Normal day, but excellent evening. Bridge and book club for me. The interesting thing about book club was the discussion about India. I was in a small group of 7 and only 2 of us had not been there before. And even more amazing, the other 5 people had spent time in India – not just a one day port stop. So, it was interesting to hear them tell about it – and how bad the poverty is. They also said the smell of the market area in Mauritius will be fragrant compared to what we will experience in India!
Every formal night, the captain hosts a dinner in the Pinnacle Restaurant for passengers who are traveling the whole voyage, with an officer at every table. Every one gets a turn, and last night was ours. There is a cocktail party followed by dinner. We were so lucky. We had such a great table. We were with a couple from Utah who were fun and interesting plus the Hotel Manager (2nd to the captain in rank.) His wife (who is also an officer) was supposed to be there, but she was ill and couldn’t come. Well, we talked and laughed and had the most interesting conversations all evening. When it was time to go, the officer didn’t want it to end, so we stayed a bit longer. We were the very last to leave, and would have stayed longer except the captain was waiting to see us out. As Doug said, it was the best dinner we’ve had on the ship (and he was not referring to the food.)
However, I must include the menu items because in addition to being the most fun night, it was the best food as well. We started with a pickled lamb salad (slices of lamb on spinach and cucumbers topped with a poached egg.) It was delicious. This was followed by beef consomme (and not your typical Wyler’s beef consomme!). This had little pieces of vegetables in it plus beef and sherry – with a paprika cheese stick on the side. Next was the fish course which was peppered tuna loin on top of a butternut squash puree with a balsamic reduction and crispy rice noodles. It was basically raw tuna. The main course was beef tenderloin which was so very tender. It was served with a potato wedge (like very thin sliced scalloped potatoes) and a bundle of vegetables. Dessert was a trio – a chocolate mousse topped with fresh raspberries; vanilla ice cream with pieces of cherry in it between two thin chocolate cookies; two different kinds of cheeses. It was the finest meal we’ve had on the ship. Oh, we had very nice red and white wines to compliment the courses.
The captain gave everyone a beautiful silver Cross pen (boxed beautifully) as a little gift.
After dinner we went to the entertainment and heard/watched Pete Peterkin sing and entertain us with impressions of some of the Motown singers as well as Michael Jackson and Little Richard. He would wear different costumes for each one (including the red jacket and white glove for Michael!) He also played the keyboard, guitar, drums, and harmonica. He was a very talented muscian and entertainer. It was lively and a great deal of fun.
GREAT EVENING on the Amsterdam!
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