A few minutes after we arrived to the Cove, the Captain spoke from the bridge to let us all know that we would be sailing shortly and also advised us what time we would arrive to Dublin. The Captain noted how good the weather had been and how it normally would be fairly windy anchoring off Waterford. We were so very fortunate to have wonderful weather.
Musa from Durban, South Africa took our drink orders and also took a photo of us and then Keith took a photo with Anne Marie and Musa. We have known Musa for a couple of years and he is always so very kind to us and to our fellow guests.
We were back in the Crystal Dining Room for dinner.
We began our meal with salads; Keith had a standing order salad and Anne Marie had pre-ordered a spinach salad.
For dinner, we had discussed the menu with Augusto last evening. Since the Broiled Swordfish was fresh we decided on that but had the galley prepare it butterfly style. This is something that should be pre-ordered. While we enjoy the normal way the swordfish is prepared having it butterfly style changes it up and we really enjoy how it is prepared. Swordfish was from the classic side of the menu. On the Modern Cuisine menu Augusto recommended that we try try a small portion of the Charred Norwegian Line Cod and we did exactly that and it was very tasty so we were glad we followed Augusto's recommendation.
Augusto was right. The cod made for a perfect appetizer and the sauce that accompanied it was very flavorful.
We then enjoyed the Swordfish entree and we very much enjoy the taste and texture of having it prepared butterfly style.
For dessert, Keith had the mixed berries and Anne Marie had the sugar free Rhubarb Mascarpone Cream. John and Linda, this is the dessert that we remember that Linda really enjoyed as does Anne Marie.
We began our meal with a Chardonnay from California and this one was not oaky and had various flavors including a hint of lemon. Keith also had a red wine of three different blends. Since our Sommelier, Javier, is from Spain, he thought it would be nice to present Keith with a wine from his homeland. Both were terrific.
Since we were sailing in Ireland, it was appropriate that last night's entertainment included a comedian. His name is Steve Stevens and he is a comedian and also a musical performer who plays both the ukulele and the trumpet. He is a very seasoned performer and even performed for Her Majesty The Queen at the Royal Albert Hall.
We slept very well last evening and enjoyed relatively calm seas. We docked at a container port around 30 minutes from downtown Dublin very early in the morning.
Our routine in the morning is the same as it normally is. Keith up early and then working out. While working out Keith watched two lectures previously recorded that he had seen on this year's World Cruise. Even though he had seen them before he still enjoyed watching them again. One was by author James Bradley who wrote Flags Of Our Father's and the other one was by Character Actor Bruce McGill. This was a reminder to Keith about how special the enrichment program is and that for many of the lectures one can learn so much that they might not have known before.
For example, James Bradley spoke about the events leading up to the Japanese attack in Pearl Harbor. He noted that Roosevelt continued to sell oil to Japan in spite of some of the atrocities they were committing and in spite of dissent within his own administration about this policy. Roosevelt's view was that if we stopped selling oil Japan would likely go after us and he wanted to focus our attention first on Europe. He went on to say that while Roosevelt was away from the White House in secret meeting with Churchill to plan our European strategy once we entered the war that when Japan attempted to purchase the next amount of oil that some within the Roosevelt Administration slow rolled this which and this might mean that they couldn't get more oil for several months and with their stock on hand dwindling they were not happy with this. By the time Roosevelt got back and heard about all of this he felt that he could not intervene and reverse what was done because that would lead to us looking weak to others. Keith found this and several other points very insightful as he did when we first heard the lecture live and enjoyed hearing it again.
He also found Character Actors's Bruce McGill's lecture to be very insightful as well. The lecture covered how actors prepare for their roles and he gave many examples of this. One such example was the actor who played Lincoln which is one of hundreds of films that Bruce McGill was in. He noted that whether on or off the set the actor kept to the Lincoln part he was playing so even off the set they both spoke about families and other such items but not their own families but rather that of the characters they were playing. He went on to say that they were going to shoot the scene when Lincoln is assassinated and then dies. However, he noted that the actor did not want to do this because he felt that if Lincoln was dead it would hurt his performance in scenes that took place before the death.
These are just a couple of examples of how much we learn from the many of the lectures who lecture on each voyage.
After his workout, we had the same routine that we keep to pretty much each and every morning which included Keith going to the Lido Cafe, returning to the room with coffee for Anne Marie and then Anne Marie walking on the Promenade Deck. As Keith was leaving the Lido Cafe, some of the hot breakfast food were starting to be set up along with some cold foods.
Afterwards it was breakfast in our room, and a spin class for Keith and before we went into Dublin.
Keith was the only guest for Spin and it was taught by Fitness Instructor James. If you have ever played Black Jack with only yourself at the table and the dealer, that is where the similarities end when it is just you and the instructor. All eyes are on you. James said we would go on the Tour de France, that he would talk the entire time, that there would be hills to climb along with speed and it would be never ending and asked that Keith always keep his legs at the same pace he was at. James was not kidding, but Keith was able to do it all and James is about half the age of Keith. Possibly even younger than that. Keith was to imagine being with 98 other cyclists and that he and James started at the back of the pack and the objective was to get to first place. Keith is thinking, "my objective is to just make it to the end". James said he would focus only on Keith's legs so he would know if Keith was keeping up with him.
The good news is that although drained Keith did keep up. James had Keith do somethings he's not done before on the spin bike and pushed and pushed and pushed. Throughout this race he would note how many from the lead we were as we made it from places 99 and 100, but in the end he said Keith finished at third place because he knows we will do it another time on this cruise. All in all it was a lot of fun. Easy to say a few hours later. LOL.
Keith is thinking..."Are you kidding me? Is this race going to ever end?"
After showering it was time to visit Dublin.
We have been to Dublin other times in the past so we didn't book a tour and simply took the shuttle from the container pier into the downtown area. The distance is not far but it took about 30 minutes because of the traffic. In addition to cars and taxis there are lots of buses, many of which are double decker buses. In fact, our shuttle was a double decker.
This was a long row of buses.
We walked to several areas in downtown Dublin including to the Bank Of Ireland Building, St Andrews, Trinity College, College Park and Book of Kells, and the Olympia Theatre.
These are some photos from Trinity College.
The weather was a delight. It was only slightly cooler than yesterday and the good news was no rain. We walked into several shops including clothing shops and various book stores.
Dublin is famous for its pubs so we certainly passed many pubs during our walk.
Today had a feel of spring and the flowers always add to the charm and character of a city.
We did purchase a hat for Keith.
All in all we enjoyed our time in Dublin.
We had pre-arranged to have salads in our room not knowing precisely what time we would get back for lunch. They held the salads for us in the Butler's Pantry so once we got back we just called and our lunch was delivered within a few minutes.
In the afternoon, Anne Marie walked for an hour on the promenade deck and then worked on her knitting and Keith spoke with some fellow guests, read and wrote.
This evening we are dining at the Crystal Dining Room and have a special guest joining us. We will post more about that tomorrow.
Also, this evening Hector Olivera who is a world-wide renowned Organist is performing. We have seen him perform from time to time including twice earlier this year. He will also be performing on this year's Holiday Cruise and on one of the segments of the World Cruise. He is amazing and we are so thankful to have him on board. Keith also plays Paddle Tennis with his lovely wife, Lieve.
Keith & Anne Marie
No comments:
Post a Comment