Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Five

[UKCruiseJeff]

3 hours ago, MissSophia said:

G’Day Coolers,

 

So lovely to feel some normality after the last few weeks of political mayhem!

Also lovely to see our little Wimbledon star Emma Raducanu doing so well.

It’s a ladies who lunch day tomorrow with my DD for a champagne Sunday lunch at the Chester Grosvenor….my very favourite place!

I’m sure some of our cooler ladies lunch out, always good to catch up with friends and family…😊

 

 

 

So lovely to see you back on your throne stool at the Cooler S!  The spot has been kept warm for you. 🙂

 

I cannot match the Grosvenor … and I do so hope you have a great lunch there.  Make it a slow lunch! 😀

 

I can’t match that but Brunch in Cucina  today was kippers, Cremant, and brown sliced on the diagonal because I know hw to do stuff.

 

Jeff

 

 

[Lvshack]

3 minutes ago, Lois R said:

Hi Coolers, got home last night......deciding if I will do laundry today or just wait till tomorrow.

I probably mentioned this earlier but I am really a cruiser at heart........another land trip is not in  the cards for me (not anytime soon anyway). And not with a group of  seven gals LOL

 

Question for my UK friends........are you pleased withe your new PM? I have not done any research on him.....just curious really. 

Oh don't go there Lois 😂... As for the laundry my Moto don't do today what you can put off until tomorrow..( nice thing about cruising & free laundry hardly anything to wash & iron .. nice to hear your. Back safe and sound 🥂

[UKCruiseJeff]

Choux a choix … macchiato….. Armagnac  …. zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

Jeff

[mysty]

Food for Thought.....

 

 

 

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

 

[fudge]

20 hours ago, UKCruiseJeff said:

 

So lovely to see you back on your throne stool at the Cooler S!  The spot has been kept warm for you. 🙂

 

I cannot match the Grosvenor … and I do so hope you have a great lunch there.  Make it a slow lunch! 😀

 

I can’t match that but Brunch in Cucina  today was kippers, Cremant, and brown sliced on the diagonal because I know hw to do stuff.

 

Jeff

 

 

When I joined the Police force back in 1971 I was lucky enough to be posted to Chester where I served for over eight years. Its a beautiful Roman city a hot spot for tourists, I had my picture taken thousands of time as a "real British bobby". The Grosvoner hotel is lovely, been to a few weddings there, very smart. We now live in Cyprus and have done for the past 22 yrs however, we still have a place 10 miles from Chester (Frodsham) we visit the city every time go "back home"

[zqtchas]

[jpalbny]

Good Morning from CDMX! The view from our balcony is spectacular in the morning light.

 

 

Our ride to the airport should depart in about 90 minutes. We are resting this morning after two very busy days here.

 

On Friday we walked most of the way to the Centro Historico and made lots of photo stops along the way, visited museums, and then took the Metro back to our hotel to get ready for dinner. We had dinner at the Terrace of the Gran Hotel overlooking Zocolo, and the square at night was a beautiful backdrop to some great food.

 

Yesterday we were up early and spend the morning wandering the parks and tree-lined boulevards of La Condesa. What a beautiful neighborhood! We found a wine bar and marked it for later. Then we went to Chapultepec Castle before lunch (at that wine bar, of course!). We ticked a few more sites off the list after lunch and then had time to rest our feet before dinner, which was in Polanco. A really fun restaurant and great food, again.

 

This morning we did not do anything! Unless you count relaxing on our balcony with a coffee as an acceptable vacation activity. But after 35000 steps on Friday, and another 28000 yesterday, we figured that a break would be prudent.

 

I'll look through some pictures soon and post some. The city is overwhelming and impossible to grasp in just a few days. Public transport is ridiculously cheap (think about 30 cents per ride) but can get crowded. Food has been great, and relatively cheap, but the portions are massive. We drank Mexican wines which were pleasant. I think we'll be back when we can fit another long weekend into our schedule!

 

More later!

[zqtchas]

Any talk about them running out of water?

[UKCruiseJeff]

Jeremy Clarkson has bought a pub.

 

I cannot wait for the series. 

 

🙂

 

Jeff

[jpalbny]

2 hours ago, zqtchas said:

Any talk about them running out of water?

 

Mexico City? We didn't hear that, nor did our hotel make any request to conserve water. But with a population over 20 million, I could certainly understand the potential for that to happen! 

 

We did our part by not drinking any...at least not from the tap.

[mysty]

Food for Thought.....

 

 

 

[zqtchas]

20 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

 

Mexico City? We didn't hear that, nor did our hotel make any request to conserve water. But with a population over 20 million, I could certainly understand the potential for that to happen! 

 

We did our part by not drinking any...at least not from the tap.

Mexico City’s water ‘Day Zero’ may come even for the wealthiest residents - The Washington Post

[jpalbny]

Anthropology Museum, Chapultepec, CDMX. 

 

This Museum was huge and overwhelming, much like this city of over 20 million. But we had to do it. Admission is only 95 pesos, about $5US. A bargain. 

 

Massive displays of artifacts, some small and others quite large. And reconstructed large-scale buildings.

 

A few pictures to give you an idea of the variety here.

 

Lascaux cave paintings? Wasn't sure why they were here...

 

 

Massive edifice, and a close-up of some details. 

 

 

 

A Mayan creator god from Xochicalco. Quite the character. Wrapped up in two snakes. Sure... It takes many snakes to do all that creating. At least that's the PG version. 

 

 

Impressive dreds too.

 

 

Chak Mool. A rain god, always represented in this odd position.

 

 

Stone of the Sun, Aztec civilization. 

 

 

 

Xochipilli. Aztec god of art, games, dance, flowers, etc. He didn't seem so cheerful, considering! 

 

 

Beautiful jade mask.

 

 

A very cute jaguar. Looks like he wants a scratch behind the ears.

 

 

An Olmec giant head

 

 

A very happy fellow swimming in a snail shell.

 

 

Another beautiful mosaic mask.

 

 

It would take all day to see this museum properly. Even at our rushed pace it took us about 2-1/2 hours. Very much recommended! 

Edited 18 hours ago by jpalbny

[jpalbny]

Dinner at Ritz-Carlton, July 4th. 

 

We did a tasting menu, with pairings. The pairings were Mezcal! Potent stuff. We got a bottle of wine for a chaser. 

 

Food was innovative and tasty. For an apéritif, red wine spiked with Mezcal.

 

 

There were four courses plus dessert.

 

The first appetizer was grilled marinated tasajo (dried beef) which was then served in a mold, with pineapple and avocado almost like a tartare, but it wasn't raw. It was swimming in a marinade with a touch of dry ice to make it smoke. Cool effect, and delicious. 

 

 

Next appetizer was an octopus taco. A huge tentacle!

 

 

The first main was chicken in a white mole. The mole has pine nuts, chiles, and chicatanas. Yummy, but what are chicatanas?

 

 

Google to the rescue! "Chicatanas are large, reddish-brown flying ants with thick bodies and big wings that are considered a delicacy in Oaxaca." They were tasty, but maybe I didn't need to know that!

 

The last main was a pork belly with "fiesta" mole. The mole was so flavorful. I would have preferred to have more of the fat rendered out of the belly during cooking. But a nice dish.

 

 

Dessert was a Oaxacan chocolate tart. Over the top after all the preceding rich food.

 

 

An interesting set of dishes, with exotic ingredients that we'd never make at home. Glad to have tried them but we'll look for less fancy meals for the next few days. 

[Lirio]

Today typical winter Sunday - 22-24c, blue skies, fresh wind. After our regular walking along side Copacabana Beach, lunch at home with friends and then visited the Museum Casa Eva Klabin. Eva Klabin was a wealthy woman that passed away by early 1990, she was an art collector and she create this foundation as her legacy. The House is walking distance from my place (20 minutes). Today the focus was on the Egypit Collection.

 

 

 

 

 

And one of her dresses

 

 

Edited 17 hours ago by Lirio

[jpalbny]

Friday morning. Walking our feet off, part 1.

 

There was supposed to be a pastry shop across the street but we couldn't find it. So we walked around the block and found a hole in the wall shop with coffee and sweet rolls, which we brought to our balcony for a quick breakfast. 

 

Today we planned to walk the Avenida de la Reforma, and eventually get to the Historical Center. It's a decent hike.

 

We set out at a gentle pace, enjoying the atmospheric tree-lined wide boulevard, and marveling at the crazy traffic. Every so often, there's a roundabout with something in the middle. The first roundabout had a statue of Diana, the Roman goddess. I liked this view best.

 

 

Onward to the Angel of Independence 

 

 

Though the layout appears to be a roundabout, after a while we discovered that this is not how the traffic flows at all. Two large streets intersect at a right angle at each circle. There are traffic lights which regulate entry. However, traffic flows around the circle in BOTH directions at once!

 

If you want to go left, instead of going right and going 3/4 around the circle to exit, you actually go left into the circle and exit 1/4 way around. But traffic flows into the circle in both directions simultaneously. It's insane to watch. And, I'm glad that I'm not driving here.

 

Next was a statue of the last Aztec emperor. Not Montezuma. It was Cuauhtémoc.

 

 

Further on, this was supposed to be a monument to Columbus. From a distance, it sure looked like it. But if you blow up the photo, you can see letters. And it looks like a 2D profile, not a 3D statue.

 

 

And from the side, your perspective changes completely! What a difference 90 degrees makes!

 

 

From here we left the busy wide Avenida, and headed down small side streets to the Monument of the Revolution. Unfortunately we were much too early to go to the top. That doesn't open until noon!

 

 

We explored further, trying to find a library that Chris wanted to see. And we found a different statue of Christopher Columbus on the way. 

 

 

We found the library too. Interesting open design with floating shelves over our heads. And what's hanging in the middle?

 

 

It's a whale skeleton! Typical library decor back home...

 

 

Onward. To the Alameda de Santa Maria, with its Moorish kiosk in the middle. This was designed for the 1884 World's Fair.

 

 

 

You can't go inside but you can get a view.

 

 

We had planned to visit the geology museum next to the park but it did not seem open. So we turned to Plan B.  Nice building though! 

 

 

There was another plaza on Chris's list before the Historical Center, but it was far. So eventually we figured out where the nearest Metro stop was, after some bad information from Google. We got some Metro cards for 100 pesos each, and hopped on the Metro for a few stops.

 

Metro, then more walking, and we arrived at the Plaza de Las Tres Culturas. There was an archeology park nearby but we didn't go there. Instead we got a free view of the park, and an old church, with a modern high rise nearby. 

 

 

Now, finally it was time for the Historical Center! We found a bus to the Metro station that we needed, and we were off.

 

I should mention that the 100 peso card had 85 pesos worth of travel funds (the card costs 15 Pesos) . That's less than $5, worth of funds, which doesn't seem like much, except that rides cost only 5 or 6 Pesos each! Super cheap.

 

We eventually made it to the Historical Center, after having to go to the following stop because the Metro stop in the Center proper was closed! The next stop was a huge market which was incredibly crowded but we made it.

 

After a brief look at Plaza Mayor, and a quick reccon of our dinner spot, we found some lunch at a cafe full of local families.

 

Tacos and Chilaquiles.

 

 

 

Refueled! Now it was time to explore the Historical Center for real.

 

Our dînner reservation was at the Gran Hotel on their terrace. So we'd have to eventually get back to our hotel to get ready, and then come back for dinner. Guess we'll be using those Metro cards a lot!

Edited 16 hours ago by jpalbny

[mysty]

1 hour ago, jpalbny said:

Friday morning. Walking our feet off, part 1.

 

There was supposed to be a pastry shop across the street but we couldn't find it. So we walked around the block and found a hole in the wall shop with coffee and sweet rolls, which we brought to our balcony for a quick breakfast. 

 

Today we planned to walk the Avenida de la Reforma, and eventually get to the Historical Center. It's a decent hike.

 

We set out at a gentle pace, enjoying the atmospheric tree-lined wide boulevard, and marveling at the crazy traffic. Every so often, there's a roundabout with something in the middle. The first roundabout had a statue of Diana, the Roman goddess. I liked this view best.

 

 

Onward to the Angel of Independence 

 

 

Though the layout appears to be a roundabout, after a while we discovered that this is not how the traffic flows at all. Two large streets intersect at a right angle at each circle. There are traffic lights which regulate entry. However, traffic flows around the circle in BOTH directions at once!

 

If you want to go left, instead of going right and going 3/4 around the circle to exit, you actually go left into the circle and exit 1/4 way around. But traffic flows into the circle in both directions simultaneously. It's insane to watch. And, I'm glad that I'm not driving here.

 

Next was a statue of the last Aztec emperor. Not Montezuma. It was Cuauhtémoc.

 

 

Further on, this was supposed to be a monument to Columbus. From a distance, it sure looked like it. But if you blow up the photo, you can see letters. And it looks like a 2D profile, not a 3D statue.

 

 

And from the side, your perspective changes completely! What a difference 90 degrees makes!

 

 

From here we left the busy wide Avenida, and headed down small side streets to the Monument of the Revolution. Unfortunately we were much too early to go to the top. That doesn't open until noon!

 

 

We explored further, trying to find a library that Chris wanted to see. And we found a different statue of Christopher Columbus on the way. 

 

 

We found the library too. Interesting open design with floating shelves over our heads. And what's hanging in the middle?

 

 

It's a whale skeleton! Typical library decor back home...

 

 

Onward. To the Alameda de Santa Maria, with its Moorish kiosk in the middle. This was designed for the 1884 World's Fair.

 

 

 

You can't go inside but you can get a view.

 

 

We had planned to visit the geology museum next to the park but it did not seem open. So we turned to Plan B.  Nice building though! 

 

 

There was another plaza on Chris's list before the Historical Center, but it was far. So eventually we figured out where the nearest Metro stop was, after some bad information from Google. We got some Metro cards for 100 pesos each, and hopped on the Metro for a few stops.

 

Metro, then more walking, and we arrived at the Plaza de Las Tres Culturas. There was an archeology park nearby but we didn't go there. Instead we got a free view of the park, and an old church, with a modern high rise nearby. 

 

 

Now, finally it was time for the Historical Center! We found a bus to the Metro station that we needed, and we were off.

 

I should mention that the 100 peso card had 85 pesos worth of travel funds (the card costs 15 Pesos) . That's less than $5, worth of funds, which doesn't seem like much, except that rides cost only 5 or 6 Pesos each! Super cheap.

 

We eventually made it to the Historical Center, after having to go to the following stop because the Metro stop in the Center proper was closed! The next stop was a huge market which was incredibly crowded but we made it.

 

After a brief look at Plaza Mayor, and a quick reccon of our dinner spot, we found some lunch at a cafe full of local families.

 

Tacos and Chilaquiles.

 

 

 

Refueled! Now it was time to explore the Historical Center for real.

 

Our dînner reservation was at the Gran Hotel on their terrace. So we'd have to eventually get back to our hotel to get ready, and then come back for dinner. Guess we'll be using those Metro cards a lot!

 

Your adventure looks amazing JP!  Thanks for taking us along!

[jpalbny]

Friday afternoon. More punishment for the feet!

 

After lunch, a quick run through Plaza Mayor on our way to visit the Templo Mayor museum.

 

 

The museum is laid out over the ruins of the great pyramid/temple of Tenochtitlan. The pyramid was repeatedly expanded by building over the previous smaller pyramids. At the beginning of the visit you can see some ruins.

 

 

 

Then there's a decent sized museum. More exhibits! My brain is on overload. Here's my favorite, Mictlantecuhtli. The Aztec god of death, pictured with his liver hanging out.

 

I suspect he had recently disembarked from a Silversea cruise and his liver was just taking a breather, but we all have our beliefs I guess.

 

 

Onward! Next, we took the elevator to the top of the Torre Latino.

 

The Bellas Artes palace, next door.

 

 

And some scenery. In the distance, one of the volcanic peaks surrounding the city.

 

 

One of these tall buildings is our hotel. So far away.

 

 

Back at ground level, in the courtyard of the Bellas Artes palace. We were just at the top of that tower.

 

 

A quick look at the inside of the Bellas Artes palace.

 

 

The old Post Office. 

 

 

Now it was time to go home to get ready for dinner. We caught the Metro without any issue. But when it came to changing lines, we were stumped.

 

Turns out, some of the Metro lines are actually busses! Eventually I figured it out, and we were back at the hotel with time to recharge before dinner.

 

Which meant that we had to do the bus to Metro sequence in reverse! Much easier this time, though traffic was awful and the Metro was chock full. We squeezed in and made it to our dinner reservation only 5 minutes late.

 

The hotel was easy to find but nobody was at the reception desk for the restaurant. We waited a few minutes then checked at hotel reception. They said to wait at the desk...

 

Shortly, a gentleman appeared and checked us in. Up 3 floors in an old hand-operated elevator. Then a walk, and a staircase. Then another spiral staircase made of alabaster, beautifully backlit. 

 

 

Where were they taking us? What a mysterious and fun process just to get here.

 

But we had a table with a beautiful view.

 

 

We started with shrimp tacos and pastes. The latter reminded me of empanadas.

 

 

 

Mains were barbecued ribs, and a pork "chamorro" which were both delicious. My main course was huge!

 

 

My main looked like this when they brought it to the table,

 

 

But they shredded the meat before serving it, with tortillas.

 

 

We managed to eat everything, but no room for dessert. The view of the Plaza was great, as it got darker and the buildings were lit up for the evening. 

 

 

 

On the way out we had a chance to take pictures of the hotel. Beautiful old architecture. Might be fun to stay here some time.

 

 

One more lap around the Plaza to see the lights. The cathedral.

 

 

And the government buildings on the south side of the Plaza. 

 

 

It had been a long full day, so we stopped by a wine shop on the way back to the Metro. 

 

Almost home! The angel of Independence was lit nicely for the evening. 

 

 

Home for a nightcap on the terrace before bed, and to toast our 35,800 step performance. I'd broken my previous high from our visit to Prague a few years back. And we have a full day planned tomorrow. 

Edited 12 hours ago by jpalbny

[Host Jazzbeau]

48 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

35,800 step performance

My feet hurt just looking at that!  Are you sure that isn't in metric???  🤣

[jpalbny]

11 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

My feet hurt just looking at that!  Are you sure that isn't in metric???  🤣

 

No, and I can attest to feeling each one of those steps. In fact I still am!

 

But Chris has even shorter legs than I do, so she gets even more steps. I think her total was over 37000.

 

Luckily we kept it under 30000 for Saturday. 

[mysty]

Greetings Coolers!

 

Today's funny.....

 

 

 

[MissSophia]

Good Afternoon!

 

Miss S has been well and truly scammed…🙈

 

Earlier this year my best friend and l bought tickets for an evening event dining under the wings of Concorde….red carpet, black tie bash….

The stage was set, hotel and driver booked and then….

Found out that it was a possible scam thanks to friends who had booked a similar evening aboard the Royal Yacht which was cancelled at literally the last minute.

Further digging, delving and emails to our potential venue have revealed that no such event exists….

Thankfully we’ve been able to limit the damage but it just goes to show how easy it is to succumb!

 

On a lighter note lunch at the Chester Grosvenor yesterday was excellent…two vodka martinis followed by champagne and the company of my beautiful DD….a real Mum and daughter day..

 

That’s life 😊

 

[spinnaker2]

[zqtchas]