London, England
Our first stop in London was at the Goring Hotel. This is a fabulous small hotel with outstanding service and some of the best food we have ever tasted. It is located a block from Buckingham Palace and 2 blocks from Victoria Station. You can get to anywhere in London easily from this location. Notice the arrow pointing to our luxurious room.
We visited Buckingham Palace, The Old Bailey courthouse, walked along the Thames and through the parks, visited the underground headquarters of Winston Churchill during WWII, saw a play at the Savoy Theater, rode the 'tube' to Notting Hill, and ate some very good Indian food.
Patty and Ellen enjoyed visiting Buckingham Palace, walking the grounds, and visiting the Carriage House. Harry and Craig went to the Old Bailey and sat in on a murder trial (no camera allowed). You can guess who had more fun.
Gift shopping is a vacation ritual enjoyed by most females - even some men, but not the men on this cruise. Ellen, however, is an expert.
Walking across the bridge next to Big Ben, we took this shot of the Thames at night.
This city really has some fabulous views.
Southampton, England
Obviously we were glad to be on board for the start of our long cruise.
Actually it is two cruises: the one week cruise shown on the right and a two week transatlantic cruise, shown on the next page.
Harry and Craig enjoying the open sea from Harry's balcony suite.
This was a time for Harry's cigar.
Of course Craig stood upwind.
Vigo, Spain
The Santiago de Compostela, about 60km from the harbor of Vigo, Spain. One of the 3 main destinations for Christians in the middle ages (Rome and Jerusalem being the other two). This is where apostle James is buried - he brought Christianity to Europe.
Lisbon, Portugal
Entering the harbor at Lisbon, Portugal.
Patty, lighting a candle for her sister Joan at the Sanctuary of Fatima.
Fatima - the area in front of the church is
larger than St Peter's square in Rome.
La Rochelle, France
This beautiful seaport was a center of German U-Boat activity during WWII. Now the harbor is guarded by two towers and the narrow, high-walled streets are lined with shops and cafes.
We ate lunch just to the right of the harbor entrance towers. To say the lunch was fantastic would be understating the case. It was also very leisurely.
St. Peter Port Guernsey, Channel Islands
We stopped at Guernsey in the Channel Islands, just off the coast of France. These islands belong to Britain and are the only part of England occupied by the Germans in WWII.
Patty and Ellen are looking out over the beautiful harbor. The Sea Princess is the ship farthest out.
Victor Hugo lived on this island. Patty and Craig are posing next to his statue in a beautiful park.
Portsmouth, England
After 7 days we arrived back in England and took a cab to Portsmouth for the day.
We started a practice of visiting a pub and sampling some of the local brew - and continued for the remainder of the cruise. We also ate some very good fish and chips.
Admiral Horatio Nelson was killed here during the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
The HMS Victory is in the Portsmouth Naval Yard - Harry absolutely had to visit her.
This ship is the world's oldest navel warship still in commission, launched in 1765 and moved to her current location in 1922.
This is the end of the 1st 7 day cruise of the European coast. Click here to see the 14 day Transatlantic cruise.