Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome! Part Five

[spinnaker2]

Happy Winter Solstice

 

[drron29]

[Grand Duchess]

Sending you all

 

 

some seasonal ambience courtesy of German comedian and painter Otto and his "Ottifanten"😊

[Lirio]

On 12/21/2023 at 11:46 AM, spinnaker2 said:

Happy Winter Solstice

 

Summer Solstice for us. And summer is here!

[drron29]

[Dolcevita Diva]

[Tothesunset]

My wife asked me, "If you won the lottery jackpot would you still love me?" 

 

"Of course I'd still love you!  I'd miss you, but I'd still love you." 

[drron29]

 

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

So my daughter [who I didn't think had read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy in five books] texted me this:

 

and I replied:  "Only on the Heart of Gold, with the Infinite Improbability Drive" – and she got it!  Sometimes having children does pay off!!!  [My son got it, but that was no surprise as it's one of his favorite books.]

 

[drron29]

 

[Lois R]

Wishing all of you a Very Merry Christmas   Hope everyone has a good day.

 

[mysty]

Merry Christmas from off the coast of Haiti!  Cruise is going well!  And a very big THANK YOU to the Cooler Denizens for keeping the lights on here! 🥰

[QueSeraSera]

Best wishes for the holidays!  I hope everyone's holidays have been happy and whatever you wished for.  [never end a sentence with a preposition - why not?]  New Years just ahead, may need to head back to Total Wine...

[jpalbny]

Hope everyone's Christmas weekend was great! We got home from The Loire yesterday around 5PM after an on-time arrival into Newark. Back to work in a few.

 

Will try to post a few pictures later. We saw six chateaux in the three days we were there - Chambord, Cheverny, Clos Luce, Amboise, Chenonceau, and Chaumont. And yes, almost all of them started with "C" so it was hard to keep track! Luckily Chris had her index card all prepared.

 

We arrived in Paris Friday morning, grabbed a rental car, and went to Chateau Chambord, then Cheverny, before checking in to our hotel in Amboise. The next day we walked to Close Luce and Chateau d'Amboise before lunch, and visited Chenonceau in the afternoon.

 

Amboise worked very well for the first two nights. It was a cute small town within easy striking distance of all of the chateaux. And the Christmas decorations in town, and in all the chateaux, set the mood nicely. The weather was about 50 degrees during the day with occasional sprinkles and some annoying wind at times but we didn't expect anything better so we weren't disappointed.

 

For Christmas Eve we drove to Chartres, stopping at Chaumont on the way. Chartres was surprisingly beautiful. They had a light show in the evening which we wandered around and enjoyed before dinner, and a there was a Christmas concert at the cathedral just before midnight mass, which made for a nice stop on the walk home afterwards.

 

On Christmas morning we drove back to CDG which was an easy 1.5h drive with minimal traffic. It was much nicer than the drive in the opposite direction on Friday morning! The airport was hopping but still, no long lines anywhere. After enduring the annoyance of the dreaded "SSSS" I was allowed to join Chris on the plane for the easy flight home, where I binged on Christmas movies and rested up for the drive home. 

 

Wishing everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year!

 

[drron29]

 

[JoGay]

2 hours ago, jpalbny said:

Hope everyone's Christmas weekend was great! We got home from The Loire yesterday around 5PM after an on-time arrival into Newark. Back to work in a few.

 

Will try to post a few pictures later. We saw six chateaux in the three days we were there - Chambord, Cheverny, Clos Luce, Amboise, Chenonceau, and Chaumont. And yes, almost all of them started with "C" so it was hard to keep track! Luckily Chris had her index card all prepared.

 

We arrived in Paris Friday morning, grabbed a rental car, and went to Chateau Chambord, then Cheverny, before checking in to our hotel in Amboise. The next day we walked to Close Luce and Chateau d'Amboise before lunch, and visited Chenonceau in the afternoon.

 

Amboise worked very well for the first two nights. It was a cute small town within easy striking distance of all of the chateaux. And the Christmas decorations in town, and in all the chateaux, set the mood nicely. The weather was about 50 degrees during the day with occasional sprinkles and some annoying wind at times but we didn't expect anything better so we weren't disappointed.

 

For Christmas Eve we drove to Chartres, stopping at Chaumont on the way. Chartres was surprisingly beautiful. They had a light show in the evening which we wandered around and enjoyed before dinner, and a there was a Christmas concert at the cathedral just before midnight mass, which made for a nice stop on the walk home afterwards.

 

On Christmas morning we drove back to CDG which was an easy 1.5h drive with minimal traffic. It was much nicer than the drive in the opposite direction on Friday morning! The airport was hopping but still, no long lines anywhere. After enduring the annoyance of the dreaded "SSSS" I was allowed to join Chris on the plane for the easy flight home, where I binged on Christmas movies and rested up for the drive home. 

 

Wishing everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year!

 

Chenonceau is my favorite chateau. I can just imagine everyone dancing in the ballroom over the river

[TLCOhio]

2 hours ago, jpalbny said:

Hope everyone's Christmas weekend was great! We got home from The Loire yesterday around 5PM after an on-time arrival into Newark. Will try to post a few pictures later. We saw six chateaux in the three days we were there - Chambord, Cheverny, Clos Luce, Amboise, Chenonceau, and Chaumont. And yes, almost all of them started with "C" so it was hard to keep track! Luckily Chris had her index card all prepared.  Wishing everyone a Happy and Healthy New Year!

 

YES, JP, love to see some of your wonderful visuals from this adventure in the charming and historic Loire Valley. Been there twice visiting Chenonceau, Chambord, etc. Great area of France. 

 

Great to know of the success with Mysty's big adventure and the update of "off the coast of Haiti!  Cruise is going well!"

 

Out in Kansas for Christmas.  Got snow yesterday morning and more snow coming today.  Nice to have a White Christmas!!  See visual below as proof.  On our way here, spent a couple days in Kansas City, including at the historic Raphael Hotel overlooking the charming Country Club Plaza area.  

 

Best to everyone to experience an excellent New Year's Day Celebration and an exciting 2024.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Sydney to NZ/Auckland Adventure, live/blog 2014 sampling/details with many exciting visuals and key highlights.  On page 23, post #571, see a complete index for all of the pictures, postings.  Now at 247,560 views.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1896175-solstice-live-australianzhawaii-many-pix’s-jan-20-feb-3/

 

YES, we had a "White Christmas" in Kansas near Fort Riley and the Manhattan campus of Kansas State University.:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these visuals larger/better!)

 

The lighted buildings in Kansas City's Country Club Plaza are wonderfully inspiring for this holiday period.:

 

 

 

To get ready for exploring India's Golden Triangle in February before boarding the Silver Moon in Mumbai, I visited the Kansas City Nelson-Atkins Museum with a nice collection of art from India and South Asia as shown below.:

 

 

[drron29]

 

[Lirio]

On the road again back to Minas Gerais (Rio de Janeiro to Belo Horizonte). This time I stopped at Congonhas, one of cities from the gold area. Early this year I posted Sabara on the same route.

 

The most important spot in Congonhas is Santuário do Bom Jesus de Matosinhos (Sanctuary of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos) a 18th-century basilica that is noted for its grand outdoor stairway with statues of Old Testament prophets (12 prophets). It has seven side chapels which illustrate the Stations of the Cross; each has a polychrome sculpture made by Aleijadinho. They are considered masterpieces of an original, moving, and expressive form of Baroque art. The basilica is designated at a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

With the help from Wikipedia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 28, 2023 by Lirio

[Host Jazzbeau]

Thank you @Lirio for your continuing detailed guided tour of Brazil.  I haven't been to Brazil yet, so this allows me to live vicariously until the day comes...

[Host Jazzbeau]

OK, I'm going out on a limb here with a somewhat philosophical post.  I'm putting it here because I respect the group here, and I hope that I have earned enough respect to have it considered seriously.

 

So, I just read an Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal extolling the memory of the film critics Siskel and Ebert [a sentiment with which I agree].  He notes that they were denigrated by many other 'serious' film critics; the criticism was that they weren't critical enough (i.e. picking every nit in an otherwise glorious movie experience).  The Op-Ed author describes their approach as "two Joe Schmoes reflecting on movies in a way that the average person could understand and appreciate."  And I would add "two Joe Schmoes who like movies."

 

And I thought:  that's what I look for on the Cruise Critic forums.  Not a Pauline Kael who never met a movie she liked, or a Renata Adler who criticized Kael for not being 'serious' enough!  There are some prolific posters on Cruise Critic [and let me say right away that I'm not thinking about the Silversea regulars] who seem to feel that nothing is ever good enough to merit their praise.  My reaction to their posts is:  (a) your posts are totally valueless to me because I can't evaluate whether I would like this ship or not; and (b) I hope this isn't a reflection of your life in general, because it seems very sad.

 

The reason this Op-Ed triggered my feelings about Cruise Critic is that when some curmudgeon is called out for their negative attitude, their reaction is often "I thought the name of this website was 'Cruise Critic'!"  Yes – relatable criticism like Siskel and Ebert's; not "nothing is good enough for my exalted tastes."

 

Thanks for sharing my reverie/rant [if you got this far].  I can't share a link to the Op-Ed because WSJ is behind a firewall, but I can send a free link to anyone who emails me at: Jazzbeauster@gmail.com

[Will Work for Tiramisu]

Jazzbeau -

I have recently both watched YouTube videos of various S & E movie reviews, and read some comments about them in particular & movie reviews (and the state of the movies) in general.  Did they ever try to make you think they were the ultimate highbrows as regards film criticism?  No; they're both from newspapers in Chi town, fercrissakes!  But between the two of them, and their frequently differing opinions, you got a good sense of what and WHY they thought something was good.  They served the mass market well.  I liked them both, and saw a lot of movies I would not have otherwise pursued, that they reviewed favorably.  As it relates to this august forum, I agree with your position.  One hopes that if you post here, you already sorta like to cruise, knowhuttamean?  And, maybe you kinda like to put on some nice duds and go doff a few beverages with the missus (or the misteress), and enjoy a classy meal.  I like the comparison of the Chicago movie sensibility with the midwest cruise mentality.  I suspect a lot of us who have friends who always want to nitpick everything and criticize everyone's efforts as not up to their higher standards, are left sort of out standing in their field.  I've known quite a few very wealthy people in my town over the years, and around town, during the day, they were often wearing (literally) overalls or faded jeans & old shirts; but they had net worth in 9 figures.  (The wealthy women were/are still wearing gardening or workout clothes or pants & shirts suitable for the grocery store.)  Those folks could criticize something with the best of them, if there was reason to do so, but they didn't need to impress anyone with their superior critical abilities.  My kinda people.  Life is short (and getting shorter).  While I agree we should get fabulous service and food and such for the big bucks we fork over for SS, we should also have realistic expectations about what one can expect to get on a ship at sea.  Lobsters will be frozen; root vegetables will be more common than lettuce leaves; the passenger list will include some grumpy folks who are looking for stuff to criticize.  Just like on shore.   

[drron29]

And now to something not so serious or philosophical.

 

[QueSeraSera]

RE: New Years Resolutions

 

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

What's the opposite of philosophical?  Puns!!!