A Good Time Had By All

Tonight we hosted the Sercels for dinner at our place.

We met Pat & Jon on the 2022 world voyage … when we joined Oceania’s Insignia for its European crossing segment from Miami to Athens.

We were supposed to have been on this voyage, setting off from Los Angeles when the ship began the 180-day adventure. But concerns over how the lingering effects of COVID-19 might impact the itinerary had caused us to move our booking to 2023.

The original itinerary for 2022 was indeed turned on its head because not all of the ports were yet sure they wanted to accept cruise ships. When the revised itinerary called for a spring crossing to Europe instead, we decided to hop on Insignia when it reached Miami to get ourselves to Europe for an early family visit.

We were having breakfast at the Terrace Café on the first day at sea. Mui was wearing a ball cap with “Colorado Springs” emblazoned across the front. On his way to his own table, Jon noticed the hat and approached to introduce himself to a couple of fellow-Springers. And the rest, as they say, is history.

With that backstory, moving on to today.

The weather cooperated with comfy temps, no wet stuff from the daily monsoonal rains, and a lessening of the wind that had made it impossible to place the tablecloth on the deck table earlier in the day. Appetizers and drinks al fresco … with the bonus of good conversation. Perfect. Mui’s hummus and the Brie on crackers were a success!

We moved indoors to the dining room for dinner. On the menu tonight … piyaz (Turkish bean salad); zeytinyağlı enginar (stuffed artichokes cooked in olive oil); grilled lamb kabobs and shish köfte (meat pattie) … with a side of rice.

As for dessert — continuing the kabob theme, Mui prepared fruit skewers. But of course, he couldn’t be satisfied with that alone, so he also served orange and chocolate possets … garnished with raspberries.

If the conversation, laughter, and length of time we sat at the table is any indication, a good time was had by all tonight.

Here’s to repeating the experience again … when we happen to all be in Colorado Springs and not traveling somewhere around the world 😄もっと詳しく