End of Cruise

We had a final day at sea and docked on time in Southampton. After collecting our luggage, we staggered to the train station and off to London and return to our hotel.

We had a lovely cruise, saw great sites and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Next posts from London and Paris.

Vigo, and Santiago de Compostela

Vigo is in the very north west part of Spain and looks and feels much different that the other parts we have seen. As our tour guide, Margarita, informed us: Galicia (the area of Spain...the "state" so to speak) is much different than the rest of Spain. This is the area of rain, cool weather, hard working people and bagpipes...as it was originally settled by Celtic people from the north. It was raining when we arrived and we had opted for a tour to Santiago de Compostela, which was about an hour's drive away. The landscape is beautiful with stone houses set far apart on small plots of land. There is a lot of farming and fishing here, it looked like parts of Ireland or Norway. Santiago de Compostela is a UNESCO world heritage site and the main church is the focus of the town (along with the University). It is a main stop of the pilgrimage route as it has been named a holy town by the Catholic Church and the pope in the 12th century. It is the final resting place (supposedly) of St. James who's remnants are in the cathedral. It is said that if pilgrims visit the site on St. James feast day (25th of July) on a year when that day falls on a Sunday, then all your sins are absolved. Unfortunately that did not happen to us. However, the church and the town itself are beautiful examples architecture of the 12-13th centuries. The weather cleared up and we had a good time. Lunch was provided but was nothing to write home about.

We also visited a garden in a manor house prior to Santiago, which was also lovely. We knew all the plants and trees and it looked like northern California. We watched the German and Norweigan tourists take pictures of the hanging grapes and the pear trees.

A great day and capped off a lovely cruise.

The city of Vasco de Gamma-Lisboa!

Lisbon, a small city and eminently do-able. There is a "hop on and off" bus which we took and saw basically all the monuments in the City. There are the requisite few museums and old buildings, palaces and the like and tourist shopping etc. Aunt Becky had a nasty cold which she picked up from a thoughtful woman who sneezed in the elevator on the ship WITHOUT COVERING HER MOUTH! euuwww! A number of passengers were sharing this cold...

We rode the entire route of the bus because there were very few buses and if you hopped off, chances were slim you would be able to hop on again. The port area and sea side area of Lisbon are well maintained and beautiful. It is the Atlantic side, so the water is cold and rougher than in the Med. We ate lunch in the main plaza in town. Katy had pasta (of course), Greg had brochettes of cheese and bacon (yum!) and Aunt Becky had bacalao. Bacalao is salt cod that has been re-hydrated and prepared in a number of ways and is the national dish of Portugal. Aunt Becky's special selection was a lovely and tender filet of bacalao that had been baked in the oven with a tomato sauce with olives. We cruised the patisserie for dessert and had small custard tarts that are also the specialty of the region. (Like egg custard in a puff pastry tart shell). Greg and Katy liked them, Aunt Becky had no sense of taste and didn't much like the texture! Tartes de nata were what they were called.

After lunch we wandered around looking for pottery, another specialty of Portugal and found a great shop were we bought a few pieces and arranged to have them shipped back. Then we scampered back to the shuttle bus stop and headed back to the ship.

Monkeying around in Gilbralter

After a day and a half at sea, we steamed into Gibralter around noon. It was sunny and warm with a brisk breeze blowing off the Med. We could see the coast of Morocco very clearly and also the Rock. We opted to take a tour of the colony and boarded a very small minibus. The reason for it's tiny-ness is soon apparent as Gibralter is rather compact with winding streets that are the width of a (small) car. We saw the lighthouse, St. Michael's cave (one stalagtite looks pretty much like another no matter where in the world the cave), and then we saw the monkeys. More accurately, we saw the Barbary Apes of Gibralter. They are rather small, scruffy looking primates that have a tendency to scratch...hmmmm. The absolute highlight of the day, and perhaps the entire trip, for Kate is when our tour guide got of the little creatures to sit on her head and shoulder. Luckily, no fleas were exchanged during the brief relationship. Back to the ship via the runway of the airport, where they close the road when a plane lands. We sailed on time, no one was late, and off we went over the horizon towards Lisbon.

ROMA!

This is the big day when we shun cruise orchestrated stuff and go into Rome BY OURSELVES on the train! We dock in Civitavecchia Chee vee ta vekia: the port for Rome) right on time at 7:00 am. We have plotted to be on the train into Rome about 8 and we make it at about 8:30. Good plan, the train is jammed full of people. Greg and Katy rode 45 minutes standing up in the area between cars whilst Aunt Becky got to seat in the jump seat. There were about 20 other people with us including Italians, Ghanans, English beer fish and families etc. We jumped off at the S. Pietro stop (St. Peter's) and headed over. The dimensions of the square and the basilica (designed again by our favorite - Michelangelo) are perfect and truly an architectural wonder of the world. We got in the relatively short line to enter the basilica with hundreds of others. After going through metal detectors and clothing guards we made it in. No men or women in shorts, tank tops or any other disrespectful attire and these guys are serious. Having previous knowledge of this, we were all appropriately clothed and Aunt Becky even had a hat. Greg did too, but he took it off when we got inside. Again, the dimensions, the size and the sheer beauty of the space is always awe inspiring. Greg's eyes glazed over and he started snapping pictures. Katy and I tried to keep one eye on him and look at everything else. The Pieta carved by Micheangelo is to the right as you enter and is so simple and so beautiful that everyone stops to gaze and comment. Directly ahead is the spot where Charlemagne was crowned in 800 a.d.(before the basilica was built but supposedly the spot) The main alter and the stained glass window of Bernini (a sunburst with the dove of peace in the middle) are ahead and Greg is clicking away as fast as he can. We take a quick look through the brass grating on the floor into the crypt below where lotsa popes are stashed, including Pope John Paul II and supposedly the original Fisherman-St. Peter. We stagger around after touching the brass foot of St. Peter (statue) and head for the door because we have a lot of ground to cover before catching the train at 3:30. Out the door, across the square and to the taxi rank for a taxi to the Pantheon. We take a quick look at that and then hike over to the Trevi fountain. Aunt Becky points out the hotels near the Pantheon where she stayed with Chrissy and Kelly. Chrissy will be glad to know the McDonalds is still there and so is the gelato place...nothing ever changes in Rome. The Trevi fountain is crowded but we make our way down and throw coins in to return. (but please...not in summer again). Then off to walk to the Colliseum but we stop for a quck bite to eat. Katy had prosciutto e melone (again) and Greg had a pannini of salami and cheese, Aunt Becky had a small typical pizza napolitano with anchovies!

Time is now getting short and we opt for a taxi to the Colliseum. It is hot and sweaty but the tourists and the "Roman Soldiers" -take-ah your peecture lady?-are all there. We bypass the main line and opt for the audio tour (no line 14 euros). As Aunt Becky has been here before and IT HASN'T CHANGED...Greg and Katy parked her with the bags and her swollen ankle and trudge around listening to the audio program. Greg, of course is taking a few pictures of EVERYTHING. Then back to the train...nice seats this time and back to the ship. We now have a day and a half at sea and your correspondent is going to do NOTHING!

Gibraltor is our next stop Wednesday at noon! Greg is behind in downloading his pictures and posting. Hopefully he will catch up.

Landing at Livorno and on our own in Florence

Sunday morning 19th July we docked in much calmer seas at Livorno, the port for Florence. We opted for the "Florence on your own" tour which just dropped us off and picked us up 6 hours later. The drive took about 1.5 hours. We started off at the Duomo, (the main church and piazza) then headed down to the Piazza de la Repubblica...the main square then beat it back up to make our entrance time in our reserved tickets for the Accademia and the statue of David. Unfortunately no pictures are allowed so Greg only got two. We circled David several times in awe at the ability of Michelangelo to create such beauty, grace and power out of stone, then we left out of their to head to the Perfumeria Santa Maria Novella, my favorite spot in town. This apothocary and perfume shop has been in existence since those clever Franciscan monks started making pot-pourri and elixars in the early 1300's. It is a beautiful series of rooms to see even if you don't buy anything...but some of us did buy (and buy and buy). Greg bought some gifts (my lips are sealed in this blog) and of course I bought too, having most of it shipped. We then started walking back up to the square but stopped for lunch at a little trattoria, very lovely. Katy had gnocci in pesto sauce that was perfectly done, al dente (not gummy) with a cream pesto sauce. We started with melon and proscutto (Katy's new favorite food item) then Greg and I shared an enormous thick t-bone steak cooked in the style of Florence-grilled with a little zuccini and a little tomato. It was delicious, of course...this is Italy! Then back to the meeting place and back on the bus to the ship.

Katy in Cannes-Oh my!

We shoved off from Barcelona and guess what! 80 knot winds (hurricane force) and 12-14 foot swells...wheeeee! The ship was pitching and rolling, people were staggering around heading for their cabins and we of stout Viking blood were eating pasta in the Italian restaurant on board. The bartender in the restaurant was taking the bottles down from behind the bar and stowing them away so they wouldn't fly off the shelves. When we finished and came up to our cabin (we are on deck 11 and there are 14 decks in all) the spray from the the ship plowing through the waves reached all the way to our balcony...Greg stayed out for a quickie exfoliation and Katy and I retreated to bed. We all slept like logs.

Cannes is as it looks in the pictures of the film festival. It is a picturesque town made up mostly of beachfront and shops/hotels and beach like apartments. We had to anchor off shore and come in on tenders (actually the lifeboats from the ship) which was quite an operation. It took forever as there was a shortage of pier space to land the tenders or something. We finally got off and spent two hours walking around up to the castle, down again through the walking street selling everything one could possibly want on a beach holiday. We did find a store that sold olive oil so we bought some! Stopped for lunch...Katy had tomatoe with mozzarella (again), Greg had sole in a lime sauce with potato and carrot and I had salad Nicoise (what else would one have in the south of France). Of course the food was delectable...it is France after all. We walked along the beachfront because Katy wanted to layout and get a head start on skin cancer (didn't we all) but she was put off by the number of people and the number of tops optional (and I don't mean the men). In actual fact, there were not that many topless women sunbathing and most of them were "old", like over 40, but Katy decided she didn't really like Cannes that much and was ready to go. Having seen most of everything, we jumped back into the tender and motored back to the ship. Oh, did I mention the rough seas and slamming into the landing platform at the ship right when it was Aunt Becky's turn to step out? Luckily the Viking blood came through, and not only did she keep her balance but she helped one of the crew stay on his feet. HAH!

Barcelona during the day

After our huge dinner the night before, we all wanted to be slugs the next day but Barcelona was calling. It is a big city with lots of traffic and reminded both Greg and me of parts of Mexico City with the tall apartment buildings with balconies outside of each apartment and wooden shutters etc. above the shops. We elected to ride the Barcelona hop on hop off bus around. We saw a great deal of the city including the Casa Batllo designed by Gaudi (looks like a dinosaur roof and rather curvy exterior). We also went up to the top of the hill where the Olympic Stadium stands then down and around the city again. We got off and then headed for Katy's next stop...the CHOCOLATE MUSEUM. A bar of chocolate was our admission ticket. We went into lovely air conditioning (it was a little hot in Barcelona) and saw how chocolate is grown and made, how it came to Europe etc. The museum did not recount how the conquistadores killed Moctezuma and decimated the Aztecs in the conquest of the new world while they were drinking chocolate....hmmm. However, I digress.

We sat for a moment in the tiny cafe area and Katy had a cup of hot chocolate (like an expresso cup filled with dark sweet liquid chocolate. Greg and I had iced expresso (I needed a little pick me up and tea just wouldn't cut it!) We put some of Katy's hot chocolate in the iced expresso which made it quite tasty. Now all of us are wired and we scampered back to the ship and set said for the south of France.

Barcelona-at night

Last night (Thursday) we arrived in Barcelona. The captain took on a pilot to guide him into the docking area and we parallel parked right behind the Crystal Harmony cruise ship. We disembarked and headed into town around 7:00 pm that night to stroll about in preparation for our gourmet dinner at Con Gracia restaurant. The ship provided shuttle buses from the port area to an area more central to the "happening" part of town. We strolled up La Rambla, a walking street that extends from the port area (and the big statue of Cristobal Colon-better known as Christopher Columbus). Anyway from the statue of Chris, we took a slight right and strolled with hordes of tourists and locals alike up the street. Feeling a little hungry we decided to stop for a drink and a tapa or two. Greg and I had sangria and Katy had a coke. We also had croquettas, calimari, patatas con salsa brava and olives stuffed with anchovy paste. Continuing our stroll we pressed on watching the people and the side shows of aspiring actors painted up to look like everything from Captain Jack to the Phantom of the Opera (think Hollywood Boulevard). The architecture is reminiscent of Mexico City with balconies and big wooden shutters. Becky said it also looked like the nicer parts of Cairo. We reached the main plaza, Plaza Catalunya and took a cab from their to the restaurant which was down a tiny side street about 10 minutes away.

Con Gracia was very welcoming, they greeted us by name and ushered us into a tiny restaurant with only 8 tables. The chef offers two menus-"surprise" which means he sends out plates and you are not sure what you will get, and "traditional" which you know what you will have.

We opted for "surprise" (yes, even niece Katy was game for this). She and Aunt Becky had a glass of a crisp white Spanish wine, whilst brother Greg had a drier Chardonnay. We started with croquettas of spanish sausage and wasabi peas as a little appetizer. Our first course appeared, foie gras with an onion and apple jam and a drop of a balsamic vinegar reduction (almost like syrup) along with a basket of crostini. We also had good bread served to us as well with olive oil, olive oil with herbs and a salt/pepper combination. Even Katy ate the delicate slices of foie gras.

Our next course was a cold soup, with tiny pearls of canteloupe with a cold clear tomato essence enhanced with a few drops of basil oil. It was the purity of tomato with sweet melon, just delicious. The fish course came next with 2 perfectly seared ahi tuna cubes in an anchovy sauce with a port wine reduction. This one Katy didn't like (anchovy sauce was too strong) so Greg and Becky slurped it up for her. Next was the meat course: four slices of duck breast (rare) with a tiny apricot on top and eggplant creme. Katy and Greg thought it was beef. We are now stuffed, but there is dessert to go. Before the dessert a palate cleanser of watermelon granita with coconut foam on top. Then dessert...a panna cotta with raspberry foam with black licorice syrup stripes on top. We are done! Ooops, not quite yet, a small thank you from the chef, a plate with 3 rows of 3 each chocolate truffle, raspberry gelees, and tiny chocolate and almond cookies. NOW we are done! After paying the not insubstantial bill we waddle out to the cab so charmingly called by our maitre d' and head back to the ship and bed. It was a memorable meal and one of the best we have all every had.

To Malaga and beyond

Boarding the ship is a rather lengthy process as everyone has to go through security similar to that of airport travel. Once we were through that part, we checked in and got our ID cards for the ship. These cards are combination ID/credit cards and DON'T LOSE THEM. Becky nearly lost hers as it was ripped from her pocket in 40 knot winds while she was taking a turn around the deck but Katy found it under a deck chair. The 2 days at sea were rather rough with seas running with 4-7 foot swells. The ship wallowed along with a number of people becoming seasick including members of staff. We, of course, are made of stern Viking stock so we were all fine. (Becky remembers being seasick with her mother on a boat off the Norwegian coast years ago so she slipped Katy a Dramamine and took one herself...just to guarantee they wouldn't embarass their heritage).

Katy and Becky spend some time in the spa where they both had manicures and pedicures, Katy had her hair cut and styled and Becky had a facial. She also spent some time in the thermal rooms in the dry and wet sauna, whirlpool and cold plunge pool...quite bracing! She said she hadn't been this relaxed in years.

We slipped through the straits of Gibralter at 3 am, Greg and Becky were awake and saw the lights along the cost of Morocco, Katy was snoring away.

We landed in Malaga on time at 8:00 am and were part of the crowd on the Alhambra tour from the ship. We got loaded onto a bus for a quick turn about Malaga before heading for Granada and the Alhambra. The landscape looks like Southern California with the same climate and plants. We stopped at a roadside cafeteria for a break where we bought supplies (food) and had a rest break. Then on to the Alhambra which has become rather strict over the years. There are specific times to enter, times to be at certain places and times to leave. One also needs a specific Alhambra tour guide. Once we met our local guide, we began our forced march throught the gardens, medina and main castle of the site. Build by the Moorish who conquered and ruled for 800 years (from the 700s a.d. until 1492 when Ferdinand and Isabella kicked out the final moor. The palace is a wonderful example of arabesque architecture and beautiful and the gardens with water features are also lovely. (as we saw as we ran by to meet the exit deadline for our group).



We zipped back to Malaga and scampered back on the ship. After watching the casting off and backing out of the port, we saw a show and an acrobatic act. However, the most fun was seeing over 50 Gibralter dolphines during our dinner.

Tomorrow is Barcelona!

Getting Aboard

Sunday morning 12 July-the day we get on the ship! We gathered all last minute belongings and checked out of our lovely hotel. We were able to pick up a London taxi right outside the door, the taxi was painted with yellow polka dots. Our chatty cabdriver informed us that the direct route to Waterloo station was closed as there was a 10 K fun run that had basically closed down all of central London. After a round a bout journey, we pulled up to Waterloo station. The station itself was fairly crowed with us tourists as well as locals traveling.

Aunt Becky parked Greg and Katy whilst she went in search of the person who would validate our tickets. Once she found him and got validated, the three travelers made their way to track 11 and boarded the train. (why did Katy bring SUCH A BIG SUITCASE?) We managed to stash our stuff and get seated a few seconds before the train left the station. Our trip took us through typical Southern English countryside, with rolling hills, lots of wildflowers and hedges and a few cows. Sun was shining brightly and the trip took about an hour. We arrived Southampton station and took a 5 minute taxi ride to the docks. Once again aunt Becky parked Greg and Katy while she went in search of luggage tags. Once she had secured the luggage tags and the porters threw the bags onto a trolley we got in the interminable line for security and check in. An hour later we were finally on our way to our cabin.

Westminster Abbey

Saturday 11 June:

Today we decided to devote to the religious aspects of life in London. After another hearty breakfast we had to navigate ourselves to Westminster Abbey which is directly behind the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. Several tube lines were closed for maintenance but Katy and Greg were able to navigate us to the right stop. We exited the station directly into crowds of tourists from all over Europe. We have not heard or seen many Americans this trip so far, but lots of other Europeans in huge groups. Fighting our way through the babble of many languages and cultures (and scents) we finally jumped out at the entrance to the Abbey and entered (paying for the privilege of course).

The abbey (started as Benedictine Abbey, now the seat of the Church of England-thank you Henry VIII) takes no money from any public source and the upkeep is huge. We were told by the snaggle tooth entrance guard that 3,300 souls are buried inside and we saw most of them. The abbey started out as a northern representative of the Catholic church and was built in the 1065 (Edward the Confessor was King at the time and felt the need for a large abbey to support his beliefs). The architecture is gothic at its best, with vaulted ceilings, flying buttresses and ornate carvings...all from stone. The stained glass windows and carved tombs are nearly indescribable. Sadly, no pictures are allowed inside...but wait, Greg was able to take a few (hundred) without being observed. He is sneaky like that. We saw tombs of kings (different Henrys and Edwards) queens (Elizabeth I and a couple of Marys), commoners (a Jones), poets (Kipling, Browning, Lord Byron), musicians (Haydn) and scientists (Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin). We availed ourselves of the (free) audio program which is narrated by Jeremy Irons and is quite good.

After about 3 hours, feeling suitably holy, we left and walked along St. James Park, stopping to see the War Rooms of Churchill. No time for that museum because we have reservations at Fortnum and Mason in the St. James restaurant for afternoon tea. The park is full of birds and aggressive little squirrels as well as beautiful blooming flowers, elm, oak and weeping willow trees as well as a small lake. It had been raining off and on all day so our walk was cool and refreshing, too bad our feet remained hot and aching!

Up Regent Street to Jermyn Street-passed numerous men's haberdashers and shirtmakers then up to Piccadilly and into F & M. On the fourth floor is the gentile and rarified atmosphere of the St. James restaurant. Jasmine tea, lemonade, cucumber, smoked salmon, egg salad and ham and cheese sandwiches on a variety of breads (all with the crusts cut off). OF COURSE we had scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam then a cream cake with a candied violet on top of purple icing and a raspberry tartlett. Katy and I made Greg slow down and leisurely enjoy the ritual of tea time in England. He had fun, we had fun and no one stacked the dishes. The place was full of mostly English folks enjoying themselves too. Then down to see the other floors then out the door at 8:00 pm to limp (literally) back to the hotel stuffed full of carbohydrates and caffeine.

Tomorrow to Waterloo station; the train to Southampton and embarking on the cruise.

The Tower of London

Friday morning we arose and prepared ourselves for the rigors of a "full" English breakfast. Down to the main restaurant in the hotel where we announced ourselves and were seated. So much to choose from on the menu as well as a full continental buffet. Greg-scrambled eggs and a South African sausage (made from zebra no doubt)-Becky-poached eggs, tomato and back bacon, Katy: pancakes (yawn). On continental buffet is arranged a variety of stewed and fresh fruits, granola, juices, croissants etc. including double cream yoghurt and little packages of marmite.

After stuffing ourselves, we waddled off to the tube where Katy and Greg endured a quick lesson in "how to ride the London Underground" and we used our Oyster cards for the first time. The cards are quite convenient as one just taps the yellow button on the gates at the opening to the underground and scurry on through. Arriving at Tower Hill station, we exited and crossed over to the entrance to the Tower of London. As Aunt Becky had already pre-paid the entry tickets on line, we were able to avoid the lines and enter the imposing fortress/prison/castle. We tromped around the entire place, upstairs, downstairs looking at EVERYTHING...remember, we are traveling with Greg! Happily the ravens are still there, ensuring continuance for the Empire. We wandered on our own and had a lovely afternoon. The weather was spectacular, not too hot, blue skies, puffy clouds. The Tower is located in eastern portion of the City of London right on the river. Royalty started building the Tower in 1066 and each monarchy up to the 1700s has refurbished and remodeled. We are happy to note that the crown jewels are still in the vault on the property as well guarded well by the Queens Guards.

After a few hours of tromping around, hungry again. At a small shop outside the Tower right on the river we secured a few sandwiches and drinks and thankfully sat down for a few minutes. The Tower Bridge - a working drawbridge, was just downriver and we watched as it was drawn for several ships. After a short rest and some well deserved sustenance, we marched off along the Thames footpath in search of the Great Fire of London monument. The great fire happened recently, 1666 and Sir Christopher Wren designed the memorial. Luckily we arrived too late to hike the 311 steps up to the top and Greg had to be satisfied with pictures from the bottom.

By now it was near 6:30 pm and we are hungry again...all that walking.

We stagger (feet are hurting) down Fleet Street to Ye Old Cheshire Cheese, the favorite pub of Samuel Johnson (of dictionary fame) and Charles Dickens-although in different centuries. We ate in the Chop Room, Katy sitting in the reported favorite seat of Mr. Johnson and Greg sitting in Charles Dickens favorite spot. Greg wolfed down a plate of bangers and mash, Katy had mozzarella and tomato salad and Becky ate fish and chips. In the spirit of the day, Greg and Becky drank ale, and Katy had sparkling water. We saved room for dessert, and had bread and butter pudding, sticky toffee pudding which tasted like a steamed bran muffing, and spotted dick (tasted like a steamed corn muffin). All three were very heavy, and sweet. We have experienced some typical English puddings now and shall avoid them in the future. Greg went downstairs to see the charred beams from the London Fire, couldn't find those but did find the men's room. He had some rather pithy comments about the urinals which will not be repeated here.

It was all we could do to get back on the Tube and get back to the hotel by 8:30. All slept like the dead!

we have arrived!

after a loooong 10+ hour flight we have arrived. No turbulence to speak of but we did see a phenomenal electrical storm off the starboard side of the plane. We swooped down over the west coast of Scotland, looped around London proper on arrival path to Heathrow. We had a birds-eye view of the city in its entirety (think Google Earth) on a lovely afternoon. We spotted the Tower of London, Big Ben and Buckingham Palace from the air...

Arrivals through Heathrow were calm and orderly - one would expect no less! and finally found our driver for the transfer to the Hotel. The Chesterfield is a lovely small hotel in the middle of Mayfair. The Saudi Embassy is down the block and the US embassy is a few streets over. The hotel itself used to be the residence of Lord Chesterfield in the 1700-1800s and we are ensconced on the second floor in the Phillipe Suite. Niece Katy and I share a king sized bed in the main room and brother Greg is ensconced in the sitting room side in a pull out sofa bed. This doesn't seem to affect his sleeping at all!

The rooms are decorated in the genteel British style with old books, plates and prints on the wall and lovely wall paper. The only mishap so far is Katy somehow blew out the circuit Friday morning for the majority of lights, so Greg had to shower in a windowless bathroom by the light of his handily packed flashlight.

So we spent an hour or so settling into the hotel Thursday afternoon, then set off to walk around the neighborhood and find the Audley pub (frequented by the Obama girls) for dinner. The pub was packed with "beer fishes"-Greg's name for the ale guzzling hordes that drink and smoke outside the pubs. Thankfully for us, smoking is outlawed in pubs in the UK so we can sit inside and not inhale a pack an hour.

Our dinner served to us by a lovely Brazilian lassie consisted of:

Greg: fish n chips-a lovely large fillet of cod (tail included) crisply fried in light batter, a generous handful or two of french fries (chips) and mushy peas. The peas were quite tasty, flavored subtly with mint.

Katy: chicken hot pot-diced chicken in a mild white sauce covered with sliced potatoes and cheese, then heated until red hot in the oven. This was accompanied by overcook broccoli, peas and carrots as well as a small bit of french bread and a huge amount of butter.

Becky: cottage pie-minced beef cooked with peas and gravy then covered with mashed potatoes served again with the ubiquitous broccoli, peas and carrots.

Greg had a cask drawn ale, I had a shandy-lager mixed with 7-up and Katy stuck with diet pepsi.

back to the hotel to collapse into bed about 9:00 pm...Greg and Katy slept through the night, I, alas awoke at 1:30 and stayed up until 5 or so...

one week to go

One week to go...Greg has packed 14 times already, Katy has graduated from high school, and I am finally throwing a few things towards a bag. Do we need Dramamine for the high seas? Will the seas be high?

Oyster Cards

Visitor Oyster Cards for the tube in London can be bought here in the US already loaded with 30 BPS (british pound sterling) for use on the tube. But here is the question: why are they called "Oyster" cards?

Waiting for July 8th!

We have tickets, we have tickets...The Louvre, Paris Metro, Accademia in Florence...have to buy Oyster cards for the tube...

We even have reservations for dinner in Barcelona at Con Gracia...a fusion restaurant, and we are dining at the elegant hour of 2200.

Now the question...what to pack!

Prologue to the trip

It all began when Aunt Becky, in a moment of insane generosity, said "let's go!!"

Katy initially wanted Australia but that plan was quickly nixed in favor of a cruise deal of a lifetime. (a "3 can go for the price of 2" Mediterranean odyssey)...but who should go with Katy and Aunt Becky? Chrissy has to mind the office for her auntie...Kelly has to work...Michele has too many dogs...Antonio has two kids that need supervision and besides he just had shoulder surgery...BROTHER GREG CAN GO!

So the deal was struck and Greg is the annointed baggage handler, photographer and general factotum. Katy and her aunt are delighted, because no one is more fun than Greg on a trip!

Departure day from LAX is July 8 in the evening...it is only May 12, already brother Greg is packing...much to the annoyance of wife Michele who has other things for him to do.

Aunt Becky has bought hand disinfectant and has her American Express Card...so she is packed.

Niece Katy isn't really sure where we are going but she is game for anything...just get her out of high school.

and so our story begins...

The Cruise Portion of the Trip

NCL - Norwegian Jade

http://www.ncl.com/nclweb/fleet/itineraries.html?shipCode=JADE&destinationCode=EUROPE&subDestinationCode=&duration=14