CGTNORMANDIE

Try making the broth then prepare each serving with fresh noodles.

Gruyère of course but Baby Swiss will do in a pinch!

Now you’ve got me thinking about making a batch of Tiki drinks! What I wouldn’t give for a well made Pina Colada…made with fresh pineapple!!

Gotta love French Onion Soup. It is one of my favorite soups to make and you gotta love the stringy cheese over a well made crouton!

Shaving the cobs: Take a big wide bowl, not too deep, then take a smaller bowl turn it upside down and place it in the center of the larger bowl. Cut the corn cob at its base to give it a flat surface and then stand it up on the smaller bowl. Hold the cob with one hand and take a sharp knife and go down each side until the cob is clean. The big bowl will catch all the shavings and keep the mess to a minimum. The Maine Diner is world famous…just good old Yankee cooking. The blueberry pie is made with wild Maine blueberries. Their lobster pie is legendary as is their chowders and fish cakes and beans. A waitress there gave me the recipe for their baked beans and it is very similar to yours! Baked beans ALWAYS taste better the second day…and the third…and the…

Right RK, the quartered onion will give a wonderful flavor and the pieces are very tasty. Your recipe is not too far off from the recipe at the famous Maine Diner in Wells, Maine. August is coming and with it comes the sweet butter and sugar corn. We get a half dozen ears at a time and shave the cobs then cook the corn with salt and butter in the microwave. Then we bag it and freeze it for the rest of the year…fantastic. Now you’ve got me dreaming of blueberry pie!

We always had bbq chicken on the Webber with my family’s special bbq sauce.. Potato salad and Cole slaw were the accompaniments with blueberry pie and vanilla ice cream for dessert. Don’t forget the corn on the cob, cold beer and iced tea. RK, try placing a quartered onion in your bean pot when baking your beans. This year I made a big pot of my world famous chili.

Thanks so much Bea. “Hope Springs Eternal”

Thanks Bea, Well, at least we can say we enjoyed the YC back when. NF brute with a shot of cognac and 1/2 a shot of lemon sour makes for a great French 75! I am very interested in Azamara but I’m still waiting for a kidney transplant. That should happen shortly then I’ll get off the beach and out to sea. The kidney and Covid had me held up for the past 5 years. So here’s hoping.

Hi again Bea, I just got the answer and it is YES! That’s great because DW might have a glass of rose’ before dinner…😇 I prefer the higher grade drinks. What’s the story with the Champagne? As I recall that is your favorite libation.

Hi Bea, long time since we spoke last. Question: does Azamara allow just one person to upgrade to the Ultimate Package?? 😁

BON VOYAGE Lois!! I see you are saving your appetite for better things to come…lol.

Thank you…does not sound like anything to be concerned about.

Hi Heidi, what percentage of the time would you encounter rough weather? How long, on average, would a storm last?

A small short cut of the rump grilled with eggs over easy, hash browns and a grilled English muffin…

So true…however…overtipping when the drink arrives always goes a long way to insure prompt service in the future! TIP…To Insure Promptness.

This is very possible as the waiters work as teams in the Specialty Restaurants.

Trying to figure out the MSC Drink Packages is an endless conundrum. The real show stopper is the MSC policy that all occupants in the same cabin must take the same package. In your case you can simply go with the Non Alcohol Package for $25.00 per day per person. As long as both of you in the cabin subscribe for the same package. Now if your DW or SO doesn’t need the package that means you’d be spending $50.00 per day to get your fruit juice. Maybe charging each drink would be cheaper than getting a package?

We always tie a brightly colored bunch of yarn, at least twenty strands, around the luggage handle. The bunch of yarn really stands out and cannot be confused with a similar piece of luggage. Do that and take pictures of your luggage.

“The dining room staff’s tips are pooled”…here we go again…lol. The DSC is pooled but not the cash you hand a waiter, a Maitre D, or assistant waiter, bartender, etc etc. Cash tips go directly into the pockets of those who receive it.

It always cracks me up when I read “tips are pooled”. Tips handed directly to service personnel are not pooled. The only time tips are pooled is through the Daily Service Charge. Room service personnel are on the low rung of the pay ladder. We always give them a $5.00 bill at time of delivery.

Yes…but that was done to avoid the sun and to stay on the cool side of the ship.😎

Lest I forget my special pots and pans. Way back in the 1980’s Revere Ware made a gourmet set of pans. They were copper with two layers of stainless. They were so good they could not sell them to the regular Revere Ware customers. They ended up in a Revere Ware discount store in Freeport Maine…close to LL Bean. I bought two full sets…and they were not cheap. I put them in storage and I was finally able to get them out last year. They are beautiful…my pride and joy…and they really work great!

I never mentioned radar. Today’s weather reporting at sea is done by satellite which enables the ship to avoid storms.

Violent storms on the Southern Atlantic route are very rare…hence once in a century. Satellite weather reporting makes it possible for ships to avoid bad weather.