On The Last Leg Home

It is Sunday morning and we steaming along south headed for Florida. The last few days have been quiet for us. We have not attended any of the trivia sessions so we go line dancing and hear the lectures and drink tea. Yesterday was nice enough to get in the outside pool. There were only 2 others trying that one. As we have headed south, the weather has gotten much warmer. Leaving Sydney we bounced along very nicely but things have gotten better the last few days. This morning the ocean was almost flat with clear skies. It is getting a bit more cloudy now. However we did manage a few turns on the upper deck after breakfast.
Today will be another pub lunch day - a great venue where you receive a small plate of food. The Captain said that we had eater 313 tons of food so far! A record? We are also the last ship to leave the Arctic ocean this season. After lunch we have another champagne art auction and then line dancing. We have already packed one suitcase and will do the other later tonight. Time to go have tea!
I will post a post trip message when I upload some of the photos the go along with the posts. The comments that have been left are interesting. Thanks to all.

Sydney and at Sea

We finished our day in Sydney yesterday. I must say it was nice to get back

on land after being on the ocean. However being there was a bit of like being at sea in that in rained really hard for most our our walkabout! We headed to the Tim Horton's for a cup of coffee and a tea and just wandered for the rest of the day. The rain came down sideways and the only way out of it was to duck into stores and overhangs. We were totally soaked by the time we returned to the ship. Despite the fact that it rained most of the time, I tried to take pictures of the old houses and buildings. The computer may be able to enhance them a bit. However I think that I did get the second really nice picture of the trip. The first was in Bergen, this one was in a church where the colours were unexpected in that you could not see the tones when you looked at them. It may be a submittable one.

Today is another day of line dancing followed by a talk on polar explorers and finally another pub lunch. Today was prawns and french fries. We are going to a wine tasting and then the we have been invited to the wine and cheese reception in the art gallery. I think we get invited because we are in the system having won some free art in the past!
I should mention that the guitar player last night was a lot of fun. He was a comedian that took popular songs and changed the words. Even after a pasta meal he kept me awake. Last night it was rocking and rolling pretty good. We are on the tenth deck and the spray was going past the balcony. It has settled down now. Time for tea and watching the waves. Temperatures still in the low teens.

3 Days at Sea

We are sailing in the Gulf of St Lawrence at the moment after transiting from Iceland. The night we left Iceland was the same day that they had the line dancing night. Our waitress who had been really fast was really slow so we did not make it to the night except at for the last few minutes. They play a silly game and I was one of the 2 finalists. Oh Boy - Champagne. Unfortunately with the cut backs the prizes were hats. OK I can always use another one.
The crossing was rocking because of a few pressure systems that had developed. The first night I decided to head to bed after dinner and had a 12 hour sleep. I slept like a baby! Since that night with pot holes in the ocean as the captain likes to remind us were a bit like Windsor roads but things are going great. He took a course that was more towards Greenland and by this morning we entered the Straits of Belle Isle. That was not the planned route but we did see the Labrador shore early this morning. Right now we are on our way to the last port of Sydney . That is where we will be by tomorrow. Our days have been spent listening to the same person talk about ocean liners. The sinking of the Normandy was quite a good lecture. Today he talked about the Arctic. We also had another Art auction and did some line dancing and and the waltz in the ballroom class.
   Last night was also a formal night with the Captain's Circle party. There are almost 2000 members on board and we are one of 384 Elite members. We keep kidding Eli and Bill that we are Elite and anything that happens is because we are Elite. The casino has been a little better as we are still playing on our 'investment' from a week ago. Tomorrow is Sydney and we are just going to wander and maybe take a bus to one of the museum. Definitely a Tim Horton's somewhere along the way. Oh I should mention that now that we are in Canada, the sun has come out but the temperatures are about the same as the whole trip. We did meet a couple that we have talked to on 2 previous cruises! Tim for a rest before ballroom practice and cocktails!

Ashore in Reykjavik

Yesterday we had a sea day and it was a time to do very little except eat which is the only thing that we seem to be doing these days. We did go to another lecture by the same person who talked about the Titanic. This time it was on the liners that came after the Titanic disaster and included some of the improvements that were made in ship construction. Again his story telling was terrific! He talked about what it was like to be a passenger on the cruise liners before World War 2. A hour went by in a flash. We also tried Salsa dancing and in slow time it is doable but when the real Salsa starts we are lost. We tried and have to admit we were not too successful. We also went to the Elite cocktail party and had big shrimp (giant ones! - really giant!). No wonder I was not too hungry for dinner! We also took in a production show.
   Today was Reykjavik Iceland touring day.

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From he Church Tower

Since we had toured to the hot springs the other day we had decided to stay in town and discover this place. I can only think of what it must have looked like when Roy was here about 40 (sic) years ago. In any case we spent the whole day walking around. The first stop was the church which was built a few years ago with the hugh spire. It is on a hill and can be seen from anywhere in town. We took the lift to the top - the stairs were not open and besides it was up 11 stories - and got some great shots

A Local Beer

of the city. Now if I had a really good camera they might have been better but I may have a few that shows the colours of the buildings and roofs. The inside of the church was very modern looking in contrast to the churches of Europe. After a bit of a walk the next stop was the national museum where we met up with 3 tours from the ship. Anyway we spent some time there looking at the dis plays of the development of Iceland from a human point of view. No volcanic history here

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. After a bit we walked back into town and finally found an open pub where we enjoyed a pint of the local beer. As everything else it in Iceland it was very expensive. I did manage a few more photos of all the building that have been here for a few years. Then it was back to the ship.
    We are ready to sail in about an hour. After that it is 3 days on the Atlantic before we get to Sydney around noon for a brief stop. Then 3 more days to Florida. We hope that the weather will get out of the 50's (or 10-14) as it has been. We have not spent much time outside on deck on this trip. More Later.

Back From the Hot Baths

 Before I get to the hot baths let me catch you up to date with what has been happening. The other night we did manage to get to Sabitini's - the Italian speciality restaurant dinner which was a result of our flood. As an aside we did pass another room the had the carpet completely wet. We did notice that the room is now empty. Anyway the Chianti wine was very nice and it went along with the 2 and half hour dinner. It was like eating at John and Yvonne's except that it was a much longer meal. We remember about 6 courses all together. Antipasto came first. They serve samplers of many things. Then it was the Pizza, followed by the soup. After that it was the 2 kinds of pasta with so much butter that we need to let out the clothes. Then came the main course - Judy had the lobster and finally the dessert! You would think that with all that food they needed a wheelbarrow to get us back to our room. However the pace was such that we did not really have that stuffed feeling. As Judy said, it was the start of a "tradition" for us on these cruises which means we will be doing that in the future. Quite a pleasant night.
Yesterday was a sea day rolling along at about 10 knots in a very calm sea. We did not do too much but I must mention that we did got to a lecture on the Titanic. It was the best thing that I have ever heard. The person giving the talk was a naval historian that had interviewed some of the survivors. His story telling was terrific. We sat for the 1 hour and I could not believe the time went so quickly. The little personal stories of the people made it great.
The afternoon was started with a pub lunch. We tried to go line dancing but they made a mistake in the schedule and it did not happen. We did get in the cha cha lesson and did go to the art auction. I won another print. Big Deal. The night was spent it the top bar having drinks and eats with Bill and Elli. The food was good as usual. This "Elite" thing is great.
Today we were out by 7:30 for our tour. We are in Akureyri which is the along the northern coast of Iceland. It was cool but not that bad. We headed to the waterfalls which were very nice. Again the weather was overcast so the pictures are not great. That is not an excuse but a fact. Even if I had a fancy camera I don't think it would make a difference. After that we headed to the mineral baths and spent about an hour in the water. Really a nice feeling. The area is along the rift that cuts the island in half. The volcanic landscape is nothing like we have seen before but does resemble Hawaii and western U.S.A. It was a really nice tour and we are glad we took it. We did not have much wandering time and since we got back later, we decided to wait for the next stop before having local beer. This way we can have 2! The weather here is early fall with the trees stating to change. Only about 17,000 people live in this area and are probably outnumbered by the sheep. Cocktail hour coming up. More in 2 days!
are in

Torshaven In The Faroe Islands

This is the second post of the day but I wanted to catch up to

Granite Tour

Grass Roofs

the current day. We just arrived back here after being ashore fr most of the day. We are in the Faroe Islands about ready to sail for Iceland. We booked a tour here which was a hike in the mountains. The mountains are not that high but you feel like you are in an alpine area. There are no natural occurring trees on the island so where we were was a windswept basaltic plateau. It was advertised for physically fit people only and it was a bit of a hike up the hill. About the level of the second shift in a hockey game! It was an interesting hike but the clouds were low and the breeze cool. The temperature was around 12C which is near the highest that they get. 220 days of rain a year and in fact it did come down at the end of our tour. In any case we spent about 2 hours wandering around. Unfortunately with the low cloud cover the pictures are not that good.

Waiting For The Shuttle

On the drive back to the city we made a few stops. One interesting thing is that the original roof are made of sod. Looks like you have to cut the grass some times. We did stop in a bar and managed to get a local beer and a cup of tea. Then Bill and Ali came in so we sat through another round of drinks. If was getting on in time by the time we got back to the ship.
There is a post script to the flooding story. Because of our inconvenience - and it really was - as a gesture of good will we have been invited to Sabitini's (Italian speciality restaurant) for a dinner on the house (ship) with a free bottle of wine included. We will be going tonight if our contact can arrange it. So all in all things have turned out well.
We have been aboard since Saturday but it seems like we have been gone for a long time. I guess vacations are suppose to be like that!

Ashore in the Shetlands

The Shetland Islands are north of Scotland and part of that area. We decided that we would just go ashore and wander as usual. As we were bouncing along in the tender I realized that I did not have my wallet with me and in fact had left our British pounds back in the cabin. We did not need any id for going ashore but it also meant that we could not go for a local beer at the end of the day. Short of going back or begging from fellow passengers, we decided to just keep with the modified plan (No local drinks today).

Shetland Landscape

Lerwick is a small town with the "typical" old buildings and unique style. We talked to a local tourist bureau agent then headed for a long walk around the cape and back into town. If was cool but a bit breezy but very scenic. We were looking for Puffins but realized that they were long gone. The nesting season was much earlier. Our walk took us to an old "farm" that dated to about 400 bc. The building was actually a tower within a tower. The ruins wee small but still very interesting. After that we stopped at the local recreation centre and watched some children learning to swim. From there it was a walk buy the shops - they don't caro if you have no denaro - and down to the museum which outlined the history of development. After that it was back to the ship for cocktails with our friend from the Paris trip.
Being "Elite" for the first time is an experience. Big deal, no waiting for the tender. However the ship does put on a special cocktail of the day in the Skywalker Lounger (deck 17) with very nice finger food - the blue cheese was great - and a special for the day for $3.00 a drink vs the normal $7.00. So that is a benefit. However we still have not finished off the mini-bar set up. The other thing is free laundry. We got that back as well. Shirts pressed and on hangers! Wow! Everything actually came back. The other thing that is different on the ship is that after 8 pm the drinks go to the $3.00 price. I figure that they must be trying to keep their customers. Good for the drinkers. The rest of the evening went well. Cheers!

Riding the Rails and a Flood!

   We took the train from Paddington to Southampton. It was a bit of an adventure because we did not end up on the trains that I had searched out and this one had a some stops that I did not recognize. The short of it was that we had to change trains twice - something that I had tried to avoid but we did manage to get off at the central station and from there a short taxi ride took us to the long waiting lines. They had not started to board when we got there and the wait was a bit more than usual. However the "Elite" status got us in the fast line and we were aboard in short order after that.

Sail Away

    The rest of the night was spent getting around the ship - it is a bit older than some of the others we have been on and things were in different place. We did meet Bill and Ali for a drink and then later the other 2 couples at our table. All was well.
    Sunday was spent at sea and as someone remarked the road was filled with potholes! It was a
bit rough but by noon it settled down a bit. The afternoon was spent at the dance class and then dancing session. It is basic but all but 3 people had danced before and Adam went through about half of his dances. He did remark that there would be about 6 more classes so that should be interesting to see what he comes up with. I should say that the champagne waterfall was a hit that night. The ship hit a wave and all the bottles ended on the floor! Missed that in the photos.
Oh the flood! Well when we relaxing just before dinner, water started to run out of the bathroom. Thank goodness it was clean water but by the time we figured out what happened,

Pizza Time

we rescued our shoes but it was wet out around the corner. Needless to say we were quite upset about it although we got a quick response. When we returned later we noticed that there were towels on the carpet and later our room steward told us that he noticed it again while we were at dinner. This time the water was out in the hall. Again more not impressed. The short of it was that we had supervisors from Housekeeping, engineering and Hospitality all talking to us. No other rooms at that level are available with 2800 on the ship. However the good news is that they changed the valves or whatever and we have been dry since. The post script in the next blog.

Bergen Fron The Mountain

     Yesterday we were in Bergen and had a nice walk around day. we took the inclined car up to the top of the mountain and then just wandered back into town. It is a very nice town in Norway. Of course we tried the local beer and had a peanut butter pastry. The rest of the evening went as expected.
    We just finished touring today but I will leave that for the next post. I did notice that a few sent messages but the system is so slow I could not read them. I will get back to them next time. Finished the Shetlands and headed north. Thanks Dave for the feedback! Judy having tea!

More London Aventures

   
Our second day in London saw us zooming around town

Buckingham Palace

London Bridge

doing a number of things that we missed on our first visit. The weather was rainy so we decided to do inside things. Our first stop was the subway system where we bought all day passes (that's the last time we will try to order on line!) and headed back downtown to the government area. Our destination was the underground rooms where Churchill and the War cabinet ran WW 2 from the concrete and steel underground rooms. It was left on the last day of the war and when it reopened it was still in the same condition. It was a very interesting tour complete with a museum and audio guide which came with the admission (London Pass).
   The next stop was Westminster Abbey where we got the senior rate! Go figure! Again the audio guide was very helpful as the abbey is full of "famous" people and things constructed by various kings and queens. Very interesting but no pictures allowed. When we got out it was raining heavily but we headed to the "Monument"- a 311 step high tower built to remember the fire that destroyed most of London. The views from the top were good but again the clouds made picture taking a bit of a struggle. After that we headed to the British Museum when we spent most of our time looking at all the Greek and Roman items "collected" in the past. We had been before but this time we saw and did more.
   

BritishMuseum

Dinner was a pub near the museum with a pint of local beer

Rosetta Stone

and a cider. After a stop of the hotel we headed to the theatre for Chicago. For someone with a map and a sense of direction, I was sure that we would never get there. Navigating the streets of London at night is something else. We had it within a few blocks but needed a local shop owner to help out. The live production of Chicago was good. We were seated in the second row and had close up views of the performers!
The next day we settled on another inside day as the weather remained poor. Our first stop was Little Venice - a short walk from our hotel near Paddington Station to catch the Jason River barge tour. It was about 45 minutes long and traveled along an old canal to Camden. Camden was a find. The tour ended at the old horse stable which has been converted to market with many stalls. If you like vintage anything this was the place. Typical flea market type places. Judy stopped to buy something for 5 pounds. I told the shop keeper that we could buy 2 for 8 down the way and of course no deal. However since we were the first customers of the day he did discount them to 2 for 9! The quality was better than the ones that we had priced earlier.
The subway then took us to the outskirts of London where we went to the Maritime museum, the Queen's House (former cottage?) and the Greenwich observatory. That was interesting as I was able to stand in both East and West Longitude at the same time! The history of longitude was well explained and we viewed the first chronometer that allowed the British to become and accurate sea going country. Dinner in a pub ended the day! Some advice to London travelers - don't try the subway system in late afternoon if you do not like to stand in lines and on trains. We changed trains at the Canary Wharf - a large office complex and all the black suits were going home! Enough said. Packing and a good night' s sleep ended our stay. Next post to the ship and a cabin experience!

The Queen Says Hello!

We arrived safe and sound - other than being a bit cramped on the flight - from Toronto to Gatwick. Deplaning and immigration were painless, as was the buying of tickets for the trip into London. For those following the saga of the transportation tickets, we found it was really a waste. Our ticket from the airport was good for all day. We found the hotel and dropped our bags. The work that we did to find a nice place worked out with no surprises. Despite a little renovation work still going on, the hotel was clean and neat. All new tile and floors and a completely new bathroom with modern items. The room was a bit small but very comfortable. We were able to walk from the train station to the hotel.
     We took off downtown to the centre of the city - Big Ben area and decided to do a river

cruise on our London pass. Weather was still good and the slow go was good for tired people. We had also stopped for tickets to Chicago for the next night. After 'napping" a bit on the river cruise we walked to Buckingham palace but the queen forgot we were coming and the guards did not let us in! A stop at Harrods on the way back to the hotel we walked through Hyde Park. We had dinner at the Swan Pub (you can find it on google maps) of fish and chips and of course a "pint" ended the day! Bed at last.
Next post will talk about the rest of London. We are currently on the ship, have visited the buffet; met Bill and Eli already and are waiting to sail.

Off To Toronto

We are pack and really ready to go. We are just waiting for the mail. After 3 phone calls and 4 emails I finally got an answer to Where are our travel passes for London. Th message said that there was no one in the Toronto Office to help us! Go figure. More adventures to come.

New Adventure Awaits!

Here it is the fall of 2010 and it is time for us to travel again. We are a bit early this year but we are going to try our hand at a North Atlantic crossing as opposed to the late fall southern route. Our travels will take us to London England for 3 days of pre cruise touring; then to Southampton to join the Grand Princess. Norway, Farrows, Shetlands, Iceland for 2 stops, Sydney Nova Scotia for a morning (and a Tim Horton's breakfast!) and finally into Fort Lauderdale. All our plans are set and we fly out on September 21 - the first day of fall. Watch for reports after that!