Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Five

[mysty]

Your meal looks delicious JP!  I didn't even make it to 9:00 pm last night.  Hope your flights work out well.  I have an eagle eye on the weather forecasts for Friday.  Of course things can change in a finger snap.

[UKCruiseJeff]

Good afternoon all ..... 

 

Nice food JP .... our tradition on new years day is chamoagne with cold stuff and baguette with the concert from Vienna.  Lovely funny M. 

 

Bill looks like you have your redund but  I am confused about the question in the survey about being “unsatisfied`”.  

 

 

[Lois R]

JP, dinner looks great...…..I made a T bone steak and had a sweet potato.  I never stay up to see the ball drop anymore and this year was no different.

 

Please remind me again.....is this trip South America? Africa? I know Ukrane is coming up? Forgive me, I know Mysty is going on the World Cruise but can't remember where you and Chris are going.

[spinnaker2]

Happy, prosperous and joyous New Year all!

[mysty]

Yummy button is getting a lot of action today.  J your meal looks delish!  And the bubbly definitely appeals!

 

Happy New Year Spins!  I've been wondering how your ancestral visit to Greece went in October.  Were you happy with the trip and putting pieces together?

[jpalbny]

Lois - this is the South America trip for Chris's big birthday. She is catching up to me - poor girl! Ukraine is in May. We like to have several planned, so it is definitely hard to keep track! If it wasn't for TripIt I'd be lost too.

 

For this trip, we are going first to San Pedro de Atacama for 3 nights at the Awasi Lodge there. Stargazing, hiking, beautiful landscapes, etc.

 

Then to Patagonia for 4 nights just outside Torres del Paine, again at the Awasi. Can't wait to see this amazing place.

 

Back to Santiago and then we have a 3 day wine tour starting in Chile, driving over the Andes, and ending with a day of wine tasting in Mendoza. We shall see how much we can accumulate! 

 

Then we fly on to Iguazu Falls for 3 nights at the third Awasi Lodge, just a few minutes from the falls on the Argentina side. We will do a trip to the Brazil side too of course. I have our visas all ready, and they were fairly easy to get online. I had heard that Brazilian visas used to be terrible to get but the process has become much easier.

 

After leaving Iguazu we have a day in Buenos Aires before flying home.

 

Jeff, delicious stuff! We went for a 5-mile walk by the river this morning and came home for breakfast. Just some poached eggs on avocado toast. Having more coffee now before we switch to wine. That makes packing more fun!

 

Spins, welcome back! We have missed you. Hope all is well.

 

Mysty, safe travels on Friday! We leave the day before you. Weather looks colder but reasonably well-settled.

 

Time to get working on taking down the Christmas tree, I guess. 😕 I will be sad to see it go. It was the freshest tree we've had in years, maybe ever. Still not dropping needles at all after more than 5 weeks in the house. I bet it could have lasted a few more weeks if we'd been here.

[Bill B]

4 hours ago, jpalbny said:

I had heard that Brazilian visas used to be terrible to get but the process has become much easier.

 

I got one in 2004 and it was terrible to get (and very expensive). However, it was multiple entry, and good for 5 years. I never did use it more than once.

[Daveywavey70]

 

A Very happy new year to all in the cooler! I Hope you all have a wonderful year. Certainly lots of lovely trips you’ve all got planned. Well We all survived another holiday season. As usual at this time of year I’m bored of all my friends nattering on about dry January, gym memberships and new year, new me so I won’t be joining them. 

I Will, however, be celebrating Ginuary! I’m going to have a different Gin cocktail every day for the whole of Ginuary.

I’ve asked my friends to sponsor me in aid of Cancer Research. 

 

Ive started tonight with a Flora Dora. Tanqueray Rangpur Gin, Ginger Beer,  Lime and Grenadine. 

Happy new year!

[jollyjones]

Nice to see you back on the boards Spins, hope Greece wasn’t a bust. 

[jpalbny]

Yum Davey. Just discovered the Tanqueray Rangpur Lime. It's really tasty with Fever Tree Mediterranean Tonic. In fact we just finished one an hour ago...

[Daveywavey70]

Yeah it’s lovely JP. One of my favourites. We’ve got about 50 gins now!

 

[jillyf]

 

My husband  has been cooking.

The pot on the stove is duck stock in the making. 

We had the ducks on Christmas Eve with Asian salad. 

 

Edited January 1, 2019 by jillyf
Duplicate

[mysty]

26 minutes ago, Daveywavey70 said:

Yeah it’s lovely JP. One of my favourites. We’ve got about 50 gins now!

 

Wow DW!  50 Gins!  Do you have Ungava Gin from the Northern tip of Quebec?  🙂

 

https://www.masterofmalt.com/gin/ungava-gin-co/ungava-gin/

 

It is a little different but Myster and I really enjoy it!

[mysty]

3 minutes ago, jillyf said:

 

My husband  has been cooking.

The pot on the stove is duck stock in the making. 

We had the ducks on Christmas Eve with Asian salad. 

 

Another yummy button Jill!  That looks delicious!  Well done Mr. Jill!

[jillyf]

Stock from our seafood lunch - lobster, bugs and prawns. 

Delicious aromas. 

[Daveywavey70]

Not yet M. My Vancouver island cousin has recommended it too. I’m just gonna have to get some. We have some beautiful Gins. Monkey 47 is one of my favourites with Fevertree Mediterranean tonic. (Or not) 😀

[Daveywavey70]

Are the ducks trying to escape Jilly? They look lush.

[mysty]

Just now, Daveywavey70 said:

Not yet M. My Vancouver island cousin has recommended it too. I’m just gonna have to get some. We have some beautiful Gins. Monkey 47 is one of my favourites with Fevertree Mediterranean tonic. (Or not) 😀

That sounds like a match made in Heaven DW!  And don't let the neon yellow of the Ungava put you off.  It's yummy!  🙂

[jillyf]

1 minute ago, Daveywavey70 said:

Are the ducks trying to escape Jilly? They look lush.

Looks like it!

Crisp skin, moist flesh from the steam.  It’s a take on beer butt chicken. My husband had stainless steel tubes made and puts wine and spices in them depending on the flavour wanted (Asian etc). 

[jpalbny]

Some yummy duck on display! I am still thinking about the duck legs we made for Christmas. So tasty.

 

And all the new gins to try. Hope my liver can keep up.

 

Today, in the ongoing game of "clean the freezer" I made chicken thighs roasted with mushrooms, and parsley sauce. Was out of lemons so used lime instead. 

 

 

Tomorrow night will be simple. Hamburgers. The meat is already thawing. 

 

Then Thursday night's dinner will be in the Atlanta airport - thinking maybe we'll stop by One Flew South in Terminal E, one of our favorites when passing through ATL. 

[mysty]

Yummy button is getting a real workout today!  Looks delish JP!  

 

My sister and her husband go to Mendoza every January.  They import wine to sell here in Canada (with the permission of the LCBO of course).  They visit many wineries and have a number of them in their "stable".  They love their time there!

[Lois R]

50 Gins? I don't even have 1 bottle of it in the house...…….

 

Those birds looks yummy

[jpalbny]

Mysty, maybe we will see them there!

 

Lois, don't feel bad. We only have three. Tanqueray, Tanqueray Rangpur, and Brokers. Might pick up a bottle of Hendricks next time. 

 

Finally finished moving the Madagascar blog to my new Blogger page. It was more work than I wanted it to be. But fun reliving the trip. Just in time to start another one! 😁

Edited January 2, 2019 by jpalbny

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

Sorry about that!  🙂

 

Have a great day all!

[mysty]

11 hours ago, jpalbny said:

Mysty, maybe we will see them there!

 

JP, two of the wineries they deal with are Bodega Caelum and Bodega Clos de Chacras.  Have a wonderful time exploring that area!