Blackduck59

Breakfast in the MDR was quite nice. The service was excellent and definitely not as hectic as dinner. Lynn enjoyed some Greek yogurt with banana, followed by the Belgian waffles. The waffles were small and looked like flowers, were crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle. They were served with a warm berry compote, the whipped cream and syrup on the side. Even though we are headed into the land of maple syrup I doubt the syrup was the real thing. Lynn also indulged in a mimosa with breakfast. I chose the Dungeness Benedict, there was some nice crab meat on the toasted English muffins, asparagus and tarragon with the poached eggs and hollandaise. I chose some mushrooms as a side. I wanted to try the corned beef hash so I asked for a little bit on my plate. The Benedict was very good and I always like mushrooms, their interpretation of corned beef hash didn’t suit my liking so good thing there was just a little bit.

Hmm, we finally decided to do MDR breakfast, it doesn't open until 0800 hrs. So we're killing time in Explorations Café. Of course Lynn is at yhe puzzle.

I'll have a look, I only really look at the wine list at dinner time. Tonight is "Gold Gala" night, we are dining in the MDR but extra dress up isn't on our menu.

Confederation Bridge shortly before the transit. I have whole bunch of photos on my proper camera. I hope others got good ones from other parts of the ship.

Confederation Bridge, earlier today we drove over it and we did the transit under at about 1945 hrs.

Thanks for the clarification Mic, I was wondering what shoes had to do with it, although they were soaked through in Halifax.

Okay now that we are moving away from lobster country, and have sampled a few different lobster rolls, I think I would agree with @MicCanberra that prawns are more enjoyable. Remember food is a subjective thing before you blast me 😟

Yes, we will probably be in the MDR then.

I often have trouble getting pictures placed where I want on these boards. So after lobster rolls it was a couple blocks to Cows Ice Cream. It's a proper shop close to the pier, you can see it from the ship, if you know where to look. I tried 2 flavours today the cherry chocolate and the PEI blueberry and even though they were very good I preferred the peach Melba which was peach ice cream with a raspberry swirl, that we got in Halifax. They have a bunch of different swag in the shop, something for everyone. We're back on the ship now, Lynn is resting and I think I'll grab a nap as soon as I post this.

We got back to the ship and the weather is much better we stayed dry by going through the little market and Founders Hall market. From there it's a short walk up the hill to Water-Prince Corner Shop for lobster rolls, they were about $28.00 CDN. We enjoyed them very much.

So it was early morning on the bus. We were on the drive over the Confederation Bridge. Unfortunately the weather was awful. I can see how this tour could be quite nice in good weather, for us not so much. Oh well the weather gods had spoken. Unfortunately the P/A system had some glitches on the way out and this added to the unfortunate weather made for a disappointing tour. We had a stop at Cape Jourimain for an hour. Some people made the long wet trudge out to the lighthouse. We stay close to the bus, there is a little gift shop and small snack stand. I went out the back side of the building along a boardwalk to the nature center, this feels like a work in progress. I was able to get some decent shots of the bridge emerging from the gloom. We all got back on the bus and drove back to town, meanwhile they sorted the P/A while we were stopped. Unfortunately our tour guide seemed a little hesitant to use it. I'm afraid she seemed like a nice woman but terribly unprepared. I think this would have been a pretty good tour with better weather, I think it really threw everyone off.

Oh I'm sorry you missed the baked Alaska it was really good. I'm so glad when people have had good experiences and chose well for themselves. It shows that some of our disappointments are from poor choices on my part. I did mention I felt several time I chose poorly in the MDR. Of course the main thing was slow service. We chose to have a table for 2 tonight and service was quicker.

I hope it comes through for you Lyndon then you can travel some more 😉

I've lived in Victoria for 61 of my 64 years. Kipling's was a great buffet and I the chocolate was part of that. Alas all long gone, and the Bengal Lounge is gone too ( someone stole the tiger skin, serves them right for closing the place) Again the OP has admonished me for drifting so we really need to move on from the Empress.

We just wandered by the Explorer's Lounge and the classical duo are playing. It is basically a full house. That being said not as full as Ocean Bar for trivia. We are trying a new tactic for dinner, wait at the door early and go for a table for 2.

So we just sat through another trivia game 🤔. I will say again it's too hard for vacation.

@OlsSalt at the risk of drifting my own thread. The library in the Empress was The Library Bar in the 70s and early 80s. Quite posh jacket and tie type place where a simple highball required a tray with an empty glass a glass of ice a shot of whatever libation you order and a small glass bottle of the mix you ordered. The drink was assembled at the table. The type of service not seen in many places if any. So before others chastise me for drifting the OP has already chastised me. 😉

So we ended up having lunch in 2 different venues. I wanted to have the Indian street food in the Lido and Lynn didn't find anything she liked so she went to the MDR. We just met back up in our cabin, she enjoyed her luncheon. And frankly from her description she chose more wisely than me. She was by herself and the service was timely, the food tasty and she really enjoyed it. I think perhaps we will see if we can get a table for 2 for tonight.

That table cloth was made by my mom, you will notice there are only 3 place settings. My mom had passed and that was my way of including her.

I was sitting in the Explorations Café this morning and saw some millwork I know I worked on. It was interesting to see "oh that's where that went"

Lynn enjoys puzzles.

Our veranda view.

So here is my lovely wife after her screech in.

Funny enough I've never had afternoon tea at the Empress, it's always been to pricey for me. I did however build the large roll top tea carts and the shroud walls where they park them in the middle of the room. There are other great options in our town.

It is a sea day today. The weather is delightful, it's a bright sunny day with a very light ripple on the sea. We're in Explorations Café, I'm just enjoying the view from my comfy chair and Lynn is working a puzzle. We have met some really nice people and had some great conversations.