Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Five

[tgh]

Hi Jilly , I have been following your blog  
Are you going to do a review of the ship?

I am looking at Cairns to Wewak and/or Wewak/Darwin but single per diem is eye watering

[jillyf]

Tgh, we still have to finish the blog, but are getting sorted back to normal life for the next few days. 

I'll write a review then too. Any questions you have I’m happy to answer. 

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great day all!

[UpstateJan]

On 10/18/2019 at 9:44 PM, jpalbny said:

Glad to hear from you, Lois! And happy that you are enjoying the cruise. We will have to do this itinerary some day.

 

We booked the Ponant sailing, from Singapore to Darwin, for next November. Looking forward to Orangutans in Borneo, and Komodo dragons too.

 

We are at a local production of Sweeney Todd tonight, enjoying it very much. Dinner a few blocks down the street beforehand. They had Schweinshaxe on the menu!

 

 

No meat pies, though.... 😉

 

Hope everyone else has a great weekend too!

YAY Borneo!!!  Enjoy the orangutans, so spectacular to see them swing in for a meal.  Will you get to see the Proboscis or Gibbons?   I hope you do!!!!  Also, interested in hearing your impressions of Ponant, we've considered that for Madagascar/Seychelles.

[UpstateJan]

Greeting folks, sorry I've been so crazy between house stuff, work stuff, and other stuff.   Then this happened on Friday night - 

[Daveywavey70]

Awww congratulations Jan. He looks a real sweety 🙂

[jpalbny]

13 hours ago, mysty said:

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great day all!

 

Is it a solution, or a solvent? Hm. 

 

If it were 100% alcohol it would be a solvent, but the stuff you drink is a solution in my mind (alcohol plus water). It has interesting properties, in that alcohol and water are totally miscible in solution. That is, they can exist in a solution at any concentration, without separating. I prefer my solution about 13-15%, EtOH, with a touch of tannin and grape to round out the flavor! Though I might pour a tall glass of 40% solution with a distinct juniper flavor, after the Pinot Noir is empty...

 

***

 

We made a quick trip down to see Chris's Dad this weekend. After the play Friday night (which was excellent - any local Coolers, you should go - Sweeney Todd at Cohoes Music Hall), we managed to get to bed by midnight, then up at 6:30 Saturday morning (that's late for us) and on the road a little after 7. We got to Pennsylvania before lunch time, saw her Dad, and then had a nice lunch out at a place we like in the town where he lives. Our friends who live in Bethlehem met us which was a nice, unexpected surprise! They had an event Saturday night so we couldn't meet up with them, so it was great that they made time to meet us for lunch.

 

Then we went out for a long walk in a nice park near Allentown to try to make up for sitting all that way in the car. Beautiful walk along a small peaceful river, complete with a covered bridge! It was so pretty, we walked almost 5 miles.

 

The River

 

 

And a covered bridge. Not just in Vermont!

 

We checked into our hotel and scoped out the dinner options nearby. Our hotel was in an unfamiliar area where we haven't stayed much, because all of our usual places were full. So the dining options were not so familiar. 

 

We settled on a Mediterranean place a few minutes away and it was BYOB, so we were prepared. The food was a mix of Lebanese with some Greek and (interestingly) Armenian dishes. It was really quite nice, and definitely a place we would visit again if we are back in the area.

 

 

Eggplant and garlic dip for pita. I almost licked the bowl when it was done.

 

 

Armenian beef sausage. Nice and spicy!

 

 

Chicken kebabs

 

 

Grilled kibbee. A new dish for me. Looking forward to trying that again - very tasty! Spiced beef cooked in a shell of pulverized bulgur and meat.

 

Then we drove back this morning, did grocery shopping, did some running (on the treadmill, as it was raining and 50F outside), and then this evening I put up some grow lights in the sunroom to keep the citrus trees happy this winter. Last winter they dropped a lot of leaves because of the pathetic (lack of) light in the Northern Hemisphere's winter, so I'm hoping they will be happier this year with the added light. The lemon trees have a bumper crop of fruit and I am excited for it to ripen in the next month or two. But that will not happen without more light.

 

Of course, between the amount I've spent on the trees, pots, soil, fertilizer, and now the lights, it would be way cheaper to just buy citrus from the store... But the lemon and orange blossoms smell so great during the winter, and the trees look good in the sunroom, and they bring a touch of green during the long dark winter, so it's worth it.

Edited October 21, 2019 by jpalbny

[UpstateJan]

52 minutes ago, Daveywavey70 said:

Awww congratulations Jan. He looks a real sweety 🙂

He's a very good boy.  Wynn is 11 weeks old on Monday, and he is mostly housebroken!!!!  What a sweet, goofy little guy, my husband has fallen hard for him, and Jeremy was not on TeamDog, but I've caught them napping outside together several times this weekend.

[jpalbny]

Jan, he's a cutie! Just to be clear, I was talking about the puppy, but all of you look adorable in the family photo. 😍🐕

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great day all!

[Lois R]

Good morning Cooler's home from the cruise last night and took today off. Doing laundry right now.

 

UNIWORLD is VERY Impressive...……..food, service, staff, etc...……..I had a wonderful trip and am planning to

book another cruise with them on the Seine.

[Daveywavey70]

2 hours ago, mysty said:

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Have a great day all!

 

Haha M, that reminds me of a friends Mum who was a particularly ferocious and universally despised Doctors Receptionist. She wanted burying at sea to avoid the same scenario 🙂 

 

Jp l’ll Take a cup of the Juniper solution please. 

 

Jilly, enjoy every minute while he’s this age. My little terror is 5 1/2 months now and has turned into an absolute monster. Adorable, but a monster none the less. 

 

Glad and you had a great time Lois. Looking forward to hearing about it.

[Lois R]

Hi folks, well, laundry is done and had to go to the bank and the grocery store.

 

It was so nice NOT having to go to work....but tomorrow is another day.  

 

Besides the wonderful time, I really did sit back and have some more clarity on my life and what I want. Isn't that what is the important thing?

 There is nobody for me to lean on and it is my $$$...…..retirement and all that comes with it.

So, I will be talking to my boss and letting her know I am leaving at the end of the year. I am not going

to say anything yet but will wait till the beginning of November and give them 2 months notice. If they

don't like it? I am just so over worrying about it anymore.

 

And, you probably recall I had booked a b2b on Seabourn but I cancelled it and want to sail with our favorite line again So the TA crossing on Seabourn is no longer on my list but the other one is...….and I will get to meet Spins!

[jpalbny]

Lois, I am happy for you. Glad you know what you want and that you have the means to make it happen! I hope that we are there in 10 years, preferably less. Enjoy every minute of it - you have earned it and now, enjoy it!

 

***

 

We are actually off tomorrow because we have a bunch of appointments to take care of. Luckily we could arrange them together. So when I wake up at 4:45 or so, I can just go back to sleep for a while.

Dinner tonight was not as photogenic as it was tasty, but nonetheless. Halibut coated in a nice glaze of butter, honey, soy sauce, lemon juice, and garlic. Then pan-seared and served over rice.

 

 

It went well with a white Côtes du Rhône from M. Chapoutier.

 

***

 

We are back in full-on planning mode, as our trip to Portugal and Spain starts in less than 3 weeks. Lots of cities to navigate in that short amount of time. So I have to know exactly how I'm getting us from point A to B,C,D,E,F, and beyond. With no mistakes ... otherwise, Chris will be looking for a new tour guide. 😉

 

Lisbon for one night, Tomar for two, Porto for two, Salamanca for one, then Madrid for two nights. With several stops in between, naturally. I can do it!

Edited October 22, 2019 by jpalbny

[QueSeraSera]

Lois, agreed, it is the most important thing.  Great that you found it.  2 months notice is generous.  It can get cold around some workplaces once you announce your departure, other places not, so look after yourself, cause at work often no one else will. 

And, I was happy you dumped Seabourn for SS since SS is the only cruise line I know.  May never try another one!

JP that halibut look delicious!  And I hope your Iberian cruise is superb.

 

[Lois R]

Thanks to both of you.  And after doing some more research, I have come to the conclusion that the prices for

The Seine on Uniworld are HIGH, HIGH, HIGH....so I will be looking elsewhere. Maybe AMA again.  The

price is almost  3 x more than I just paid for Venice......yikes! 

[jpalbny]

Thanks, QSS. Not a cruise though. We are loosely following along the route of your typical Douro cruise with pre-time in Lisbon, but compressing it to a long week, and doing it DIY by car. And we are stretching the time from Lisbon to Porto by a few days. Come to think of it, not much time is left for the Douro itself!

 

We've been to Lisbon a few times so no need to spend much time there on this trip. The trouble will be that Chris has about 15 places she wants to visit between Lisbon and Porto... And they all look like pretty nice stops. We need a month to do this itinerary.

 

 

Once we get to Madrid, we drop the car off immediately, and then go tapas crawling for two days. That part, I'm eagerly anticipating!

[jpalbny]

Lois, keep an eye on prices for the next two months. Maybe around December, if it's not selling well, they will cut the prices. Two of the three times we sailed Uniworld in Europe, we booked the cruise just a few months beforehand (Booked in December, for March of the next year).

 

But it does sound like their prices have become a little exorbitant, so I don't blame you for looking at other good options. Since you are flexible, you can wait for last-minute bargains. 😄  (not that I'm jealous, or anything...)

 

 

[MHF]

5 hours ago, Lois R said:

Hi folks, well, laundry is done and had to go to the bank and the grocery store.

 

It was so nice NOT having to go to work....but tomorrow is another day.  

 

Besides the wonderful time, I really did sit back and have some more clarity on my life and what I want. Isn't that what is the important thing?

 There is nobody for me to lean on and it is my $$$...…..retirement and all that comes with it.

So, I will be talking to my boss and letting her know I am leaving at the end of the year. I am not going

to say anything yet but will wait till the beginning of November and give them 2 months notice. If they

don't like it? I am just so over worrying about it anymore.

 

And, you probably recall I had booked a b2b on Seabourn but I cancelled it and want to sail with our favorite line again So the TA crossing on Seabourn is no longer on my list but the other one is...….and I will get to meet Spins!

There is a pretty good list of SS solo prices now on the website.  I'm looking at one for 2021.

 

Missy in Maryland

 

PS. My SS countdown clock says 21 days!!!!!

[FlyingScotSailors]

Lois, sorry we will not meet you on the Seabourn Quest TA. We will have to celebrate your retirement another time.

 

Jan, we return from Greece on Thursday, and may try to get to Exit 9 this weekend. Maybe we can meet you before the big NYS tasting. 

 

JP, if you get to Pinhão on the Douro, we recommend The Vintage House hotel. 

 

[Lois R]

Good morning,  JP, so true...…..(about the timing).  I can wait a couple of months for sure but of course, river cruises

sell out faster because of the size.   I want to do the Douro as well. I have never visited Portugal and there are parts

of Spain I have never seen either.  The TA ends on April 22nd.....so anything sailing from 4.23 on...…..I want to

find another cruise to sail before coming back home.

[Lois R]

3 hours ago, FlyingScotSailors said:

Lois, sorry we will not meet you on the Seabourn Quest TA. We will have to celebrate your retirement another time.

 

Jan, we return from Greece on Thursday, and may try to get to Exit 9 this weekend. Maybe we can meet you before the big NYS tasting. 

 

JP, if you get to Pinhão on the Douro, we recommend The Vintage House hotel. 

 

Thanks..…..I posted on the roll call wishing everyone a good cruise. Maybe our paths will meet down the road sometime.

[jpalbny]

3 hours ago, FlyingScotSailors said:

Jan, we return from Greece on Thursday, and may try to get to Exit 9 this weekend. Maybe we can meet you before the big NYS tasting. 

 

We are around this weekend as well. What say we meet up with @UpstateJan at Exit 9? We are running low on white wine at the moment, so we already have one reason to go there.

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

We spent some time exploring our new town yesterday.  It was a gorgeous day!  Sunshine and mild termps.  Here are a few pics from our walk.....

 

View from the bridge over the Mississippi River (not THE Mississippi River but our Mississippi River).....

 

 

The Town Hall.....

 

 

And a gorgeous red tree.....

 

 

Have a great day all!

[mysty]

And for today's funny (Canada held a federal election yesterday)......