We slept later than usual for a change, but still made it to breakfast before 9:15am. We were not the last guests to arrive, because Martha and Bob wandered in shortly after us. It is a matter of fact that after several days of ports, most of us need to have some down time. Our waiters were prepared since we usually have a simple breakfast with the same starters every day. Greek yogurt was back, but still not the same as what we were getting in the beginning. The nicest addition was the return of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and black berries. We added the usual apricots and pineapple. Better than any dessert one can order, it's a great way to begin the day. One slice of Texas French toast and sides of bacon or sausage kept us happy until 2pm.
Today was one of catching up on the internet work, and doing the information gathering for the following countries we will be visiting. That kept us busy in the room for the morning, then we noticed that the sun was hitting our deck. Best to take advantage of it and spend some relaxing time outside. It was still cold, but wearing sweatshirts was enough to keep us comfortable. Early in the morning, the temperature was 42 degrees, but then it warmed up to 50 degrees by noontime. Captain Frank came on the speakers for his PM talk and mentioned that the weather would be changing. Around 4pm, we noticed the sun was gone and the clouds had darkened the skies. He added that our port in Scotland tomorrow will probably be a wet one. And cold once again.
At least we were able to take our deck walk before the sun was gone. During the day, we passed by many islands in the distance and figured they were part of the Shetland Islands. Very few guests were outside today, but then some different activities were taking place due to the fact that today was officially King's Day, a Dutch national holiday celebrating King Willem-Alexander's birthday.
An Orange Elephant Sale at 2 to 4 pm would give the folks a chance to "sell" their items they did not want to take home with them. There were tables set up around the Lido pool to display the items. Anything not sold could be re-claimed by the sellers, or permanently removed by the ship's team for company standard recycling. Not exactly sure what this means. Perhaps the items could be distributed among the crew members.
Then there was a Dutch lunch in both the dining room and Lido, where some classic Dutch starters and entrees were offered. Checking the dining room menu, we found they were serving Dutch pea soup, so we ordered two bowls for our room lunch along with chicken fajitas . All of the food was excellent and hot, even served at 2pm.
Royal Dutch High Tea was served in the upper dining room, then at dinner, the head waiters, including manager Presty, were wearing silly orange curly hair wigs, reminding us of Bozo the Clown. We think an orange tie would have been a bit more appropriate, but they seemed to have fun with it. Many of the guests wore something orange as a symbol of national unity and a sign of pride to represent the Royal House of Orange. This applied more so to the Dutch guests of which there were about 22 in number.
Anyway, we had a quiet table for two this evening, since four of our tablemates went to the Pinnacle Grill for dinner with some other friends. We had been invited, but we figured that was too many people, and we would have been at different tables. So we opted for the romantic table for two for a change. Dinner included salad, a Dutch croquette, and entrees of beef pot roast with mashed potatoes, carrots, and broccoli. Even the gravy was good. Dessert was even better as we both ordered the Bossche Ball, a Dutch version of a chocolate éclair. We loved the large ones they served in the Grand Dutch Cafe while we were on the N. Statendam last year, but these were even better since they were half the size.
We noticed that several people had left their tables early, probably to get a seat in the Lido Pool area for the 9 to midnight Orange Party. Guests were invited to have a complimentary sparkling drink, snack on Dutch cheese, bitterballen, and frikandellen (don't ask what's in it) and party the night away listening to DJ Nyron and visiting with the crew. Wonder how crowded that event will be? Surely we will hear about it tomorrow at breakfast.
Bill & Mary Ann
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