Silversea Water Cooler: Part 3, Welcome!

[UKCruiseJeff]

Good Afternoon Coolers, from a rainy seaside.

 

I made some porcetta sandwiches lubricated with boite rouge for lunch. Tonight will be some cod and chips delivered.

 

I really loved seeing those Silver Spectre piccies of that wonderful seafood and I still find it mystifying that we don't have this quality of seafood all over the UK. Totally perplexing. The other great loss in the UK is village bakeries. One of the first things I did after we bought Seaside was wander around in the early hours to see if there was a bakery baking for the morning trade. Found one but the bread was unremarkable just boring cheap batch stuff. Nothing with extended rise, no sourdough. Nothing remarkable.

 

My idea of heaven would be a great daily fish and seafood market with freshly baked bread and a bottle or two of something really fresh and white and dry. And who decided that lobster was up the luxury scale from crab?

 

Lovely to see the entries into the Cooler music corner.

[Solo mi!]

Natural Woman - Aretha Franklin

Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen

House of the Rising Sun - Animals

Since I Fell For You - Etta James

Webber's Pie Jesu - many artists

Whoops! That is Lloyd-Webber...I do know the difference!

Penny

Edited June 28, 2017 by Solo mi!

[spinnaker2]

Do you love me by the contours

Why do fools fall in love by Frankie Lyman and the teenagers

Old man by Neil young

You've lost that loving feeling by the Righteous brothers

Let it be me but the Everly brothers

 

 

And so many others....

Roy Orbison songs

Chicago

Bobby Short

Andreas Vollenweider

Segovia

Tommy Dorsey

Van Morrison

The kinks

Little Richard

Otis Redding

Ray lamontagne

Smokey Robinson

Mary wells

Alicia keys

Toots and the maytals

Ride of the Valkyries

Brescianello violin concertos

Corelli

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Fletcher]

My idea of heaven would be a great daily fish and seafood market with freshly baked bread and a bottle or two of something really fresh and white and dry. And who decided that lobster was up the luxury scale from crab?

 

Jeff - We live 15 miles from Norwich and there's a fabulous fish stall in the market, City Fish, which usually has Cromer crabs, lobsters, scallops, dover sole, turbot, large squid, razor clams plus the usuals and if you want fish from the other side of the country - John Dory, say, or Red Mullet - he gets it from the London market the next day. There's also a great artisan bakery, the Norfolk Provender.

 

This weekend I'm doing a turbot dish from Alain Senderens' book in honour of the great chef who died this week. I twice had the privilege of eating Chez Senderens in Paris.

[UKCruiseJeff]

You are very lucky Fletch.

 

Sad to hear of his death. I have taken wifey to Lucas Carton twice as well. Once was a day trip simply to have lunch there. Lunch as you know is a touch more affordable. We also met him. I was very impressed and I think it was one of the best meals of our eating lifetime.

 

Wfey was just reminiscing about her razor clams starter.

[ShotsnCruises]

So much to catch up on today! I find it easier to post when I am at my computer. Typing a reply on my phone is too cumbersome to me these days.

 

I find the history of this thread so interesting. I love this as my home place to post. Especially because I have found the Silversea Roll Calls to be lackluster at best.

 

As to women in the professional workplace. I have never felt I had to prove myself more because I was a woman. I was driven to succeed from birth, so I always had the pressure on myself anyway. There are a lot more women in my field than there used to be. I personally, prefer to work in a well balanced environment with men and women. The last organization I worked for was run entirely by women and it was a disaster. There was so much drama and pettiness going on. Decisions never made any logical sense. Where I work now is more balanced, but our office is managed by a man. He does a great job. My husband says I think like a man "90% of the time", so I guess maybe I am biased. I never got along with groups of women. Living in an all girls dorm my first year of college was a disaster and I swore never again!

 

As far as favorite music. I am a bit of an eclectic when it comes to tastes. I am a trained classical pianist, so that colors my music taste a lot. I love Bach and Rachmaninoff. As far as modern music, I am a huge Frank Sinatra fan. I also love Enya for easy listening (I recreate her music on my Digital Piano). I enjoy some country, and less and less prefer what is on the top 40 these days. If I had to create a 5 song playlist it would be: Sinatra-The Way You Look Tonight, Enya-Echoes in Rain, Rufus Wainright-Hallelujah, Mozart-Symphony No 25 in G minor, and Celine Dion-You and I.

Those are the top 5 of my most played songs on my iPod!!!

 

I'm trying to power through my 12 hour day at work today, and it is getting more and more difficult. There will be no cooking dinner tonight. However, we do have our monthly pot-luck to celebrate Birthdays today, so that will hopefully break up and bring some joy to my long day.

[UKCruiseJeff]

We really have some talent here.

 

Shot's, you may be aware that Camels has posted about her talented husband who is a celebrated composer (Roberto Sierra) and if I'm correct they are attending the premier of one of his compositions this very evening, where I suspect they will have an extraordinary evening.

 

It's a shame it isn't being streamed as we could watch it together from the Cooler.

[ShotsnCruises]

Jeff, I do remember that. I would love a live streaming event!

I always tell people I am a much better teacher of music than I am musician. For me, it is not talent. It is work, effort, and patience. My brother is musically gifted, but cannot read music. He plays (almost any instrument) by ear. For me, I have to have the music and I have to practice for hours a day for weeks. It doesn't help that I am a bit of a perfectionist. I taught music for over 10 years, and at one point I had 21 students. Now I mostly play for my own enjoyment. It is a skill that I value and enjoy. Hard to think about anything else when you are working on a new piece.

[MLeh]

A bit off topic, but this forum seems to have a few Brits in it who may be able to shed some light for me. My DH and I are spending 3 weeks in the UK and Ireland prior to our upcoming cruise. I'm trying to rent a vehicle for the bulk of those three weeks. The issue arises with taking the vehicle over to Ireland. I've been quoted up to £125 in additional fees (not ferry costs) from the rental company to do this. I know it's a foreign country, but we can take cars from Canada into the USA with no issues. Any insights?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[UKCruiseJeff]

Nothing is off topic here .....:)

 

No insights from me I'm afraid other than it looks like it is a matter of armchair research for rental companies and to see if it makes sense to hire once you've arrived in Ireland. You'll save both the return ferry and the £125 which might swing it to local rental. Some places you migth find a car a disadvantage eg Dublin.

 

Also if you have an Amex Plat that may save you some insurance costs.

[Camillus112]

Jeff, thanks for your kind words re Roberto! Just by coincidence, for those who like live streaming, tonight at 6:30 over radio station WFMT Chicago, the Grant Park Music Festival will play Roberto's Missa Latina. Right now we are in Dallas airport on our way to Colorado for the premier of Dos Piezas para Orquesta by the Dallas Symphony at the Bravo Festival.

 

Thanks so much for our supportive Cooler friends!!

[spinnaker2]

Safe travels Cam!

Enjoy the Rockies.

[mysty]

Best wishes, safe travels and have an awesome time Cam!

[UKCruiseJeff]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missa_Latina_%27Pro_Pace%27

 

.....and there are youtubes ...

 

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Missa+Latina&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-gb&client=safari

[spinnaker2]

If you are flying to eagle Vail you will have a bit of a drive to Vail, as the airport is west of Vail.

You will be flying over the ski resorts of copper mountain, Vail and the beaver creek ski area.

Look down!

Also as you drive to Vail you will pass by beaver creek where we have our ski place.

[Camillus112]

Shots, I hear you. Roberto is also a teacher and your attributes of work, effort and patience come to mind regarding his teaching. Teaching is not an easy task, but the rewards of others' accomplishments are, as the saying goes, priceless.

 

Mysty, you have here a wannabe dancer. I dancersize in a group and, like you, on my own, for my own enjoyment. Of course, I prefer Latin music to dance to!

[Camillus112]

Spins, yes, we are flying to EGE and I will surely look down to the marvelous landscape. I will certainly remember you with a smile when we go through Beaver Creek.

 

Due to a snafu, we will not be staying in Vail village, but in the Marriot at Lionshead. I understand it is quite close to Vail.

I have your restaurant recommendations, if the organizers let us be free for a while... Thanks!

[Kate-AHF]

I'm still reeling from what it will cost to rent a car in Ireland for 8 days next year. No other countries we've rented are anywhere near that high. Plus, Ireland recognizes no 3rd party insurers, so my Nationwide policy which has covered me on other trips won't cut it in Ireland. When the Dan Dooley rep told me tires and windshields weren't covered under the CDW and that would be additional, the silence on my end was so lengthy he thought I'd hung up on him.

 

FWIW, Hertz had the best price, slightly less than Dan Dooley and included GPS and a Wi-Fi hotspot.

[Camillus112]

Sorry, MissS, you are the dancer!!! Darn using the phone to post.

[mysty]

You're not completely off the mark in regard to dancing Cam. Miss S did mention it in her post and I also indulge (although I did not confess to it in my post). :) On our cruise in 2016 on the Whisper another female passenger and I cut a mean rug on the pool deck pre and post dinner at the Grill. The audience seemed to enjoy it! They were smiling but perhaps they were holding back giggles. :)

[MLeh]

I'm still reeling from what it will cost to rent a car in Ireland for 8 days next year. No other countries we've rented are anywhere near that high. Plus, Ireland recognizes no 3rd party insurers, so my Nationwide policy which has covered me on other trips won't cut it in Ireland. When the Dan Dooley rep told me tires and windshields weren't covered under the CDW and that would be additional, the silence on my end was so lengthy he thought I'd hung up on him.

 

FWIW, Hertz had the best price, slightly less than Dan Dooley and included GPS and a Wi-Fi hotspot.

 

 

 

Thanks Kate-AHF. That's been my experience thus far too. I'm used to having my premium credit card cover the insurance costs, and as a commercial traveler I usually get really good rates with unlimited mileage, so the high rates with limited miles are somewhat disconcerting, to say the least. I'll carry on. Best deal so far has been Hertz with an auto club discount.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Tothesunset]

A bit off topic, but this forum seems to have a few Brits in it who may be able to shed some light for me. My DH and I are spending 3 weeks in the UK and Ireland prior to our upcoming cruise. I'm trying to rent a vehicle for the bulk of those three weeks. The issue arises with taking the vehicle over to Ireland. I've been quoted up to £125 in additional fees (not ferry costs) from the rental company to do this. I know it's a foreign country, but we can take cars from Canada into the USA with no issues. Any insights?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I think one of the reasons could be the high cost of car insurance in Ireland (I take it you are referring to both Northern Ireland and Eire). While NI is part of the UK I would be surprised if there was any excess charge for taking the car there but the South (Eire) is a whole other country - there are no manned border crossings now, the only reason you know you've crossed the border is that the road signs change. Jeff has mentioned that a car can be a liability in Dublin - this is true up to a point. To travel across Dublin from North of the city (just after the airport) to the South-East of the city (near the docks) is easily achieved via a toll tunnel (which was 3.50 euros I think when I was there last month) which is an excellent bit of road engineering. The centre of the City, while small, is certainly not car friendly and parking fees can be eye-watering. To be fair there are more interesting cities to visit - Waterford, Cork, Derry - and everyone comments on how small Dublin city centre seems.

 

(Top tip for Dublin - if you like burgers and want to try the finest burgers ever then you need to find Bunsen Burger. I think they have 2 places near the city centre. It's crowded, noisy, not in the least posh but the burgers are not only outstanding, they are oustandingly cheap. And if they are busy they will tell you to come back in 30 minutes or whatever giving you time to go to the pub next door and have a proper pint of Guinness.)

 

Beware, also, that the standard of driving on the island of Ireland can be best described as unpredictable - nowhere more so than in Belfast.

 

To be fair though, most UK and Irish cities developed well before the motor car became so apparently indispensible and while country motoring can be delightful, particularly in relatively underpoulated areas, city driving is universally soul-destroying.

 

Incidentally, if you get a car without sat nav but have a cellphone with affordable data rates, there is an excellent app called Waze which makes navigating really easy. It's based on Google maps but has a much more user-friendly interface, better graphics and more accurate traffic updates. I always use it when I hire a car rather than cough up a silly charge for sat nav. It tends to eat the phone battery but that's not an issue if you have a rechargeable battery pack.

 

I'm Irish, incidentally, and if you visit Belfast you will be in my home town. But if you want scenery you could do worse than visit rural Fermanagh and Upper and Lower Loch Erne, I suggest staying in Inneskillen, and a drive along the Northen coastline from Derry (Londonderry) via Portstewart and Larne to Belfast is a spectacular drive and takes in the Giant's Causeway (it's a must I suppose but ever-so-slightly underwhelming) and the Bushmills Distillery. Also I can recommend the Innishowen peninsula in Donegal, The Ring of Kerry (Google is your friend here) and the Cork area (which, all being equal, would be where I would spend my remaining years - OH isn't so sure).

 

Both Irelands and most of the mainland (sticks tongue out here) are populated by wonderfully welcoming and hospitable people so I'm sure you'll have a great time.

[UKCruiseJeff]

TTS,

 

It occurs to me that the Cooler is becoming a much better destination and generous guide than many of the destination forums!

 

I have to say that your words are very wise. Most people automatically head for Dublin, I guess partly because it's the capital and partly because of the easier and more frequent flights. Some of my family are from Blackrock.

[UKCruiseJeff]

I guess some justice just starting after all these years for the Hillsborough victims. How on earth has it taken so long. Something all Brits who think we live in a lawful, righteous society will find utterly perplexing and bewildering. How have those police not only evaded due process for so long, but some have been rewarded rather than jailed. How those families suffered.

[Tothesunset]

I guess some justice just starting after all these years for the Hillsborough victims. How on earth has it taken so long. Something all Brits who think we live in a lawful, righteous society will find utterly perplexing and bewildering. How have those police not only evaded due process for so long, but some have been rewarded rather than jailed. How those families suffered.

Ditto.