Showing posts with label Arts Café. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arts Café. Show all posts

Friday, 5 July 2024

Lennon Link

TSH and Diva did not go into Reykjavik, as the Silver Spirit was docked some way out and there was no shuttle bus. So they enjoyed a few relaxing hours onboard until the next set of guests embarked.

They spent some time looking at a point on the southern horizon where there appeared to be a plume of smoke. This is a possible sighting of the result of the currently active volcano. In the Arts Café, they chatted with the on-coming Food and Beverage Manager, who is from Birkdale, near Liverpool. He now knows about the missing grilled peaches.

TSH and Diva are now very familiar to the crew and seem to have achieved celebrity status with some. The restaurants manager delivered a sweeping curtsey as they arrived for breakfast in La Terrazza.

Guests on this new leg, like the last one, are younger than the usual Silversea guests and sometimes this feels more like an expedition cruise.

Also in port was Regent Seven Seas Splendour.

On the way out of Reykjavik, Captain Ivo, in his accented English, pointed out something connected with John Lennon. Diva heard ‘tavern’ but TSH correctly identified ‘tower’. The connection is explained here: Imagine Peace Tower - Wikipedia

In Patreksfjordur for the second time, it was sufficiently cold that, on an open deck, TSH and Diva practised Tai Chi wearing coats. Also, for the first time ever, TSH wore gloves throughout.

Tuesday, 10 May 2022

TSH is let out on his own

In St Jean de Luz, Diva decided that she did not want to be herded round on another guided tour, The ship was anchored in the very scenic bay, so she decided to enjoy her last views of the Pyrenees.  

TSH left the Silver Moon to visit Bayonne and Biarritz accompanied only by his camera.

He has often encountered road signs in two languages but this time there were three. In Bayonne, road signs were in French, Basque and Gascon - a language local to South-West France.

The cathedral in Bayonne had an English feel about it -  the building was started by the English and completed by the French.

The bus driver expressed a view which TSH has often thought to be the case. He said that he was driving something stronger than the cars, so he could pull out in front of them at a busy roundabout. However, he was more polite when there was an emergency vehicle behind him - he drove the bus right round the roundabout to let it pass. At Biarritz the driver encountered a “Route Barree” sign, so alternative parking and additional walking were organised.

TSH returned triumphant – he had been on the correct tour (see Turkey) and he had not been left behind anywhere (see Terracotta warriors). By the time he returned, La Terrazza was closed so he went to the Arts Café for lunch.

The bus theme continued into the evening as one of the waiters sang “the wheels on the bus” whilst turning the handle on the parmesan cheese grater. 

The pilot for the navigation along the Gironde  river to Bordeaux was dropped onto the Silver Moon from a helicopter.

Diva is still working out how much remains of the on-board credit and what she can spend it on.