CRUISE COMPASS
Today we are in: Villefranche, France
Sunrise: 6.32am
Sunset: 8.00pm
Ship's arrival: 10.00am
Today's forecast
Sunny
80°F (27°C)
Humidity: 65%
Wind: 5 - 10 mph
UV index: 6 medium
Tonight's Dinner Dress Suggestion: Casual
Bonjour
We hadn't booked any trips in Villefranche. Although we had the opportunity to go to Nice and Monaco, we could only go to one or the other, not both, and we struggled to decide between them. It would have been unfair if we had chosen one and not the other. Instead, we got a nice lie in, whereas many of the other passengers had to get up early to get on their coach trips. Breakfast was a delight. We ate in the Windjammer cafe. We entered and gasped in amazement. The amount of food, and the choice. Before then, we wouldn't have thought it possible to have prepared and cooked so much food on a ship, with limited staff, supplies, facilities and space. Yet, they had managed it. We then caught a tender boat to port, because the boat was too big to port in such a small harbour, and took a leisurely stroll along the harbour at Villefranche. Growling in envy at the tans of the local people.
We returned to the ship for lunch. We had not been particularly prepared for such a lavish lunch. We had soon forgotten the groans the previous evening, before dinner, about not having anything to eat since 5am in the morning. It was a buffet. There were islands upon islands of different foods. Pastas. Salads. Make your own pizza stations. But what amazed me more was that this service, the vast amount of food, continued to be served throughout the day. Starting from 11.30am (only half an hour after breakfast finishes) - 5.30pm (an hour before Minstrel dinning). And then, the Windjammer reopens again at 6.00pm to serve dinner for the younger families, who perhaps couldn't sit through a formal dinner in the Minstrel. Truly amazing. I am in utter awe at the chefs and waiters on the boat.
My mother and I went to the evening entertainment. We were pleasantly surprised. We had heard that the entertainment was good. But we didn't appreciate how good until we stepped into the Pacifica Theatre that night. There was a Beatles act. A group of Liverpudlians played all the best Beatles songs. They even looked the part. And they got the accent spot on. If it wasn't for the fact that only half of the original Beatles is still around today, and that those remaining are well into their 60s, I would have thought that we had the real deal performing in front of us. I was very impressed. But the best was yet to come.
