Afterwards, we had dinner at Prego and our guest was the Manager of the on-board Photo Shop Neil Roberts. Neil and some of his brothers are owners of the Photography Company and Neil also works as one of the Manager's either on the Crystal Serenity or Crystal Symphony. We have had the pleasure of knowing Neil for a few years. He's not only a terrific photographer but is just a very warm and kind person with a great sense of humor.
When we first arrived it was relatively quiet but as they say it was the calm before the storm because of the next hour or so almost every table was taken.
As usual, we were taken care of by the extraordinary waitstaff team at Prego including Specialty Restaurant Maitre d', Antonio; Head Waiter, Slavko; Waiter Costa; and Sommelier Jiri.
Head Waiter Slavko.
Waiter Costa.
Sommelier Jiri
Similar to the other evening, we began our meal with a little special from the Chef which we did not order but thoroughly enjoyed.
We each ordered an appetizer.
Keith had one of the additional items as an appetizer which was the
Salmon Carpaccio with scallops and some lobster. It had a very unique presentation and the taste of it was great. It had two types of scallops which was thinly cut with one type having been grilled and the other type not cooked. All in all it was a great choice.
Anne Marie had the additional item which was a lobster ravioli as an appetizer.
We each had Keith’s standing order salads as our next course.
For our entrees, Keith had the Striped Bass and Anne Marie had the Veal
Scaloppine al Limone. Keith also had a side order of Grilled Vegetables.
We had an absolutely wonderful time with Neil talking about a wide range of topics including his family, his home country and where he and each of his family members live today which is in a range of places, his career including where he has worked at sea, favorite destinations around the world and so many other items. In fact, we were together for two and one-half hours. The cuisine, ambience and service were also terrific making for a very memorable evening.
We didn't go to the show last evening. Keith was pretty tired from being up early in the day and the Paddle Tennis was fairly draining. In the morning, he first played one against two with Keith playing against the other two until another guest arrived. In the afternoon, before a sufficient number of people arrived it was Keith playing agains two other guests.
The good news is that the seas continued to be relatively calm and we both fell asleep quickly.
Keith was up first and back at the Fitness Center. He watched the rebroadcast of the former Ambassador of Egypt and thought that the talk was terrific because this is one of these lectures that he learned so many items that he didn't know before the talk. The Ambassador is well-spoken and shared a lot of insights from his career including the talks that led to peace between Egypt and Israel where Jimmy Carter played a key role. At the same time, he spoke about many of the current items that the United Nations is involved with.
Afterwards, it was back to the Lido Cafe for coffee, reading and writing.
Anne Marie was up next and got in her one hour walk before Rao came with breakfast.
We arrived to Taolanaro, Madagascar on schedule at around 8:00 AM this morning.
Taolanaro is a relatively small city with a population of 15,000 residents. French is the official language and a large portion of the population speaks Reunion Creole.
This area was founded by the French East India Company in 1643. What was once a small French colony is now a gateway to Madagascar's famed semi-tropical landscapes, and its beautiful beaches.
Originally, we were signed up for one of the shore excursions that were offered. However, a few weeks ago we decided to cancel this. We cancelled the tour as several guests around the ship continue to be ill mainly with upper respiratory viruses and of late some are getting laryngitis. Our concern was that because of the daily medicine that Anne Marie takes it makes her much more susceptible to getting ill and with our three night/four day overland Safari coming up in just a few days we just didn't want to take a chance of Anne Marie, in particular, getting ill. While we would have loved to have taken a tour, we feel that we made the right decision.
The good news is we have lots of friends on board who will share their experiences with us as well as their photos.
Instead of taking the tour, we took the port shuttle which took us over to a market.
We then walked the market for about an hour. We found the locals to be as nice as the locals that Keith met when walking around the other day at the town of Ambodifototra Ile Sainter Marie, Madagascar. Many of the locals spoke English even though French is the local language. Some did come from South Africa where English is spoken but many were born in Madagascar. They were not pushy and just took the time to show us what they had to sell and they were perfectly fine if we said no thank you.
We were entertained by a local band. They sang, played handmade instruments and danced for us. They never stopped performing while we were there.
Items being sold included shirts, wooden boxes and other wooden items, straw bags and purses, jewelry, stone, sea shells, and a few other items.
We then took the port shuttle back over to Serenity.
Once back on board Serenity we did packing for our upcoming Safari Overland Trip since we will be leaving in a few days.
We had lunch at the Lido Cafe and as usual we each had a salad entree.
In the afternoon, Keith played Paddle Tennis and then read and wrote. Anne Marie walked for an hour, continued to pack for the Safari and then worked on her knitting project.
This evening we will be back in the Crystal Dining Room for dinner.
We arrived to Taolanaro, Madagascar on schedule at around 8:00 AM this morning.
Taolanaro is a relatively small city with a population of 15,000 residents. French is the official language and a large portion of the population speaks Reunion Creole.
This area was founded by the French East India Company in 1643. What was once a small French colony is now a gateway to Madagascar's famed semi-tropical landscapes, and its beautiful beaches.
Originally, we were signed up for one of the shore excursions that were offered. However, a few weeks ago we decided to cancel this. We cancelled the tour as several guests around the ship continue to be ill mainly with upper respiratory viruses and of late some are getting laryngitis. Our concern was that because of the daily medicine that Anne Marie takes it makes her much more susceptible to getting ill and with our three night/four day overland Safari coming up in just a few days we just didn't want to take a chance of Anne Marie, in particular, getting ill. While we would have loved to have taken a tour, we feel that we made the right decision.
The good news is we have lots of friends on board who will share their experiences with us as well as their photos.
Instead of taking the tour, we took the port shuttle which took us over to a market.
We then walked the market for about an hour. We found the locals to be as nice as the locals that Keith met when walking around the other day at the town of Ambodifototra Ile Sainter Marie, Madagascar. Many of the locals spoke English even though French is the local language. Some did come from South Africa where English is spoken but many were born in Madagascar. They were not pushy and just took the time to show us what they had to sell and they were perfectly fine if we said no thank you.
We were entertained by a local band. They sang, played handmade instruments and danced for us. They never stopped performing while we were there.
Items being sold included shirts, wooden boxes and other wooden items, straw bags and purses, jewelry, stone, sea shells, and a few other items.
We then took the port shuttle back over to Serenity.
Once back on board Serenity we did packing for our upcoming Safari Overland Trip since we will be leaving in a few days.
We had lunch at the Lido Cafe and as usual we each had a salad entree.
In the afternoon, Keith played Paddle Tennis and then read and wrote. Anne Marie walked for an hour, continued to pack for the Safari and then worked on her knitting project.
This evening we will be back in the Crystal Dining Room for dinner.
"We set sail on this new sea because there is knowledge to be gained." - Robert Francis Kennedy
Keith & Anne Marie
No comments:
Post a Comment