This morning we awoke again before dawn and Al looked out from the balcony and announced that we were sailing away from land, not toward it. The wind was howling and there were whitecaps everywhere. It didn’t look like we were going to Marseille. The captain came on the PA system shortly thereafter and confirmed what we had already guessed – no Marseille today. He explained that the channel entering the harbor is only 200 meters wide and with winds of 50 to 65 knots (that’s up to more than 70 mph) we couldn’t risk it. The high winds was caused by the Mistral, the wind blowing down from the coast of France. So we spent the day at sea. Fortunately we were mainly able to run with the seas so the ship rode very well. We heard later that the seas were up to 40 feet – pretty good size waves!
While we were sorry we missed France, it did give us an opportunity to rest up a little. Aside from the wind and waves, the sky was a beautiful blue with a few puffy clouds. We spent the day continuing our scrabble tournament and catching up on my blog.
In the evening we went with a group of friends and did the Chef’s Table Dinner. We got to first take a tour into the galley – an exciting place while dinner service is underway. A more spotless kitchen I have never seen. After some champagne and special hors d’oeuvres we were seated at a special table in the dining room where we were served a special and very sumptuous feast. Everything was delicious and accompanied with great wines. The dessert was the piece de resistance – a sugar plate with a chocolate fallen cake soaked in whiskey with a raspberry center. The whole thing was a work of art!
We left feeling like two stuffed turkeys but it was a very enjoyable evening.
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