All at sea

Home - Profile - Archives - Friends
- Posted at 8:06 PM on 21/4/2008 by S P
PORTUGAL

Thank you to everyone who sent birthday greetings. We had a great day in Lisbon but the celebrations covered a few days. As we were in Lisbon until midnight, it was possible that some people on our table would be out that night, so we celebrated at the table the previous night.  Because of that, and because the night before that was a formal night with a show by the Cunard Singers and Dancers, when theatre boxes have to be booked, Barry booked a box for us. We sat in a special lounge before the show where we were given champagne and enormous strawberries dipped in chocolate (dark on the bottom and at the sides and white in the middle with a bow tie and buttons piped on in dark chocolate) and other delicious sweets. We were then escorted to our private box and given a bottle of champagne that we chose to keep and not have opened then. The champagne we were still drinking (our glasses were carried to the box for us) was quite enough. There were more chocolates on the table in the box, in fact we still haven’t eaten all those.

The following morning we passed Gibraltar before it was light although we did see some lights about 6am. That afternoon they held a Charity auction of memorabilia from the QEII and the QV. Also auctioned was a tour of the engine room while we were in Lisbon. The lady who bought it paid $US1,125!!! I hope she enjoyed it! Over $11,000 was raised all together and nearly $60,000 has been raised throughout the voyage, all for Charity.

That night we celebrated my birthday at our table. Barry ordered a bottle of champagne and everyone had a glass of it. At the end of the meal, the dessert was a birthday cake. They normally provide a cream cake but as I can’t eat cream, we had asked for a chocolate cake. It was superb, with strawberries in it and chocolate sprinkles all around the outside. On the top the chef had piped Happy Birthday in dark chocolate on a rectangle of white chocolate with a strawberry on top and a candle burning. Our waiter asked if he should cut it into six pieces but it was so huge that I asked him to cut half of it into six pieces and that was quite enough as each portion was served with berry fruits and ice cream. When that was served, everyone at the table sang Happy Birthday and gave me cards and presents - very generous. I was one of four Aries birthdays at our table to Dubai and I had received cards from those two couples as well. Barry gave me a card and Cunard also gave me a card. Several people we know who were at nearby tables stopped on their way out of the restaurant to wish me a happy birthday so I was very spoilt. A couple of nights later we finished the cake in our room with the bottle of champagne from the theatre night.

The show that night was three brothers and a cousin who call themselves String Fever. They played stringed instruments that were just composite frames of violins and a cello and at one stage all played Bolero on the same cello - the most amazing feat. The entertainment has been first class.

Every morning the Entertainment Director and one of his crew give a show on the TV that is repeated throughout the day, giving out information about what is on during the day and anything else of interest. On my birthday they read out a standard greeting from Cunard and a special greeting from Barry. He started with wishing a happy birthday to “my English rose” and they looked at each other and Gun said “Oh, isn’t that romantic?” Alastair said the whole message was romantic and continued to read out about how we met at sea etc etc, with at one point them stopping to say “There won’t be a dry eye in the house”! At the end Alastair gave the “thumbs up” and said “Oh Barry, good one, good one. Excellent”!! When it was repeated later (each day’s show runs continuously all morning) Barry recorded it on his camera.

The weather in Lisbon was not conducive to sightseeing. We went on a morning tour to Sintra, in the mountains, and Cascais on the coast. It was raining when we arrived in Sintra, a town built by the Arabs in the 8th Century and a World Heritage Site. Until 1860 it was where the kings had their summer palace. We went into a coffee shop to try the local delicacies (pointed out to us by our tour guide) and coffee. We ordered two cappuccinos and they came with a conical six inches of cream piped on top! Oops! That went back and we were brought what we know as cappuccinos - without all the cream. We never did find out what we were supposed to have asked for.

By the time we had finished that, the rain had stopped and we walked around the steep, narrow, cobbled streets where decorative tiles, that the area is famous for, cover the walls of many of the buildings as that is cheaper than painting them. The street names are painted on tiles and there is a castle in the central square. As we boarded the bus the heavens opened and it teamed with rain. Our drive from there took us through mountains to the coast. The scenery looked very familiar and we could have been driving to the High Country in Victoria. Eucalyptus trees, brought over from Australia in the 19th Century, were growing amongst granite boulders and it looked for all the world like the Victorian snow country.

The coast was wild on such a wet and windy day and the breakers crashed onto the rocks with spectacular spray all along the coast. The long sandy beaches stretched for miles, one of them culminating in the westernmost point of Europe.

Cascais on the coast is a very exclusive, pretty fishing town and we watched fishermen working on their nets and walked around the town before heading back to Lisbon. We did not drive into the city so could not be dropped off there. There were shuttle buses running into the centre but with it being such a foul day, raining and blowing a gale, we decided it wouldn’t be much fun walking around in those conditions and chose to have lunch at one of the harbourside cafes by the yacht marina next to our berth. Our excellent tour guide had recommended a good one to go to and she was right.

We enjoyed a magnificent meal and learnt how to run a restaurant. The staff were very obliging and attentive without being intrusive, in fact when we were choosing from the menu they told us ours was already being prepared! They had cooked local red bream for us and brought it to show us before serving it. They then took it to a special table and served it on dinner plates before bringing it to the table. Every course is served in the same way. There was another couple from the ship at a nearby table and when they had their third course we received a plateful of it “to try” which was very generous. We were brought a bottle of wine that they said they would change if we didn’t like it and a superb local dessert - made only in Sintra. On the table when we arrived were a basket of bread rolls and Melba toast, olives (superb olives, even I ate several and I don’t normally like olives), tuna dip and a yummy whole tiny cheese that had had the top cut off and left as a lid and inside was the most delicious gooey cheese made with sheep’s milk that we spread on the Melba toast. A truly memorable meal.

We were so full that night that we did not go down to dinner - just ate a banana in our cabin before going to the local Folkloric Show of Portuguese dancing. There were fifty performers on stage, thirty singers and musicians, playing accordions, guitars and unusual local instruments, and twenty dancers. The dresses were very colourful and the dancing very energetic and fun.

Our Captain’s mother has been very ill and he was called home suddenly and flew back to England from Lisbon, with our new Captain (who was Captain from Southampton to Sydney) arriving late that night. He was up until 3am with piloting duties leaving the River Tagus and did not take the church service that everyone was hoping he would so that they could meet him. We have had someone on board giving talks about all the Mediterranean ports before we have arrived in each one and he happens to be an Anglican priest, so he took the service. We’ll probably never set eyes on the new Captain.

They had a photographic competition, open to passengers and crew, and Barry entered a couple of my photos. They were not judged but voted for by passengers with some surprising results. The winning one of People was half rubbish bin - not good composition at all. All the entries were printed in 8 x 10 size and we were given the photos afterwards. When I collected mine, the photographer said my People one had been one of his favourites. There were some excellent People entries - difficult to know why people voted the way they did. The event was for Charity, with half the cost going to charity and half to the photographers to cover costs.

British Immigration Authorities are on board and we have been cleared to enter England - what a difference compared with Heathrow! They asked if we live in Australia, stamped Barry’s passport and swiped mine and that was it! There was even time for the officer to offer a few pleasantries. Nice to know we don’t have to bother with that on disembarkation.

With our arrival in Southampton imminent and the internet being shut down later today, this will be my last posting for the voyage. We have had a great time and are not particularly looking forward to getting back into cooking, washing dishes, making beds, and all the other chores that await us! However, we are looking forward to getting to Lyme Regis and seeing everyone in England again. The ship has been fantastic, we have met some lovely people and we have seen some wonderful ports, all in all a great time.
Post Comment

Last Page :: Next Page