Some Words and Phrases

I will now tell you about the food. In one word: decadent. But since this is my blog, I will write more than one word. Otherwise, I would explode. And we don't want that, do we precious? (Geoff and I watched LOTR while we were lounging about in our suite. So sorry about the Gollum talk, it just comes out of my mouth randomly. Gollum! Gollum!)

Other words: Talipia, Mahi Mahi, Snapper, Salmon, Flounder, Escargot, Shrimp, Crab, Lobster (really good lobster), Steak, Lamb (cooked in an incredible red wine sauce), and Chicken. I only ordered chicken once since this is a common staple at home, and I went on vacation to try new things. Those aren't the only words. There are others: vanilla bean souffle, cinnamon chocolate cake with a layer of caramel on top, coconut rice pudding, flan, fruit tart, chocolate peanut butter pie, cookies and ice cream.

You want to read a whole phrase? This is the beauty: I didn't gain any weight!

I'm not sure how this happened. Was it muscle atrophy and I just lost as much weight in muscle mass as I gained in adipose tissue? To our credit, we did go to the gym three times and opted to take the stairs (eight main floors) instead of the elevators, most of the time. Also there was a lot of walking from our room (at the front of the ship) to the middle and back of the ship where the music and restaurants were. Another point to take into consideration is that I didn't clean my plate at any of the meals, and often didn't finish my desserts. I appreciated the presentation, and savored the smells, flavors and textures.

To make this post more interesting, I have pictures. My brother went to Denmark about a year ago and took pictures of everything he ate. I quite enjoyed his culinary snapshots, finding it amusing that he took the pictures in the first place, but then also being able to see the plate presentations.

I didn't take pictures of everything I ate. Most of the time, I was so wanting to taste what was before me I forgot to take the picture until I was a few bites into the meal. Half the time we forgot the camera. But I did manage to get some pictures taken.

Now let us begin:


When we first boarded the ship, it was lunchtime. There were two choices: the buffet (which was overwhelmed with many patrons by the time we arrived, with very few places to sit) or one of the traditional restaurants. We chose the latter and were rewarded.


Here is a picture from where we sat:

We were so giddy and excited about our trip. The ship was beautiful and the service fantastic. We giggled all week long. The person seating us would seat me and then would place our napkins in our laps. When they cleared our plates they would take any unused flatware that was designated for that course off the table. After our entree, the waiter would clear our plates, clean crumbs off the table with some type of scraper, and even took the salt and pepper off the table, since we wouldn't need it for our dessert. When I think of the service we were given, the following words come to mind: fluid, accommodating, intentional and orchestrated.


For our first meal, I ordered Talipia. It was a little on the salty side, but it was very good.


I can't remember exactly what Geoff ordered. I think this was a beef dish; I do remember it was cold and that surprised both of us. During each meal, Geoff and I kept tabs on who ordered the best dish. He won this round. It was refreshing and full of flavor and textures that pleased.



Here is a picture of flounder that I ordered one night. Loved it. And of course I love asparagus. And technology.

This is a dish Geoff ordered. I think it was an appetizer to one of his meals. It was duck. I can't remember it well enough to make any other remarks about it. It's pretty, though.

We only went to one restaurant where we had to pay (and it was only $10 each, at that) because we love Mexican food.

For an appetizer, Geoff ordered this Tostada Salad.

For my appetizer, I ordered this black bean soup. It was so good I've been to the store already for black beans and have found a recipe I am going to try in the near future.

I ordered fajitas for my meal at the restaurant. They were good. Not exceptional, but good.

Geoff ordered lobster tacos for his meal. He liked the lobster filling (because there was a whole lot of lobster) but not the shell.

We didn't take a picture of it, but one night Geoff ordered lobster. To preface, Geoff and I both have always felt that lobster is overrated. He took a chance and ordered it (keep in mind all of our meals, except the Mexican restaurant were inclusive in the price we paid for the cruise) and was delighted. He said it was one of the best meals he's had in his life. The waitress came and asked how our meal was, he told her how pleased he was and she offered him another plate of lobster. He didn't refuse.

So I say we went to only one restaurant that we paid for, but I should also state that we went there twice.

Geoff and I ordered nachos for an appetizer one night since it is one of our favorites.

My favorite meal was the lamb cooked in a red wine sauce. When it was laid before me, the steam circled up before my eyes and the aroma was heavenly. A good omen for the week ahead. The only thing sad about the meal was that my hunger was satiated before the meal was finished. I wanted to continue eating, but knew my stomach would resent me if I did.

The grossest thing I tasted was waffles with banana compote. Bitter.

After ordering those waffles, for the following breakfasts I stuck to the buffet and ate a piece of whole wheat toast with jam, yogurt, and fresh fruit.The desserts:

At the Mexican restaurant, I tried a cinnamon chocolate cake topped with some kind of caramel.

The second night, I tasted a flan. I've only ever had flan one other time in my life and didn't like it. Therefore I never tried it again; until last week. I liked it. Not sure why the mint on it...I don't think it had mint in the custard. It's just a little weird to me when people use garnishes that have nothing to do with the dish they are garnishing.

Geoff ordered this fruit tart. It was very sweet and right up my alley.

Here is a picture of a strawberry souffle I had. I also had a vanilla bean souffle one night and it was divine.

Geoff ordered this peanut butter chocolate pie. He kept trying the low-fat desserts that were offered. They weren't very good, but we got to give him some credit for trying, right?

I will leave on a sweet note, and one more phrase: Thank you, Geoff.