DAY 11 ON THE NORWEGIAN ENCORE with The Beatles

Day 11 at sea on the Norwegian Encore was fun.  Probably our best day on this cruise,  Dinner was at their fanciest restaurant, Le Bistro,  Veuve Clichot Champaign entrance.

Red and Rosé French wines.

Le Bistro is one of the six special places where you need to pay extra,  However, we are provided three free ones during the first phase of the cruise to Miami, then two more from Miami to Southampton.  There are order restrictions.  One item from the appetizer/soup/salad page and one entré on the other,  None of the main dishes appealed to me so I was given permission to have a first course of appetizer/salad and the second of soup/salad.  The waiter tried to be as generous as possible to extract a good tip.  Thus, the first course for me was escargot and endive salad, which were outstanding.  Ate too much bread to soak up the butter.

My second course was a combination of French Onion Soup and Steak Tartar.  I was so filled already that I had no appetite.  I don't really like raw beef anyway, but placed in hot soup, the combination was okay,

Not sure what those desserts were,

Had a Drambui.  Those ice cubes looked like a small square glass, so I poured some into it, and there was a hole at the bottom.

So the experiment failed.  The cost if tax, tip and drinks were included with the meal would have been $200/person.  But our French dinner added up to zero dollars because we did not leave any tip, which got calculated into the total cruise cost.

Last night the Beatles were fabulous in the Theater, and tonight they were in the much smaller Cavern Club, which is a replica of the one they performed in Liverpool.  Packed.  Different experience being right next to them.  Just as good, if not better, than last night

Then off to dancing in the Atrium with the Adda Band.

Then to Social for more dancing, last night of music from  the 50s and 60s.

Back to the Cavern Club for karaoke.

An back to Social for more dancing,

Oh, tomorrow night the Beatles perform again in the Theater.  4193 steps for Day 11.

I'll here insert that E. coli problem at MacDonald's.  This bacterium is one with which I am familiar, for my PhD dissertation was entitled:  

Tunable Organic Dye Laser Irradiation of Escherichia coli.

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  The source of the contamination is the sliced onions in their Quarter Pounder Hamburgers.
• The strain  is E. coli O157:H7.
• There will be more, but at this posting, one dead and 50 or so sickened.
• From the CDC:

CDC, FDA, USDA FSIS, and public health officials in multiple states are investigating an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections. Most people in this outbreak are reporting eating the Quarter Pounder hamburger at McDonald’s before becoming sick. It is not yet known which specific food ingredient is contaminated. 

McDonald’s is collaborating with investigation partners to determine what food ingredient in Quarter Pounders is making people sick. McDonald’s stopped using fresh slivered onions and quarter pound beef patties in several states while the investigation is ongoing to identify the ingredient causing illness.

Contaminated food

McDonald's Quarter Pounder hamburgers are making people sick, with most illnesses in Colorado and Nebraska.

• Quarter Pounder hamburgers will not be available temporarily in some states while McDonald's makes some supply changes.
• McDonald's stores in Colorado, Kansas, Utah, Wyoming, and portions of Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oklahoma have temporarily stopped using Quarter Pounder slivered onions and beef patties.
• McDonald's is proactively making these changes while investigators work to confirm the contaminated ingredient. Quarter pound beef patties are only used on Quarter Pounders. Fresh slivered onions are primarily used on Quarter Pounder hamburgers and not other menu items.
• Investigators are working to confirm which ingredient in these hamburgers is making people sick and if it went to other restaurants or stores.

What you should do

McDonald’s has stopped using fresh slivered onions and quarter pound beef patties in several states to protect their customers while a source of illness is confirmed. 

Call your healthcare provider if you have severe E. coli symptoms:

• Diarrhea and a fever higher than 102°F
  • Diarrhea for more than 3 days that is not improving
  • Bloody diarrhea
• So much vomiting that you cannot keep liquids down
• Signs of dehydration, such as:
  • Not peeing much
  • Dry mouth and throat
  • Feeling dizzy when standing up

Symptoms of E. coli

• Most people infected with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli experience severe stomach cramps, diarrhea (often bloody), and vomiting.
  • Symptoms usually start 3 to 4 days after swallowing the bacteria.
  • Most people recover without treatment after 5 to 7 days.
• Some people may develop serious kidney problems (hemolytic uremic syndrome, also called HUS) and would need to be hospitalized.
• For more information about E. coli, see the About Escherichia coli Infection page

A link to the above is that we arrived in Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala on this 12th day of our cruise, and right below us in port is, I think, a McDonald's.  See that red roof?

A lot of coal.

Container facility.

Lunch of noodles, with other stuff tossed in, with a Heineken and Chardonnay.

Walked only 446 steps through lunch by ideal location of table.  Two days ago is was almost double the walk.

Window cleaning.

Coconut ice cream cone.

Gazing out, it occurred to me that in my earlier days of cruising, I would have walked in the hot sun to the end of the pier and back, surely maybe two miles.  Today, just getting off the ship is an ordeal.

I have three ESPN NFL fantasy football teams.  They actually have NFL games on the Norwegian Encore.  My fantasy teams in 10-team leagues are in first, second and third place.  As far as I know, the World Series between the Dodgers and Yankees will not be shown on this ship.

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