Thursday, August 23, 2012Tonight's picture was taken in July of 2007. We took Mattie to Boston to visit Peter's parents. Peter's mom got Mattie this life sized puzzle of King Tut. Mattie LOVED it! Literally he assembled it, disassembled it, just to assemble it all over again. At one point Peter's mom asked Mattie who was taller, the puzzle or Mattie? Mattie got down on the kitchen floor and solved that problem by putting his arms up over his head. Indeed Mattie was taller!
Fact about the English Channel: Often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about 350 miles long and varies in width from 150 miles at its widest to 21 miles in the Strait of Dover. It is the smallest of the shallow seas around the continental shelf of Europe, covering an area of 29,000 square miles.
NOTE: AGAIN I AM EXPERIENCING INTERNET CONNECTIVITY ISSUES, SO I AM UNABLE TO UPLOAD PHOTOS TONIGHT!
Today was a day at sea, as we are traveling from Invergordon, Scotland, to Le Havre, France. This morning we attended the Ship’s cooking demonstration which was hosted by the Executive Chef and the Maitre D’Hotel of the Ship. We watched these men make a three course meal in a matter of minutes. However, as they reminded us, they had a whole staff of people chopping things before hand and naturally cleaning their mess along the way. So literally all they were doing was mixing and tossing things together. Needless to say, many of us in the audience felt that we too could whip up a meal in minutes, if we had a whole staff supporting us from the wings.
Peter snapped a picture of Guido Jendryztko (Executive Chef, from Rhineland Germany) and Guiseppe Gelmini (Maitre D’Hotel, Placenza, Italy). Though their cooking demonstration looked easy, what they actually accomplish on any given day on a Ship this size is remarkable. Here are some facts about food, supplies, and staff that you may find of interest aboard our Ship:
1) There are 520 crew members dedicated to food (cooking, cleaning, serving)
2) Meats cooked daily: a) Chicken: 1400 pounds; b) Beef: 1700 pounds; c) Pork: 1400 pounds; and d) Lamb: 200 pounds.
3) On average the Ship uses 1500 pounds of flour a day.
4) There are 100 gallons of ice cream prepared from scratch each day.
5) Average amount of butter used daily is 400 pounds.
6) Average amount of fresh fruits served daily is 6000 pounds.
7) Average amount of coffee consumed daily is 470 gallons.
8) Average amount of dishes washed daily is 70,000 (this only accounts for passengers dishes, however, 1100 crew members are feed daily, which increases the number of dishes washed).
After the cooking demonstration, we went for a tour of the galley (one of the kitchens aboard the Ship). In the kitchen (which was spot less), they had all sorts of food art on display. I happened to like a sculpture of birds made out of eggplants!
Later in the day we took a four mile walk around the deck of the ship. While walking, we spotted oil rigs within the North Sea. There really was nothing else around us all day, except for these rigs and an occasional bird. However,
Peter pointed out a fascinating sight to me. He heard it before seeing it! I have seen this on TV before, but never in person. We captured in a picture the mid-air refueling of a military jet.
Also while walking around the deck, we had a beautiful black and white bird traveling along side our Ship for at least 30 minutes. He was an incredible sight, and we admired his strength and ability to keep on flapping despite the wind. I am not sure what type of bird this was, but he captivated our attention.
Tomorrow is our last port adventure. On Saturday, bright an early (6:45am), we are disembarking the Ship for Heathrow Airport. In Le Havre, France, we are taking a tour of Claude Monet’s house, which is in Giverney, and a tour of the town of Rouen, where Monet did a series of Cathedral paintings. This is a FULL day tour, over 8 hours, so I am not sure what I will be posting tomorrow night. I may await our return to the states to report in detail, since each night’s blog on the Ship takes me hours to upload (due to connectivity) and by the time we return to the Ship tomorrow night, I will need to pack. Luggage is required to be out of our room the night before we leave, which always makes me nuts. The whole disembarkation on a ship needs to be revamped because I find it highly stressful and chaotic (despite the Ship’s incredible level of organization). Needless to say, once I disembark from the Ship, I then am a sight because right on the dock, I start opening my luggage to pack my pajamas and other items I needed within our room from the night before. So the next two days should be extremely busy for us with travel on a ship, bus, and then plane.
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