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SD I October 20-27, Italy, review

Jim Avery

By Jim Avery,
in SeaDream Yacht Club

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ctbjr1309

ctbjr1309

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Decided to skip lunch there as the help had on more expensive clothes than us.

 

Thanks for the report. Sounds like so far, so good. Your comment about Splendido is right on. I remember way back when we first visited Portofino on Sea Goddess and an olive oil tasting and lunch at Splendido were complimentary shore excursions. No more...

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Jim Avery

Jim Avery

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Last day on board. The week has flown by. Today is Bastia, Corsica. Yesterday was a full day for Florence and Pisa. The day dawned cold and rainy. Our hired van arrived right on time and as we parked next to the tower in Pisa, the rain stopped. As we arrived in Florence, the sun came out. Turned out to be a fine day. Full details later and will log out now, got to run into town.

All the best,

Jim.

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DisneyJen "Live from...." Rare

DisneyJen

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DJ, these 6 AM posts of yours are rather disconcerting.

 

That's what happens when DH is traveling (he is stranded in Newark as I write this after leaving Sweden at midnight this morning). No need to be concerned ... I'll catch up on my sleep when he returns:p

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Jim Avery

Jim Avery

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After a 30 hour transit home, I am finally awake enough to start some kind of a review. I am sure this will be in parts as there is just so much to cover. Our first Med cruise and on SeaDream. This trip was taken with Lois's Mom and her 91 year old "boyfriend". We knew going in that we were going to be at a little slower pace than usual but this was truly a trip of a lifetime. SeaDream did a great job on Mom's 80th birthday last Friday. The cake and singing, a card from Captain Berg and the staff and then they ballooned her stateroom. Bravo SeaDream. Now, back to the start. Snagged some good rates on business class on Delta. Had a good trip out bound and managed to beat the Pensacola tornadoes due to a sharp gate agent getting us on an earlier flight. This allowed an extra hour or so in the Crown Lounge. Slept well on board and arrived refreshed (kind of) in Fiumicino (sp) airport on time at 11:20 am Friday. Lois and I travel in carry ons but this time we had to wait for bags for our companions. Bags started coming out of the carousel and promptly at noon, no more bags. People waiting, waiting, waiting. At 1:05, more bags arrived. I swear, only in Italy would they stop unloading a plane to go to lunch. Cant prove it but the evidence is Simpsonesque. I had called and advised our driver of the delay so he was waiting on us. We had booked a van from Romecabs, Stefano Costantini, based on a recommendation from these boards. What a great company. Always on time, well dressed, nice vans, spoke english and knew a lot of interesting points. More on Stefano and his vans later. The trip in from the airport was fairly quick and we got to see a bit of Rome. I was amazed at the dirt and graffiti not seen years ago on an earlier trip. One poster on this thread had mentioned this and I was sad to see this. Seems the world in general has lost a lot of respect for history and property. This would not stop us from being excited though and soon we were at the Hotel Valadier on Via Fontanella. The Valadier had been recommended earlier and they looked good on their website. The hotel is a visual feast. Polished marble, highly shined metal, enameled and varnished wood are everywhere. Truly beautiful and very clean. Rooms are small but that should not bother SeaDreamers. There is a nice rooftop bar/restaurant but we ate at the cellar level traditional restaurant. The rooftop features "fusion" cuisine and sushi. Give me PASTA! Food and service was very good. The only problem with the Valadier is that we had 2 rooms on the first floor (one up from ground level) which was great for our companions as it minimized stairs and walking. The problem was later at night. The room faced the street and Italians like to party late. Lots of laughing and singing from the street by vino fueled Romans and the Piano bar was under our room so we were serenaded till about 3AM. Reminded us of a trip to Helen, Georgia during Octoberfest one year. The room was great and had a beautiful view. Later that night when we returned to the room it dawned on us that we were over the bar. The Oompah band played "Roll out the Barrel" approximately every 5 minutes. To this day, I can sing all verses of that song. As we were only staying one night, no big deal. If you stay there, request a higher floor and one not facing the street. The Valadier was excellent in all other respects. The rooms were 309 euros each. Not the cheapest but by far not the most expensive. This translated, with taxes, etc. to $975.00 for the 2 rooms for 1 night! WOW! This was the first of many "sticker shock" incidents to follow. Darn glad to be going on SeaDream because the exchange rate and the moneychangers fees were excruciating. Talk about feeling poor. More on that later. Now Stefano and Rome and SeaDream.

Jim.

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Jim Avery

Jim Avery

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Saturday morning and it is beautiful in Rome. Sunny, temperature in the 70s and a nice breeze. Precisely at 8:00am, Stefano Costantini of Romecabs arrives at our hotel. Every driver was exactly on time. A nice trend. Stefano greets us, takes the luggage and herds us into a comfortable van. The vans seat 6-8 so are very comfortable for us 4. Prices were quoted in Euros and were exactly as quoted. The only problem is the aforementioned hosing by the Euro/$ exchange rate. Stefano asked a few preference questions in order to tailor our trip to our needs and we were off. Stefano had interesting commentary at many points but was not a constant talker. He was very good at questions and made many otherwise unnoticed places come to life. One place on Moms list was the Vatican and of course the Sistine Chapel. As you who have been there know, the crowds can be incredible. It is a cliche to say that the line was "a mile long" but in this case, the line for admission truly is about a mile long. Waiting times are in hours. I passed on this in 1969 for this reason and I really cannot imagine what August must be like. Stefano recommended that we hire a Vatican Guide to take us around and more importantly cut the lines waiting. We decided, after seeing the lines, that the quoted 140 Euro fee for a guide for 2 hours might be worth it. Stefano made a cell phone call and the deal was done. We parked right at the entrance and met a man who we assumed was the guide. Wrong-o. This gentleman introduced us to an elderly Italian woman who appeared older than my soon to be 80 Mother in Law. Short, slightly stooped, wearing black "sensible shoes" and a simple print cotton dress with a brown cloth coat over. A plain black purse in the crook of her left arm. Wire rim glasses and a knit stocking cap over wispy gray hair. This was Maria-our Vatican Guide. After giving us the eye she said "follow me and stay close". She turned and headed for the tape line barrier near the entry. Lifted the line, stooped under and motioned for us to follow. We did and suffered glares and comments in several languages, some of which we understood. And of course the universal hand gestures but, head down we concentrated on following the diminutive Maria who was parting the crowds like Moses. She headed through the crowd to an unused glass door to the left of the main entrance and led us right into the entry hall. After greeting the guards like a favorite child she led us to the front of the line to buy tickets. Tickets in hand Maria parted the seas again to an unused elevator on the opposite side. Brief greetings to the operator and we have a private elevator to the upper floor starting point. The Vatican is fabulously ornate and has much more to see than the Sistine alone. Maria made this all come alive to us and showed us many out of the way items that the large tour groups simply passed by. In every chamber she was greeted by the guards like royalty. One guard told us "you have the best, number one mamma!" When we finally got to the Sistine Chapel, as always it was packed and stifling. Maria herded us almost the full length of the chapel before stopping and pronounced that we were at the best point for viewing the ceiling. She was right. The entire view was unbelievable and was in perfect perspective. We came to find out she had been doing this for over 50 years. She had definitely worked the bugs out of the tour. As Maria was escorting us out of the Vatican (still very crowded) an oriental tour guide leading a large group of orientals crossed her path. The leader was holding a sign up and speaking into headsets transmitting to the members of his group. He made the near fatal mistake of pushing Maria out of the way. This small frail appearing woman suddenly seemed 6 feet tall and exploded very loudly in Italian right in the face of the unlucky guide. He practically ended up on his knees and from that point on, Maria had a wide circle of space around her as she exited the building. If you ever need a guide in the Vatican, I hope you will find Maria. We certainly all learned a lot from her that day. Have to go to work now, more soon.

Jim.

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NASCAB

NASCAB

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Jim, what a great guide! It's too bad we didn't know about Maria in July when we were in Rome. The lines were out of the Vatican and down the street and the temperature was 120 f. We decided seeing it 5 years ago was enough, and we hailed a cab to take us to our next stop.

 

Keep up with the wonderful report of your experiences in the Med on SeaDream. I wish I was there for another week right now, it does go by too quickly.

 

NASCAB :)

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Jim Avery

Jim Avery

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Darn this working stuff gets in the way sometimes. Back to Rome. After leaving Maria at the Vatican, Stefano took me to change some more Monopoly money and then off to see the sites. These hired cars really do have the right to drive just about anywhere. We parked alongside the fountain at Trevi, right alongside the forum and I'm sure if he wanted to, he would be allowed to drive on the sidewalks. Truly very convenient. Stefano also got us tickets and a way past the lines to enter the colosseum. After passing through the bomb detectors (bomb detectors??? Dont they know its a RUIN ALREADY???) He took us to the head of the line, spoke a few words with the guard, and there we go. Last time I was in the colosseum there were no security devices, heck there were no gates and I spent the night on a small ledge near the top. The "good old days". Now its time for Civitivecchia and SeaDream!! Stefano made good time through the countryside and pointed out many Etruscan sites. This made an otherwise boring commute interesting. Civitivecchia is a pleasant looking seaside town with a commercial port. It was smaller than I expected and cleaner. As we arrived dockside, the wind was blowing 40 knots and it was turning cold. When SeaDream says dont arrive early there is no waiting area they are not kidding. We arrived at 3PM so were able to board directly but there is only a dockside tent with a luggage screener. After being screened, time to board. Captain Berg greeted us at the Gangway. Capt Berg was just this day returning from his leave and we all accused him of bringing Norwegian weather with him. As always, Capt. Berg said it would be sunny "tomorrow". In fact this day it is warmer in the UK than here. We were escorted into the main lounge, given champagne and a nice selection of food. Embarkation does not get any easier than this. After greeting some old friends in the crew, we were escorted to our cabin. We had cabin 203. Aft on the starboard side and near the restaurant. As usual the cabin was spotless and our stewardess Glenda did a perfect job all week. We wanted for nothing in our little world. Sailaway was uneventful even with the bad weather. All week Captain Berg did a great job working the coastlines and the wind to provide a very nice ride. Have had much rougher in the Caribbean. As we sailed only at night, the slight motion and the whoosh of the waves made for perfect sleeping. The only weather issue is that we could not do Bastia, Corsica first so Capt. Berg swapped Corsica with Elba, our scheduled last stop. No problem there. Tonight is the welcome aboard cocktail party. In addition to Capt. Berg. Linda Mueller was Activities Director and the only USA citizen in the crew. Linda worked very hard this week managing schedule changes and the sometimes bad weather. Good job Linda. There are 108 passengers aboard with 92 crew. According to Linda there were 2 Canadians, 2 Belgians, 6 from the UK, 5 Dutch, 5 German, and 88 from the US. The owner and his family was also aboard. The owners kids and another family with 3 kids gave a total of 6 between the apparent ages of 10 to 16. All were well behaved and were no problem except when kids are on board, they usually play afternoon kids movies in the main lounge. Not an issue in the Caribbean but on this voyage it became very apparent why SeaDream would be a bad choice for Alaska. When it is cold and rainy, SeaDream I becomes a very small ship. Other than your cabin, you have a choice of the Main Lounge or the Piano Bar/Library. For most of this trip, the TOY Bar was moved to the Piano Bar. This made the library noisier than usual so those who like to read in quiet tried the Main Lounge. When the movies were being run, it is too dark and too noisy to read, play cards, or talk to others. For this week, we had one Breakfast and one lunch Topside. All other meals were in the Dining Room. I was amazed at how much time we usually spend outside and were able to use the Bali Beds only in Portofino. Cant worry about the weather though and all passengers took the changes in stride. Sunday we docked in Portoferraio, Elba. A pretty town in a nice hilly setting. Still windy and cold and, as it is Sunday, most shops and attractions are closed. After a brisk walk through town its back to SeaDream. Tomasz Jadczyk is Hotel Manager on board and, as usual, can make anything happen. He is one of the best and will be truly missed. This is his last contract after 16 years on cruise ships. He is missing his family grow up. As a former ship master I can relate to his feelings but we will miss him. A great number of the crew indicated they were leaving after their current contract. The reason is one of those unintended consequences sort of things. No one said they were unhappy with SeaDream or that they worked too hard. The problem, and it is a real one, is that they have homes and family in Euro based countries and their pay is in Dollars. Just as we feel the pain of a weak dollar, they have suffered the equivalent of about a 30 percent pay cut in the last year. As a Seadreamer I selfishly want them all to stay but I certainly can see the problem. There is already a lot of new faces. While all were very pleasant and would do whatever was asked, the service in some instances was not up to what we have known in the past. One example, we were 4 of us playing cards at one of the card tables in the salon. The Main Salon Bar was open. We had 4 empty drinks on the card table and 2 or 3 of the newer crew walked past with no asking if we wanted something else. A small thing but regular Seadreamers will find that odd. Not to fear though, when the hardworking Lowell came on duty, all was right with the world. Got to run now but will try to finish up later.

Jim.

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Jim Avery

Jim Avery

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Monday morning dawned sunny but windy and cool. We were anchored off Portovenere and had an easy tender into the village. An old fortress and church are located on the point guarding the entry to the bay where we are anchored and the views up the coast to the Cinque Terre region are positively stunning. This is the venue for the boat tours to Cinque Terre. The boats carried a maximum of 8 passengers and our boat resembled a Venice water taxi except plain fiberglass instead of the polished woods. The boat ride was right along the cliffs so the ride was smooth in spite of the chilly breezes. The land is very vertical and the homes stuck into the cliffside are hard to imagine. How does one get the groceries from town? Someone in our party asked the inevitable "I wonder what the people that live here do". My DW Lois, in her inimitable way responded "If I lived there, I would jump". She's a city girl from Chicago, dont you know. Some of the 5 villages are on roads and even a train line but 2 are very remote. We sailed north for about an hour (4.5 hour total trip) and stopped in a beautiful village with a tiny harbor. Walked about and had the best Irish coffee I have ever had. Back into the boat, we start southbound with a stop in the next village. At this stop, after we all left the boats, the boats left us! The guide informs us that we will be walking the cliffside "Lover's Lane" to the next village. "Dont worry, its only a kilometer and all level". They lied. Remember, we are traveling with an 80 year old woman and her 91 year old boyfriend. The very first street angled upwards at a steep angle and ended at a long flight of stairs. then through a tunnel to another long flight of stairs. Began to wonder how they would get the body bags to us but Mom & friend were real troopers. Had to stop often but managed to make it to "Lover's Lane" which, it turns out is about a kilometer and is basically level. Its the start and finish which will get you. Almost 2 miles overall. The trip to these remote villages was one of the high points in a trip of high points but we were all glad to be back aboard. Time for cocktails and dinner. Sudesh Keshore is Chef aboard and we had him last year. His Indian cuisine is very good and Lois and I particularly like Indian food. I am happy to report that Sudesh has taken a more mainstream tack with the bulk of the menus while keeping at least one Oriental/Indian type option at each meal. In the past some complained that the Indian influence was too evident in most dishes. Overall, the food was very good in our opinion. As long as we are talking food, I might as well fess up to gaining 3 pounds. Much better than the usual pound a day. The difference is walking old towns, climbing stairs, etc. then coming back to red wine and whiskey/sodas as opposed to the Caribbean where you lay on the Bali Beds, lay about the pool, lay on the beach, and guzzle beer and umbrella drinks. Both endeavours have their place! Tomorrow, Portofino!

Jim.

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Jim Avery

Jim Avery

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Tuesday morning dawned bright and sunny with almost no wind. The best weather of the week and just in time for Portofino. I have long wanted to see Portofino so the timing of the weather was perfect. The Topside Restaurant, the TOY Bar, and Bali Beds are all open for business. The anchorage at Portofino could not be more picturesque with the steep hillsides peppered with the villas of the rich (very) and famous. All the vegetation, trees, etc. appear groomed. After closer inspection, seems they actually are! The tender ride ashore is very short and on perfectly calm seas. The tender docks right in the village at the Portofino Yacht Club dock. Portofino was for me one of those rare times when the reality matches the expectation. The harbor is almost completely surrounded by the hills and the water is very clear. Beautiful boats large and small are very well maintained. No junk here. (No graffiti as in Rome either). The harbor is circled with perfectly Italian buildings with shops and cafes on the ground level and living areas above. The colors, sights, and smells are all as they should be. The tiny shops are what you would expect along any seaport except the names here are Prada, Armani, etc.etc. I bought a t shirt. If you go to Portofino, do take the walk up to the Hotel Splendido. To get there, take the small passage way to the right of the main square and go past the church. Cross over the road and up the stairs on the opposite side and take the raised path to the right. Keep following past stone and iron gates leading to the beautiful villas just beyond the walls. Everything is clean and beautiful. There is no trash anywhere. Even the leaves seem to stay on the trees as there are no piles of autumn leaves anywhere. Lots of gardeners at work though. The views up to the hotel are wonderful and we have the best shot of our ship ever. As we walked up the drive to the Splendido, it became evident just how expensive this area is as we passed Bentleys, Rolls, and in pride of place a brand new Lamborghini. The grounds are as you would expect, perfectly groomed. The view from the terrace cafe must be seen to be believed. Just a perfect setting. One day, maybe I will go on line and see what the tariff is to stay at this place. After looking down on our beautiful ship again and remembering the cost of meals in Rome, we decided that lunch aboard would not be a bad thing. On the trip back down to the tender, we took a bit different route and saw more of the smaller homes. Small but very very nice. Back aboard, we are pleased to be eating lunch at the Topside Restaurant. The dining salon is very nice but you just cant beat the views of Portofino from topsides while enjoying a fine lunch. After lunch it was time to introduce Mom to the Bali Beds. She was most impressed and then we took it further with the afternoon cocktails and cheese trays. I have a picture that says it all. My bare feet on the Bali Beds with Portofino in the distance and a cocktail on the table next to the bed. Pure bliss. Mom is not much of a drinker but she does have one favorite cocktail, an Apricot Stone Sour. (I think its a Sun City West thing). I had called SeaDream prior to the trip to make sure they would be able to make this for her and sure enough, every time she ordered one she declared it was made perfectly. Thanks SeaDream. When Moms happy, we are all happy. Another of those little things that continually add up on SeaDream. After a long lazy afternoon on deck, this night is the Club Members cocktail party. It was held as usual in the Piano Bar/Library and Captain Berg indicated that there were 32 repeaters out of the 108. All had fun and the caviar flowed. All in all, a perfect day on SeaDream. Wednesday was another matter. Wednesday dawned rainy, cold, and windy. Captain Berg made the decision to skip Viareggio where we were to anchor and proceeded to dock in Livorno. This suited most everyone as the prospect of a rainy, cold, rough anchorage was not appealing. Linda managed to change the tours to meet us in Livorno but as we were not doing our trip to Florence until Thursday, we declared this to be a "sea day" and took it easy. Ate, slept, ate, read books, ate, played cards and ate. More later.

Jim.

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Jim Avery

Jim Avery

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Thursday dawned cold, rainy, and windy. See a pattern here? Capt. Berg had promised sun today but it wasnt here. We had arranged for a van from a company Stefano Costantini recommended, Rome in Limo. The driver arrived precisely on time at 8:00 am in an 8 passenger Mercedes van. The 4 of us were very comfortable with this much space. Our driver was excellent and took off for our first stop, Pisa. Along the way he explained about the Roman roads which we were traveling on, the types of trees, points of interest, etc. The trip went by quickly and before we knew it he turned a corner and right in front of us was that topply tower! We parked, as usual, right by the tower and amazingly, the rain stopped. Just like that. Having seen pictures of this icon forever, I was still surprised at how clean and relatively new the tower looked. Our driver said it had been restored/cleaned about 5 years ago. I also thought that it leans more than the pictures show. Cant imagine how it has stood all these years. After a leisurely walk around the grounds we departed for Florence. As we entered Florence, the sun came out. Great. The driver took us on a scenic drive to an overlook point where the bronze copy of David resides. The view of Florence in the sunlight was stunning. A beautiful old city. Enjoyed a Tuscan meal in a tiny cellar cafe recommended by the driver. We were the only non italians in the place. Very nice. While walking off lunch, went into a leather shop. Had much fun with the male salesmen. They worked so hard and were so flattering (This jacket makes you look 25, you handsome man) and liars by the way, that we both bought very nice leather jackets. Just as with the jewelry stores in the Caribbean, 50% off is the starting point. The haggling was done politely and with great good humor. I was already wearing a leather jacket when we arrived and one of the gentlemen was feeling the leather saying its ok leather but not as nice as theirs (naturally) when I informed him I bought it in Mexico. You should have seen the look on his face as he jumped back as if the coat had fleas. All good fun and we are very pleased with our only purchases other than food and drink. After this, we went to see David. Once again, parking was right by the entrance. Just does not get any easier. To be in the presence of this famous work is truly awe inspiring. After seeing the Sistine Chapel and now David I was truly amazed that one person did this and much much more. We finished our tour of Florence with a stroll across the Ponte Vecchio. Managed to avoid buying any gold. Such will power. Back to SeaDream, cocktail party and the Chef's Degustation menu. We were very pleased with all Sudesh's selections. Had yet another triple chocolate gut bomb and waddled off to bed. Friday morning we arrived at Bastia, Corsica, France. This last stop was a nice easy port to see. We were at dock right in the center of town and took a short stroll to the old port area. This place is wall to wall harbor front cafes. It must really hop in the summer. The old part of town has very old looking buildings leaning on each other. It gives the impression that if one was removed, all the rest would tumble down. Very picturesque. After a walkabout, back to SeaDream. The TOY Bar was open but meals still inside. Tonight is Mom's 80th birthday and SeaDream hit another home run. After the meal, there was a special cake and singing happy birthday. They presented her with a card from the Captain and officers and when she returned to her cabin, it had been filled with balloons and streamers. She was really touched. Thanks again SeaDream. All too soon, it is Saturday morning and we are again docked at Civitivecchia. Time for good byes and pick up passports. Never even saw a customs person. There is no easier way to do this than SeaDream. One final time, our booked van with Stefano is precisely on time. How they do that in Italian traffic is a real trick. I did not intend to write a book when I started this review but the time was so full with rich experiences that it just kept coming. SeaDream delivered again in spite of some weather glitches. Are now looking forward to the Caribbean. We can catch up on sun there. I do have to quickly describe the nasty trip home on Delta. The flight left Rome 2.5 hours late. This of course meant missed connections at JFK. They got us on a flight to Atlanta in coach even though we paid for Business/First. The ATL flight arrived 2 hours after the last flight to Ft. Walton Bch, FL (VPS). We arrived in ATL at 10:30 PM. the airport at ATL is 5 hours from our house so, rather than take their offer of a hotel and "we will try to get you out sometime tomorrow", we went to see Mr. Hertz and rented a one way car. We arrived home 4:00am on Sunday having started at 6:00am Saturday Rome Time (11:00pm Friday our time). This week I called Delta to request some compensation for the reduced booking/missed flights. Deltas position was that the delay to the inbound aircraft in Rome was due to weather, so no compensation. For the coach flight to ATL when we paid for Business/First, under their rules, they can re book us in coach with no compensation. This while they were selling upgrades on the same flight for $75.00! As far as the missed flight to VPS, no compensation, it is still open and can be used for a year. As for the rental car, no compensation. We should have used the room offered. Aint flying great these days??? It was a wonderful trip from the SeaDream perspective but with the Euro/Dollar rate and with the joys of air travel, we will probably not be back in Europe for the forseeable future. Will stay closer to home and hope SeaDream comes up with some new itineraries. Costa Rica possibly?? the Keys and Bahamas from FTL?? Anyway, all the best.

Jim.

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ama22

ama22

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Jim, what a wonderful review of your Sea Dream Med cruise. It sounds like you had a great time. The Vatican Museum, St. Peters, and the David would certainly be highlights of anyone's trip. I wish I could have made my review as easy to read and so much fun reading.

 

Tell Lois, that I'm a Chicago girl too! And tell your Mother In Law, that my 94 mother's favorite cocktail is an Apricot Stone Sour. What a small world.

 

Really enjoyed reading your comments.

 

Mary Lou

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  • 4 weeks later...
Cammiem

Cammiem

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Jim,

 

Thanks for the great, detailed review. I can't believe I'm just now reading it. Sounds like you had a wonderful time, regardless of the weather.

 

I agree with you about Portofino. It sure is a postcard-perfect town. The view from Hotel Splendido is as breathtaking as you mentioned, and will be etched in my memories for a long time to come. I have rates for 2007, as I asked for them at the front desk. The open season was March 23-November 11. A double room with a sea view/balcony (because one has to be able to appreciate that view:) ) is 1,174 Euro. During the high summer season (June 8-Sept. 16), the rate for said room is 1,424 Euro. The rates are per room, per night and include full American breakfast, one a la carte meal (either lunch or dinner) and service. If you'd like to splurge on the two-bedroom Presidential Suite :D , the rates are 4,064 Euro and 4,914 Euro (for high summer season). For common folk, the lowest priced room is a Garden View double room at 944 Euro and 1,064 Euro.

 

I did manage to get out of there with a free souvenir. Well, it's not all that free since we paid for the Yachting Land Adventure to eat there. Thanks to a fellow SeaDreamer's suggestion, I have a menu signed by the chef. And, I made great friends with the Maitre d', Luca, who's promised to send me the chef for Christmas. :D

 

I am going to have to look into the Apricot Stone Sour. Sounds tasty.

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