A transatlantic cruise is going to have sea days. Not like the ancient mariners but sea days all the same. Between Barcelona and Ft Lauderdale, we will only stop in Lisbon, the Azores, and Bermuda. On a modern cruise ship, however, if you are bored, it is your own fault.

Yesterday was a classic example of a sea day and its activities. there were lectures and games to attend but we tend to stay apart from all that. Joe and I woke at different times but we both have settled in to the routine of daily exercise. Joe tends to walk outside when he can which was a bit difficult yesterday due to the wind and ship movements, I am a treadmill fan and spent my time earning my 10,000 steps there followed by a few exercise machines. Joe exceeded my steps yesterday with a combination of indoor and outdoor walking.

After sensible breakfasts and showers, we settled into our books. Joe has taken on a wonderful translations of Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quijote de La Mancha and is enjoying it. I downloaded a number of books before my departure based upon title and or recommendation and it seems I am on a “chick literature” cruise. I am listening to books (I find that much easier on the treadmill and on a ship at sea). As of today, I have completed three, “Conclave”, “It ends with us”, and “The Women”. I am now working through some non fiction, “The Age of Walls”.

There was a short lunch break in there when we had a phone call reminding us of an invitation to a wine pairing event. After some short hesitation, we left our stateroom and headed for the event. Now we both have been tasting and pairing wines for some time and we have both attended such events but this was one of the best I have ever attended. The Sommelier was very well prepared and entertaining and there were less than 12 people in attendance so everyone had a chance to ask questions and contribute.

Since both of us are not only familiar with wines and the details of setting up for such an event, we very much appreciated the efforts of the Sommelier.

Before us, we each had the five wines as well as nine items of food on a plate so we could be guided through the process. As you may be able to see, we had cherry tomatoes that were raw and plain, pieces of roasted chicken breast without a sauce, some smoked fish, black olives, chocolate brownie, salt and a mint leaf, cherry tomatoes with a pesto sauce, chicken breast with pesto sauce, and some Swiss cheese.

The wines were taken from left to right, whites to reds. The Sommelier talked us through the process of swirling and inspecting the wines for color and “legs” before sniffing for the bouquet. I learned for the first time that each of us tends to have a dominant nostril. Yes, like a dominant hand, eye, and ear. Try sniffing your wine with one nostril and then the other. I was shocked to notice that I have one nostril that can depict much more about the wine than the other. Who knew?

After taking us through each of the wines and tasting those many and varied tastes, the acidic, creamy, the sweet, and the salty, some that dull the flavors of the wine, some that detracts from the wine, and others that augmented the wine, Joe and I were inspired to go to a late lunch and then back to our books with a football game on mute in the background.

That took us until changing for dinner where we were seated with two couples from Canada. As we sat, one of the Canadian wives asked me if we had participated in the “renewal of vows” that was offered by the Captain of the ship. I tried to conceal my emotions as I explained that we are brothers. No vows were ever taken. We then ordered last night’s special, a chateaubriand. Joe’s first course was a steak tartare while I chose the lobster bisque. We shared a nice Bordeaux with it which required something chocolate for dessert.

The 9:00 pm show was an excellent collection of contemporary and classic Broadway tunes and a performance by the ship orchestra and dancers as well as the acrobatic team. This lead then lead to the last football games of the day and a good night’s sleep. Today, we are at it again. We have traveled 3,000 nautical miles and gained back four of the hours we lost flying over to Europe over 3 weeks ago. We have five days to go.