Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Four

I'm currently in Cambridge, just about to attend College 50th reunion - what a good day for a double Light Blues win (i.e. both women's and men's).

Have a great weekend, Jollyjones and congratulations for the boat race.

Here’s one competition Oxford won this week [emoji6][emoji959]🏽

JP, I’m sorry that Melbourne weather isn’t great for you. There will be showers on and off all day.

The Botanical Gardens are a good walk for you from your hotel, and you can pass the Arts Centre and the Shrine of Remembrance on the way.

Hopefully not in the pouring rain. You can catch the tram most of the way if too wet.

Thank you for all the good wishes for my husband. We are off to a winery for lunch today. They cook the roasts on an open fire, so really delicious.

Jeff, it’s about $40K and the great thing about the win was that it was spread around to 33 families in the small town. All retired men from all walks of life.

Jill, how wonderful how all the winnings spread out! Jeff, you write as if you are so easy to please... would that be right? Since you say that you have only one main meal per day, I assume you and wife lunch at about 2-3 o'clock. Did you check that the MDR and the Colonnade would be open at these hours? Since we lunch American style, I do not know.

Thanks Cams,

Our plan is to lunch in each port which is one of the main purposes of the trip. If I had an ambition of any sort it would be to lunch in as many places as we can before we expire.

I think we are easy to please in that our needs are quite small, but I am demanding in as much that I like our limited needs dealt with properly and reliably and without hassle. I don’t do dissapointments well. I’m not certain we’ll be eating much on the boat but hope to drink the odd bottle of wine with the emphasis not being on “odd”.

We’re not the sort to feel that we need to get the maximum value by optimising meals and booze simply because we’ve paid for it and don’t feel we would have lost out in any way if apart from the sea day we eat all our main meals en-porte.

Jeff, you will enjoy your cruise, I'm sure! Personally, I like to enjoy the ship and its activities, but Roberto is just like you. And I LOVE the pool...I have none in near my home and, for me, it is a real luxury.

Jeff, you will enjoy your cruise, I'm sure! Personally, I like to enjoy the ship and its activities, but Roberto is just like you. And I LOVE the pool...I have none in near my home and, for me, it is a real luxury.

My husband is the same as you Cam. He enjoys being on the ship, so the more sea days, the happier he is. Quite often when we have a day in port, he’ll stay onboard while I’ll go off exploring. About the only way I can lure him off the ship is with the promise of exotic food, so he’s like Jeff in that aspect though! It’s why we like cruising. We each get what we like.

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I know:mad::eek:..........unbelievable........the one who thinks "Military Action" is the first option:(

If you are a Netflix customer you may find Olver Stone’s Untold History of the United States a rather difficult but thought provoking series to be viewed and considered against the context of it being produced before Trump, and before Trump and Bolton.

It is a series that is so full of “thought provokers” that it is worth a few views rather than just the normal “one”.

In one way, if we were all forced to view it a few times and let it all sink in, it might make us all a touch more cautious of the ill considered fears of our trigger happy leaders and reflect on how we all got here in the first place.

Greetings Coolers!

I got an interesting mass sent email with a title "Fun With Maps". You might find the bits of interest as well. :)

This map shows the world divided into seven sections (each with distinct color) each section containing 1 billion people.

It may not come as a surprise, but more people live inside the circle than outside of it.

Apparently, you can't get Big Macs everywhere. This map shows (in red) the countries that have McDonald's.

Have a great day all!

And with spring having arrived it's time again for the seasonal tart up of the castle. Here is my to-do list for this exercise. My dungeon chains could do with a polish! :)

Greetings Coolers!

 

 

 

I got an interesting mass sent email with a title "Fun With Maps". You might find the bits of interest as well. :)

 

 

 

I loved those maps, Mysty, thank you.

 

 

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And I thought that Hampshire felt crowded ......:D

Nasi goreng for lunch with boîte vin blanc .....

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Lunch looks yummy J! And now we are back to being 5 hours behind you! Hope the skip ahead by an hour did not adversely affect you! :)

Just back from lunch at our local Cheshire eatery......not as good as usual so a bit disappointing but did enjoy a very good Malbec along with the kids cheerful company and four paws got a good doggie bag!

M...l think the hour going on affected me quite nicely...l felt as though I’d had a lay in!!

😊

Hello coolers! A question and a (not so) quick story...

We leave on Thursday for our cruise (going in a day early). Sunday is Easter. The question is, what is the likelihood of an Easter service?

Now the story. We took my daughter to a pre-opera dinner at an upscale, trendy restaurant in Atlanta yesterday. When I made the reservations I noted that we would be attending the opera nearby and we would need to be out before 7:15 (ressies were for 5:00, opera started at 8:00). We were seated promptly upon arrival and asked if there was an event we were attending. I mentioned the opera again.

Our waiter came over and introduced himself and asked if we’d like drinks. I asked if they had Riesling by the glass. No, but he recommended a rosé that he thought I’d like. Rosé isn’t my thing but I figured I’d go with it. He then left and came back with two plates, one with a lamb entree, the other a shrimp gazpacho. He said these were specials and put the gazpacho on the table and told me to try it. I didn’t have a spoon. He seemed very concerned that I wouldn’t try it, but totally oblivious that I didn’t have a spoon. I thought it was weird to be given a full entree to “try” but ultimately dutifully dipped my fork in and tried it.

We then put our orders in. I ordered the gazpacho. The waiter stopped by our table three times to double check what we ordered before the food came. The food arrived and I still had no wine. My soup was also missing the large shrimps I had seen on the bowl from which I had sampled. I mentioned the lack of shrimp and the waiter said, “Oh! I gave you her French Onion Soup” nodding in the direction of another table. He returned a few minutes later with the gazpacho but still no wine. When I asked he said, “I didn’t bring you your wine? What wine did you order?” I told him it was the rosé he had recommended. He left and brought back a harsh pink wine that tasted like it had come from a box.

I took the glass up to the bar and apologized to the bartender but explained the situation and asked for a different wine. He asked what kind of wine I like. I said Riesling, and he offered a Riesling they had by the glass (!)

So... my shrimp was literally too tough to cut with a knife. Our waiter added the French Onion Soup to our bill, took my husband’s credit card and forgot to bring it back with the receipt, and while we were outside waiting for the valet to bring the car came running out toward us calling, “Hollywood! Hey Hollywood!” We looked at him and he said to my daughter, “Just wanted to wish you a good night, Hollywood.” She said, “Hollywood?” He said, “I’ve been calling you that all night long. Didn’t you realize that?” Fortunately the valet brought our car at that moment.

What an absolutely bizarre experience! I’m wondering if our waiter was on drugs or possibly mentally ill?

They still take credit cards ‘away’? I’m so used to the chip/pin system that I would recommend you monitor your husband’s credit card to make sure it wasn’t somehow compromised during its absence.

Otherwise, it sounds very surreal. I’d probably have a word with management.

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Naps,

Bizarre. I’d copy and paste your post here into a tripadvisor review. Be interesting to see if there is any response.

Could this be a sticky wicket for Brexit?

Canadian firm AggregateIQ used to sidestep Brexit campaign spending limits, whistleblower alleges.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/aggregateiq-aiq-brexit-vote-leave-beleave-whistleblower-1.4592056

""Now, for the first time, we have a really substantial body of evidence which proves that these two campaigns were very, very closely linked — contrary to what they've said," Tamsin Allen, Sanni's lawyer, said in an interview with CBC News from London on Friday.

"If there was overspending, then what has been trumpeted as the will of the people might have been, in fact, something that was paid for," she said.

Dominic Cummings, who ran the Vote Leave campaign, and Darren Grimes, who ran BeLeave, both denied the allegations of illegal spending in statements to The Guardian.

In November last year, the U.K. Electoral Commission opened an investigation into whether the two campaigns' use of AIQ's services broke British election law. Two prior assessments conducted early in 2017 did not result in any action."

The good thing about having so many sticky wickets is that the bemoaners can’t all focus on the same one at the same time. The only thing that unites them is the single desire to derail Brexit.

They still take credit cards ‘away’? I’m so used to the chip/pin system that I would recommend you monitor your husband’s credit card to make sure it wasn’t somehow compromised during its absence.

Otherwise, it sounds very surreal. I’d probably have a word with management.

 

 

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Yes, there are still lots of restaurants (around here anyway) that take your credit away. As for the story........

that waiter sounds VERY STRANGE...........:eek:

They still take credit cards ‘away’? I’m so used to the chip/pin system that I would recommend you monitor your husband’s credit card to make sure it wasn’t somehow compromised during its absence.

Otherwise, it sounds very surreal. I’d probably have a word with management.

 

 

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Unfortunately, in most restaurants here in the US, especially in the finer ones, the waiter takes your card away after the bill has been presented and verified. It is much simpler in Europe, but not the custom here... However, we've never tried asking for the chip/pin gadget...should they have a portable one...

J...It seems like a game of whack-a-mole! Hitting out at random targets. :(

I would post that story to Trip Advisor as well.......re-reading it, he really got all those thing WRONG.........and it just sounds so bizarre.........have you thought about contacting the Restaurant Manager?

We had an unfortunate experience in Phoenix years ago. Card was taken away for processing. Waiter returned and said they could not process a "chip" card. We provided a non-chip card. A month later strange charges were showing up on that card. We have learned our lesson.

The whole reason why chip and pin cards are so prevelant in Europe is that now most Europeans would be unwilling to hand over a card to a waiter to take away but would expect the chip and pin card teader to be bought to the table or failing that to stand with the card at a cashier when leaving. I’d never hand it over.