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!

Mayan Ruins

Yesterday we stopped in Mexico and had a chance to go to the Mayan Ruins at Tulum. It was a full day of travel. We left the ship before 8 in the morning and did not get back until just before 5. Another long and tiring day in the heat. We needed the ferry ride to the main land and then then the 1 hour bus ride to the ruins. Of course we had the needed pit stop at the shop selling the expensive "hand made" items we all have come to know. Rugs in Morocco and Turkey, items in Russia, etc. all these tours stop at the preferred location.
The ruins were interesting and we are glad that we went but there really is not much there other than the main sacrifice altar which we could only see from a distance for obvious reasons. We would go back to many places with ruins that we have been lucky enough top visit but this would not be one of them. we did stop for some local beer (DOS XX) and a snack with was tasty after the hours in the sun. By the time we got back to Cozumel all the shops were closing, not that we would be buying anything.
Last night we enjoyed a drink in the bar at the top. I won a free drink in this bar and so we decided to make it the place for our cocktail. A bit more expensive but the olives they serve are a very nice touch. Today it is a day at sea and then the Princess Cay beach tomorrow!

Ashore in Roatan and Tulum

We had a bit of trouble getting some good computer time but things are better today. For the past 2 days we have been in ports. 2 days ago we stopped on the the Island of Routan. Carnival has developed a brand new facility which will be the key site for them. We were the first ship of the corporation to actually dock there. It has all the shops - some still being finished as well as a well developed beach with all the things you would expect. They even have a ski lift to take you the short distance if you choose not to walk.
We selected a "mountain" hike and it actually turned out to be a good climb through the forest. Our group had 4 people in it so there was plenty of time to see the variety of plants. The guide was very good and explained the many different types of plants and trees and what they can be used for. It was a good but very tiring hike. Part of the way had a rope to hang onto as the slopes were quite steep.
The rest of the place was pretty depressed and I can see why they built a new dock outside the main area. There were at least 2 other ships in that port that day. We were pretty exhausted when we returned to the ship. That night we went to the wine and cheese are party and we were the first name pulled for a free piece of are. we picked something that will eventually hang in the Florida condo.

This is day 3 of our current Caribbean Cruise. The drive down from Palm Harbor went well and we found a good parking spot right across from the ship at the Lauderdale dock. Check in was a bit slow as there were many people there at the same time. We did meet up with someone that we know from the China trip but so far we seem to have recognized only 1 couple from any other trip. We are still looking among the 3400 people on board.
Yesterday was a sea day and we just sat around most of the day. I think that after the month of November we just needed a rest. Certainly the Black Friday shopping last week and the packing for both the trip and the the ride home also took some energy out of us. However we did manage to drag ourselves to the meals at the regular times.
Today we are at anchor in George Town, Grand Caymans. This is just another shopping stop for the cruise lines. Currently there is a Royal Carib ship in as well. We did go ashore and walked around but other than shops, there is very little of interest with a nice walk of the tender port. We will be taking tours the next 2 days so that will keep us a little busier. Actually we went ashore at around 9 and were back here by noon. Seen it all, did it all! It was still too early for a beer or a drink although it was humid enough. We headed back to the ship.
Actually they have a very nice little "cafe" station in the lobby. We sat and had some fresh shrimp and a prosciutto sandwich. Tiera Masu for dessert. That should keep us going until afternoon tea! Judy is at the pool (where else) and I am going there soon!