We like days at sea. There is no pressure to be anywhere or get anything done. Since our goal for this trip was to unplug and chill, starting out with a day to do nothing seemed apropos. We were instructed to set out clocks ahead one hour to be on Greek time (even though we were still cruising along the Italian coast) so it seemed strange to have the sun rise at 7:45. I was up and already in the gym. I know it seems wrong to talk about working out on vacation but I was stupidly excited that they had two ergs in the gym since I have a regatta just a few weeks after I get back and I don’t want it to be too painful to get into racing shape.
After my 5K workout, we showered and headed down to the “nice” restaurant for breakfast. In the morning, there are only a few choices for food: the buffet, the Irish pub which is open 24/7 or the Grand Pacific – one of the two dining rooms on the ship with a dress code at dinner (and by dress code I mean that men need to wear collared shirts so not really much of a dress code). At the end of the meal we were introduced to Mary who apparently takes care of the guests with special dietary needs. We chatted for a few minutes before she brought me the lunch and dinner menus for that restaurant for the day. I preordered both meals with her guidance on what could and could not be made gluten free. I felt so relieved after the issue last night (which had no noticable effects thank goodness!)
And then we proceeded to the pool deck for our day of doing nothing. Okay, it was really nothing but drinking. Today’s drink was “Rebellious Fish” which involved vodka, orange juice, something passion fruit and prosecco. It was yummy and we had several. We spent most of the beautiful sunny day on deck napping in the sun, soaking in the hot tub, drinking fruity cocktails and watching our fellow passengers. At lunch time, we threw on some clothes and headed to the restaurant where I gave them my cabin number and they had everything I had ordered: shrimp and arugula salad, shrimp and penne, and white chocolate mousse. Yes, three courses for lunch. And I planned to do it again at dinner, thank you very much.
Travel tip #5: if you want the “good” rose on a ship like this, make sure to order “dry rose” or else you get White Zinfandel. It didn’t really go with my pasta.
After lunch, there was more nothing-doing until it was obvious that it was time to get out of the sun so we headed out to the card room to test our sobriety with some scrabble (I won both of two close games.) Then it was off to the lounge for trivia where we missed winning by one answer. Grrrr….
We made a pitstop at the buffet to pick up cheese and meats (and some GF toast) to go with our glasses of wine so we could enjoy happy hour on our balcony. Then it was time to shower and get ready for dinner.
Travel tip #6: lots of sun, day drinking, a moving ship and a new razor leads to disaster when shaving one’s legs.
I eventually staunched the blood from the two inch gash I inflicted on myself (there are now 5 bandaids keeping things from leaking everywhere) and decided the answer was another glass of wine. We were hoping to see the amazing sunset from our balcony before dinner but too many clouds meant no such sunset was on offer. So off to dinner where a 20 minute wait for a table meant a seat at the martini bar visiting our friend Ade who proffered prosecco and martinis before our table was ready.
Dinner was delicious and we had several glasses of pinot noir to go with it. We had a great deal of fun watching the table full of French folks next to us laughing uproariously to the poit of gasping and crying. I never wanted to speak French so badly as I did tonight to know what on earth was so funny.
We contemplated going to the country music show but the sun, food, and martinis had taken their toll so we are off to bed to prepare for tomorrow’s adventure: Santorini
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