Friday, August 31, 2012

The time has arrived.  It was finally time for us to travel to Harwich to board our home for the next 16 nights.  We got up and had breakfast in the hotel restaurant at 8:00 am.  There were people everywhere.  However, the breakfast was a buffet so we didn't have to wait for slow service.  After breakfast we went back to our room to finish final packing.  We were to meet downstairs at 11:00 am to get a taxi to go to Liverpool Street Train Station.  At a few minutes before 11:00 am we left our room.  All at once the fire alarm sounded.  We remembered that there had been a sign at check-in that they would be having a fire alarm at 11:00 am but had forgotten about it.  The only problem was that the elevators were shut down during that time.  We had to sit and wait for about 5 minutes for them to finish their drill.

Once downstairs we checked out and were on our way.  We went outside to get a taxi and there was one sitting there.  His taxi looked pretty small but he said he could do the job.  We didn't realize that the car didn't have a trunk.  We put 2 bags in the front seat next to the driver.  We put 2 on top of each other in the back seat with carry-on's stacked on top. The taxi driver just sat there while he watched Terry load all the luggage.  He was too busy stuffing his face.  He finally got out to help with the last 2 suitcases and then had the nerve to tell us we had too much luggage!  I told him I didn't think so.  We each had 1 bag and 1 carry-on.  Next the trick was for us to get in the taxi.  I got in first and the only place to put my feet was on top of the luggage.  Terry had to sit facing us in a jumpseat in the back.  The train station was supposed to be less than a mile from the hotel.  It took forever to get there and he took us to the taxi stand in the back of the train station but it was blocked off. He wanted us to get off there.  It was at the top of a steep incline that we would have to maneuver our luggage down.  We told him to take us somewhere where we could get into the building easier.  He then took us to the front of the station where he said there was a ramp we could use.  What he failed to tell us was that the ramp went into McDonalds.  Unknowingly we wheeled our stuff into McDonalds and then found a side door to exit which put us into the station.  

We were at the station about an hour before our train was scheduled to depart so they didn't have it on the boards yet.  We had purchased first class tickets and there was a first class lounge that we went to.  It was small and there were not many seats in there but there was 4 together and we sat there waiting until time to board.  About 12:10 pm someone came in and told us that our train was there ready for boarding on platform 12.  It was close to where we were so off we went.  The first class car was the first car.  It was easier to get our luggage on because there were fewer steps. However once on board there was no luggage storage.  We ended up sitting it in the seats across from us.  We were afraid someone would come in there to sit but as it ended up there was only 2 other people in there with us and they had no luggage.  Some friends of theirs had taken it ahead for them.

It was a nice ride and we go to see Olympic Park where the Paralympic Games are currently underway.  Once to the cruise terminal it was just as I had read.  We got off the train and walked right off to drop off our luggage and right into the terminal.  It was the easiest check in for a cruise that I have ever experienced.  It was around 2:00 when we got there to check in so that may have been one reason.  I guess most people had already checked in.  They had cookies out for us to enjoy but there were no lines so we passed them up and went straight to our room.  

The ship is nice.  It is smaller than the other Royal Caribbean ships we have been on.  Our room is about the same as the room we had on our first Royal cruise.  Of course they never get the bedding right.  Our bed had not been separated and the bed seemed to be in a heart shape or maybe round or something strange.  We also had ordered egg crates to go on the mattresses because their beds have to be the most uncomfortable beds in the whole world.  This had not been done either.  Our cabin steward came in and told us it would be fixed by the end of the day.  

We called the Rosga's to go get a bite to eat.  Terry asked what dining time we had.  Ours was 6:00 pm.  Theirs was 8:30 pm.  This was definitely a mistake.  Our travel agent had linked our reservations together and were were to have a table for 4 at 6:00 pm.  We went directly to the dining room to get the error straightened out.  There were gobs of people down there doing the same thing.  They told us to go in this room to sit and they would get to us.  The room was packed so we stood in the hall hoping they might take pity on us and take us next.  That strategy didn't work.  Finally as they helped people, some seats opened up.  People in there said they had been waiting and hour and a half.  We were some of the last they called.  It seems Mary and I are to eat with the Smith's (whoever they are) and the Rosga's are at late seating.  They said they didn't have anywhere to put us at 6:00 pm but they could get us something at 8:30 pm.  There is no way we can wait that late to eat.  We wouldn't budge.  They told us they couldn't do anything that night but they would let us know the next day.  

After that fiasco we still had not had lunch so we went to the buffet and had a bite.  The food was pretty good.  It was then time for the Lifeboat drill.  We went on down so we could ride the elevators.   Once they announce the drill, the elevators don't work.  It seems like it took forever for them to do the drill.  Once it was over, we went back inside and patiently waited for an elevator.  It only took about 30 minutes.  After all the walking we did in London and Paris every bone in my body hurts and I didn't think there was any way I could walk 5 flights of stairs back to the room.

After back in our room we had luggage so unpacked everything.  We weren't there long until it was time to go to dinner because we wanted to go to the 7:45 pm show.  The only option we had for eating was the buffet or room service.  We went to the buffet where there were quite a few others there eating.  The food was really good. In fact I kind of enjoyed eating there because it was good and quick and we didn't have to drag out eating for 2 hours like we do in the dining room.  So if they don't work out our dining, I guess this would be a decent alternative.  By the way -- when trying to get the dining straightened out, they had 1500 people out of 2000 people on board that wanted 6:00 pm dining.  I guess that is what happens when you get a bunch of old people on board.  I think the average age of people on this cruise is 80 so that explains it all.

We went to the show at 7:45 pm.  It was a brief show where we met the cruise director.  I don't remember his name but he is from Australia.  We saw the singers and dancers do a song, the band played and a comedian did a short show. There is a group of 75 hard of hearing people on board.  They were sitting in a separate section with a man doing sign language for them. It was interesting to watch.

After the show, we stopped by the casino on the way back to the room.  No luck there but there are 15 more nights.  It was time for bed.  We have set our clocks forward for tomorrow.  On Saturday, we will be in LeHavre, France.  We are going on a Normandy Tour.

Good night.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Let me start by saying that I am totally exhausted today!

We left Paris today for London.  We had someone to pick us up at the hotel around 9:45 this morning.  They took us to the train station in Paris.  We were riding the Eurostar to Paris.  After we got to the train station, we found the track we were leaving from.  Of course we had to go upstairs with our luggage.  Once upstairs we had to fill out immigration forms for going to the UK.  Going through security there was much easier than you have to go through at the airport.

Once they let us board the train, we had to go back downstairs.  Once we found our car we had to load our luggage.  If it hadn't been for Terry I would probably still be there trying to get my 48 pound bag up the stairs.  We got the luggage loaded and found our seats.  We had a table for 4 which was nice.  Soon after we left the train station we decided to go get something to eat since we probably wouldn't have time to eat in London when we got there.

Pat and Terry were in front of us in line to order and for those of you that don't know Pat, she usually orders 1 of everything so it took a while for them to get their order.  I didn't dare to turn around and look at the line to see if people were glaring.  However, when I ordered my food, it went very quick.

After eating we just sat there and enjoyed the ride.  The trip passed by quickly.  When we got to London we had someone to meet us and take us to the hotel.  The train station was huge and I think we must have had to walk a mile to get to their car.  Once in the car, traffic was terrible but we finally got to our hotel and were able to check in and take our things to our room.

We are only in London for less than 24 hours and we had 3 things planned.  We had tickets to ride the London Eye, After hours tour of Buckingham Palace (5:00-7:30), and the Key Ceremony at the Tower of London (9:30-10:05).  We were told that it wasn't possible to do all 3 in one day, but we proved them wrong.  We didn't get to our hotel until about 2:00 and we accomplished it all.

We took public transportation to everything.  The traffic seemed to be so bad that we thought the public transportation would be faster and I think it probably was.  We got back to our hotel around 8:00 and decided to get a quick bite to eat before the Keys Ceremony.  The service was so slow, we were almost late.  We didn't get our food until 9:00 and we ate it in about 10 minutes.  We were lucky that the Tower of London was only about a 10 minute walk from our hotel.

After the Key Ceremony, we came back to our hotel.  When we checked in they had given us free drinks in the bar on top of the hotel.  We decided to go check it out.  The views were really nice but we were really too tired to enjoy it.

I am now back in my room trying to get this blog done so I can go to bed.  We are taking the train to port tomorrow.  Once on the ship, I hope to get some rest.  However, we do have ports the first 4 days and we have tours planned at each port.

I will try to have enough energy to post some pictures in the morning.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

This was another early morning with a 7:00 am wake-up call.  We enjoyed our FREE Hilton breakfast again.  It wasn't as crowded this morning so I guess a lot of people checked out yesterday.  After breakfast we had about an hour to rest up before heading out to the Rosga's hotel. We met up with them at 10:00 am at their hotel.  

Today we did the Hop On Hop Off boat. There were 8 stops on the boat.  We stayed on until the last stop and then got off.  We had seen a Memorial to Princess Di and we wanted to see it.  When we got off we had to walk past 3 bridges to get to it.  I think it took us about 15 minutes to get there.  The memorial was built at an intersection right on top of a tunnel so we are assuming this was the tunnel that she lost her life in.  After looking at the memorial for about 5 minutes we decided to get a bite to eat.  There was a little sidewalk cafe right across the street.  After looking at the menu we decided to eat there.  We were seated outside on these tiny tables.  I had a sandwich, french fries and some type of chocolate dessert.  The food was very good and the weather was wonderful!  

After we finished lunch we went back to to our hotel and rested up for tonight and the Rosga's took off for a church that Pat wanted to see.  

A driver picked us up at 5:40 pm for our dinner cruise and Moulin Rouge Show.  We arrived to where the boat would be at 6:00 pm and the Rosga's were there waiting.  The boat was to arrive at 6:30 pm so we were first in line.  I wasn't sure how this would be because last night I read some reviews that were not too good.  We were pleasantly surprised.  The food was good and it was nice cruising down the Seine looking at the sights.  We arrived back around 8:00 pm and our drivers were there to pick us up and take us to Moulin Rouge.  

As a part of the Moulin Rouge we all were to get 1/2 bottle of champagne each.  None of us really wanted champagne and we asked them if we could just have water.  They looked at us like we had 3 heads.  We finally settled on diet Pepsi and it tasted good.  The show started at 9:00 pm and was over around 10:45 pm.  The show was spectacular! I would highly recommend this show to anyone visiting Paris.  It is kind of pricey but well worth it.  The costumes were so colorful.  They had many different acts -- one of which was a girl swimming with snakes!  She had to wake one of them up for the performance.  

Once the show was over our driver was there to carry us back to our hotel.  We arrived back by 11:00 pm.  Paris is coming to an end.  We leave tomorrow morning for London which will be a busy day.  We will be in London about 24 hours and we have 3 tours to do all tomorrow night.  We will be exhausted but it will be worth it.  This is my first time to be in London so I wanted to do all that was possible so we are really pushing it.

We will be picked up in the morning at 9:45 am to go to the train station.  We are taking the fast train from Paris to London going through the Chunnel.  This should be interesting -- the most interesting part will be getting our luggage on the train……..

One more thing I wanted to mention.  You really need to read Pat's blog to get all of the history of the things we are seeing.  She takes notes on everything we do and then can remember what to write when she does her blog.  I try to read it every day so I can see what we did that I forgot about.  I learn all sorts of things!

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

This morning started early.  We had a 7:00 am wake up call so we could get ready to face the day.  After getting ready we went downstairs to have our FREE breakfast at the Hilton.  It was just ok.  The hot items to pick from didn't look too appetizing so I opted for fresh fruit, cereal and pastries with coffee.  That was probably all I needed and it did last me until lunch.

We were to be at the Rosga's hotel at 10:00 am.  We all met up to discuss the day.  We were doing the Hop On Hop Off Bus today.  There were 4 routes and we were doing all 4 routes.  We finally got on the first bus just a little before 11:00 am.  We took it all the way around (Green Route) one time and then stayed on it for a few more stops so we could transfer to the Orange Route.  The plan was to go so far on the Orange Route and transfer to the Blue Route, go back and finish the Orange Route, get back on the Green Route for a few stops where we could get on the Yellow Route.  We did stick to this schedule pretty good.  However when we got on the Orange Route the first time there were very few seats on the top of the bus.  We were lucky enough to get in front of a family with very vocal children.  When we were getting off they were getting off also and getting on the Blue Route.  We quickly decided that we should let someone else have the joy of riding with that family so we stopped to get a bite to eat at a little cafe.  I opted for a salad which was good but not very much to it.  After we finished our lunch we then got on the Blue Route to finish out our plan for the day.

Everything was going good.  We were on the Yellow Route and looking at the tour guide deciding which stop we should get off at so we could go eat dinner.  As we were sitting there and the bus wasn't moving, they came up to the top and told us the tour had ended and we had to get off the bus.  We asked how to transfer to another bus and the bus driver told us where we needed to go.  We quickly decided we should just get a taxi to take us where we really wanted to go.  

When we were at our Eiffel Tower tour last night our tour guide showed us a really tall building (Montparnasse) and said the views were good from there and the restaurant at the top of the building (56th floor) was cheaper than you could get at other places.  We decided to go there.  We weren't sure if we would be allowed in since we weren't dressed up.  They took one look at us and figured our money was as good as the next person's.  They told us they had a table for 4 right by the window but we had to be finished by 9:30 pm.  We told them that wouldn't be a problem.  They quickly took us to our table and gave us the menu.  As soon as I took one look at it I thought to myself that we might be quicker than we thought.  We discussed our strategy -- was someone going to get sick, would we just order drinks or what to do.  We decided -- hey we were there, it was a great view and they took credit cards.  We stayed!  We had an enjoyable  dinner and finished at 9:20 pm so we were good.  If you want to look up the restaurant, it looks like they have a website www.cieldeparis.com.  

After dinner it was getting late so we all went our separate ways to our hotels.  If I know Pat, she probably didn't let Terry go back to their hotel.  They are probably walking around the Eiffel Tower or somewhere else.  She asked Terry if they could walk back to the hotel instead of taking a taxi but he put a stop to that idea. 

We are trying to get as much into our day as possible but there is so much to do here.  It would take months just the scratch the surface and did I mention the crowds?  There are people everywhere.  They warned us of pickpockets at the Eiffel Tower so we are very much aware of our surroundings.  However, my purse has an outside zipper on it.  After we finished dinner last night, I noticed it was open.  I don't know if someone opened it or if it had already been open and I just noticed it.  It just so happens that I never keep anything in that pocket so if they tried to get anything they weren't successful.

We are meeting up tomorrow at 10:00 am.  There is a Hop On Hop Off Boat tour that we are going to do.  We won't be out all day because at 5:40 pm tomorrow night we are being picked up at our hotels and we are going to a River Dinner Cruise and then ending it with a show at the Moulin Rouge. 

Monday, August 27, 2012

Today has been a long day.  Last night our flight was almost an hour late taking off.  We had been sitting there for quite a while and I wondered why we had not yet taken off.  Our pilot came on and said that we were number 22 for departure.  The weather was good so I guess they just had a lot of traffic.  We seemed to make up most of the time in the air.  We were only about 15 minutes late landing.  Soon after taking off they served us dinner.  I watched only 1 movie and then decided to sleep the rest of the time.  They woke us up about an hour before landing when they served us breakfast.  It was a good flight.

When we landed in Paris they gave us cards for express passport control.  Of course it took us a while to figure out where that was but it did save us some time.  Once through that we had to go to baggage claim which was a total zoo.  The bags had not come down yet so we had to wait there for a while and it was so hot.  Once we got our bags we quickly exited where we found the man holding the sign with our name on it.  He said our driver was caught in traffic and would be there within a few minutes.  Within about 10-15 minutes we were on our way.  We arrived at our hotel about 40 minutes later.

We are staying at the Hilton Arc de Triomphe.  I was able to use points to book the room so this is a free stay which is nice.  We were able to check into our room at 10:00 am when we arrived.  We decided to rest up for  a while.  After resting for 3 or 4 hours and showering ready to face the day, we took a taxi to the Rosga's hotel which is near the Eiffel Tower.  We had an Eiffel Tower tour at 8:00 pm tonight.  Our guide was good with lots of good information.  There were lots of people there but I am glad that we went at night when it was cooler. I think it would have been too hot during the day.  Our tour lasted about 2 hours and then we rode the elevator to the top of the tower.  From that vantage point we could see how big Paris really is.

After leaving the tour we were starving.  We hadn't had anything since breakfast on the plane.  We ate at a nice little restaurant down on the river.  The food was good, but I was too tired to enjoy it.  In fact, I was too tired to chew.  We were among the last to leave the restaurant.  

Mary and I took a taxi back to our hotel.  We are to meet back at the Rosga's hotel in the morning to do the Hop On Hop Off tour.  There are 4 separate routes and they take 2 hours each so that should fill up the day pretty good.  I have taken a few pictures but too exhausted to post tonight.  I will try to do them in the next few days.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Got up this morning and finished final packing.  When I got to the airport my suitcase weighed in at 48 pounds.  Not much room to bring anything back.  My carry-on is pretty heavy also and all it has in it is my laptop and power cords.

Our first flight was from DFW to Philadelphia.  We were in first class but it was one of the smaller planes.  We were among the first to board and the overhead space was already full.  There was plenty of space to put the bags under the seat in front of us so that was what we did. We still had plenty of leg room.  We were on row 3 and in row 4 was a woman with 2 screaming babies.  She also had an older woman with her and a 10 year old girl.  The older woman just sat there while the babies were screaming.  The mother had one of them and the 10 year old girl had the other one trying to quiet it down.  So much for sleeping on that flight.

We are now in the U.S. Airways First Class Lounge in Philadelphia.  The previous time we have been here they had lots of good food to choose from. This time we got to pick from chips, soup, nuts, and olives.  All I can say is that I will be glad to get on the plane so I can get some food.  We have about an hour before they start boarding our flight and then next stop Paris!

I am going to try and sleep on the plane but I always get caught up in watching movies and eating all that food they want me to eat.  I don't want to be too tired when we get there.  I'm not sure if we will be able to check into our hotel when we get there.  I sure hope we can.  We have tickets to see the Eiffel Tower at sunset Monday night.

I will sign off for now.........

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Well we leave in the morning for our big trip.  I am slow getting packed.  In fact, I haven't even started. I am sure it will go fast once I get going.  I have been printing out documents and getting things in order to make sure I don't forget anything.

I had to move my pictures to facebook.  I had been posting them on my Apple Mobile me gallery.  Apple did away with Mobile me and moved to iCloud.  Unfortunately, they don't have a way to post pictures in a gallery (not that I could find anyway).  Hopefully you can see my pictures ok.  However, you have to be my friend on facebook to view them.  If anyone is reading this that isn't my friend, just request to be my friend so you can see them.

I have also put a link of my blog of one of our travel partners.  She said she would be posting as well so you might check it out.  Her blog is "Enjoy Life, Wherever you are"

Enjoy the ride.  It should be fun!

Saturday, August 18, 2012

It has been a while since I have posted.  We went on a 7 day cruise out of Galveston in February 2012 but didn't post from that one.  We went to Cozumel, Honduras and Belize on that cruise.  It was nice but too short.  It was on Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas.

We are getting ready to go on another longer cruise.  We fly out on Sunday, August 26 and are flying into Paris, France arriving on Monday, August 27 and will be there for 3 nights.  So far we have reservations for Eiffel Tower tour, Seine River Cruise and Moulin Rouge Show.

On Thursday, August 30 we will travel from Paris on the Eurostar train through the Chunnel to London.  We will be in London less than 24 hours.  During that short time we have tickets for the London Eye, Buckingham Palace Tour, and the Key Ceremony at the Tower of London.  I am sure we will be exhausted at the end of that 24 hours.

Friday, August 31 we catch the Cruise Train from London to Harwich where we board our home for the next 16 nights.  We have already pre-booked several tours -- LeHavre -- Normandy Tour; Dublin -- Kiss the Blarney Stone; Iceland -- Golden Circle Tour with snowmobiling and a visit to the Blue Lagoon to name a few.

Sunday, September 16 we end our cruise in Boston.  We will be staying in Boston for 2 nights before coming home.  One of the things we are planning to do is visit the JFK Library/Museum.

I am not sure if I will be posting again before we leave and not sure how often I will be able to post along the way.  If you want to follow along, check back from time to time to see what we are doing.