June 14, 2017 Liverpool Home of the Beatles

 

When I started the blog on this cruise I mentioned that there was one stop that was unexpected and turned out to be a highlight.

I knew we would visit Liverpool but I forgot that Liverpool was the home of the Beatles. When we were studying what excursion when on the ship to take in Liverpool I saw a Beatles tour. We signed up for it immediately. 

Luckily our ship docked on the side where our cabin was. We heard music and opened the curtain and went out to the balcony to see a band playing Beatles songs. What a wonderful greeting to the city of Liverpool.

We walked off the ship early so we can see the port area before our tour.

Heading towards Albert Dock we see the Beatles sculptures. 

Wow they were big.

Before I bought my Beatles Tee

After walking around we decided to stop and have a light lunch before the tour.

We   had lunch at The Fab 4 Cafe

Lasagna, cheese and tomato panini and drinks. 11pounds .

We were surprised to see that they served Beatles cake so of course we had to get a slice.

Note the Yellow submarine

We headed back to the pier to join the group. Our tour guide was Andy and he was going to show us the most interesting parts of Liverpool where the Beatles lived and wrote songs about.

Our first stop was at Penny Lane. 

We then drove by John Lennon's neighborhood.

Our next stop was at Strawberry Fields. We got out and took photos and looked at the neighborhood.

From here we went down to the Albert Dock to go to the Beatles Story.

https://www.beatlesstory.com/main-exhibition

The museum was laid out is a easy to follow order. The exhibits were great especially the Yellow Submarine one.

After visiting the Beatles story we got on the bus and headed to Matthew St. to visit the Cavern Club. 

https://www.cavernclub.com/

I forgot the Beatles got their start playing at the Cavern Club and it was so cool to visit it.

There was a huge man at the front door who let us in and we descended at least 3 flights to reach the club floor.

It was so mind blowing to see the club and stage and listen to a band who was performing. In another room was the bar and a display case with merchandise. Fortunately I had time to buy a T  shirt.!

We went back up to Matthew St. and our guide told us about the street and the statues. 

Eleanor Rigby statue

John Lennon

Cilla Black

Here the tour ended. I wish I saw the list of excursions before we got on the ship and I could have booked the 4 hour tour.

If I ever come back to England I would try and spend an overnight in Liverpool to visit the two Beatle museums, walk along Matthew St. and see any other Beatles related sites.

We boarded the ship around 5 pm and waited for the sailaway before going down to dinner. There were locals on the pier and the port shot out streamers and Beatles music was playing.

What a great day. Liverpool was the highlight of the trip for me. Versailles was nice but too far back in history. I remember the Beatles when they first were on TV on the Ed Sullivan Show.

June 13, 2017 today we visit Loch Lomond and Inveraray Castle

 

Today we were greeted with cloudy and rainy weather. We dressed appropriately.

Our tour will be a long one - starting at 10am and scheduled to end at 5:30pm.

The tour left an hour late meaning we will be back at the ship late today.

When we docked we looked out our balcony and saw a lone bagpiper playing songs to greet us.

We boarded the bus at 10 am and the first stop was at Loch Lomond which was featured in the song The Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond.

Loch Lomond is a beautiful area and visited by both  tourists and local people.

https://loch-lomond.net/

It’s part of the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.

The bus stopped at a little town called Luss-Island which had a few shops, restaurants and docking facilities for boaters.

We had 30 minutes of free time. We visited a few shops and went to the loch for photos.

When we were on the bus the guide played the song Bonnie Banks o' Loch Lomond and we all sang along.

It was an hour drive to Inverary  where we stopped at Loch Fyne Hotel and Spa for lunch. The food and service were great.

https://www.crerarhotels.com/loch-fyne-hotel-spa/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gmb

At 3pm we boarded the bus to go to Inverary Castle. I did not know what to expect and on the way over the guide explained that this Castle was on Downton Abbey TV show.

https://www.inveraray-castle.com/

 The  Castle was a little smaller than I imagined but impressive nevertheless.

The family that owns the Castle lives there in a separate part of the building that is off limits to visitors. But the rest is open for us and other visitors to see how the people lived there in the old days. The original furniture was in the castle.

We got to see the main rooms, bedrooms and dining and living areas.

It was great. 

After twenty minutes of free time we boarded the bus to go back to the ship.

Our guide informed us that we would be taking a ferry from Dunoon across the River Clyde to the peninsula where Greenock is and then the bus would take us to the ship.

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Taking a photo

We left the Castle at 4:25pm and got to the terminal at 6:25pm.

We had dinner at the buffet. 

Sea day. we are sailing from Le Havre, France to Glasgow (Greenock) Scotland

 

Today is a sea day.  

We are sailing from Le Havre to Greenock Scotland (the port nearest Glasgow, Scotland.

The distance is 660 nautical miles.

We rested as we were on the go visiting 3 ports in 5 days and every day we had tours.

Tonight is formal night so we will be dressed up for dinner.

June 11, 2017 Overnight in Le Havre today we tour Honfleur and Deauville

 

Today we have a free morning as our tour to Honfleur and Deauville meets at 2:20.

The weather is cloudy but pleasant. 

After lunch on board we gathered our things and went to the cruise  terminal to join the group.

Our first stop was in Deauville which was located south of Le Havre. Our bus crossed the Seine river and drove along the coast. We arrived at 3:30 and the guide gave us one hour to explore the seaside area and shops.

Deauville is as a seaside resort on the Côte Fleurie of France’s Normandy region  famous for its sandy beaches and boardwalk, horse racing, casino, golf courses and the American Film Festival.

Even though the weather was cloudy the beach was really lovely. I could see how people come here for the day or week to swim and sunbath and relax.

We walked down to the boardwalk and went up and down watching the people and looking at the beachside cabanas. Every cabana was named after an American movie star or director.

We got on the bus at 3:35 and it took us about an hour to drive the 18 miles to the town due to heavy Sunday traffic.

Honfleur is known for its old port with it's 16-18 century townhouses  that have been painted by Monet and other French artists.

Even  though it was Sunday all the shops and restaurants were open because of the tourists. 

Our guide took us around showing us old churches and buildings for an hour and then allowed us  20 minutes free time.  We got on the bus at 6:45 pm and arrived at the ship at 7:15.

The tour was very interesting and not too strenuous which we needed since the Versaille trip and tour was tiring.

We ate in the buffet as we missed our 6pm seating in the main dining room

June 10, 2017 Our overnight in Le Havre- today we visit Versailles

 

I may have mentioned in my earlier post that one reason we took this cruise was to visit Versailles. This visit I thought would be the highlight of the cruise. Well I was wrong as another port was a  highlight too which I will write about in a later post.

I ordered the excursion right after I booked the cruise so we would have space for the tour. I was sure it would sell out by the time we got on the ship.

Le Havre, France - the ship arrived in port 7:45am. 





Beautiful mild morning. Sunny and warm. At 9:45 we  boarded bus #13 for the excursion   to Versailles which included a sit down  lunch. 

The bus left the pier at 10:05am

Versailles is North west from Paris

Le Havre is second largest port next to Marseilles. 

We were told the ride would be over two hours and there would be no stops on the way. 

The guide told us Paris is 10 miles away.

We arrived at Versailles around 12:15 and the bus dropped us off at Restaurant Au Fou Du Roy.   restaurant au fou du roy versailles

We were seated as a group where the waiters served us a delicious lunch-

chicken, potatoes, bread with melted cheese, wine, fruit dessert and coffee.

If I remember correctly beer and wine were available at an extra charge.

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

https://www.chateauversailles.fr/

After lunch (2:15 PM) the guide walked us over to the entrance to Versailles where we got headsets and a brief intro. The guide also warned us that pickpockets are active in the building and to watch our belongings and wallets and purses.

The guide led us through the palace and stopped at important art and rooms during the tour and allowed us time to take photos. The palace is huge and there was no way to see everything, just the highlights.

 I would come again for a day tour to see more of the inside as well as tour the gardens which were very extensive.

We finished the tour around 3:30 and the guide gave us one hour to explore the grounds on our own or to go the neighborhood by the Palace and shop or grab a coffee.

We found a great cafe -Brasserie at home .

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187148-d2526370-Reviews-Brasserie_At_Home-Versailles_Yvelines_Ile_de_France.html

The man at the counter gave us a  warm greeting and took our order- sweet crepes and coffees. We sat down outside and he brought our food to our table.  Crepes were delicious and we enjoyed our coffee. 

Afterwards we walked back to the bus and it left  for Le Havre at 5 PM and arrived at the pier at 7:30pm.

We missed our 6 pm dinner in the main dining room and ate in the buffet.

It was a great day and it was what I expected and more.

Tomorrow we will take another tour in the Normandy area.