A day at sea

Sea days are regarded as rest days but not by everyone.

Diva and TSH were up as usual around 6am and ready in good time to enjoy breakfast when it was available at 7am. A light breakfast was taken (noted by one of the waiters – do they really study what everybody eats?) - solely fruit, with the exception of TSH having an excellent cinnamon Danish pastry to accompany his coffee.

Then it was up to deck 8 to pick up the daily puzzles before climbing another flight of stairs to do Tai Chi. Doing Tai Chi at sea is usually a challenge due to the motion of the ship and the wind but fortunately the seas have been reasonably kind thus far. As Tai Chi is partly about balance, it is perhaps a good way to practice.

After physical exercise, Diva and TSH set about metal challenges with the crossword and Sudoku puzzles, which they both completed. The crossword has taken some time to tune into as it uses American words, spellings and phrases which they are not accustomed to.

The puzzles were followed by an educational session, as Diva and TSH attended a lecture on upcoming ports of call. This was the first one they had managed to attend (after three weeks on board) as Diva and TSH had previously been too busy to find the time for this activity.

Diva and TSH then allowed themselves a short relaxation break during which they read books on their kindles whilst seated on the pool deck. This rest could not continue though as it was soon lunch time.

At lunch Diva decided that it was time for another seafood pizza which she again enjoyed even though she could not manage to eat the whole of the base. TSH limited himself to a large salad and a lean piece of pork and some fruit for pudding. He did give in to the cookies to have with his coffee – three of them.

Whilst seated in a prime window seat in the restaurant, TSH spotted some dolphins beside the ship, causing a bit of excitement amongst guests and staff.

After lunch Diva and TSH decided it was too bright to use computers out on deck so they retired to the observation lounge to work on their projects. After spending some time doing this, Diva and TSH read from their kindles and moved outside to take the air whilst taking advantage of the shade from the strong sun.

Before returning to their cabin, Diva and TSH observed flying fish - they flew for considerable distances in order to escape from the approaching ship.

TSH had a minor panic after finding out it was formal night and discovering his frilly shirt was not to be found. He reasoned that it must be in the laundry that the Butler had taken away (Diva and TSH get free laundry as a result of doing more than 100 days with Silversea). The shirt was duly delivered whilst TSH was shaving in preparation for dinner. So he could dine suitably attired. Not only did he have a clean shirt but he also had freshly polished dress shoes to wear, as the Butler had polished them yet again – at this rate they will be worn out more by polishing than wearing.

Before dinner Diva and TSH relaxed whilst listening to the soothing tones of Leonard Cohen, played on a PC brought with them.

Dinner was excellent – Diva had lobster whilst TSH had bream as main courses. Diva enquired of the Restaurant Manager when filet mignon would next be available on the menu. He responded ‘for you madam it is available whenever you wish to ask for it’.

Stavanger

This is a very sociable voyage. The maître d’ appeared at breakfast to welcome TSH and Diva and some of the new best friends have issued an invitation to dine with them. The shore concierge, who is from the Wirral, wants to meet them ‘for a pint’.

The afternoon was spent touring Stavanger. No monkey and plywood violin (try Google) but in the old town there was a sculpture featuring a monkey, a saxophone, a parrot and a top hat. A visit to an Iron Age settlement included sitting inside a Long House, hearing about the hard life they had. Specifically, how they made garments, which involved spinning thousands of miles of yarn, weaving and then dyeing. Some colours were more difficult, and hence more in demand, than others. Blue was special but needed a lot of bodily fluids, obtained by throwing a party and providing lots of beer. Purple was the best and richest, which fits with it being Diva’s favourite.

The petroleum museum, a fantastic building partly built of granite and part of which looks like an oil storage tank, needed much more time than was allocated. There were displays of all the elements of the oil industry including scale models of rigs, life rafts, a diving bell and drill bits.

Dinner was arctic chard (TSH) and lobster (Diva). TSH started with one of his favourites – artichoke assiette.

No trains, whales, eagles or dragons yet.