Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Two

[UKCruiseJeff]

Coolers,

 

I bought wifey a new telephone on the basis that she kept nagging me that her old one was an embarrassment. Well, I know nothing about these things but bought her a shiney one in an appropriate colour and she showed me how to take a phtotgraph with it.

 

This week we were down at the Balcony at Seaside and this is the beach below us. The problem is that it was so sunny I couldn't see what I was taking.

 

But I have now seen them and worked out how to upload them from phone to photobucket so these are piccies. It is a really old fashioned British 1950's time-warp bucket and spade beach which is what we like about it.

 

Jeff

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 4, 2016 by UKCruiseJeff

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Great pics J! Looks like an awesome place to be! Lots of other people think so too obviously. :)

[spinnaker2]

I love the steam train.

These photos are just as I imagined it after you described it, was it over a year ago? Or maybe even more.

 

Last of the summer days, which for us, means less heat, please!

 

Enjoy the rest of the day all.

[UKCruiseJeff]

I love the steam train.

These photos are just as I imagined it after you described it, was it over a year ago? Or maybe even more.

 

Last of the summer days, which for us, means less heat, please!

 

Enjoy the rest of the day all.

 

I took them over the bank holiday a week ago.

 

In fact the steam train and the beach was the reason why we bought the house in a way. We use to rent a really lovely house in Kingswear overlooking Dartmouth and invite friends to stay. One day wifey was bored so I sent her for a trip on the steam train. During the trip she saw that beach including Professor Paulton's Punch and Judy show on the beach.

 

We had been looking for a beach house for some time and I had this dream of a house overlooking a beach that had no road or cars, so you could sit in winter on a quiet beach with no noise, and after many years concluded no such place existed. We'd drive over weekends and look down every lane ... and found nothing. Then she came back from the steam train trip and told me about the beach. On the way home to Hampshire we drove there and they were building a few new houses on the site of an old hotel that had been knocked down, and without even asking her, I put a deposit on what we thought was the nicest one, off plan. It had been bought but the sale had fallen through, so we were lucky. It was the view and location and the balcony and a path down to the beach. It was an impulse purchase.

 

We've had it now for 20 years and we should use it more, but it is in a time warp and seemingly untouched by progress.

 

Jeff

[specialcruisegirl]

Good Day Coolers.......

 

Some rather lovely photos to view, food, seaside and also Terry's football [emoji6]

 

Jeffers....we still have those little Choo Choo trains along with Punch & Judy up here on the prom in LLandudno......sadly all the beach huts are long gone but the steam trains still run along the North Wales coast near to Portmeiron where if you remember the cult series The Prisoner was filmed many moons ago!

 

At the risk of being shot at dawn l have to say l really wasn't into either the Carpenters or Abba....[emoji15] I suppose living so close to Liverpool pulled me toward the Mersey Sound.....l did like the Beach Boys though!!

I read that today Freddy Mercury would have turned 70....such an iconic band but again not one l was really into......l do still however like Brian May very much and think he's grown old quite gracefully......

 

I feel Autumn already kicking in here with chilly mornings and the evenings closing in rapidly.......pup and l have enjoyed our usual river walk this morning and today's luncheon is quite simply Sausage, egg and chips....it will soon be time for casseroles....

 

Happy Day All

 

S [emoji5]

 

 

 

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[UKCruiseJeff]

Hi Soapy,

 

In fact my admiration of Abba and The Carpenters, is I'm afraid all retrospective. I didn't rate them or listen to them at the time, only since then I think understanding how much more work and talent went into their work.

 

It's interesting how tribalism also plays a part of our choice of music when we're younger. Also, with the benefit of hindsight and age, I wonder how much of what we say we like when we're tounger is more about how we wish others to see us. And also I recall you were either "Beatles" or "Stones" and it seemed they were separate tribes and that few liked both.

 

I'm convinced for example that when I was much younger many of those that say they loved jazz simply wanted to be seen as jazz lovers id "cool" and whatever image that entails. I remember clearly convincing myself that I loved Cajun and Zydeco and even taking wifey on a Safari on one of our Southern trips. In one particular dive where American people were singing very badly in French and playing tea cartons with string and washing boards with thimbles, she said "Do you actually like this stuff or do you just like drinking in the places that it is played". I realised if I was being honest it was the latter.:(

 

Anyway, today is a rainy humid day here.

 

 

Jeff

[specialcruisegirl]

Jeffers......you are quite right .....a lot of us really didn't appreciate at the time....tis only when such bands become legends that we take a second look.

I think this also about Motown.....and they struggled the hardest but still gave us some magic music over the years.

Notwithstanding that l love Big Band...Swing...Boogie Woogie.....Rock and Roll......and most importantly the Blues....such haunting music that l often listen to......and also have many memories of enjoying live...Memphis being one great experience....

 

S [emoji4]

 

 

 

 

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[lincslady]

Fletcher - that photo of yours is good enough to be in a smart cookery book; as are some of the others here.

 

Re music: when I was a slip of a girl I remember going to a jazz concert with Mick Mulligan's band and George Melly in his youth - loved it; the then boyfriend was into trad jazz. I still love it. The Beatles, though we were there when they were in their heyday, never really appealed. I have since come to realise that some of their melodies were absolutely lovely. Always loved the Beach Boys.

 

We have just booked a cruise!! Hooray (not on Silversea, I whisper, however). In the western Med., which seems the easiest and safest nearby area to go - it is a shame not to go to Turkey etc., but there you are. Really ready for a break, after a summer with various health investigations etc. hanging over us, all now happily sorted for a while.

 

Regards to all Coolers - loving your pictures, spins,

 

Lola

[UKCruiseJeff]

Soapy, you'll like Jools Holland then! I must admit boggy woogy seems to take the best of blues ie 12 bar and woogy it up a bit. And as I probably mentioned Stax, Atlantic and Tamla remains my true abiding all time love. Wifey never ceases to be amazed that I might not remember where I left my keys but ask me who sung "It takes two baby" and in an instant I'll tell you the artists, year and colour of the label. :)

 

Lola, congrats on the booking ... and hope the health exploratories go well. Do tell us about the planned cruise.

 

Spins, like to add my admiration of your piccies. I have strong memories of Zadar ... loved the sea organ ... and I remember two medics standing in the market with blood pressure meters taking readings from passing people ..... whilst they had a ciggy drooping out of their mouth. And don't they have the slipperiest pavements in the world? :confused:

 

Anyway, yesterday was doner kebab and rice and salad and pitta and today was veal scalopina with sautee and of course sweetcorn which is lovely and fresh and irresistable. All clean and fresh and unpretentious in presentation as is moi.

 

Jeff

 

 

 

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers! Lovely day to enjoy talk about music! As a teenager in the mid 1960s and living across from Detroit, it was Motown! The line dances mimicking the moves of the performers were very popular. To misquote Shakespeare, if music be the food of life, play on! :)

 

Have a great day all!

[jpalbny]

Jeff - good stuff. We have been cooking some new recipes this weekend. Since I've been working, we are home, and we've had time to spend cooking.

 

This tomato salad went with dinner a few nights ago. The tomatoes are all from our garden; the plants are slowing down but still producing some fruit. Freshly picked...yum. Served with a little balsamic, sea salt, and olive oil, all purchased during our trip to Eataly a few weeks ago.

 

 

On Friday we made grilled short ribs. The meat was grilled after it was brushed with a barbecue sauce made from all sorts of strange ingredients. I sprinkled blackberries with smoked paprika, then grilled them in a pan for a few minutes until they got hot. Then they got mixed with garlic, onion, tomato paste, vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, cumin, mustard, and hot peppers and the whole thing got cooked down until I could mash it into a chunky sauce. Once the ribs were grilled, I served them over rice with more of the sauce on top. It was so delicious! We have leftovers for tomorrow's lunch and hopefully they will last until then...

 

 

Yesterday I made meatballs on the grill (though the recipe called them meatballs, I considered them keftah). I used ground beef with a blend of spices from North African and Mediterranean cuisine - cumin, allspice, and chopped fresh oregano and rosemary from the herb garden. They were served over couscous and topped with a Greek yogurt, cucumber, and mint sauce (pretty much like Tzatziki sauce). More leftovers for lunch later in the week. I wish I had some nice Pita to serve with them but too tired to make some now. This recipe would go really well with ground lamb, I think.

 

The spice sprinkled on top of the dish is sumac. We bought a ton of it in Jordan a few years back and it adds a nice touch to dishes with Eastern Mediterranean flavors. Plus it reminds us of the trip.

 

 

Tonight I went with a lighter dish. We made shrimp pasta with lemon, Pecorino, and mint. The pasta was a special egg pasta that we got at Eataly, and it had a fantastic texture. The shrimp were sautéed with garlic and olive oil, then tossed with pasta, Pecorino Romano cheese, and chopped mint. I garnished with slivers of red pepper and more cheese (of course!) before finishing the dish with a little more bold Italian olive oil from Cerreto Sannita (same province as Naples). No leftovers here; just memories. It went well with a Vermentino.

 

 

I will be so glad tomorrow, when I'm no longer on-call. Though this weekend hasn't been bad, it's not so relaxing when you have to carry the phone everywhere and wonder if you're going to be called. Weather was perfect and it was a nice weekend to be home enjoying some delicious food, sunshine, and time in the pool. Hope everyone else had a nice weekend as well.

[mysty]

JP...those meals look amazing!

[spinnaker2]

JP food looks great.

I know about the oncall, you really can't ever relax.

[UKCruiseJeff]

JP,

 

That food all looks absolutely scrummy. I think what's impressive is just your range and reach gets wider and wider. It's clear you travel and you come back home and eat past travels.

 

Jeff

[tgh]

Great food pics , sometime when my get up and go finally departs, I might teach myself to boil something more adventurous than water… meantime Herr Miele and I have a great dish cleaning partnership…..

[specialcruisegirl]

Good Day Coolers.....[emoji4]

 

Mouth watering food JP.........Jeffers....l love Jools Holland but he does seem to go ott at times.....my absolute favourite is Katie Webster for that kind of boogie........think I'm pretty good also at name that tune...and artist....but only if l liked the song......and right now l can't come up with who sang " It Takes Two"......but for an obscure one Jeff....do you remember a piano instrumental called " On The Rebound" ......we should have a music quiz...[emoji12]

 

Funny sort of day here...extremely warm but very dull and dreary......picked up the most gorgeous freshly baked corned beef pasty along with a vanilla slice this morning from our local bakery......we have some lovely village shops.....

 

Happy Day.......

 

S[emoji4]

 

 

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[ShotsnCruises]

Good morning cruisers! I have enjoyed reading the former posts and the lovely food pictures this morning. No time over the Holiday weekend to post. The hubby and I were busy building 2 new stalls in the barn and planning to fence another few acres of horse pasture. We may be adding to the "herd". :p

We also have two baby fawns that appear to be without their momma. We are feeding them shelled corn and talking to our favorite vet about whether or not they will be big and fat enough to survive the winter without much intervention.

Less than 6 months to cruise time!

[UKCruiseJeff]

Good Day Coolers.....[emoji4]

 

Mouth watering food JP.........Jeffers....l love Jools Holland but he does seem to go ott at times.....my absolute favourite is Katie Webster for that kind of boogie........think I'm pretty good also at name that tune...and artist....but only if l liked the song......and right now l can't come up with who sang " It Takes Two"......but for an obscure one Jeff....do you remember a piano instrumental called " On The Rebound" ......we should have a music quiz...[emoji12]

 

Funny sort of day here...extremely warm but very dull and dreary......picked up the most gorgeous freshly baked corned beef pasty along with a vanilla slice this morning from our local bakery......we have some lovely village shops.....

 

Happy Day.......

 

S[emoji4]

 

 

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S,

 

Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston!

 

 

(this is a cover ... for some reason I couldn't see an original!)

 

..... yes .... "On the Rebound" is one of those tunes you've heard but no one ever knows the title or the artist ..... except you!

 

tgh, get cooking ..... I had a really restless night last night .... and knew that sleep wasn't an option so I got intoi bed and then straight up and dressed and came downstairs and made some ginger biscuits to distract myself. I'm going to spend some time making biscuits. I know it's naughty but ...

 

Shots, your new additions and all those distractions sound so interesting .... and I know most here would love to heave more.

 

I made kleftico today but it always tastes nicer than it looks so I didn't take a piccy. Wifey loved it and gorged herself like a gannet. :)

 

Jeff

Edited September 6, 2016 by UKCruiseJeff

[spinnaker2]

It takes TWO oooooooo!

Love that.

But those dancers are awful.

 

 

On the Rebound! Memories!

 

Rainy dreary day here too. If I didn't know better, I would say it might snow.its that kind of grey cloudy sky.

 

Lots of very interesting fun posts, love the food!

 

Enjoy the day or what's left of it!

Edited September 6, 2016 by spinnaker2

[ShotsnCruises]

The hubby sent me a text today saying that our 2 fawns have bedded down under our deck. He put out fresh water for them. One is awfully thin looking. I hate to get them desensitized to people, but I also hate to see them suffer. I'm such a softy for any fuzzy furry creature.

I have pictures but can't get them from the cell phone to the website while I am at work.

Rain predicted here and HOT (90F), which might but a damper on finishing the new stalls. I hate to wish away summer, but a nice freeze/frost would zap the horrible mosquitoes we are having!

[jpalbny]

Thanks all. Finally, not on call tonight so dinner will be simple. First open a bottle of "cooking" wine. Then if I get motivated, I will throw a steak on the grill. Maybe some baked potatoes. And a green salad. Though this sounds like work...I have to scrub the potatoes, and make salad dressing. Ugh. Would another bottle of wine count as a vegetable instead? ;)

 

Jeff, you are quite right. Rather than bring back knick-knacks, we usually go grocery shopping on vacation and bring back a few nonperishable items that we can cook with for the next few years. Stuff with unique flavor from that region, which can take us back and rekindle memories of the trip. Like saffron from Egypt. We have sumac from Jordan, cardamom pods from Zanzibar, and some interesting extracts from the grocery store in Odessa including arak (something that Chris' grandparents used to bake with). We have vanilla beans from South Africa that we better use soon because I am sure we'll buy more in Madagascar.

 

I've recently read that there is a (relatively new?) French marketplace / food hall in Lower Manhattan. That will be on our list for the next visit, bien sûr! Between that and Eataly, I am a little worried.

 

***

 

Still pondering over the Christmas trip this year. One thought that occurred to me over the weekend (when I am on call, I think about vacations) was Switzerland. We spent a few days there last September with my new Audi and as usual, didn't have enough time to get to all the places on our list. Almost all of the French part got cut from our itinerary. We were thinking of flying into Zürich, taking the train to Geneva, and starting there for a day or two. Over a few days, we would work our way back to Zürich and our flight home.

 

But this will be more work, and more movement, than we have done on past Christmas trips. So London for a few days is still on the short list. A tough balance to strike on these short trips - do we go for the rest and relaxation, or do we try for a bit more sightseeing. Hm...

Edited September 6, 2016 by jpalbny

[jpalbny]

ShotsnCruises - I hear you about the fawns. Hard to know what to do - feed them or not feed them? We had a few seemingly stray kittens show up on our porch last week and we had the same dilemma. We did not feed them and they have not reappeared for the past week. Was it the right thing to do?

 

Spins - I am really loving your trip blog. Wow...what a beautiful part of the world! Croatia's beauty amazed us when we were (briefly) there a few years ago and now we just may have to go back.

 

***

 

So, simple steak frites for dinner tonight. Steak done as rare as I could for such a thin cut, and frites cooked in the air fryer - potatoes cut thick, tossed with peanut oil and sea salt. A nice salad, and some selections from the wine cellar... A to Z (Oregon) Pinot Gris was the appetizer - AKA cooking wine, and Cline Cellars (Sonoma, CA) Ancient Vines Zinfandel was the red that I served with dinner.

 

 

Think it will be an early night tonight. Got an 11:00 call and a 1:00 call last night, so I am looking forward to some uninterrupted sleep tonight! Sipping the last of the Pinot Gris now. Good night all!

[spinnaker2]

Thanks much JP.

Was a good cruise.

 

Food looks good.

Wondering about your air fryer experience.

I returned one and then re thought and rebought.

I hope to use it for more than potatoes, which we rarely eat.

 

Get some rest.

 

Glad to be finished with trip report.

Twas a labor of love.

I appreciate all of the encouragement.

 

Now that the over and covert cosseting is over, I have a ton of work here in the abode.

[specialcruisegirl]

Spins...your report was a delight.......just eight weeks to go here before my cosseting can be enjoyed so I'm busy doing the autumn deep clean....my style of course...[emoji6]

 

JP......London still sounds good....depends on how much time you have....I'm hoping to head down for New Year having been invited to party with some dear old friends.....on New Years Day l must add as I'm not into the big night itself these days.....!

 

Still warm here both day and night.......a good storm would be welcome to clear the air......

 

S[emoji5]

 

 

 

 

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[UKCruiseJeff]

Good afternoon Coolers ....

 

Luch was salmon quiche with chopped herring on toast, salad, potato salad sweetcorn steamed in their husk and then caramelised, and some Picpoul.

 

Jeff