Monday, 1/21 - Alta crash day

The boat was due to depart Alta at 1:30P.  We had some thoughts about wandering back into town, but all we managed to do was wake up before departure time.  The big goal for the day was laundry (free!), but it was a goal shared by many.  I managed some good progress on the next area of the sailing ship needlework, and assisted in getting a broken washing machine fixed again.  Finally all clean clothes were back in the cabin and stowed.

Meanwhile, we had been entranced in the restaurant lobby by the large display of Armagnac, a bottle for every year stretching back for a long time.  I got very silly and arranged for us to each have a dessert dose from our birth year.  Apparently the stuff doesn't get called for very often, as we were seated at a prime table in the corner of the windowed restaurant, and when dessert came our choices were replaced with two special-occasion desserts.  One held a loose custard in a chocolate demitasse-sized cup (complete with a delicate little handle), topped with dots of whipped cream or maybe meringue; one for each of us.  To share, we had a tall cone of coffee gelato, garnished with a cheeky triangle of chocolate which reminded us of the cookie you get with a dish of Kopp's custard.

The Presentation Of The Armagnac was quite a show.  Each bottle was displayed to the relevant honoree, and a proper dose poured into a jigger, which was poured into a glass.  Then a little tot more, just to be sure the pour was honest.  How nice!  These were some truly AWESOME spirits, we lingered over them as long as we could.

Then off to bed, regretting that we had to brush our teeth and lose the lingering flavor.