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Spirit Rome-Barcelona 2 Nov

dougburns

By dougburns,
in Silversea

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dougburns

dougburns

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It's 1600 and the weather has improved, although it is much cooler. If we can't operate the tenders in Monaco we are going to Nice for the evening. Captain Pontillo has his wife and children aboard this segment, but we haven't disturbed them. Wes, Ismail is aboard in La Terrazza. Ary is also there. Tonight is formal night and we are having dinner with the ship's doctor, Phillip Butteravoli. Hope there isn't a hidden meaning that they placed us with him. Crew has been great so far; lots of old friends and a lot of new faces. They are shifting the crews around a lot these days, according to the old hands. Should be an interesting evening for those coming aboard; maybe even a hazardous ride; we'll see. More later!

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PRWeezer

PRWeezer

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It's 1600 and the weather has improved, although it is much cooler. If we can't operate the tenders in Monaco we are going to Nice for the evening. Captain Pontillo has his wife and children aboard this segment, but we haven't disturbed them. Wes, Ismail is aboard in La Terrazza. Ary is also there. Tonight is formal night and we are having dinner with the ship's doctor, Phillip Butteravoli. Hope there isn't a hidden meaning that they placed us with him. Crew has been great so far; lots of old friends and a lot of new faces. They are shifting the crews around a lot these days, according to the old hands. Should be an interesting evening for those coming aboard; maybe even a hazardous ride; we'll see. More later!

 

Hope your weather continues to improve. We got off the Spirit in Rome after being very spoiled by our first SS journey. Capt Pontillo's family was aboard, the kids dressed up for Halloween which was adorable, we only wish we had thought to get some candy as they did 'trick or treat' a bit.

 

We chatted with the ship's doctor on an excursion but I'm drawing a blank on his name now. He was an American, New Yorker who now lives in S Florida, nice guy. Gustavo was in Hot Rocks, we went there a few times and he took great care of us. Donato was overseeing La Terazza, w Ismail on hand as well.

 

There was talk of some staff changes. The 'Artists of Silversea' were all going home or to other ships. Our CD was Mike, my husband thinks he said he was also leaving for home, or possibly to his next assignment on the Wind or Whisper. We really enjoyed Mike, he played along well with our intense trivia battles. :)

 

Sorry for the memory lapses on names/details. The staff was excellent at keeping our glasses full of a nice variety of beverages and the trip sailed by way too quickly. ;)

 

Back to ATL & reality tomorrow, sadly. Smooth sailing to you, will enjoy hearing more!

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dougburns

dougburns

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Anne-Marie is aboard and will be for the crossing. We arrived in Nice last evening @ 1730 and spent the night. We will remain here in Nice for the day and depart for Porto Mahon at 1830 this evening. No Marsielle, unfortunately, so no trip to Aix and Cassis. Formal night last night and had a nice dinner with the doc. As it turns out, he is from West Palm Beach, FL and is aboard for 3 months. He will also be aboard Whisper next summer in the Baltic for 4 months; free vacation! Tonight is Hot Rocks with our group of 13 and tomorrow evening is our party in the suite before the Pool barbeque. Should be @ 25 there. Weather today is clear, but cool this morning; 52 deg F. Hope we have a smooth cruise to Porto Mahon tonight. Miss Lynn and I are going to go strolling around old town Nice for a while today. More later.

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dougburns

dougburns

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It's noon and the sun has disappeared; now cloudy and chilly, so Miss Lynn and I will probably just remain on board. Met the corporate executive chef, who is aboard for some meetings; very nice guy; believe his name is Columbo. Off to lunch!

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Silver Spectre "Live from...." Rare

Silver Spectre

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Plonk of the day.

 

Today's free red is an Italian Monti Garbi 2009. Valpolicella Superiore, made from 70% Corvina grapes,20% Rondinella, 5% Croatina and 5%Oseleta.( Who cares?) All other information is in Italian! (Oh yes, Alcohol content is14%). Has Legs! At least it is corked!

Today the executive chef Silvia showed how to sear scallops and canon of lamb.

Some good tips including drop a clove of garlic and cut shallot into your cooking oil bottle. Adds a distinct flavor to all cooking.

 

Enjoying your wine commentary, please keep it coming.

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englishusa

englishusa

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The free red wine for today is a Gavius Monferrato 2009.

To quote the label:"From this privileged area Piemonte, this has been yielded from grapes of Barbera and Pinot Nero. Deep color and small ripe fruit fragrance. Velvetlike in the mouth" ( Can't think I would like anything velvet in my mouth except my tongue on the morning after!

14.5% alcohol and a cork.

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dougburns

dougburns

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What a night!! Had dinner at Hot Rocks in the wind and rain; 12 of us all bundled up. Then the wind really started! It was rockin' and rollin' until @ 0300, because of the wind and the fact that we were doing 21 knots. Right now it's calm and partly cloudy as we approach Porto Mahon, which I can see out the computer room window( it's @ 70 deg F ). We get in at noon and depart at 2200. The in-suite party is this evening from 1700-1900( @ 30-35 coming, including Mark Antoine the guitarist and his group ) with the pool barbeque following. As you might expect, there was no dancing last night. Miss Lynn is a bit grumpy this morning, because she didn't get to sleep until @ 0400. I made the mistake of waking her for coffee at 0730; not a great idea! Only a couple of days now until the hard core group comes aboard in Barcelona. A lot of the pax currently aboard get off there, but we're full to Funchal. Have a great day all! More later.

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dougburns

dougburns

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The internet is very slow today here in Palma, what with 7 cruise ships in port. Had a fantastic weather day in Porto Mahon yesterday. It's a beautiful port with lots of history; very protected harbor and we did dock, much to my surprise. Had a wonderful in-suite party and the crew did their usual great job. Since the weather was so nice, most folks spent the majority of the time out on the front balcony. The Pool barbecue was also fantastic. First time it hadn't rained on the barbecue. The captain delayed the departure to 2300, giving us an extra hour in port. This morning we are in Palma with 6 other cruise ships. A cloudless day with temps expected to be in the mid 70s, so Miss Lynn and I will definitely go for a walk in town. Haven't been here since 1960. Boy, what a change! Don't think I'll be able to even find my old haunts from Navy days, but that's probably a good thing with Miss Lynn along. We depart here at 1800 for Barcelona. See all of you Saturday. We have the crew ready for you all!

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spinnaker2 "Live from...." Rare

spinnaker2

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Good news that you were able to dock and hope the weather continues to be sunny and warm.

All sounds well and fun.

Looking forward to meeting you all very soon...tomorrow we fly out of Miami into Madrid and then to BCN.

Its finally almost here!:)

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Emtbsam

Emtbsam

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Spinnaker2 - Thank you for thinking of the crew from the Philippines. Our thoughts are with them and their families as well.

 

The ship is here and appears ready for the next group to board. We have already run into a number of passengers from the ship (present and boarding with us), and we are quite excited to join the party!

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dougburns

dougburns

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Sorry for the break, but the internet would not connect to the boards early yesterday. To digress, we had a wonderful and warm day in Palma and a smooth cruise to Barcelona. Arrived Barcelona @ 0730 yesterday and were off to Montserrat at 0830 with Barcelona Day Tours. The service was excellent. We collected the Blosers and then the Pfoutzs at their hotels and then were off. Met the Kents and the emtbsams(Bob&Victoria) at Montserrat. It was a beautiful day; warm and clear. When we arrived back in Barcelona we did the Sagrada Familia and the tower and had a light lunch. Overall a very nice, but very long day. Last night after dinner we just spent time in the Panorama Lounge saying adieu to those who were departing this morning. A great group and we will miss them. The new folks will be coming aboard in a couple of hours. I will close out here and start a new thread for the crossing. Have a great weekend all!

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