Day 36 – Sail the South Pacific Ocean

Before we reach New Zealand, we will have four days at sea. Today is day one.

Breakfast today featured a Hot Filled Croissant special event, and I enjoyed a croissant filled with ham, cheese, and egg. Croissants are one of my favorites, so this was perfect for me.

While we were eating, Tim and I had an interesting conversation with Executive Chef Alastair. I asked him if he was able to cook, or just supervise, and he told us that he does get the chance. He enjoys teaching his staff the finer points of cooking certain items, such as sauces, from scratch. Unfortunately, many chefs do not learn these skills today, since so much cooking simply involves opening a package.

We also learned that menus in The Restaurant are set by the corporate bigwigs at Viking, not by the onboard chefs. However, onboard chefs do have much more freedom in the World Café, and both Chef Alastair and Chef Martin before him were excited to create many special culinary events for the guests. There seems to be at least one event per day, and sometimes more than one, and each has been amazing. Chef Alastair told us about an extra-special event that he is preparing for tomorrow night. I can’t wait.

After breakfast, I watched another photography workshop by Simon and Lisa Thomas. This time, they moved from the technical aspects of photography into composition. To help us make photos more interesting, they taught us about the Rule of Thirds, leading lines, and framing.

Master Composition in Camera

Lunch in the World Café was another special event, a Sicilian Fresh Pasta Station. Tim and I almost missed this event, since we were so late, but we did get to try the Spaghetti Pasta with Creamy Pistachio Sauce with Lobster. All the pasta was freshly made, and it was delicious. The station had been broken down by the time we arrived, but some of the decorations that had been placed on a back table caught my eye.

Vibrant Colors and Many Shapes of Pasta

One of our more unusual lectures was another by Patrick Goodness, entitled “The Cannibal Isles.” I’m not sure who thought it was a good idea to schedule this right before dinner! Patrick delved into all the countries and cultures that had ever been involved in this practice, as well as the different beliefs that compelled them to do so. Not surprisingly, he peppered his lecture with humor.

Cannibal Isles

Although there was no special event for dinner, Tim and I were both impressed by the whole, blackened salmon.

Blackened Salmon

The days are getting longer now, and sunset was not until 6:50pm. I wasn’t in the right place to photograph the spectacular sunset, but I did catch some of the afterglow from my balcony.

A Lovely End to the Day