Dawn to the West

[drron29]

And on Silversea they seem to like inviting Australians to the hosted dinners. On the first 2 segments we had 4 hosted dinners. All of them had at least one other Australian couple and with one it was 3 Australian couples. On 2 of those dinners plus once on the Captain's table on the Moon earlier this year were the same Australian couple. thankfully we got on rather well.

[Port Power]

3 hours ago, jollyjones said:

They invite solos to these officer dinners because they:

A - don’t believe we can possibly be happy dining on our own. (Oh, so wrong)

B - they need a solo to offset the single officer, they usually add two couples, then you end up with an even number. Apparently an odd number at the table is poor form. (Who cares). 
I often get these invites (they were in abeyance post Covid but have now restarted) the evening usually works fine but I have had a few awful experiences with dreadfully mismatched pax - can never tell how it’s going to turn out!

 

Oh, how cynical!  🙂

 

With my invitations, there has actually been odd numbers. Another solo and myself; one couple and two solos plus one or two crew.  It has always been an interesting night and I don’t try to analyse the selection process.

Edited November 27, 2023 by Port Power

[Tothesunset]

1 hour ago, drron29 said:

And on Silversea they seem to like inviting Australians to the hosted dinners. 

See, I told you. Whatever next? Cowboy hats in the restaurant?

[lincslady]

With dangling corks.  Mind they don't get in the soup.

[drron29]

24 minutes ago, lincslady said:

With dangling corks.  Mind they don't get in the soup.

Aussies would never put dangling corks on a cowboy hat.

[lincslady]

Their hats are not cowboy hats, I believe.  Aren't they called Akubras, and it seems someone was seen wearing one recently at a formal dinner on a SS ship?

[Port Power]

With respect, I do believe this has become far off topic from my trip report.

[lincslady]

Sorry, Port Power.  It does happen a lot, as you know.  Slapped wrists all round.

[Port Power]

We started off with a walking tour around Jerez, along the old city walls and the Jerez Cathedral that was built on top of a previous mosque.  It was built in the 18th century as a cathedral, but was not dedicated a cathedral until the 1980s.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 28, 2023 by Port Power

[Port Power]

Jerez is, of course, the home of sherry!  Most famous is Tio Pepe.  There is a lovely statue outside the winery.  The whole production area is huge!  There is another producer also very big a bit further away.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 28, 2023 by Port Power
Add photos

[Port Power]

The main event was the Royal Equestrian School.  It was founded in 1973 by a famous bullfighter who wanted to retain the tradition of horses in the bullring. I think the family name is Tomek. He had won the “golden horse” trophy and wanted to give back to the community.  The family is very famous in Spain.  The building is a 19th century palace, home of a duke.  The arena is new, but looks older to blend in.  The grounds are lovely.  The School is now government owned.
 

 

 

 

 

The school is to train riders to a professional level, particularly in dressage, and to teach how to train horses.  The school makes their own saddles and tack.  A veterinarian course is also held there.  In summer there are two performances a week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This last horse was amazing!  He holds that foreleg up and rotates on the other foreleg!  You can see his rear hoof prints have made a circle in the sawdust.

 

 

 

 

The whole performance, 90 minutes with an interval, was amazing.

 

There is an annual fair in Jerez dedicated to horses.  People dress up in their flamenco dances and riding outfits.  There are riding horses and carriages.  Everything equine!

 

[Port Power]

The main event was the Royal Equestrian School.  It was founded in 1973 by a famous bullfighter who wanted to retain the tradition of horses in the bullring. I think the family name is Tomek. He had won the “golden horse” trophy and wanted to give back to the community.  The family is very famous in Spain.  The building is a 19th century palace, home of a duke.  The arena is new, but looks older to blend in.  The grounds are lovely.  The School is now government owned.
 

 

 

 

 

The school is to train riders to a professional level, particularly in dressage, and to teach how to train horses.  The school makes their own saddles and tack.  A veterinarian course is also held there.  In summer there are two performances a week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This last horse was amazing!  He holds that foreleg up and rotates on the other foreleg!  You can see his rear hoof prints have made a circle in the sawdust.

 

 

 

 

The whole performance, 90 minutes with an interval, was amazing.

 

There is an annual fair in Jerez dedicated to horses.  People dress up in their flamenco dances and riding outfits.  There are riding horses and carriages.  Everything equine!

 

[Mr Luxury]

17 minutes ago, Port Power said:

The main event was the Royal Equestrian School.  It was founded in 1973 by a famous bullfighter who wanted to retain the tradition of horses in the bullring. I think the family name is Tomek. He had won the “golden horse” trophy and wanted to give back to the community.  The family is very famous in Spain.  The building is a 19th century palace, home of a duke.  The arena is new, but looks older to blend in.  The grounds are lovely.  The School is now government owned.
 

 

 

 

 

The school is to train riders to a professional level, particularly in dressage, and to teach how to train horses.  The school makes their own saddles and tack.  A veterinarian course is also held there.  In summer there are two performances a week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This last horse was amazing!  He holds that foreleg up and rotates on the other foreleg!  You can see his rear hoof prints have made a circle in the sawdust.

 

 

 

 

The whole performance, 90 minutes with an interval, was amazing.

 

There is an annual fair in Jerez dedicated to horses.  People dress up in their flamenco dances and riding outfits.  There are riding horses and carriages.  Everything equine!

 

Very similar to the Spanish riding school in Vienna.

It's a great experience 

[Port Power]

1 minute ago, Mr Luxury said:

Very similar to the Spanish riding school in Vienna.

It's a great experience 

Yes, it was.  Except that photos could be taken!  I was at a performance of the Spanish Riding School only a few weeks ago.

[Port Power]

I don’t know how the post was duplicated, nor can I delete it.  Never mind.  Those horses are worth seeing twice!  😀

[Port Power]

The ship was in Cadiz overnight.  I cancelled the second day’s tour, which was the same bus trip around Cadiz and on to Jerez, this time for sherry tasting.  As this had been a busy, port-intensive cruise, I felt a sleep in was deserved 😴💤

and a sherry from the bar later.  🍷

[Port Power]

And now to the highlight of the trip.  A local flamenco dance troupe came aboard to perform that evening in the Venetian Lounge.  There were three musicians: drummer, vocalist and guitarist.  There were five dancers.  This was a wonderful show!  Superb!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The internet is not allowing photos to load at the moment, so I will try again later.

 

 

[Port Power]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Port Power]

Saturday, 25 November, 2023.  Lisbon.

 

[Port Power]

When most of the passengers had disembarked, our tour set off at 10:00am.  There was a bus ride around town showing the highlights, and then a Tagus River cruise.  
 

 

 

 

Two bus loads of passengers were on the boat, but only about 50 people in all over two and a half decks.

 

It was a foggy morning still, which made for some interest views and photographs.

 

 

 

 

[Port Power]

 

 

 

 

[Port Power]

There was a neighbour at the port.  Celebrity Infinity, a medium sized ship these days.  I took these photos coming back, and couldn’t help laugh at the first one where the angle makes Silver Dawn look to tiny next to Infinity.

 

 

[Port Power]

On the way out of the dock on the boat, we saw an area where a ship and a yacht/ schooner were tied up.  It looked like a place where they might be renovated.

 

One of these ships wore a very familiar name.

 

The next day, 26th, we had a new neighbour tied up in front of Silver Dawn.  Wasn’t that the quickest makeover ever!!!

 

 

 

[Port Power]

Sunday, 26 November, 2023.  Lisbon
 

On our second day in Lisbon, I went on a tour to the Royal Palace of Queluz and Ericeira Village.  

Lisbon was a monarchy from 1143 until 1910.  It has had the same land border since 1249, one of the few countries in Europe that has kept its same borders for such a long time through history.It is the second oldest capital city in Europe after Athens, and one of the oldest cities overall.
 

It was a nice drive out of Lisbon to the summer palace.  Along the way we pass under an aqueduct.  Not from Roman times, but opened in 1740 to bring water from the hills down to Lisboa.

 

 

[Port Power]

A section of the palace (on the left) is still used for important visitors, one of most recent being Queen Elizabeth II.  Maybe it isn’t used as much or more recently as our guide said?

 

 

This is the servants’ quarters and stable complex.