Norton Explorer(er)s Trumps BFF Putins land

[Emperor Norton]

Dinner tonight was going to be interesting. Earlier in the cruise I'd special ordered a dish that was either only offered on the GF Inaugural cruise or was no longer offered. Either way thankfully the chef knew what I was talking about. It was a chicken dish served over a creamy polenta with a sake/soy sauce. I think it was my favorite dish of that cruise.

 

A little comparison:

My dinner in 2016 started with Foie Gras

 

The same dish in 2018

 

While the portion size was IMO small (even for something as rich as foie gras) the quality was ahead of what I've had on Seabourn recently.

 

A little sorbet palette cleanser

 

The chicken dish

2016

 

2018. Taste-wise it was nearly the same only the 2018 version had a little less heat.

[Emperor Norton]

Petit fours. On Regent they're automatically served to you. On Seabourn you have to ask and then it's a crapshoot as to whether or not they're delivered.

 

Dessert was a caramel popcorn eclair. I'd give it a pass in the future.

 

Sunset that evening was nice.

 

I guess they weren't doing the outdoor dinner grill that night.

 

[Emperor Norton]

Regent has switched over from plastic swizzle sticks/cocktail garnish holders to more biodegradable wooden ones.

 

Million Dollar Beautiful (condensation was from steam heating the glass).

 

Gallery: Helsinki and Helsinki with Seabourn.

[morneau]

These pictures are wonderful!!! Thanks for taking us back to Catherine's Palace and wonderful lunches and dinners aboard the Explorer.....the lunch in Chartreuse is our favorite of all! Can't wait to get back onboard....enjoy!

[grandmommy987]

Thank you, thank you, thank you, for posting such beautiful photos with thoughtful and sometimes amusing captions.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Emperor Norton]

Our next stop was Riga, Latvia. I was again on a ships tour; this one combined architecture and a museum followed by some time in the old town.

 

 

 

I'm not saying it was aliens, but...aliens.

 

 

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Eventually we found ourselves at the museum.

 

 

We swapped guides for the museum portion of the tour.

 

Apparently one of the most visited pieces in the collection was a pig.

 

[Emperor Norton]

After leaving the museum we took the bus to a park and along the way passed the former KGB house. The guide made a joke about microcrete (it seems in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania you couldn't finish a tour without hearing about this substance). Microcrete being a composition of 50% concrete and 50% microphones. The guide also mentioned that exile to Siberia was likely a far better sentence than if they tried to "cure" you of being anti communist. That got you an all expenses paid vacation to a Soviet mental hospital as a test subject.

 

 

 

In Riga the Whitehouse is the national ballet.

 

 

[Emperor Norton]

 

Anyone need a copy of the Watchtower?

 

 

Hard at work or hardly working?

 

 

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There was an art exhibit of bears painted by artists from around the world.

 

 

 

Must've been a slow day

 

 

[Emperor Norton]

Views from the ship

 

 

[RJ2002]

Thanks for sharing all the pictures of beautiful Riga. We were just there, on another cruise line. It was our first time, and we were really very impressed. A place we'd return for a few nights on a future Europe trip. The art nouveau architecture was truly amazing.

[Emperor Norton]

Dinner that night was in Pacific Rim.

 

 

Wonton skins with a sweet chili dipping sauce

 

 

[Emperor Norton]

 

 

 

 

[Emperor Norton]

Our second to last stop was Klaipeda, Lithuania. Todays tour was of the lesser amber museum and of a church, and then the old town. Were I to visit here again I'm not sure I'd leave the ship. Aside from the welcoming band there were a throng of tourists nearby gawking at the ship.

 

The bus driver seemed to love his air fresheners.

 

The locals paid about as much attention to the sign as the average American bicyclist would.

 

We started off walking through a park to get to a mansion that housed what turned out to be the lesser of the two amber museums.

 

 

[Emperor Norton]

 

 

 

The mansion that housed the museum

 

 

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[Emperor Norton]

It seemed like a good day for a wedding or twelve.

 

 

 

Or perhaps a childs party

 

 

[Emperor Norton]

The church we were to visit was right down the street from the park entrance/exit.

 

 

Today it seemed to be functioning as a Quick-E-Wed chapel.

 

 

 

[Emperor Norton]

 

 

 

 

 

[Emperor Norton]

After the church we were taken back into town and were supposed to visit a local bar for a local beer and then go on a walking tour. I opted for the truncated option of "get beer, walk back to ship".

 

 

On the way back to the ship I was spotted by another passenger who had lost her way. Together we walked the short distance to the ship. Well we tried. Our progress was delayed for 15 minutes as the bridge that you had to cross was closed for boat traffic 15 minutes every hour. Our timing was just off.

 

 

 

The bridge in action

[YOUTUBE]8VPcY83fxXQ[/YOUTUBE]

[Emperor Norton]

Dinner started in the Explorer lounge and continued into Compass Rose.

 

 

 

Beef carpaccio

 

Iceberg and corn salad with a creamy bacon dressing

 

Lamb loin

 

[Emperor Norton]

 

What line were we on again?