New Friends

Before our first night at dinner on the ship, Derek was crossing his fingers we would have a table just the two of us. Random pairings of groups at dinner can be, well, scary and forced conversation 5 nights in a row is tough when you have nothing in common with the people you’re seated with. It’s all about the luck of the draw and – fortunately for us – our luck was pretty good this trip.

Not only were we seated with one amazing couple – we were seated with three. There were never any awkward silences, smiles and laughter was a common occurrence, and we kept in touch outside of the dining room with friendly chats at the gym, breakfast, and shows. I couldn’t have picked better dining partners if I tried!

Lots of group love this cruise. 🙂

Our fourth dining night was one of my favorites because I felt like we all let our barriers down and really lived the moment.

Derek and I purchased another bottle of wine to go with dinner.

And when I said ‘let down our barriers’ I meant we weren’t afraid to finally order any (and everything) from the menu. Three starters? Two desserts? Don’t mind if I do. 😉

Starter #1 was the corn chowder with salty bits of bacon and a rich cream base.

Starter #2 was from the ‘I dare ya to order’ portion of the menu – frog legs.

We all got a big kick out of these – lots of inappropriate joke and showgirl-esque moves with the legs.

I’ve only ever had deep fried frog legs in the past, but these were pan seared in a really garlicy sauce. The flavoring reminded me of the escargot from the first night. You needed a mint when you were done, they were so garlicy.

Starter #3 was the tomato salad – I figured I should have at least one real vegetable this meal. 😉

My main course wasn’t as impressive. I ordered the fried fish and shrimp, but mainly just ate the curly fries on the plate. Meh.

We had lots of celebrating tonight!

A birthday

And a 10 year anniversary!

Followed by multiple desserts. 😉

The cappuccino pie was the favorite of the evening

But souffles always hold a special place in my heart.

Derek and I forced ourselves to stay up and enjoy some cruise ship nightlife.

We joined the deck party, but skipped the buffet (still so full – how were people still eating?!?!)

Then crawled into bed just before midnight with our new friend Mr. Stingray.

Come on, you can’t argue with that one. Right? 😉