The Mysterious Wine Dinner

 Well, last night was the infamous and mysterious wine dinner and it was worth the wait! There were only 12 of us and we became fast friends. We had a couple from Ireland, a couple from Mexico, a couple from New Mexico, and three couples from California. 

The dinner was hosted inside one of the main dining rooms in a private circular area of the room. The food was very, very good. The final course was a filet mignon that was prize worthy. There was also a gnocchi dish with Asiago cheese that might possibly be the best thing I’ve ever eaten. The wine pairings were interesting in that we thought it was a wine dinner paired with Silverado wines (A Napa Winery) but it was actually just one Silverado one, a Cabernet, at the end and a variety of other wines. Which was just fine with us. The first was a pouilly-fuse from France and I really liked it. 

I am a bit bummed there is no sommelier on board. I just assumed there would be. We were so spoiled by JoJo our som on the Holland America cruise to Australia. I was hoping to learn a ton about European wines while on boat. The head waiters are doing a good job - they have a good deal of knowledge- but it isn’t quite as in depth.

Anyway, with the wine dinner last night, we have found ourselves some people! Wine people usually do get a long and we all sure did. We went to the wine bar afterwards and had another glass of wine with the whole crew afterward. Vines, the wine bar, is the only place on board that serves red in a decent sized glass. The other places are giving out these tiny little glasses that you couldn’t swirl a single drop in without blowing it out all over the counter. Our main dude, James, is the bartender there and he hooks us up. He also once gave us what felt like an entire glass of gin at 11 am- which wasn’t really the hook up we wanted, but it’s the one we got;)  

Our new friends are all older couples, of course. They shortest amount of time married, other than us, was 32 years!! We had a 54 and a 52 year marriage in there, too. So great to see couples able to stay together and still having so much fun after all that time. 

Today, was the Super Tuscan wine tasting lunch. As Jason said last night, “I’d like to find the person who thought these two events should be back to back and punch him in the face.” A day or two separation would have been nice! Anyway, there were 70 of us in this one so it was much more crowded. We all met up and attempted to sit together but we were at the end of the line and there weren’t any more big tables so we all had to split up. We’ll find them again later and will open a Nicora for them from the stash we brought with us. They were all very familiar with Paso wines and big fans so we feel confident they will like it. 

We missed the St. Patrick’s celebration because the wine dinner went so long, but we’d heard some live Irish music earlier in the day. Also a Rasta band. Not sure how that factors into St. Paddy’s day, but we enjoyed it nonetheless. It is funny sometimes on a boat with mostly decades older people because they are unfamiliar with a lot of “current” culture and music and don’t play along. During the Rasta band, the lead singer said wave your hand if you’ve heard of Bob Marley and literally no hand moved. Ha!! It does make me question some of the choices- like today the mid day movie is Rocky Horror Picture Show and I’m pretty sure no one went because it started at 2, I walked in at 3 and no one was there and it wasn’t playing. I mean. You gotta read the room here. 

We’ve got one more full day of sailing tomorrow before we hit land for the first time in a week. Days at sea are really great because you really don’t have a choice in unwinding. You can’t get off the boat. There are only so many things to do. You have to learn to make peace with it and fill the time. I like to have open periods of nothing really. Yesterday, the sun was out in the afternoon so we sat by the pool for a couple of hours just hanging out. This is how we saw the Rasta band. I don’t have to be, nor do I want to be, constantly entertained. It’s nice to have the space to think thoughts. Or think nothing. I don’t have that in my normal life. 

Anyway, we have nothing booked yet (still) in Portugal. From what we can tell, we’re coming into multiple days of rain. Hopefully it isn’t just a major downpour the whole time. I know we’ve got several walking tours planned. Either way, I get to see a bunch of places I’ve never seen and I can’t wait! 

The internet continues to be really spotty. As in most spots, there is no internet. But, I was able to get the most important message which was that my brother’s heart surgery was complete, he was ok, and then finally that he was released. Woohoo!!