Oceania Riviera Part 1
We arrived at the ship and immediately headed to The Waves Cafe for one of their wonderful hamburgers. We got unpacked and even ended up with a couple of inches if space left.
Although we had already made our allotted number of reservations in the specialty restaurants, we decided to try for more and were fortunate to get into the Polo restaurant. What a fabulous meal! I started with oyster rockafeller, and Cecilia with shrimp cocktail. Then we both had Caesar salad and a veal loin Oscar with lobster, béarnaise sauce, creamed spinach and scalloped potatoes. I could not resist the cream brûlée; Cecilia had sherbet.
Food on the Oceania ships is amazing; it is their claim to fame. Signature chef, Jacques Pippin, designs the menus.
We are on the one of the two larger ships, the Riviera. The Riviera has a lot of extras: cooking classes, art classes, wine and martini tastings, a room if you wish to have a private party with wine pairings. Guests on the Concierge floor, have a small lounge with TV, coffee, pastries, and newspapers. The higher levels have even larger, better stocked lounges. The whole idea is to pamper the guests and give them an excellent culinary experience.
It is a beautiful 1200 passenger ship with lots of Lalique glass decorations, including a beautiful staircase inlaid with Lalique glass. There are several glass wall decorations that are aquatic in nature that were designed by a Naples artist
Usually we see lots of staff from the past, but this time there are only a couple of repeats. I am sure we will have many more favorites before we leave.
We are looking forward to a sea day tomorrow--next report will be about Malta.
What a wonderful entrance into Malta, a fortified city, surrounded by the beautiful Mediterranean. Malta's natural grand harbor is the deepest in the Mediterranean. Some of the oldest structures in the world are here. The view was fabulous as our ship sailed into Malta. Malta's beauty ranks high with other ports into which I have sailed. Malta is renowned for its scenic coastline.
Our tour is Rabat, Mdina and Dingli Clifts. Malta is renowned for its scenic coastline and our first stop was the Cliffs of Dingli, the highest point on the island. What a great view! Next, we went to Rabat. Saint Paul is said to have lived here for three months in 60 AD. During this time St. Paul converted many Romans to Christianity. We visited St. Paul's catacombs.
Then into Mdina-- Malta's original capital. The tour was a step back to earlier centuries. Valletta is the capital of this small independent island nation, which is 52 miles south of Sicily. The population is 370,000. The country's strategic location resulted in a series of invasions by the Phoenicians. The Romans, the Byzantines, the Normans, the Arabesque, the Berbers, the Turks and most recently the English. The architecture and language in a mixture of all the invaders. The official language is Maltese and most people also speak English. Maltese cuisine has been adopted from its closest neighbor, Sicily. Pasta and pizzas abound, but rabbit, or "fenek," is the local favorite.
We drove through Valletta which is a very beautiful clean city with very interesting architecture but after several hours we headed back to the ship. Another great day in a new part of world! As great as it is to see new places, home is the beautiful Riviera where we are treated like royalty and enjoy some of the best food in the world.
In Jacques last night, I had Frog Legs, Lobster in a cream sauce in the shell with trimmings and a wonderful Crepe Suzette. Cecilia had Onion soup, salmon and a Napoleon. We are eating high on the hog.
Tomorrow is another day at sea....one of our favorite "tours!"
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