Our first day at sea and I had a hot date.

We went for a spin…

Oh yes.  Life goes on including the laundry.

But a day at sea also means an afternoon Tea Time Trivia, and today, we had a great set of questions.  We didn’t know all the answers and had to guess at some, but our team played a blinder and every one of us contributed to the outcome.

WooHoo!  How lucky was that?

We celebrated with a posh dinner tonight, just the six of us.  We dressed up in our finery and gathered in the lounge on this, the first of the “optional formal” nights.  I’ll admit to feeling slightly odd wearing a posh frock and flat sandals, even if they were sparkly!  (and Lesley, in case you are worried, the travelling companions assure me that duffel coats and cardigans were perfectly acceptable this evening!)  After Gs and Ts and Margaritas we took our table in the restaurant.

I chose a lobster salad to start with, which was dressed with a spicy mango dressing.  Yum.  It was served with a delicious Pouilly Fuisse…just right.

I passed on the soup, but we all enjoyed a little pina colada sorbet before our main course arrived.

My duck breast was delicious and cooked to perfection.  It was served with a little apple tart and a few vegetables, accompanied by a Chateauneuf de Pape.  Delicious.

Dessert was equally good, but sad to say that by the time we’d reached that point, I had forgotten to take pictures!  Conversation was as lively as always and the evening was such fun.  We are so lucky to have great friends who share the same sense of humour and make for excellent company.

We had coffee and made our way to the theatre, where there was a show to entertain and amuse us.  Afterwards, we said our goodnights and made arrangements for tomorrow, when we’ll be in Taipei.  It’s going to be a great day and we’re looking forward to our first port of call!