SEA DAY

As mentioned, yesterday we took a private tour arranged by Crystal.  This included a short visit to the UNESCO Classified Village of St. Emilion, followed by lunch at the Michelin two-star restaurant La Table de Pavia.  Then we took an immersion visit by Land Rover through the vineyards to Chateau Tripling Mandot where we enjoyed five tastings of their finest vintages.  We then took a leisurely ride back to Crystal Serenity.

​Our guide was Morgane and Driver was Miguel. They wre both a delight.

They have evolved some of their practices over the last decade. They make use of horses rather than vehicles to tend to the land.  The reason for the pigs is they eat what normally would be disposed of in garbage.  

Most of the grapes are for Cabernet with a section that works well for Merlot.

The location of land is at one if not the highest elevation of the area which can get windy at times and  was a benefit since a challenge this year was mildew on grapes.  They caught it early and the wind helped evaporate the water from the grape vines.

They presented us with a very special wine at the end of the wine tasting.

Last evening, we dined with Daniele Puma who is the Future Cruise and Loyalty Manager along with Emmalee Sassi. We have known Daniele for 15+years when he began his career with Crystal and have watched him progress into higher level positions along the way.

Dinner was wonderful and it was great to spend time with Daniele.  Prior to this cruise the last time we were together was when we debarked Crystal Serenity in early March of 2020 in Sydney, Australia and Daniele was in the cruise ship terminal after leaving Symphony in Singapore and arriving to join Serenity.  Around ten days later the World Cruise ended in Perth due to the COVID-19 Pandemic which impacted cruise lines around the world.

Originally, we planned to dine at Osteria d'Ovidio and when we decided to dine in-suite we each selected appetizers and entrees from this restaurant with salads and dessert from Waterside.  

Afterwards, we enjoyed the sail-away from Bordeaux from a special spot on Crystal Serenity.  

Today, is the only sea day of this cruise although we did enjoy almost a full sea day when we arrived to Bordeaux in the evening.

Keith had a massage followed by a visit with Doctor Soto.  The other day he had some pain to the right of the Achilles while playing Paddle Tennis and played the next day and ankle swelled yesterday.  Thankfully, stretched ligament but this means no more Paddle Tennis till next cruise.  

We are enjoying the rest of the day on-board Serenity.

Cheers,

Anne Marie & Keith