Blog – Page 6 – Steve's Journal

St. Barts

St Barts is by far the nicest island port on this trip. It is French speaking, the currency is the Euro, the residents are French citizens, and the cooking is French/Island cuisine. We tendered over to the small marina and strolled all the way around it.

Because it was Pentecost, most of the shops were closed, but we didn’t need any Louis Vuitton bags anyway. Linda found a nice cafe online. It overlooked the marina, and we enjoyed a light lunch an a nice bottle of Chablis.

Linda always travels with the portable chopsticks Dani gave her. They screw together, like a hustler’s pool cue.

Speaking of screwy, I couldn’t figure out the “concept” of the Concept Store:

La Reserve, St. Lucia, Barbados

La Reserve

The finest meal served during the cruise is a one-time event called the Connoisseur Menu. It’s served in the Wine Spectator branded La Reserve, a 22 seat restaurant that is only open three days out of 20, and serves food and wine not available elsewhere on the ship. Unfortunately our dinner was marred by the most boorish man we have ever encountered, but the other couple at our table were very nice newlyweds from Denver, Colorado.

Each of the seven courses were superb, and several of the wines were memorable as well. The standout was Kobe beef with a veal au jus tinged with a bit of Valrhona chocolate; it was served with a superb 2005 Marchesi Fumanelli Octavius Amarone Riserva. I ordered two bottles online the next day!

St. Lucia

St. Lucia is a pretty island, but there’s not a lot for cruise passengers who aren’t interested in the beach. We docked at Castries, but our butler said there wasn’t much in the town at the end of the 15 minute walk around the harbor, so we just browsed in the shops at the Pointe Seraphine pier for an hour or so, then returned to the ship for lunch.

Barbados

Barbados has a reputation for welcoming tourists, but I found it to suffer from the same annoying badgering that killed tourism in Jamaica. From the moment we stepped out of the cruise terminal we were accosted by taxi drivers trying to sell island tours. We finally waded through a sea of them and managed to get a cab for the short drive to the center of Bridgetown. The capital city isn’t particularly scenic, and on Sunday it was closed up tight, so after a brief, hot walk around, and fending off another dozen tour offers we returned to the ship.

In the afternoon we had our second cooking lesson, this time focusing on the Asian cuisine of Red Ginger, the ship’s best restaurant. We made four things, including a tasty Lobster Pad Thai.

Granada

Granada is a charming port that fits the quintessential image of a Caribbean island. A circular bay shelters a multicolored harbor that rises into steep, green hills dotted with homes.

95% of the GranadaÕs houses were destroyed by hurricane Ivan in 2004, so there are a mixture of new (but traditionally styled) buildings and a few remaining ruins. The islandÕs agriculture was also decimated, so tourism is now the largest industry.

Our morning tour took us on several interesting stops. First was a spice factory where they make spiced syrups, jams and other products. It is owned by the newly elected governor general, who happened to stop by while we were there, escorted by her security staff.

Then we drove over the hills to a spice farm where we had a fascinating guided tour of the spice garden, stopping to smell and taste a wide variety of fruits and spices. They included cinnamon, lemon grass, turmeric, pepper, vanilla, avocado, mango, cacao, pineapple, lemon thyme, mace, nutmeg, and many more I’d never heard of.

Our third stop was a a former sugar cane plantation and rum distillery, where we toured the ruins of the 150-year-old plant, and were able to sample some modern rums. (The fact is, they now buy the alcohol from Tobago.) The 10 year old rum was pretty smooth, like a good scotch. The most popular variety on the island is unaged 140 proof rum. Although it burned like rubbing alcohol, it was surprisingly sweet.

After a brief stop at the marina for local handicrafts (soap) we returned to the ship in time for lunch.

Colombia and Aruba

We’ve spent a relaxing few days, mostly on board ship, beginning with two sea days that took us through the Panama Canal to Cartagena, Columbia. The shore excursion we had booked sounded like it was going to involve a very hot two hour boat ride, so we decided to stay on board the ship.

During the afternoon we played a rousing game of shuffle board, and in the evening there was a 70s show on deck as we sailed out of the harbor. Pamela has been under the weather with bronchitis, but some antibiotics and a couple of days of rest have her feeling much better.

Our next stop was Aruba. We’d been here before, and it’s not very exciting, so we just walked around the tourist strip, bought some aloe that Dani requested, and had lunch at a Mexican restaurant.

Our sea day following Aruba featured a session in the Cordon Blue Culinary Academy, where we made (and ate) a variety of Spanish tapas.

Panama Canal

Today we passed through the Panama Canal, traveling east to west, from the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean. That’s not a typo. The canal actually runs almost north/south, but because of the S shape of Panama, we emerge somewhat west of where we started.

We ascend through two locks at Mira Flores on the Pacific, then one more a mile inland. Fifty miles later we will descend through three more at Lake Gatun, arriving in the Caribbean by mid-afternoon. Each lock transports us up or down by about 27 feet, making the canal a freshwater bridge across the continental divide, 85 feet above sea level.

The entire canal is powered by water, flowing down from the mountains. It flows through the locks, and also generates the power used by the “mules” that tow the boats through the locks. Along the way we observed fresh excavations for a widening that will increase its width from 110 to 180 feet.

In 2014 the Panama Canal celebrates its 100th anniversary.

Ecuador

Panama hats aren’t made in Panama. Who knew? They’re actually from Ecuador, which is convenient, because that’s where we are today, and I needed a hat.

Yesterday we had a great day at sea. I spent some time in the art studio in the morning ripping off Henri Talouse Latrec with a charcoal drawing, and in the afternoon ripping off Degas with an acrylic. It was my first attempt at acrylic, and I was impressed with the materials, but unimpressed with my ability.

In the evening we went to one of the four specialty restaurants on board, Red Ginger. It was spectacular. Great decor and great food. Highlights were the summer rolls, which included pomello, an asian fruit similar to grapefruit, and the miso glazed sea bass, one of the best pieces of fish I’ve ever had. It put Le Bernardin in New York to shame.

Speaking of which, yesterday the list of the top 100 restaurants in the world came out, and we’ve been to quite a few. And of course we disagree with the list. For example, we’ve been to six of the top 20, and hated three of them (Le Bernardin, Alinea and L’Arpege)! Two of our favorites we have already booked for our upcoming New York stay (Eleven Madison Park and Jean Georges).

Anyway, today we toured Ecuador. The country seems much more prosperous than Peru, and the people were extremely friendly, waving to the buses as we passed. My very limited Spanish was good enough to read the environmental billboards around town; it’s nice that they are taking pride in–and taking care of–their country.

The ship is docked in Manta, a tuna fishing port, and there are massive amounts of tuna being unloaded right next to us. Amazingly, it doesn’t smell, I suppose because it is so fresh.

Our first stop was at a house where they make buttons and knick knacks out of the seeds of the tagua plant. These seeds, when dry, are about as hard as ivory, and can be dyed to any color. It was a bit scary watching them saw and grind the pieces with no finger protection.

Then we drove up the local mountain, Montecristi, to see Panama (Ecuadorian) hats being made. It’s quite labor intensive, with the better hats taking up to six months to make, and costing as much as $1000. I bought the much less expensive $80 version, which was demonstrably better than the $25 version. The vendor showed me how to roll it up(!) and put it in its balsa wood box. Linda got a better deal in the nearby shopping area, buying shawls at three for $10. And yes, the official currency of Ecuador is the US dollar.

Our next stop was an agave factory, where they were turning the plant leaves into twine, and then weaving it into cloth to make burlap style bags. Personally I prefer my agave to be turned into tequila, but it was very interesting to watch the process: stripping the fiber from the leaves, drying, spinning, and weaving.

On the way back to the port we passed a shipyard where they build and repair boats the old fashioned way: with lots of wood. Our final stop was back in Manta at a small archaeological museum that displayed a few clay artifacts.

We really liked Ecuador, and there was a lot packed into this three hour tour.

Chan Chan, Peru

Salaverry is a northern port in Peru near the city of Trujillo. Our tour took us on a short drive through Trujillo to the Dragon Temple, a pyramid surrounded by a high wall. Our guide, Elver was quite informative, as we walked around the pyramid and then climbed the ramp to its flat top.

Then we drove on north to Chan Chan, a nine square mile walled city built of mud bricks, and about 1000 years old. The place was quite a labyrinth. The walls, some as high as 30 feet, are original, but 85% of the decoration has been restored.

On the drive back through Trujillo I observed the irony that the modern construction wasn’t much different than the ancient. It is a city of many walls, but few roofs. Most walls are left with rebar sticking from the top, so that another story can be added later. But a large percentage of the walls seemed to enclose nothing, much as in Chan Chan.

Lima, Peru

For this year’s trip Linda and I set our goal to visit the last continent on our list, South America. (We’re not expecting to get to number seven, Antarctica, any time soon.) It seems ironic that the only inhabited continent we haven’t been to is the closest to our home.

Our friend, Pamela, from Australia, flew to Orlando to join us for a week before the trip, and then we all headed south. Well, actually we headed north, to Atlanta, and then south. Lima Peru is due south, oddly enough. It doesn’t seem like the east coast of the US should line up with the west coast of South America, but it does, hence no time change (except they don’t need to observe daylight savings time in a country so close to the equator).

The flight was surprisingly quick, just six hours to go about 3000 miles. That was a good thing, because the “flat” beds on this A330 were anything but. In all fairness, I think mine was broken, because it kept recoiling from the flat position, but the design doesn’t even attempt to level the bed, so you keep sliding off the bottom. Delta has won an award for some of the top beds in the industry, but I bet it wasn’t on this plane, which was inferior to the two other Delta designs I’ve seen, which we had on flights to Sydney and Istanbul.

We arrived in Lima and cleared immigration and customs before midnight. Since Pamela hadn’t booked her room through the cruise line, I’d called to arrange her transfer, and he dutifully appeared. I’d also called the cruise line to confirm ours, and they assured me the hotel was handling it. Nope. So we hired a taxi for the trip to the JW Marriott in Miraflores Lima.

Lima is criss-crossed by four lane roads, but they don’t seem to form a useful grid, so the half hour ride involved much jogging through back alleys to get from one road to another. Finally we followed the beach for a few miles, then climbed the steep palisade to Miraflores.

The Marriott is a very nice hotel. It’s a high rise located at the top of the bluffs, overlooking the bay upon which Lima is situated. During our Sunday in Lima the weather was a bit socked in with low clouds, but we could still see from one end of the bay to the other.

Pamela and I met for breakfast and then she retired to her room to rest up for a day while Linda and I went out to explore the multi-level mall that clings to the cliff face in front of the hotel. We had lunch there at an outdoor cafe appropriately named Cafe Cafe. Linda had a mixed ceviche dish she proclaimed the best ever. It must have been good, because she even scarfed down the octopus.

In the afternoon I took a three-hour nap (ahh, vacations) and then for dinner we went to a restaurant recommended by Diego, an Alcorn McBride intern whose mother is from Peru.

Taxis in lima are interesting. There are no meters, and the fare is subject to negotiation. The trip to the restaurant cost 10 Nuevo Sole ($4) and the trip back cost twice that. The restaurant is actually about two blocks from the hotel, but it is several hundred feet below, on the other side of a busy highway.

La Rosa Nautica is located on a jetty, so waves constantly break below as you walk out to the place past some cute tourist shops. Inside the spaces are quaintly decorated with flowers, mirrors and lacy white woodwork reminiscent of the Carnation Pavilion at Disneyland. We were seated in a round room with a 270 degree view. There are many dining areas in the restaurant, but ours seemed to be reserved for American tourists, which was very practical, as all the servers spoke English.

We had their tasting menu, which was three courses of three items each. Everything was beautifully presented, and quite tasty, and the price of $65 per person seemed very reasonable. To accompany dinner we had an Argentine Chardonnay that was quite dry, and a Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon with an interesting charred wood nose.

After a good night’s sleep, we transferred to our ship midday on Monday. The process at the hotel was inscrutably disorganized, with no one knowing when or where the transfer would be, no luggage tags to direct bags to the cabin, and no boarding documents. But somehow we ended up on a shuttle with our luggage, and got to the ship, where boarding and check in were quick and efficient. And despite all expectations to the contrary, our luggage showed up at our cabin, even with no cabin ID tags.

We are on the Oceania Marina, a ship about twice as large (1200 passengers) as our previous Oceania ship, the Insignia. This suite isn’t quite as nice as the one on the Insignia, or as spacious as the one on Celebrity last year, but the ship has much more to offer in terms of restaurants and public spaces. We certainly got a good deal on our suite, which was priced at under $650 a day for two including insurance, far below the usual half off rate, and even includes a $400 cabin credit. That plus the new unlimited Internet offering discounted to $20 a day make this a very economical luxury cruise.

We went to the main dining room, where the host invited us upstairs to the Polo Grill, one of the specialty restaurants (which tend not to be busy on embarkation day) for a nice dinner.

The ship overnighted in the Port of Lima (which is very noisy–thank goodness for earplugs) and then on Tuesday Linda headed out for a visit to two museums. Since they were right back where we came from in Miraflores, I decided to opt out of this tour and have a restful day on the ship. Linda enjoyed the trip, and reported much pottery, including this one that reminded her of our cat Tucker sleeping on her (although I think this guy is being eaten by the cat).

Peperoncino

A dinner at Dellagio’s Peperoncino with Ron, Bev, Andres, Paula and Linda, noted here because of the inclusion of a 100 point 1934 Burgundy from Ron.

Peperoncino serves authentic regional Italian cuisine in a fairly boisterous atmosphere. Because the place is long and narrow, it tends to get noisy. This was especially true, last night, when a large party showed up without a reservation and spent an hour pressed up against our table waiting for seats.

The food is good, although I prefer Ciao Italia over by SeaWorld. Service was certainly attentive, and the glassware is pretty good although limited.

Ca’ del Bosco Franciacorta Cuvée Prestige (Ron)
Vanilla, crisp, clean finish, 90 pts

2005 Puligny-Montrachet Clos de la Mouches Henri Boillot (Ron)
Waxy, soft, long buttery mouthfeel, lemon taffy finish, 95 pts

2007 Pulignt-Montrachet Les Enseignieres Henri Prudhon (Andres)
A bit closed, slightly buttery, 88 pts

1970 Ch. Mouton Rothschild (Steve)
Garnet, cedar, forest floor, smoke, cigar box, mint, sweet, Ron guessed it, 92 pts

1970 Louis Martini CS (Steve)
Petrol, glycerin, plastic, prunes, mint, amarone, Ron guessed it, 83 pts

1970 Corton Remoissenet Diamond Jubilee (Steve)
Bright cherry, soy, leather, earth, sweet, long, great structure, cashew oil, vanilla, mint, coffee, caramel, 95 pts

2004 Conterno Barolo (Ron)
Tannic, chewy, young, tar, mint, vanilla, forest floor, 95 pts

1934 Chambolle Musigny Dr Barolet (Ron)
Very light, orange rind, rust, spiced meat, sweet, coffee, candy, tobacco, cigarette smoke, red licorice ropes, cherry, pine needles, great fruit, pine needles, mint, refreshing acidity, 100 pts

1978 Lynch Bages (Ron)
Corked. Amazing, though, how this vintage, once thought to be too tannic to ever drink, is now softening into pleasant fruitiness.

1997 Valdicava Brunello di Montalcino Reserve Madonna Piano
Chocolate, burnt coffee, smooth on the palate, smoked meat, vanilla, 93 pts

2004 Malleolus de Sanchomartin Emilio More (Andrew)
Vanilla, meat, chocolate coated cherries, sawdust, 94 pts

Vino Chinato Louis Dressner (Ron)
Amaro like with Nebbiolo base. Cinammon, bitters, 90 pts

France Conquers Italy

Not since the days of Napoleon has it been so clear who ruled Europe.

Keith Edwards organized an extraordinarily informative tasting designed to compare ten Italian merlots with ten Bordeaux wines consisting of at least 75% merlot. In attendance were Keith, Parlo, Ron, Bev, Andres, Paula, Russell, Linda and I.

What a great location K Restaurant was! The appetizers before the event were also the best we’ve had, and included deviled eggs, crab hors d’ouvres, and some great cheeses.

Blind Tasting

Wines were served double blind through a complex mechanism that guaranteed each flight would have one Italian and one French wine. Keith provided a wonderful tasting booklet for our notes.

The flights turned out to be:

Flight 1

1998 L’Evangile 250 (Andres) 92 pts

1998 Le Macchiole’s Messorio (Bolgheri, Tuscany) $238 (Keith) 91 pts

Flight 2

2006 Bellevue Mondotte $70 (Russell) 88 pts

2004 Petrolo Galatrona (Arezzo, Tuscany) $264 (Keith) 93 pts

Flight 3

1996 Tua Rita Redigaffi (Suvereto, Tuscany) $259 (Keith) 84 pts

1998 Valandraud $160 (Ron) 92 pts

Flight 4

2000 Clos L’Eglise $140 (Ron) 92 pts

1995 Castello di Ama L’Apparita (Chianti Classico, Tuscany) $254 (Keith) 88 pts

Flight 5

1994 Chateau Angelus $170 (Ron) 92 pts

2004 San Giusto a Rentennano La Ricolma (Chianti Classico, Tuscany) $115 (Keith) 83 pts

Flight 6

1997 Lamaione (keith) 92 pts

1957 Petrus $462 (Steve) 96 pts

Flight 7

1993 Tenuta dell’Ornellaia Masseto (Bolgheri, Tuscany) $234 (Keith) 94 pts

1996 La Mondotte $185 (Russell) 93 pts

Flight 8

2006 Petra’s Quercegobbe Merlot (Suvereto, Tuscany) $54 (Keith) 91 pts

1998 Chateau Pavie $200 (Ron) 92 pts

Flight 9/10 (combined because otherwise the last flight would be obvious)

1997 Gravner Rujno $179 (Keith) 86 pts

1995 Clinet (Keith) (Badly Corked)

1996 Clos Fourtet (Andres) 84 pts

2001 Miani Colli Orientali $250 (Ron) 83 pts

Observations on the Blind Tasting

With only one exception, the French wine was better than the Italian wine.
In almost every case it was obvious which country the wine came from.
The Italian wines were, with the exception of the Masseto, quite disappointing.
The last four wines were close to undrinkable.
The Petrus obviously didn’t belong in a blind tasting with these, but it was excellent. I was very worried because it was an off vintage, and had been open two hours before we got to it, but in fact it held up for five hours. I guess there’s a reason Petrus is so expensive.
The other wine that stood out was the 2000 Clos L’Eglise, which has an extraordinary candy shop nose. It turned out this wine was 30% Cabernet Franc, so it was disqualified as a merlot, but it was definitely the best contemporary wine.
Except for the Petrus, and perhaps the Clos L’Eglise, the good wines were all too young to drink.
It’s easy to generalize and say French wines are better than Italian (which may well be the case) but it’s important to remember this was a merlot tasting, and Pomerol merlots are among the best French wines, while one wonders if they should be growing merlot in Italy at all.

Dinner

After the formal tasting, we segued into dinner, which was excellent. Shrimp on spicy grits, heirloom tomatoes, duck confit with goat cheese and a crispy crusted fish over corn were the standouts.

The wines poured during dinner were, in general, much better than the tasting wines. My notes:

95 Klaus Riesling Schloss Schonborn (Keith)

An incredible match with shrimp on spicy grits, not too sweet, 94 pts

2001 Ch Chevalier Blanc (Keith)

Nutty, lucious, waxy, 94 pts

1982 Savigny Les Beaune Lavieres Robert Ampeau (Steve)

Refined, thin, dried flowers, rust, 90 pts

2009 Gavi di Gavi il Monterotondo Il Gabbiano white (Andres)

Balanced, good food wine, 88 pts

1968 Vina Valoria Rioja (Steve)

Dill, balanced, youthful, cherry, Burgundian, Andres loved this, chocolate coated dill pickles, just kept getting better in the glass, 95 pts

62 Chambolle Musigny J Henri Remy (Ron)

Rust, Cherries, meat, charred cedar plank, animal fat, herbs, 98 pts

1990 Hermitage La Chapelle Jaboulet (Keith)

Vanilla, sweet, balanced, chocolate covered cherries, animal fat, 100 point Parker wine, 96 pts

1966 Ch La Mission Haut Brion (Ron)

Tobacco, gravel, the sea, gun metal, sweet, always Paula’s favorite wine, 99 pts

That was all the fun Linda could take, so we said our goodbyes and left the group to ponder dessert and, no doubt, more wine!

Blind Pairs at Luma

Ron organized this interesting tasting in the downstairs room at Luma. Attendees were Ron, Bev, Keith, Parlo, Andres, Paula, Linda, Dani, Jacques, and Alison.

As usual at Luma, the downstairs room was fabulous, and the food was variable. Standouts were the cauliflower torte, sashimi, and the main course of steak and fish.

Wine glasses are the limitation at Luma, and we weren’t anxious to dump some of the more stellar wines, so couples began consolidating. Soon the table was covered in glassware and we were hard pressed for glasses to reuse.

Thanks everyone, for bringing some fantastic wines. The popularity contest at the end of the evening mentioned a few favorites: 95 Rayas, 75 Haut Brion, 91 Tondonia, 04 Grange, 97 Yquem.

Jacques Selosse Initiale (Ron)
Only slight Ocidation, fairly Complex (very cold)
92

2003 Georg Breuer Berg Schlossberg (Andres)
Dry Riesling
Minerals, Petroleum, Viscous, Dry
94

2006 Silex par Didier Dagueneau Blanc Fume de Pouilly (Keith)
Sauvignon Blanc
Tropical, custard
96

2004 Cheval Blanc (Keith)
Good structure, fully resolved tannins
94

2003 Ann Gross Richbourg (Ron)
Elegant, perfume, mature, vanilla, cinnamon
95

95 Rayas Chateauneauf du Pape (Ron)
Fresh cherries, potting soil, black pepper
97

75 Haut Brion (Steve)
Dust, peat, ash, mint, smoke
98

75 Heitz Martha’s (Steve)
Chewy, redwood, mint, dill, eucalyptus
92

93 Clos de Vougeot Thomas Moillard (Andres)
Big cherry nose, sour cherry mouth
88

96 Clos de Vougeot Thomas Moillard (Andres)
Horse, med sweet cherries, vanilla, mint
91

2007 Salanques Priorat (Jacques)
Fruit, cherry cough drop, caraway
90

2001 Vina Ardanza Rioja (Jacques)
Pork chop, dill
93

NV Billecart Salmon Rose (Jacques)
Iberico ham, dried roses
93

91 Dominus (Steve)
Dust, Black pepper, big structure
95

91 Tondonia Rioja (Steve)
Chicken broth, blood sausage, dill
94

2004 Grange (Keith)
Mint, fruit, herbal, gummy candies
92

2004 La Landonne Cote-Rotie Guigal (Keith)
Burnt buttered toast, meats
95

1997 Bienvenues Batard Montrachet Le Flave (Ron)
Candied apricot, slightly, unctuous, slightly oxidized
90

1988 Bonnes Mares, Olivier Le Flave Negotiant (Andres)
Light, classic burgundy, dried sour cherries, sour
86

90 Ch Montrose (Ron)
Vanilla, butter, tannic, 100 pt Parker
95

90 Ch Beausejour (Ron)
Roast meat, 100 pt Parker
96

2001 L’Ermita Priorat (Keith)
Cherry cough drops, garnache
95

2006 la ca nova Barbaresco bric mentina (Jacques)
Cherry,
91

1986 Hermitage cuvée Marquise de la Tourette (Andres)
Caramel, oxidized
88 pts

1985 Hermitage cuvée Marquise de la Tourette (Andres)
Warm red jello, caramel, vanilla bean, meat
90

57 Ruchottes-Chambertin J Thorin (Ron)
Old thin delicate oxidized Burgundy
85

2011 Pichler-Krutzler Gruner Veltliner (Jacques)
Saline, minerals, floral, celeriac, iodine, medicinal, nutty, hops
92

89 Angelus (Ron)
Dusty, fruit
93

70 Vega Sicilia Unico (Ron)
Light, fruity, Bordeaux like
92

2002 Clos Vougeot Castagnier (Jacques)
A bit funky, dried fruit roll
87

1998 Clos de la Roche Castagnier (Jacques)
Barnyard, plastic
86

2005 Christoffel Jr. Ursiger Wurzgarten Riesling Auslese (Andres)
Petroleum, peaches
90

97 Yquem (Ron)
Baked apple pie, very balanced, long cinnamon pastry finish
99

Olivje (Оливье) Recipe

Dmitri brought this Olivje (Оливье) to Glen’s St. Patrick’s Day Party and we really liked it.

(makes 1 medium-sized salad bowl)

Ingredients

4 potatoes
2 large carrots boiled and peeled.
6 eggs hard boiled and peeled
5 medium sized dill pickles
Meat to your liking (ham/chicken/sausage/beef, etc).
2 24-oz cans of peas
4 tablespoons light mayo (or sour cream)

Preparation

Slice everything above into small cubes.
Add 2 14-oz canned peas
Add mayo or sour cream
Mix everything well
Bring the bowl of Olivje to the office.

Tesla Model S

I’ve had the Tesla Model S Performance Sedan for two weeks, and wanted to share my thoughts with prospective purchasers.

In short, it is extraordinary. It perfectly combines the features of a luxury car, a sports car, a station wagon, and an iPhone.

With all the mass in the flat bed underneath, and almost no moving parts, the handling is impressive. Its 0-60mph time of 4.4 seconds makes it hard to control yourself. Even I, who am not a car nut, am constantly wowed by the cornering and acceleration. You can be stopped at a corner, and three seconds later you have completed a turn and are at the speed limit, all without a sound.

All this performance, and yet including the “frunk” under the hood it has 58 cubic feet of storage!

Plus, the user interface and ergonomics are remarkable. The 17-inch touchscreen is beautiful, and the programming is completely intuitive.

It is amazing that they could get this much right on the first try. In fact, the only thing I’d change is the center console, which lacks storage and doesn’t have quite the right ergonomics.

There has been much discussion in the press about road tripping with this car. The whole conversation seems silly to me. That’s not what this car is for. With a 240 mile range (unless you max-charge the batteries for 300) it’s a great car for everyday use, which is 99% of the time. But the fact is it takes an hour on a 110-volt outlet to put 3 miles of charge onto the car. That means it takes 20 times as long to charge it as to use it. Compare that to gasoline, where in five minutes you can put 300 miles into a car. so gasoline is a factor of 1200 more time efficient! Even the home quick charger takes overnight to fully recharge the car. And the highway superchargers Tesla is installing take 20 minutes to put on 100 miles. While it makes touring possible, that’s not the same as practical. None of this bothers me, because it’s a misapplication of the car. It’s designed to refill itself every night in my garage, and that’s how I intend to use it.

The thing that most impresses me about the Tesla is the attention they’ve put into the smallest details. For example:

If you want the rear hatch to open no higher then a certain level, you push it to that spot and hols the close button down for thee seconds, and it sets that spot as the maximum height.
When programming a smart garage door opener that requires pressing a button on the opener, the car blinks its lights to indicate success.
When you near any GPS location where you’ve programmed a garage door code the instrument panel automatically offers you that location’s buttons.
Using Slacker Radio, the music system interface lets you play any song from the Internet, and offers an interface that puts the Lexus to shame.
The web browser works while driving, meaning owners have written applets just for the car, such as a Tesla-themed clock: http://dash.time4tesla.com
During navigation, in addition to the center console map (which can be expanded to 17 inches, and includes satellite images) the left dash display shows a forward looking map perspective as if you were flying in a glider.
The iPhone app lets you turn your climate system on before you walk to the car, and has many other useful features, such as a map to show you where it is in the parking lot.
Electricity is efficient. The equivalent cost is 90 miles per gallon.

When I picked up the Tesla in Tampa, we filmed the training session, which I’ve posted it to a YouTube playlist.

In short, the Tesla is a remarkable car, that will bring a smile to my face every time I climb in.

Wine Lunch on Hillstone’s Dock

Ron arranged this lovely Saturday afternoon event for a fairly large group. The weather was cool and blustery, but plastic panels kept out most of the wind, and it was a delightful venue, with great service by Laura and delicious food by Hillstone (formerly Houston’s)

In attendance were Ron, Bev, Linda, Keith, Parlo, Andres, Gary, Trish, Carsten (Luma), John (Augustan Wines), Richard, and Noel

NV Shramsberg Rose (Hillstone)
Strawberries, good balance, 88

NV Bouzy Camille Saves (John)
Yeast, toast, 90

93 Haut Brion (Linda)
Chalk, candle wax, lanolin, lemon, honey, vanilla bean, 96

07 Sancerre cuvée les deserts Philippe Auchere (Keith)
Lemon, ash, 90

34 Volnay Champans Boisseaux-Estivant (Steve)
Rust, copper, cinnamon, blood orange peel, a bit thin, sandalwood, smoked meat, red apple peel, 93

1958 Barolo Antichi Vignetti Propri (Keith)
Sea air, iodine, miss, wet pennies, sweet finish, 93

1990 Echezeaux grand cru virile-Vignes Mongeard Muneret (Ron)
Classic mature burg, tons of fruit, cherries, smoke, wood, roses, 95

71 Volnay Nicolas Potel (Ron)
Light in color, pinot nose, smoke, wood, lemon curd, Key lime pie, mint, 94

59 Ch Grand Puy Ducasse Puillac (Steve)
Youthful, fruity, classic Bordeaux, iron, wood, glad I have 3 bottles left, 93

67 Ch L’Evangile Pomerol (Keith)
Fresh, fruity, sandalwood, candle wax, coffee liqueur, cotton candy, bubble gum, astonishingly good for a 1967, 93

83 Ch Lynch Bages (Ron)
Big, tannic, chewy, cherry, tobacco, cedar, pencil lead, similar to La Mission Hair Brion, but perhaps a bit awkward, 92

83 Diamond Creek Volcanic Hill
Fruity, good for ten more years, baking spice, cherries, iron, wax, 93

82 Ch Trotanoy Pomerol (Ron)
Youthful, iron, vanilla, mint, 96

2007 Pierre Usseglio Cuvée de mon Aieul CDP (Ron)
Chocolate, raspberry, sweet fruit finish, cherry, vanilla, cinnamon, 97

2009 Delas Les Bessardes Hermitage (Ron)
Meat, smoke, bacon, vanilla, must less sweet finish than the CDP 99

(Both of these last two Rhones were Robert Parker 100 pointers)

Grilled Salmon with Citrus Salad

For my birthday, Linda fixed this recipe which she modified from a version at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/grilled-salmon-with-citrus-salsa-verde-recipe/index.html

She also made a tuna tartare, avocado and cucumber vorspeisenringe.

We enjoyed all three on the veranda and then went in the spa. Ah, Orlando in the dead of winter.

Ingredients

Citrus Salad:

2 large oranges
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 scallions, finely sliced
6 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
1/2 red pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons orange zest
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Salmon:

Vegetable or canola oil, for oiling the grill
4 (4 to 5-ounce) center cut salmon fillets, skinned, each about 3-inches square
2 tablespoons amber agave nectar
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

For the salsa: Peel and trim the ends from each orange. Using a paring knife, cut along the membrane on both sides of each segment. Free the segments and add them to a medium bowl. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, scallions, mint, red peppers, orange zest, lemon zest, and red pepper flakes. Toss lightly and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.

For the salmon: Put a grill rack on charcoal grill. Brush the grilling rack with vegetable oil to keep the salmon from sticking. Brush the salmon on both sides with the agave nectar and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Grill until the fish flakes easily and is cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Transfer the salmon to a platter and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Serve the citrus salad on the side as an accompaniment.

Per Serving: Calories 497; Total Fat 33 grams; Saturated Fat 6 grams; Protein 30 grams; Total Carbohydrate 19 grams; Sugar: 15 grams; Fiber 3 grams; Cholesterol 78 milligrams; Sodium 457 milligrams

Harold’s House of Omelets

When we used to live in Westlake Village, Harold’s House of Omelets was our favorite spot for breakfast. Sometimes we close the Alcorn McBride office and head over there for a late breakfast, because Harold’s wasn’t open for lunch!

Wednesday morning, Dani and I made the pilgrimage to Thousand Oaks, about an hour drive (hey this is LA, where you drive an hour to go to a restaurant) north west from our hotel.

These days Harold’s stays open all the way through dinner, and they’ve added Mexican food to the six page densely packed menu. But the omelets haven’t changed. They’re still football sized, with a thick fluffy layer of eggs concealing a literal pile of whatever is underneath. I like the “special” omelet, which has tomatoes, bacon, sour cream and mild chilis, all on top of crispy hash browns. Yum.

The decor hasn’t changed in thirty years (or possibly fifty, as this is their 50th anniversary). It’s nice that sometimes you can go home again.

Stellar Old Wines at Luma

Ron organized a great event in the downstairs room at Luma. Although the food wasn’t quite as good as our spectacular dinner there last month, the wines were stellar, spanning the great years, from 1947 (all time best Burgundy year) to 2000 (a DRC Ron pulled out at the last minute).

In attendance were Ron, Bev, Linda, Barbara (from Pepperoncino), Keith, Parlo, Andres, Paula, and Russell. Thanks for the great wines, everyone!

The Wines

1996 Roederer Cristal (Ron)
Vanilla, yeast
97 pts

NV Jacques Selosse (Ron)
Good acid
95 pts

75 Ch Palmer (Russell)
Medium body, underlying fruit, clay, wood finish, caramel, mint
90 pts

93 Haut Brion Blanc (Ron)
Semolina nose, perfect balance, fatty, lichee nut, white pepper, wax, limestone, pineapple, tropical, lush, buttery
99 pts

04 Corton Charlemagne Bouchard (Keith)
Lemon grass, key lime peel, ash, dusty, white asparagus, high acid, sea shell
90 pts

1947 Casa de Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon
Recorked 1982 at Sebastiani Vineyards from the personal cellar of August Sebastiani
Good fruit and acid, youthful, bacon, wood, youthful
93 pts

71 -Nuits St Georges Arguillieres Remoissenet (Keith)
Mushrooms, fruit, balance
93 pts

64 Chambolle Musigny Remoissenet (Keith)
A bit of corkiness increased with air
88 pts

71 Corton Remoissenet (Steve)
Toasted marshmallows, great fruit, great structure
95 pts

47 Chambertin Clos de Beze Remoissenet (Ron)
Gun oil, spice, very young, earthy, smoke, horse stable
99 pts

47 Romanee Saint Vivant Drapier (Steve)
Cinammon, raspberry, cream, great balance
98 pts

61 Bonne Mares Hudeolet (Ron)
Earthy, good fruit, wood
97 pts

66 Ch Loeoville Poyfere (Keith)
Dust, youthful, mint, a bit short
88 pts

66 Ch La Mission Haut Brion (Ron)
Not typical LMHB, gun oil, peat, mushroom
86 pts

66 Ch Canon La Gaffeliere (Keith)
Candy nose, sweet caramel. pastry, cream, young fruit, tannin, died quickly
89 pts

62 Ch Haut Brion (Steve)
Classic Graves, elegant
92 pts

71 Ch Haut Brion (Steve)
Butter, Classic Graves, tight, coffee, smoke
93 pts

90 Ch Haut Brion (Ron)
Very young, cucumber, peppercorn
94 pts

94 Petrus (Andres)
Mouth filling, balanced, red fruits, wood
92 pts

82 Lynch Bages (Russell)
Coffee, chewy, big fruit, young, mint, chocolate, tannic
94 pts

89 Lynch Bages (Keith)
Chewy, mint, tannic monster, chocolate, chlorine, needs many years
92 pts

2001 Ch Climens (Ron)
A bit dull, peppery, petrol, considering this is a 100 pt wine, rather surprising
90 pts

2001 Ch Riussec (Ron)
Botrytis, acidic, slightly off balance
91 pts

2000 Echezeaux DRC (Ron)
Smoke, leather, cherries, tobacco, raw blood sausage, iron, needs many years
92 -> 96? pts

Farewell to Celebrity

Here are a couple of last photos from our final two sea days aboard the Celebrity Constellation. The bottom line is that I’d recommend this line if you’re looking for a Royal Caribbean type experience with better entertainment, but not for premium cruising where you’re better off on Oceania because of the food and smaller ship sizes.

Departure time came early, with a 7:30 am meeting time for Eddie Manning’s limo and the start of the 22-hour trip home.

Celebrity Cruises Observations

Celebrity seems little different than its parent, Royal Caribbean, with only slightly better food, similar accommodations, and similar passengers. Although positioned as a premium cruise line, and voted the top premium cruise line for three years, this must be for large ships, and the voting must be weighted to the many passengers they carry, because there is certainly no comparison between Celebrity and Oceania or Regent.

As far as the Celebrity Constellation experience in particular:

Pros

Great entertainment
Nice ship
Excellent suite
Nice suite amenities of some free wi-fi, laundry, dry cleaning, specialty dinners
Excellent Riedel glassware and seminar

Cons

Food only marginally better than Royal Caribbean, even in specialty restaurants
Ship too large for ports like Bordeaux
Higher than normal wine prices, and unreliable wine list
Imaginary caviar list
No self-service laundry
Poor wi-fi coverage and service

Porto

Porto isn’t far from Vigo—just 84 kilometers—but it’s a different country and different wine-making. Our shore excursion took us to the Douro Valley, two hours away, where port comes from. Although port is named after Porto, the city has nothing to do with its production.

It was a rainy morning, but our luck held, and we didn’t get wet at either stop, and by afternoon the sun had come out.

Unfortunately our tour guide was a nice guy, but the world’s most boring tour guide. His name was Ricardo(ze). Along the way to Douro we stopped at Amarante, where there is an old church (I know, what a surprise, right). Linda lit a tacky LED electronic candle and said a prayer for a better guide, but it didn’t work.

So we spent a dull hour near the church, with a break for shopping but only a hardware store and convenience store nearby. Then on the way back to the bus we walked through the shopping street we should have been at all along, but with no time left to stop.

Another hour brought us to the Casa Amarela winery, a small property that has been in the same family since the 1880s, but which has been making wine only since 1994. We toured their cellar, with large old oak casks and a couple of stainless steel fermenters, and the crushing room, where they stomp the grapes in large granite enclosures.

Then we sampled their white port with some tapas that included their own olives and olive oil, which were terrific. (Unfortunately the olives weren’t for sale, but the olive oil was.) I don’t think I’d had white port before, and it was fairly pleasant. It was followed by a pleasant lunch accompanied by their serviceable red wine and a ruby port.

The drive back to the ship took almost two hours, but the view was much better than the footed in morning because we took the express way over the tops of the mountains, across many impressive valleys so panned by high arching bridges.

In the evening we had our own private sail away party on the balcony, with Martin, a table full of canapés left in our cabin by our butler, and a bottle of yesterday’s four euro Albarino. Audrey was tired from her walk around Porto, so dinner was just the four of us in the dining room. Afterwards Linda and I went up to Reflections for a 40s themed show and dance party with the entertainers.

The following day was the first of two sea days. We attended a wonderful Riedel comparative tasting that contrasted the difference between four wine glasses by having us transfer the same wines between various glasses. We went in skeptical, and came out true believers.

After two relaxing days at sea it will be time to head home from a very pleasant two and a half weeks of travel.

Vigo

Vigo is one of the southern most cities in Northern Spain, located only 20 miles from Portugal. It is Europe’s main hub for shipping fish, and the 10 mile long harbor is filled with platforms used to raise mussels, oysters and scallops. It’s a pretty port, and you can step right off the ship into the bustling down tom, which is surrounded by hills dotted with spanish style homes.

The ship didn’t dock until noon, which gave us time for a workout and some breakfast/lunch before our shore excursion.

This excellent excursion took us up the coast to the next estuary, Pontevedra, where we visited the old city of Combarro. A few twisty stone streets have been toured into tourist shops. Each intersection features a fountain and a “cruceiros,” a religious monument intended to ward off evil spirits. Ironic, since the shops were selling halloween merchandise. We had some tapas and white wine at a seaside cafe before continuing up the coast to Cambados.

In Cambados we visited a small winery and guest house where we enjoyed a tour of the 5 acre property, which has vines, birds and some fruit trees. Then we had a delightful meal of tapas and wine in the courtyard. The mussels were the best I’ve ever tasted, and they just kept bringing out plate after plate of them. Also delicious were mild cooked and salted peppers, similar to the flavor of chile relleno, a great match for the generously poured—and repoured–Albarino. Their red was pretty much undrinkable—-a fact the owner essentially admitted—-but they also made some interesting flavored grappas. I bought a bottle of Albarino and a bottle of herbal grappa. Total cost: 11 Euros.

The group seemed pretty trashed on the way back to the ship. Amateurs.

For dinner the group of five of us met in the dining room for a taste off between Martin’s 2006 Dominus and our 2008 Chapoutier Hermitage Le Meal.

Bilbao

The high water mark from the 1983 flood.

One of the many colorful squares in the old part of Bilbao.

View of Bilbao from above, with the Guggenheim by the river in the foreground.

This is what was in the butcher’s window.

After a workout Friday morning we spent a restful day on the ship. originally we had a dinner scheduled in a Michelin-starred chef’s kitchen, but it was cancelled, and since it was rainy we decided to spend the day on the ship, relaxing. We had dinner with Audrey, Emilio and Martin. Martin went to Rioja, and said it was a good trip. We shared a few wines, including a 2006 Lynch Bages, which had a classic Bordeaux nose, but was acidic and off balance. Maybe the rest of the bottle will be better in a couple of days.

Saturday we had a shore excursion into Bilbao, about 10 miles upriver from the port. It sprinkled throughout the day, but not enough to disrupt the excursion, and since it rains 40% of the year in Bilbao, I suppose it’s to be expected.

We began our tour on a mountain overlooking the city, for a panoramic view. Bilbao has undergone an amazing transformation in the last twenty years, from an industrial iron works into a garden-like model city. The centerpiece of the city is the Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Gehry. It was paid for locally, Guggenheim simply gave permission for use of the name. It proved to be a successful spark to the city’s renaissance. We drove past, but didn’t stop.

Our destination was the old part of the city, now a trendy shopping and dining district. Following a walking tour we stopped at three different tapas bars for a glass of wine and a pintxos (the “x” is pronounced “ch”). Traditionally pintxos was served on a stick, but these were all toast with either, ham, salmon or brie, plus marinated vegetables, fruits and so on. Each was excellent, and frankly better than anything on the ship.

We were back on board for an early 3pm sailing and formal night number two, which we celebrated with the tasting menu in Ocean Liners. This time we tried the prix fixe menu, which is one of the few good deals on the ship, at $89 for food and matching wines, considering the wines include a Puligny Montrachet and a Smith Haut Lafite Blanc. The service was excellent, and they were very flexible about letting us swap around courses from the regular menu, and changing the tasting pairings. In fact, we skipped dessert, and they comped us two glasses of Perrier Jouet instead, which were worth about half the cost of dinner. We’ve noticed that while the food even in this restaurant is just so-so, they are really good at salads. I had a quail salad with seared and caramelized goat cheese on arugula with a mustard dressing that was certainly the best thing I’ve tasted on board. It was great with a (gasp) Zinfandel from Chiarella Family Vineyard (the 2009 Giana).

Afterwards we attended a very good review of songs from around the world, presented by the ship’s company.

Margaux

I’ve been struck on this “wine themed cruise” by how little the other passengers know about wine: basically that it has alcohol in it and isn’t beer. Today’s excursion to Margaux included a few passengers who seemed to know their reds from their whites, but not much more. It’s peculiar.

Our first stop was at Chateau Giscours, a third growth that is huge compared to other area wineries, with over 600 acres, much of it not actually classified Margaux, but rather simply Haut-Medoc. The 2004 Le Haut-Medoc de Giscours was an unclassified wine from a poor year, but the 2006 Chateau Giscours was certainly serviceable. More important than the wine, though, was our luck in arriving on the last day of the harvest. Things were in full swing, and we got to watch the hand sorting operation, and crusher stemmer. There is also apparently an automatic optical sorter that rejects individual berries ohm the way to the fermenters.

Then we went to Chateau Kirwan, a send growth, that was quite generous with their wine and the various finger foods served of lunch. The 1999 Kirwan is pleasant, and the generic white “Signatures en Boardeaux” was quite nice with the food. Their second tier wine, 2006 Charmes de Kirwan was to me undrinkable, but they made up for it with the soaring (and sadly unavailable for purchase) 1978 Chateau Kirwan, which offered rich old cabernet scents of anise, sagebrush, mint, flowers and coffee. 96 points.

Following lunch we toured the winery, which had already completed the harvest and was preparing the tanks and barrels for the next step in the process. Two things I found odd: that they make the final mix before oak aging, and that the force the malolactic fermentation simultaneous to alcohol fermentation rather than letting it proceed naturally. To me, these “efficiencies” can be tasted in their modern wines.

There were a lot of sleepy passengers, unaccustomed to wine tastings, on the bus back to the ship!

Bordeaux

The last time I was in Bordeaux, I stepped off the ship onto the main street along the waterfront. This time our ship is larger, and we are docked two hours away, in Le Verdon. This obviously makes every shore excursion four hours longer, so we had limited time in the city today. But it was enough time for a walking tour and then lunch on our own.

Bordeaux has certainly been fixed up since Dani and I were here a half dozen years ago. The buildings are cleaned, some streets are converted to pedestrian walkways, and there is a revitalized waterfront and lovely reflecting pool where warehouses once stood.

Linda selected—somewhat at random—Le Cajou Caffee, a bisto that wowed us with the starters, a foie gras terrine and chèvre salad. The main courses were less exciting, but it was still a good lunch. A 2000 Chateau Bouscaut Pessac-Leognan was the perfect age.

Back on the ship by 5pm, we had dinner in the Tuscany restaurant. Basically food the caliber of an Olive Garden. Located in a fairly austere space on the top deck, it certainly wasn’t worth the $45 per person cover charge, almost twice what it costs to eat at the specialty Italian restaurant on Royal Caribbean, which provides a far more elaborate meal.

We tried a 2008 Sito Moresco Barbaresco by Gaja, which was dusty and a bit hot; and a Far Niente Chardonnay, which had very big California style fruitiness and seemed slightly sweet. We’ll save both for tomorrow.

Sea Days

Panorama of the beautifully designed theatre

This is the dress Linda wore to see in the Millennium, 12 years ago. All that time on the treadmill has paid off.

I really need a new tux shirt, this one is about two sizes too big!

Sea days are often the best days on a cruise. With nothing scheduled and no early wake up times for shore excursions, it’s easy to relax. Today started with surprisingly rough seas, which made the tread mill and interesting exercise, sort of like working out in an elevator. The seas also scared a lot of passengers away from the dining room at lunch, but not us.

The seas calmed after we turned the corner into the Bay of Biscay. We shared out afternoon canapés with Martin and Emilio, as Audrey wasn’t feeling well. Then we enjoyed some flamenco guitar in one of the lounges and, after dinner in the dining room, caught a very good revue featuring the ship’s company and orchestra.

Livarot and Calvados

Linda’s birthday! Morning workout in the gym and then buffet lunch. Salad bar is okay, nothing spectacular.

Our tour today is all about fermented apples and cheese. First stop is the Graindorge Fromagerie, which by coincidence is an Alcorn McBride installation. The delightful visitor’s tour does a great job of promoting the brand and explaining the cheese making process, through engaging videos, a theatre, and windows into the factory. At the end of the tour we were served four generous slices of chess and some local cider. My favorite was the Livarot, followed by the Neufchatel, Pont l’Eveque and Camembert.

Second stop was the Chateau du Breuil, a beautiful estate where they make Calvados, a brandy distilled from apples. The guide her was quite informative, and we learned about the fermentation and distillation process, which involves double distillation, discarding the first and last alcohol and keeping only the heart. Then the brandy is aged in oak barrels, typically from 8 to 20 years. Each year, about 2% of the alcohol is lost (the “angel’s share”) but since it starts out at 144 proof, it still requires dilution with water prior to bottling. A tasting followed, where most agreed that the “Pommeau de Normandie,” which has 60% cider added back in, was more drinkable than the 15 year old straight Calvados.

Our guide for this tour was extremely informative. A fan of World War I history, he collects sets of letters exchanged between the front and those who stayed on the farms; he also collects historic labels from cheeses, including labels created for cruise lines and even one for soldiers at the front.

Upon returning to the ship we found a mountain of food and only an hour until dinner, so we provided catering service to Audrey and Emilio’s cabin!

Our dinner was at Ocean Liner’s, the cover charge French restaurant on deck 3. The room is lovely, and the food and service are a level above the main dining room, although still not at the level of restaurant that the decor evokes. A wine new to us, Nickel & Nickel Chardonnay, proved to be the highlight. The owner is the same as Far Niente, but the wine is more like Aubert. A 2007 Chambolle-Musigny by Drouhin was disappointing, and we save most of it to see if it would improve with a little air.

The entertainment on this ship is really the highlight. In the main theatre we enjoyed the terrific ships orchestra backing Mark Donoghue, who played classic rock on violin, harmonica, piano and electric guitar (not all at once). I particularly enjoyed his rendition of The Devil Went Down to Georgia, and also his medley of 1960s TV Western theme songs.

We set sail during the show, so Linda was able to get in a little casino time on the way out, and fought the machine to a draw.

We caught a bit of Perry Grant, whose show was very similar to the previous night’s. The night life was still going strong when we retired at 12:30.

Etretat

Looking for the real bottle of Benedictine in this case of fakes

It’s going to be hard to beat this as “photo of the trip”

We got up at 10:00 am, but I’m going to use the one hour time change between England and France as the excuse.

They have a nice assortment of workout machine on the gym, although I realized that when Linda is on the treadmills she is looking at the view, while I’m looking at the drapes above the window. Anyway, Le Havre is a working port, so the view isn’t exactly scenic.

We met Martin for lunch at the creperie. The crepes were quite authentic, although I need to find a filling better than the overcooked eggplant that was in mine.

Our after noon tour took us north to the alabaster coast, so named for the which chalk cliffs. All five of us were booked for this tour, but Emilio and Audrey missed the message about the time change.

Our first stop was at the Benedictine factory and museum in Fecamp. Benedictine is a liqueur made by infusing alcohol with sugar and herbs. The founder of the company was a good marketer, and used some of the profits to build what amounts to a palace filled with collections of somewhat random objects such as religious icons and metal locks. We toured the museum and the factory, a surprisingly small space considering the make 1.5 million bottles a year. The underground cellars are extensive, since the product needs to be aged for 30 months. Afterward we were able to taste the original Benedictine or B&B, a blend with brandy. There is also a special cask version that is less sweet. Linda and I like it best, but it is only available at the factory shop, and hardly seemed worth the trouble to transport.

Our other stop was at Etretat, the coastal town that is bracketed by arches worn into the cliffs on both side. Linda and I climbed to the top of the 300-foot cliffs and enjoyed the view as the late afternoon sun set.

Back at the ship Martin helped us consume the afternoon’s canapés and then we went to dinner in the main dining room, where we enjoyed the first half of a 2000 Ch. Smith Haut Lafite blanc that was all about passionfruit, and a 2009 Caymus Special Selection that vacillated between chocolate and tobacco. I suspect that in a couple of days the rest of that bottle will be extraordinary.

After dinner we enjoyed piano entertainer Perry Grant in the intimate Michael’s nightclub. His very gay / Judy Garland fixation / interrogation of the audio about their kitchen amenities was quite funny, but could get tiresome if his act doesn’t changes from night to night. Excellent singer and piano player, though.

Southampton

Eddie Manning’s limo service provided our transfer to Southampton, and despite the skepticism with which we viewed the mountain of luggage for the five of us, it fit easily into the back of the seven-passenger Mercedes van. We were at the pier by 1:30, and onboard ship within minutes.

This is our first time cruising on Celebrity, and it’s always interesting to compare ships and lines. The Constellation was built in 2002 and refurbished most recently in 2010. Despite the fact that it’s scheduled for another one in April, everything seems new and shiny.

The layout of the ship makes it seem much more intimate than the 2000 passenger count would suggest. It pinches in at the middle, and there are many public areas where you can see both port and starboard views simultaneously.

This is the nicest suite we’ve ever had on a ship, with excellent fit and finish, and a really nice cabin layout that separates the bedroom, living/dining room and bathroom with a short hall that is also a cleverly designed closet. THe amenities are great except for the wi-fi, which is marginal at best, even on the provided in-room computer.

As with every line we’ve been on (except Costa) the crew is overwhelmingly nice and accommodating, and everyone sees to know your name by the second day.

The five of us got together in our suite for afternoon Champagne and canapés, then went our separate ways.

Linda an I caught an early show in the ship’s theatre, a well designed 4-story space in the bow, that has no columns blocking sight lines. It was a revue of the ship’s performers, and the singing, dancing and acrobatics were impressive, better than I’ve seen on other lines.

After the show we headed for dinner. The food is certainly a cut above Royal Caribbean, the parent company, but not the fine dining quality of Oceania or Regent.

Wine seems to be priced with primarily a fixed markup rather than a percentage, so the more expensive bottles are better deals, although some rare gems listed at great prices didn’t actually exist when I tried for them. A corkage charge is available for wines purchased off-board, a nice feature I haven’t seen on a cruise line before.

We took advantage of the discount available when buying three or more bottles of nice wine to stock up for the trip. The ability to have the restaurants store unopened or opened bottles for you and transfer them between restaurants on the ship is one of my favorite features of cruising.

Natural History and Pied-à-terre

After a lazy morning Linda and I took the tube to Kensington for an Indian lunch at the lovely Bombay Brasserie, then walked to the Natural History Museum to visit the dinosaurs.

The Natural History Museum is BIG. It must be bigger than the British Museum. The exhibits were very well done, with lots of interactives to keep the kids engaged, and very descriptive and informative exhibits about geology, disasters, the history of the earth (we discovered that it’s older than 6000 years!), floral and fauna, and, of course, dinosaurs. I liked the way each exhibit had a point that was presented clearly and directly, without overwhelming us with information. Well done.

Dinner was at Pied-à-terre, a two-star Michelin on Charlotte Street. It was sublime. Not only was the chef’s tasting menu excellent, the matching wine pairings were served blind, which created an opportunity for interesting conversation with the very personable sommeliers at the conclusion of each course, as the wines were revealed. Great idea, and a lovely last night in London.

The Phantom of Westminster Abbey and Clos Maggiore

Ichi-Riki Sushi. This view shows almost the entire restaurant.

Linda and I spent today on our own while our friends were off doing other stuff. We slept in and then found a nearby teeny tiny Japanese restaurant, Ichi-Ricki, for lunch. I’m glad the reviews I’d read warned me it was nothing but a door with a paper sign, because otherwise we’d have missed it. The restaurant is actually in the basement, and has only six tables. The sushi was very good.

After lunch we visited Westminster Abbey, which somehow we’ve missed in all our trips to London. There are a lot of people buried here who spent their lives living off public funds. There are also a few people who actually did something useful.

Outside, we walked through the cloisters, the museum and the garden. One of the more interesting sights was England’s oldest door, which apparently dates from 1050 AD, and appears to still be functional. I looked for a Home Depot sticker, but didn’t see one.

In the evening we walked to Her Majesty’s Theatre to see Phantom of the Opera in its original venue. God, I hate that show. Great music, good staging, completely ineffective story telling. My third time seeing it, and I like it a bit less each time, I guess because it seems like such a missed opportunity to tell a great story. The original movie with Charles Laughton is actually much more moving. It paled next to BIlly Elliot, that’s for sure. Not helped by the fact the audience was full of drunk Chinese who couldn’t follow it. The downside of going to a famous show, I guess.

After the show we cabbed it to Clos Maggiore, three times voted London’s most romantic restaurant. My third visit, and it always wows. Not terribly expensive, great wine list, great food and service. Everyone loved it.

We had a 2007 Ramonet Gevrey Chambertin Blanc and a 1999 Pommard by Ferdinand Laurent Pillot. Both excellent. Martin also had a 1995 Rieussec by the glass with his foie gras. But the 1965 Castarde Bas Armagnac I finished with blew them all away. Great meal.