Thursday, April 15, 2010
We enjoyed another wonderful time on the ship last evening.
We were invited to dine at Silk Road with Thomas Mazloum who is Senior Vice President for Crystal Cruises responsible for both the Hotel Operations and the Marine Operations. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner and had a lovely time catching up with Thomas on a variety of subjects.
In addition to enjoying a wonderful conversation we also enjoyed a fabulous meal. We began the meal with a few tasting size appetizers that the chef prepared for us. A platter of our favorite sushi and sashimi items followed this. We each had lobster for our entrée and Keith also had some steamed vegetables.
Last evening was also Thomas’ birthday so we each had a piece of Birthday Cake and some ice cream, which was delicious. We really appreciate all of the time that Thomas spent with us and it was just a perfect evening. Afterwards, we walked around the ship for a little while before getting back to our room a little before 11:00 PM.
We slept very well last evening and the seas continued to be very calm. Although we went to sleep later than usual Keith was still up very early and back up at the Fitness Center. Fellow passenger Brian was already working out when Keith arrived and a little while later John arrived for his workout. Keith worked out on the Elliptical Machine and after his workout he stopped by the Lido Café for some coffee. Keith chatted with one of the members of the Lido Café, Ruel, and also with John’s wife Linda and he also chatted for a few minutes with one of the members of the night crew who work so very hard to keep the ship spotless.
Like Keith, Anne Marie had an early workout on the Treadmill and also stopped by the Lido Café and brought coffee back to the room.
As we do each and every day, we enjoyed a nice simple breakfast in our room. We continue to have oatmeal, and some fresh fruit each and every day. We chatted with Alexander for a few minutes.
This is our third time visiting Sicily but our first time docking at Catania. Each time we have visited this region we have docked at different towns. Catania has a city population of close to 300,000 residents. This is an Italian city on the east coast of Sicily. This city faces the Ionian Sea, and is located between Messina and Syracuse. It is the second-largest city in Sicily.
Catania is an ancient, medieval, and Baroque city. It is considered the cradle of theatre and of music.
We arrived this morning slightly before 8:00 AM. The port is located about one half mile from the town and Crystal Cruises provided a complimentary shuttle to take guest between the port and the city center.
We took the shuttle into town and walked around.
for a couple of hours. We saw the Roman Amphitheatre, The Saint Maria di Rosario Church, The Piazza Duomo, The Catania’s Cathedral, The Elephant which is a symbol of the City of Catania since 1200. We also walked a major food market, which included vegetables, fruits, fish, meat, cheese and many other food products. There were numerous stands selling this food along with stores behind the stands and lots of local buying this food. The items looked very fresh. We then walked past the Duomo and then we proceeded to walk back from the downtown area back to the pier. From a distance we could see the snow on top of Mt. Etna.
Although the town looks quite old and some buildings could use some work we really enjoyed our walk and all that we saw. The inside of the churches that we viewed were just beautiful.
We enjoyed lunch back on the ship and rather than go to the Lido Café as we normally we enjoyed lunch in the Main Dining Room. We each had a nice salad entrée and some fruit.
During the afternoon we enjoyed the ship. We read, wrote and spoke with some fellow passengers.
The evening we will be attending the second of the special World Cruise Dinner and Show that will be held around the indoor pool area of the ship. A temporary wooden stage is places on the pool for the entertainment. The name of the show is A Gypsy Rhapsody. We are assigned specific tables for this event and a cocktail reception will be held afterwards. We will post more about this tomorrow.
We appreciate all that Crystal Cruises has done to make this an outstanding and memorable World Cruise. We will that treasure all that we have experienced for the rest of our lives.. With this thought in mind, we want to share with each of you today’s thought of the day.
TODAY’S THOUGHT OF THE DAY…..
“Appreciation can make a day – even change your life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.”
Keith and Anne Marie
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