Sunday May 11th - Part 3:
Once we'd explored the suite, we decided to head upstairs to the Beach Blanket buffet for a quick bite and a cocktail of the day (Bahama Mamas for three please!) before meeting up with the Concierge team in Diversions... Jerome and Tawanda were charming guys and quickly reserved a wine tasting slot for us in addition to confirming all our other reservations. This is where we probably don't make as much use of concierge as maybe we could - we're independent, can-do, sort-it kinda people who've pre-booked everything online weeks in advance so there's never much we absolutely need to make our vacation pass smoothly by. Except for one thing. One small thing. One tiny, easy to obtain and deliver to a room with minimal fuss and effort thing. I'm talking about ice. You know, frozen water?!
In the concierge meeting, we were asked if there was anything we needed. Mindful of the bottle of Moet nestling in my hand luggage, I asked Jerome if we could get an ice-filled ice-bucket (with ice in it) delivered to the room asap. "Of course," he said. "Right away," he said. "Great!" I said and we stood up, shook hands and dashed from Diversions to the Promenade Lounge in order to meet up with whatever DISers popped by. We thought no more about the ice - tho' we were a little puzzled to notice the absence of a bucket of the stuff when we went to grab our life jackets for the drill. Richard rang the concierge desk and left a message. "Ice would be nice!" he said... Drill over, we returned to the room, just about ready to crack open that bottle of fizz. No ice.
(I love that smilie!) Fortunately, I'd had the brains to wedge the bottle into one of the mini fridges earlier and it was adequately chilled. We tried one more time to obtain an elusive bucket but got bored with the hassle - maybe if we'd had more than one bottle of champagne, but we didn't so we let it go...
But back to the good stuff. Remember when I said we'd popped into the Promenade Lounge to meet any unsuspecting DISers? Good! Glad to see your paying attention...
Richard, Sophie and myself plonked ourselves down in what we considered to be a prominent seat and ordered Kir Royales all round! It was a little before 3pm and we couldn't see anyone else - quite frankly the place was deserted! So we settled in with our drinks and starting chatting amongst ourselves - never let it be said that the Taylors don't know how to talk! Time ticked by and it became obvious no one was coming - TBH I hadn't really expected much of a turnout but I'm always happy to be in the Promenade Lounge so I just sat back, enjoyed my fizz and my family... Suddenly, a lady approached us. "Are you CustardTart?" she asked cautiously. I agreed I was and so it turned out that a group of DISers were sitting in the corner - I couldn't see them due to the cursed combination of a high-backed banquette and a short-necked Kaz! Seems they weren't sure it was me because of the presence of a third party male on what was supposed to be a girls only gathering!!!
For some reason, I chose that moment to accidentally smash my half-full glass of Kir, creating an embarrassing stir in the Lounge! And Sophie wonders where her clumsy genes come from..?! So we left our sticky, littered-with-glass-shards table and joined the slightly larger group! Melissa from Seattle was the lady who had approached us and also in situ were Jojo and her husband and son, fellow Brits from Newcastle! So we sat and chatted for a while. Melissa and her family were enjoying the cruise courtesy of the Make-a-Wish foundation -
here's a link to her trip report...
All too soon it was time to pick up our life jackets and head to the deck for the drill. We accomplished this with minimal bother and maximum efficiency - apart from the fact that I unintentionally gave Sophie a child's life-jacket! Honestly, the fuss she made! What can I say, there were about a million piled up in the pantry area of the suite and I just grabbed the nearest... Anyway, she looked hilarious and once I realised the mistake, I couldn't stop laughing! Actually, I'm laughing now - it's always the little things...
We were speedily released by the crew and ran back to Roy, eager for chilled champagne and petits fours! I don't mind telling the world that I love chocolate covered strawberries and there were quite a few on the little tiered plate that afternoon... So we clinked glasses, ate a choccie strawberry or two and perused the Navigators some more until Sail Away...
...which was fab! We saw plenty of pelicans and dolphins as we majestically sailed to the Atlantic Ocean. Sadly, we could also see a wild fire burning in the distance...
But life's too short to stand and stare - so we decided to go and - er - wander the Wonder! Actually it wasn't so much a wander as a full blown shopping expedition. We mooched around Mickey's Mates and toured Treasure Ketch buying baubles, pins and t-shirts! Upon returning to our suite we decided to unpack and get ready for the evening's main event - Palo's! In our absence a little gift had arrived for me! No, not ice
but a gorgeous floral display from Sophie saying Happy Mother's Day! Awww! Bless her...
Finally, all dressed up, we made our way to Deck 10 Aft for an evening of Palo pleasure! We had a fantastic time - our server, Luigi, was a sweet Italian guy from Sardinia with a very dry sense of humour which we loved. We started the meal with aperitifs - what else, Kir Royales of course! And spent considerable time perusing the menu. Richard meanwhile was studying the wine package literature and spotted another tipple from what appeared to be the same vineyard as the redoubtable Rosa Regale! We unanimously agreed to give it a try and placed our order with Luigi. He returned with, yes, you've guessed it - a bottle of Rosa Regale!!!
We were ridiculously over-excited by the reappearance in our lives of this awesome alcoholic beverage but we had more pressing menu matters to attend to - and this is what we chose...
Sophie's Choices: Antipasto Freddo; Melanzane al Funghetto; Grilled Sea Scallops with Borlotti Beans & Pancetta; Chocolate Souffle with Vanilla Bean & Chocolate Sauce...
Kaz's Choices: Antipasto Freddo; Sicilian Pesto Marinated Grilled Shrimp Salad; Garlic Roasted Rack of Lamb; Chocolate Souffle with Vanilla Bean & Chocolate Sauce...
Dick's Choices: Antipasto Freddo; Tuna Carpaccio & Lemon Oil Dressing; Beef Tenderloin "Palo"; Sweet Pizza with Vanilla Olive Oil Sauce...
What can I say?!! Fabulous food, fabulous wine, fabulous company!!! Finally, able to eat no more, we sat back in the banquette with our bellies bulging - sipping a delicious digestif and contemplating a walk around the deck before heading back to the suite.
Eventually we returned to Roy and discovered we'd been turned down and a pretty display had been left by Budi, our steward.
Thank you and goodnight... Cocktail count: 12!!!
Great trippie.
I will definately partake in a glass or two in Italy. My best friend is coming out to WDW a week after us and we are having an evening in World Showcase ( it was probably your last trippie that gave me the idea)
Glad I could help... 
Love love loving your reports by the way, you do make me smile when I'm reading them 
