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Today's schedule is different to say the least. While this is our last day on the ship, and it will be our first day in Monte Carlo, it isn't going to be spent sightseeing like the previous days. Heck I don't think the ship will even dock until early afternoon, and the rest of the day we will be onboard the ship. Each hour after ten is blocked out as an interview for myself and each of my soulmates. Well, with the exception of the one o'clock hour which will be our break to eat lunch. We won't even be leaving the ship until probably 6pm due to the lengthy interviews throughout the day, which I am sure will draw out even further once we start gathering our stuff together and saying our goodbyes. It will probably end up being closer to 7pm at that point.
I check the weather after making sure Hobi is awake. Once again the temperature dropped seven degrees. It's 74°F (23.3°C). I quickly decide to wear my eyelet ruffle hemmed blouse with my khaki shorts and my new Amiri daisy jean jacket. Before shooing Hobi out the door to get ready himself, with all his surprise preparation last night he forgot to bring over his toiletries.
We all meet up in the private dining area and I can't help but wonder what the Monaco cuisine will be like, and what Beppe and Feliċ might have prepared based on it. The staff isn't here yet to answer that question, aside from Nikola who is standing nearby should we need anything. So, to pass the time I look up on my phone what the cuisine here might be like. I find myself frowning because I don't really pull up too many answers but it looks like the cuisine is both influenced by Italian and French cuisine so I imagine it will be a counterbalance between the two.
I can't help but smile and Feliċ and Beppe's faces as they come in with carts of covered dishes. "We decided to both serve a Monégasques pastry as well as something we know Daisy loves."
I can't help the happy look that appears on my face nor would I want to because at that moment I am 95% sure I know one of the two things hiding underneath the silver domes. Feliċ lifts mine with a flourish and sure enough beside the pastry mentioned is a scoop of vanilla gelato. Yay!
"The pastry is called a galapian. It originated in France's Galapian commune and is flavored with cantaloupe, cherry, and almond." Beppe describes.
I don't have the heart to tell them that I have exceptionally mixed feelings regarding the melon myself. But, then again that might be simply because my father had a mild obsession with the fruit himself and ate it quite often, almost to the point where the whole house smelled like the melon during summertime. When I bite into it I find it a mixed amalgamation of sweet, light, and creamy. I'm still not completely a fan of the cantaloupe, but I also don't completely dislike it either. I take a measured spoonful of the gelato and also scoop a bit of the galapian on the same spoon and eat them together. This proves to be my favored way of eating the tart, and I continue eating my breakfast this way.
One of the directors lays down the schedule of the interviews, and I am only mildly perturbed to find I am going last. Jimin and Tae are in the first two slots which at first I am surprised by until the director explains. "This way they don't go back to sleep and miss their interview time."
So Jimin and Tae both follow the director after breakfast. That way should Jimin not require the full hour Tae is already there to pick up at the time he finishes. However, none of the directors are hopeful that will happen. In fact they admit that Jimin, Tae, and Hobi tend to be the three that end up having a lot of bloopers in their interviews and retakes because of them.
The rest of us all head off to our cabins to start packing our stuff away. We plan on meeting in the lounge that we didn't really use, because the interviews are going to be held outside on the deck. We don't want to disturb them, and the seats and space here, in the lounge, are most comfortable and accommodating to our numbers.
Jimin stops by the lounge about forty-five minutes later to let Yoongi know that he is done so he can be on deck and ready for his interview after Tae's is complete. In fact no one ends up using the full hour and when Yoongi is done we have a bit of a bigger break than we expected before lunch so we all go outside to enjoy the salty air and sunshine.
We can just make out the harbor when Nikola comes and finds us to let us know that lunch is ready. I don't expect much for lunch, but I also don't dwell on the fact that it will be our last meal onboard the ship. Because of that apparently the staff decided to go a bit further than they would normally and serve something that would more likely be served for supper rather than lunch.
"I present to you Porchetta, an Italian boneless pig roast. We've chosen to serve it with mushroom risotto, and roasted asparagus. I also heard that Daisy was quite fond of the crème brûlee when she tried it yesterday so I will be serving that for dessert." Feliċ smiles down at me as he shares this last tidbit. His twin rolling his eyes at his overly affectionate twin. It isn't until Namjoon clears his throat that I realize how close the sous chef is to me. Then I also notice that each of my soulmates are staring daggers at the young man.
Oops, guess he got a little too flirtatious. Although I am sure he meant nothing by it.
After lunch Namjoon and Jin both head up to where they are holding interviews and the rest of us go back to the lounge. I'm wholly unsurprised that Namjoon finishes his interview in just over a half an hour. He sends Jk on his way to do his interview next, once Jin is done with his own.
The remaining interviews aside from Hobi's take between 30 and 45 minutes. Hobi's interview ends up taking 55 minutes. Perhaps that's my fault though. I think being behind the camera waiting might have distracted him somewhat.
Still, because the interviews passed faster than anticipated my interview happens at 3:45 instead of 5 o'clock like initially planned. I can't help but be immediately thankful for that since we hadn't planned on eating supper here on the ship. This way we at least don't have to wait until some time after 6:30 or 7 to eat supper.
The questions I am asked are pretty basic in nature. What was your favorite part of the trip? How was it traveling on the ship? Places you would recommend to others? What would you like to share with Army after the trip? So, the answers came by easily and swiftly. My interview probably takes the least time out of all of them, or at least I think it did until I take a look at my phone and realize that I too took thirty minutes for my interview.
I'm wholly unsurprised that it takes us over an hour to get through saying goodbye not only to the ship crew, but also to the production crew as well. Firstly, because it will take them a couple of hours to get all the cameras, lights, microphones, and other devices together, but also they will not be staying with us for the remainder of our time in Monte Carlo. Which reminds me, I have no clue how much longer we will be overseas. My soulmates have kept that particular information private from me.
Unsurprisingly after we finally step off the ship there are four cars waiting for us and our security team. Hye Rin, Youngmi, Sang Hee end up in the first car. The rest of security ends up in the last car. I end up in the second car with Jin, Namjoon, and Yoongi. Leaving Hobi, Jk, Jimin, and Tae in the third car.
I sit in the back between Namjoon and Yoongi; Jin takes the passenger seat up front. "So, what are our plans while we are in Monte Carlo by the way? None of you have told me anything." I find myself asking as the driver starts taxing us to our next location.
"We will be staying here a little over a week. Tonight and tomorrow night we will be staying in a hotel near the famous casino. The remainder of our time here will be spent in a private rental." Namjoon admits to me.
I didn't expect us to have a whole week more in Europe. I assumed we would spend a couple days here at most and then head back home. I definitely didn't expect us to stay this long nor did I expect us to find somewhere a little bit more private than a hotel would be.
When we pull up to our hotel I gasp in shocked surprise. The architecture screams Parisian elegance, and I know this is probably either the most expensive hotel in the area or one of them at least.
It doesn't take us long to get checked in at all since the staff manager greets us directly and bypasses the counter to check in. He escorts us up to our floor and hopes we all have a great stay. My soulmates pour into my suite before ever checking out of their own, and while the living room isn't that big it is still quite extravagant due to the view from the french doors leading on to the balcony. I can't help but gravitate toward them before opening them wide and looking at the scenery beyond.
"So, do you want to know why you needed that formal gown that Noona made for you now, Petal?" Hobi asks. I don't have to turn around to see the smirk on his face.
"Tomorrow night we will be going to the Casino." Namjoon explains and points at the extravagant building not far from our hotel. "We are all dressing accordingly to attend."
I've never been a gambler outside of playing Popcorn with my family and betting quarters. But, I can't help but feel slightly intrigued by this casino in particular. It is world famous after all.
After that my soulmates all disperse to their own rooms. We make a plan to visit one of the restaurants in the hotel for supper, rather than trying to find somewhere else today. Tomorrow we will only have until lunchtime to sight see, after that I guess I will be pampered with a spa trip and hair and makeup by some of the stylists of the hotel staff. I'm honestly thankful for the treatment since I will have to dress up.
To say the restaurant we attend is fancy would be a vast understatement. I honestly feel like I am in the ballroom of Versailles due to the opulent gold and ivory interior and vast open space. Only an oval counter in the center breaks up the visual a bit for me. The host escorts us off to a more secluded table away from prying eyes before handing us our menus. "Jean-Pierre will be your waiter tonight. Take a moment to peruse the menu and he should be by shortly to get your drink orders."
I sigh, because this restaurant is not one I would necessarily feel comfortable sharing my food with my soulmates at. It is too high end, and I feel exceptionally underdressed in my shorts. Especially when I happened to notice the women in the other part of the restaurant all wearing dresses and pant suits.
We decide to share a bottle of wine to drink, although I will be only sampling it myself. I will mostly be drinking from the water glass to the side of the wine goblet instead. We all order the velvet vegetable soup and salad to start out with. Jin and Jk both choose a local fish dish served with green vegetables and champagne sauce. Yoongi spotted the rack of lamb immediately on the menu and chose that as his entrée. Jimin chooses the peppercorn beef tenderloin. Namjoon and Tae both decide on the angus beef served with béarnais sauce. Hobi orders a roasted chicken dish with herbs. I chose a scallop and cauliflower dish.
Our meals are delicious and despite my reservations I still get to sample a bit of each of their dishes. We all decide to try soufflés for dessert. Jin orders the lemon. Jimin, Hobi, Jk, and Namjoon all order the chocolate. Tae orders the pistachio raspberry. Yoongi and I both order the Tahitian vanilla. I've never had a soufflé before in my life but the texture literally melts on my tongue, and I make sure to try a sample of both Tae's and Jin's as well. Of course because I like the flavors of raspberry and lemon together I immediately mentally wish for the separate flavors to have been married together. So I swipe another small bite of each of theirs and transfer them to one spoon before trying them in a single bite together. Immediately I don't understand why the patissier separated them like he or she did, but I am not one to complain. Nor am I about to attempt a soufflé myself. It would fall immediately just due to the rowdiness of my soulmates.
I find myself exhausted after that, and because I spent the night with two of my soulmates back to back I decide to sleep on my own tonight. I make sure that I give Namjoon the spare keycard to my room before I go seek the comfort of my bed for the night.
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