Stornoway Isle of Lewis, Scotland

This is the menu from last evening at Waterside.

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​Last evening we dined at the Osteria d’Ovidio Italian Specialty Restaurant for the fourth time since boarding Serenity. We prefer dining at the Specialty Restaurants once per voyage, although we dined as Osteria twice on the first voyage as we were invited to dine on the second visit. 
 
Osteria d’Ovideo combines three menus into one menu. It features:
 
Italia: Italian classic from across the peninsula.
 
Le Calandre: Signature dishes of the Alajmo family’s flagship restaurant
 
Venezia: Traditional Venetian dishes revisited by Chef Max Alajmo.
 
Between us, we have tried twelve of the twenty-four items across the three menus. When you order you can order from one or more menus which we do. The items are fresh reflecting the handmade pasta and food that is cooked to order. The food is very tasty and includes those classic and traditional dishes as well as some dishes prepared with a modern flair.
 
Some of the dishes we share such as ravioli, lasagna and the scampi. 
 
The table settings are gorgeous with centerpieces each having a whole vegetable and we believe there are twelve unique centerpieces spread across twenty-four tables. The glassware is amazing from the water glass which is designed with grooves to easily hold the glass with your thumb and pointer to different size wine glasses/goblets with the largest one capable of holding two bottles of wine. We advise against drinking two bottles as you will likely not remember the meal and will have a very bad headache in the morning.  LOL.

You will notice that the plates have a design on half of the plate and no design on the other half. The design represents the present and the other side represents the future.
 
As to the vegetables in the centerpieces they represent freshness.
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​We had Jose as our Senior Waiter and Marizio was once again our Sommelier and Senior Waiter Hislaine got us settled at our table and then turned it over to Jose
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Each morning when Keith is up early and walking around the ship whether indoors if it is too cold and/or windy outside or getting to and from the Fitness Center and the Promenade Deck he sees several members of the night crew. They have a supervisor and the supervisor who is on-board we have known for many years. His name is Alvin Gardose. He is a very kind man and always says hi Mr or Mrs. or Mr. and Mrs. and our surname. Often we and Alvin enjoy a smile and sometimes we see him several times as we are walking all around. Alvin doesn't just supervise he is busy seeing what needs to be done and reviewing what has been cleaned and picking up items, cleaning and straightening. A major reason why the Crystal ships look so great are because of the night crew and their supervisor so we want to give a shout out once again to the night crew and this time as well to Nigh Supervisor Alvin.

Today's daily Reflections.

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​We arrived to Sornoway at 9:00 AM this morning. Stornoway is the largest of the Outer Hebrides and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town has a population of 8,000 residents.Many consider it to be one of the most picturesque areas of Scotland.

The town was founded by the Vikings in the early 9thcentury. 
 
Major attractions include the Callanish Standing Stones which were erected 5,000 years ago and the Callanish Gearannan Blackhouse Village which have been restored. They are built with double-walled stone and topped with turf-and-thatch. We saw both sites on a prior cruise.
 
Other attractions include the Museum Nan Eilean on the site of Lew Castle and the Butt Of Lewis found on the tip of the island. 
 
 
 
 
 

Cheers,

​Anne Marie & Keith