In the footsteps of St James

[ighten]

32 minutes ago, lincslady said:

Great news on the testing and negatives.  Is it Bordeaux next?  

Yes.. Captain has just informed us we will enter the river Gironde sometime after 5.00am for the slow journey south to Bordeaux.  Twilight is 5.00am and sunrise 7.00am should you wish to watch the journey down. We Dock at 10.00am

[ighten]

Beautiful sail up the Gironde. Weather seems to be behaving itself. Few spots of rain  expected but we are heading to Aquitaine. Berthing close to the Cathedral is a wonder experience but it's also the first time it's felt a little bad regarding the no independent. The food in Bordeaux is nof yo be missed. Luckily we were in Bordeaux for 5 days not long ago.(unluckily it was 40c in the shade) it was a brilliant gastro TGV eurostar trip ,watch out for them if they ever re start. 

 

Anyway some pics from this morning before we set off to the castles of Aquitaine. 

 

[ighten]

We had a nice sail in Brunch as well 

 

 

champagne and a tomato tartlet to start things off 

 

[ighten]

Small video of the Arrival.

 

https://youtu.be/K_ZXUnCo3fA

[ighten]

Trip this afternoon was to the chateau Roquetaillade a medieval castle still occupied by the same family. Slightly different set up today as we are met by a guide on arrival.

 

 

Lovely tour of the family church and the restored interior. 

 

 

the guide speaks perfect English and its only when we are heading back to the ship that the Bordeaux coach guide (we also have with us) points out that he is actually the owner.

 

 

As I mentioned before it really is a pity that we can't simply explore now. At least we don't have any more testing but Bordeaux is a place you just have to roam around and eat out and we are here overnight. Tbf the weather has turned a little rainy this afternoon so it would probably have put most off anyway.  I'm also not entirely sure how exactly (if it wasn't  for the rain) Saga intended stopping people anyway. There isn't really any terminal just a tiny fence on the promenade that even the locals seem to be ignoring so you could quite easily wander off anywhere. I did show my badge to a man leaning on a lamp post but he may have just been taking his dog for  a walk 😉

Back to the supper club tonight for dinner.. the chateaubriand was most excellent and as a bonus whilst we are trapped on board in Bordeaux there is no charge tonight for many of the premium bottles. 

 

 

As the magician is doing his show in the theatre we watch the 4 production singers and the show dancers perform an 80s special. I can't help thinking this would have worked better with just the singers singing and allowing the guests to dance (everyone seemed to agree).. as it is the dancers routines use the entire floor. .. the night ends with the Brittania band and Mandy on vocals. I do find it slightly hilarious that whoever puts the days itinerary leaflet together seems to label this as "The Brittania band and vintage vocalist Mandy" ... probably just me but I just think of Stilton or cheddar cheese.

 

[ighten]

We left Bordeaux this morning a little earlier than planned to catch the tide and set sail at 9.30am. A couple of extra free trip coaches have been arranged for tomorrow when (1am and 1pn) but we already have plans in place so if doesn't really effect us.

 

 

We eventually reach the mouth of the river for the pilot to be taken  off. Not in the usual way  but quickly and efficiently by helicopter.

First ourselves and then the following German liner whose name escapes me at moment but may be amera.

Much excitement therefore on the top decks. You will have to forgive the quality of the pics until I get home and write up the blog as I had the main camera in one hand and this phone in the other.

 

 

Lovely seafood curry and dal for lunch from the live cooking station in the dining room. 

Beautiful desert to follow.

 

Believe we are at Amalfi tonight. 

[Windsurfboy]

You are making me feel very hungry 

[ighten]

21 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

You are making me feel very hungry 

Just to rub salt in the wounds then.....

 

Amalfis menu I personally think is a lesson in how not to write a menu. Italian menus can be hard enough to negotiate without actually replacing the basics such as food translation with poetic waffle.

However I digress,; on asking the most excellent server what the grilled Fish of the day is she let us into a secret.

 

A) it should be a whole grilled Fish cooked with Italian Herbs.. but it isn't

 

B)instead it's a filleted sea bass but

 

C)it's quite a small but thick fillet so it's not the main part of the dish .... in fact it's now grilled seafood of the day with a fillet of sea bass

 

D)it's actually lobster with some other seafood and a fillet of seabass

 

Think I'm in heaven 

 

 

[lincslady]

I think you won on that one!  Looks heavenly.  I get the impression that the food is pretty good.  So nice to have the different style alternative restaurants.  I remember the Asian ones on Sapphire and even Pearl; the meals were surprisingly really good, but booking was not easy. And the decor was attractive as well. But that was it - that or the casual restaurant or dining room.

[ighten]

Just continuing on from last night with more Amalfi food. The calamari starter was excellent.

 

 

the red pepper and capers salad not so much. It consisted of 5% red peppers 5% capers and 90% olives. So needs renaming to olive salad.

the limoncello marmalade Tart though was definitely a hit.

 

Queen we will rock you show in the theatre tonight. Again not quite there and no fault to the performers. The backing tape jmusic ust lacks any dynamic or power. If Fred can  have live bands on stage for shows surely Saga can manage it though I suspect this stage is too small.

 

Early start tomorrow in lorient and we are promised excellent weather.

 

 

Edited April 21, 2022 by ighten

[Windsurfboy]

The food certainly looks very very nice, as food is a very large part of my cruise  ,  I think it makes me think I'd enjoy the cruise even eith the current excursions restrictions 

[Vivaldi]

Really enjoying your blog - and love the photos of the food! Many thanks for it all.

 

Just a couple of points: the shows in the theatre always used to have a live band, and indeed in October 2019 we saw a show on the Spirit of Discovery called "We Are The Champions" which was "an ensemble of the greatest hits of Queen" which had a band on stage. Perhaps the absence of a band is another consequence of covid, or (and I hope not) a cost-cutting measure.

 

I had read that the Khukuri House restaurant was very happy to make spicier versions of the dishes on offer, if diners requested them. If that is the case, it really should be made clear to people when they order dishes. It would prevent  people being a little bit disappointed if they find their food a touch underpowered. 

 

Hope you enjoy the rest of your cruise! 

[Windsurfboy]

Ighten apart from the hunger really enjoying blog, just one question is the library open.

 

Cheers

[ighten]

Just been informed this second all restrictions lifted.. free to go ashore

[Denarius]

59 minutes ago, ighten said:

Just been informed this second all restrictions lifted.. free to go ashore

Independently?

[Kenmure]

That is good news for you.  Does this mean no face masks? We presume you can go ashore in Brest and Guernsey without going on a tour. We were supposed to be on your cruise after the Canaries one but Saga wouldn’t let us continue.  We have been following your blog and think it sounded like a very good cruise particularly with extra free trips which were previously paid ones and premium wines. 

[ighten]

Just been informed this second all restrictions lifted.. free to go ashore

 

Just to clarify..  yes independently 

[ighten]

5 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

Ighten apart from the hunger really enjoying blog, just one question is the library open.

 

Cheers

Library is open but bring your own books but coffee etc is available 

[Windsurfboy]

11 hours ago, ighten said:

Library is open but bring your own books but coffee etc is available 

 

A new concept bring your own books to the library . A bit like bring your own food to restaurants. 

[LandC]

I hope the books will be back in time for our Celtic Escape cruise on SofA at the end of August.

[Denarius]

13 hours ago, ighten said:

Library is open but bring your own books but coffee etc is available 

This seems a bit pointless. It appears to hark back to the early days when we did not really understand covid19 and believed that like norovirus it was mainly spread indirectly via infected surfaces. We now know that it is airborne and spreads directly, and that the risk of catching it from infected surfaces is minimal. But old habits die hard.

[ighten]

We fully indeed get beautiful weather in Lorient despite arriving in the fog.. it slightly delayed arrival by 30mins or so but what a port to arrive in as you slide past the star fort guarding the entrance.

We rake a very early morning trip to carnach for the standing stones. Think Stonehenge but a 4km straight line heading east to west.  Pass through some beautiful villages that make me want to sell up and move.

 

 

Wonderful sail away helped by the weather, the band, the free cocktails and the cruise staff having a good old dance around the lido for an hour.

 

 

Captain Jason then came on in his usual laid back style to explain the reason we had the pilot boat circling us and coming back was because the pilot had left his bag onboard and he had just heard from head office that we are free to explore independently from now on. 

 

After another excellent dinner we lasted some time with our dining companions in the supper club lounge listening to the pianist over drinks and sharing many tales.

 

Later we headed to the theatre for the guest performer an Australian opera/Show performer and yippee he was accompanied by a live band on stage. So hopefully that was a restriction that has now been lifted. Show was excellent with the live band really giving the music that extra depth and atmosphere that the sterile backing tape hasn't been able to provide. Tomorrow Brest.

Ps as we passed through the library it seemed they were cleaning down ready to put the books back

 

 

[Denarius]

17 hours ago, ighten said:

Just been informed this second all restrictions lifted.. free to go ashore

 

Just to clarify..  yes independently 

Can you now sit at the bar on a barstool for a drink? Next to independent exploration ashore, this very sociable activity was the thing I missed most on my recent cruise. 

[ighten]

After a late night we had breakfast in the room again for the early start to Quimper. It's ironic that the first day restrictions are lifted for the indy exploration we actually have two trips booked today. Though to be honest Brest is not the most attractive of Brittany's city's having been totally bombed by the allies before d day.

Quimper on the other hand is magnificent. 

 

 

 

 

Not quite sure why everything is sideways 

 

Had a good guide and a look around the Cathedral and some free time to shop. Avoiding the tourist shops we found some lovely artisan shops for the local earthenware and stocked up with a bottle of fine Barsac Sauternes that we didn't get the opportunity to buy when we were actually in the region.  After a lunch we took the free late Brest tour. Incidentally if your wondering the  free shuttle buses are now back in service though those who used them wished they had taken the tour as Brest is a bit of a concrete 60s and 70s planning monstrosity unless you know where to look and what your looking at. The naval base and maritime museum being the highlights.

 

 

Just cast off and am perusing tonight's menu.

 

[lincslady]

ighten - a look at Cruisemapper suggests that you should have been in Guernsey today but turned round  and are heading for Southampton?  Maybe it is too windy?

 

It sounds as if it was a great cruise generally, certainly as compared with the most recent ones.