MALABRIGO KNITTING CRUISE, PART 3:  CENTRAL PARK AND NASSAU

I think I mentioned (numerous times!) how amazing the Allure of the Seas is.  At this moment in time it is the largest cruise ship in the world.  And it more than lives up to the "hype".  Today let's take a walk through Central Park.

Central Park is on Deck 8.  It is open to the sky so one can look up to see the other 9 decks.  Yes, if I didn't say it before, there are 17 decks.  The top deck is comprised of a chapel and the luxury suites for those with very deep pockets.  I have been told that there are 2-story suites, one complete with grand piano.  Anyway, Central Park is set up as just that.  Live trees and plants, bird sounds and lovely places to sit.

And these gorgeous glass birds were an absolute delight!

Here is a view from above:

And another:

There is an amazing cafe in Central Park where they make panini sandwiches and salads to order right in front of you, including the tossing of the salad after you choose your ingredients from a big case full.  The first time I visited at lunchtime I had a shrimp and Asian noodle salad and a sugar-free strawberry mousse.  There was a case of beautiful desserts and fruit everywhere.  I sat outside.

And I had an unexpected guest for lunch.  Butch would have been so excited to see him.

Remember we are on a ship!  Lovely stores and restaurants for $ line Central Park.  My favorite was the Coach store.  I've always coveted a Coach bag and I found the one I lust after.

To die for!

It was now Monday and the ship pulled into Nassau, Bahamas before daylight.

It was always fun to see the other cruise ships docked beside us and believe me, it is amazing to see how closely they are moored and how they parallel park.

When we got off the ship, the Disney Dream Cruise was parked next to us.

And a really fun activity was to watch other cruisers on their own ships from the vantage point of the Allure.  I saw people playing basketball, swimming and just running around.  It was like watching another city with binoculars!

Kathi and I had been to Nassau last July so we didn't take very many pictures but here are a few from that first trip.

This is the Nassau Masonic Hall.  I was a Rainbow Girl in high school and college so I was very excited and moved to see the Hall here.  After walking and walking and walking towards the Fish Fry, a collection of very small and locally owned restaurants housed in one area, we were exhausted.  We had been told that the walk would only be about 15 minutes.  45 minutes later we hailed a cab, a lesson we took with us on this trip.  However, we lucked upon Junkeroo Beach and Kath took this picture of me bathing my poor tired, hot feet.

And I, of course, caught one of Kathi.

This trip, after shopping along the main street (more about that later) we decided to go back to the Fish Fry for lunch and were told by a store clerk that we could grab the public bus for $1.25 instead of paying $5 each for a cab.  The buses are open air and the weather was absolutely perfect.  After awhile I asked the driver when we would get to the Fish Fry.  His reply was that we had passed that stop and that he would drop us off after we had gone around the regular route in a loop.  It was an early shore day, meaning that we had to be back to the ship by 1:30.  At this point it was 11:00 so I didn't panic but I could feel Kathi getting a little tense as the ride went on and on around the island.  We were able to get the "3-hour" tour for very little and the scenery was really beautiful.  But obviously the trip took far longer than we had expected!  We finally stopped at the Fish Fry at 12:00, just in time to have conch fritters made fresh when we arrived.

I LOVE conch in any form or fashion.  And the price was certainly right.  For two appetizer plates of conch fritters with fries and Diet Cokes we only spent $12.  The above picture is from last year because this time we were intent on eating and making sure we made it back in time to board.  The plates of conch fritters this time included about 12 each!  And the waitress was kind enough to hail us a cab.  The driver was waiting outside when we finished and got us back to port at 1:00.  Perfect timing!

MALABRIGO KNITTING CRUISE, PART #2

Sunday was spent getting used to the ship.  This was our view as we pulled out of port.  Ft. Lauderdale is beautiful from the ship!

Our room had a balcony and I have no hesitation to say that this is the only way to go!  It opens up the room and gives you the opportunity to sit and gaze in private.

Closet with shelving and other shelving located throughout the room.  Small bathroom but more than adequate.  And our steward was wonderful.  She checked in several times a day and on several days left towel animals.  The first night there was a turtle but we failed to get a picture.  This penguin showed up.



Every night when we came back to the room we would find my teddy, Andy, tucked snugly into bed.

And then there was the monkey, who looked a little distressed about hanging from a coat hanger.

The view from our balcony was breathtaking!

and . . .

The yellow you see is a lifeboat directly under us.

The ship has so much to offer that it will take another blog post to cover it but here are some delicious teases.  Deck 6 is the Boardwalk complete with ice cream store/doughnut shop, cotton candy, candy store and this wonderful carousel.

There was a teen club and a camp for the younger kidlets as well.

The view of the promenade deck is absolutely wonderful.  Ship?  What ship?  We're downtown!

And this magnificent 1935 Mercedes Benz has pride of place right there in the middle.

One pair of grandparents put their little darling right inside the wheel well on the back for pictures.  I know those pictures were adorable!

There was art, paintings, sculptures and artifacts, all over the ship and all were mind-boggling wonderful.  One of my favorites was this stack of marbles?, stones?  Don't miss the tile on the floor.

So much to show you and tell you about.  I've only just begun.

MALABRIGO KNITTING CRUISE, PART #1

Kathleen Prater Taylor and I have been friends since high school many moons ago.  We reconnected on Facebook in 2009 and our friendship has grown by leaps and bounds.  Kathi is a master knitter and teaches all over the country.  She has written a good number of books on the subject and her finished projects are gorgeous! She has gifted me with two pairs of her beautiful socks.

The socks on the right are an original design just for me!

Official disclaimer before I start:  The following pictures are a conglomeration of those taken by both of us.  Kathi graciously gave me permission to mix hers in with mine as we both took different pictures on many occasions.  

Last year she was invited to teach on a Carnival Knitting Cruise to the Bahamas and I jumped at the chance to go along.  We found that we are perfectly matched as roommates and that our "rhythms" matched very, very well.  And we had an incredible time!  Both of us decided that cruising is amazing.

This year the knitting cruise was on Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Sea and was sponsored by Malabrigo yarn.  Friends and Fiberworks, based in Asheville, led the cruise and planned the classes.  And once again Kathi was asked to teach.  Since her husband is not a fan of cruising, I was thrilled to be able to go with her.  And after seeing and hearing about knitting so much, I decided to step back in the pool after 40 years.  I decided my first project would be for Kathi.

And Kathi knit me what she calls a Leftie.  Beautiful yarn that I had received on the last cruise and which matched one of my formal dresses perfectly.  When you look close, you can see it sparkles from teeny tiny sequins.

I can't express how proud I was to wear it!

Kathi arrived in Ft. Lauderdale midday on the Saturday before we were to embark.  My flight was delayed several times and finally the plane I was supposed to be on was diverted, causing me to take the very last flight out of Raleigh-Durham.  My phone had died a terrible death so I wasn't able to keep in touch with either her or my husband, Butch.  I finally arrived at the hotel room at midnight.  When I knocked, Kath through open the door and grabbed me!  Shortly thereafter she fell asleep and I got ready myself.  When I woke up the next morning, this is what I saw at our hotel.

and . . .

And we had our first opportunity to really say hello and let everyone know we were safe and together at last!

After leaving the bad weather in North Carolina, this was a very welcome sight to see!  The Holiday Inn handled transport to the port very smoothly.  After we got through check-in, which involves passport, linking my credit card to the ship and having our pictures taken so that they would show up on the computer whenever making a purchase on board (no cash purchases; all were made with the Sea Pass), we got our first view of our home for the next 7 days.

and it is BIG!!!!!

When we boarded, we were on the 5th deck, known as the Promenade Deck.  Lots of restaurants and shops line each side of this deck including a Starbucks!  We had lunch at the Promenade Cafe and it was a delicious introduction to the food we were about to stuff ourselves with in the coming days.

Foccacia and caprese salad sandwich!

Another of the wonders of the Promenade Deck was The Cupcake Shop.  That's right, scratch made and hand decorated cupcakes of all different kinds.  We started with the Dreamsicle and Turtle Praline varieties.

The cinnamon was also crazy good.

More to come . . . .

Supper Club 09/12

Last night Butch and I attended 1020 Restaurant's Fall Supper Club.  As usual the food was spectacular.  And Steve Hyman, the smoothest bass voice ever, sang standards as we ate.  He even came over and directed "Happy Days Are Here Again" to me.  Perfection.  The rest of this blog will be, as borrowed from my dear friend Kathleen Prater Taylor, almost wordless.

This is the rockfish sculpture outside of 1020.  I like to give her a pat every time we go in and leave.

This is Steve Hyman, the master vocalist and perfection when singing standards.  Petey was entranced!

First course, an amuse bouche -- mushroom pockets in a wonderful tomato sauce.

Second course, oh my!, was a vegetable cheddar soup with wonderful croutons.  Perfect!

Already partially consumed  (we forgot about the camera), is the Fall salad.  Cranberries, apples, walnuts and greens.

Once again, the refresher course was tackled before we remembered the camera!  Burgundy and mango sorbets.  So good!

Butch's entree was a pork loin chop stuffed with raisins and apples served with roasted root vegetables.

Mine was crab stuffed chicken breast with the delicious vegetables.  No flower on my plate because . . .

Petey swiped it and wouldn't give it back!

My dessert was a deletable pumpkin mousse that caused me to make noises all the while eating it!  Our dinner companion, Mr. Ed Hagger, did the same! 

Butch had the poached apple with caramel sauce.  And, as I always do, I had a taste.  So goooooodddd!

And this, my friends, is our chef, Kim, and her husband, Ed Hagger.  They are a complete delight and Petey was thrilled to have his picture taken with them. 

Once again, the food was exceptional, the music was sublime and the evening was perfect.  We came home totally satiated in all of our senses!  Next month I am having cranberry-orange game hen and Butch is having Beef Wellington!