A new Dawn around Europe Then the UK.

[drron]

dinner that night was in the Japanese restaurant Kaiseki which incurs an extra charge of $40 a head. Basically not worth it as lunch here is with no surcharge and is very good. Here is the menu.

 

[drron]

The food.









As you can see we ate mostly waygu and lobster.

But this night there was an incident that riled me. Silversea does have a dress code at night and men are required to wear jackets. It is slowly being ground down but most wear good slacks and a collared shirt. But this night a loud Australian poked his head in and saw 6 empty seats so sat down and made a phone call. He was wearing a t shirt,shorts and thongs. The Maitre'D told him he couldn't sit there as the seats were booked. With a few choice words the fellow left but 10 minutes later the F&B manager came in and began tearing strips of the Maitre'D right beside me. He asked if indeed the seats were booked and was told yes for 8.30 pm. Right If they don't turn up I will be instructing the guest to come back and you will seat him and he is not to be forced to change.

Well in the room that night was the passenger feedback for the first sector of this cruise. I didn't mince words and told them Maitre'Ds are right to try and enforce the dress code and management should not interfere. The dress code was enforced mostly for the rest of the time we were on board and 2 of the Maitre'Ds became our best buddies. At least the shorts and thongs were no longer apparent. But I do wonder what might happen to the F&B manager.

 

[drron]

That night was the "Queen" show by the Voices of Silversea and they did a pretty good job. However this was another example of cost cutting. We initially booked this as an 18 day cruise but a few months ago it became 2 9 day cruises. Now SS policy is if a cruise is over 10 days 2 guest artists can be used (and paid for ). So this splitting into 2 9 day cruises meant they didn't have to pay any guest entertainers and the shows on the second 9 day sector were exactly the same as the first 9 days.
But I was in the first row for this one.









Since the cruise I have heard the contract for the present set up ends soon and the rumour is the entertainers will be sourced from RCL who now own Silversea. It almost certainly be an improvement.

 

[drron]

The next morning we awoke in Livorno,Italy.





We were off on a S.A.L.T. excursion which are meant to give you a taste of local culture and the food of the area. It was to be an Italian BBQ feast at a winery in the Tuscan Hills. But first shots from the bus on our drive to the vineyard.

 

[drron]

Most of Livorno is Industrial and most of the buildings are post WW2 as most of the place was destroyed in the war. But it wasn't long before we were out of the city.




There is a huge US base not far from Livorno -Camp Darby.




But then back to agriculture.

 

[drron]

Pisa city wall.







Then we reach the vineyard.

 

[drron]

It was vintage time so quite busy. The family have a great business model. The vineyard has been in the families hands for ~ 100 years. Some of the family migrated to NYC where they have 2 chains of Italian restaurants. 1 upmarket,1 downmarket. 70% of the vineyard output goes to NYC.



We had some snacks before going to visit the vineyard. The majority of the grapes are Sangioverse but they do have some merlot,shiraz and pinot grigio.

 

[drron]

This building is now a university but major subjects are hospitality and wine making.


Now back to the winery.




And in the kitchen they are busy preparing some of our meal.

 

[drron]

Then to the barrel room. This is not a large operation. Some aging in Oak but some traditional methods as well.






The small barrels are "experiments"
.




Now outside to the cooking. Some of it in a Tandoor which isn't just Indian but is an old Sicilian way of cooking also.
Flatbreads and chicken.

 

[drron]

And so we start to eat. First some wild boar ragout on the flatbread.




And the menu with wines.


The sparkling handled slightly differently to most.

 

[drron]

And so it continues.







And our great group.

 

[drron]

The view from the table then dessert.




Then a stroll around the veggie garden that hadn't liked the heat.

 

[drron]

They had some interesting products from their neighbours but they aren't allowed to sell it. However with the neighbours they have been housing immigrants who are doing most of the work on their properties.






And the work continued.





And now it was time to leave. A very good time was had by all of us.

 

[drron]

Random shots on the way back to Livorno.

 

[drron]

Marble quarries.




And Pisa in the distance.




And back to Livorno.

 

[drron]

We drove back through the centre of Livorno.

 

[drron]

And back to the ship.

 

[VPS]

My enduring memory of Livorno was the dozens of "working girls" on the side of the road.

 

[drron]

There were a couple of cruise ships that arrived late.



Just to show that each day in the main dining room, Atlantide, they do have a few dishes of the day so that you are not stuck with the same menu every day.I had the foie gras dish and then have totally forgotten what my main was. Mrsdrron had the lobster and some ice cream. We didn't need a big meal.






It was late until late so a couple more shots from our room.

 

[drron]

Some not so good news that afternoon. Our visit to Palermo was cancelled for the next day due to a severe storm. So the ship spent an extra day in Livorno. Although they did put on excursions we both decided on a day of rest. Taking the shuttle into the centre of town was dismissed as we saw nothing there to interest us. Certainly no large numbers of working girls lining the streets @VPS .

So the next day started the same way as every other day except a bit later. Breakfast in the Arts cafe. We would have a fruit plate to share,a cronut each and a cappucino though this day I also had a salmon panini.