I was so thankful that we had a scheduled late arrival in Grenada today, at noon, and you'd think that I would be able to sleep in and take advantage of it. Of course not. I think I was so jazzed from the game (and the ship was once again so bouncy) that I slept fitfully and was awake early and we were in the DaVinci Dining Room for Breakfast with Darko by 8am.
I was ready for bed again by the time I finished breakfast, and so I did return to bed, and slept until it was time for lunch. (Eat, sleep, eat, football, sleep, eat, sleep, football...sounds like a vacation to me!).
Two notable things about lunch: we had Darko's roommate, Gjeorrgjy (spelled something like that, with lots of extra consonants), also from Macedonia, as our waiter, and he was most helpful in teaching us several new Macedonian words to try out on Darko. We swore him to secrecy, but I now know how to pronounce Merry Christmas and Happy New Year (January 7th and 14th, respectively in the Eastern Orthodox religion) in Macedonian.
Also, we were reading Mom's email from this morning over lunch. It sounds like Toledo, Onio is getting its share of the wicked weather stretching from Illinois to the Atlantic Ocean. G checked Toledo's 10-day weather forecast and right then headwaiter Massimo from Italy walked up. G showed him the forecast where the high and the low for next Tuesday is -4 degrees and told him it was in Farenheit. Massimo was shocked; "In Spain? In Toledo, Spain?" No, not quite. ;-)
Though it was a gorgeous day today in Grenada, and G did get off the ship in search of free wifi in the Esplanade Mall (it's gone, sadly, perhaps forever), I never did leave the ship today. Instead I took advantage of the blessed stability that (usually) comes with docking and walked on Deck 19 for an hour after lunch, then sunned and swam on the Terrace Deck and Pool, then had my own personal spa experience using the big handicapped shower, steam room and sauna in the ladies locker room in the spa, using that Bonaire sea salt scrub. I was the only person both on the jogging track and in the locker room, and, at this point in our cruising season, the solitude was pure bliss. It was a wonderful afternoon!
We even skipped the Elite Lounge in Skywalkers, which we've been doing a lot lately (we miss Bar Supervisors Rhea from last year or Melldon from two years ago or Prince from three years ago). We have friends coming on board next cruise who we first met in the Elite Lounge years ago and I know we'll be making up for lost time when they arrive. Since I was already dressed for the evening after my spa date, I went down to the International Cafe to start this post and enjoy a fuzzy water and listen to piano music in the Piazza while G showered and dressed. The IC is wonderful for so many reasons, not least of which is that it's a great meeting place after we're done doing our own things.
The International Cafe is located right off the Piazza on Deck 5...
...and offers a changing menu of salads and sandwiches and paninis and quiches...
...and is a bakery when it comes to dessert
Just in case you're wondering-
Christmas decorations: still up
Christmas music: over and done (I think)
For Dinner with Darko we kept it simple and fast. I had the alphabet soup from the children's menu, the orange roughy (second only to embarkation day lunch salmon for tastiness), and vodka lime sorbet for dessert. About the time we finished up, the Emerald Princess was starting to push back from the pier at 7:00pm, and we had plans for sailaway. G got the bottle of sparkling wine he'd been chilling all afternoon, I got two chilled plastic glasses from Anthony at the Outriggera Bar just above our cabin on the Terrace Deck and we enjoyed a $9 bottle of Barefoot Bubbly (chosen for its pink color but shockingly good) as the lights of Grenada faded in the distance.
G read the label on the bottle of Barefoot Bubbly (awarded best sparkling wine under $20); it stated that it was best served with white cheeses and fresh fruit. No problem, mon...we're on a cruise ship. I ducked into the Horizon Court Buffet for a plate of Brie and Bel Paese and slices of walnut bread and walnut halves and dates and figs (Mom, memories of Phillipe's parents' fig farm in France) and we had the best party of the winter to date, with just us. G looked at me and said, "Let's do this at least once a cruise", and I completely agree.
We're back in the cabin changing for the Orange Bowl on MUTS. The Emerald Princess is sailing north now, and it's much less windy and bouncy, so it's a perfect night to watch Ohio State get beat by Clemson. I hope.
(Fingers crossed here)