A first for us …..

…. An international holiday where we didn’t have to weigh our bags in advance to check we were within limits! 

No this isn’t Southampton! 

Embarkation Day – 1 

This time it was a fabulous cruise on The Anthem of the Seas – our first time cruising with Royal Caribbean – but the special added bonus for us was that it was from a UK port – Southampton – about 2.5 hours drive for us. 

We were warned well in advance that Southampton would be grid lock on embarkation day – 5 cruise ships in (and a boat show?).  So we decided to take no risks and stay in a nearby hotel the night before – with the added bonus that we could meet up with Pam’s cousin and her husband who we normally never see apart from at weddings or funerals.  Great idea, apart from the fact that actually finding the Doubletree Southampton, set in a wooded glade, was a pain in the proverbial and we actually had to retrace steps on various bits of motorway before we finally found it. 

Very welcoming hotel – as Hilton Honors Diamond members we got free car parking (a fiver a night), a room upgrade, a drinks voucher, buffet breakfast, two bottles of water and two chocolate cookies.  For an overnight stay, it was fine although the pillows were, to say the least, insubstantial – it was a big enough room, with a forest view.  But the hotel was strangely understaffed – a busy bar had one regular member of staff and a trainee – and the weirdest thing was that instead of the usual rammy at the bar as everyone sought to get served and the bartenders didn’t have a clue who was next, this time people formed an orderly queue and were strangely patient albeit with occasional frustration shown through the rolling of eyes 😉  

Had a very nice couple of hours with cousin and then a couple of appetizers as a snack.  They were very quickly served and were very tasty.  Breakfast in the morning was what you would expect from a buffet breakfast, but was quite poor – cold and not tasty.  The strange highlight of the stay was the genuine marks of a bird on the outside of a corridor window, wing outspread as if to try and stop itself. 

Best part of the hotel – booked using Hilton Honors points! 

Embarkation Day 

Preparation for this starts, of course, with an ever growing Facebook group.  If you had questions, they were quickly asked, just once in a while with the “It’s already been asked and answered” snide response.  One gentleman seemed to know everything that needed to be known and a bit more – in fact we think he may have made similar contributions to our Disney Panama Canal cruise many years ago. 

One of the key things we did learn was that Royal Caribbean open the check-in booking process at midnight 30 days before your cruise – and if you’re on the system early enough, you can select an early embarkation time.  So we duly stayed up till midnight and managed to book an embarkation time of 11:30.  TBH, it never actually mattered on the day. 

Because we had been warned about gridlock and the fact that a 15 minute journey from our hotel could take over an hour, we left the hotel around 9:15.  Guess what – the journey only took us 15 minutes and we were far too early even to get into our prebooked dock car park.  So we parked up in a car park nearby for a while till 40 minutes in we realised it was a pay and display car park with the first 30 minutes free – so (with fingers crossed) we quickly exited heading for our dock gate entry and it was open.  Parked our car, and took the cases out of the boot (trunk for the aliens reading this) – and they were immediately collected by gents in a white van – but that was fine – and we didn’t see them again till they were somewhat randomly spread along our stateroom corridor. 

Strolled across to the terminal and even though we were an hour before our scheduled check-in, we were straight through the system and on-board within 15 minutes.  Amazingly well organised with great staff who would have a bit of chat with you as you headed from land-side to sea-side. 

First things first (not quite thirst things first 😉) 

We’ve had credit card shock when we’ve come off cruises before where we were paying as you go for drinks, specialty restaurants ….  And therefore we were more than happy to consider the pre-paid packages meaning we would not have any shocks at the end of the cruise. 

Royal Caribbean quite aggressively market excursions, drinks packages, dining packages, internet packages, etc.  We decided we didn’t want to pay expensive prices with high margins for excursions, and ended up privately pre-booking just one excursion – more on that later.  In terms of drinks, we changed our minds several times, and Royal Caribbean changed their prices several times.  What we did learn from the Facebook group was that you could book drinks or dining package and pre-pay.  But if the price went down, you could cancel and get a full refund, whilst rebooking at the lower rate.  In terms of dining, we chose the steak house (Chops Grill – an American Steakhouse) + 1, without needing to specify the second.  With that one, we only went through one cancel and rebook as the price went down.  Very happy with the end price and the quality we got – more on that later.  But first thing on ship was to confirm and slightly modify the date of our Chops reservation, and to make a reservation for last day at the weird and wonderful restaurant Wonderland (themed around Alice in Wonderland).  One theatre show (Spectra’s Cabaret) required pre-booking and we had done that online in advance. 

But the drinks package was the most fluid (see what I did there 😉).  With drinks priced generally at up to $15, it was easy to work out what would be an advantageous price for us.  In the end we went through 5 or 6 book, cancel and rebook as price fluctuated – and sometimes it went back up. And we left well alone.  I can’t remember whether the price was Pounds or dollars – but although we first saw it at the 90+ per day per person level, it generally hovered in the 60s, starting around 68 and going down to 62 – and then, one early morning as we lay abed with our morning tea / coffee browsing through the Facebook thread, Pam exhibited one of her mild moments of excitement and screamed “It’s gone down to 44” – someone on the group had just flagged that up.  Now think how many $15 drinks that allows you straight away if you are thinking of the break-even point.  That was our last cancel and rebook.  By lunchtime that day, the price had gone back up to 64 and never fell below that again.  Was it deliberate or an enormous mistake by some poor now-fired marketing assistant – we will never know, but trust me, that was fabulous value, and we made the best of it – more, of course, on that later. 

Actually, why not now? 

 So, as soon as any reservations are made, the first thing that folk do is head for a celebration drink.  We went straight to the Schooner Bar – Pam was straight onto her favourite Bloody Mary and I asked for something rum based with pineapple in it – it came with some grenadine colouring and was delicious.  The Schooner Bar said to us – “You feel really comfortable here don’t you?”  And we immediately said yes, (this kind of conversation only happens after strong drink of course) – and the Schooner Bar became our favourite place especially as it had some great trivia and puzzle competitions, and it was a great place for casual conversation – one of the regular highlights of our trip – chatting to different folk. 

And did the drinks package pay for itself – too Bloody Mary right!  Although it does get worrying when the bar staff start calling you by name 😉.  Whether it was cocktails, wine, diet cokes, coffee (Starbucks or Lavazza) or bottles of water – we definitely appreciated the package and made more than full value from it – and kept changing our drinks of choice – I very much started to enjoy Aperol Spritz, much to my surprise. 

And the Dining Package? 

In general, we really enjoyed our food experiences – apart from the deserts in the buffets (Windjammer and Solarium Bistro – more on the Solarium later).  On our most recent cruising experience on MSC World Europa, we had very quickly realised that the over-crowded manic buffet was not for us, but in Windjammer, the principal buffet on Anthem, we were able to move about comfortably, tended to be able to get the same table each visit – although as the lunchtime session was moving on, there was one occasion when the staff were actively asking customers who had completed their meal to move as there was a bit of a queue forming.  But Windjammer food was varied, very tasty and more than satisfactory – we ate there several times.  The Solarium Bistro was much smaller, had a small range of cooked food (varying day to day) and a nice range of cold cuts and basic cheeses – and great breads!!!!   It had the best Beef and Guiness pie I’ve had in any restaurant. 

We did eat pizza once in Sorrentos pizza restaurant – and that was once more than we really should have – quite basic pizzas with incredibly tough cheese to chew (try saying that fast three times, especially if you are chewing the cheese 😊 ). 

Apart from the two specialty restaurants, Chops and Wonderland, we didn’t eat in any of the other restaurants – the sushi one looked quite nice if you enjoy sushi.  Jamie’s Italian Restaurant being flagged as a specialty restaurant is a bit of a contradiction for us – we’ve eaten in his UK restaurants before (now closed through bankruptcy) and not found the food anything special – and the menu on the Anthem just reflected same old, same old – and you have to ask yourself the question – on a luxury specialty experience, why the **** would you want to sit on old fashioned basic uncomfortable metal chairs – weird!!!  

Chops was very nice – unlike our previous MSC experience where the steak house package only gave you a limited choice off the menu (albeit perfectly acceptable and incredibly tasty), on Anthem (I should actually be calling it The Beautiful Anthem of the Seas as the Captain and crew always called it on any of the loudspeaker announcements)  the dining package gives you access to the full menu.  We happily enjoyed the Chops experience with very tasty Filet as our main choice, and some excellent wine accompanying (part of the drinks package). 

Our Wonderland experience – well we had deliberately saved that till the last evening (on a sea day) but couldn’t get in till 8pm, so were more than a bit hungry when we arrived – and it was very much a WOW experience.  We knew in advance that Wonderland was either loved or hated  – it is not a conventional menu or conventional food.  It’s what might be called Illusion food – nothing is as it seems – a tomato is not a tomato, an apple is not an apple, an olive is not an olive – sometimes using molecular gastronomy techniques  …. and we loved it.  This is about your imagination, about surprises, about unexpected tastes.  Even the start is a bit of an illusion – you are presented with a blank menu and you use a paint brush to bring up the menu – and its various components of fire, ice, land and water.  The cocktails are unique to Wonderland as well – Pam’s had a glass with candy floss / cotton candy on top over which the waiter then poured the drink – and the candy floss dissolved into the drink and Voila – a Cosmopolitan!  The only thing you actually choose is a main course and everything else is presented to you with detailed explanation partly before, and partly after the course.    We didn’t like it –  we loved it!  And by golly, we were full up by the end of the meal.      

I should also mention the main dining rooms – we sampled breakfast and lunch there as well as dinner. Food was very tasty. Instead of being allocated a fixed time and table for dinner, we chose what Royal Caribbean call My Time Dining. Which means you can prebook a time to suit you – not always available at specific times as the dining room may already be full. When we turned up for our first booking we were happy to share a table with others. We didn’t wait long and found ourselves at an empty table for 8 – and over the next 30 minutes more folk joined the table – and we all bonded almost immediately –  later in the evening we were enjoying our chatting to a point where the waiters had to give us the slightly more than subtle hint that we should head out. Somehow or other, the great hostess checking us in to subsequent My Time Dining evenings recognised that we were from what she called The Happy Table – and we were given the same table and the same dining companions.  It is really impressive when you are personally recognised by staff in busy places like Main Dining Room, handling hundreds of people each night. 

All in all – dining experience was excellent and fun! 

The Stateroom 

 No complaints here – with one slight difference from previous experiences – the bed was by the balcony – so you could lie abed and watch the scenery.  Two wardrobes, and a good walk-in shower en-suite.  Made up by the steward once a day – there is a choice of morning or evening – but he had no slots left for the morning so our stateroom was made up nightly – which actually suited us as we often had a mid afternoon break in the stateroom.  The balcony was fine – two comfortable chairs, foot rests and a small table – what more do you need? 

Entertainment 

Three production shows and lots of live music, quizzes etc.  One show, Spectra’s Cabaret, has to be pre-booked as it is in a slightly smaller venue than the other two (Two70 at the aft end of the ship).   You can’t fault the singing and the dancing, but Spectra is a bit of a puzzle really as to “Is there a point to this?” or is it just another hour I could have used to better purpose – I quite enjoyed it, Pam didn’t – a 50:50 split! 

In the Royal Theatre – a lovely theatre – there are two different shows – the first, The Gift, is again very talented but what was the purpose of the dragon, or the railway engine …. two people we were chatting to earlier in the week were definitely not going to see it because they were both widowed and The Gift is about a grieving widowed husband and his two children and somehow or other his late wife and the spirit world seeking to help him to a better place.   Well done, but again we never really understood what story line there was, if any. 

The last production show of the week shown three times, Day 6 evening and Day 7 (Sea Day) matinee and evening, and running for two hours, was the classic West End show We Will Rock You, featuring the music of Queen .  We’d seen it several times in London and loved it and were very much looking forward to it.  It’s very popular on-board so we had to get there about 45 minutes early to make sure of a decent seat.  The production was very good and the audience definitely enjoyed it – but remember this is an American ship and they Americanised it – and not to its advantage as far as a mainly UK audience was concerned.  Suddenly the home of Rock’n’roll was Gracelands – OH, NO IT WASN’T.   But over all we did enjoy it. The audience even got their phones out as torches at the end. 

Quizzes and puzzles were a regular feature – and much to our surprise we actually won three of the trivia quizzes – to be rewarded with trivial prizes (beer coozies). Great fun – great entertainment staff from various nationalities – it’s a great feat being able to be funny in a foreign language (Angelo the Italian who reckoned he could speak English better than some Brits – citing Geordies for example 😉 ).  The real highlight of these quizzes was the number of different folk you chatted to and laughed with.     

There was also lots of live music around the ship – piano, guitar, rock band. We were particularly impressed by the rock band (the ultimate party band) who could play a wide range of material from Abba to The Greatest Showman as well as much more rock oriented material. Very talented with great guitar and drum solos. And a real nice bunch of folk – we chatted to them a bit after an early evening sound check. They played in Anthem’s Music Hall – a very nice, very comfortable two story venue – ground floor with stage and dance floor surrounded by seating, and upstairs balcony on three sides, with probably the most comfortable seats on the ship, and a bar on each floor. After The Schooner Bar this became our second go-to place for relaxation and entertainment.    

Through the medium of music, I can now transition to our preferred daytime area where the background music being played all the time was non-intrusive but very much to our taste – artists like Shania Twain, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus …. and that was ….  

The Solarium 

 At the front end, Anthem has this wonderful area called The Solarium – an area surrounded by and roofed by glass with multiple small pools, great areas for sun-loungers, lots of greenery, multiple levels, even swings.  

I suspect that in hot humid climates, like the Med or the Caribbean, this area could potentially get unbearable, even though many windows can be opened.   (Interestingly one of the very large roof panels had suffered some damage and was completely crazed – the area directly beneath was roped off for safety but it did pose the question – how and when could they actually repair that massive pane of glass. 

We loved the Solarium and Pam went into the pools several times over the week.   Bar service was great – albeit that by the second day, one of the staff was greeting us as Mr Allan and Miss Pamela by the second morning. We also loved the Solarium Bistro as previously mentioned. 

The Journey 

 The Norse Gods smiled on us – from leaving Southampton to our return 7 days later, the seas were calm as a mill-pond, and the weather was great – until the last day sailing  down the North Sea in a thick sea fog for most of the morning with the fog-horn going every two minutes. 

Leaving Southampton had one disappointment – the Disney Dream sailed out 5 minutes ahead of us (we actually had to wait for her to go) but even though we stood on an upper deck watching her sail out from a nearby dock, we never heard her horn – we had expected a horn-off between the ships but to no avail. 

Day two was all at sea – and unbelievably calm sailing. 

Day three we sailed into Stavanger – a pretty harbour area for strolling round with a small market area selling lots of Norse woolen jumpers etc.   The major activity was the number of folk getting suited up and life jacketed for RIB tours.   I have to confess that our mobility, expecially mine, is more limited nowadays, and even strolling round the harbour was tiring, especially as we couldn’t find anywhere open for a coffee or a drink – not opening till 11 or 11:30 – so we, having enjoyed our stroll, just headed back to the ship and the Solarium – after all, when you are cruising on a big ship, the ship is the destination every bit as much as the ports.     

Day four was Olden – and the only time we planned and prebooked an excursion, albeit not booked through Royal Caribbean (their markups!!!!).   Our adventure was one of the steepest cable cars in the world taking us on a five minute journey to a height of just over 1000 metres. A shuttle bus to take you the 10 minutes there and then a brief wait before entering the cable car which could hold 48 people.   

I’ll divert for a moment – when you’re heading to the fjords at the start of autumn, you have to pack for all weathers – so you pack layers – from light tops, through jumpers and cardigans, to wet weather gear. And when you’re going to the top of a mountain where snow still may be found, its boots and thick socks as well. 

Stavanger had been dry and warm which we realised as we strolled around in trousers / leggings and jackets – so when we got to Loen for the skylift we had gone a little less dressed for very cold even though we were going to the top of the mountain where there was still some snow around..   The weather was very overcast when we got off the ship. We had prebooked tickets – DON’T – the queue to collect the tickets was much longer than just walking up to buy them without a booking. But eventually we were on the shuttle and ten very scenic minutes later we were at the Skylift.    The cloud base was low and you couldn’t see the top of the lift. And it was quite cool at the ground level. 

We had to wait for a car to depart and a new one to arrive – apart from a tiny seat its all standing. With a jerk, (no, not Steve Martin), the car takes off and in seconds you realise just how steep the climb is as you pull away from the two fjords below. And then two minutes later, a collective WOW! from the passengers as we break through the cloud into the most stunning scenery and the surrounding mountains. Up ahead of us is this stunning building which is part skylift terminus and part two storey restaurant / café. To be honest it resembles a kind of villain’s hideaway– like Ernst Stavro Blofeld or Tony Stark Ironman. It’s surrounded by viewing areas and helipad. And is incredibly warm – how weird, cool at the bottom and hot at the top.  

We got a table in the restaurant for coffee / hot chocolate – and Pam went for a wander round outside. When she came back she was insistent that we both went out to the main viewing point – and down below us as the cloud started to break, we could see the two fjords and quite quickly Anthem of the Seas could clearly be seen as could MSC Virtuosa. (Anthem was dockside and we could just wander off, whereas MSC Virtuosa was anchored mid fjord and passengers had to be tendered off – sucks to be them 😉). We can see paragliding going on, there are various walking trails, as well as a zip line. But to us, this was the one thing we wanted to do and it has far exceeded our expectations – and seeing the two ships way way down below was simply wonderful. 

 Day 5 was Geiranger – a very small area around the dock with some souvenir shopping, but to get anywhere worth seeing was a bit of an uphill hike – and we decided against it – so 30 minutes on shore by the ship and then back aboard – and head to the Solarium to be greeted with “Hello Mr Allan and Miss Pamela – how are you this morning?”. Another lovely lazy day. We sailed mid afternoon, and the captain treated us to a 360 turn in quite a narrow fjord, so that everyone had a chance to see the famous Seven Sisters waterfall – amazing what these ships can do nowadays. 

Day 6 – Haugesund – a lovely, quite prosperous white buildings / red roofs town and lovely quayside apartments next to a large busy marina.  

Famous for its herring industry – can you imagine a six storey warehouse with 40,000 barrels of salted herring. Woah! – how do you avoid smelling it everywhere? But nowadays, and right beside the dock, its all about oil platforms and wind farms at sea. We had choices here – a small fee for a shuttle bus into the town, an open top guided tour bus, or a Land Train (like the French Petit Train), and we chose the latter – a 70 minute meander round the town with audio commentary, a ten minute stop by a famous statue (Harold the Long Hair who united Norway) and then a drop-off / pick-up in the town centre by the main shopping area. This was very much a polo-shirt and shorts day – very warm in blinding sunshine, and we enjoyed our stroll around the shops – found a great independent coffee bar – and found souvenirs for Joy and David. 

Day 7 – at sea sailing down the North Sea while we relaxed in the Solarium, listening to the foghorn, and then packing and putting our cases out before quizzing, chatting, trying different bars and finally heading to the amazing Wonderland for our last dinner. 

Disembarkation 

One of the unusual thing on Anthem was that you could select your disembarkation time – we chose 07:30, they allocated us 07:15, and in fact we were off at 07:00 – no passports required – just walk straight out – cases all lined up by disembarkation group. We grabbed the cases and were quickly across the car park, car loaded and off by 7:20. Home at 9:40 and started unloading the car – and that’s when we realised – we had collected the wrong red case, belonging to a Glasgow couple!!!!! 

Fortunately they had a phone number on their luggage label and we were able to contact them – they were driving to Scotland and we were able to intercept their journey at a Motorway Service station about 30 minutes back down our route from Southampton. Many apologies from us but all was good. Apart from our missing suitcase. 

I did a spot of on-line searching and found contact details for Royal Caribbean’s baggage agent in Southampton – e-mailed them and within minutes they called me back and confirmed they had our case and would arrange to get it couriered to us – and as I sit here a week later, the case has just been delivered this afternoon – yuk – dirty washing! 

So, once again, does size matter 

I asked the question when we sailed earlier this year on MSC World Europa – and its 6,800 passenger capacity definitely was not for us to repeat. Anthem can carry just under 4,200 at full double passenger capacity and we were told she was about 400 passengers below full capacity. We never felt over-crowded, we were never short of somewhere comfortable to sit / relax. Our experience from start to finish on the beautiful Anthem of the Seas was everything we hoped for and more – loved it! 

We’re back!

Long while since we simply blogged – instead we worked on the PamandAllan website. Well, its back to first principles now – our life is rich and varied, and not all about exotic travel, so occasional blogging, whether it be travel or simply the more mundane things in our life (actually is anything mundane).

But first, of course – we have a travel blog from our May cruising holiday on MSC World Europa.

Yes, size does matter 

A few weeks ago I asked the question “Does size matter?” on Facebook. 

For sure, my tongue was in my cheek, and I was referring to our forthcoming May cruise on MSC World Europa – a less than six months old mega cruise ship carrying c. 6800 passengers.  It was many years since we last cruised, and that was on NCL Pride of America with just over 2100 passengers.  So would we feel the difference and would it matter? 

Let me take you along on our trip (trials and tribulations included)  and let’s see whether it did or not? 

1. Travel 

Our cruise would start in Naples, but first we had to get there.  We booked to fly BA from London Heathrow to Naples.  Using Avios points, the round trip ended up costing me just £2 for the two of us. BARGAIN!   

Our flight was scheduled to leave at 06:30 from Terminal 3 and that gave us the opportunity to stay overnight at the T3 Aerotel, a hotel within the T3 building – it is aimed at travelers looking for a few hours rest between flights but suited our needs – a reasonable size bedroom with en-suite, a comfortable bed, a decent size TV, and good air conditioning – minor downside – no windows, but that was not an issue.  We were very comfortable with the Aerotel.  Checked in at 16:00 – and went wandering to find a pub for a light meal and a little alcohol.  While Pam was showering before bed, I checked the boarding passes I had printed off at home that morning, and spotted that the flight was actually scheduled to depart from T5.   

AND BA HAD NOT TOLD US IN ADVANCE! 

To get from T3 to T5 is relatively easy during most of the day – a fair bit of walking down to the intra terminal train and a 15 minute transit – but not any good for a crack of dawn flight as the service doesn’t start till 05:30 and by the time we got to bag drop in T5 we would almost certainly be too late.  A bit of a restless night ensued – and then realised we could taxi across  – the taxi driver has to get special authority to go between terminals and then be allowed to pick-up passengers at T5 – but that was easily given,  and some £25 later we were walking into T5 just as bag drop opened.  Going through Security was speedy and painless. 

T5 was crowded and coffee places were queued out, but we managed to get seats and coffee and snacks.  The flight was called on time and we were bussed out to the plane.  We had paid attention to a travel hack we saw on YouTube – and in a 3-3 configuration we had booked window and aisle – and yes, nobody selected the middle seat so we had plenty of space.  Flight was smooth and on-time we arrived at Naples airport. 

2. Naples 

We were staying overnight  at start and end of our cruise, in a little 4 bedroom boutique hotel – located in a tower block right on the seafront (only issue with that was that you couldn’t see the seafront because of port buildings and construction works on the other side of the road.  But let’s get back to arrival in Naples – first impressions – the toilets in Naples airport arrivals hall are literally the sh***iest we have ever seen.  And when you come through immigration into the main arrivals hall it is absolute chaos.  Our hotel had arranged with us for a car to pick us up at the airport – and it took a few minutes to recognise the meeting place and find our driver. 

Now, hear this, in Northampton Pam is regularly to be heard cursing the potholes in the road.  Well, Northampton, you ain’t seen nothing yet – Naples looks like it was built specifically for potholes with odd bits of road thrown in around them.  For a major international airport, the road into Naples centre is absolutely horrific – and made worse by drivers with one hand on steerng wheel, one hand thumbing away on mobile phone and no thought about slowing down. 

Naples rises almost ledge by ledge from the bay – and as you drive in from the airport there are some “Wow” moments but also some zig-zagging through tight streets.  And our journey was full of blue and white ribbons / streamers crossing these old streets and ancient alleyways.  Everywhere!!!!  And at first we didn’t know why.  But then realised that just a couple of days before, the local football team, Napoli, had won Italy’s Serie A championship for the first time in 33 years and the town was just a little proud of that 😉. 

When we got to our hotel, Hotel Neocore, the lobby and the public area were full of blue and white and the number three (this was only their third championship win), table football set, and a statue of the back of Maradona who captained win number two.  The hotel manager asked me if I wanted my photo taken with Maradona – but to a Brit that is almost sacrilege – this was the man whose hand-ball cheated England out of winning a quarter final in the World Cup, so NO thanks! 

The hotel was lovely – one floor above street level and quite compact.  Avery pleasant lounge area where we had a great light breakfast with orange juice freshly squeezed for us from the oranges on our table. The bedroom and en-suite were great – spacious, modern, and with a very comfortable bed.  But the thing that really made the place so welcoming were the staff – Vincenzo, the owner, who was there on the Sunday we arrived along with a very helpful young man who helped to find places we wanted to go to on a local map.  During the week, the delightful Francesca is in charge and we had some great conversation with her. The ground floor of the building was a typical cramped mini-market and just across the street were a couple of restaurants including a great little Trattoria where we lunched on our return day after disembarkation. 

 After dumping our bags and freshening up, we went out to see the thing Pam wanted to see the most – the underground stations – some of the central metro stations are as beautifully decorated as any in the world – we had a 10 minute walk to the first – Pam went down inside for a look and then got me down to see as well – quite spectacular.  So we decided we would take the metro one stop to the most famous of these beautiful stations, Toledo.  And you have never seen such a crowded metro.  We came out of Toledo into a small market and what looked like the start of a massive street party.  It turned out that when Napoli actually clinched the Championship , it was an away game – and today was the first home game since then, so every fan and his dog were going to the match.  We stopped to get a beer —— and I discovered my wallet had been stolen from my cross body shoulder bag!  Seems to happen to me too often – and this time I had been much more careful than when I was in Barcelona.  So I had lost about 100 Euros and my credit card.  Had obviously happened inside the crowded metro.  Luckily, I hadn’t taken out all our euros, and I had given Pam some to keep in her purse – so we had enough to pay for our drinks.  But a bit of a downer so headed straight back to the hotel to get in touch with the card company and report the theft.  Within the space of half an hour there were 6 relatively small transactions against the card, all from the same place – and eventually refunded by the bank as fraudulent transactions.   

We chilled in the bedroom for a while before going out for our dinner reservation.  We’d done our research at home and found this well reviewed bistro called La Locanda Gesu Vecchio and made a reservation for it.  We’d looked on small scale maps to see roughly where it was and used bing or google to get directions.  And there’s the problem – small scale maps are two dimensional and don’t recognise the potential hard work going up the “ledges” of Naples – and step by step instructions are pretty damned useless when (a) Naples doesn’t show street names and (b) there is so much construction work.  So after an exhausting half an hour of what should have been an easy stroll (through narrow streets, back and forth down a busy main road, climbing irregular (granite?) steps of great height without hand rails, we were about to give up but we asked two young Italian girls if they knew where the restaurant was and they pointed us just 50 yards up the street to the street corner and there it was – we made it just in time before they would have given up our reservation. 

Anyway, it was a great place and we relaxed after the earlier hassles.  Pro-actively run by the young owner, with great staff and a visible busy kitchen.  Around about 10 tables.  Everybody looked smart and happy.  Food was very tasty as was the wine.  A trivial highlight – the wine bottles were all  on high shelfs running round the room, and to get one down, the waiter had to use a long pole with pincers on the end which he clasped round the bottle neck and lifted it down – each time it was done your heart went into your mouth in case he dropped it.  A lovely evening. 

Decided as we left the restaurant that we really did not want to retrace our steps (literally – we didn’t want to go back down those horrendous irregular steps).  So kept on walking straight past where we had asked the two young girls for directions.  And it was a long gentle slope down to what you might call Naples ground level.  At the bottom we turned right and we were on a straight road which would lead us directly to our hotel.  (How often do the Bing / Google mapping algorithms lead you up blind alleys in the name of shortest distance).  Only one issue – we had to cross a busy main road (Corsa Umberto) at a big roundabout by Duomo – and Naples was absolutely going mad – everyone, of all ages, in Naples seemed to be out on the streets – with a constant procession of scooters, motorcycles and cars going up and down Corsa Umberto, horns blowing, smoke flares going, and a sea of blue and white flags as they celebrated their Team’s Championship win.  Absolutely manic.  But eventually we managed to cross the road and complete the five minute stroll to our hotel.  And bed!  And a restful sleep.  Or so we thought – but not long after we got to bed it seemed like WWII had broken out – fireworks, fireworks and more fireworks – and they went on for ages.  Gawd – the Napolitans sure know how to celebrate. 

3. Embarkation day 

A delicious light breakfast in the hotel – turned out we were the only overnight guests.  The lovely lady helping not only pressed fresh orange juice for us and got coffee for us, but also got fresh toast for us – we had a very nice small selection of meats, cheeses, fruit, pastries, etc – all very much enjoyed while we had a little bit of a conversation with the lady with neither of us speaking the other’s language.  After breakfast, she moved on to housekeeping the bedrooms.  By this time, the wonderful Francesca had arrived.  She had arranged our car from the airport for us.  In this very lightly staffed hotel, she was receptionist / daytime manager.  She had excellent English and we had a great time killing time and chatting with her.  We had originally thought we could walk to the sea terminal – but it was raining so Francesca organised a taxi for us and we were there in no time.  

This was our first sight of the ship, OMG – it’s like a 20 storey high rise apartment block – huge!  As we got there, there were lots of people coming away – either disembarking or heading for a day on-shore.  (I should mention the World Europa is like a bus – dropping off and picking up new passengers at every stop).

Travelling with walking sticks (both of us), we were immediately routed to a priority check-in line to drop cases and then collect our cruise cards.  No problems at all.  Directed upstairs in the terminal where there was a large waiting area with a bunch of shops.  Pam browsed and then bought two small liqueur bottles.  We queued briefly and then we were on! 

4.  The Ship 

It’s a wow!  MSC is an Italian company based in Naples, and if there is one thing Italians are famous it is style – and as you walk on and start exploring, it is clear that MSC World Europa has it in bucket-loads.  The gentle brown colouring throughout, the mirroring everywhere to give impressions of space, the staff uniforms, the cabin design (great en-suite), and the huge light and airy main dining rooms.   

But gradually we realized that there was a degree of style over substance, of form over function.  and that was definitely exacerbated by the number of passengers – in all the main public areas noise levels were high, seating was limited and not comfortable.  There was no outside walk right round the ship.  Smoking was allowed in the casino – even when it was quiet, the lingering smell of smoking quickly attached itself to you – and you could only get to the stunning panoramic view theatre / bar at the rear by walking through the casino.  And much to our surprise, we even saw a walking crocodile of young children from a kids’ club being taken through the casino.  It was almost impossible to walk from a to b in a straight line – instead, curves ruled the design.  Floors were uneven – sudden little bumps or slopes that were not immediately visible.   And one thing we knew about in advance, but even then, we did find it could be very frustrating / time wasting – every announcement had to be done in about five languages – and when you are taking part in a quiz – it seems interminable between every question.  The main buffet – overcrowded and huge – Pam got lost at one point and had to get a waiter to show her back to where our table was.  

So yes, size does matter but so does design to cope with the size! 

OK – that’s some of the issues – but what about the cruise – did we enjoy it?  Yes, yes, yes! 

Food 

It’s a pass on the buffet, but main dining room food was very tasty although not always piping hot (there were three MDRs and we never had to queue).  Staff there were excellent (as they were generally – we never found a staff member who was less than cheery).  But the highlight for us were the speciality restaurants – we’d paid for a four speciality restaurant package – that didn’t give you complete a-la-carte freedom, but did give you a very good choice.  We ate Teppanyaki, Tex-Mex, Scandinavian, and Steakhouse – and after each one we said “That was fabulous – surely it can’t get any better” and yet it did.  Perhaps these were the highlight of our cruise. 

Drink 

We tried three of the bars / lounges and found they were nothing particularly special – but then we found three very special places that immediately became our go-to places – a gin bar where they made their own vermouths / herbals – and we drank fabulous spritzers or special cocktails.  A teahouse reminiscent of the Raj (British colonial India) with a great selection of teas and delicious cookies.  A coffee shop on the rear promenade which served our favourite Lavazza coffee and became our after dinner coffee.  And then there was the secret bar – we knew about it from you-tube videos – but it required a secret token to allow access – and on our first evening in the gin bar the waiter told us he had something to give us and then slipped us the two tokens required instructing us that we must not talk about them.  Scanning the bar code on them told you what to do – we had to phone  a number to make a reservation – and at the right time head down to a UK red telephone box, go inside and make a phone call with a secret password. Two minutes later, the back of the telephone box opened up and we are ushered inside to crew-only areas and taken down one level to another secret door – which led into a 20’s style speakeasy – and that was simply great fun – lovely little waitress who was surprised that I was still drinking cocktails at my age – great cocktails (I had a smoke filled one) – and a lovely singer and trio performing classic songs from way back when.  Quite memorable! 

Entertainment – we only saw three shows – one good (a cirque de soleil type show, very loosely themed around Amelia Earhart for no obvious reason) and two OK (a Liverpool lass – Christina Ellinas – a former contestant on The Voice in the UK – singing Diva numbers – a good pub singer, and on another night a songs from the West End musicals show with at least one off-key singer).  There was also a wandering minstrel type quartet – who strolled into restaurants or bars – OK but the drum particularly was a bit “one beat”.  There were performances in some of the bars but apart from a somewhat OTT pianist in the tea lounge, we didn’t experience any. 

Ports / excursions – 

Messina was lovely albeit mixed weather – we took an official MSC excursion around the town – splendid viewing points, a tour of the cathedral including its stunning Treasury, a chance to see the clock tower moving figures at 12 noon, and a nearby cafe for a chance to sample granita and cream-filled cannolicchio. Informative and enjoyable tour. 

Malta was stunning – we had nothing booked – wandered off the dock in Valetta, past a huge row of taxis with drivers touting for business. Got a little further and realized it was still a bit to go just as another taxi driver turned up – so we let him take us the short hop up the hill to Valetta town centre. Weather was glorious and Valetta was busy – that is what happens when cruise ships arrive! We just wandered, stopping off at a pavement café for coffee and the loveliest croissant I have ever had – strawberry filled with strawberry glazing. The town was very pretty – and then suddenly we found a Petit Train and took a little tour round Valetta and its fortifications. Stinking hot by then, so taxi back to the ship and relax. 

Barcelona is one of our favourite places even if we have some chequered memories from our last trip there. We had a credit from a walking tour company that we had to cancel last time after my broken nose incident – we were able to use it to book a morning Tastes and Traditions tour. (www.devourtours.com), We had a Tapas tour with them the last time we were there, and we can highly recommend Devour if you are in Barcelona – 5* from us. 3.5 hours strolling, listening to history, eating and drinking – starting off at Santa Caterina Market (a true locals‘ market unlike the Boqueria on the Rambla) and ending up with Paella in Barceloneta. We were in a small group and had a great time (see, I told you size matters). 

Marseille and Genoa go by in a bit of a blur – weather was very poor and the only time we went off the ship was into the terminal to get access to free wifi. TBH, we were enjoying our afternoon routines particularly – tea lounge and then gin bar. 

And then back to Naples – disembarkation was easy but as we walked out of the terminal it was raining quite heavily so we grabbed a cab back to Neocore, our hotel, to a lovely welcome back from Francesca. At her recommendation we popped across the potholes to the Trattoria where we had a tasty freshly cooked lunch. Back to the hotel and chilled for the rest of the day – no point in going exploring – it was too wet. 

5. Return Travel 

Following morning was tasty light breakfast again and a couple of hours chatting in the lounge with Francesca till our car back to the airport (same driver as our arrival). And the roads were every bit as bad as we remembered from our arrival. The weather was so appalling that when he pulled up inside the multi-storey car park to drop us off, we stepped out into a couple of inches of water! 

Once we found our check-in desk at the airport – a fair bit of time taken searching for it, weaving in and out of other check-in queues – it was all quite easy and we headed upstairs to departures. We have never seen so many eating and drinking places (and of course top-end luxury shops).  managed the obligatory coffee (very nice) and then toilet (unpleasant again) before boarding and heading back to Heathrow – then Heathrow Express, taxi, Northampton train, and taxi again – and home. Exhausted! 

So, wonderful cruise, many great memories, but without a doubt in our experience size did matter for the worse – and now three and a bit months later we are facing our next cruise (on Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas, to the Norwegian Fjords) but this time it’s a smaller ship (4180 based on double occupancy) – I’ll let you know how that one goes! 

My bits were lost, but now they are found

I used to have a friend called Percy Verance, but as I get older I wonder if I’m moving to a new Irish friend called O’Sodit!

Or is it just that suppliers don’t care about customers – maybe that’s why the first syllable of customer sounds like cuss!  But today I found Percy again!!!! And I’m a happy chappy.

Bought a wooden two drawer filing cabinet from that well known Brazilian jungle supplier. Good price – and delivered within 3 days. Extremely well packaged to protect in transit. Unpacked, and with considerable effort and the always present assistance of the boss, we managed to slide it up the stairs to our office. (With associated bruises!) Unlocked it and looked for the bits to finish the cabinet – feet and handles. Nowhere to be found. No instructions anywhere. Went back through the copious packaging. No bits. Drawers don’t come free from the cabinet. So no bits!!!!!! O’Sodit!
Followed the “if you’ve got a problem” guidelines on the supplier website – simply said call the manufacturer on this number. Called – eventually got answer machine – left request for replacement parts alongside order and contact details.
A week and a half later – nothing!
I’ve got a free moment while the boss is doing kitchen things. Think I’ll go back to the jungle again to see how to raise a complaint – maybe I should look at the reviews to see if anybody had a similar shortage. There are around 30 reviews – quite mixed – but one of the oldest said – “couldn’t find the parts – BUT EVENTUALLY DICOVERED THEM TAPED TO THE INSIDE BACK OF THE CABINET BEHIND THE DRAWERS”. But I thought I’d checked that. Put the flashlight on my phone – and yes, on peering in on hands and knees, there are bags taped to the back. But impossible to get my hands in to access them. Tried poking with a metal bar – but not long enough. I’m going to have to get the drawer out – but how – looks like there are plastic locking levers on both sides. Tried both levers up, only one side seems to loosen. Tried both sides down – only one side seems to loosen. Tried and tried – but not getting both sides to loosen. Getting close to frustration again. Hang on – shouted Percy, don’t listen to that impatient Irish voice – why not try one lever up, and one lever down. And sure enough the drawer came all the way out!!!! And I pulled my bits out.
Five minutes later, feet and handles on. And Allan is very happy – ‘cos he found his bits, and especially ‘cos he found Percy again.

But sometimes O’Sodit does prove an interesting outcome – in an Italian restaurant we like, on Thursday for a quick lunch – beer, coffee and starters come quite quickly and are just what we wanted. Then time drags on – no mains – and time drags on (car park limit getting closer) – we do listen to Percy – and time drags on – apologies from the waitress (still got just under 25 minutes to get the car out) – and time drags on – apologies from the manageress and promise that we’re next out of the kitchen – and time drags on – around an hour just waiting for the mains – five minutes to move the car. O’Sodit!!!!!. Stand up to head out – Pam gets her purse out to pay for what we had (she’d promised to buy lunch that day). The Manageress comes rushing up, apologising, and says you don’t need to pay. So we left celebrating our Irish friend just a little – although we’d rather have had lunch!

I guess we have to know a little of each of Percy Verance and O’Sodit.

HAPPY EASTER!

When Autumn leaves begin to fall …….

September 2015 – and in less than a fortnight we embark on our big holiday for the year – and it’s back to Florida for all the (early) Halloween celebrations in the Theme Parks.

Autumn, the season of mellow fruitfulness – and perhaps a time for reflection.

Almost three years since I retired, two and a half years since we moved back to England and into our new life in Milton Keynes.  And as Pam said the other day, when we sat in our home in the Isle of Man, we never imagined the way our life would change after the move over here.  And now we say so often that these are the best times of our lives.

It’s been a manic time – with new house, new location, lots of exploring, lots of hither and thither.  But now we’re perhaps finding a more settled pace of life for us – rich and fulfilled, but less manic.

Having said that – this month of September continues to be hectic and fulfilled – three live concerts (two in London), and a cinema live transmission of Rocky Horror Show charity evening.  On top of that, I’m doing some voluntary IT consulting with a local charity, and, as a Parish Councillor, I’ve got five meetings this month.

I should comment on the London concerts as they are important to us and have become quite a strong feature in our life. Now that we are within easy distance of London, an hour by car or 30 – 40 minutes by train, we’ve taken the opportunity to go see all sorts of concerts ranging from D-Day celebrations in the Royal Albert Hall to the kind of show we saw on Saturday – a small, quite intimate cabaret venue called Crazy Coqs, just off Piccadilly.  When we were on the IoM we never understood the range of this kind of small cabaret that was available.  Yes, we flew over a few times specifically to see our NYC friend Scott performing, but now we seem to be going to more and more of these small show.  Why?  Well for a start, West End shows are expensive, whereas these concerts and smaller events are not.  But far more than that – these are FUN!  And far more personal.  Perhaps you hear more personal tales from the performer.  Perhaps there is more interaction with the small audience.  We get a chance to see the reach and range of the performers – and trust me, it can be very very varied, even from a single performer.  This is a far more intimate environment, often with quite demonstrable emotion.  And we see big show tunes being performed, or long lost songs cut from a show before the opening, or songs from / about the performer’s life.  We hear clever, tricky, fast, complicated songs.  And we meet people and chat!  These are wonderful evenings and we come away with a smile on our face.

And that is perhaps symbolic of the way our life is now heading – instead of the big, expensive event, we are enjoying the short, rich in value event.  Instead of long-haul complicated holidays to favourite places, we are now increasingly focussed on shorter, more local breaks to new places (with less travel!).

The one constant in all of this will continue to be our relationship with our friends (Foolish or otherwise).

So, with not too many regrets, we see our late September departure for good old Orlando may be our last. (Although hopefully Joy will go back in the future).  We are looking forward to the trip and have lots planned for it, including friends, alcohol, new experiences.  (And yes, I say may be, but will never say never again!)

Cases will no doubt come out early next week – cats will become unsettled – we’ll be checking paperwork yet again – and then the day to lock the doors and head for Heathrow will be upon us.  And I’ll keep you updated.

Connections

Don’t ya just hate WordPress – why do I never learn my lesson – I almost finish a long blog in WordPress – swith Windows to do something else, come back to WordPress …. And it’s locked and I can’t enter / edit / save / do any flipping thing. Why oh why didn’t I write the blog in Word and then simply cut, paste and publish!!!!!

Anyway, Connections – make them, cherish them, and they can enrich your life.

Several weeks ago, we planned a Saturday trip to London this coming weekend – rail fare is ridiculously cheap, and we wanted to go back to Camden Market and to Gilgamesh – a wonderful and quite unique Pan Asian restaurant in the Market that is definitely a family favourite. Camden and the Market is a very bohemian area – multi cultural and full of individual quirky shops on the main street, and a wide variety of retro, vintage, Goth, etc stalls in the Market. The Market is physically in the old Stables alongside Regent Canal – these were the stables for the horses that pulled the canal barges. It’s a great place to explore and find things that you never knew you needed up till now! And Gilgamesh is a massive place, wonderful design, with a kitchen that is somnetimes used by Masterchef to put their amateur chefs into as part of their “working in a professional kitchen under pressure” experience. It’s a trip we always enjoy! We’re looking forward to it.

But suddenly, yesterday, because of Connections, our trip becomes enriched, more enjoyable, and, what’s more, full of the craic.

How? Why?

I’ve mentioned before, our great dear friends, Moira, John and Caoimhe Walsh. We first met them through “connections” with our cruising / Disney buddies, the Ship of Fools. The Ship of Fools came together collectively on a 2005 Disney Cruise from California to Florida through the Panama Canal, and although the group has shrunk since it first came together, it has stayed in touch virtually and physically for nearly 10 years. M, J & C travelled with some of the Fools on a Disney Cruise some time later and immediately became part of the Fools. We have shared many happy times together, in London, at home, in Ireland, in Canada, and in the US, and feel that they are simply our extended family.

In 2007, we spent a few days in Dublin with Moira, when we went to see Josh Groban. We had a fun trip, and made a new “connection” at dinner in a Temple Bar pub when we met Moira’s sister Mairead and her daughter Ciara. A fun evening was had by all – our introduction to Boxty!   We’ve kept loosely in touch since then – Joy with Ciara on Facebook, and us following Mairead’s interesting and entertaining (and enlightening) blog of travels (sometimes intersecting with other Fools) and life insights, but we’ve not met since then.

Suddenly yesterday, Joy receives a text from Mairead – she and her husband Dennis will be in London this weekend as Dennis is on a course. Moira, sitting in Canada, had suggested to Mairead that since we often go to London, why doesn’t Mairead contact us and see if we can meet up. Various texts and e-mails later, yes – sorted. Mairead is going to join us in Camden for lunch in Gilgamesh on Saturday.  We’re delighted with this.

Connections – make them, keep them, cherish them – they can enrich your life.

Update and photos on Saturday!

A (almost) Halloween adventure

Our Autumn 2014 jaunt to the US is over, and we’re fully back to normal now (including visits to Swimming Pool / Gym). Even ordered a new double oven as the door on our main oven doesn’t close properly.

So, how was the holiday:

• It’s a heck of a long trip to get there – even though we hotelled at Gatwick the night before, and the nine and a bit hour flight to Orlando was relatively painless with reasonable food (hint: take some decent headphones, as the ones supplied in herd class are pretty poor and we gave up watching movies ‘cos we couldn’t hear the dialogue – whereas we bought $69 Sony noise cancelling headphones for the flight back and they gave great sound) – but we were exhausted by the time we got to Disney – we had planned to go off-site to do a brief shop before settling in, but ended up doing a small expensive shop for breakfast goodies at the Resort shop.
• We stayed in a studio at Disney’s Old Key West Resort – this used to be our home DVC resort when we owned DVC points – we hadn’t been back for 4 years – but it was as if we’d never been away – the studio has 2 queen beds (very comfy), a small kitchen facility (fridge, microwave, toaster, coffee perc), a spacious bathroom with step-in bath / shower, and a pleasant balcony with two chairs and a small table. OKW is the original DVC resort and by far the most spacious – the studio is a very large room. We requested accommodation in the Turtle Pond area – quite a distance from the main check-in / shop / restaurant / takeaway / boardwalk / pool / boat to Downtown Disney – but with it’s own pool and counter service snacks / drinks. The Turtle Pond pool is a great size – we were normally down early morning and it was deserted – great for leisurely lap swimming and laying out in the sun. But because it’s a distance from the Hospitality House area, we didn’t use the facilities there – we’d intended to take the boat to Downtown Disney but didn’t – instead we took the regular Disney bus service to Downtown, as well as to all the park locations. We loved our Old Key West home just as much as always – apart from the hike up stairs to the 2^nd floor ( 3^rd floor in US terms).
• It’s worth saying that we had read numerous comments about Disney budget cut backs and therefore service getting poorer. We saw absolutely no signs of that. In fact, OKW was extremely well maintained – even with folk out power spraying the pool buildings, or leaf blowing, or gardening as early as 7am. The transport infrastructure (we’re told Disney has the second largest bus system in North America (after NYC)) is phenomenal. The seasonal decorations in the parks are phenomenal and highly imaginative (for instance pumpkin carvings which reflect where they are located – such as the fire hydrant carving by the fire house,, or the Ichabod carving in Sleepy Hollow – even bronze statues of characters replaced by seasonal versions). And the enormous amount of construction work going on – whether it’s at Downtown Disney, or the Magic Kingdom hub – with rides such as Maelstrom and Backlot Tour closing down permanently for immediate development on new attractions.
• To car or not to car? When you stay on property with such a great Disney transport system, it’s a real question as to whether you want to rent a car. But we did, as always – used it far less than we used to (only had to fill it with half a tank of petrol / gas before taking it back). Hint: if you’re on a take it back full of fuel deal, make sure you fill to the top and as near to the airport as poss – I ended up getting charged just over $9 a litre for 2 litres as I’d filled up at Disney and probably not to the max. But we think having a car is essential – even though we used the Disney buses to and from all attractions, we did want to go shopping a few times, to go offsite for meals several times, and to visit our favourite town Celebration.  And I do enjoy driving around in Orlando – we know the roads so well that we “get” the necessary lane disciplines.
• Firsts?
  • We’ve never been during the Halloween season, admittedly early in the season – which actually meant things were generally very quiet compared to normal. The parks are spectacular at Halloween – the rich, Autumn colours are everywhere, and as mentioned above, the imagination involved is spectacular. Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party – great fun, spectacular night-time parade including the Headless Horseman, wonderful fireworks (Hallowishes), amazing amounts of trick-or-treat candy handed out (and all decent branded stuff), and an unbelievable number of MNSSHP visitors in glorious costumes (although there were some examples of people who were simply not suited to dress up as their favourite Disney character).
  • EPCOT’s Food and Wine Festival – amazing to see just how much effort Disney puts in as you walk round the World Showcase passing architecturally appropriate cabin after cabin representing so many different countries and offering great hot food and different beers / wines / liqueurs. All reasonably priced and all very tasty – we tried loads of different foods and drinks – loved the German beer with a hint of grapefruit.
  • Disney’s Festival of Fantasy Parade at the Magic Kingdom – one of the best parades we’ve ever see in Disney, especially the marvellous metal mechanical dragon flaming fire out above the crowds. But it was a stonking hot afternoon, and we were in the FastPass area on the inside of the roundabout at the hub – blazing sun, burning hot pavements and no shade.
  • Magic Bands / FastPass+ – worked very well for us after the minor issue on the first night when my newly set-up Magic Band didn’t appear to be enabled to charge our dinner bill to it, so I had to head back to Reception and get it rebooted. We did and probably still do have a thing about prebooking restaurants and rides so far in advance, (losing some spontaneity) but it did get us onto rides like the new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train almost straightaway, whereas the standby queue was over an hour – I should say that having done SDMT once, we don’t need to do it again – very little special Disney personalisation of a simple train style coaster ride. Hint: don’t know whether it’s likely to be a permanent thing, but the week after we were there, Disney has stopped standby access to Toy Story Midway Mania and to Be Our Guest lunch – only allowing FastPass+ access – it will be interesting to see how they move forward with this approach.
  • Dinner at Be Our Guest – we’d done lunch there, which was fun but more of a pre-order at the check-in, fast food type of experience. Whereas Dinner is a full-on restaurant table service experience, where you’re led to your table holding an illuminated Lumiere candlestick – great food.
  • Longhorn Steakhouse – never been there before but enjoyed the food so much (in a restaurant on the 192) that we went back another time to one on I-Drive – and it was just as good. Owned by the folk who own Olive Garden, it’s a very standard product in each location – but very very tasty, very welcoming and very reasonably priced.
  • Outlet Mall on South Apopka Vineland – we usually go to Premium Outlets at Lake Buena Vista, but get very frustrated trying to find a parking space it’s so busy. But this location has all the outlet stores we like with full product ranges (apart from the Disney Outlet, Character Warehouse – which was tiny with very little product) and copious empty car parking space.
  • Lenny’s Clam Bar and Restaurant in Howards Beach, Long Island, where we dined with Steve and Melissa on our last night before flying home on the short daytime flight from JFK. This was a real family Italian restaurant with lots of celebrity connections.
• Memories?
  • The Manservant in the Haunted Mansion who was hovering behind Pam’s shoulder, gently rubbing his hands together – and scaring the proverbial out of Pam when she realised he was there.
  • The Dapper Dans – heading out of the Liberty Square area towards the hub, but who stopped to give me a short barbershop chorus, before continuing.
  • The family from Philadelphia who we kept meeting at the bus-stop, on the bus, and who we found out were staying in the same 38xx block as us. Lovely family with two incredibly polite, quiet boys.
  • The waitress, Becky, in Be our Guest who asked where we came from in the UK – I said a place with the same initials as Magic Kingdom. She said Milton Keynes – which she knows through having a cheerleading friend in Milton Keynes. We’ve ended up Facebook friending Becky, and look to dine at her table again next year.
  • The food and drinks at the EPCOT F&W festival – delicious.
  • The parades – spectacular.
  • The Celebrate the Magic son-et-lumiere on the front of the Magic Kingdom castle. A great favourite. The crowd going OOOOOH! when Idina Menzel starts singing Let it Go – and the crowd singing along.
  • Great meals, especially our last Disney night sitting at the high bar in Flying Fish – that is a truly splendid dining experience. And then we got a bus to Extra Magic Hours in the Magic Kingdom, arriving right in the middle of Wishes fireworks. And finishing our great Disney trip with another Celebrate the Magic, and then the glorious Electric Light Parade.
  • Spending time with friends – several days with Jamie and Jenny in Magic Kingdom and Epcot, and then a brief dinner with Steve and Melissa on Long Island.
  • The wonderfully peaceful swimming and sunbathing at Turtle Pond.
  • Walking into the Magic Kingdom on our first morning – seeing the Halloween colours as we came off the bus – watching the rope drop opening ceremony with the Town Mayor and all the characters coming in on the steam train to the station verandah.
  • Just how much effort Disney puts in to keeping it fresh and new – and the amount of construction going on. It will be great to see what changes are in place by the same time next year when we go again.
  • JetBlue – flew with their Extra Space option up to JFK – as always a great comfortable flight, no hassle with luggage (Hint:  you can check-in bags at Disney resorts as long as you do it more than 3 hours before your flight – BUT!!!!  watch that they actually check you in properly – I ended up with 2 boarding passes for Pam and 1 for Joy, but I wasn’t checked in!).  JetBlue do great snacks and drinks (didn’t charge me for my beer), and have large screen live TV entertainment – really god.  Oh yes, and free wifi for Joy.

• Value for money? Yes, we rented points this year for OKW – when we sold our DVC points, we were convinced we’d not be back, ass the cash option for booking OKW looked so expensive. But, we found renting points was a very affordable route to staying there. (And indeed we are booked for the same time next year, but paying cash direct to Disney for a great discount price that includes Dining Plan (and we’ve worked out that’s real additional value) and a cash credit for spending on-site – a magnificent deal).

• Lessons? Don’t wait till you’re there to buy trainers to wear in the parks – it can work, but when it doesn’t, it can be very uncomfortable – take familiar comfy shoes!!!!!

Summary – a truly great steaming hot family holiday – but tiring!

There and back (with 5 different beds in 9 days)

Why oh why don’t I learn lessons – I’m supposed to be an IT professional – and I’ve done this many times, yet I keep forgetting that (I don’t know why) I may be halfway through a wordpress blog when I lose it all, so I’ve taken to typing up in Word and then cut and pasting. And I did it again – well into the second day of the trip and it vanished up its own origin.

 So, Word is my saviour!

 I usually do several updates to the travel blog as I go through a trip, but this was so busy, especially the lifting and shifting, that I didn’t get round to it, so this is beginning to end!

 

Day 1 – Sunday – although we were due to fly late Monday morning, we decided to drive down Sunday afternoon (avoiding the potential chaos of M1 / M25 on a Monday morning) and stay overnight at the Marriott near Heathrow (we got it on Marriott reward points). A bit of pottering around on Sunday morning – rubbish to the tip etc, and left around 1pm so that we could listen to Elaine Paige as we drove down. Easy journey – just over an hour – roads not busy – overcast but dry. Easily found the hotel. Spacious car parking and we were able to park near reception. Pleasant check in – especially being offered sweets / snacks from the big sweet tin (things like swizzles, mini Twix, etc). Nice room. Pam and I went for a brief swim – small but adequate pool – a couple of families and a couple of solo swimmers – very relaxing. Still only around 3:45 – main restaurant closed although bar does food, but not till 6 – so we decided to pop over to Windsor – easy 10 minute drive staying off the motorway through Datchett which is very pretty. Still got sandbags outside some of the properties quite a distance from the Thames – reminders of the massive February floodings. Cold and a bit damp as we got to Windsor – pleasant Bella Italia meal about halfway up the hill beside the castle – only problem was that the door didn’t close properly and let quite a chill in. So either me or a chap at the next table kept popping up to “put the wood in th’hole”. Drizzling when we came out so back to the car passing the dais for the march-past when the Irish President visits on Tuesday. Pam and I had a nice large glass of wine in the busy hotel bar, reading magazine / book. Then TV and sleep.

 

Day 2 – Monday – hadn’t slept vey well as room was quite warm. Up early and off to T5 long stay car park – again no need to go on Motorway. Bit of a circular journey as we went round a large roundabout area trying to find the car park ‘cos that’s where satnav said it was. Realised it was just beyond the roundabout – only hassle was that ANPR failed to recognise me – so quick conversation with guy at end of the help button to confirm that we were prebooked. Very very busy car park, but found space and then were quickly on shuttle bus. Quickly through bagdrop and security. Then Wagamama – no waiting – table overlooking the tarmac. Decided to wait till 9 before ordering as Pam and Joy wanted main menu items – Yaki Soba for them, and Pastrami Hash and Eggs for me (a bit spicy) – but very pleasant and set us up well for our travelling day – and no pressure to eat and leave. A bit of shopping – reading stuff, snacks / sweets / drinks, and then some chocolates for Moira – then down to the shuttle to the C satellite. Flight left on time – always longer going out than coming back – just over 7 hours. All dozed quite a lot. Full flight but not many kids. JFK immigration and baggage claim wasn’t bad – and soon in our Dial 7 limo to the Grand Hyatt – not a bad run into town. Hotel checkin was easy and we’re in a 32^nd floor Club room – better than the last room there – bathroom is much bigger. Unpacked a few things and then went out for some air and something to eat – beginning to drizzle a bit – went into O’Donohue’s Irish Pub – 4:30 so just beginning to get busy. Great comfort food for tired travellers – really enjoyed it. By the time we left it was buzzing and crowded – and raining outside. So back to the hotel –  Club Lounge for cheese and biscuits, while Joy went straight up – TV and then bed. A good day.

 

Day 3 – Tuesday – woke at a decent time – weather looking fair – breakfast in the club lounge – always good. Strolled down Park Lane South towards Union Square – quite a long walk – had a pleasant Starbuck’s break en route. When we got to Union Square, we grabbed a cab to Bleeker Street in the Village for our Village Food and Culture walking tour. Very pleasant by now. Gradually met up with the rest of the party. And then our guide, Curt Upton, came along with water and brochures for everyone – our second Foods of New York walking tour – and again, very very enjoyable – great guide – funny and informative – really good stops – again an eye opener as to the area and makes us want to stay there sometime. Enjoyed chatting with the rest of the party. Even got a BIGCHEESE t-shirt from Murray’s Cheese shop. Thirsty at the end so went for macarons and coffee in Sugar and Plumm. Cabbed back to the hotel and chilled out for na while before heading out to the Richard Rogers to see Idina and Anthony in the new musical by the Next to Normal writers, If/Then – a tremendous show about choices – Idina was in tremendous voice – we were in 2^nd row and really loved it. A really moving show. Got autographs and photographs afterwards (of course). Hungry – so found another Irish bar – very satisfying – apart from Joy’s coke being spilt on her. Midnight – bed!

 

Day 4 – Wednesday – Club breakfast again – then Bath & Beyond for Joy – Blooming Nails for acrylics for P&J while I did Starby’s nearby. Then cab to Macy’s for wedding present for Heather and AJ – lovely Swarovski crystal heart – then in-store Starby’s for all three as we were peckish. Cab back up town – matinee show of Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella with Carly-Rae Jepsen and Fran Dreschler – could have been a Brit panto – transformation scenes were very good – show was good but not one we’d rave about. Joy stayed on for photo at stage door with Carly-Rae. Dined at Palm (as always) – a great New York restaurant – very tasty – and very expensive – but loved it. I took shopping bags back to hotel while P&J sat on the bleachers in Times Square. Met them at the Imperial Theatre for the new production of Les Miserables with Ramin Karimloo, Will Swenson, Caissie Levy, and Andy Mientus – spectacular – really enjoyed it again. Loads of autographs / photographs afterwards – even autographs from the children -Gavroche, Cosette and Eponine. Glad we went to see it again. Pam walked back to the hotel while J&I stage doored – then we cabbed back. Tired – bed!

 

Day 5 – Thursday – last club breakfast – checked out, getting one minor item removed from bill – no hassle. Hotel Doorman grabbed us a cab big enough for our three cases and us. To Penn Station. Cab Driver dropped us off convenient for the Long Island Railroad entrance. Tickets from the ticket office (senior rate for me). Waited till train platform announced – went for elevator down to platform – and turned out it was the lady train conductor in the elevator with us – she chatted with us on the train as well – very nice lady. 55 minute journey – we do like travelling by train in America. Dead on time into Wantaugh and Steve was waiting on the platform for us – no elevator so had to carry bags down long flight of stairs. Steve immediately into tour guide mode – so showed us the original Wantaugh Station with a carriage there beside it, then off to Jones Beach for a boardwalk stroll – definitely not Joy’s thing. Spectacular beach – very fine smooth sand – two big bathing stations at either end – we walked along to one – it was being refurbished – but looked spectacular – quite art deco – Pam and Steve were permitted to walk up the stairs to see the pool area. Back to the car and a drive round to a waterside / marina area with several restaurants – nice lunch – during which Steve asked if my trousers were straight or tapered ‘cos they would need to be rolled up when we went for our Chinese Foot Massage (which we knew nothing about). Took us to Serenity – he got a great welcome from the boss on reception and she managed to fit all four of us in – inside to a very dark, soft music area – couldn’t even see the chairs – but eventually sat down, shoes and socks off, on stools – and the torture started – very nice at first – feet into a bowl of warm gel stuff – then the massage started all over – we were fully clothed – neck, shoulder, back and head massage sitting on the stool, then moved over to recliner chair – blindfold masks and pleasant music in headphones while everything else was massaged – felt like she was using a file at times – even massage on inner thighs (oo er missus). Then suddenly she’s putting socks and shoes back on me and we’re being escorted out to reception where the masseurs stand with you to get their tip. All paid for by Steve. Quite an experience. Back to Steve’s house, very nice open plan lounge / kitchen area – nice estate. Steve had got flowers for our bedroom for us. Lots of chat and nibbles and then Steve started preparing dinner waiting for Melissa to come home. Nice steak dinner but big portions and we couldn’t finish – neither could Melissa. Lot of chat, then early bed. It has to be said that Steve is definitely an energetic driver!!!!!

 

Day 6 – Friday – not a great day for Steve and his Crohn’s disease. Took us out to Planting Fields – an arboretum and historic house – the Coe Estate – very interesting – clear demonstration of how Americans invented their history – a house built in European style with everything including pictures of family and individual men and women all purchased in Europe! Great scenery all around – some lovely houses. Steve took us over to Northport and we lunched in Tim’s Shipwreck Diner – great lunch. Back to Wantaugh and I collected our car at Hertz – a Toyota Highlander. Back to the house – a rest then change clothes for Pam and I to go out with Steve and Melissa. Joy stayed home and watched TV / used wifi, while we went to Museum Row to the Charles Lindbergh Aviation Museum on what was Mitchell Field, for an evening called Flights of Wine – a wine and food evening around this great museum of Long Island’s contribution to aviation. Very little local wine – but copious amounts of both food and wine, and a little jazz as well. Very nice evening. The highlight was probably one of the Museum Guides taking personal interest in us and telling us, and showing us various exhibits, about the Lunar Landing module, including seeing the LEM that would have gone up as Apollo 19 had Apollo not been cancelled by that time. He was very interesting. Back home, with Melissa in particular saying the evening reminded her of why she used to like getting drunk! Deep sleep in the massive bed.

 

Day 7 – Saturday – bagel breakfast and a bit of messaging – from Denise suggesting hotel was not great and to and from Grumbo – he came as far as New Jersey last night – agreed that he will come to Steve’s, and we agree to stay. Took around 90 minutes for G to arrive. Lots of chat and gift swapping. We left them with Steve and headed over to the Wedding Party hotel, the Ramada Plaza – rooms not ready so we sat in lobby lounge area and chatted with Pete and Denise, Sofiya (one of the bridesmaids who we have met before), and AJ’s family. Very pleasant. Eventually got room around 3 – ground floor and not too bad – very much what you’d expect for a mid price hotel. Wandered along to the restaurant for a snack – just reopened under new ownership a week ago – a Sonoma Grill – food was great, and local beers were good! Rested for a while till we met up with G&D. They’d gone from Steve’s to meet up with Sandra and Mark at a local Mall – Doris and Sandra had gone shopping and Grumbo and Mark had gone to a bar. Grumbo drove us out to a local Olive Garden – about 45 minutes wait, and I managed a Blue Moon beer. Food was OK – starters and main courses – then headed back to Hotel as Steve had said he might come out there when he got back from seeing the Prairie Home Companion Radio Show being broadcast from NYC – we chatted till just before 10 but Steve was a no show.

 

Day 8 – Sunday – THE WEDDING DAY!   FB’d an early congrats to Heather and AJ while we were still in bed. Almost immediate feedback – come and join us for breakfast. Quick dress and along to the restaurant – but this was a $10 buffet provided by the hotel and it was awful. Chatted to folk again for a while and then left (without paying – ooh, we are awful!). Drove over to Port Jefferson – quite pretty – saw the big HOV (High Occupancy Vessel – car ferry!) heading off. Starby’s for a while – sitting in the window watching the world go by (and its dogs) – nice lazy way to spend a Sunday morning. Strolled around browsing in shop windows and walking along the seafront. Breezy – and with sand in the air. Drove back over to the hotel and had a light lunch in the restaurant – very nice. Then back to the room to get on our finery and do our faces (not me!). Joy and Pam stunning in their dresses, me in blazer and slacks. Chatted with AJ and his family again in the lobby before they headed for their limo – we got on the bus for the wedding but had a while to wait before we finally left – only 6 of us on the coach. Beautiful place when we got to the wedding venue. Champagne in the vestibule before we were taken through to the garden for the wedding (Grumbo and I managed a couple of glasses). A walk through the back gardens and into a tree enclosed garden with a small flower bedecked archway behind the wedding area. We were all given tine bottles of bubbles to blow. Roped off, petal strewn central aisle, white chairs on either side. Lovely processional for the arrival of the wedding party – bridesmaids (all in same dress but different colours, and Heather’s sister Amy with rainbow hair) entered to the theme from Jurassic Park. Heather looking spectacular. Lovely ceremony – administered by a judge (who looked like Robert Prosky) and who admitted he should have worn his glasses as he got AJ’s name wrong a couple of times – calling him Al. Included a mixing of individual sands as part of the ceremony. Individual personally written vows – AJ got quite emotional during his, despite the fact he told us he had no stress levels at all about the day. Particularly special ‘cos the weather was lovely and this was the venue’s first outdoor wedding of the year. Back indoors for cocktail hour while photos were taken. (Photographer was a spitting image for Billy Joel – and he knew it). Cocktails to start then free open bar (all night long) and copious buffet of all sorts of nice things – staff kept coming round offering more nibbles like mini beef wellingtons. An amazing amount of food. Then through to the main dinner area (more food??????). Heather and AJ had a table for two. Our table was close to them – us, G&D, Pete and Denise, Amy and fiancée Brom, and Gina and Jack, neighbours of P&D from their new house. Again a wedding party processional. Great host and DJ combo. Champagne toasts and speeches (from best man (AJ’s brother) and chief bridesmaid Amy, as well as from Heather and AJ. No father of the bride speech. Great food – salad, then choice of four main courses, coffee and wedding cake (very tasty). Great music – some Broadway stuff, some Disney stuff, some pop stuff. Pam and I danced early on – one of the first two couples on the floor. A couple of gay guys who were friends of Heather – brilliant dancers.  The wedding party mingled throughout the evening. A really wonderful evening! The wedding party were all going back on the shuttle bus, and Grumbo offered to take us back in the car which we gratefully accepted – all tiring. Back to the hotel and bed. Today was the main reason for the trip and was really enjoyable – a memory!

 

Day 9 – Monday – wandered down early to say our goodbyes / au revoirs in the restaurant – didn’t even try breakfast! Checked out then headed off early to get gas and then to go to the Airport Diner by Macarthur Islip Airport – breakfasting with Sandy and Mark, Steve and Melissa, G&D, and us. A very pleasant hour or so chatting. Nice diner. I picked up the tab. Realised I couldn’t find my phone. Went out to the car, opened suitcase and checked inside pocket of my blazer – no go! Perhaps left at Hotel – so after we broke up, we took the 15 minute drive back to the hotel – before going in, I opened the case again, and the phone had slipped out of the wallet pocket in my blazer and was staring me in the face – so all was well. Took the opportunity for a quick pee, and then asked Reception for suggestions as to where to go for a couple of hours – she suggested Patchogue – 10 minutes due South. So off we went – easily found it – strange little town – shops closed on Monday – a bit like a 1960’s time warp – although there was some investment going on in new offices / retail spaces. Strolled around – asked a couple of ladies where the sea front was (“Oh, I do love your accent”). Had a leisurely coffee and cookie break in a very nice coffee shop. Then wandered in the car down to the sea front – nothing to do there other than lay up in the car parks by the piers – so we did that for an hour or so. Beautiful view of the off-Island islands in the distance. Started to head back to Wantaugh but food a large supermarket so had a pee break then onto Wantaugh to hand back the car to Hertz – Steve met us and drove us directly over to the Fairfield Inn (a Marriott that I was paying for with Rewards). This was in Jamaica on Rockaway Boulevard – pleasant hotel but not a nice area to walk out into. Staff were very pleasant, room was very pleasant, and at 5 we wandered down to the restaurant – looked a bit utilitarian – staff canteen like – but actually service was great and food was very very tasty. Enjoyed it. Watched TV, then early to sleep as we had early rise coming up again.

 

Day 10 – Tuesday – 5:30 shuttle to the airport – very quickly there – not full – we were last to be dropped off and as there was building work at BA Departures, we were dropped off at BA Arrivals, but shuttle driver grabbed our cases and ran inside to show us the lift to Departures – very kind of him. We could have got the previous flight (an hour earlier) as they were still checking in – so will remember that for next time. A bit of snack shopping, and loo visits – then boarding and off a few minutes early. Again a fairly full flight. Very bumpy for a while as we flew up Canada. Hot breakfast which we all picked at. We were all tired so dozed on and off throughout the flight, and didn’t watch much on the video. I listened to a bit of “I’m Sorry, I’ll Read That Again” recorded in Milton Keynes, and the whole of the Nashville Vol 2 album (from the TV series) but couldn’t be bothered watching a film. Flight arrived on time – quickly through Immigration and bags were already arriving on the carousel. As we went outside a T5 long stay car park shuttle was just arriving, so we managed to grab that – found the car easily and were very quickly home via a milk stop at Asda.

 

 

Not as long a trip as usual – but very busy and very enjoyable. NYC was great as always. Steve tried to kill us with kindness (and with Chinese foot massage). The wedding was wonderful! What more could we ask.

 

Now to start serious planning for the next trip …….

It sure has been a while, old friend

Yes, indeed – the last travel blog here was the start of another adventure, but it never got completed in the blogosphere – and neither did subsequent trips and adventures.  And in the middle, we’ve moved house and come back to England.  As I write, the packing for the next trip is going on, but I’m keeping at an appropriate distance as our rooms are generally smaller, and there really is only room for two in the spare bedroom with the cases and a floor full of clothes and gifts.

But I do find this to be a great way of recording memories – so today can be called the start of this holiday – just dropped the cats off at our lovely cattery (with its new koi carp pond).  It’s Saturday and in a while we’re off up town for pedicures, collect last prescription (glaucoma capsules for me), and a meal.  Cases will be packed – is it two or three cases – we’re only away for 9 days, but there are some lovely (and voluminous) wedding clothes and shoes, as well as more than a few gifts – looks like we’ll need the three cases.

‘Cos, yes, this trip is primarily about Heather and AJ’s wedding on Long Island, a week tomorrow.  We’re really looking forward to that, but as always, we’ve used the primary purpose as a reason to do other things as well – so a bit of theatre in Manhattan, a train ride, a short stay with friends, some exploring Long Island, and lots of unpacking.  Original plans were to drive down to Heathrow on Monday morning for our late morning flight to JFK, but you never know what the M1 / M25 will bring – so I decided to book us into a Marriott relatively near to Heathrow on Sunday night – probably means an extra 45 minutes in bed as well.  And we might have a swim there on Sunday afternoon.  And the good thing is that I’m paying for this on Marriott Reward points.  Great deal!

So – gradually things come together as always.  I look forward to spending the odd quiet moments keeping this up to date.  Who will we see – where will we go – what (great) food will we eat?  Let the next adventure begin!

 

and we’re almost off again ….

Monday afternoon – the start of the fifth week since my retiral – interesting sky as I look out the window from the home office – bunches of low grey cloud but also lots of pink tinges from the setting sun.  Weather watching is important to us this week as we have a very early start on Friday for a 6:45am flight to Gatwick and then a late morning onward flight direct to Orlando.  Why is it important?  Because we’ve had previous experience of December weather which led to chaos as flights were cancelled all over the place – we eneded up flying out to Orlando a day late, and getting our luggage four days late.  But despite floods and snow and ice over the last few days in much of the UK, we should be OK at the end of the week.

It’s a relatively quick trip – 8 days – staying in Celebration near Disney again.  But it’s a crowded 8 days – meeting friends as always – Jennie and Jamie coming across from Clearwater, Moira and Caiomhe flying down for a couple of days from Canada, and Steve coming down for a couple of days from Long Island.

Since our cruise through the Panama Canal in 2005 when we became part of The Ship of Fools, I don’t think we’ve a holiday where we’ve not met up with friends – and that has really enriched our lives.

Some planning done, of course – a couple of things booked, of course – and cases more or less packed, 4 days in advance.

So – all is ready for our December Celebration of my retirement – really looking forward to it.

happy endings

Saturday morning – finished the packing, and then grabbed a cab – heading for McDougall Street, Soho for lunch.  Cab took a long time (especially getting along 42^nd Street to Broadway before heading downtown – but gave us a chance to appreciate the sound system in a couple of Nissan Maximas – great music).  McDougall Street is a great area for restaurants (and we spotted Camaje where we lunched with a bunch of Fools on a previous visit).

Lunching in 12 Chairs – a cosy little Middle Eastern / Israeli with Steve & Melissa and Pete & Denise.  A great final meal with our friends.  Then a wander through the area – lots and lots of nice shops, attractive restaurants, and crowded pavements.  Spring Street was a great stroll and Steve led us to a place we’d wanted to try – Rice to Riches – instead of an ice-cream parlour this is a Rice pudding parlour – lots of cold flavoured rice with lots of different toppings.  Very white and modern inside with lots of clever and funny mottos on walls / hanging from ceilings / etc.  Some of us tried the rice dishes / some got frozen yoghurt and toppings from Pinkberry next door.  Again, a great experience.

Took the subway up to Grand Central, and took the Fools into the Grand Hyatt and into the club lounge – lazed on the terrace chatting and cold drinking / snacking on canapés. 

Eventually headed out to Broadway and said our au revoirs to Steve and Melissa who were going off to a Broadway circus style show.  Pete & Denise accompanied us (via a Broadway Theatre shop for a couple of shows’ musical scores for Joy) to Peter and the Starcatcher.

This is based on a book written by columnist / humorist Dave Barry who I think is very funny – it’s a prequel to Peter Pan – how did the Boy become Peter Pan.  Absolutely brilliant show – very much making you use your imagination – a piece of rope becomes the shape of a ship’s cabin or waves on the sea or …..  Really funny and clever – and quite emotional at the end as it all comes together and the Boy becomes Peter, and Tinkerbell comes onto the scene – and especially when Peter crows at the very end.  A great end to a week of NYC shows.

Didn’t stage door – very early start on Sunday so we needed to get some sleep.

Sunday – up at 4:15 – quickly dressed, closed last case, downstairs and checked out – and took the opportunity to check in for the trans Atlantic flight.

5:00 and limo to JFK – 30 minutes – and then 30 minutes to do bag drop and security and get air-side.  The BA terminal was a bit tacky – not a good representation of Britain’s biggest airline.  Grabbed some breakfast drinks and croissants /bagel. 

A new experience for us – a daytime flight from the US – just under 6 hours – seat width a bit tight – but the flight was good – hot breakfast, seatback audio / video on demand – and ahead of time we were landing at Heathrow T5.  Immigration and Customs was very quick – and an hour after landing we were checked in at the T5 Sofitel hotel – a lovely hotel – and I’d booked a junior suite so that we had a king size bed, and a queen size sofa bed for Joy.  Went down to the hotel restaurant and had a very tasty dinner – just right for us.

Think the daytime flight (and the relatively short flight) was a good way to fly home – didn’t feel anything like as jet lagged as we do on the overnight flights.

Monday – up at 6:45 –   and back to T5 for the Manchester flight – dead on time, as was the last leg from Manchester to Isle of Man.  Taxi with big boot for the three big cases (and we’d managed our baggage weights well this time) – and we were home before 1.

Cases emptied and put away and washing started – food shopping, and then collect cats, and by 4:30 all is back to normal.

So that’s another one over – and hopefully you can see why this blog is about journeys and adventures.  Lots of new and enormously enjoyable sights and experiences – a fab birthday celebration – great hotels – magical Broadway shows – and our very special Foolish friends.  The only downside was the humidity / heat.  But we had a fantastic time – and made the decision about our future.  And started the conversation about Baltimore in ’13 for the next Fools BBQ.