DAY 22 DAY 16 CRYSTAL SERENITY

VALENCIA SPAIN 

These are the restaurant menus from the Crystal Dining Room where we dined last evening.
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After we posted yesterday we had a video call with our son.  It's so nice to be able to video with our family while on board Serenity.  The family also sent Keith a video for his birthday.

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We enjoyed a pre-dinner drink at the Crystal Cove.  When we arrived pianist Richard Pucci played Happy Birthday for Keith and then continued with 15 minutes of Beatles songs.  Thank you Richard.

Keith had the Rose Cucumber Gin & Tonic and Anne Marie had a Bellini. 
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We enjoyed a special meal at the Crystal Dining Room which Anne Marie pre-ordered to celebrate Keith's birthday.  We can think of no better way for a celebration than to be sailing on a Crystal Cruises cruise.

We were taken care of by the extraordinary dining room team.  Head Waiter Augusto; Senior Waiter Claudia who just returned from holiday in Portugal yesterday, Waiter Michael and Sommelier Lorinc.

We had smoked salmon (Keith), Shrimp Cocktail Anne Marie, Caesar Salad (Keith & Anne Marie) and Beef Wellington (Keith & Anne Marie).  When we returned to the room Rao had just delivered the cake (St. Honoree) that Anne Marie had ordered.  The entire meal plus the cake plus the entire evening was amazing.  
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We began today as we have since boarding Serenity.  Keith enjoyed an early morning workout.  With the time difference he could even catch a portion of the Dallas Cowboys/Houston Texans game.  Enjoyed breakfast in our room as we got ready to visit Valencia Spain.

Valencia, Spain.  Our first and only visit was with our daughter and son-in-law as part of the 2008 World Cruise.  It was a maiden port of call for Crystal Cruises.  Valencia combines the old with the new and that is what we saw on a tour in 2008.  
 
The population of Valencia is 2.5 Million people making it one of the largest cities in Spain.  It is a popular city for locals and for tourists with its mile climate and many beaches.  It is known for sports including golfing, diving, cycling and tennis.  It is a vibrant city at night.

Major attractions include:

Catedral founded in the13th century.  Its exterior is mostly gothic.

Basilica dels Desemparatswhich was build between 1652 and 1667.

Caile de Cabaileros which is the historic city center of Valencia

National Ceramics Museum which is housed in a palace dating back to the 15th century and was refurbished in 1740.

L'Oceanographic Museum which is the largest complex of its type in all of Europe.  It is divided into ten areas and allows for viewing of 500 different species of sea life.  We spent a few hours at the museum as part of a tour in 2008 and it is amazing and the most interesting venue of this type that we have ever been to.

We were delayed getting off the ship.  Due to some issues the gangway location had to be moved from Deck 6 to Deck 4.  Tours could still run as planned but those who wanted to take one of the complimentary shuttle buses had to wait for a special port bus to get people from the ship over to the area where the local shuttle bus would be operating from.  In the end, all worked out well.  The weather was wonderful with sunny skies and moderate temperature.  We have been very blessed with very good weather since boarding Serenity.
 

Back on the ship we enjoyed lunch at the Lido Cafe.  We made the afternoon a sea day with Paddle Tennis for Keith, a long walk on the outside Promenade Deck for Anne Marie and reading, writing for the two of us.  We also walked around the ship and spoke with fellow guests and members of the crew.  Some people who we have met on both Symphony and Serenity boarded the ship in Barcelona some of whom we have not seen in many years so we enjoyed speaking with them.  

This evening we will have our final "taste" at Tastes.  

​Anne Marie & Keith