June 6, 2017 Sea Day

 

Today we have a much needed sea day. After touring London for a few days and then starting port visits the day after we boarded the ship we needed a break.

We enjoy the occasional sea day to attend lectures, to the the pool or just spend time walking the deck to get some fresh air.

We attended the morning talk given by the execution staff who gave information on the port visits the next few days and the excursion offerings.

The dinner tonight was the first of the three Smart Chic nights where we dress in our smart casual outfits. Some men wear tuxedos and women wear cocktail dresses or designer outfits.

June 7, 2017 visit to Bruges, Belgium

 

Today the weather is sunny but cool. We needed to bundle up to go on our visit to Bruges.

The ship docked at Zeebrugge, a distance from the town but the cruise line arranged for a shuttle bus to drive us to the entrance to the medieval city. 

We left the pier at 10:30 am and arrived at the entrance at 11:00 am.

Bruges is  a walled medieval city with lots of picturesque buildings and canals.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruges

The only way to enter is by foot- motor vehicles are not allowed in the old city.

Consequently we walked in to the city over a bridge.

Once inside the city walls we saw the canal that ringed the city and lots of old buildings, trees and shops.

The walled city is not very large and encircled with a canal. It is easy to walk and visit.

There are many companies offering rides in the canal around the city.

We walked in circle visiting some shops and headed to the town center to find a restaurant for lunch. The large center square had many restaurants, bars and coffee shops on the edges of the square.

After lunch we continued our walk around the town amazed how pretty Bruges was and how many of the old buildings were so well preserved. 

Since Bruges was known for its chocolates we stopped at several stores before buying some chocolate pralines.

At 3:00 pm we headed for the exit to find our shuttle to go back to the ship.

We had a nice and leisurely day and appreciated the sunny weather after having such cold weather the day before.

June 5, 2017 Cherbourg, France

 

Today we landed at the port of Cherbourg, France.

https://en.normandie-tourisme.fr/unmissable-sites/cherbourg-en-cotentin/

I do not know why we signed up for an excursion to the Normandy countryside - maybe the other excursions were sold out.

Maybe also because it was an afternoon tour and we could spend time in town walking around in the morning.

The weather was cool and drizzly/rainy.  We bundled up and got off the ship to see the downtown. 

We had to take a shuttle bus provided by the cruise line to go downtown. It was a very scenic area and we did some window shopping. Afterwards we took the shuttle bus back to the ship to have lunch and get back to the pier to join the excursion.

First stop was at Gréville-Hague to see a house where Jean-François Millet, a notable impressionist painter lived.

Our next stop was at Port Racine.

Port Racine was a tiny port and limits the number of boats that can moor there. 

https://en.normandie-tourisme.fr/hidden-gems/port-racine-one-of-frances-smallest-harbours/

Our last stop was at Cap de la Hague.

At Cap de la Hague we stopped to see a historic lighthouse built is 1874.  There was a monument for the sailors who died in a submarine accident in 1912.

https://www.wikimanche.fr/Croix_du_Vend%C3%A9miaire

Our last stop was at a local creperie for coffee/hot chocolate and a crepe.

We all needed a warm drink to warm us up. The weather the whole trip was drizzly and rainy and cold.

Last stop was the pier where we boarded our ship. We got back just in time to get ready for dinner.

June 4, 2017 Leaving Hotel and going to Southampton to board ship

 

Today we checked out of the hotel. Our stay here was great. The hotel was in a great location  - in financial district in London -and had very nice accommodations and amenities

The hotel was located in financial district in London City. Saint Paul's Cathedral and Millennium Bridge were nearby. Across the bridge on left side was a Greek restaurant.

Also, there was a shopping mall block away. Didn't have time to shop there.

Our room 632 had queen size bed. View of office building windows.

Shower and separate tub, bath robes and slippers, safe , flat screen tv and coffee maker with biscuits.

Breakfast included every morning. Had a pancake machine. Made 4"pancakes

Fried eggs and omelettes made to order. Excellent service.

Roger our driver driving us to Southampton - two hour drive.

Enclosed with our cruise documents was a letter detailing boarding for each deck and we were advised that there was limited seating in the terminal. Based on movies I saw I thought the ship terminals were big and could accommodate a lot of passengers like Barcelona's cruise terminal.

When we arrived at the terminal we were shocked on how small it was and limited facilities for travellers. Since we did follow the boarding procedures we got processed and on board in a relatively short time.

We had lunch and then were able to go to our stateroom to unpack. Lifeboat drill was at 3:15. Afterwards we went up on deck for the sailaway.

Tomorrow we go to the Channel Isles.

June 3, 2017 Half day tour of London

 

We didn't have to meet for our tour until 12:30 pm so we had breakfast and then went out exploring the neighborhood. 

We went over a pedestrian bridge to the other side of the Thames River and walked along the river. We came across the Globe Theater and the ship the Golden Hinde II. Continuing our walk we reached the London Bridge stopping to take photos before we crossed it and continued our walk back to the Hotel.

Globe Theater

Golden  Hind II

We got on the bus at 12:30 for the ride to St. Paul's Church which was nearby. The tour guide led us through the Church and associated rooms and when done we got on the bus to go to the Tower of London.

St. Paul's Church

We crossed the Thames River and the driver let us off the bus several blocks away from the Tower of London. The guide gave us explanations about the history of the building as we walked around it. Afterwards we had a little free time to take photos before we headed back to the bus.

Tower of London

Next we went to visit Westminster Abbey and Big Ben. We took photos of the outside but did not have enough time to go inside the Church.

Our last visit was to Buckingham Palace. We had about 45 minutes to walk around and take photos here.

Our tour included a farewell dinner at a local pub. Unfortunately the pub was really bad in all ways. This was the low point of our tour.

June 2, 2017 Cotswolds and Bath all day tour

 

Today we are going on the all day tour arranged by the cruise line.

We went down to the buffet for our breakfast and were amazed at the variety of offerings- there were even pancakes and waffles. 

We boarded the bus at 8:30 am and our first stop was scheduled for Burford.

https://www.cotswolds.com/plan-your-trip/towns-and-villages/burford-p720323

Leaving London we passed the Ritz Hotel, Hyde Park, Harrods and then on the outskirts we saw Windsor Castle in the distance.  We passed some phone booths and the driver said they are not used as everyone has a cell phone.

We arrived in Burford at approximately 11AM, a 2 1/2 hour drive. We had 20 minutes to walk around or use the bathrooms. The driver gave out 20 Pence coins to pay the entrance to the restrooms.

There was another stop at Bibury where we got off the bus and the guide let us for a walk in the town and to see the quaint cottages. It was very pretty.

https://www.cotswolds.com/plan-your-trip/towns-and-villages/bibury-p670023.

Our next stop was at Bath. The driver took us past some very interesting homes at the Circus  and then parked near the Woods Restaurant. Our lunch consisted of chicken with brown sauce, carrots and broccoli, wine and coffee and panacotta for dessert. The meal was very delicious and tasty and service outstanding.

The Circus

It was raining on our drive to the Roman Baths. The bus stopped a few blocks away and we walked down a pedestrian street to the entrance. We had about an hour in the baths. We toured the different areas of the building and of course took photos.

At 5 PM we boarded the bus for the trip back to London. We arrived at the hotel at 8:10 PM. We went to the French cafe (Cafe Rouge)  next door for dinner.

It was a very nice day and enjoyed our visit to Bath.

British Isles cruise on Celebrity Equinox June 1-18, 2017

 

We were looking to take a cruise to a place we never have been and would like to explore.  When we were on our last cruise in the Caribbean the on board sales rep recommended this one. Since we booked on board we got extra perks and since the fare was so reasonable we booked a mini suite.

The main attraction of this cruise was that is was a French Open Cruise with an overnight in Le Havre which allowed guests to travel on an excursion to the French Open or to Versailles.  Little did I know what port in England was a great surprise and we really enjoyed seeing the city. More later on in the blog.

Since we missed visiting Versailles when we were in Paris we jumped on this opportunity. I went online when  we got home from our cruise to book this excursion.

Celebrity was offering a pre cruise stay for 3 nights with a half day tour and a full day tour, pickup at the airport and transfer to the hotel. It looked good and we took this offer.

We flew to London from San Francisco on May 31, 2017 in business class with British Airways on a 747. The 747 at the time was great plane to go on long trips.

June 1 we arrived at Heathrow Airport, cleared customs, got our bags and looked for our driver who took us to our hotel, the Grange St. Pauls. 

It looks like the hotel is now being managed by another operator.  https://www.jurysinns.com/hotels/london/leonardo-st-pauls?utm_source=google&utm_medium=local

We checked in and after some unpacking went to explore the hotel and the local area.  

Across the main street from the hotel were lots of shops. I needed a new journal because I forgot mine at home. Luckily there was a stationary shop where I bought a journal and pen to keep notes on this trip.