Europe – 2010 – Day 6

The pictures are:
1. Being picked up by our guide
2. The horse parade for the President of Luxembourg
3. Lunch at a street side café
4. We went shopping along this street.

We awoke to warm weather – it was up to 82 degrees during the day so we are finally in warm weather. It did rain for about 5 minutes at 2:00 pm while we were walking but this time we were prepared.

The ship docked and we were off the ship at 8:30am to meet our guide. He was a really nice guide, a little quite at the start, but warmed up to us as we went from place to place. He has lived in Lisbon all his life and has not traveled anywhere, but he did just fine with his English

Lisbon is Portugal’s largest city and the capital. The Lisbon region is the wealthiest region in Portugal. The history of Lisbon dates back 300,000 years and it was a nation state in the early 12th century and therefore is one of the world’s oldest cities. It was under Roman rule from 205BC. It is a mixture of the really, really old and the new.

It was a beautiful city to visit and we spent 4 hours with our guide driving and walking around the city. The wonderful thing about an individual guide is that the car can go where a tour bus cannot, so we can get right up next to a place to visit and the guide will wait with the car or go in with us to explain something. Some of these streets are so narrow that a bus cannot go on them at all. And there are not parking lots for busses in cities like this in the old part.

The last stop on the tour was an old church and a monastery. When we arrived we found out that we could not get in because the President of Luxembourg was visiting. We waiting about 5 minutes to see him come out and watch the horse parade in his honor. While we were waiting, one of the guardsmen on a horse fell off his horse because of the heat – he made quite a sound but they helped him up and away they wert.

At the end of the tour, he left us out in the main square in the old city center. We then had lunch at a local restaurant and split a sandwich. They did not speak English in the restaurant and I thought they told me the sandwich was chicken, but Barb thought that it was goat!! Anyway, it was great.

We then walked about the city for the next three hours. They had some great local stores and some good tourist shops also and the prices were very reasonable. Ed bought a couple of shirts and Barb bought a bowl and some “stuff” and then we took a taxi back to the ship for some much needed relaxation time before the ship sailed.

Dinner was great as usual and then we saw a very good show in the show room. It was a male singer who has performed all over and he was very good.

Next of course was the casino where we joined some friends at a great table. Ed did really well.

It is now 2:30am and we are going to bed. It is Gibraltar tomorrow (acutally today) but at least we don't dock until 1:00pm.

Night

Europe – 2010 – Day 5

The pictures are:

1. Barb and our guide Olalla Quiroga
2. Yes we got wet at the end of the tour
3. Oysters at a local restaurant

Vigo, Spain – our first port. We arrived at abut 7:30am and sunrise was at 8:06am so it was interesting docking and seeing the sun rise at the same time.

We had a guide to meet at 11:00am so we didn’t get up until 730 and we were off the ship at 9 to explore some of the city.

The town dates back to the 6th century BC, when the Celts occupied the region and constructed fortified defenses at the harbor. Because of it unique harbor, a number of countries have occupied this area since then.

The story is that when God finished the Heaven and the Earth, as he rested, he put his hand down at Vigo and in his palm print was the first bay on earth. Whatever the actual story, this is very major port and Vigo Bay is 20 miles lone and 3 miles wide with very deep water.

We had arranged for a guide to take us on a 100 minute walking tour of the old city and when we went to the Tourism Office we were surprised to find out at we were going to be the only ones on the tour – a great surprise. The young lady was actually from and lives in Vigo and spoke good English and as she led us around this very hilly city we had a wonderful time.

After the tour when we were looking for a place to eat, the rain came. Barb got so wet that we went back to a store where she had purchased some boots and bought a top and a jacket for her to wear.

As most of the eating places in the old city are outside, we decided to go back to the ship. We got there at 2:30pm and proceeded to eat in the main dining area.

Afterwards we went to the show and were in the casino by 11:15pm. For the second night in a row, Ed has had the same group of people that he has been playing with. They all know how to play the game and are a great group. We had another great night in the casino.

Last night we set the clocks forward an hour and tonight we set them back. Then tomorrow night we set them forward again. Wow - how to lose sleep.

In the morning we arrive in Lisbon, Portugal and the weather is supposed to be in the 80's and clear - finally hot weather.

Night

Europe – 2010 – Day 4

The pictures are:

1. Barb’s Jackpot
2. Going to Dinner

Well we awoke at 8:00am to 72 degrees outside and very cloudy. So, today there will be no deck time, but there is a lot to do on the ship. Barb started off the day by going to Acupuncture for her back by the onboard Acupuncture Physician.

After walking around shopping for a little while, it appears that acupuncture does not work for her back!

We took a galley tour after that. It is amazing the statistics they have for the kitchen. Over 4,000 total people on this ship for two weeks and we never stop eating!!

Just as an example, they use 4500 lbs of chicken, 2300 dozen eggs, 3800 pounds of butter, 3000 pounds of tenderloin, 12,300 pounds of potatoes and 75,000 pounds of fresh fruit!!!

Then at 11:00am, Barb went to the gym for a seminar which was just a big sales pitch for their products.

When Barb came back we went to eat inside as it is still too cold to be outside. Then it was onto the casino to register for the slot and blackjack tournaments later in the afternoon.

Ed went to check on our new dinner table and when he came back to the casino, he heard Barb yell “ED” and she had hit a triple diamond maximum jackpot of $2,500! In addition, she had been up over $200 right at the start. So for her first $20 that she put into a slot machine on this cruise, she won $2,700!! Not a bad way to start the cruise.

Later in the afternoon we both played in the slot tournament and Ed played in the blackjack tournament. We have both qualified for the finals; however, there will be more sessions for qualifiers before the finals on the last couple of days of the cruise.

Ed then played black jack and won also. A great start to the cruise.

Dinner was formal night and we met our new tablemates. What delightful couples we are with. Both couples are from England and very, very nice. More about them later.

We then saw the first big show in the show theater and it was great. Then it was onto the casino where we left ahead at 1:00am. We only have to get up at 7am and we arrive in Vigo, Spain. Looks like fun.

Night from the ocean!

Europe – 2010 – Day 3

The pictures are:
1. The Saturday morning market
2. Arriving at the ship
3. Our room
4. The casino.

It is Saturday and we are now on the Celebrity Eclipse, the newest ship, having been launched in April, 2010. It is a sister ship to the Equinox, the ship we were on last year.

We left London by private car and arrived at Southampton at noon and basically walked right on board the ship, the check in was fast.

The cabins were not going to be ready until 1:00pm so we asked the cabin stewart if we could leave the bags on the bed and he let us do that. We went to check on our table for dinner and then sat and had lunch with a very nice couple from Scotland.

We then walked around the ship trying to remember where everything was from last year and most was similar, but just different enough to make it new.

We also took a tour of the spa which is huge as is the fitness area.

Then it was back to the room to unpack as the bags had arrived.

We left port at 5:00pm and it is cold, about 50 degrees here, but we are sailing to very warmer weather.

Barb is already in love with the gift shop, having purchased for a great price, three glass thumb rings!

Before dinner, we went to the casino and met the Manager and our Casino Host. There are several employees of the Casino who were on our last sailing with Celebrity, last year.

We then went to dinner and met our table mates, but they may change tomorrow as part of our table wants to join other relatives at their table.

We saw the show in the theater, which was a preview of what is to come in the cruise and then we went to the casino. The casino was dead so we just talked to staff, waked around the ship a little and went to our room about midnight. An early night.

Night from the Ship.

Europe - 2010 - Day 2

Day 2 –

The pictures are:
1. Our Hotel
2. The map room within Churchill’s War Room
3. Barb with her grilled cheese sandwich
4. Dinner

We were up and out into the city and into the first subway by 8:00 am and went to Camden Market, a huge area in the city that has just lots and lots of wild stores and stuff.

We were a little early but we had fun seeing everything being set up for the day – it reminded us of some of the festivals that we used to do like Covered Bridge.

Then it was back into the main part of the city to see Churchill’s War Room. This is the underground bunker where Churchill and his main war staff conducted the war effort. It was amazing how they crammed the people in this small space underground. They had a great audio tour that told you what each room was used for. We could not believe some of the charts that we saw on the wall that were actually used in these rooms, including the counts of the bombs and rockets that hit the city be each day.

Then for lunch we went to Borough’s Market, our most favorite food market in any city we have ever been to. There are literally dozens and dozens of booth with lots of samples and then lots and lots of stands serving lunch. Barb had an amazing grilled cheese sandwich and Ed had a sausage sandwich. Then we ate our way around the grounds with samples and bought 2 Borough’s bags to carry groceries in them at the supermarket. Barb had them a couple of years ago, but they were destroyed by mistake.

It was then time to go to the castle section of the city for a 2 hour tour of the city. The tour started in St. James Park, which is close by the Queen’s residence and proceeded to visit that section of the city with the old homes for the wealthy. We ended the tour at Piccadilly, a very wealthy section with men’s shoes being hand made, hand made to your order hats and everything that the “gentleman” would want to buy. What a place and the money in London is unbelievable. It is amazing to look into a store window and see ties for $100 and up. There were many shops that you could only get in by being buzzed in.

Then we continued walking through the city until it was time to go to the hotel and change clothes for the evening.

We went to a really neat English Pub called the Marlborough Head for dinner. Our dinner was called Ploughman’s Sharer which was sliced ham, mature cheddar cheese, pickled onions and pickled apple crusty with bread

Then it was back on the tube to go to the Tower of London for the 9:30 pm closing of the Tower.
This is a by ticket only event were the Beefeaters perform a ceremony to lock the Tower down for the night. It took about ½ hour and was lots of fun. There are no pictures because photos were not allowed.

We made it back via the tube to the room by 11:00pm to pack for the cruise and catch a few hours sleep.

Sent last night -
This is just a short note to tell everyone that we had a wonderful day. Up at 7:00 am and on a run all day. It is 11:33 am and we are getting up at 6:00 am to go to a great Saturday market for a few hours before meeting our car and driver back at the hotel at 10:00 am for the drive to Southhampton and the ship.

So, what that means is that I will write everything and show you all pictures, but I won't do todays until tomorrow when we have some extra time on the ship.

Night for now -

ps - Jeff and Kris - you are in our prayers - hope today went great - Love Mom and Ed

Europe – 2010 – Day 1

Europe – 2010 – Day 1

The pictures are:
1. Being picked up at the airport – and the luggage fit!
2. Our bedroom at the hotel.
3. From the dome of St. Paul'.s
4. Lunch at the pub
5. Barb asleep on the Tube

We had a fast trip to Chicago; the construction didn’t hurt us at all. American Airlines left Chicago right on time and 8 hours later, we landed in England at 6:30am.

The bags were waiting for us by the time we got to baggage claim so we picked them up and met our driver.

We used the same company that we had used before and both times they picked us up in the big “7” Series BMW – what a nice ride.

We were into and out of our hotel by 10:00 am and then took a taxi to make the 10:45 am walking tour we had of Historic Greenwich tour. The hotel is very classy and very modern in a very old building – really neat place.

We met out tour guide outside of the Tower of London and walked to the Thames River and got on a boat for a 20 minute trip up the river to Greenwich. Greenwich is going to be the host borough for the 2010 Olympics so it was an interesting area to visit.

After that tour, we took a train and then the Tube (subway) to St. Paul’s Cathedral. This Cathedral is the 2nd largest in the world and we had a 90 minute tour before walking up 230 steps to the first level above the dome where you could circle the inside of the dome and look down. Then Ed walked the next 129 steps higher in the dome to go outside on the roof. What an amazing view of the entire city.

We then took a cab to a little pub called the Wenlock Arms. We had heard about this pub from a show on the Discovery Channel. It was fine, but we wouldn’t go back. It was over-rated but the sandwich we had was good.

Then we met a guide for a 2 ½ hour walking tour called “The Ancient City at Night” and it lasted until 9:00 pm.

We are now ready to crash because in ½ hour it will have been 36 hours that we have been up with maybe 1 hour of sleep on the plane!!!

What a fun first day.

We depart Bloomington by driving to O’Hare and taking American Airlines Flight 86, leaving at 5:05 pm and arriving and London’s Heathrow Airport at 6:50 am Thursday morning.

We are staying at the London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square from Thursday, September 2 until Saturday, September 4.

Take a look at the hotel at: 

London Marriott Hotel Grosvenor Square

After a fun couple of days in London, we will travel to Southampton to board the new Celebrity Eclipse ship.

The schedule of the Eclipse is:

Sat, Sep 04 Southampton, England Depart 4:45 PM
Sun, Sep 05 At Sea
Mon, Sep 06 Vigo, Spain Arrive 8:00 AM - Depart 5:00 PM
Tue, Sep 07 Lisbon, Portugal Arrive 8:00 AM - Depart 5:00 PM
Wed, Sep 08 Gibraltar, United Kingdom Arrive 1:00 PM - Depart 6:00 PM
Thu, Sep 09 At Sea
Fri, Sep 10 Barcelona, Spain Arrive 7:00 AM - Depart 6:00 PM
Sat, Sep 11 Provence (Toulon), France Arrive 8:00 AM - Depart 5:00 PM
Sun, Sep 12 Palma De Mallorca, Spain Arrive 12:00 PM
Mon, Sep 13 Palma De Mallorca, Spain Depart 5:00 PM
Tue, Sep 14 At Sea
Wed, Sep 15 Seville (Cadiz), Spain Arrive 7:00 AM - Depart 5:00 PM
Thu, Sep 16 At Sea
Fri, Sep 17 At Sea
Sat, Sep 18 Southampton, England Arrive 5:30 AM

When we arrive at Southampton, we will travel back to London to board American Airlines flight 47 departing at 12:50 pm and arriving in Chicago at 3:25 pm on Saturday, September 18.