It’s my daughter J’s birthday! Last night, after she’d gone
back to her cabin, I quietly went down the hall and taped a sign to her door.
I’d made the sign on the computer at home printed it on cardstock. It wished
her a happy birthday and had her favorite flower, calla lilies, as well as
tulips and her birth month flower, lily of the valley. I also put some mail in
her mailbox behind her balloons, which are holding up quite well. I’d contacted
relatives, who normally send her cards, and asked them to mail them to me for delivery
today. Everyone came through. I held onto the cards that I knew had checks,
though.
My husband K got up early and went to the fitness center,
which he likes to do on these sea days. I was happy to get to sleep until 7:30.
At 8:30, J knocked on the door to go to breakfast. She was very happy with the
sign, and I took her picture standing next to it. She left it on the door all
day.
mine J's K's
Shortly before 10, we joined the large group waiting to get
into the Queen’s Lounge for the Russian Bazaar. They had cleared the dance
floor, but left a line of tables and chairs on either side up against the
railing. They really should have removed those, too. It would have given more
passing space. As it was, they put long tables in front of those and then two
lines of long tables back to back on the dance floor. If you tried to fight the
traffic flow, it was a real struggle. I gave in and bought a carved wooden
Santa that I’d been looking at for days in the shop window. I also picked up
ornaments to use as gifts. Well, whatever I spent onboard went toward giving me
more “days” to my next Mariner level. While J and K will reach level 2 this
trip, I’m nearing the top of 2, but won’t quite make 3, unfortunately. I am
ahead of each of them, because I took a cruise with each of them without the
other along.
Anyway, 11:00 found J and me at America’s Test Kitchen for
“Flavors of the Mediterranean”. I took lots of notes on the large recipe cards,
especially on how to choose and store olive oil.
Afterwards, she and I went to the shops, because Holland
America apparel was up to 50% off. I found a nylon jacket that folded into its
own bag and would be easier on trips than a poncho for rain. In fact, I put it
in the backpack right away, because there is a chance of rain in Hamburg tomorrow.
All 3 of us went to the bottom floor of the Dining Room for the Mariner’s lunch
at noon. I’d heard that there were so many Mariners onboard, that this was the
third of four they were holding to accommodate everyone. We sat with a couple from Australia, who were
used to sailing on the Cunard line. They complained that Cunard brought on
guest speakers and there wasn’t enough to do on sea days on this ship. They
also said that people really dressed up for gala nights on Cunard. Cunard is
way too expensive for us and I don’t want to get that gussied up, by the way.
So, we moved on to talk about housing costs in Australia.
The meal started with a champagne toast by the captain, as
is the custom at these things. In fact, he and the other officers had been
standing at the entrance to welcome everyone. J doesn’t drink and passed her
champagne to me.
She and I both had Scandinavian Yellow Split Pea Soup to
start, while K chose Beet and Dill Cured Salmon. We all liked our choices, but I failed to photograph K's.
For our entrée, J and I had Swedish Pork Medallions and
Apple Mushroom Compote. It was delicious! K continued with the fish and had Oat
Crusted Haddock, which he liked.
We all ate the same dessert, Lemon Tart with Blueberry
Cream. It was quite nice. There was also a plate of sweets for the table. Before we left, I finally took some pictures of the
room, which I hadn’t done heretofore. I noted that it did indeed look like
whale bones, as I’d seen on the website before the trip.
I was really tired, so I did not join J in the “Meatless
Monday Meals”. Instead, I took a nap before going to the fitness center to
bike and then the pool to stretch. Around the same time, she was at the spa for
her 2:15 appointment. The ship had given her a $50 gift card for her birthday
and she decided to treat herself to a manicure and pedicure, since she had to
spend more than $50 to use the gift card anyway. It was her first trip to a spa
and she enjoyed the experience.
We were all together for her birthday dinner at 5:30 at
Pinnacle Grill, thanks to the free dinner there courtesy of AAA for booking
through them. Our waiter was Igor, who definitely sounded Russian. While J got
a Coke, I decided to use up more of my drink card by getting a Moscato. It was
quite pleasant.
Igor brought lobster flan as an amuse-bouche from the chef.
It was good! There was a nice variety of breads, too.
To start the meal, I had crab cakes, even though I knew they
would not be as good as those from Maryland. I was right, but they weren’t bad.
K had them, too. J went for beefsteak tomato and basil.
For my main course, I
had the 7-ounce filet mignon, while J and K had the 10. She chose Brussels
sprouts with Parmesan and shoestring fries with truffle aioli as the side
dishes for us all to share. An excellent meal!
We were planning our desserts from what we had seen earlier
on the menu, when Igor arrived with a square cake covered in chocolate ganache and with fruit on top,
with Happy Birthday written in chocolate on the plate. J cut it into 4 slices
and that left one for her to have Igor wrap up for her to take along. The
inside was a creamy chocolate mouse on top of chocolate cake. It was better
than anything we could have chosen. Oh, and there was a sweets tray, too!
Lincoln Center Stage had a 7:45 show called “Bernstein to
Bublé”, that J and I were sure we went to on the Greek cruise. But, we liked
it, so we took K. It was excellent and well attended.
Uninterested in the stage show, we went back to our cabin,
where J chose the movie Love and
Friendship for our next entertainment after she opened the cards and small
gifts I’d brought for her. The movie was
based on an unfinished Jane Austen story. None of us liked Lady Susanna and
thought some key scenes must have been cut. However, it was a good way to spend
time together to finish off J’s day.
Around 10:35, I looked out and noticed it was much darker
than normal at this time of day. I could see the flashing lights on wind
turbines to the northwest. Renewable energy!
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