A Silver Shadow Over The World - December 2023 to May 2024

[Port Power]

8 minutes ago, mysty said:

 

They sound amazing Port!  Are the Australian options available everywhere in Australia? 

 

Four Pillars varieties definitely are, and also in duty free stores at the airport.  Wise is only small batch, so possibly not as easy to find.  I have a "Mandarin Gin" and "Single Vineyard 2022 Shiraz Gin" in my bar unit that yet to be opened.  Wise is a winery, and gins are a relatively recent addition.  I bought them at a gin fair at the local marina.

[mysty]

10 minutes ago, Port Power said:

Four Pillars varieties definitely are, and also in duty free stores at the airport.  Wise is only small batch, so possibly not as easy to find.  I have a "Mandarin Gin" and "Single Vineyard 2022 Shiraz Gin" in my bar unit that yet to be opened.  Wise is a winery, and gins are a relatively recent addition.  I bought them at a gin fair at the local marina.

 

Brilliant Port! Sounds like an adventure in gin for you!  Sounds wonderful! 😁

[mysty]

The Teller of Tales for the 3rd segment of the 2019 World Cruise was HAROLD KODA

His bio - Hawaii-born, multi-award-winning Harold Koda has forged a strong reputation for himself as a leading authority in costume studies. Since graduating from the universities of Hawaii and Harvard, Koda has received Honorary Doctorates from the University of the Arts London and Drexel University. A curator, an author and an academic, Koda is best celebrated as the former Curator in
Charge of The Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. He has authored 20 books and has won awards from many institutions. He is among the most prestigious figures of the New York fashion world.

 

This segment included Komodo Island.  Mr. Koda wrote about his experience on the island.

 

"It happens so quickly, and is managed so deftly, that I cannot remember if
any of the guides raise their voice. All I recall is looking to my right to see two
of them parry their sticks to prevent a lizard behind the Asian group from
moving forward. Most of the people near the potential breech seem unaware
of what is happening behind them, continuing their focus on the main group
of lizards. A few do move away, giving space to the guides engaged with the
rogue dragon.

 

As the two guides attempt to shift the intruding lizard from moving into the
crowd, the largest Komodo spots the outsider, raises its head and heaves
up on its legs with a strong open-throated hiss. Almost immediately, three
other guides push the crowd back. Only at that moment does a plump
young woman with her metallic pink camera step away from her position
between the lizard intent on getting to the watering hole and the alpha lizard
defending the space. Even as the woman in pink, her phone an apparent
coordination, moves toward her friends, it is clear from her nonchalance
that she is still oblivious to the surrounding tension. The guides who have
through most of our hike conveyed an almost obsequious affability suddenly
display a concentrated seriousness, their bodies now taut and defensive.
What amazes me is the inattentiveness of the group near the breach. Even
with the potential for collateral injury (the lizards seem more interested in
confronting each other than attacking any of the succulent newlyweds) there
is a lack of concern, and certainly no sense of alarm.

 

My phone pix of the day are absent any sense of danger or dread. The
lizards are, after some judicious cropping, strange and heroic, but they
are neither threatening nor frightening.  Our walk through nature, no matter how controlled
and choreographed, is a lived experience filled with “almosts” that are
impossible to document. A photo of what happened behind the woman
in pink might surprise her, but even the tense alarm on the faces of the
guides, or their masterful movements diffusing a you-cannot-believe-what-
just-happened moment, would not convey the excitement of the
“almost.” In travel, if not always in life, almost counts."

[drron29]

Actually there are now over a thousand different Australian gin brands. Most produced by boutique distilleries. We have several within a 30KM range of our home on the Sunshine Coast. I do like Sunshine Brothers as they do a special release at times. For example a dragon fruit gin for Valentines Day- a lovely red colour.

[mysty]

15 minutes ago, drron29 said:

Actually there are now over a thousand different Australian gin brands. Most produced by boutique distilleries. We have several within a 30KM range of our home on the Sunshine Coast. I do like Sunshine Brothers as they do a special release at times. For example a dragon fruit gin for Valentines Day- a lovely red colour.

 

Thank you!  It's interesting that gin seems to have made such strides of late.   Even Canada has seen more gins being made here.   We're definitely not at over a thousand though.  The LCBO lists 101.  😁

Edited April 13, 2023 by mysty

[mysty]

The 4th Teller of Tales in 2019 was LAKSMI PAMUNTJAK.

 

Her bio - Laksmi Pamuntjak is a bilingual Indonesian novelist, poet, food writer and journalist. She writes for many publications including the Guardian. She has authored three collections of poetry; a collection of short stories, five editions of the award-winning Jakarta Good Food Guide and three novels. The German translation of her debut novel, Amba, won the LiBeraturpreis 2016. The movie adaptation of her second novel, The Birdwoman’s Palate, premiered in Indonesia in 2018. Pamuntjak’s third novel, Fall Baby, will be published in September 2019 by Penguin Random House.

 

She wrote about TAIPEI.....

 

"Underground Taipei is so efficient
and twenty-first century
it makes me cry. Up above is so
vast, its landscape so strange the
way buildings pierce the sky, the way
they revere the past and the present,
as if continuity were a given.

 

Generalissimo Chiang is a hero,
no argument there; his resting place
is so gigantic at first you have no idea
it is flanked by the national theatre
and the national concert hall like
a coddled egg. You can’t help but
think of his four wives and the way
they must have had his back; just look
at the way the rain keeps on pouring down,
forming its clean, hard-headed armour.

 

At the Longshan Temple, people
worship differently, though their
love of rituals might have been
forged in the same furnace.
They are quieter, fiercer, bound to
the settler’s code. They pray as though
all of life hung on it; if I could I’d stay,
beyond that moment, watching,
loving. Loving this, and the edifices,
and the dreams and the timetables;
loving words and loving charts,
loving you and loving him,
loving all over again."

[mysty]

Update - We were hoping that Silversea would comp us for one night in Bridgetown to replace the one night pre-cruise in San Francisco for the World Cruise (since we would already be on the Shadow).  That was a "no".  We will pay for both our nights in Bridgetown before the December 2023 sail.  However, Silversea will provide us with transportation to the pre-cruise gala on January 14.  We'll take it! 😁

[Stumblefoot]

8 hours ago, mysty said:

Update - We were hoping that Silversea would comp us for one night in Bridgetown to replace the one night pre-cruise in San Francisco for the World Cruise (since we would already be on the Shadow).  That was a "no".

This is very short-sighted by SS. You are spending six figures, and then add on a five figure voyage at the most expensive time of year, and SS says no.  Awful.  Just awful.

[mysty]

5 hours ago, Stumblefoot said:

This is very short-sighted by SS. You are spending six figures, and then add on a five figure voyage at the most expensive time of year, and SS says no.  Awful.  Just awful.

 

We were disappointed.  I (naively) thought that the hotel stay in San Francisco would be about the same price as a hotel stay in Bridgetown.  Maybe that is not the case. 

[mysty]

The 5th Teller of Tales in 2019 was STEVE MCCURRY.

 

His bio -  Steve McCurry has been one of the most iconic voices in contemporary photography for more than 30 years. His work spans conflicts, vanishing cultures, ancient traditions and contemporary culture alike - yet always retains the human element that made his celebrated image of the Afghan Girl such a powerful image. McCurry has been recognized with some of the most prestigious awards in the industry, including the Robert Capa Gold Medal, the National Press Photographers Award, and four first prize awards from the World Press Photo contest.

 

He wrote:  

 

"There’s always something new.
There’s always something soul-stirring.
That’s why, after photographing and working
in Asia for nearly 20 years, I still love going back.
Observing. Sensing. Catching the colors.
Looking beyond the chaos and contrasts
to reveal the unguarded images.
Those split seconds that tell a human story.
Those moments of pure beauty.
For me, the essence of traveling is being
captivated and absorbed in a place.
Immersing myself in an environment
and bringing it into focus.
That’s when I feel most alive and at home."

 

Here are 2 of his photos from that cruise:

 

 

 

Mr. McCurry was gracious enough to sign the book we received for that segment called "Steve McCurry - A Life in Pictures".  I asked him to sign the photo of the Afghan Girl.

 

Edited April 15, 2023 by mysty

[mysty]

The 6th Teller of Tales was JEREMIAH TOWER.

 

His Bio - A world-renowned chef and restauranteur, American-born Jeremiah Tower began his career as the Co-Owner and Executive Chef of Chez Panisse in California in the 1970s. He then opened branches of Stars restaurant in San Francisco, Manila and Singapore, among other locations, plus Peak Café in Hong Kong. Martha Stewart called him "The father of American Cuisine" and Anthony Bourdain said that "Tower's menus made a complete re-evaluation of not just American food and ingredients - but food." In 2017, a full-length documentary on Tower, The Last Magnificent, was produced by Anthony Bourdain for CNN.

 

He wrote...

 

"So far, the ocean had been very calm. That night, as we pulled away and
set off, it was mirror-like. So calm that in the reflected light of the sun, the
surface of the ocean took on that breathtaking gun-metal, grey color that
made flying fish more silvery and dramatic, as they desperately escaped
the bow waves. All this, seen from the balcony with a glass of chilled
champagne in one’s hand.

 

It is very good to be alive.

 

Scheduled for the next day, my presentation in the theater was on my
mind. How would guests receive it? The title of my talk was “The role
of chaos in success when paired with opportunity and a heavy dose of
glamor.” Glamor, as when, after the 1989 San Francisco earthquake rattled
all the vodka bottles in my restaurant, Stars, Elizabeth Taylor quoted her
famous saying to me: “When the going gets tough, pour yourself a cocktail,
put on your lipstick, and get on with it.” Which is what I did, I told the
audience, “Without the lipstick". I sold the Stars group to a Singaporean
Chinese collector and moved to New York.”

 

We were headed for two different islands in the Seychelles, Praslin and
Mahé. The biggest concern, decided over more champagne with our group,
was which one had the best beaches. After hearing the brilliant lectures
on each of the islands, we decided to try the Cote d’Or of the former
(which is often voted “most beautiful beach in the world”), but we had
higher hopes for the huge and very long beaches of the latter, Mahé.
The ship's concierge told us three places to go, in order of preference.
First, The H Resort, then just down the beach from there, The Savoy and
The Coral. A taxi took us on a thrilling, winding ride across the high ridge
running through the center of Mahé, up to the grand entrance of the H. A
majestic staircase took us to the reception."

[mysty]

The 7th Teller of Tales was PAUL THEROUX.

 

His bio - Paul Theroux was born in Massachusetts. After university, he lived in Africa, Singapore and the UK, before returning to the US in 1989. He has authored many acclaimed works, including The Great Railway Bazaar and Dark Star Safari. In 2015, Theroux was awarded the Founders Medal from the Royal Geographical Society. Approved by the Queen, the award is the highest award attainable for a traveler. He has also won the Whitbread Prize and the James Tait Black Award. Two of his works were nominated for the American Book Award and three of his novels have been made into films.

 

He wrote.....

"We had left Zanzibar and were sailing to Madagascar on a calm sea in
perfect weather. Standing in the open air on an upper deck of Silver Whisper, I
felt the ship softly rising and falling beneath me, as undulant as a magic carpet
– the sort of carpet mentioned in the Arabian Nights, in the tale of “The Three
Princes and the Princess Nouronnihar.” In this tale the carpet seller says to
Prince Houssain, “Whoever sits on it as we do, and desires to be transported
to any place, be it ever so far off, is immediately carried thither.”

 

This sounds fanciful and forced, typical travel writer hyperbole, gushing
sentimentality about the luxury ship. But wait – this image stayed with me
for days, and what came next was like the unfolding of a fable that justified
the gush. I had always wanted to visit Madagascar, not only for its lemurs, a
primate found nowhere else on earth, but also to see the land and people
– some from mainland Africa, others descended from ancient South East
Asian voyagers. I’d been reading about the island for years.

 

My eyes became accustomed to the darkness of the hut
and I saw several large symmetrical white objects, twice the size of footballs,
but the same spheroidal shape, and cream colored, and very odd.
“Carvings?” I asked.
“Oeufs,” she said – eggs.
“Really?”
“Oui, d’un oiseau – un grande autruche.”
What sort of great ostrich could this be that would lay an egg this size?
I hoisted one up – I needed two hands it was so heavy, but holding it in
my arms I saw that it was beautiful and smooth, made of a mosaic of many
smaller pieces of eggshell, the largest egg I’d ever seen.
“How much?”
“Cinquante euro.”
She was delighted, and danced, when I offered her forty.
Could something this size really be a bird’s egg, and if so, what sort of bird?

 

I had the egg in my suite, resting on my sofa, more than a foot from end
to end, crowding an entire cushion. I googled “Giant Egg” on my computer
and immediately saw images of my egg, with the caption, “Egg of the Extinct
Elephant Bird.” Of Madagascar.

 

And, with no further effort than that, I was able to identify my egg. Mine
was identical to some specimens that were shown on the Internet – the
pieced-together egg, a mosaic of many fitted eggshell fragments, made whole,
as though Humpty-Dumpty had been put back together again. But an intact
uncracked Elephant Bird egg had been auctioned at Sotheby’s in London a
few years ago, the bird described in the catalogue as “a giant flightless bird,
indigenous to the island of Madagascar,” an average specimen ten feet tall
and weighing half a ton, “the largest bird ever to live on the planet.”

 

I knew about the Roc, and as a child I had marveled at the deliverance of
Sindbad by the Roc, in his voyage. But I had never imagined that it had actually
lived on earth, and that I would arrive by a beautiful ship at the shore of a place
I’d longed to see, and, like Sindbad, be astonished by this marvel of a giant egg,
and be able to show it to my skeptical fellow passengers, and say, “Yes, this is a
real egg, and there’s a story behind it. Listen – it’s an amazing tale.”"

 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/giant-intact-egg-extinct-elephant-bird-found-buffalo-museum-180968850/

[highplanesdrifters]

That's one heck of an omelet! 

[mysty]

8 minutes ago, highplanesdrifters said:

That's one heck of an omelet! 

 

Indeed!!!  Would probably feed a village! 😁

[Daveywavey70]

17 minutes ago, highplanesdrifters said:

That's one heck of an omelet! 

I Can vouch for that! We had an Ostrich egg Omelet a few years back and 6 of us where quite full afterwards.

[highplanesdrifters]

Just now, Daveywavey70 said:

I Can vouch for that! We had an Ostrich egg Omelet a few years back and 6 of us where quite full afterwards.

And.....how did it taste?

[mysty]

1 minute ago, highplanesdrifters said:

And.....how did it taste?

 

Excellent question!!! 😁

[Daveywavey70]

Quite rich, a bit like duck eggs but with a gamey hint. Quite pleasant really but you wouldn't want to start your day every day with one!

[highplanesdrifters]

Just now, Daveywavey70 said:

Quite rich, a bit like duck eggs but with a gamey hint. Quite pleasant really but you wouldn't want to start your day every day with one!

Very interesting, thanks for sharing. Could be interesting for making pasta, maybe with a duck ragu. Or soup noodles/dumplings. But I think I'd take a pass on pancakes. 🤣

[mysty]

7 minutes ago, highplanesdrifters said:

Very interesting, thanks for sharing. Could be interesting for making pasta, maybe with a duck ragu. Or soup noodles/dumplings. But I think I'd take a pass on pancakes. 🤣

 

Maybe pancakes with gravy instead of maple syrup High! 😁

[highplanesdrifters]

6 hours ago, mysty said:

 

Maybe pancakes with gravy instead of maple syrup High! 😁

Would that Pantine instead of Poutine? 🤣🤣🤣

[drron29]

Well they ran out of maple syrup on the Moon before reaching Citavechia. Apparently the Chinese found out that they loved it and wanted it on all sorts of food according to one restaurant manager. Restocked in Citaveccia.

[Stumblefoot]

6 minutes ago, drron29 said:

Well they ran out of maple syrup on the Moon before reaching Citavechia

How ‘bout the Tiki?

[drron29]

They keep a bottle in Kaiseki for lunch so Rojaan can partake. The benefits of eating there nearly every lunch. They also kept a bottle of the dry sake I like when it was obvious that it would run out. So I didn’t miss a day before it was restocked in Livorno.

Helped that the South African waiter is one of our favourites that we have cruised with before. She is delightful.

[Mr Luxury]

17 hours ago, highplanesdrifters said:

And.....how did it taste?

Rich but with longer legs.