The Bistro- Off topic and fun posts!

[BEAV]

Happy cicada season to our beloved DC/Maryland/Southeast members.

 

@rafinmd @BWIVince @TheKingD @KenzSailing

 

 

[TheKingD]

Thanks @BEAV!  We have been having supper on the patio recently, and I have not heard a peep from any cicadas just yet, but I'm looking forward to hearing them.  It means summertime is here.

[Texas Tillie]

Have a friend who lives south of Atlanta and she says they are deafening.

[KenzSailing]

1 hour ago, BEAV said:

Happy cicada season to our beloved DC/Maryland/Southeast members.

 

@rafinmd @BWIVince @TheKingD @KenzSailing

 

 

 

Tastes just like chicken!

[BWIVince]

10 minutes ago, KenzSailing said:

 

Tastes just like chicken!

 

Fresh, free, locally sourced product for the Chez!  😉 

[rafinmd]

I'm not expecting them this year.  We really got them in 2021,

 

Roy

[KenzSailing]

2 hours ago, BWIVince said:

 

Fresh, free, locally sourced product for the Chez!  😉 

 

Well, locavore is all the rage!

 

On another local note for Vince, we just dined at the latest DC restaurant he won't get down here to: Pastis, Stephen Starr's new neo-bistro in Union Market.  We made the rez a couple weeks ago and we're glad we did because, two days before we went, Sietsema published an absolute rave in the Post.  OLoPP had the duck confit, chicken Kiev for me, both spectacular, and service was top notch.  Just be prepared for a room that, once it gets full, sounds like you're in the landing pattern at National. 

[BWIVince]

57 minutes ago, KenzSailing said:

 

Well, locavore is all the rage!

 

On another local note for Vince, we just dined at the latest DC restaurant he won't get down here to: Pastis, Stephen Starr's new neo-bistro in Union Market.  We made the rez a couple weeks ago and we're glad we did because, two days before we went, Sietsema published an absolute rave in the Post.  OLoPP had the duck confit, chicken Kiev for me, both spectacular, and service was top notch.  Just be prepared for a room that, once it gets full, sounds like you're in the landing pattern at National. 

 

I was just craving Chicken Kiev the other day, when I realized I haven't had it since the last 80's on TWA...  The noise level isn't surprising though -- just from the pictures it looks like the dining room has more hard surfaces than a vintage Paris Metro station.

 

I was impressed that Amtrak got Stephen Starr to collaborate on their fall/winter Acela First Class menus last year, but given his cities that does seem like a brilliant collaboration all the way around.

 

Vince 

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from my 2017  Crystal Symphony Panama Canal cruise from San Diego to New York.  On May 7 we visited San Juan del Sur.

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from a 2019 series of cruises.  On May 8 I was in Kiel, Germany after disembarking Nieuw Statendam in Amsterdam and before boarding Queen Victoria to start my journey home:

 

 

Roy

[KenzSailing]

Somehow I just knew that a former owner of a certain luxury cruise line was going to come up in this article:

 

https://wapo.st/3JZeEUs

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is from a 2015 Crystal Serenity transatlantic.  May 9 was a sea day from Bermuda to Porta Delgada:

 

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

23 minutes ago, KenzSailing said:

Somehow I just knew that a former owner of a certain luxury cruise line was going to come up in this article:

 

https://wapo.st/3JZeEUs

Thank you for giving us access.

 

Roy

[KenzSailing]

11 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

Thank you for giving us access.

 

Roy

 

You're welcome.  Roy, have you ridden any of the routes of the Rocky Mountaineer?

[rafinmd]

12 minutes ago, KenzSailing said:

 

You're welcome.  Roy, have you ridden any of the routes of the Rocky Mountaineer?

Few if any.  I have ridden the Canadian several times which uses CN tracks, while generally Rocky Mountaineer uses CP.  I think recently they may be using CN for a few trips but not usually.

 

Roy

[BEAV]

1 hour ago, KenzSailing said:

 

You're welcome.  Roy, have you ridden any of the routes of the Rocky Mountaineer?

Both Canadian and US Rocky Mountaineer trips are bucket list items for me. The US route (Denver to Moab) is fairly new compared to the long-established Vancouver-Banff run. 

[KenzSailing]

1 hour ago, BEAV said:

Both Canadian and US Rocky Mountaineer trips are bucket list items for me. The US route (Denver to Moab) is fairly new compared to the long-established Vancouver-Banff run. 

 

Agree those both look juicy.  Our neighbors did the Van-Banff run, must question them more closely.

[Keith1010]

After 50+ years the Let It Be Movie has been restored and is streaming on Disney+.  We watched it on Tuesday and Wednesday.

 

Seems like just yesterday when they were together.

 

Keith

 

 

[TheKingD]

11 hours ago, KenzSailing said:

 

Agree those both look juicy.  Our neighbors did the Van-Banff run, must question them more closely.

We did the US route on Rocky Mountaineer in late October last year.  We had never been to Utah, so we started in Salt Lake City a couple of days early, and our trip included a flight-seeing trip from there to Moab.  The train segments were outstanding - service, food, scenery, logistics.  The hotels were fine, but definitely not top-tier.  We chose the eastbound route because the train schedules were more civilized, and since DH is more of a crack-of-noon guy, we wanted to avoid any 6AM departures.  We also arranged our own private excursion in Moab to Arches National Park, because the ones offered by Rocky Mountaineer were skimpy, and I think they were actually cancelled because not many people signed up.  The US route has single-level trains so the meals are served at your seat rather than downstairs in a dining car.  We were in the Silver-Plus, or whatever they call the upgraded experience, and I would recommend that.  I'm happy to answer questions if you have anything specific in mind.

[rafinmd]

Today's sunrise is another from a 2015 Crystal Serenity transatlantic.  May 10 was a sea day from Bermuda to Porta Delgada:

 

 

Roy

[KenzSailing]

11 hours ago, TheKingD said:

We did the US route on Rocky Mountaineer in late October last year.  We had never been to Utah, so we started in Salt Lake City a couple of days early, and our trip included a flight-seeing trip from there to Moab.  The train segments were outstanding - service, food, scenery, logistics.  The hotels were fine, but definitely not top-tier.  We chose the eastbound route because the train schedules were more civilized, and since DH is more of a crack-of-noon guy, we wanted to avoid any 6AM departures.  We also arranged our own private excursion in Moab to Arches National Park, because the ones offered by Rocky Mountaineer were skimpy, and I think they were actually cancelled because not many people signed up.  The US route has single-level trains so the meals are served at your seat rather than downstairs in a dining car.  We were in the Silver-Plus, or whatever they call the upgraded experience, and I would recommend that.  I'm happy to answer questions if you have anything specific in mind.

 

Thank you for that.  The hotel was bundled into the price, correct?  Also, how much hiking does Arches National entail?

[rafinmd]

I have a sunset today rather than a sunrise from a short 2019 cruise on Queen Victoria.  May 11 was a sea day from Skagen, Denmark to a rendezvous with Queen Mary 2 in Southampton.

 

 

Roy

[TheKingD]

13 hours ago, KenzSailing said:

 

Thank you for that.  The hotel was bundled into the price, correct?  Also, how much hiking does Arches National entail?

You are correct that the price includes the hotels, and it includes transportation between the hotels and the train.  Your luggage is transported separately to the hotels and it will be in your room when you arrive and you leave it there when you are leaving to board the train, and the train representatives hand out room keys as you leave the train.  All of that worked really well.

 

The guide we used for Arches was JG Outfitters, and they totally customized our tour, so we rode through the park in their nice Suburban and only got out for some photo-ops.  They offered plenty of other options if you want to take hikes - short or long.  We saw where other tour companies parked and let people out for short walks for those who wanted to walk some.  Their website was spotty and the way we communicated with them was texting or phone calls most of the time.

 

I had ordered a National Park pass in advance, and that came in handy for the tour because we were able to bypass the lines at the entrance.  You only need one pass for the vehicle, and I think the tour companies' pass does not include passengers. 

[KenzSailing]

4 hours ago, TheKingD said:

You are correct that the price includes the hotels, and it includes transportation between the hotels and the train.  Your luggage is transported separately to the hotels and it will be in your room when you arrive and you leave it there when you are leaving to board the train, and the train representatives hand out room keys as you leave the train.  All of that worked really well.

 

The guide we used for Arches was JG Outfitters, and they totally customized our tour, so we rode through the park in their nice Suburban and only got out for some photo-ops.  They offered plenty of other options if you want to take hikes - short or long.  We saw where other tour companies parked and let people out for short walks for those who wanted to walk some.  Their website was spotty and the way we communicated with them was texting or phone calls most of the time.

 

I had ordered a National Park pass in advance, and that came in handy for the tour because we were able to bypass the lines at the entrance.  You only need one pass for the vehicle, and I think the tour companies' pass does not include passengers. 

 

Thanks again.  I really appreciate the level of detail you included.

[Keith1010]

Happy Mother's Day to those celebrating today.

This is a Crystal Cake we enjoyed with family in 2014 on-board Serenity.  

 

Keith