LAST EVENING
As I mentioned it was the Captain's Welcome Reception at 6pm in the theater. We went through the receiving line of officers at the entrance then left and headed to the Meridian Lounge for our cocktail hour.
I took the bottle of Makers Mark to the lounge where Paul, the great bartender, is keeping it for my use. Makers Mark stopped supplying cruise ships so I have to ask for it to be put on board special for me. This is my Manhattan.
The guitar player from orchestra as playing in the lounge during cocktail hour. He was very good and his music was not too loud so we could enjoy conversation.
At 7:15 we went to Compass Rose for dinner with Franck, the ship's General Manager, and another couple, Mary & Tom. We enjoyed everyone's company and had great conversations. Also in the photo was one of our favorite waiters, Joseph.
I had a double order of escargot to start with. I only get escargot when on Regent ships. Rebecca started with her favorite, cream of asparagus soup.
We both chose the duck ala orange for our entrees. It was the best ever. Nice and moist.
For dessert I chose to Tanzanian chocolate cake with molten caramel inside and a scoop of chocolate ice cream. Again, the cake was best ever.
Executive chef, Michael, and Compass Rose maitre d, Marius, stopped by our table. Chef Michael is our favorite Regent chef.
After dinner we headed to the theater for Isabel's show. We had seen her show when on the world cruise and knew she was an amazing performer. We sat of the second row and had a nice view as no one sat in front of us. I was impressed with the sound system in this theater. On other ships the orchestra can cover up the singer when sitting close to the stage. NOT on Grandeur! Also this orchestra had trumpet AND trombone players. On other ships there are none. The brass adds so much to the shows.
David and Melody Hermann were at the show. This is the couple we had lunch with earlier.
The orchestra members were all very talented musicians. The head you see is Jimbo Todd's. Jim and Mary Ann Todd from Oklahoma are long time friends.
Isabel is a beautiful young lady from Holland. Her parents were on second row, center for her show.
She has an amazing voice and can't wait for her second show on December 3rd.
Final number of her 50 minute show. She received a long, well deserved standing ovation by the audience.
TODAY
BACKGROUND INFO:
Less than 200 miles further around the west coast of Spain from Gibraltar is today’s stop in the port at Cadiz. Founded in 1100 BC by the Phoenicians, Cadiz is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Spain and one of the oldest in western Europe. It is also the homeport for the Spanish navy and has remained one of Spain's main ports for almost a thousand years. Seville, Spain’s 4th largest city, is located just 90 miles north so some of the ship’s excursions today will be to tour it. Another popular tour that we have done on a previous cruise, is to visit the white-washed villages with cobblestone streets of Andalusia which we saw in 2013.
This ship's navigation photo on tv shows the Strait of Gibraltar which we passed through last night.
This one shows Seville to the north where several long tours went today.
Sunrise in Cadiz, Spain, the port serving Seville. It is a chilly 50 degrees here this morning with forecast high of 59. Alarm went off at 7:15 and I ran down to Coffee Connection to get some double shot Americano coffee for Rebecca. Then I grabbed my laptop and headed back down to upload the above photos and work on this post.
I got an email from one of our neighbors who indeed said we got 6 inches of snow a couple days ago. It was 13 degrees there now in the middle of the night Durango time. BURR!
We went to the theater at 9:45 to pick up our tour bus tickets for our 4 hour tour, "Tapas Lesson at Bodega Casa del Marques". Going through the terminal on the way out to our bus.
This is our tour bus. There were only 14 of us on this tour. It was a "pay extra" (most tours on Regent are included in the cruise price) that cost $99 per person. We did not have to pay as it was another of our Diamond benefits.
We sat at the back where I usually try to sit. Most others sat at front. It was an hour ride to the bodega (winery).
Fountain at a round about in Cadiz.
Old wall built centuries ago around Cadiz to protect it from pirates and invaders. The wall was probably 50 feet thick. Most of the wall not remaining now.
On one side of the island was nice sandy beaches.
In the distance is the new bridge back to Cadiz. We took the long way around on old bridge as part of the tour narrative. Elizabeth, our tour guide talked non-stop on the hour drive to the bodega. She was a walking encyclopedia/history book. One of the best guides I have ever had.
Salt from salt flats flooded with ocean water, dried by the sun and wind, then collected.
Waiting for the owner to answer door bell to let us enter.
This was also a 7 room B&B in addition to a sherry winery (bodega).
On the right is Elizabeth with the owner of the bodega. The owner did not speak English so Elizabeth was her translater.
Several "heads" mounted on walls. Most were of bulls but I like this one best.
Entry room. We did not eat here.
This is where we would be cooking and eating.
This little chapel room was by the entry door. She said in early years the owners would stop and pray before leaving and again when returning.
Still part of the house tour before class.
We sat at this table (there were two) and our group was very good folks.
We were given aprons and gloves to use when cooking. We let the other do the cooking as I wanted to get photos. I had asked one of the girls if they would hook me up to their wifi which she did. My photos uploaded immediately!! Not sure why they won't when on the ship's internet.
The preparation table before we started. At his end were potatoes which were cut up by our group. Then onions, olive oil, parsley, salt & pepper were added.
Here he is pureeing tomatoes to make a gazpacho soup.
She is seasoning the pork to stuff in mushrooms.
Putting in mushrooms.
Cooking onions and mushrooms in olive oil.
Then in go the stuffed mushrooms.
Owner and Elizabeth explaining things. Note the barrels behind them. Different sherries and olive oil used for cooking in them.
Done on one side so flipping.
Last thing was shrimp and garlic cooked in olive oil.
LOTS of olive oil.
There were also some hot peppers in the shrimp dish.
Girls dishing up the tapas.
This is my plate with the gazphaco, potato salad, shrimp, and stuffed mushrooms. Some sangria to wash it down. We had also tasted 3 different kinds of sherry.
So now it was 1pm and time to reboard the bus and head back to our ship. We took a shorter route and over the new bridge this time. I really like it when a 4 four tour is 4 hours. Some guides are not as considerate.
So we were back at our "home" by 2pm. I managed to get a couple photos of Grandeur before going back on. Today's tour was most enjoyable. Rebecca said she even enjoyed it too. She RARELY gets off the ships in ports now.
It is now 3:30 and I am just about to finish this blog post. Will relax now. Same routine this evening with cocktail hour at 6pm in Meridian Lounge followed by dinner in Compass Rose. We did not care that much for tonight's menu so this morning I asked Jorge, the Restaurant Manager, if the chef could make us some panko crusted shrimp for our dinner entree. He called the sous chef who said no. So I asked Jorge to call Michael (Exec Chef) with "Mr Weiler's request". Of course he said yes. Sometimes you just have to tell them who you are!
The first production show is tonight so we will definitely be there for it. Tomorrow is a day at sea. Expect more photos of the ship.
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