April 19 - Queen Mary 2

Sunday, April 19, Day 76- Queen Mary 2

Oh, the blessings of a good night’s sleep. We both got one and are the better for it. Dick is up shortly after 7AM and hoping to find the coffee bar. His mug full of a Cafe Mocha, he explores a bit and then finds a place to read from his Kindle Fire until he dares to wake Carolyn for breakfast. Breakfast is served from 8 to 9:30AM and she is up and dressed when he returns to the room. Our table for two is #69 so there is no guess work as to where or with whom you will sit for a meal. It is a table for two and the tables on either side are occupied by an English couple who boarded with us and a Spanish lady who has been on since Hong Kong. They are friendly and we chat some with them during the meals.

After breakfast, Dick takes a shot at trivia and winds up with two British couples. The team gets 14 out of 20 but, as usual, 15 wins it. So close and yet so far. Maybe tomorrow. Carolyn and the butler organize a huge load of laundry. He has to bring a king sized pillow case when he comes in answer to Carolyn’s page. There was no laundry bag in the room and he tells her that the previous guest took it and that the bag isn’t big enough to hold all the dirty clothes. Dick has declared we will not mess with doing it ourselves so that is fine by Carolyn.

Lunch rolls around and we both eat lightly and then read or snooze the afternoon away. Tonight is formal and we have an invitation to the Captain’s welcome aboard party at 6:30PM. Dinner service also starts at 6:30PM and that just may be more interesting than another free cocktail party. My, but we are getting jaded!!

As it turns out, we do go to the Captain’s cocktail party, it is one just for the Grillls. We walk in, take a glass of poor white wine, sip it briefly, put it down, leave and go to dinner. We are among the first in the Queen’s Grill at about 6:45PM along with a few others who also do not need a free glass of wine. We both have a broiled steak and baked potato for dinner; the first in months! It is very good and topped with two grilled shrimp. Dick also asks for chopped chives for the potatoes and that is no problem either. We are finishing up by 8:00PM and heading for the door as others are just coming in from the reception.

Tomorrow is our last tour of the trip at Walvis Bay, Namibia. We are to meet our driver at 7AM after having cleared Namibian Immigration around 6:30AM. So, it is fairly early to bed with an alarm set for 5:30AM.