Yesterday was Superbowl Sunday. They showed the game at several venues on the ship including on the TV in each cabin. They weren’t sure until the last moment if they would be able to get it, they had to purchase satellite time. The best venue was in one of the ship’s night club lounges, they had an excellent projection TV set up on the dance floor and the room is designed surrounding the stage and dance floor like a fan. I went down to secure a front row seat about an hour prior and was successful. The superbowl party served popcorn, hot dogs and beer (along with a bar for mixed beverages) to an audience of about 300 who were dressed in suits or sports coats and ties and cocktail dresses “informal ware” – the theme of the evening (obviously whoever decided upon that dress code for the evening is not an american). I’ve never seen a superbowl party where everyone had on a suit and tie. The audience seemed to be slanted towards the patriots, but Lucy and I cheered for the giants favoring the underdog. It’s not the Cowboys, but I think if we had played new England we would have lost.
This island is located just off the northern coast of south America (15 miles) and is now famous for the disappearance of an american young woman Natalie Halloway. We’re not getting off the ship, we have been to every island in the Caribbean and they all look alike. (post script) we changed our mind and got off, went to the nearby front street and had a couple of drinks (Lucy a guava berry colada - she staggered back to the ship-joking) and a plate of escargot for me and Conch Fritters for Lucy - truly excellent.
What we are doing is taking two naps a day, eating too much, drinking too much and reading our books without an agenda of things we have to do like the laundry or work related stuff! Nothing like phone charges of over $5 a minute to keep you from idle chatting on your cell phone. Actually I’ve seen a few people aboard who have their cell phone glued to their ear and are chatting inanely at those absurd rates. Must be nice to be filthy rich.
1400 hrs February 4, 2008, In port Antigua, British Virgin Islands.
Yesterday was a day at sea as we sailed to our next port. It was a little rough but not seasick producing. They were having the “crystal buffet”. Typically, every time we take a cruise the chef staff is allowed to produce an extravaganza food set up. Mostly it’s evening or even (on some lines) Midnight buffet. You have to stay up WAY past bedtime to see it or, God forbid, eat it and then try to sleep. Here they put the event on at Lunch. They laid out a HUGE spread on the main deck in the Atrium.
I’ve never seen it done that way. The Atrium is the center of the ship where the desk is located and is surrounded by two levels of shops, lounges and on one end the entrance to the dining room. One of the advantages of this level is that it is dead center of the ship and nearly at sea level, you can see that you are just above the waves out of the windows. This has the added effect of minimizing movement. Anyone who has sailed more than once realizes that the further you are from the center and the higher up you are on the ship, the more movement you feel.A few years ago when we were on the Zuiderdam with the new Marinos, we had two adjoining suites on the aft of the ship, with our balconies wrapping around the back of the ship. There were two disadvantages to that spot (but many good things, as well). First anyone deciding to flip a cigarette off the edge of the pool deck above us, landed on our deck. Secondly every time the ship breached a particularly big wave, the front dipped and the rear rose as we passed over it. Once or twice I thought I was going to be launched into the ocean like an acrobat on a spring board.
So midships is the middle, or the fulcrum where the teeter totter is balanced and moves little.
All of the food was prepared artistically, with huge ice sculptures, decorations made out of bread and deserts, and of course seafood arranged in an artistic way. Some of the food on this ship has been so beautiful, you hate to stick a fork in it. They had chicken, prime rib, ham many types of meats but more deserts than the mind can fathom (which made Lucy happy, she’d rather eat desert than main course).
They set everything up and allowed fifteen minutes for anyone who wished to photograph the displays before the ravenous mobs descended. So I was photographing everything in my Army reconnaissance mode. Where EXACTLY is the EXPENSIVE food located _ spotted the lobster table, found the prime rib location and was ready to attack.
Unfortunately, as the moment of truth approached, zero-hour so to speak, when everyone would be allowed to commence eating – Lucy was AWOL. She had parked herself in an adjacent lounge in order to not have to follow me and my camera around through the throng of onlookers.
They happened to be playing BINGO in that lounge so she purchased a bingo COMPUTER – what a kick these things are. It’s a hand held computer that you pay for a billion bingo cards and the computer keeps track for you of all of the cards simultaneously. You don’t even have to enter the number. After each number is called, it connects wirelessly to the bingo caller and it shows you on how many cards that number appeared. It has a visual of the card that is the closes to winning that you can look at. And if you win, it flashes BINGO in large letters and you can jump to your feet and speak up thereby winning the game effortlessly.
Well there was lucy still playing bingo while I was frothing at the mouth with hunger from photographing all of this incredible food. I was sure that the mob would take all of the good stuff before we got there, but I couldn’t make her leave before the game was over. I resigned myself to it, sat down and waited patiently. The very next game, her machine flashed BINGO and she won $96. We ambled out of the lounge to the buffet and almost everything was still there to be had. So all in all it turned out great. The food was as tasty as it was beautiful.
After eating, we walked to the casino to trade in her voucher for the cash. She gave me $20 and took the rest to play slot machines. I need immediate gambling gratification, so I took the twenty bet it on red at the roulette table and promptly lost. Discouraged, I went up to the cabin to read. Four hours later, I began to wonder about Lucy so I went in search of her. After looking unsuccessfully in several places I found her still in the casino. She is addicted to the sights and sounds of slot machines. She had taken the intelligent road, however, and had began playing the “Penny” slot machines. A big win pays out a wopping 25 cents. After ridiculing her and letting her know that if she was discovered playing penny slots, they would never let her into the Bellagio again. Anyway, when I got there she was still doing fine (had thousands of pennys left- sounds like a lot doesn’t it). Later she came in having parlayed her remaining $76 (seven thousand six hundred pennies) to a grand total of one (she had a voucher for that).
I finished my book. It was by a Pulitzer prize winning author. I’m going to send it to Rita. She and Lucy are constantly trading book recommendations. This one is NOT science fiction, which Lucy is now hooked upon to the exclusion of all other reading material. Hopefully, my science based daughter will enjoy a novel about scientific discovery with a basis in fact. It was fantastic, despite a rather slow beginning.
Today we’re in Antigua (not pronounced An Teeg WAH but Anteegah). We got off for about twenty minutes, cheeseburger, cheeseburger, no coke, pepsi. (there WILL be a prize for anyone who can identify all of these obscure references – email me the answers to be entered into the drawing, in the case of ties – I keep the prize). You know, that sounds like an IDEA. Okay, Johnny will definitely know the monte python “therefore a witch” comment. C’mon Bro in Law. Send me an email and let’s see if you can win the prize. Tell me the specifics.
While here we took a stroll down “Friendly Street” which was populated with shady looking characters looking for someone to mug. I was in search of Fibre for my diet. One day you Bowkers and Marino’s will appreciate the maladies of the old. I decided to gnaw on a coconut husk.
There are four cruise ships here all “parked” right next to each other. I’m sitting here on my balcony on the port side of the ship (yes!! The Red wine side), and looking directly across at the ship next to us. Fifty feet or less. It’s an itialian ship filled with German tourists. I can throw a cow pie and hit the commodore on the bridge from here. YEAH, THAT RIGHT MIEN HERR!!!, WE’RE TEXANS! The cowpie comes from a ship sporting the UT flag (another cow rendition – OKAY, a longhorn – still a cow). Hell, Europeans all think we’re cowboys anyway (that’s right, watch your step or we’ll BOMB you too).
I can smell the lack of deodorant emanating from the Germans from here (no…….. wait, that’s my feet from walking around town – just joking).
The other two ships are carnival lines. So we have a study in class contrasts. Our ship disgorged all elderly, well heeled octogenarians and a few sixty somethings who are careless with their money. The German ship disgorged European looking mobs (they look more like Americans every year), carnival turned loose a youthful good looking bunch of kids who couldn’t afford to travel on a better ship, but don’t really care because they’ve been dancing, getting drunk and climbing the shipboard rock wall without sleep for several days.
okay, enough rambling today except to tell you about Sidney. There is one couple aboard who are Asian American, look to be in their early thirties. She’s pregnant, he looks like a Japanese superhero complete with highlighted hair. They have a three year old who roams freely around the ship wearing flip flops that squeak when she walks. She has her hair done up with a pony tail that sticks straight up in the air ala BAM BAM (next reference for the contest). I feel for the couple, because 99% of the people aboard this ship seem to be grandparents, great gradnparents and I think I saw Methusalah and his wife, dancing to world war one music. Everyone wants to touch and play with that kid. Oh, well…..It takes a village (quote Bill Clinton) and MacDonalds hamburgers (for Bill’s diet) . If Hillary get’s elected, I hope they make Bill secretary of state. They LOVE that guy everywhere except in the United States.
No comments:
Post a Comment