NOTE: Pictures From Last Evening
Picture 1 of Anne Marie and Mary outside Silk Road before dinner. They wore the same outfits which they had purchased in Hong Kong in different colors.
Picture 2 from dinner at Silk Road with Stan and Mary.
Picture 3 having some snacks before dinner.
Last evening was a late night for us with the crew party.
We began the evening by enjoying a delightful dinner last evening with our friends Stan and Mary at the Japanese Silk Road Specialty Restaurant. The food, ambience, service and the conversation were all wonderful. We arrived at 7:00 PM and we actually stayed there until almost 10:30 PM. We probably could have stayed longer but we’re sure that the staff needed to close the restaurant. We plan to eat at Silk Road one more time before we depart the ship in a few days.
Later in the evening we attended a crew party. The party began at 11:00 PM and went till 2:00 PM. We hosted the party along with eighteen other passengers and we were asked to arrive at 11:15 PM. We had been one of the hosts last year and it was our honor to be one of the hosts again this year. It is one of the ways for us to thank as many of the wonderful Crystal staff as possible including many who work behind the scenes who we might not normally have contact with. The party was called the World Cruise Destinations Party and the crew was asked to wear some type of clothing that they may have purchased in any of the ports that we visited during the course of the 2008 World Cruise. The Crystal Salon/Spa Team produced the party. It was great to see so many people wearing clothing that they had purchased in different places including Hong Kong, India, Thailand and Vietnam. Some of the officers were in attendance including the Captain.
We stayed until around 12:00 midnight. After all the party is for the crew so we wanted to let them enjoy themselves and we didn’t want to be like chaperones at a high school dance. There was lots of food being available along with drinks, music and the room was nicely decorated. We spoke with several members from the crew at the party and also others who we didn’t see at the party but who attended after we had left. They all enjoyed the party and we are so very happy that they enjoyed themselves.
The crew has been superb throughout the cruise. On a World Cruise there is a tremendous bond that develops between the crew and the passengers. With so many days together on the ship, it provides a nice opportunity to learn a great deal about one another from family to where one comes from. And, we share so many experiences together as we visit so many places around the world. In many ways the ship becomes a community and unlike a community on land this community moves from one region of the world to another region.
Keith woke up a little later than normal and also had the benefit of the extra hour of sleep since we turned back the clocks one hour last evening. So, today he was the second passenger to arrive at the Fitness Center. A couple of the other regulars, John and Mary, also worked out. Keith worked out on the Elliptical Machine and spoke with Mary for most of his workout. Anne Marie slept in this morning.
Keith brought back coffee to the room from the Lido Café and we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in our room. From our room we could view our arrival to Lisbon.
Today we visited Lisbon, Portugal. This was our first time to this city. Originally, we had planned a shore excursion, but given that we knew we would be up late with the crew party, we decided to cancel the tour.
This region of the world was part of the Roman Empire in 27 BC. In time others ruled this region including the Visigoths followed by the Moors. In 1143 AD, this area became an independent nation. During the 14th and 15th centuries this region reaped the benefits from the treasures that the Portuguese realized from their exploration of different areas of the world. There was also a period of time when the Spanish and French each ruled this region.
This region has so much for the tourist to enjoy. This includes a variety of museums, monasteries and monuments and let us not forgets the cafes and restaurants that can be found throughout this beautiful city.
During Captain Glenn’s morning update from the bridge he noted that due to the fog that we had to blow the ships horn early this morning. We didn’t hear the horn as we were sleeping soundly. Captain Glenn’s thought of the day was “If you want to see the rainbow you have to get up with the rain.”
We departed the ship in the morning and we took the complimentary shuttle that Crystal provided which ran between the pier and the downtown area. The shuttle ran every twenty minutes and the shuttle only took about five minutes to get to and from town.
We had a delightful time walking around Lisbon. It is a beautiful city. We went into several churches and other historical buildings and we walked for almost three hours. The weather was delightful and we had a panoramic view of the city when we reach one of the high points of the area. There are lots of old buildings, with many dating back before our country gained its independence from England.
When we arrived back to the ship, we enjoyed a nice lunch at the Lido Café which believe it or not was the first time that we ate lunch in the Café during this years World Cruise as most of our lunches have been in the Main Dining Room. We ate outside on the open deck where we enjoyed beautiful views of Lisbon from the ship.
This afternoon Anne Marie continued to pack and Keith, Jennifer and Gui walked over to the old city of Lisbon. We walked through lots of residential neighborhoods. We walked by lots of little grocery stores, fruit and vegetable markets, butchers, seafood shops, cafes and lots of bakery type shops selling delectable pastries, cakes and cookies. Our walk continued up several hills. We went into two very large churches until we somehow managed to find a spot that appeared to be atop the highest area of this city. As it turned out we were quite a bit higher than we were earlier today and had a breathtaking, panoramic view of this gorgeous city. We had a beautiful view of not only the city but of the bridge and other areas that we had passed by earlier this morning. All in all we had another delightful walk.
This is truly a beautiful city and we have only touched on a little bit of it today since we know there are many museums and art galleries and other attractions that we could not possibly visit in one day. It is nice to walk around a city with so many buildings that were built centuries ago and not see the large type of stores that tend to be built in the majority of the cities around the world. This is a city with mainly little stores that are owned by individual owners that reminds one of life in other cities many decades ago.
This evening the four of us dined in the Prego Italian Specialty Restaurant with Jim and Judy who we first met on last years World Cruise. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner and conversation. This will be our last time dining in Prego during the World Cruise. We have enjoyed our dining experiences in Prego. The décor of this restaurant is beautiful and we greatly appreciate the wonderful service and the excellent meals that we have experienced in this specialty restaurant throughout our world cruise adventure.
Tomorrow we will enjoy another day at sea.
Keith & Anne Marie
