Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome!

[jpalbny]

Happy New Year all - still 2014 for another 5+ hours here. Headed out in a few to celebrate with friends old and new! We have been lucky to enjoy so many great trips and cruises in 2014 - hoping 2015 is just as good.

 

Best to all!

[UKCruiseJeff]

Only 20 minutes or so to go here ....and we're watching Hogmanay on Scottish BBC .... a lot more traditional ....we'll see the fireworks in London later.

 

Happy New Year to all........

 

:)

[TLCOhio]

Bonjour Terry! Let us not in all these things French Impressionism forget American art. I'll say this only once. Edward Hopper .... Nighthawks! ;) I'll be completely honest ... I am besotted with this. I want it. It is so evocative. Brits don't know about Edward. You can keep your Jasper Johns and all those others con-Artists.

 

tgh: Great pics... We are Super lucky to live Down Under. I used to kneel down and kiss the ground when I flew in.

 

UKCruiseJeff: Only 20 minutes or so to go here ....and we're watching Hogmanay on Scottish BBC .... a lot more traditional ....we'll see the fireworks in London later. Happy New Year to all........

 

No wild partying for me tonight. Sunday' date=' my wife came down with a scratchy throat after our return from Kansas, then a flu bug Monday. She's recovering now, but slowly. No trip down tomorrow to Charlottesville, Va., to see our two grandsons. Will need to do that later in January before we take off for Barbados and the Amazon.

 

Back to [i']Jeff's great point on wonderful artists[/i] in addition to the greats from France. Previously, I had mentioned and championed Americans Mary Cassatt and Childe Hassam, plus George Bellows from Central Ohio. Super love John Singer Sargent. There's a reason he was called the "leading portrait painter of his generation". At the Philadelphia Museum of Art, I fell in love with the work by Thomas Eakins. Very precise and expressive!! Am familiar with Hooper's name, but need to study more on him, including to see the large number of his works at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. Great things also done by James McNeill Whistler that capture my interest and emotions.

 

Got to love the Dutch, too, including Johannes Vermeer. He only did about 34 painting in his life, but they are distinguished by his master use of light in his work. Then, there is Rembrandt, van Gogh, etc.

 

Then, there are the Italians!! Below is one of my favorite art and cruising experience pictures. Like the Hermitage and its size, variety and class?

 

Lots more in my photo files from visiting museums around the world.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

If Venice is one of your future desires or past favorites, you might look at this earlier posting that is now at 45,201 views.

Venice: Loving It & Why??!!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1278226

 

 

In St. Petersburg, here our group of four, with our private guide, we are viewing and learning more about one of the two da Vinci masterpieces (Madonna Litta or Madonna and Child) at the Hermitage in the summer of 2008. There are only 14 such paintings by this artist existing in the whole world. We did an early admission at the Hermitage, lessening the crowd battles and adding to the enjoyment in this spectacular place/set of five palaces AND museum. It is both! This Madonna and Child was probably painted in Milan, where the artist moved in 1482. The Madonna's tender gaze as she looks at her son, and the tranquillity of the distant mountainous landscape, reflect humanist dreams of Ideal Man and a Harmonious Life. Experts says the painting reveals great beauty in its coloring and composition. The painting came to the Czar's collection and museum in 1865 from the collection of Count Antonio Litta in Milan.:

 

 

 

Here is a more contemporary example from the Hermitage. It is by Henri Matisse and it is called ''La Danse'' or The Dance from the late 1909. This large decorative panel, painted with a companion piece, Music, was done for the Russian businessman and art collector Sergei Shchukin, with whom Matisse had a long association. Until the October Revolution of 1917, this painting hung together with Music on the staircase of Shchukin's Moscow mansion. The painting shows five dancing figures, painted in a strong red, set against a very simplified green landscape and deep blue sky. It reflects Matisse's fascination with primitive art. The painting is often associated with the "Dance of the Young Girls" from Igor Stravinsky's famous musical work The Rite of Spring. Dance is commonly recognized as "a key point of (Matisse's) career and in the development of modern painting". Many other late 19th and early 20th Century pieces by Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Pablo Picasso, Edgar Degas and Claude Monet are there at the Hermitage. It is more than just the "Old Masters" here at this world-class museum.:

 

 

 

At St. Petersburg’s Hermitage, here is just one of the many, many great galleries with so many different and great architecture details, soaring ceilings, dramatic floors, etc., in areas where the Czars entertained and impressed other Royals and nobility. Even without the art items, these five palaces are so spectacular! This room is adorned with 19th-century Russian lapidary works and feature Italian and Spanish canvases of the 16th-18th centuries, including Veronese, Tintoretto, Velázquez and Murillo.:

 

[tgh]

Just discovered you can't edit your own post on this board..

 

I left off the obvious salutation in my last post

 

Happy New Year to all.

 

Do you remember your guides name Terry, she looks familiar

[TLCOhio]

Just discovered you can't edit your own post on this board.. I left off the obvious salutation in my last post. Happy New Year to all. Do you remember your guides name Terry, she looks familiar

 

For our Aussie friend, you've got about 20 minutes after doing a post on these CC boards to "edit", make any additions or changes, etc.

 

On our St. Petersburg guide in 2008, she's Jane or Zhenya with the Anastasia tour group in Russia. It was super during our two days with her. Not a guide barking out memorized script. BUT, having a conversation with a friend about the country, culture and history that she loves. Plus, getting all of our many questions answered, etc. Below is another of her and our small group.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 167,232 views. Appreciate the interest and follow-up questions/comments!!

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

 

 

Inside Catherine's Palace in St. Petersburg with our personal guide from Anastasia, we view this spectacular reception “ballroom”, painted ceiling, gold, etc., at our pace and timing schedule, etc. This majestic setting requires a little time to “soak it up”. You don't want to be rushed in such historic and dramatic locations.:

 

[TLCOhio]

Just a few more from around the world to welcome in the New Year, 2015.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

From the Daily Mail in London, here are some samples from their website. First Moscow, then Paris, then two from London!:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For Jeff, they are doing it big with Edinburgh's Hogmanay that kicked off as the UK's biggest outdoor winter music festival.:

 

[UKCruiseJeff]

Our normal New Years Day ritual of tuning the satellite into ORF2 for the whole of the New Years concert from Vienna...... with a glass or two of Deutz ...

 

:)

[specialcruisegirl]

Our normal New Years Day ritual of tuning the satellite into ORF2 for the whole of the New Years concert from Vienna...... with a glass or two of Deutz ...

 

:)

 

Sounds like a perfect day Jeff, chill out time here after all the festivities!

 

Happy New Year to one and all

 

Sophia :)

[UKCruiseJeff]

Sounds like a perfect day Jeff, chill out time here after all the festivities!

 

Happy New Year to one and all

 

Sophia

 

No festivities here S Gal! Just lunch and pondering what will be for the New Year!

 

Today we had some lamb shanks with a rosemary gravy cooked twice (sous vide and baked) with my infamous mash. And then some cheese and biscuits and the last bottle of my port.

 

And to welcome in the New Year ..... it's a time to reflect on times past ... so a piccy or two of "The Boss" and one of me blurred as I always feel sort of blurred when at The Swiss House in Vienna. Sort of Beauty and The Beast. Just like JP - I'm batting way above my weight. Thankfully she has no taste in men otherwise I'd be dead meat.

 

Hard to believe she had a band before she met me and if it wasn't for her dad was about to go on TV and launch a career. She was good news in a band as she is small and takes up no room in the van. I'd have loved to see her with a successful music career - she is talented - but in those days girls always did what dad said .... She hates her piccies being taken so this is a rare shot! And a piccy of her in the back garden of the place we gave up in St Jean Cap Ferrat, (those bleedin' church bells ....) now ostensibly one of the most over priced bits of real estate in the world - and where we use to take lunch at Le Sloop which use to be used by Uncle Michael!

 

So what are the rambling memories of others today?

 

 

 

 

Edited January 1, 2015 by UKCruiseJeff

[TLCOhio]

Our normal New Years Day ritual of tuning the satellite into ORF2 for the whole of the New Years concert from Vienna.

 

YES, that Vienna concert is super wonderful. BUT, here in the "Colonies" on New Year's Day it is much, much more about the Rose Parade from Pasadena, Calif., then college football, more football and then more, too! Today will be climaxed by our fourth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes playing number-one-ranked Alabama in the New Orleans Sugar Bowl. Our team is in the "Final Four" to have a chance at playing in the National Championship game on Jan. 12.

 

In the spring of 1997, we did get to do one concert in Wiener Musikverein where that New Years Day program is done. WOW!! What a great concert hall!! It is the home to the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra. It has acoustics considered to be among one of the finest in the world. It is ranked up there with Berlin's Konzerthaus, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and Boston's Symphony Hall This Vienna hall has a long, tall and narrow shoebox shape, plus being built at a high floor level with an "empty floor" immediately below the main hall. That open floor, versus being at ground level, helps the acoustics be so great there.

 

From Bloomberg News yesterday, they have this headline: "Billionaires Chasing Warhols Fuel $16 Billion Art Sales" . Here are some of the story highlights: "Andy Warhol was the top-selling artist at auction in the past year as increased competition for the most-expensive segment of the market drove global art sales higher. Collectors bought 1,295 works by the deceased artist totaling $653.2 million, ahead of sales for Pablo Picasso and Francis Bacon, according to preliminary figures by New York-based researcher Artnet. Art sales have more than doubled from $6.3 billion in 2009, as surging financial markets lifted the fortunes of the world’s richest."

 

Here is more from this interesting story/summary: "Picasso was the second-biggest selling artist, with 2,820 of his works fetching $448.7 million. Bacon, Richter and Mark Rothko rounded out the top five artists. Claude Monet was seventh, with $252.1 million of his works sold. Alberto Giacometti’s 'Chariot' sculpture of a painted bronze figure on wheels ranked as the most expensive work at auction this year, when it sold for $101 million in November at Sotheby’s in New York."

 

Clearly from the art that I saw Tuesday, it can be determined that our Central Ohio billionaire, Les Wexner, is even more rich going into 2015 with ALL of his many,many Picasso and Giacometti art pieces, etc.

 

Full story at:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-31/billionaires-chasing-warhols-fuel-16-billion-art-sales.html

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 90,602 views for this posting

 

 

From the Bing web image file/search, here is the view of the spectacular interior of this great Vienna music hall. Enjoy the concert today!:

 

[spinnaker2]

my mother was very superstitious about New Year's Day. She believed that what you did on New Year's Day, you did all year long.

I don't understand where that superstition came from.

Lots of people do have traditions for the day...such as eating white grapes, or lentils, or banging bread against a wall, or eating hoppin John with black eyed beans.

We will probably watch some football, drink some champagne and enjoy the day.

[spinnaker2]

do I detect a beard under all that blurriness? Or just the unshaven "beast" look...😄

[UKCruiseJeff]

do I detect a beard under all that blurriness? Or just the unshaven "beast" look...😄

 

Yes .... stubble more than beard! Definitely beast and uncouth.

 

:)

[TLCOhio]

And to welcome in the New Year ..... it's a time to reflect on times past ... Just like JP - I'm batting way above my weight. So what are the rambling memories of others today?

 

Yes, it's fun to reflect on the past fun and be thinking about where next during the coming year. Great, classy-looking wife for Jeff. We are all batting . . . way above our weight!!!

 

Since Vienna was discussed earlier, below are a few memories from this charming and historic capital of Austria. People forget these days how powerful and rich was the the Austro-Hungarian Empire, plus its role as the center of classical music.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Super loved Dubrovnik!!! See more details and lots of great visual samples/examples at this link. Have had over 26,004 views on this posting and appreciate those who have tuned-in and dropped by.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1439227

 

 

Going back to 1997 in my photo files, here are some samples from wonderful Vienna. First, inside their main, historic church, St. Stephen's Cathedral or Stephansdom, in the center of Vienna. Second is the Hofburg Palace that was first built in the 13th century and expanded in the centuries since. This palace has housed some of the most powerful people in European and Austrian history. Third is inside the main stairs of Kunsthistorisches Museum on the Ringstraße. It was opened around 1891 by Emperor Franz Joseph I and is their famed, top art museum. Fourth was a music/dancing program we enjoyed while in Vienna.:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Vienna, my wife and I did a horse-drawn ride around the historic area and our driver took this picture. Like the white shoes and our total American tourist look? Not that my face is that good-looking, but no blurring of me to protect the guilty.:

 

[tgh]

hm .. based of the selection criteria of Jeff's images , I suspect we may soon see an image of Jeff in a pair of budgie smugglers posted by his wife…..

[UKCruiseJeff]

hm .. based of the selection criteria of Jeff's images , I suspect we may soon see an image of Jeff in a pair of budgie smugglers posted by his wife…..

 

Knowing her ... I think she would say I ain't got no budgies worth smugglin'

 

:D

[UKCruiseJeff]

........whenever I hear that phrase, I cannot get out of my mind the picture of Tony Abbott on Manly Beach .....

 

Jeff

[jpalbny]

Gouging out my eyes... :eek:

 

[UKCruiseJeff]

That's the one .....

 

Manly use to be one of my favourite beaches until Abbott did that ....:eek:

 

You may not be interested, but if you want to hear one of the most impressive speeches of all time, you should listen to Julia Gillard's mysogyny speech directed at him in Parliament. Utterly compelling. I genuinely think it is the finest speech any woman has ever made .... perhaps without even that caveat. She is Welsh you know ....

 

 

[jpalbny]

OK, I have to get that image out of my mind. Back to Paris!

 

Christmas Day part 2:

 

We left the Eiffel Tower and enjoyed the views from Pont Debilly. The view in this direction was much nicer!

 

 

There was some damn tourist in the way so Chris couldn't get a good shot of the Eiffel Tower... and Jeff, this is definitely proof that I'm batting above my weight too. Notice that I didn't post a picture of Chris eating, though...

 

 

Back to the Hotel for a few minutes to regroup. My sister Alicia was on her way - she had left Copenhagen a little while ago and had an overnight layover at DeGaulle before the long flight to SFO tomorrow morning. She'd be meeting us at the Hotel around 7 and the three of us were planning on a nice dinner together. A special Christmas treat because we hardly see her.

 

We decided to head over to Notre Dame to see whether we could get a sniff inside for the Christmas Vespers. Beautifully lit, nice Christmas Tree, and a few million tourists lined up across the square just to enter. As Jeff had predicted, not a chance of getting in here! We enjoyed the view from afar...

 

 

...and then decided that it would be much more fun to get a savory crepe with ham and cheese for a snack. Yum! The crepe was salty and made with buckwheat; they called it Bretagne (Brittany) style. Just the thing to hold us over until our 8:30 dinner reservation.

 

A nice view of Hotel de ville from the bridge before crossing back to the right bank:

 

 

We wandered the area in front of Hotel de ville a bit, soaking up the energy of the crowds. People were ice skating on the rink, others were enjoying the carousel, and it was a pleasant place to be. Soon it was time to jump back on the metro to our hotel and see if Alicia was there yet.

 

She was right on time and we headed out for a stroll along Champs-Elysees before dinner. The lights were beautiful, and there was more traffic than we expected. Way down the road is the odd juxtaposition of an Egyptian obelisk next to a modern Ferris wheel, at Place de la Concorde. More on that later.

 

 

We were early for our dinner reservation and they were hopping, so we went down the road to a café with outdoor seating to grab an aperitif. It was great to see Alicia and have a chance to catch up. Dinner at Chez Andre was fantastic! I got to practice my terrible French with the serving staff, and they really had fun with me. When I commented to our waitress that I was surprised how busy they were, she offered to give me her apron and put me to work to help out!

 

After having 3 appetizers (escargot, onion soup, salad) and 3 main courses (veal chop with mushroom sauce, duck breast, and steak frites) we were stuffed to the gills but we managed to make room to share this delicious plate of profiteroles. One each was just right!

 

 

Back to the hotel for a nightcap, and more time to catch up. They had a nice half-bottle of white Sancerre that fit the bill perfectly. We ended up staying up past midnight sipping and chatting...poor Alicia has to leave at 7:30 to catch her plane! Oh well...what kind of older brother would I be if I didn't send her home with a little bit of a hangover?

 

It was a really great way to spend Christmas Day, and luckily we can sleep in if need be. Tomorrow if the weather holds we'll visit a few parks and maybe go up Montparnasse Tower.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Good Morning all!

 

JP, your trip looks really wonderful and it is lovely to be able to have that sort of (as they like to call it) "quality time" with your little sister and Chris.

 

I'm pleased that you will not be able to erase that picture of Tony Abbott from your mind now .... from my point of view a problem shared is a problem halved!

 

There is a bit of a fun tradition in my family .... now passed to down to my eldest daughter sadly ... of taking what we call "Gob Shots" of in my case wifey just as she is about to stuff some food in her mouth. So I have thousands of shots of her in that pose from every restaurant we have been to in every corner of the world. We send them back to the kids and they now all do the same.

 

The thing that none of the Oz press picked up - which rather surprised me about the Abbot pose on the beach is the origin of the name "Manly" which I guess is somewhere in the Googlesphere if you are interested. But the hint is in the name...... I'm surprised that the papers didn't pick that irony up at the time. If I recall correctly it related to the first naked native encountered by the very first visitor to that bay ... and he evidently said "Gosh he is ever so "manly" .....", and Manly it then was! We love taking the ferry over from Circular Quay and having a really early morning walk at Manly and then the pub for an hour or two ... followed by some fish and chips ..... and then the ferry back. Manly is just a time warp of British '50's and although everyone seems to go to Bondi ... we much prefer Manly .... which is in fact where the Oz's invented lifeguards I believe.

 

We love Oz and nearly emigrated there when we were young. Not many CC'ers can claim to have a cousin who once fired an Oz Prime Minister on behalf of The Queen .... can they (earlier thread) .......?!!!

 

Some early morning piccies at Manly and in particular of wifey at Manly beach before we suffered from Can't Forget Abbott Image Post Traumatic Syndrome, and our favourite bar ... sorry Hotel ... at Manly .. and the ice rink at The Hotel De Ville is a lovely place to linger .... and we mean no harm ... but once one of those kids go down they all go down and it's fun to watch ........ going, going, GONE!

 

Jeff

 

 

Edited January 2, 2015 by UKCruiseJeff

[jpalbny]

Jeff, thanks for the pics of Manly Beach! Fond memories of sitting there 7 years ago this month with some dear friends from Sydney - eating fish and chips wrapped in newspapers, and trying not to share with the sea birds!

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Forums mobile app

[lincslady]

A Happy New Year to all Coolies.

 

Lovely photos recently; remind me of time spent in Oz. We were in Sydney in bicentenary year, and were in an apartment on the North Shore overlooking the bridge and Opera House when the Japanese had their own firework display - fantastic. Also loved Manly, and fish and chips (or gigantic prawns and chips) everywhere. My favourite dish in the whole world is still tempura prawns at a little Chinese restaurant right by the ferry terminal at McMahon's Point - just like angels' wings. Also at the Opera House to hear John Williams on guitar; we could only get seats in the orchestra area behind him, and he turned round to face all of us for his encore!

 

Wishing it was April, when we hope to have our first Med. cruise of the year. It is pretty cold today, very windy, but at least with some blue sky.

 

LL

[UKCruiseJeff]

It is probably just me ... but I lovely hearing about people's travels and particularly when they/we have been to the same spots and tickle each others memory buds. It would be lovely if we happened to all be at the same place at the same time. Congeniality is something to be bottled and shared. :)

 

JP, sounds like you were there for the NYE festivities?

 

LL, .... McMahon's Point .... the last stop before Darling Harbour I think. I recall with great fondness an Indian family who owned an outlet in one for the food halls in Darling Harbour. Loved their food and loved chatting to them. After a while we were always welcomed with beaming smiles. We would only order one meal and share it together in the food hall as we were buying from several stalls. So one meal and two sets of plastic cutlery. It became clear that I was getting an extra dollop or two when we did ... and I got a wink as well. I think they concluded that we were ordering just the one meal to save cash ... I am not as elegant as JP and very scruffy ... and so I think they took pity on me and we're being nice to me.

 

The main place in Manly for fish and chips I think is a restaurant and adjoining takeaway next door called The Fish Market. You can see both on the picture. The restaurant was the same food as the takeaway but pricey .... but you could drink sauvignon. And of course a bit further from Sydney on a different ferry is Doyles on The Beach. They have two places at Watsons. The Jetty ("Fisherman's Wharf") and the main restaurant. a few feet away.

 

Today we had a plain peasant meal of pasta and wine ....

 

 

[TLCOhio]

........whenever I hear that phrase, I cannot get out of my mind the picture of Tony Abbott on Manly Beach .....Jeff

 

jpalbny: OK' date=' I have to get that image out of my mind. Back to Paris! Christmas Day part 2: We left the Eiffel Tower and enjoyed the views from Pont Debilly. The view in this direction was much nicer! [/quote']

 

TLCOhio: then college football' date=' more football and then more, too! Today will be climaxed by our fourth-ranked [b']Ohio State Buckeyes playing number-one-ranked Alabama[/b] in the New Orleans Sugar Bowl. Our team is in the "Final Four" to have a chance at playing in the National Championship game on Jan. 12.

 

Appreciate the added interesting pictures from Jeff and JP. Love seeing anything on Paris. Looks like winter is there in the UK. Beach visuals on middle-aged men can be challenging to the eyes and brain. Started looking at Jeff's suggested video by former Australian PM Julia Gillard attacking current PM Tony Abbott' as a "misogynist". Will have more comments and details shortly.

 

YES, our OSU college football team did whip Alabama last night 42-35. 'Bama was ranked number one in the country and had won three of the last five national championships. Ohio State fell behind by 15 points in the second quarter, but the Buckeyes came roaring back to scored 28 unanswered points. Super exciting game and sets up a "Bucks versus Ducks" national championship game on Jan. 12 against the University of Oregon. Super fun and have to brag a little from here in Central Ohio.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 167,458 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923