Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Four

And the peas?

Good morning Coolers, trying to decide what to do today.......the weather is warm and the sun is out. I may drive to St Augustine and stop at the Dooney and Bourke outlet to buy a new purse:D

Only a short drive......about 1/2 hour.........they have some good buys and now it is just under a month from the BIG 60 Birthday.......so I may as well start giving myself some gifts early;) but seriously, I like their bags.........

Jeff, I LOVE a great burger....those look awesome!:D

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Oh, I forgot.......I am now starting to look at cruises for next year.....yes, I know it is early but I know a couple of things I have been wanting to do.......Looks like it will be on a different line than SS, but that is ok too;) Sometimes when you want to do a certain itinerary, you have to look at other lines. I want to do The British Isles..........SS does not seem to offer what I am looking for.......actually Windstar has a one this year that looks awesome but their 2019 schedule is not out yet.......want to see if they will be doing the same......and I actually may go back to Celebrity for it. They have a great looking itinerary for next summer (2019)

12 nights from Amsterdam roundtrip........stops all over the UK.......

And then there is the total opposite...looking at a 2nd river cruise. You cannot get much different LOL...............I have to look at both options:D

Sometimes, almost the best part of taking a vacation of any kind (cruise, land, etc) is in the planning! It's all ahead of you!

So many options, so little time (and money....giggle!). Keep us posted on your future plans!

G'Day All.......

JP....sorry to hear about your feline baby....it is so hard when they get older.

Lovely burger Jeffers.....had a very nice Italian lunch out with DD today which made for a nice change from the ready meals I've been having lately!

Lois....l love St Augustine......used to go there from Ocala and dine at O'Steins.....a really charming place.

Good luck with the cruise choosings!

Have today chosen all the carpets and floor coverings with the help of DD before our lunch......funnily enough she seemed to prefer what l thought the old fashioned stuff but we eventually reached a good joint decision so happy days.

Wishing one and all a great weekend.....snow forecast for us next week......such joy! 😊

MissS., what a wonderful relationship between Mom & DD. I enjoy one as well, and we have fun together doing different things...but mostly shopping.

Lois, I agree with Mudhen, enjoy the planning and take us with you while you crunch your options.

I've begun packing for our trip to Seville. Unfortunately, it will be cool and rainy during the eight days we will be there. While DH is doing his teaching and monitoring rehearsals, I plan on sightseeing solo. Of course I'll visit the major sights (Alcázar, Catedral, Giralda and parks) but do you know of anything else I should not miss? Also, can somebody recommend good restaurants? I will check TripAdvisor, but first hand knowledge is most valued.

MissS., what a wonderful relationship between Mom & DD. I enjoy one as well, and we have fun together doing different things...but mostly shopping.

 

Lois, I agree with Mudhen, enjoy the planning and take us with you while you crunch your options.

 

I've begun packing for our trip to Seville. Unfortunately, it will be cool and rainy during the eight days we will be there. While DH is doing his teaching and monitoring rehearsals, I plan on sightseeing solo. Of course I'll visit the major sights (Alcázar, Catedral, Giralda and parks) but do you know of anything else I should not miss? Also, can somebody recommend good restaurants? I will check TripAdvisor, but first hand knowledge is most valued.

Cams, fancy this?

https://devoursevillefoodtours.com/tours/

WOW! I'm not going to Seville any time soon, but those tours look like lots of fun!

I went shopping today.......didn't find a purse but I got some new clothes:D then I went out for a good lunch......had a steak......with a sweet potato on the side.....it was delicous:)

Linda,

It is an extremely sad thing but I see all travels from the viewpoint of where I am going to eat lunch and what food can I explore. We're already mapping out food for the ports on our SS trip, Vienna in September and even Singapore in ten months or so time. I keep seeing programmes on something I haven't tried or haven't had enough of. Luckilly I've learned a little of a wide variety is better than a lot of something. :)

What is your favourite food? Do you cook?

Dear Jeff, thanks for such a valuable resource! I downloaded their food/tapas guide and now we have a plan!! I'll post our experiences and favorites. So much to choose from! Thanks again.

Linda,

 

It is an extremely sad thing but I see all travels from the viewpoint of where I am going to eat lunch and what food can I explore. We're already mapping out food for the ports on our SS trip, Vienna in September and even Singapore in ten months or so time. I keep seeing programmes on something I haven't tried or haven't had enough of. Luckilly I've learned a little of a wide variety is better than a lot of something. :)

 

What is your favourite food? Do you cook?

LOL! We've also started to think about where we'll eat in Falmouth (thank you for the info on "the stack"!) and have just started to scratch the surface with London (only there one night, pre cruise). We love reading menus and doing some advance planning, but then again sometimes it's just fun to let the day take you and nosh, nibble and imbibe when we find something interesting.

OH, and of course I cook....I make a mean pan of hot water and am known for my prowess with the micro wave!! haha!

John is a professional chef and does all of the cooking while I am the head moppier and executive dish and pot washer! I also do peeling however John's the master with the knife so cutting stuff up isn't one of my areas of expertise!

I guess my "at home" favorites are pretty simple....love shellfish/lobster, clams, oysters and Maryland Blue Crab (when we can get it ) would be at the top of my list. I adore a good "fruite de mer" platteau when we're in France!

We'll be looking for a good traditional pub when we're in London....in the St. James neighborhood.....any ideas anyone?!

Hi Linda,

Considering that central London can be quite touristy, there are a number of traditional pubs around St Jame's. I think it's partly due to the Wellington barracks and the soldiers living there! Here are a couple we know all in Petty France. The first is a favourite of ours and are well known for fish and chips and there is nothing better than a pint of good British beer with fish and chips - and you can book a table if you want. Young's Brewery is a London Brewery.:

https://www.buckinghamarms.com/

http://www.youngs.co.uk/

https://www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk/pubs/greater-london/adam-eve/

https://www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk/pubs/greater-london/old-star/

Oh Boy! They look perfect and just what we're looking for!

Thank you, Jeff!

Good morning Coolers:).......I was just going over my SS account for the summer cruise:D, well, I was also looking at the flights they are holding for me and they made an error.......I want to stay in Venice for 2 nights but they have me arriving only 1 day early:eek:

I must have missed that when I got the email......tomorrow I will contact my gal at SS and have them move it up 1 day. I already

made my hotel reservations so definitely need the flight changed. Somewhere in the process there was a human error/misunderstanding......glad it is so far out so it can be fixed:)

Oh Boy! They look perfect and just what we're looking for!

Thank you, Jeff!

Linda, really pleased to offer suggestions. I was talking to wifey about my suggestions ..... and we both really love The Buckingham Arms. Just another couple of comments in case they are of interest. Sometimes trivia makes all the difference between "mehr" and memories.

On the other side of the road is the rear entrance to Wellington Barracks. The barracks are home to The Grenadier Guards, The Coldstream Guards and The Scots Guards. These are the troops that guard Buckingham Palace and Troop The Colour. Almost all of them will have active service and served under fire abroad. The chapel in the barracks was where Prince Henry and William organised a private memorial service to Diana in 2007. Why do I tell you all this trivia. :D Well, it could well be that if you see a well scrubbed up group of lads in the pub - which I think you almost certainly will - they may well be from across the road. So if you are of an inquisitive and friendly and confident disposition, then pluck up courage and engage them in conversation. They will be receptive and friendly and welcoming. They do after all "perform" in front of visitors and see their role with pride and honour as representing Great Britain. They will not be rude I promise. You may meet some peoplewho have some really unique and interesting tales to tell and it might be a memory.

John is a chef, and there will be better fish and chips elsewhere in London. But there will be few places where you can have fish and chips, a really good English beer in a traditional English pub that hasn't been messed around with and possibly meet some people who guard our Queen or who know personally our Princes.

Oh Boy! They look perfect and just what we're looking for!

Thank you, Jeff!

Agree with Mudhen; will keep these links for our October visit.

Today was a lovely biryani ........

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

LOL! We've also started to think about where we'll eat in Falmouth (thank you for the info on "the stack"!) and have just started to scratch the surface with London (only there one night, pre cruise). We love reading menus and doing some advance planning, but then again sometimes it's just fun to let the day take you and nosh, nibble and imbibe when we find something interesting.

OH, and of course I cook....I make a mean pan of hot water and am known for my prowess with the micro wave!! haha!

John is a professional chef and does all of the cooking while I am the head moppier and executive dish and pot washer! I also do peeling however John's the master with the knife so cutting stuff up isn't one of my areas of expertise!

I guess my "at home" favorites are pretty simple....love shellfish/lobster, clams, oysters and Maryland Blue Crab (when we can get it ) would be at the top of my list. I adore a good "fruite de mer" platteau when we're in France!

We'll be looking for a good traditional pub when we're in London....in the St. James neighborhood.....any ideas anyone?!

Mudhen...

I havent made my flight reservations yet and your post is spurring me on. I made lots of inquiries and researched, but didn't commit. Now I think I must. My dilemna is the getting there one day early and having to deal with the luggage or getting there the day of and the potential of lost luggage(which we already had on one Silversea cruise even though we arrived a day early to sightsee, it was spent dealing with lost luggage). I guess its the luck of the draw.

May I ask where you are flying out of?

We are in South Florida

'Morning, Spins and all Coolers!

We're flying out of Newark on the 8th of Sept. on Virgin Atlantic. We did the upgrade to business. Not the most exciting BC, that's for sure, but maybe we can sleep on the way over. We're doing the "pay thru the nose" SS one hotel night in London with transfers....somewhat obscene price but we know London can be kind of pricey anyway.

We have also done ALL of the horror shows with flight delays, making connecting flights virtually impossible( 3x"s), lost luggage (will the ship sail before we get it?) etc. SOOO, we sprung for the bucks to hopefully make this trip a little less stressful. We only need to fly over as we're about an hour&half away from Manhattan. Car will pick us up to go home.

Back to flight reservations, we had ours almost immediately. We now even have seat assignments...it's in the system and I can actually find them on the VA account...OMG! Keeping fingers crossed that no one messes this up!

Agree with Mudhen; will keep these links for our October visit.

Hi Cams, I've added some further trivia which I hope is of interest for Roberto and your visit in October.

:)

The morning started with me picking my friend up at 11am to show her around the building site to date....she was very impressed....so a great start....I had prepared some canapés along with a nice bottle of LP as our appertizers before we headed to our favourite River venue for luncheon....enjoyed a very nice Sancerre with the roast pork followed by a cheese board and a brandy coffee.....although it was very cold it was so delightful to sit viewing the river wildlife from our table whilst enjoying the convivial atmosphere with folks popping in for a beer and lunch along with their furry friends who are made most welcome.......a perfect Sunday.

Good to see the Coolers listening to Jeff's travel recommendations....his knowledge is spot on......

Happy Days....😊

Hi Cams, I've added some further trivia which I hope is of interest for Roberto and your visit in October.

 

:)

Yes! We will look out for the bright-eyed young men protecting Queen and Palace. Closer to the date, I'll be sure to poke you for more trivia.

Very grateful to Jeff and all Coolers who contribute valuable tips on travel! It's like having our own personal Michelin(men)!

Speaking about trivia, did you know that the dining hall used in the Harry Potter films was filmed in the dining hall of the Royal College of Music in London...where my DH dined (in strict jacket and tie) when he was a student in the 1970's? We re-visited it in 2016 and he said he felt sorry for Harry Potter and the bland food of the times....