brought them two tails. MxCatLady felt bad they only ate one, but what can you do), and more Royal Cheesecake. We also saw a humpback whale right outside our dining room window!!!! It surfaced for almost a whole minute. What a beautiful view and amazing experience. We walked around a bit, grabbed some hot chocolate, traded ducks with Bing Bing at Wonderland so I could get one with a hat, and headed back to the room for more Tamora Pierce audio book, and listening to the waves.

Day 6 was a sea day and we slept in till noon! Drank some iced chai on the balcony (it was rarely cool enough for me on this trip! I barely wore a cardigan or hoodie, and we brought a blanket, scarves, and gloves that we never used. Ope). We went to Jamie’s for lunch, having not been there before. The service, unfortunately, was not amazing. They had a few big tables and had been hit hard. After having had such a good experience at Wonderland, I was realized surprised at how inflexible they were. I had the burrata salad, the truffle sauce with GF pasta (a highlight of the cruise), had the eggplant to go (it wasn’t really traditional eggplant parm; it was more of a grilled half eggplant with some sauce and sprinkles of cheese), and a raspberry sorbet. The meat plank only has one cheese, so trying to get that as a vegetarian wasn’t possible (despite wanting all those olives lol), apparently not was the bruschetta. The server didn’t really offer anything else, so I suggested what I did, and he said it was fine. 🤷🏻‍♀️ at least it tasted great! MxCatLady got the garlic bread, the aranchini (rice balls), the fried squid and the truffle pasta (with gluten). They said everything was absolutely amazing! I wound up leaving early (hence the eggplant to go) to go host the magnet exchange; I ended up with ones from Montana and North Carolina, so that was nice, as I don’t have them from either place. After this, more audio book, balcony, and nap time, before getting read for formal night.