Final thoughts

It is all done! Our 16 days of vacation: England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and France. It seems like a long time now since first seeing Guernsey Island. I think I enjoyed the northern Ireland Antrim Coast, Inverness and Edinburgh Scotland, Wales and the historical sites in Normandy and London. Overall, I'm a country girl, not a city girl.

I loved the countryside so beautiful with rolling green hills and gorgeous coastlines and the old cities were amazing. So much history here.

I loved the accents of the people, the old history in the architecture, and noticing the differences from the USA. For instance, when we went to the bathrooms at a gas station in France the men's bathroom door was open and several men were using the urinal, with no concern for people walking by. Also, some places men and women use the same bathroom taking turns using the stalls and men attendants stand outside the door. It is fun to see how things are done different in different parts of the world.

I love the different food like the sandwich with Brie cheese in France, the Shepard Pie and Crispy Pork Belly with mash in London.

I love how we said thank you to a waitress on the ship and she would answer, "pleasure".

I loved how we met very interesting people and enjoyed talking to people on the streets like the four older men on a "boys weekend" in Scotland who spoke Gaelic for us. People are wonderful wherever you go.

I loved having a balcony on the ship and seeing the approaching country at sunrise as the ship moved quietly through the water.

Most of all I enjoyed the special time I had with my Dad and sister. It was really a chance of a lifetime to be able to experience this with them. I was amazed at the pace Dad could still go. I never did see anyone his age doing the things he did day after day. Although he thinks it is nothing, because he still sees himself as 60 years old, not almost 88. This was a very special time, special memories for all three of us that will last a lifetime. Thanks Dad!



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London day three

Well, I think we all know the routine now. We got up and on the Tube fairly easily. We went to Westminster Abby, Parliament, Big Ben, Churchill War Rooms, Buckingham Palace and then a quick trip back to the British Museum. Seems like we saw quite a bit today, but we were really hoping for a cruise down the Thames or a walk down the river, but there just wasn't time and we were pretty tired. It was really hot today and no air conditioning, even in the museums. It was sweltering, but we didn't let that stop us, even Dad kept going. I bet it was 90 degrees or more up on the third floor of the British Museum, but our enthusiasm and desire to reward ourselves with ice cream and beer kept us going.









Tonight at dinner our waitress told us goodbye and " see you again someday, please God". Judy heard that saying in novels and I guess it is a British term for, "if it is pleasing to God, I'll see you again"

Taking our dinner reservation and putting it into the computer she said, "ok, it is sorted". Meaning, I figured it out, it's done.

We find it interesting that every evening at local pubs tons of people stand outside drinking their beer. It gets really loud, and busier on Thursday and Friday with people drinking after work. We are staying in an area of locals with fewer tourists.



London has great sites, but it feels very overwhelming getting around to see them. So many people, so much traffic, and so much effort getting on and off the Tube. But worth it!



Our final beer!



See....we have been minding our gap!


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Location:Gate Street,Camden Town,United Kingdom

London day two

"Mind the gap!" That is our favorite saying now, especially when someone is bending over! With every Tube journey we were given that warning while stepping on or off the train and there is a gap between the platform and the train.



We were off to the Tower of London this morning after our yummy breakfast at the coffee shop below our B&B. Finally, a decent coffee! Again we went through the ups and downs, crowds, etc. of taking the Tube. This time though, I was chastized by someone. No authority figures around, and I took a few pictures of trains and us in the station. All of a sudden a loud voice came over the PA system saying no flash photography is allowed. I guess Big Brother is watching!


The Tower was pretty amazing and seeing where Anne Boleyn was executed was really fascinating. We also saw where prisoners were held and read their graffiti on the Tower walls. Fascinating!


While I was waiting for the bathroom there were school girls about 12 years old in line with me. One was worried about being separated from the others and repeatedly said, "shouldn't we staaay togeetheair?" It was really cute.
We left late and decided to head to St. Paul's Cathedral. They were closing soon but we wanted to see it. It is huge! And beautiful. This is where Charles and Diana got married. Well, we didn't make it in time, but Evensong was going to start soon, so we attended. The best part is that we got in for free and got to hear a men's choir perform as well as a young group of musicians. Pretty cool to save 70 dollars and get to see it!









Back to dinner for more beer (of course) and shepards pie...yum, yum!


This is our apartment with flowers in the windows and the bakery below.

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Location:Gate Street,Camden Town,United Kingdom

London day one

We arrived in London today...a crazy city! Got to our apartment, nice place, I think, but Dad's pull out bed has a bit to be desired. We are close the the Tube station and decided to give it a whirl on our first night. But, first we went to the British Museum and it was so close we could walk. We saw amazing things there: artifacts from one of the earliest cities named Ur, artifacts from Pompeii, many mummies, and statues from Egypt. We seemed to get tired very quickly. After that we headed to dinner at a nearby pub that was built in 1540. That was only 4 years after Anne Boleyn was executed! We all had fish and chips...a whole fish deep fried. It was good, but once was good enough. The beer...keep it coming!






We decided to take the underground to the Tower of London for the Ceremony of Keys. It is the ceremony of the closing and locking of the Tower. It has been going on for 700 years without fail, except it was late on the night bombs hit the Tower during WWII. We learned a lot of interesting things about the guards and it was really cool to be in the in the Tower at night when it is closed to tourists. We got special tickets months ago.






Taking the Tube was ...um..interesting. Hoards of people everywhere, stairs up and down, escalators up and down, crowded trains where you have to stand, and very jerky trains; amazing that Dad at his age could deal with all that after a long day and getting home at almost 11:00. And amazing we could figure it all out at night on our first night!

We were tired and were off to bed as soon as we could get there.






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Location:Whetstone Park,Camden Town,United Kingdom

Normandy beaches

Today we had a private tour off the ship with 5 other cruisers. We were in a van and had Dominique for our tour guide. She grew up right around the beaches and was very knowledgable about WWII and D Day.



I love the French villages with their old stone houses and barns. I was surprised how far the distance is between the beaches and with a full day we only saw Omaha and Utah beaches plus a famous village for lunch. The area was a good 2 hours from where we docked, so that ate into our tour time.



Along the drive we went through 4 toll booths in each direction having to pay each time coming and going. Dad and I sat in the front seat, him so he could hear her talk and me because I get car sick. That was a good choice for me.....since I don't do well tearing around corners, passing cars and trucks on two lane roads and driving 95 to 100 mph on the the highway, and then faster when passing cars. So, I don't actually know if that was good or bad. I didn't get car sick, but.....
This is our daredevil driver Dominique holding maps on Omaha Beach.


The beaches were very interesting and Omaha still had bunkers and craters in the ground from bombing. We even saw holes in the side of a church in a nearby village. It was really amazing to see where it all happened, and overwhelming to see where so many men died. We also went to the American Cemetery, again emotional. Especially for Dad since these men were his age and fighting at the same he was serving. He was lucky his service in the Navy was not as dangerous.



Below is where the Rangers scaled the cliffs at Pont du Hoc.


I love going to other countries where they don't speak English. Of course we don't speak French. We walked into a tiny bar/ sandwich shop. We didn't see a place to order so we sat down. It was a really small place with probably just the owner working. After a few minutes she came over, no menus in hand. We said we would like a sandwich and then she rattled off a bunch of French. We shook out heads "yes", not having a clue what we just agreed to. Back came small coke bottles, glasses and no ice. Later 3 French roll sandwiches arrived on one plate each one wrapped in a paper towel. It looked like a dry roll with just a tiny bit of meat. Nope. They were so good! The sandwich had fresh crusty bread with ham....and...the best part, soft Brie cheese. It was fabulous! Maybe even better because it wasn't chicken with potatoes!
The place we ate is the green building in the picture below.






Today the weather was cool with strong winds. It was our coldest day, but we were right on the sand of the beach, so what can you expect? We had a great day overall, and a great ending to our cruise. But...not going home yet. We arrive in London by around noon tomorrow. Still no cooking for me
yet!


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Day at Sea

We needed a relaxing day today since we have been going all day for the last week or more. We slept in. I woke at 5:45, so I guess not really sleeping in, but at least we didn't have to get up.

Judy and I went to the pool to lay out a bit. It was a nice warm day in the sun but as those clouds passed it got a bit cool. Judy also helped me rewrite all five blogs that disappeared. We tried to remember what we saw but I'm afraid we couldn't remember the cute sayings and the interesting observations are lost forever. Our memories are not what they use to be!



Yesterday we watched as our ship pulled away from the dock. It was a really warm afternoon and the man below us thought so too. Trouble is, he didn't realize there was a deck above him!



Tonight we had a beautiful sunset and a nice shot of another lower deck mate ready for bed. I just tried to keep my eyes focused on the sunset!






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Edinburgh, Scotland

Wow, wow, wow! One of my favorite cities! Who would have known? I really don't hear too much about Edinburgh and what a fabulous city it is, or I just haven't paid attention. It is big, bustling, and busy. Lots of tourists everywhere. I would generally say I'm not a city person, but if I had to live in one I've always said it would be Paris, but now I'd add Edinburgh to that list. It seems very spread out and tall, so it is hard to capture its essence in photos. The architecture is really amazing and it is a very old city.






We visited a palace and saw the room that Mary Queen of Scots (bloody Mary) gave birth to the king.



We also visited the Britannia Royal Yacht where the British family vacationed and Charles and Diana spent their honeymoon.



Ok, I have no decorating bone in my body but even I could have done a better job than the Queen!



So, a great day! The weather was our warmest yet, close to 80 degrees. We also figured out our lunch problem.....we are vegetarians! Had a delicious lunch of a tart made with spinach and goat cheese. Yummy! Guess what the non vegetarians ate? You guessed it, chicken with vegetables and potatoes. I think this was lunch number 6 all the same. So, we are now permanent vegetarians for lunch. Had beer again too. Didn't even need a second because we didn't have anyone too annoying with us today, other than our bus driver....but that's another story.




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Urquhart Castle on Lock Ness, Scotland

I'm getting so frustrated because I write blogs for each day, take my iPad around on our excursion hoping to find wifi in a cafe or hotel. The good news is we have found it on every lunch off the ship, I am able to publish it, then it disappears! I enjoy writing them, but not if all my work is gone, and with it my memories about each day. Hopefully I can somehow find out where they went and recover them.

Today we went to Loch Ness and saw no signs of Nessie. We did see the Urquhart Castle ruins. We had a nice warm day today, probably in the 70's.



The Loch was very pretty. We stopped for lunch at a local hotel and had chicken breast with sauce/gravy for the 5th time in a row fed to us on every excursion. We can hardly stomach it again, but those professional cruise eaters had no problem downing it again!

We then drove to the city of Inverness. I loved the city! It had very old buildings, a pedestrian street on the banks of a beautiful river.


It was a nice "time on our own" wandering around town. Our tour guide asked if he could join the three of us for that time. He ended up giving us a private tour. I seemed to catch his eye and throughout the next few hours he basically continued to give us a private tour of Cawdor Castle, our last stop. He did have another 40 people on the tour, but he followed us and gave us the details, and followed us in the gift shop and followed us outside the castle. It was very sweet that he was taking such good care of us, especially when he wasn't giving much attention the the other people, but then it got to be just a bit creepy. He said if I fell down the steps he'd be sure to catch me, held my hand coming down other steps and gave me a squeeze, and then whispered to me as we left the tour, " stay good lookin"! He was pretty cute with his plaid Scottish pants, so his little compliments were kind of tempting. He was quite a guy....kayaked across the whole Loch Ness, flew airplanes, and drew a diagram at the request of the Duke for display in his castle. It seemed as though he knew the late Duke and now the current Duchess. Did I mention that he was 77 years old...yep! Really just a sweet guy maybe hoping he was 27 years younger!

Of course my camera battery died and I didn't bring a spare because it never runs out, so, no pictures of my new buddy Clem or the castle.






And....our traditional beer shot!

Good thing we have have our beer everyday because we need the distraction from the irritating people that are in our herd for the day. You know the ones....the #$&@ women who sat behind us on the bus, and the parents and 15 year old daughter who $&@#.... well, you know. Maybe tomorrow we can beg for two beers with our 6th chicken lunch!!

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Location:Inverness

Western Scottish Highlands near Gloscow

Beautiful green hills. We passed lots of sheep and rolling green hills and many, many lakes and streams. Some were salt water and some were fresh water. In this part of Scotland timber is a huge industry. They plant trees to be harvested 40 years later. They continually rotate sections of land so there are always areas to be forested.





We visited Inveraray Castle which was more like an estate. Downton Abby was filmed here for their Christmas special. The Duke of Argyll and his family still live there but live in many different homes throughout the year.


This is a little village near the castle.


Very beautiful mountains at 3000 feet, the highest in western Scotland. This is the place called "Rest and be thankful"


This is on Loch Lomond at a village called Luss. "You take the high road and I'll take the low road and you'll be in Scotland before me. For me and my true love shall never meet again on the Bonny Bonny banks of Loch Lomond"


We noticed the "Wee Chippy" shop, they sell fish and chips.
The Scottish say:
Just there -instead of right there
Over take- instead of pass
We also noticed that we tend to walk to the right, just like we drive, but because they drive on the left, they walk on the left too.

Whiskey, water, and rain are all the same word in Gaelic.
Celtic languages are spoken by the Welsh, Scottish and Irish.





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Belfast Ireland and the Giants Causeway

I really loved Northern Ireland! Our tour guide speaks Gaelic at home and shared with us the history of Northern Ireland. He wanted to make sure we understood the war history and that things were peaceful and stable. He had a very strong accent that made him fun to listen to. We drove though gorgeous countryside right along the coast.


If the cows lay in a circle the Irish say rain is on the way. The Irish also don't cut their hemlock bushes in the hedgerows because the fairies will bring them bad luck. They are very superstitious. I was asked, "Where do you love?" What?? That's personal! Oh, he was asking where I lived! Got to love that strong Irish accent.
The air is so fresh here and you smell the grass and sea air together, so nice!



Below is the Giants Causeway which are rock formations in rows that look cylindrical in shape all along the coast. It was interesting, but cold, and after a short time we were done. This is the windiest place in Ireland....and I don't like wind..so we were out of there!





And our traditional lunch time beer!




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