Anne Marie with Nat.
Afterwards, we were back at the Crystal Dining Room after being away for two evening's.
It was the quietist that we have seen the dining room for dinner since the start of the World Cruise. Since the night before last evening was a Black Tie Optional night, all we can think is that many guests were dining at one of the three specialty restaurants.
We each had salads as our first course.
For our second course we each had the Seabass Corvino. It was a thick slice and was very tasty. We have had Corvino before, but do not think we have had Seabass Corvino before. The portion size was perfect; not too big and not too small. We had our usual order of side vegetables and Keith added a baked potato for his meal.
A little while later we had our photos taken with the Beatles Celebration Group and then we attended the Crystal's Got Talent Show. This show was hosted by Cruise Director Gary and World Cruise Hostess Stacey and featured performances by five different crew members from various departments around the ship as well as a special dance performed by several crew members from the Philippine's. The show also included special appearances by the very talents Crystal Ensemble of Singers and Dancers, Dancers Curtis & Beverly, as well as Vocalists Julia, Sarah, Jonathan and Eric. Around nine of the members of the crew from the Philippines performed a dance for all of us. It included Nat who you saw in the photo towards the top of the Blog along with so many of the crew that we have comes to adore over the years. With their varied schedules, they didn't have much time to practice, yet did a fantastic job.
We slept well last evening. The seas were relatively calm, unlike some of the previous few nights and it was not windy.
Keith woke first and got in his regular workout at the Fitness Center and then made his daily stop to the Lido Cafe to read and write and enjoy some coffee. Shortly after Anne Marie woke, she had some coffee and then walked for an hour.
We had breakfast in our room thanks to Rao. We then got ready for our visit to Montevideo, Uruguay. It is hard to believe that since this segment of the World Cruise began in Cape Town, South Africa that this was our first stop. We have visited this city many times, and most recently in 2013.
At around 8:15 AM we saw something that we had not seen in over seven days while at sea. We saw the Pilot Boat and Land. Yes!!
While we were waiting for the local authorities to clear Serenity we spoke for awhile with Celebrity Chef John Ashton who has been on board for this segment. We met him the other day when we were with Karl who plays Paul McCartney. Like, Karl and the others from the Beatles Celebration group, John is from Liverpool. John gave us some recommendations for a couple of quaint restaurants in Barcelona and then we spent the rest of the time talking about The Beatles and the talents that each of the four band members had. Keith mentioned that to have one song writer in a band is not always the norm, but to have three of the caliber of John, Paul and George was truly amazing and Ringo could write songs too as he proved after the breakup of The Beatles. John has been a hit on board Serenity with his passion for cooking and is very personable. Some of his cuisine has been featured not only in the Crystal Dining Room but at even the Trident Grill.
Back to the city of Montevideo which by the way is pronounced Montevidayoh. Like Argentina, this city has many of the characteristics of a European City in terms of its architecture. Montevideo is the capital and the major port city of Uruguay. The city was established in 1726. On one of our visits to this city we toured the downtown area and then visited a Jewish Synagogue and Jewish School. On our last visited we focused on the area near the port. For those who like, rotisserie styled barbecue such as beef and/or chicken there are some terrific places to enjoy a meal that is cooked right in front of you. Today, Crystal had something special planned for those on the Full World Cruise, but it did include food.
A tradition of Crystal World Cruises included two shoreside events which are for each guest on-board for the full World Cruise. Planning for these events begins a year or more before each world cruise as sites that can accommodate the number of World Cruisers require long lead-times to secure. This year was even more challenging given the record number of full world cruisers.
Today we had the second of the two shoreside events. The even was called Pueblo Gaucho which was a celebration of 19th Century Uruguay. It was held at Estancia La Baguala.
We met at the pier at around 10:30 AM and we were transported in buses to the grounds of Estancia La Baguala which is one of the oldest and most legendary estancias in all of Uruguay.
Once we arrived to the site, we were treated to a unique Creole Party. This day featured a recreation of 19th century Uruguay through the decor, cultural dance, traditional Uruguayan dishes along with the beautiful countryside that could be seen from this property.
Our event ended with a performance given by the Uruguayan Candombe which was declared by UNESCO as a Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
There was lots of refreshments and food including an array of heavy hors d'oeuvres & traditional Uruguayan fare, wine, beer, soft drink, water, dessert and coffee that was served at various locations.
The grounds were absolutely beautiful, the food was very tasty, the entertainment was upbeat and we were fortunate to not only have terrific weather but to share this event with so many nice people that we know including those who we first met on this World Cruise and those who we have sailed with many times before. Today, was another one of those very special days where we made memories which will last a lifetime.
These are photos from the event.
Cruise Director Gary.
Vice President Of Land Programs and Port Operations, John Stoll
Vocalist Sarah and World Cruise Hostess Stacey and World Cruise Events Coordinator Shane.
Hotel Director Josef.
On Board Booking Consultant Daniele.
Vocalist Sarah
Potatoes, Sweet Potato and some other Potato and Lamb and Chicken. There was also Beef.
We sat with friends Jim and Rob and three other couples.
Keith was asked to dance. He just followed his partner.
We will post all about this evening, when we post tomorrow.
“Obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall,
don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or
work around it.” - Michael Jordan
Keith & Anne Marie
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