Another blissful night’s sleep. When I woke up a little before 10 there were dark clouds in the sky w/ light rain. No sense in rushing to go ashore in St. Barts. I had my leftover osso bucco & risotto for breakfast. Microwave would have been nice; there was a greasy buildup on the veal. I ate it anyway; it was too good to waste.
At 11, I could tell the rain was over for the day. Still very windy which made walking in the little “fishbowl” harbour of Gustavia more tolerable. The only reason I went ashore was in search of some hair styling gel. Another one of those things I somehow left home w/o; & the ship’s stores don’t carry any. I couldn’t have picked a more expensive island to be shopping for such things. I first tried in a small grocery store; but everything was in French. I couldn’t tell the difference between shampoo, conditioner or volumizer. But it’s always fun rooting around in a foreign market. I found the pharmacy all the way at the other end of the main street where they spoke some English. Lots of choices; came out w/ the cheapest €14/$19 US. A brand I never heard of. The streets were crammed w/ people & traffic. And it was hot in that "fishbowl".
Came back on the next tender & went around looking for Leslie & Larry to have lunch. They were nowhere to be found; so I decided to finally get some lobster/melon gazpacho from the poolside restaurant (“Tastes”). I ordered the big bowl; the anticipation was killing me. It looked the same; but this was not the same. I tried a few more bites. It was very thick, salty & no hint of melon. I suppose it was close to what normal gazpacho is like; but not their recipe. I called the head waiter over & apologized for wasting this huge bowl of soup; but I found it inedible. He went back & tasted it & agreed it was too salty; & in his opinion, they had failed to put in the melon & juice.
I ordered a small cup of the soup du jour, black bean w/ sour cream & scallions. It was fabulous. Wanting something more, I went to the salad bar & made a small salad & grabbed a cheeseburger w/o a bun at the grill. Not anything like I was hoping for lunch; but at least I wasn’t going to starve! I did a walk about again looking for L & L. So, I planted myself on the shady side of the pool where we sat yesterday to read, hoping they’d find me. I started getting sleepy; so I got up to come up & ran into them at the elevator. They said they had been looking for me, hmmmmm. Nonetheless, I chose to come down for a nap.
Tonight the 4 of us had reservations in Silk Road (Asian restaurant). Harvey being the sushi expert usually orders a variety platter for us. Larry & Leslie are kinda picky eaters; but H & I eat just about everything. They bring out this huge sq. blue ceramic platter that takes up more than half the sq. table. We had California rolls, spicy shrimp rolls, tuna/asparagus rolls, king crab/asparagus rolls, huge cornucopia maki rolls w/ tempura tiger prawns & spicy sauce. We also had yellowfin tuna & salmon shashimi. This was followed by a platter of shrimp & assorted vegetable tempura w/ a spicy dipping sauce. My individual order was for an appetizer of broiled king crab meat w/ scallions topped w/ the spicy dip sauce (again).
For my main course I had (what had been a previous favorite) stir fried lobster w/ garlic, asparagus, shiitake mushrooms, snap peas w/ a truffle yuzu sauce. Harvey & I both agreed that there was something “off” w/ the recipe & that it wasn’t nearly as good as it has been in the past. With the disappointment in the gazpacho this afternoon & the entrée tonight, I’m quite puzzled as to what is going on here. We were told it’s the same chef as last year. At least the meal ended on a high note for me…..2 servings of lychee sorbet. I am stuffed.
Leslie wanted to make some special requests for tomorrow in the D.R., both lunch & dinner. So, we went down to the D.R. & talked to our head waiter. I noticed a few things that were on the D.R. menu tonight that would have been good. So, I asked if he could get them to make it again for me tomorrow at lunch. No problem. It gets to be a game trying to come up w/ the wildest special requests just to see if they can do it. You almost never hear “no”. I had wanted to go to the movie (Bourne Ultimatum) at 10:30; but I just can’t stay dressed that long. It’s 10 til 11; & they’ve just pulled up the last of the tenders. We sail at 11 pm. Even sleeping so late & having a short nap, it’s just such hard work eating & reading & talking…..I must get back to bed. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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