DAY 83 - DAY SEVENTY FIVE ON THE CRYSTAL SERENITY

Before dinner, we sat in the Crystal Cove and enjoyed the music of pianist John Mentis.

We normally just have Perrier before dinner and sometimes a wine spritzer for Anne Marie and a glass of wine for Keith but last night Keith decided to order a Pink Flower.  Anne Marie had a wine spritzer but she tasted Keith's drink.  Keith has only had this one time before and learned about it from someone on the ship.  It does have grapefruit juice in it so there is some good vitamin C. 

Keith took his Sports Jacket off and we were sitting at a table right next to John Mentis. Interestingly enough, two different people came up to Keith and thought he was a Pianist who had just come on board the ship.  If they could only hear Keith play the piano they would realize he is not a pianist.

It was great to be back at the Crystal Dining Room again.  We began our meal with salads and Keith has changed has now changed his standing order salad to a Spinach Salad.

Augusto made us Veal Scaloppine with Angel Hair Pasta and Mushrooms.  It was a wow.  It was absolutely delicious and words cannot adequately describe how tasty it was.  The sauce was amazing.  This photo shows Keith's plate and Anne Marie had less.  Keith ate it all.  

For dessert, we both had the sugar free Banana Bread with diet Ice Cream one of the few times Keith has had dessert in the dining room.

After dinner we went to the first of two shows with Sarah Hayes which was an evening of music and dancing to the Sounds of the Big Band.  Sarah works a portion of the year playing in the Artie Shaw Band. She was accompanied by the Galaxy Orchestra.  We don't dance to that type of music but enjoyed listening to the performance and the dance floor was filled with guests dancing and also solo women dancing with the Ambassador Hosts.  We had a nice time listening to the performers and also speaking with fellow guests.

We slept well last evening as we are now heading to our next port of call in Durban, South Africa.

Keith was up first and read and wrote.  Since he had a Spin Class he did not workout at the Fitness Center.

He did go by the Lido Café for coffee and he brought some back to the room for Anne Marie.

We both walked for one hour before it was time for Breakfast.  We ate breakfast as we watched the Daily Morning show hosted by Rick and Stacey.  Rick did one of those funny skits with his mustache and wig on as Rock E. Cruz where he interviewed a World Cruiser who is 99 about having just beaten Captain Birger playing Paddle Tennis and that she now has her eyes set on beating Hotel Director Josef.  Captain Birger was in the video too.  We all got a great laugh from that.  Stacey made the comment during the show about how exciting it is to go to the Galley Tours with one at 4:30 PM today and Rick starting banter back and forth with her about why it is exciting to see the Galley.  Before we knew it we were in tears laughing.

A short while later Keith was up to the Fitness Center to take a spin (indoor cycling) class.  There were more guests there than bikes so Keith said he would pass on it so someone else could have a bike. He also knew he had Paddle Tennis coming up.

An hour later he played in the men's doubles Paddle Tennis World Game Tournament.  This was Keith's forth competition and he along with another guest took third with a bronze so Keith has won medals in three of four events.  Again, it is all about having fun.

Keith with partner Jeremy.

Talking strategy before the match - "hit the ball over the net"

Here we go.

Anne Marie spent time in the Crystal Plaza while the Stewardess and her assistant were cleaning up our room where she read and spoke with fellow guests and some of the senior officers and crew. She also went for the Knitting get-together at the Palm Court.

Keith also had Team Trivia today and then of course there was lunch.  We had a very respectable score of 11 right out of 15 questions.  We are one back from first place.  Does this sound familiar?

In the afternoon, Anne Marie walked for another hour and also packed for our Safari.  Keith played tennis against fellow guest Mary who they had teamed together to finish with a Bronze the other day in mixed Paddle Tennis.

We are going to post today's Blog sooner than usual as we will be attending the the Crew Tug-a-War & Slippery Pole Event and then Keith has entered the Family Paddle Tennis tournament which matches up a guest and member of the crew who play against other teams also comprised of one member of the crew and one guest.  

We will post all about this tomorrow.

This evening we will be dining at Prego with two members of the crew.

TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY……

"The everyday kindness of the backroads more than makes up for the acts of greed in the headlines."  - Charles Kuralt

Keith & Anne Marie