Party In The USA – Part II

So, I waasss enjoying the last days of my holiday in Belgium and Paris, eating chocolate while I being drawn like a French girl 😉 – but now back to reality and I’m home.

With my buddy… Jetlag.

Buuuut that is all good cos I am ready to bake more than ever before uni starts in one month – eek!

Until then, read on about my previous holiday 😀

 

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Ok, so I name this post ‘Party in the USA’ to go along with the theme from my last post about my last trip… but to be quite honest, this post should be called Party In The Caribbean because that is what it was!

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A fun filled, extravaganza of a cruise, starting in San Juan and then sailing its way down, firstly to Barbados. We then hit the Saints by visiting St. Lucia, St. Maarten (the Dutch side) and finishing off with St. Thomas, with a sprinkling of Antigua between Lucia and Maarten.

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Sigh… even thinking about these places creates a rush of gorgeous memories…

Although I must admit to you all, that not even my straightener could tame my hair – remember Monica in Barbados? Well, her hair and mine could have had a fizz fight! 😛

The cruise itself was quite magnificent – we were served mimosas on entrance, and because San Juan is a territory and not a state of USA, the age limit was 18 years 😀

A massive casino, flanked by cafes, a whole level dedicated to shop for black diamonds, a two story library and of course, a massive theatre hall. Pools surrounded by spas with a therapy indoor pool, close by to the spa, which stood in front of a gym, I can not even begin to describe the amount of luxury on board.

It baffles the mind how so much could float. Truly, it does!

And I cannot of course, forget about the rooms. Magnificent they were, especially because we were lucky enough to be at the back of the boat, with a balconic (iconic + balcony) view of the Atlantic Sea we were leaving behind.

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On entrance, we were greeted lovingly – golden apples, champagne (which my brother had a blast opening since the cork flew out over the balcony!) and dips with pickled olives and fancy fancy stuff… 😛

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Of course, there were many a restaurants on this cruise, but majority of our time was spent in one particular one called Cosmopolitan, because it didn’t focus on seafood and the chef was super nice 🙂

While I only documented our first meal there, they kindly made us Indian meals for the next couple of times we ate there, no questions, on mum’s request. All fancy dining, none of the snobbish attitude 🙂

On our visit, we were courteously taken to a table, napkins were lapped, water was poured as if not doing it would be against everything the waiters have been taught! French bread sticks, baguette slices and focaccia pieces in a nice big basket, with a selection of tzaziki, hummus and butter as sides. Delicious.

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We then order appetisers (our entrees), and entrees (our mains) and of course desserts. 😀

IMG_2251Mum, she started off with crispy cut beets w/ ricotta, which came beautifully decorated. Though not to my taste (beetroot!), this was a very classy take on your usual salad, and looked colourful, fresh and a perfect starter!IMG_2254

I decided to have a more sugary fresh start, having a selection of fruits to cleanse my palate – the pineapple was especially exquisite!

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My brother decided to go for a more gourmet idea, going for a French Onion & Gruyere Soup. Coated in cheese, covering a warm, rich soup, this warmed his soul right through, guaranteed. And I loved how the melted cheese reminded me of the top of a pizza 🙂

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And my daddy, he was getting in touch with his inner Asian with some delicious Thai Beef spring rolls.

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Mum also got a cold cucumber soup with croutons but that was not really the soup she was expecting – it reminded her of yoghurt mixed with cucumber 😛

Can’t say the colour was especially appealing either…

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And then… DUN DUN DUN! Mains! Even these were more classy in presentation! My parents and I, we are simple folk, we just wanted some pasta.

What came out was spinach and ricotta ravioli, tossed in pine nuts, though I did feel the cream was severely over done! But the pasta oh my gosh, it was not chewy, it was perfect. A touch more marinara and we would have been all good!

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My brother rebelled against our familial convention and went for a *posh voice* seared salmon with vegetables and mash, while adjusting his monocle and blowing a bubble out of a pipe 😉 – he of course adored the salmon was so beautifully pink, I must admit!

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DESSERTS! Some of the most luscious, delectable desserts I have ever seen were located in this beautiful, gourmet restaurant. And we all decided to try some.

I of course went for a combination between Dulce De Leche frosting and deep and dark chocolate cake, sided with strawberries. I felt like my mouth was a hole, and I could have shovelled this cake in forever and never get full. This cake was blisssssssssss…

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My daddy, he went all American, and went for the original Apple Pie A La Mode. Generous scoop of creamy ice cream, super spiced warm apple filling in a grandma-made crust of gold – how could you possibly go wrong?

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Bro, he has a penchant for cheesecake, so what else but a New York Cheesecake w/ strawberry compote. As you can see from the photos, describing it as  rich and dense is too mild…

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My mum, she got some pear filled crepes with custard. Surprised at her daring, I was not surprised when it didn’t suit her tastebuds :p – I tried the crepe, it was thin and soft, the way it should be though 🙂

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Thinking about it, thinking about that evening, and all the others we spent at Cosmopolitan has my mouth watering all over again.

But we did also go to a buffet… many times 😉

I couldn’t get shots of the actual food in all its abundant glory because all. the. prime. time. people were surrounding the food. So were we, but obviously, my only purpose was for photos! Obviously!

Here is a taste of some of the many meals we enjoyed at the buffet, always featuring a variety of cuisines and amazing chefs who made some dishes in front of your very eyes!

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Ignore Diva camera, it appears at times… 😛

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Now, that is definitely not all! We also travelled all over the islands, as strange as this may sound, food was not our only focus for the trip (I say us but I am trying to convince myself here 😉

Here are a couple of photos of an underwater submarine ride to see a real shipwreck as well as some fish who look as if they have been kissed by the moon in Barbados!

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Now that is all for now, but I promise Part III with more Caribbean Adventures coming your way soon as well as some bakes as soon as I have recovered to a small extent 😉

Au revoir till then xxx

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43 Comments

  1. Pingback: Party In The USA – Part III | Go Bake Yourself

  13. Barbara Bamber | justasmidgen says:

    You have such a wonderful life!! { aside from all that homework! } I went on a cruise when I was 30!! It’s so much fun.. and yes!! the food is awesome! Looks like you had a luxury cruise, CCU. I’ve been to St Maartens and I still have photos on my wall that I took there. The light and ocean color with the sandy beach is so magical!xx

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  19. Hotly Spiced says:

    What a fantastic and special family holiday. What ship were you on as the cabin and the plates in the buffet look very similar to the ship we were on – Holland America Line’s MS Oosterdam. Was this a HAL ship? If it is, amazing about the drinking age being 18 because I was told by our travel agent that because the ship were were going on was leaving from Sydney, Australian laws would apply. Not so! You had to be 21 xx

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  22. Nava Krishnan says:

    Isn’t traveling such a joy and experience? I can see the good times; the great food and the wonderful places. Btw, I’m on the verge of another getaway to Sri Lanka on my own and am eagerly waiting for it.

    Looking forward to more of your travel venture pictures.

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  23. Nancy @ gottagetbaked says:

    What a fabulous trip you had, Uru! And the food looks to die for. I hear ya on the jet lag – I just got back home from a 2 week trip to Asia (Hong Kong and Thailand) and the jet lag has been killer. Plus I’ve got the worst flu I’ve had in YEARS so I basically want to kill myself so that I’m not suffering anymore. Sigh. Anyways, glad to hear you’re back home safe ‘n sound and full of good food. I hope you get over your jet lag soon and I can’t wait to see what you whip up in the kitchen next!

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  29. Kathleen Richardson says:

    My daughter, SIL and two grands recently went on their first cruise. Boy, did they rave about the food. The youngest grand (6) got quite used to being waited on, too! Glad you had such a good time. Thanks for sharing with us.

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  36. Kim | a little lunch says:

    Uru, everything looked like it was from a dream vacation — accommodations, weather, FOOD. 🙂 So glad you experienced this before heading back to your studies. Actually, I’m glad I got to experience this, too — thanks to you!

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  39. Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says:

    That’s a favourite part of the world for me. I’ve done a couple of cruises in the eastern and western Caribbean. My hair frizzes in the salt air and after day one I just didn’t worry about it any more. I looked like I’d put my finger in a light socket all the time. 🙂

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  40. John@Kitchen Riffs says:

    Mrs K R and I have done quite a bit of cruising in the past (we sailed on RSSC). It’s a great way to travel, isn’t it? Just unpack once, then enjoy! Great for a place like the Caribbean. Sounds like you had a wonderful time – thanks for sharing.

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