Live from the Volendam - please join the Merry Widows on their cruise 😊

[kazu]

Our next day was pretty Halifax Nova Scotia.

 

We were meeting Deb’s BIL & SIL for lunch.

 

And what a lunch.  

 

Deb had the seafood chowder and declared it excellent even though there was no lobster in it 😉 

 

 

Carol and I had the Reuben - best one I have ever tasted.

 

 

Carol’s was gluten free so on a different bun (no idea why the pic is upside down - I played and can’t fix it here - will try on an edit.

 

 

And Jim had goat cheese & red beet salad with lots of shrimp.

 

 

All very good and actually not a bad price despite the location.

[kazu]

10 minutes ago, FlorenceItaly said:

Yes, three large pigs on the front.  Thanks.  Warning, it is highly addictive, LOL!

 

Got it.  I’ll try to look more.  Haven’t seen wolves yet either nor heard them.

[kazu]

Leaving Halifax.

 

 

 

 

 

It was a pretty sail away.

 

 

 

 

[kazu]

Our Halifax night we got daring in the MDR.

 

 

 

Aww the first two items on the menu”. That’s what we had.

 

Debbie tried the Bami Goreng

 

 

 

And I the Hodge Podge.  i forgot to ask for a small serving.  I don’t know how anyone could eat everything on my plate.  

 

 

Both of them were very good.  VERY good.

 

I had the cheese plate (kept my roll from dinner)

 

 

 

and Deb the apple pie.

 

[Haljo1935]

7 minutes ago, kazu said:

Our Halifax night we got daring in the MDR...

And I the Hodge Podge.  i forgot to ask for a small serving.  I don’t know how anyone could eat everything on my plate.  

 

 

Both of them were very good.  VERY good.

That looks wonderful  - wish we had smell-o-vision.🫣

I hope if I see it on a menu I remember to ask for a small portion. And I'm glad they do that. PG Chef on NS said they'll do a small cut on steak if you ask. 

[kazu]

49 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

That looks wonderful  - wish we had smell-o-vision.🫣

I hope if I see it on a menu I remember to ask for a small portion. And I'm glad they do that. PG Chef on NS said they'll do a small cut on steak if you ask. 

 

they do indeed.  I’ve asked for small plates for the one breakfast I like and most nights at dinner.  That dish was very good.  They both were.

[kazu]

it was another cold day here in PEI.  Colder than forecast.  there is a nasty Arctic North wind that seems to be following us (or are we following it?)

 

I’ll let you guess where we were yesterday.  Big hint.

 

 

Yup you got it.  the home of the largest fiddle in the world - Sydney.  That wind was enough to do you in - bitter, bitter.  And we Canadians are used to cold.  

 

Apparently if you braved the wind and moved further into town it was ok.  But we were enjoying where we are admiring the very talented crafts people here and decided on lunch.

Deb and I shared.  She ordered the mussels and I the fish and chips with an extra plated 😉 

 

 

 

they were both excellent.  

[Cruising-along]

2 hours ago, kazu said:

Portland night our entertainer was Mike Robinson from Halifax.  My understanding is he was called in when one of the dancers had passport issues.  

 

I don’t know how to describe Mike except to say he is as funny as heck and a very talenteted ventriloquist.  I was laughing so hard that only after did I fully comprehend the difficulty of what he was doing.

 

If you have the chance to see him - go.  He is very talented and very funny.

Yes, he's so talented -- and funny.  We saw him a few times during the Grand Australia.  Did the dummy pick on and insult someone in the audience?  On our cruise it was a gentleman who throughout the cruise yelled out from the audience at our Cruise and Travel Director Daniel.  It was obvious this gentleman was chosen to be harassed by the dummy, as he was sitting down front instead of his usual seat in the balcony.  We all laughed SO hard!

[BetsyS.]

I agree that it's good you can order a small portion. In the past, waiters would be worried if I didn't "clean my plate."  They said they would bring me something else.  I said that the food was very good, but the portion was too large. I told them I like to save room for dessert - I have a sweet tooth. LOL  I order a small portion when needed.

[kazu]

12 minutes ago, Cruising-along said:

Yes, he's so talented -- and funny.  We saw him a few times during the Grand Australia.  Did the dummy pick on and insult someone in the audience?  On our cruise it was a gentleman who throughout the cruise yelled out from the audience at our Cruise and Travel Director Daniel.  It was obvious this gentleman was chosen to be harassed by the dummy, as he was sitting down front instead of his usual seat in the balcony.  We all laughed SO hard!

 

The dummy mostly picked on Mike calling him a loser but there was a gentleman from the audience chosen for the card trick.  

I don’t think I have laughed so hard in a very long time.

[Cruising-along]

31 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

The dummy mostly picked on Mike calling him a loser but there was a gentleman from the audience chosen for the card trick.  

I don’t think I have laughed so hard in a very long time.

Yes, "loser" seems to be the dummy's word of choice. 😂 He also flirted a lot with the man's girlfriend. 😉  

[kazu]

Deb and I unanimously agree that PEI was colder than Sydney.  It was supposed to be 13 here but that Arctic wind decimated that forecast.

 

No sail a way pics - at least not now.  It’s too flipping cold to stand out there.  I feel sorry for the poor guys working the Seaview Pool. 

We were told in Charlottetown we came at a good time.  They can have 4 ships here at a time.  2 can dock and 2 tender.  We are the 4th ship here and the largest so far.  The big ones can’t get in here.

 

Apparently that Arctic wind is going to follow us, Captain Van Eerten has warned and he is warning everyone of motion of the ocean once we are out of the islands and entering the strait (Northumberland strait I believe) to be very careful.  Big motion of the ocean coming.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Haljo1935]

58 minutes ago, kazu said:

...I’ll let you guess where we were yesterday.  Big hint.

 

 

Yup you got it.  the home of the largest fiddle in the world - Sydney.  That wind was enough to do you in - bitter, bitter.  And we Canadians are used to cold.  

That sky is incredibly beautiful - postcard pretty.

[kazu]

@FlorenceItaly in the effort of scientific research, I regret to report there are no piggy games on the ship.  they do have wolves.

 

Lots of games but I have it confirmed from the casino (not that I am there 😆 ) that it’s not on the ship.  sorry.

[kazu]

And we’re starting to rock and roll.  

 

Nothing like being rocked to sleep in your bed 😉 

 

 

[BetsyS.]

Jacqui - I hope your seas will calm down soon.

[kazu]

3 minutes ago, BetsyS. said:

Jacqui - I hope your seas will calm down soon.

 

No worries - it will be for a bit.

 

We’re good.

 

Now, will they calm down enough for the tender tomorrow to Cap aux Meules?  And if they can tender how rough a ride will it be?

 

We’ll see if tomorrow ends up being a sea day or a port day.

 

I fear it will be very cold though.  VERY..  time will tell.

 

[BetsyS.]

Good luck tomorrow. I hope you will have a port day with calm seas for the tender ride.

[kazu]

Just because I know how very important it is to some - I managed to score a pic of the bread puddings before they were dipped into.

 

 

 

[VMax1700]

3 minutes ago, kazu said:

Just because I know how very important it is to some - I managed to score a pic of the bread puddings before they were dipped into.

 

 

 

I am pleased that your pud's are 'naked'.  Onboard NSDM they have constantly been dusted, unnecessarily in my opinion, with icing sugar on top.  TMC (too many calories!).  Eventually I sent a note via 'Let us know' that I was boycotting the pudding until they stopped with the 'powdered calories'.😋.  Today's bread pudding was naked and all is good with the world again.

[kazu]

It’s Tuesday (at least that’s what the elevator said - someone asked me what day it was early this morning and I told them I hadn’t looked at the elevator yet 😆 😂)

 

Captain announced bright and early that all attempt to tender in Cap aux Meules were fruitless and the islands had denied entry into the bay (maybe he was going to tour us around them?) So today is a sea day and we are sailing slowly to Quebec.  I’ll take the slow sailing since it helps to lessen the motion of the ocean.

 

Misunderstood and thought an updated daily was being delivered to our mail boxes (that’s what was said).  It slowly dawned on this thick headed person to check the Navigator and sure enough it was updated.  Unfortunately, I checked too late and missed bingo.  Oh well, there’s another game this afternoon 😉 

[kazu]

8 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

I am pleased that your pud's are 'naked'.  Onboard NSDM they have constantly been dusted, unnecessarily in my opinion, with icing sugar on top.  TMC (too many calories!).  Eventually I sent a note via 'Let us know' that I was boycotting the pudding until they stopped with the 'powdered calories'.😋.  Today's bread pudding was naked and all is good with the world again.

 

I would trust you as a bread pudding aficionado to get it fixed 😉 👍 Ours have been properly naked all along but by the time i found them they were pretty sad looking and not photo worthy

[kazu]

A lazy morning. We were too late for the Pinnacle Grill breakfast so had to hit the Lido.  We both decided on a splurge and a real “healthy” breakfast.

 

 

The sticky buns on the ship are really good.

[seagarsmoker]

22 minutes ago, kazu said:

Just because I know how very important it is to some - I managed to score a pic of the bread puddings before they were dipped into.

 

 

 

Thanks for the photo. Easy way to get me to smile. 🙂 

[kazu]

We are travelling at no more than 10 knots per hour - we are in whale country (St. Lawrence river has very strict rules to protect the whales).  We are in right whale country and the bridge has their eye out for us.

 

No one would want to be out there watching for too long.  The water is warmer than the air outside.  And, needless to say, it’s colder here than it is at home.  LOL.