Seminar at Sea: Four

The day after we went to Oranjestad, we docked at Willemstad, Curacao. Like Aruba, Curacao is an island that won its independence from Holland; the Dutch influence is still present.

I was pleased to have a table-mate teach me the correct pronunciation of the name. Before this trip, I'd never heard it spoken nor spoken it myself, but I always read it as koo-rock-oh. Now I know that the way to remember the correction pronunciation is "take a pig to the vet," which leads to cure-a-sow. Got it.

Willemstad is a pretty place with colorful buildings. There is one row of them that put me in mine of Nyhaven in Copenhagen. This time Bonnie joined me on a chicken bus tour, which we both enjoyed. After the tour, we had lunch at a local place that our guide recommended. I had hoped to have some Dutch food, but the Caribbean delights (polenta, plantains, hake) were yummy and we returned to the ship full and happy.

One of the stops on the tour was the distillery where the distinctive blue (and other colors) liqueur is made. The tour included samples!

The next day was a day at sea which meant a full-day sewing class! Bonnie and I had both chosen another class with Karen Combs; this one was for a table runner called Chained Melody. Again, the class fee included the fabric we would need for the project and each of us chose two colors. The fabric was graded horizontally with dark in the center, medium on either side, and light on the edges; each segment was about seven inches in width. The unique thing about the pattern using this fabric was that the design of the fabric made it possible to get two table runners out of it, rather than one. With the additional free sew time after class, I was able to get the first one completed to flimsy stage. Our excellent teacher thoughtfully provide crayons and block mock-ups for us to color so that we could better keep track of what went where. This was a godsend!