We have always wanted to go to Bermuda and finally decided to take a cruise there. We have read and heard that it can be quite pricey to stay on the island, and staying on a cruise ship provides some protection from that. Leaving from Boston meant there would be no airfare and packing would be much simpler. There would be five of us, Deb and I, Deb's sister, Shelley  and her husband, Ray and their daughter, Jamie. When we thought about getting to and from Boston, driving two cars and paying parking for a week,  we chose to take a limo and share the cost. We had not requested anything special for beverages on the limo ride, but Deb had done some research on Trip Advisor and we both purchased 30 oz YETI thermal drink cups for the trip. When we got the word that the first passengers had been picked up, I quickly set about fixing them up with Absolut Bloody Marys, so when the limo was ready for us, we were ready for it. Here he is backing into the driveway.

 

We arrived at Boston's Black Falcon Cruise Terminal and were quickly unloaded.  

 

Deb and I had chosen a penthouse suite on deck 9, at the bow of the ship. We have stayed in this same suite twice before on the same ship, heading to different destinations. The balcony is huge, and we love it.

 

The balcony overlooks the crew's pool and lounge deck.

 

 

A combination of being frequent cruisers and the fact that we booked a suite, gave us several complimentary dining options, and we tried to explore them all. Escargot is an all time favorite for  us, and we wasted no time on the first evening seeking them out. These were at Le Bistro.

 

 

Crab meat steamed in a lettuce pouch.

 

 

Fresh Fruit and berries

 

 

Poached eggs on toast with sausage and potatoes. I like Crystal hot sauce, but had to settle for Tabasco. This being a "sea day", I quickly decided to add a Bloody Mary.

 

 

Doing a bit more exploration on the menu, I quickly found a solution to the lack of my favorite hot sauce. Poached eggs on toast with lobster hollandaise, I'm pretty sure that'll work!

 

 

It was on a cruise ship that I first learned to really like cream cheese smeared on a little roll, covered with smoked salmon, capers and red onion and that is usually one of my first stops.

 

 

And, of course, add a Bloody Mary, if it's a "sea day".

 

 

Pan seared diver scallops on a bed of grits.

 

 

Nachos with salsa (my salsa is way better, in my opinion).

 

 

Nicoise salad with pan seared Ahi tuna. 

 

 

Caesar salad with chicken.

 

 

 

Veal stuffed eggplant.

 

 

Self serve, soft serve with a splash of chocolate.

 

 

 

We ordered these little flatbreads a few times, and we both enjoyed them immensely. They had mozzarella cheese, flakes of parmesan cheese, serrano ham, arugula, and sautéed peppers. We hit them with a drizzle of good olive oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar, and they were gone in two bites! I have never made flatbread, but something tells me that will change soon.   

 

  

 

 

 

Our motley crew.

 

 

One of the first beaches we went to was a short walk from the ship. We later learned that there is a free little trolley shaped like a small train that makes many popular stops that includes the ship pier and the beach. This first beach is called Snorkel Beach. Deb took swimming lessons late in life and that in combination with getting a prescription lens face mask has brought a whole new perspective her way. One in which I had been the only participant in the past, snorkeling. Snorkel Bay is in the shadow of an old fort that had been a prison at one time. The beach itself is nice enough, but not amazingly so.

 

 

Here is Deb taking a dip on the first day.

 

  

 We learned some years ago, that simply taking a few small boxes of cheerios from breakfast to the beach can make a world of difference in what you see snorkeling. Toss a few here and there and suddenly the whole neighborhood comes alive.

 

 

We took this picture of our ship (NCL Dawn) at the pier from the trolley, once we learned to use it.

 

  

The other beach we went to (Horseshoe Bay) was a 25 minute van ride from the ship (@ $6 each, each way) and is worlds apart from Snorkel Beach. The sand is said to be pink from the pink corral that it is composed of, but it did not look the least bit pink to either one of us that day. It was beautiful, nonetheless.

 

 

We did see a few jellyfish washed up on the beach in this area and later learned that the beach had to be closed shortly after we left due to stinging Portuguese Man of War jellies that showed up in force.

 

We were in Bermuda for three days and never ate off the ship, but to put some price perspective into play, I bought a total of 4 cocktails ashore, 2 rum things at Snorkel Beach and a craft beer and rum swizzle at the Frog and Onion, nearby. Those came to a total of over $50 before tip. The craft beer (an amber ale) was good, but the extravagance ended shortly thereafter.

 

  

Here are a few examples of towel art. The room steward was not totally ambitious, but sometimes it's nice just to be left alone on a cruise. He was courteous and friendly, and seemed, at times, to have eyes in the back of his head. We would walk by a cabin he was working in and hear "good morning Mr. Chris and Miss Debbie!" from the depths of the cabin, even though we could not see him.

 

  

Before we knew it, it was time to leave the ship. Our last breakfast on board was steak and eggs!

 

 

We climbed into the waiting limo like the shameless Celebs we are, and headed for Connecticut.

 

  

It was good to get back home and I was happy to see the garden still doing well. I had had a dream that the deer had completely destroyed it in our absence.

 

 

We have already planned another cruise out of New Orleans (during crawfish season, of course) and have started making plans for that as well. We will stay a total of 4 days in the Big Easy for that one. 

 

 

 

September visit to Chianti, Florence and Rome, Italy Part 2 - Florence

In the past, when we visited Florence, we have stayed at a hotel (Hotel David). It was nice, had a little snack and cocktail hour every evening, but we decided to get an apartment this time. I love to look at the food, produce and fish in all the markets and there is nothing quite so frustrating than seeing all kinds of things you want to cook, but can't. So Deb found a little first floor garden apartment just across the Arno River from the city of Florence. There is a great bus system there and you can buy bus passes for very little money, which is what we did.

It is a short walk to the Arno river and depending on which route
you take, there are a few piazzas you pass through surrounded by
some impressive structures.

Here is the view upriver from the bridge crossing the Arno River.

The city of Florence is a driver's nightmare with one way streets
and some only wide enough for a scooter. Many of the streets are
paved with hand cut stone. Some much older than others. Here
is a pretty old example.

This first day we decided to pay a visit to Mercarto Centrale
(Central Market), a two story building with dozens of little
stalls some larger, some smaller. They sell all manor of
meats, fish, cheeses, wines, produce, spices and souvenirs.
For some reason I greatly enjoy all the action in there.

Bugs Bunny

The famous Tuscan steak Bistecca alla Fiorentina, the "T-bone" cut 
pictured directly above is usually from the worlds oldest breed of cattle, 
which is also one of the worlds largest, the Chianina. It was originally 
raised for draft use in Italy and was purposely raised to be tall and 
narrow for use on the terraced hillsides, which were often quite narrow 
as well. The steaks appear to be quite lean, yet, they are very tender. 
A New York Strip steak from one of these animals can often be twice the 
size of a similar one in the US and will often fill the plate.

 A Chianina bull

The Italians always have cheese on the menu.

Salami

Truffles  and Porcinis

Now, I did not say that I wanted to cook everything from the market.
This "bento" box of lamb heads, for example

                              Kidneys

                             Lungs

                     Nice to see a familiar face!

The upstairs of the market is like a giant food court.
We decided to check it out.

 Here I am ordering a mozzerella salad to share.

As we were leaving, I noticed this sign. It made me realize, that hot 

dogs and burgers were something you never used to see in Italy and 

now they are starting to show up everywhere. There was even a big

Burger King across from the train station.

Electric cars are becoming much more common. We saw quite a 

few, that I had never heard of. My personal favorite was the Twizi!

Another place we think of as a must do in Florence is a sandwich 

place , Il Fratellini. It is a little hole in the wall where two brothers 

( Il Fratellini) sell sandwiches and wine out of a tiny stall. One guy

just makes sandwiches and the other one pours wine and handles
 money. They are surprisingly quick. So much so, that you have
little time to pick a sandwich from the extensive menu, before it is
 your turn to order. Those wooden racks on either side are to hold
 your wine glass while you eat your sandwich and you leave
the glass there when  you are done. It is fun, and the 3 Euro
sandwiches aren't bad.

One day we took a bus (actually three busses) up to Fiesole 

(Fee-Yes-Olay), way up in the hills. The wealthy used to stay 

up there where it was cool, in the heat of the summer.

We climbed up pretty high in town, hoping for a decent view

to photograph, but most of the prime views are on private land. 

This picture should give you some perspective That big dome 

(Il  Duomo)  off in the distance, in the center of the photo, is in 

the city of Florence.

There are several restaurants and we got hungry
enough to finally pick one.

We went on a tour out of Florence, a few years ago that stopped 

for lunch at a winery. The lunch was all very simple fare, but oddly 

enough one of the more memorable items, was simply some 

cannelloni beans with salt and pepper and drizzled with good olive oil. 

I never forgot that. I saw it on the menu and had that with some bruschetta 

al pomodoro (with tomatoes) and I was happy.

Deb had her new favorite, tortelli, filled with fresh pecorino cheese and pears.

Breakfast in the garden. Can you tell that just a few doors down 

from the apartment, there is a pasticceria. Breakfast suddenly 

gets better when you open up the package from there.

I am obsessed with bruschetta after having some really good ones

earlier in the trip. It is a work in progress and here is yet another

attempt for dinner in the apartment. A little garlic infused olive oil

with chopped fresh basil and a dash of sea salt on toasted crostini.

Just a few doors down from us is Trattoria Dell'Orto and it 

seemed like a local favorite.

A few nights after we arrived, we gave it a try. What a charming 

place it was. The guy who appeared to be the owner could not have 

been more friendly. We were pretty much the first diners 

when we went in, but it was full, when we left.

We had heard gunshots early in the morning the day we left Greve, 

so we knew that chingale (wild boar) hunting season had begun. 

They are a nuisance in the vineyards, but a delicious one. This was 

the first time we had seen it on the menu on this trip. Deb got 

pappardelle au chingale and I got tagliolini con tartufo nero 

(black truffles) and insalata di casa. It was all very good!

Every day we would pass this ornate charcoal grill in a shop 

window and I finally had to take this picture. Quite the rig!

We tried another hole-in-the-wall lunch place we had read about 

for lunch in Florence. All' antica Vinaio. They serve a variety of 

sandwiches, all on fresh baked focaccia. There is no seating, so all 

the dry curbs nearby are prime. The sandwiches are huge, all cost 

5 Euro and as you stand in line, fresh, hot focaccia bread is delivered 

from someplace nearby and stacked on the counter from where the 

sandwich makers are continually grabbing it. It is an impressive 

operation, a genius idea, a raging success and if the "La Summer" 

sandwich we shared (fresh warm focaccia, prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, 

fresh tomatoes and fresh basil) is any indication, deserves all the attention. 

Check out the porchettas stacked up in the glass cooler. You can see the

loaves of focaccia on the counter that are replaced with fresh baked, 

hot ones as fast as they disappear

One of Deb's favorite leather shop in the world is on the main 

drag right near the Ponte Vecchio, so one morning we headed 

in that direction, crossing the river and heading upriver along 

its course. This picture shows the famous bridge in the distance. 

Deb is heading for it like a heat seeking missile. She is already 

in possesion of those new gloves and handbag in her mind.

Here are some of the very popular shops on the bridge and a 

picture from the other side of the river.

 After yet another visit to Central Market we both spotted
Trattoria Za Za at about the same time. We had both read about
it somewhere and decided to give it a try, The two story building
on the right is Central Market. The second floor is a giant food
court, San Lorenzo Market fills the street on three sides of
Central Market. It was a warm and sunny day, so we chose to
sit outside.

The clientele seemed to be a pretty even mixture of tourists and locals. 

Deb had spaghetti with clams sauce

I had Spaghetti with zucchini blossoms, sliced zucchini, black truffles 

and shrimp. Somehow I had not seen the word for shrimp on the 
menu, so they were a surprise. It was a very delicious dish, but I
could not really taste the truffles. If I had access to truffles, I would
 leave out the shrimp.

It really did surprise me how well the zucchini blossoms went
with the sauce. I intend to try this next season at home.

After lunch we wandered around San Larenzo market and I 

think Deb made a few small purchases.

We had a very pleasant stay in Florence and enjoyed most aspects 

of the apartment. It was not without its unpleasant quirks, however. 

Not the least of which was a fancy digital shower where you 

punched in a desired temperature. The result reminds me of a 

sign hanging on the wall in Charlene's diner in Jewett City, CT, 

"Order what you want, eat what you get". The showers ranged 

from breathtakingly cold to almost warm enough. We were on 

the train headed to Rome before we knew it and ready to start 

chapter 3 of our visit to Italy.

To Be Continued