Will Work for Tiramisu

Please refer to my avatar to left.  This is our Old English Sheepdog, Lila, who believes she fits nicely in the cat bed.  

Lois,

In 2018 my wife & I, with an old multi-lingual friend from south of France, rented a car in Prague and wended our way to Milan, via Austria & Hungary, and including going through Slovenia & Croatia.  We spent two nights in Ljubljana, (which we loved), and dawdled on our way to Trieste.  Being beekeepers, we had to stop in Radovljica (Near Bled) to see the Cebelarski Muzej - a museum devoted to the history of local beekeeping, located in a lovely little town which we had visited on a day outing on a previous SS cruise.  And of course, we stopped at Postojna Cave, one of the largest cave complexes in the world, or so they say.  You get on a little train (Open topped, WATCH YOUR HEAD!!!),  and travel back into the limestone/karst mountain, into amazing caves with spectacular formations.  We would go back to Croatia & Slovenia in a minute.  I'd love to check out the Croatian coast, south of Trieste.  Spectacular country, wonderful food and wine, friendly people, and I think your travel budget stretches well there, also.  Enjoy your trip!  

Alert readers of this august forae may recall an embarrassing misstep made by moi some months ago, wherein I referred to a well know champagne as - (gulp) - Jacques Cliquot.  (properly Veuve Clicquot, or the Widow Clicquot)  Justifiably, I was shown the error of my ways in no uncertain terms.  It was one of those "Better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool, rather than open it and remove all doubt" events.  Obviously, I haven't purchased much high end bubbly.  As part of the completion of a sort of penance for this public display of ignorance, I have just finished reading "The Widow Clicquot:  The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled it", by Tilar Mazzeo, first published 2008.  (NYT bestseller, Harper Business publisher.)  Anyone with a passing interest in wine generally and  champagne specifically, and of a fascinating story of a young recently widowed woman who (in 1806) took over a small wine brokerage she had owned with her husband, and built it into a great commercial enterprise doing international business, all during an incredibly changeable period of wars great and small, the French Revolution, Napoleon (who preferred Moet's offering), and shifting borders and alliances, will find it a wonderful read.  Ms Mazzeo does a good job of assembling a readable biography with scant personal info available on the Widow herself, but a fair amount of history of the business.  In addition to being a good overview of the history of development of modern champagne, it is also a rollicking tale of doing (big) business in an ever-changing and challenging environment, all made the more exceptional by her being a woman in what was very dominantly a man's arena. Anyone in business can certainly relate, and appreciate her savvy & derring-do.  Pop a cork, and have a good read!  

I live in one of two states in the US (Oregon, New Jersey) where you can't dispense gas into your car's tank, State law requires they have folks that do it for you.  (Thank God.)  I (and my wife and children) tip these underpaid saints a dollar for their efforts every time.  It is pretty clear than no one else does - they are usually gobsmacked.  (And often throw in an unsolicited windshield wash, I might add.)  I think their gratitude is all out of proportion of the amount of dough, but they don't get much respect, and really appreciate the thought, or so I think.  So - full disclosure - I'm obviously a serial soft touch and easy mark.  But a buck buys a brief smile and sincere thank you, and that is a fair deal IMHO.  

So, as it relates to tipping drivers and guides, I'm obviously not driven by personal thoughts of "Silverseas says all inclusive, and I'm holding them to it, by gum!".  Tip the poor sots, and sleep soundly.  

I heartily agree that you should tip the guide, as well as the driver.  We've been on so many tours where the driver negotiated the bus through narrow winding roads, frequently resulting in spontaneous applause when some impossible turn was completed.  These folks deserve a thank you, and it is much appreciated.  I go out of my way to make sure I have a good range of cash and coins with me, so can tip appropriately on these outings.  I consider it a small investment in international good will, and it is always gratefully received, particularly by the drivers, who maybe have to hope the guide will share some of the take.  

The only essential for boarding is patience and a genuine smile and a kind word for the nice people who are working to get you boarded as quickly as possible.  Some clothing is strongly encouraged, but less important.  

Folks,

From my perspective, and having done several B2B cruises (our preference), the suite you are in is kind of a big deal.  I spent untold hours reading reviews, educating myself about relative merits of upper/lower decks, midship versus "chain locker" or poop deck.  (In rough seas, more motion when ship is plowing into big seas, where it rotates around the center of mass, i.e. center of ship more or less.)  Better views/more "status" for higher decks, versus more side to side rolling motion at higher decks.  Blah blah blah.  I made sure I was completely involved in selection of suites and would not accept whatever they said we had to take.  Knowledgeable cruisers know well where they want to be on a ship.  In our case, on SS ships I liked being on the pool deck level (not to use pool), but was a nice mix of walking to things we wanted to do, height above sea, relative quiet.  Not next to or above a kitchen, not next to an elevator, not next to laundry room or stairs.  I know it sounds picky, but if SS or any other line, thinks you're good with whatever they give you, you'll go to the less popular areas (but SAME SUITE LEVEL!), as they know other more savvy sailors will insist on the locations they want to be in on the ship.  This may sound trite, but this is reality, and if you are doing a B2B, which the cruise line should be very happy about, you should insist you get what you want in terms of either staying in same suite, or getting better suite.  If you leave it up to them, you'll get downgraded so they can sell more desirable suites (location wise) to more experienced cruise customers.  Just my two centavos! 

    I was going through some old paper records from 10 years ago, and found this.  We were building a house for a guy (Hal) who had a lot of Apple stock that was down, and wanted to cheer him up.  Here's the note:

    I called in a favor from Carl Icahn to happy Hal up a bit.  A few years back I sat down next to him at the bar at Wei Tu Lo’s Sushi Shoppe in Nantucket.  We talked, I bought him a Singapore Sling, we exchanged cell phone numbers.  Following is transcript of a phone call I had with him earlier this week.

                “Carl here.”

                “Carl, my main man, this is GA.”

                “GA – been too long, dude.  What can I do for you?”

                “Well, I have a friend, who is in a rough patch, and wanted to do something to happy him up a bit.”

                “Yeah, so where do I come in?”

                “Well, this fellow is deep into Apple country.  I wondered if you could, you know, say something positive, make a feint.”

                “I do look in my rearview mirror for the SEC, you know.”

                “Sure, but we’re building a house for this fellow, and we’re about to hit him with a pretty stiff change order for mink toilet seats.”

                “I’m not sure even I could afford those!  But, hey – what are friends for?  Happy to help!”

                “Carl, I don’t care what Bernanke says, you’re an OK guy.  Oh, and Carl?  One more question?”

                “Shoot.”

                “Remember those mink toilet seats you sent me last Christmas?”

                “Neiman Marcus’s finest.  I had to go short on gold just to balance the check book.”

                “Well, if I sold them to someone, that wouldn’t really be regifting, would it?”

                “Of course not.”

                “Great, wonderful.  Listen, next time I see you – the California Rolls are on me.  I’ll even throw in the SF Chronicle.”

                “Love those California Rolls.  Excuse me – got to take a call [Sell it, sell it – I don’t care what happens to the damn kittens!]”

                “Carl, you sound busy, so I’ll let you go.  I owe you, big time.”

                “Sure, anytime, baby.  Ciao!”

                (Dial tone)

Yes, rum is not just your mom and dad's rum-and-coke* anymore.  Some good stuff out there, that tastes a few steps above gasoline!!  Why, my kids gave me a bottle for Xmas.  I don't suggest drinking to oblivion, but stopping a few stations short of that destination, what the hey!  

*Drinking rum and Coca Cola - working for the Yankee dollar!!  Per the Andrew Sisters, I think.  

The issue of proper TP roll installation can now perhaps be considered settled.  However, this still leaves the perennial unanswered question:  "How many men does it take to change a TP roll?"  The answer?  "No one knows, it's never happened!!!"  (Cue spooky music, ala TwilightZone) 

This link is to GCaptain, a maritime industry website which I enjoy reading, with Reuters story about the AIDA ship held in Lisbon.  It does note that while the ship was detained, passengers could be seen "out on deck, enjoying the sun and their drinks".  Good for them - given lemons, make lemonade!  Damn the torpedoes!  

https://gcaptain.com/covid-outbreak-voyage-thousands-aboard-cruise-ship/

Came across this crime scene this morning...

Oh, did I mention we're having one of our rare snow/ice events here in the south Willamette Valley? 

And, of course, a small demonstration broke out during the day...

Well, first our daughter (Thing 2) made cookies for Xmas eve.  On the big day, we started with a cheesy egg frittata with fresh tomatoes and jalapeños, accompanied by mimosa’s for the ladies and a bloody mary for me.  Then, after all the presents were dealt with (and after an ongoing all day cooking event) - a cassoulet.  There are endless variations, but is basically a slow cooked bean and meat affair.  This one, from a 1981 recipe from south of France, has duck confit, roasted pork loin, salt pork (desalted) and garlic sausages.  Lots of other good stuff in there - onions, garlic, tomatoes, wine, bay, thyme.  All topped off with bread crumbs mixed with garlic.  The recipe instructs to serve it with an apple tart (we did) and Fernet Branca, then “go to bed”.  Mission accomplished.  

Fortunate 2,

I'm chiming back with a hotel suggestion.  Last time in Venice (shortly before the pandemic, late fall 2019) my DW and I stayed at Hotel Moresco.  This is in Dorsoduro Sestieri (area).  It is a quiet, non-commercial area, a short walk from Piazzale Roma (where car traffic to Venice stops).  A short walk south leads to S Basilio, a vaporetto stop on Canale della Giudecca.  A short walk to the east leads to the Grand Canal, and all the commercial places associated therewith.  I settled on this nice place after a lot of research, and will absolutely go back there next time we visit.  Very nice staff, clean and well functioning small boutique hotel, with a nice outdoor courtyard, lovely indoor facilities, breakfast (of course), and  on a canal, so can have water taxi pick you up; although, it is a very short walk into the beating heart of Venice (to the east).  I was wondering about whether they are still open, but just this morning got a very nice Christmas email from them; they are celebrating their 10th anniversary, and appear to still be in business.  Note:  They are also close to the Venice cruise terminal - one has to check to see where ships are arriving/departing, but in our view, this is the ideal location combining quiet back street area with short walk to restaurants, vaporetto stops and so forth.  Hope this helps.  

Our last trip to Venice we spent a good part of the day on a route we found online for a self guided walking tour of the less beaten path in Venice.  This is on Travlinmad blog site.  There is a map, and commentary on the stops along the way.  If you can get past all the advertising, it is an excellent route that takes you away from the worst of the tourist areas, but is full of one surprise after another.  Worth checking out.   https://www.travlinmad.com/blog/off-the-beaten-path-venice-walking-tour

As I've said before on this forum, if you have any interest in the glorious, world-straddling history of Venice, which was maritime in nature, from Piazza San Marco, walk east along the promenade on north side of Canal San Marco and visit the Naval Museum.  Many floors of fascinating displays regarding the glory days of Venetian dominance of the trade between far east and "west" (Europe).  Or take the vaporetto to the Arsenale stop, and walk east from there to just past the Rio d' Arsenale.  The museum is set back a short distance from the promenade.  

Given these difficult times, I wanted to gift my DW (for Xmas/Festivus/Kwanzai/etc.) something to express how happy I am she is soldiering through them with me, and has been doing so for 38 years.  Our wedding had a sort of "tickled pink" theme, in which pink plastic flamingos played a role.  I asked my friend to make a little memento, and this is what came today - maybe it will brighten your day, too!  

May I suggest you book this sun-sand&surf cruise, and bring along, say - the complete works (to date) of Robert Caro (The Power Broker, + first several volumes on LBJ).  Find a nice place to plop down with the right kind of light (and refreshments) and get lost in a good (multi-day) read.  I have operated on the assumption that something similar to this is one of the attractions offered in heaven, interspersed with some good meals and a shower with good pressure and lots of hot water.  (OK, and some efficient housekeeping in the bargain.)  If it is not, I ain't goin'!  

Let those youngsters frolic in the surf and step on the spiny sea urchins, you'll be up on the top deck with your floppy hat and maybe a Corpse Reviver!  Bon Voyage! 

The daughter of a very good friends makes these cool items.  I'm getting my stocking stuffers from her this year.  The world can use a little whimsy about now.  My DW and I had a flamingo theme for our wedding, back in the day, thus the flamingos in veil and top hat.  I'm also having her make a bunny holding a sign saying "Will Work for Tiramisu", of course.  "Bunny With a Toolbelt" is her nom de plume.  

A lot of people spend their childhood wishing they were an adult, then spend adulthood wishing they were a child!  They say youth is wasted on the young.  Me personally, who am also 69, I wish the damn clock would slow down just a little!  I seem to recall days as a kid that would last for years!  On the bright side, I'm looking forward to starting to draw my full-pop Social Security when I turn 70.  I don't know when I'll cross the River Styx, but I try to enjoy every day I have left on this beautiful earth as much as I can.  And I don't take for granted that I have good health and a loving spouse and children, and 3 squares a day, a roof over my head, and a bottle of grape squeezings at the end of the day.  I'm certainly not in a rush to turn the odometer ahead, let me tell you.  

Our first cruise we booked on SS (2012) was cancelled, due to the entire ship being chartered to house a bunch of Saudi family in Monaco for the races.  It was a drag, as we had invited my wife's sisters.  Nonetheless, we rebooked and SS was very accommodating, and gave us a ship board credit in addition to full credit for original cruise.  This also happened in 2019 on Seabourn, and we ended up with a better cruise segment for the same price as the original.  It happens - I'm sure cruise lines are happy to get a big booking these days, to help them - shall we say - stay afloat!!  

This seems to be the motto for this distinguished forum, where all and sundry are bandied about on a regular basis, from soup to nuts:

'The time has come,' the walrus said, 'to talk of many things: of shoes and ships - and sealing wax - of cabbages and kings’.

Zoom time of year! 

Idle hands are the devil's playground...