Wonderful Dinner At The Crystal Dining Room Last Evening ✔ Thoroughly Enjoyed Performance By Aussie Boys Last Evening ✔ Fabulous Day Touring Adelaide, Australia ✔
We want to begin by saying how much we love cruising Australia. Our first visit to Australia was in 2008 and then again in 2011 so this cruise marks our third time visiting this beautiful country. We truly love Australia and that includes its people, all there is to do here and its natural beauty.
We posted earlier than usual yesterday afternoon as the Internet was down due to some maintenance issues although as it turned out it came back up much earlier than expected.
After we posted Keith played Paddle Tennis. Very early yesterday morning it had rained and it was fairly cool so Keith played with long pants and a long sleeve shirt but as he played the sun came out, and it began to warm up quite a bit. He played several games with a variety of players and had a great time. He enjoys playing with everyone and also being out in the fresh air. Anne Marie walked for an hour on the Promenade Deck and then afterwards took care of a few items.
This is a photo taken of us before we went to dinner last evening.
We began our dinner with salads. Keith had his standing order salad and Anne Marie had a Tossed Farmer's Vegetable Salad.
We had a portion of an fish entree that Augusto ordered for us. The fish came from Prego and then the Crystal Dining Room prepared it for us. We also tried the Fresh New South Wales Red Emporer. Anne Marie preferred the Emporer and Keith preferred the fish from Prego but we enjoyed both.
Keith decided to be bold and also tried a small portion of the Pin-Roasted, Macadamia Nut-Crussted Kangaroo Loin. He figured we are in Australia and he should try it and he had not tried it before in prior years when it was on the menu. His observation is that it is chewy and does taste like Steak. The Macadamia Nut-Cruise gave it a nice taste.
Sorry that we don't have a picture of the Kangaroo entree. Keeping in the spirit of a Kangaroo we present the new addition to the family that we purchased on board the Crystal Serenity.
For dessert, Keith had berries and Anne Marie enjoyed the Sugar-Free Chocolate Cream Swan and she gave Keith a little bit to taste.
After dinner we attended a 7:45 PM show which featured The Aussie Boys. There are three Aussie Boys and they sang a mixture of Aussie songs as well as a few other hits. They were quite uplifting and we enjoyed their show. A couple of times they came off the stage to get close up with the audience and they were full of energy.
We want to begin by saying how much we love cruising Australia. Our first visit to Australia was in 2008 and then again in 2011 so this cruise marks our third time visiting this beautiful country. We truly love Australia and that includes its people, all there is to do here and its natural beauty.
We posted earlier than usual yesterday afternoon as the Internet was down due to some maintenance issues although as it turned out it came back up much earlier than expected.
After we posted Keith played Paddle Tennis. Very early yesterday morning it had rained and it was fairly cool so Keith played with long pants and a long sleeve shirt but as he played the sun came out, and it began to warm up quite a bit. He played several games with a variety of players and had a great time. He enjoys playing with everyone and also being out in the fresh air. Anne Marie walked for an hour on the Promenade Deck and then afterwards took care of a few items.
This is a photo taken of us before we went to dinner last evening.
We dined in the Crystal Dining Room last evening. As background, when we arrived back to the ship from the World Cruise Shore-Side event, and the welcome buffet was set up, although we did not stay to eat, our Headwaiter Augusto came up to us. He had said he had looked over Saturday nights menus and just to give us another option that he pre-ordered us another fish entree. We really appreciate that Augusto was thinking of us.
Speaking of dinner, let's begin with the Dinner Menus from last evening. As you will note these menus included several Australian Specialties from Kangaroo Loin, to Australian Lamb Chops, to even Kiwi Mousse Pie. There were also lots of other items to enjoy.
These are the dinner menus from last evening.
Keith decided to be bold and also tried a small portion of the Pin-Roasted, Macadamia Nut-Crussted Kangaroo Loin. He figured we are in Australia and he should try it and he had not tried it before in prior years when it was on the menu. His observation is that it is chewy and does taste like Steak. The Macadamia Nut-Cruise gave it a nice taste.
Sorry that we don't have a picture of the Kangaroo entree. Keeping in the spirit of a Kangaroo we present the new addition to the family that we purchased on board the Crystal Serenity.
For dessert, Keith had berries and Anne Marie enjoyed the Sugar-Free Chocolate Cream Swan and she gave Keith a little bit to taste.
We slept very well last evening between the rocking of the ship and also having gone to dinner so late the night before. The seas were very calm.
Keith was up regular time and back in the Fitness Center where he put in a long workout. He caught up with a lecture he had missed yesterday and some news. About thirty minutes before he finished a few guests were working out as we have an early arrival to Adelaide. He stopped by the Lido Cafe to enjoy some coffee. Anne Marie was able to get in an hour of walking on the Promenade Deck as well.
Afterwards, we enjoyed breakfast in our room as we got ready to visit the city of Adelaide. We enjoyed some laughs with Rao who is the butler who takes good care of us. A word about the butlers. The number of rooms they take care of will range from voyage to voyage but on average they take care of around eight to twelve rooms. They also work as a team. For example, either in the morning or the afternoon the butlers will have some time off and if someone needs something the backup butler backing them up that day will come. They work on two major teams. Each afternoon we have a plate of fruit brought to the room at 3:00 PM (we don't have the canapes that are offered later in the day so the fruit serves as our snack) so if Rao is off in the afternoon on that particular day then another butler will come by with the fruit. This allows us to interact with several of the butlers and to get to know them better. At the same time, often we'll see some of the butlers on our deck so most of them know us from this and previous cruises.
We arrived to Adelaide almost one hour ahead of schedule.
Keith was up regular time and back in the Fitness Center where he put in a long workout. He caught up with a lecture he had missed yesterday and some news. About thirty minutes before he finished a few guests were working out as we have an early arrival to Adelaide. He stopped by the Lido Cafe to enjoy some coffee. Anne Marie was able to get in an hour of walking on the Promenade Deck as well.
Afterwards, we enjoyed breakfast in our room as we got ready to visit the city of Adelaide. We enjoyed some laughs with Rao who is the butler who takes good care of us. A word about the butlers. The number of rooms they take care of will range from voyage to voyage but on average they take care of around eight to twelve rooms. They also work as a team. For example, either in the morning or the afternoon the butlers will have some time off and if someone needs something the backup butler backing them up that day will come. They work on two major teams. Each afternoon we have a plate of fruit brought to the room at 3:00 PM (we don't have the canapes that are offered later in the day so the fruit serves as our snack) so if Rao is off in the afternoon on that particular day then another butler will come by with the fruit. This allows us to interact with several of the butlers and to get to know them better. At the same time, often we'll see some of the butlers on our deck so most of them know us from this and previous cruises.
We arrived to Adelaide almost one hour ahead of schedule.
Adelaide is the capital city of the Australian state of South Australia. It is the fifth largest city in Australia and is also known as The City of Churches. The population totals over 1.3 million inhabitants.
The city was founded in 1836 and was named in honor of Queen Adelaide .
Adelaide is a popular destination in Australia and is noted for its many festivals and for its sporting events. It has many wonderful cafes and restaurants and beautiful long beachfronts.
We didn't sign up for a shore excursion so we took the complimentary shuttle from the port over to the downtown areas of Adelaide. The distance to the city center was approximately 45 minutes.
We had just an absolutely wonderful time walking around this very beautiful city. In some ways it had some similarity to Christchurch but is on a much larger scale.
The weather was perfect as it felt like Springtime or the Fall (Autumn) and not Summer. While this area is one of the driest in all of Australia it did rain yesterday while the Queen Mary 2 was in port so we feel very fortunate to have had a day with very few clouds in the sky.
We walked to the Adelaide Zoo and enjoyed our time there. On our return we walked by the Botanical Gardens, along the River, by several churches and the university and around the vicinity of the shuttle drop off point which featured many streets of stores and outdoor and indoor malls. Since there were three ships in port including our ship, the Celebrity Century and also another cruise ship the stores opened at 9:00 AM rather than 11:00 AM which was quite nice this being a Sunday.
One of several churches in the downtown area that we passed during our walk.
One of the many campus buildings that we saw during our walk.
This is not the real Panda Bear but we did take several photos of the real thing; one male and one female Panda Bear.
Keith took photos of several Australian Pelicans.
When the Pelicans rested they lower their heads and then turned their head all the way around. Amazing!
A couple of Giraffes who put their heads together.
We visited a nicely done Botanical Park
We walked along the river.
This street contained memorials to the Veterans of War.
After we arrived back to the ship we enjoyed lunch up at the Lido Cafe.
Keith read and wrote and Anne Marie walked for an hour on the Promenade Deck and afterwards worked on some cards for Valentine's Day for the crew. Keith also met with friend Bob and a couple of other guests.
We had just an absolutely wonderful time walking around this very beautiful city. In some ways it had some similarity to Christchurch but is on a much larger scale.
The weather was perfect as it felt like Springtime or the Fall (Autumn) and not Summer. While this area is one of the driest in all of Australia it did rain yesterday while the Queen Mary 2 was in port so we feel very fortunate to have had a day with very few clouds in the sky.
We walked to the Adelaide Zoo and enjoyed our time there. On our return we walked by the Botanical Gardens, along the River, by several churches and the university and around the vicinity of the shuttle drop off point which featured many streets of stores and outdoor and indoor malls. Since there were three ships in port including our ship, the Celebrity Century and also another cruise ship the stores opened at 9:00 AM rather than 11:00 AM which was quite nice this being a Sunday.
One of several churches in the downtown area that we passed during our walk.
One of the many campus buildings that we saw during our walk.
This is not the real Panda Bear but we did take several photos of the real thing; one male and one female Panda Bear.
Keith took photos of several Australian Pelicans.
When the Pelicans rested they lower their heads and then turned their head all the way around. Amazing!
A couple of Giraffes who put their heads together.
We visited a nicely done Botanical Park
We walked along the river.
This street contained memorials to the Veterans of War.
After we arrived back to the ship we enjoyed lunch up at the Lido Cafe.
Keith read and wrote and Anne Marie walked for an hour on the Promenade Deck and afterwards worked on some cards for Valentine's Day for the crew. Keith also met with friend Bob and a couple of other guests.
This evening we will be dining in the Crystal Dining Room and later this night we plan to go to the opening ceremony for the 2012 World Games as the games begin tomorrow.
Many of you will recognize today's quote of the day. You know, Forrest Gump's Momma got it right. Life is like a box of chocolates.
TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY.....
“My momma always said,” Life was like a box of chocolates. You may never know what you’re gonna get.” - Forrest Gump
Keith and Anne Marie
Fantastic photos again, Keith! Adelaide looks like a charming town. I like the hints of the old architecture we could see in the photos. What animal is in the photo after the giraffe?
ReplyDeleteWhich WC games will you and Anne Marie participate in? So glad you had another spectacular day!
love,
Ricki and David
Now that I look at the animal again, in the photo after the giraffe, am I looking at a head on view of a rhino? I really can't tell... If it is a rhino, I do hope I can recognize it if it comes charging at me!
ReplyDeleteLove,
Ricki