Emtbsam

2 hours ago, Grand Duchess said:

Happy yesterday in her happy place (Sylt)

Beaches in Switzerland?  I'll have to bone up on my geography!  LOL

I forgot to mention, I also just replaced my La Pavoni espresso machine.  The Gaggia Factory, made by La Pavoni, died after 24 years.  I have never had anything by Gaggenau, but my dishwasher is also 30 years old, so I might have a chance.  I do love kitchen appliances although I am not the chef that so many of the Coolers are.

She is lovely JP.

The past 12 months have been a time to replace worn out equipment - 2 HVAC systems, 1 hot water heater and now the refrigerator.  I don't feel too bad about replacing a 30 year old refrigerator or hot water heater. I know the new ones won't last that long, but then neither will I!  The HVAC systems are a bunch more annoying since they really should have lasted lots longer than they did.

We have a black granite floor in our kitchen, and it is hard to see her even during the day!

Here she is when we adopted her.  She is a total sweetheart which is surprising given the fact that she was dumped at a shelter in a rainstorm, in the middle of the night, at age 15!

Pulled the trigger and bought the Sub Zero!  If not now, when?

Apparently I do not know how to add a photo.  She is an all black cat similar to a Bombay.

My refrigerator is dying.  I have had it for 30 years since I built this house.  The cost of new ones is crazy, so I have scheduled a repairman for next week.  I have seen the new one that I covet, but the price is astronomical, so I will spend tomorrow debating what to do.  At my age, there is pleasure in buying things for the “last” time and thus splurging on the things I really want.  The problem with a 30 year old house is that so many of the mechanical items are reaching maturity.

This is Jade, my now 16 year old whom I rescued from a shelter last year.  She went to camp while we were in the Arctic on the Wind.

Lincslady - I wish I had more memories of the hotel.  I do however, remember the Lygon Arms and the room we had where you had to walk through a lounge and up,a,flight of stairs to get to it.

On 7/6/2024 at 7:37 AM, DavyWavey70 said:

Have a fabulous time MissSophia. Lovely Hotel. I Did my work experience from college at the Grosvenor. Is Sunday lunch in the Arkle these days?

I thought the name of the hotel sounded familiar, so I pulled out my father’s daily diary of all our trips and lo and behold, we stayed at the Hotel Grosvenor in Chester on July 28, 1956!  We had sailed from NYC to Liverpool on Cunard’s Media and toured around England, Holland, Belgium and France before returning home on the RMS Queen Elizabeth.  I am so fortunate to have his diaries.  Dinner that evening was broiled salmon for some and filet of beef for others in the family at an extraordinary price of 12 shillings - I guess per person but he didn’t specify.  We only stayed one night and then went on to the Lygon Arms in Broadway.  Such wonderful memories.

Forgive me for posting about a cruise, but after last year’s fiasco on the Nova, I seriously reconsidered our future cruises on Silversea.  Well, I can say that I am thrilled with our current cruise in Svalbard on the Wind.  It feels very much like the “old” Silversea.  The ship is lovely and the food is spectacular.  Even the free pour wines are pretty good.  Now if I could just throw a few passengers overboard it would be perfect!

12 hours ago, Port Power said:

For those of you who might have wondered whatever happened to Silver Explorer after she was sold….

 

Longbearyean, Svalbard, 24 June 2024.

We saw her this morning!

3 hours ago, Lirio said:

https://open.spotify.com/search/a banda

 

Do you have Spotify or similar?

Obrigada!  I was able to open Spotify and listen to it.  One of the highlights of my travels with my parents was attending the Carnival Ball at the municipal opera house in Rio in 1967.  We were on a round trip cruise from New York all the way to Buenos Aires and stopped in Rio two times.  Between our two visits, the currency was devalued!  I learned a lot of Brazilian music before the trip and continue to listen to much of it to this day.  Insensatez is one of my favorites.

17 hours ago, Lirio said:

Share with us at spotify! we can create a Coolers playlist there, although I have no idea how to do it.

Not a clue how to do it.  I tried to get a copy of A Banda, the song Chico Buarque introduced at Carnival in 1967 without any success.  I have the record but no way to transfer it to a digital recording.

I created a list of the music which has impacted me throughout my life.  I hope the flash drive can be copied and distributed to my friends at the appropriate time.  The music begins with the somber Pomp and Circumstance and ends on a more upbeat note.  In between is a mix of English, French, Brazilian and Italian music which I love.  

Lvshack - I believe it will be September 20.

34 minutes ago, Lois R said:

Hi, got a good price for a solo🙂 and it is 14 nights!

I think our friends in the ping pong crowd will be on board.  Some of them are solos.

24 minutes ago, Lvshack said:

Great news for you ... Thought about a TA but still not sure about the long sea days ... We are on the spirit ( still one of our favourites) in Oct around the Mediterranean & dawn next Nov doing the canaries... ( Stay pretty close to home after my diagnosis of myeloma 10 years & just had second stem cell transplant in January..)..! Just waiting for hair to come back 😂... Please keep me posted how it goes ... Keep enjoying yourself Lois ... 

we will see you in October.  We get on in Southampton and off in Athens.

1 hour ago, Port Power said:

Our group had dinner on the 5th floor of the Reykjavík Opera House tonight, the perfect position to see Silver Wind arrive in port.  It was early due to bad weather at some stage.  I board her tomorrow.

 

 

We will see you in Longyearbyen!

8 hours ago, gnome12 said:

And I’m currently in Oslo where it is summer and expecting a high of 17C today. 

We will be there soon on our way to Svalbard.  It will be quite the change from the 90’s (32) here in Maryland.

We were extremely lucky to take the National World War II charter cruise on the Silver Cloud in 2014 to visit Normandy on the 70th anniversary of D-day.  We started in Lisbon, spent three days in Caen and got off the ship in Dover.  There were several WWII veterans on board the ship as well as several historians and Tom Brokaw.  The events orchestrated by the museum on the beaches and other places in Normandy were extraordinary.  We also participated in the Franco-American ceremony at Colleville-sur-Mer cemetery.  You can find a recording of the ceremony on Youtube with Presidents Obama and Hollande.  A high point in my travels.

1 hour ago, BBGrace273 said:

Ha, yeah, my dad forgets his phone all the time too! Already have magnetic hooks. Plan on sticking one in his room, right by the door, so he can always hang up his lanyard! But I do forsee some trips to guest services!

I have been known to put my key card in an envelope in the "mail slot" next to the door on the outside and use it to enter the suite.  Not the most secure way of doing things, but anything of value is put in the safe, so I'm not really worried.

15 hours ago, 57 varieties said:

Thanks Les. That was well worth your efforts! It has whetted my appetite for our cruise on her from Longyearben at the end of June.

We will see you on board. We will be with a family group of 12 - aged 25 - 86.

20 minutes ago, kitcrazy said:

Thank you Emtbsam, I have just made a reservation at the Silver Note.  It was only available for Sunday evening, and even then I am waitlisted, but I hope it will work out.  When you say "special order", are you referring to menu items, or something else?

You can special order food items or even request a certain cuisine for dinner.  We have requested Thai, Filipino and Indian meals.  This is better done with a group, but if there is a special dish you would like, by all means speak to the Maitre d’.  
 

if your reservation for Silver Note does not come through, you can still go there and sit at the bar.  I do not know if they would serve food at the bar, but you could go after having dinner somewhere else.

You should go to the singles event at the beginning of the cruise and also join a trivia team.  Teams are always looking for Canadians who can broaden out the knowledge base. 

Thank you for the suggestions.

10 minutes ago, UKCruiseJeff said:

 

Hi,

 

Any particular yearnings/tastes or cuisines  etc?

 

Jeff

I like Indian cuisine and don't have the opportunity here in the boondocks to get any.  In the 1950's, I went to Veeraswamy with my family but don't remember much except the name.  In those days, we stayed at the Park Lane Hotel or the Hyde Park Hotel.  In 1972, I also had great Chinese in the West End in a tiny restaurant(with Pearl Bailey who was also alone).  I am really open to anything. 

I wish I had known that I could book a future cruise with a 5% discount while on board.  I also didn't know that I could special order just about anything with 24 hours notice.

The Moon is a great ship.  I suggest that you try Silver Note.  It might be hard to get a reservation, but give it a try.