Silversea Water Cooler: Part 3, Welcome!

Hi Mysty...

Looking at weather approaching Canada.

Hope your flight gets off on time.

Safe travels.

Let us know when you arrive in Ft Lauderdale.

Here we have had intermittent torrential rain which we desperately need. Some rain forecast for today and not tomorrow.

Safe ride Jeff to the beach.

Looks lovely there.

Greetings Coolers! Up at the crack of doom this morning. Checking the weather on 3 different sites and getting 3 different forecasts. Freezing rain is likely, the only question being before or after we are due to depart. It's in the hands of the weather gods at this point.

 

J....have a great time at Seaside! And best wishes that Helga cooperates!

 

Have a great day all!

M....I'm assuming that you and Myster are driving to the airport..but if not l suggest a very large dose of the fizzy stuff to relax the anxiety..😉

Safe travels 😊

Sophia,

All of us sitting on the edge of our chair with anxiety watching( or not) the radar weather should drink some to quell our tensions or simply in Mysty's honor.

Nice to hear your packing has progressed. I am determined this time to take less! I have lists of attire I took on previous cruises and notes on what I wore and didn't wear. But then I look at photos from last April's crossing, which was much later in the month, and we were bundled up from the cold! Argghhhhh.

Thanks Spins! We are due to arrive FLL at around 7 pm. I'll try to let my Cooler family know the score! I'm thinking maybe I should have sacrificed my oldest child. :)

Miss S. It will be a taxi to the airport. Our return flight is to Montreal with a car transfer home. I'm patiently (NOT) waiting for Myster to roll out of bed. I'm thinking we should leave home early for our 3:25 pm flight. I may have to resort to a little gentle sleep interruption. :)

Sophia,

All of us sitting on the edge of our chair with anxiety watching( or not) the radar weather should drink some to quell our tensions or simply in Mysty's honor.

 

Nice to hear your packing has progressed. I am determined this time to take less! I have lists of attire I took on previous cruises and notes on what I wore and didn't wear. But then I look at photos from last April's crossing, which was much later in the month, and we were bundled up from the cold! Argghhhhh.

Spins, l know the feeling well! It's so difficult to know what to take....not sure if you've been on board Spirit since but last November they placed some glass partitions on both sides of the pool deck which helped tremendously with containing that cold breeze from the aft end.

I too hope Mysty will let us know that she's safe and enjoying some warmth....☺️

Thanks Spins! We are due to arrive FLL at around 7 pm. I'll try to let my Cooler family know the score! I'm thinking maybe I should have sacrificed my oldest child. :)

 

Miss S. It will be a taxi to the airport. Our return flight is to Montreal with a car transfer home. I'm patiently (NOT) waiting for Myster to roll out of bed. I'm thinking we should leave home early for our 3:25 pm flight. I may have to resort to a little gentle sleep interruption. :)

How wonderful....all part of the excitement of knowing that you are off to warmer climates later.....in the meantime some cold water dabbing may encourage Myster to arise.... whilst you sip some champers of course....😉 what fun...☺️

It is so lovely seeing everyone sharing the excitement of their travelings and contemplations. I don't think the cooler has been so exciting since the bar first opened!

I do so hope everything for all goes smoothly. :)

All this excitement is getting too much for me. I'm looking forward to the Muse in May to celebrate eldest child(!) s 50th birthday. Before that I have to fly to Oz to look after sick daughter and her girls for the school holidays. Being a mother never ends (thank goodness ) happy Mothers Day to all coolers.

Jane

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Lots of lovely food pix. Those of American beef make me want to cry and wonder if/when I'll ever sample it again. We are finding the meat in this country almost inedible and I am now almost 100% veggie.

S - I was in Chester on Tuesday to visit a friend who has moved there. Forty years since I was last there - pleased to see The Grosvenor and Waltons are still there. Horrified to see Browns is now Debenhams! Actually found the location of my old secretarial school from the early 70's up on the Rows in Bridge St! Now looks like a rather smart apartment. Unfortunately it was a freezing cold day and I was happy to get back on the train to Shrews.

Back to lurking

Mary

I'm so excited for everybody's trips! And, Jeff, your place in the sea looks amazingly powerful. I'm sure it must be restful as well. Mysty, here's hoping that you get clear skies and soft winds for your travels. Do let us know when you arrive and embark, so the rest us can turn envy green. Enjoy you all!

We are lucky here in Berkshire. We have an award winning butcher in the village and a really good farm shop a short drive away. Great quality meat and good game.

Jane

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Same here. Lots of good farm shops/ butchers/food in the New Forest area. :)

One thing we never go short of here in England's potager is good vegetables - the seasonal ones are free as the local farmers let us pick what we want when the crop's ready. I'm sure if they realised Mrs TTS has 5 freezers they might be a little less generous! But we are the only house surrounded by 100s of acres of the finest arable land in Britain so I guess what we use doesn't even put a dent in the production. And our nearest neighbours and good friends have 300 acres used mainly for potatoes. For an Irish lad like me that's just heaven!

We aren't keen red meat eaters but love our fish. Surprisingly, as we are 4 miles from the sea as the crow flies, there is no fishmonger within 25 miles and we rely on the shamefully small fish section in the local supermarket. Typical conversation goes:

''I see that the smoked haddock is on offer at £7 a kilo?''

''Yes, Sir.''

''I'll have that then.''

''How much would you like?''

''All of it!''

Those freezers don't half come in handy.

I'm so excited for everybody's trips! And, Jeff, your place in the sea looks amazingly powerful. I'm sure it must be restful as well. Enjoy you all!

Thanks Camels, we think of it as a sort of large beach hut ie a balcony with house attached. During the day when neighbours are out and the sun is good, and the ice machine is bountiful it can be sublime. I don't really cook down there, just snacks and delivered meals each evening.

This is the view a few moments ago ...... and today the pork fillet I was going to stir fry I wasn't happy with so it was Parma ham pizza instead. Lovely crust ... it was three week old sourdough. Have to make anew batch when I return from Seaside.

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Jeff, you are indeed a lucky man to be able to enjoy this view at your whim. I so much miss my Caribbean Sea! I personally find that sea views, especially expanded ones as you have, uplift the spirit and converge mortality with the beauty and strength of life. The main reason I've not taken a river cruise is that I will not miss an opportunity to breath in an ocean. BTW, yummy pizza with great looking Parma. Enjoy!

Thanks,

Yes we are lucky.

It was a sort of impulse purchase we made whilst working. Wifey bought it when I sent her out for a day on a steam train. ;) We realised that our clients were reticent to leave their offices for boring stuff like making strategic plans and so as a bribe I'd offer them several days away from their office and board room where they could fantasise about what they'd like the future to look like with the beach and me cooking. At the end of a three or four day stay they'd end up with the bones of a cunning plan and a decent invoice from yours truly. That house paid for itself well within a year and you'd be amazed at some of the people who have sat on that balcony and on the beach.

It is a double edge sword now. It's great because it's only a couple of hours in Helga and because we have filled it with decent beds (I don't think you can get Vi Spring overseas ..... but it's a hand made traditional British bed ....... and is perfect) and nice furniture and more and more with the balcony, beds, odd bit of fresh fish etc it's difficult forcing ourselves to travel. When I'm away I miss really good beds and the ability to make a ham sandwich and a cup of tea ...... and I'm agonising about whether to buy another pizza oven for seaside. I'd only need to take half dozen pizza balls down with me and sauce and toppings ... Pretty much everything else is mirrored in both homes, ie beds, ice machines Miele washing machines, dishwashers all identical both houses.

If the weathers nice I'll post piccies from The Balcony.

Edited: The beach is where the Napoleonic ships landed in 1815 - it is a perfectly sheltered bay - and where Napolean was arrested. Evidently he wanted to be arrested. He liked the look of England "Quel Bon Pays" ("what a lovely country") and the rumour is he was actually imprisoned for some time in a local hotel ... we use to stay in the suite it was said that he was given .... Some accounts state he never set foot on English soil but this has been contradicted. The white building on the small headland in the middle of the piccy is now a restaurant but use to be a Napoleonic hospital. They buried the Napoleonic troops on the green and there was one British soldier buried there ... and only one grave stone was for the Brit there being no other evidence of the Napoleonic that were buried there.

‘The Exile’s Departure’ .

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Well, the dinner party was a hit! I forgot to get pictures of dessert, but will take another one later today.

Here is salad from last night.

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Braciole.....

lighting was a bit less

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Hi Mysty... Looking at weather approaching Canada. Hope your flight gets off on time. Safe travels. Let us know when you arrive in Ft Lauderdale.

Yes, safe travels for Mysty and the others traveling. More wonderful food pictures from ShotsnCruises and Jeff. Great background on Jeff's scenic and successful beach place.

Just got back a week ago from San Francisco and our Panama Canal adventure. Still lots of catching up to do. Below is the live/blog connection. Just completed posting a huge bunch of visuals from the exciting Golden Gate city. Fun and exciting there, including seeing the hit musical Hamilton, touring Alcatraz, etc. The architecture, history, character, etc., from San Francisco make a photographer look good and creative.

Now shifting gears to finish planning for our June 2017 sailing on the Silversea Silver Spirit. We will be doing Lisbon/Portugal to Rouen/France, including our first experiences for key parts of Spain, Bordeaux, Brittany, etc. Then, for late January 2018 to be doing our first visit to Southeast Asia, including Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Angkor Wat, Laos and Bangkok. Just got done today getting the last of our needed Frequent Flyer tickets on Cathay Pacific in business class for this trip early next year. “Free” air flights in business over such long distances really helps!!

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Panama Canal? Just completed Feb. 28-Mar. 15, 2017, Fort Lauderdale to San Francisco adventure through the Panama Canal with our first stops in Colombia, Central America and Mexico, plus added time in the great Golden Gate City. Lots of fun pictures!! See more at:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2465580

I'm very proud of this:

Homemade cheesecake with 3 homemade sauces.

Salted caramel, strawberry lime, and cinnamon chocolate.

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Shots,

You produced some amazing food there ..... congrats.

Was reading this item in today's Sunday Times. Thought I'd share it as I suspect it also hits an incisive note for our cousins on the other side of the pond as well as us lot. Hope you enjoy ...

The new face of Britain http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/books-the-road-to-somewhere-the-populist-revolt-and-the-future-of-politics-by-david-goodhart-n3zwvcbdx?shareToken=090077c23dae666ef7bec174b2e113ce

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Wow you certainly worked hard. Looks utterly delicious. Thanks for posting.

Jane

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Thanks guys!

I forgot about taking pictures there at first, and I missed the beautiful cheese plate I put out. Then my guests started taking pictures!!

I LOVE to cook and entertains

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Shots,

you have been hiding your light under a bushel. You must share your enjoyment of cooking more with us.

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Was reading this item in today's Sunday Times. Thought I'd share it as I suspect it also hits an incisive note for our cousins on the other side of the pond as well as us lot. Hope you enjoy ...

The new face of Britain http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/books-the-road-to-somewhere-the-populist-revolt-and-the-future-of-politics-by-david-goodhart-n3zwvcbdx?shareToken=090077c23dae666ef7bec174b2e113ce

Appreciate this interesting, thoughtful Times article. Lots of great and important questions are appropriately raised.

THANKS for sharing! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

AFRICA?!!?: Lots of interesting and dramatic pictures can be seen from my latest live/blog at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

Now at 30,643 views for this reporting and visual sharing that includes Cape Town, all along the South Africa coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta area.