Super Bowl Sunday
Papeʻetē, The Capital of French Polynesia
Yes, it is Super Bowl LVIII Sunday Fans! Today’s contest of brutal power and cunning planning will pit so of the best teams in American football against one another. The Kansas City Chiefs versus the San Francisco 49ers. What a context it will be. Really, who cares? One team will win, and one will lose. A game which according to the clock runs a standard hour, but somehow, hint commercials, taken them four or more hours to play.
The Falk households in Kansas City, Missouri, Rohnert Park, California, Torino, Italy, Madison, Wisconsin and one member of the household in Papeʻetē, French Polynesia, 6,680 kilometers away, will, without a doubt, be sitting on the edge of their seats. Each and every movement on the field will be analyzed and examined, and then the decisions of the contestants will be considered, analyzed, examined and discussed in excruciating detail. And in the end one team will win, one team will lose. All the discussion, analysis and examination will have no effect on the game whatsoever.
One member of this sports earnest group will hide until it is all over. Looking outside the glass doors separating is individual is Papeʻetē. As is scans the horizon for place to hide during the game, he notes that the large yacht moored next to the Mariner is bobbing up and down, and rocking back a forth in the heavy rain. Just about that time morning announcements revealed that escape by excursion bus is impossible because the storm over night has cut the possible example route out of the city.
The other half of the pair of Falk’s in Papeʻetē makes note that there will be a Super Bowl Party in the Constellation Theater. Staying put in the suite is one option, going to the Connoisseur Club is another option. There are of course several other “protected” areas on the ship where one can hide.
However, the first order of business for the pair is breakfast. Up to La Veranda for breakfast. The large picture windows in La Veranda over look the pier area and a few of the boats parked by. The rain seemed to be getting lighter. The sky was beginning to seem a little more blue. There is a possibility of a shoreline walk.
The guide yesterday did advise the group that it will be Sunday tomorrow and most if not all of the stores will be closed. He also pointed out the lovely walkway along the harbor which was just complete a year or two ago. It didn’t seem much through the rain pocked windows of the bus at the time, but perhaps there will be refuge there.
Three and a half hours to kickoff. In an effort to keep the game at bay, there was an effort to discuss future cruising and travel plans. An examination of the dates and current plans was made. There was a thought we should join Mike and Maddie on the Southampton (England) to Oslo (Norway) cruise in August. A visit to the cruise consultant about availability and costs was made. Maybe that would work. The biggest question is were there any excursions still available. Would Mike and Maddie even want us to join them.
There was also discussion of going to Antartica. The last continent on bucket list for the pair. A quick email was sent off to the cruise consultant for Silversea about the availability of an Antartica cruise in the November to December time frame. Probably won’t hear from him today, after all it is Super Bowl Sunday.
Lunch seemed the next order of business. It is now a little more than an hour before the game. After lunch the pair walked down to the fifth floor to check out the goings on in the Constellation Theater. Apparently the memo was missed the party was in full swing.
Food, ice cravings, drinks, colored balloons and a really big screen to watch the game one. A quick dash back to the room get to whatever necessary paraphernalia was necessary to watch the game. And she was off to watch the game.
In the meantime I pulled out a couple cigars and went to the Connoisseur Lounge to relax and watch the boats bobbing in the storm outside. It is nice to know we are in a protected harbor. It is less nice to know that there is a much stronger storm raging just on the other side of the protective reef. Tomorrow the Mariner departs for Bora Bora, will it be smooth sailing.
A call was made to the Medical Center to make an appointment for Mary to see the doctor. She has been plagued by a cough for several days. A 6 pm appointment later that day was secured. Maybe the coughing can come to and end.
Just before half time my phone notified me of a text. Mary was heading back to the suite to watch the game. Apparently, the other fans were doing the unthinkable and standing up during the game and blocking Mary’s view of the screen. A quick stop to make sure everything was ok, pickup a few cigars and it was back to the hide-he hole.
It wasn’t looking good for the 49ers. This is always a bad thing. Its five o’clock. Time to head back to the suite. The game should be nearly done. Only thing is that it wasn’t. Overtime. Really, who invented that? It’s been four hours already. You need more?
Overtime eventually needed. The Kansas City Chiefs won. Good game all, well fought. By thankfully over. Nearly six o’clock and time to head out for the medical appointment. A multitude of tests and discussion concerning the cough. Apparently, it isn’t COVID, it isn’t streptococcus, it is just a sore throat. Two more pills twice daily and cough medicine every six hours later and we were free of the med bay.
Back to the suite to drop off the medication. Figure out which pills belong where. Then it was time for dinner. The pool grill sounds good. Up the elevator to the 11th floor. And out the doors to the pool deck. The chaise lounges, tables, chairs and anything else loose is lashed down securely. It is clear, all the way across the deck that the pool grill is closed.
Ok, Sette Mare is right there. We stand in line behind two other couples. The maître d'hôtel told the couple that there was a one hour wait. There usually isn’t a wait, but perhaps everyone having just finished the game went to dinner. Now it was down to the Compass Rose. Again there was several couples in line to be seated. Noticing that Prime 7, located just outside the Compass Rose, looked very empty, I approached the maître d'hôtel there and asked if they could seat two of us. His response was surprising, certainly no problem. We were dressed for the pool grill not the more formal setting of Prime 7. There was an apology for the lack of formal dress for dinner, which was met with a that’s ok sir.
Lobster and steak. Dinner was quite nice. Prime 7 was busy and service was accordingly a little slow, but it was a nice relaxing dinner. It had gone 8 by the time we got back to our suite. Knowing it would be two plus hours before it would be possible to go to bed, out came a cigar, the smoking jacket, and off to the Connisseur lounge for me.
The Connisseur lounge wasn’t busy there was only Stewart from Tampa there. He seemed in a talkative mood. The next two hours were filled with various life stories. We are both 70 plus so there were lots of stories to tell. We parted after it has gone 10 with the promise we will have dinner together, his wife and mine, and he and I.
Buonanotte e Ciao. Enrico
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