Personal Experience – Page 2

September 29, 2024September 29, 2024

Viking British Isles Explorer Cruise: Belfast – The Titanic

Many years ago a traveling exhibit of the Titanic came to the Union Depot in St Paul, Minnesota. They had quite a few artifacts, including a large section of the ship’s hull. I found it to be absolutely fascinating. A few years after, I was out in New York City as part of a tour of the Eastern seaboard of the US. On the USS Intrepid was a small exhibit with some artifacts from the Titanic. Then, when I was in Halifax, Nova Scotia, I went to the Maritime Museum (I have a couple of ancestors who were ships captains in that area at the time of the American Revolution) and saw a permanent exhibit of several artifacts from the Titanic.

Halifax was the nearest port from where the ship sank. It was where the survivors and many of the bodies were taken. The graveyard contains several of the people who didn’t survive. Most of the markers had names, but some were marked “unknown”, including the grave of a child.

When I had been to Belfast in 2005, the only memorial to the Titanic was a statue in front of City Hall. The Harland and Wolff cranes, Samson and Goliath, were still there and still being used. But there just didn’t seem to be much interest at that time to highlight the fact that the ship had been built there.

The four hour Titanic Belfast Walk excursion in the morning was listed as “demanding”. They weren’t kidding. We spent the first two hours in the Titanic Belfast Exhibition. That wasn’t too bad. It was a very large exhibit, spread over several floors, but there were benches to sit on here and there. I could pace myself quite well. Demanding or not, I didn’t want to miss it.

The exhibit tells the story of the building of the ship, the maiden voyage and sinking, plus the discovery of the wreckage. It contains the following galleries:

Boomtown Belfast – Belfast at the start of the 20^th century. Includes the original Harland and Wolff shipyard gates and an interactive floor with the construction plans for the Titanic.
The Shipyard – a ride aboard a mini-car up and around a replica of Titanic’s rudder while depicting scenes of the ship being built.
The Launch – overlooking the actual slipway from which the Titanic was launched, scenes are shown of the launch.
The Fit-Out – the first, second and third class cabins are depicted. There is a computer-generated 360 degree tour of the ship from the engine room to the dining salons and the bridge.
The Maiden Voyage – depicts the journey from Belfast to Southampton, and from there to Cherbourg, Cobh and westwards.
The Sinking – the sound of the Morse code SOS messages and the audio of survivors telling their stories can be heard as the image of the sinking ship is projected against a wall of replicas of the life-jackets.
The Aftermath – this part of the exhibition is dominated by a full-size replica of one of the lifeboats. The British and American inquiries into the disaster are depicted. There are also interactive screens to see if a relative might have been part of the crew or one of the passengers.
Myths & Legends – this depicts the movies, plays, books, and poems written about the Titanic and some of the myths and legends perpetuated by them.
Titanic Beneath – the ship is presented as it is now.

I don’t have any difficulty walking. In fact, I enjoy taking walks when I travel to become acclimated to new areas. I also take almost daily walks around the neighborhood or in nearby parks when at home. While onboard the ship, I also took frequent walks just for the exercise.

Standing in one place for a long period of time is another thing. I had some severe injuries to my back several years ago that put me in a back brace for several years. Plus I had some surgery next to my spine (slightly higher up than my previous injuries) in June of 2021 for some cancer. They got it all. But my back continues to be a bit sensitive about too much standing without any place to sit. The second two hours of the excursion were all over the Titanic Quarter to see the actual locations associated with the ship.

Those two hours required an enormous amount of standing while the fellow leading the group droned on and on. If someone asked a question, that meant what seemed like at least another 15 minutes or so while the question was being answered. There was one point when I thought I would just stretch out on the concrete. We did stop outside of a pub and it became quite apparent that the guy was settling in for an especially long discourse. I wondered if I could sneak in, get myself some refreshment, and slip back out before the group noticed. But I didn’t want to run the risk of being left behind. We were being picked up from a different location from where we had been dropped off. I didn’t want to get lost and need to take a taxi back to the ship.

To be fair, the walk did cover a lot of ground. We began at the slipway where the ship was built and from which it was launched before being fitted out. The Nomadic, which was a tender for the Titanic as well as the Olympic was docked not too far away. Our guide said that she was also involved in the evacuation of Dunkirk in World War II. She is the last surviving White Star ship in the world.

The former Harland and Wolff offices have been turned into a hotel. Behind the hotel, the enormous gantry cranes called “Samson” and “Goliath” can be seen. In the Titanic Quarter there is a film studio where parts of “Game of Thrones” and other TV shows and movies have been filmed. It is called Titanic Studios.

We also viewed an unexploded bomb from World War II and the HMS Caroline, which is one of the longest serving war ships still in existence. Our last stop was the drydock where the Titanic was fitted out. The earlier slipway had been filled in, but this one had not been altered. So we could see it in its original state.

The SSE Arena, with a capacity of 10,800, is also part of the Titanic Quarter. Sports events and concerts are held there. We drove by it on the way back to the ship.

Next time – Belfast: Hillsborough Castle & Gardens, a Royal Residence.

September 21, 2024

Viking British Isles Explorer Cruise: Liverpool – A Gentleman’s Club

With all of the British Gentleman’s Clubs I have seen depicted in films and TV shows over the years (including the comedy series “Jeeves & Wooster” with Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie), when I saw that there was a private tour of one of these clubs in Liverpool, I signed up immediately. It seemed like a great opportunity for me to see something that I would not normally be able to see.

Back at the ship, after the Beatles excursion, there was time to have a light lunch before changing my clothes for the private tour of the Athenaeum. They had a dress code according to the information we had been given. I decided to dress up a bit. I wore the same slinky black slacks I had worn for the special dinner at the Chef’s Table restaurant onboard the ship (the one with five courses and four wine pairings). With that I had on a slinky black “cold shoulder” top and some of my new amber earrings and an amber bracelet. I took along a lacy black shawl just in case. Although my friend and I were dressed up, we soon discovered that either very few people in our group read the part about a dress code, or they were ignoring it.

On our way to the club, we went to the university and saw several buildings, including the theatre that had been dedicated by Yoko Ono Lennon. We then drove by some upscale townhouses of the late 18^th century.

When we got off of the coach (which was a double-decker that had groupings of tables seating four people each), we visited the Bluecoat Arts Centre. This was originally founded in 1708 as a charity school. The present building was erected in 1716.

The Athenaeum had been founded in 1797 to augment the education of merchants and other professionals. Liverpool was growing, but not fast enough to be large enough for a university. The club provided a library, plus current newspapers, pamphlets and other reading material for its members. It also provided places for members (called Proprietors, because they all had shares in the club which has always been limited to 500 members) to congregate, discuss, and debate. These days the membership at the Athenaeum includes both men and women.

At the time of the founding of the Athenaeum, there were gentlemen’s clubs in London, but they were either political in nature or mainly for gambling. Express riders, messengers, and coaches were called upon to provide news and information to the club. One of England’s first abolitionists and a founding member of the Athenaeum, William Roscoe, donated numerous books to the club’s library. Maps, globes, and navigation charts were also donated. Over time the library grew into a very highly regarded private literary collection. I was delighted to see that they were quite proud of a book that they have in their collection that I also have in my own – Salem Is My Dwelling Place: A Life of Nathaniel Hawthorne by Edwin Haviland Miller.

Before we could start our tour, we needed to wait for some of the rooms (especially the dining room) to clear out. They had hosted the new Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, for lunch and some people were still hanging out. Our host had intended to start up in the dining room and then work our way down to the newsroom. Instead, we began in the newsroom and worked our way up. Too bad, I would have loved to have seen the PM if he was still in the building and maybe said, “Congratulations.”

The newsroom was where people would gather to chat (there is a bar) and to read newspapers, etc. There were several comfy, roomy chairs to settle into. I picked a lovely, leather, high-backed chair like Sherlock Holmes might have sat in to smoke his pipe. Our host, who was a Proprietor, gave us the background history of the club while we enjoyed our comfortable seats. It was about 2:30pm by this time. After the very busy morning I had had, I was starting to get a little bit tired. The friend I was with had also encountered a busy morning and was beginning to fade as well. Fortunately neither one of us nodded off so nobody needed to kick anybody under the low table we were seated around.

We were told a story about a couple of busts in the room. A bust of Napoleon had been given to the club by a French visitor and placed on a shelf in a corner of the room. One of the Proprietors put another shelf above that one and placed a bust of Wellington there. They have been there ever since.

On our way upstairs to the Committee Room, we passed a framed copy of the US Declaration of Independence on the wall. The Committee Room was relatively small and was quickly filled with our group. Not too conducive for taking photographs. There was an old voting box in there, however, as well as a small bust of William Roscoe and a painting of Samuel Johnson (the fellow who wrote the dictionary in 1755).

On the same floor as the Committee Room were the Reading Room and the Library. We were still waiting on the Dining Room above to completely clear out, so we lingered in both of these rooms for a while. In the meantime, refreshments were being prepared for us back in the Newsroom.

With the delay in getting through the Athenaeum, we were the last excursion group back to the ship. It had begun to rain while we were heading to where the coach was waiting for us. I was glad that, even though a lacey shawl is not much help in the rain, I at least had something with me. As soon as we were onboard, the ship was prepared to sail. We were underway very shortly thereafter.

I perked up a bit from the cake and tea we had been given at the Club. I ordered my usual Lemon Drop Martini and joined the Long Beach ladies down front for the lecture on “The Tudors” by Russell Lee. I didn’t feel the need to change clothes for either the lecture or dinner. But I did head back to my stateroom shortly after dinner and called it a night. The next day was going to be another busy one.

Next time – Belfast: The Titanic

September 15, 2024

Viking British Isles Explorer Cruise: Liverpool – The Home of the Beatles

When I was about nine years old, I had a next door neighbor who was thirteen. We hit it off very well and began to hang out together. As an early developer, I was already beginning to look like a teenager, so it was fairly easy for me to get away with it. I began to listen to the local radio station that all of the real teens listened to and really appreciated both the Motown music and the British Invasion. A particular British favorite was the Beatles. My favorite Beatle at that time was Paul – the cute one. I knew that his birthday was the 18^th of June and his favorite color was blue. I was more than willing to share that information with anyone who might (or might not) be even slightly interested.

On one of my trips to London, I believe it was in 1997, I had gone on a London Beatles walk. We started at the Marylebone Train Station, where some of the opening scenes of “A Hard Day’s Night” had been filmed. Then we moved on to the flat where the “Two Virgins” photo of John Lennon and Yoko Ono was taken, the registry office where Paul & Linda and George & Patti were married, the EMI offices building (empty, but still recognizable), the former Apple clothing shop, the restaurant from “Help”, and Jane Asher’s father’s home (where Jane & Paul had lived for three years). Then we set off for St John’s Wood to Abbey Road Studios and the famous crosswalk where the Abbey Road album cover had been shot.

Many times I had thought of taking the train to Liverpool to explore everything Beatles that was there. I finally booked the excursion in 2019 to be a part of a trip I would be making to London in 2020. But the pandemic happened and that trip was cancelled. One of the many factors that made me decide to do this particular cruise was that we would be spending an entire day in Liverpool. The very first shore excursion of the entire cruise for which I signed up was called The Beatles Experience.

After a short general tour of the city, our first stop was the Cavern Club. Located on Matthew Street, the club was originally a jazz club. But they would allow skiffle music, which John Lennon and his band, the Quarrymen, would play. As time went on, the Quarrymen went through a few name changes before becoming The Beatles and a mainstay at the Cavern Club. I was really quite thrilled to see it.

Next we headed over to the Beatles Story exhibition at the Royal Albert Dock. They had early Quarrymen instruments as well as other early incarnations (The Rainbows, The Silver Beatles). The interior of the Cavern Club from the time that the Beatles played there had been recreated as well. There was so much to see. There were handwritten sheets of music, replicas of the Sgt Pepper uniforms, the Magical Mystery Tour bus, the inside of the Yellow Submarine. The exhibits were endless and continued on to the Beatles’ split and their separate careers afterwards. Absolutely mindblowing.

When I had worked in the recording industry in NYC for record producer Phil Ramone in the late 70s/early 80s, I had been blessed to have the opportunity to meet both George Harrison and John Lennon. When I met George, I was still quite new to the business and was very shy and nervous (I was also quite young – just out of school). Being that he was also fairly shy, it was a brief encounter which I nonetheless treasured. By the time I met John, I was determined not to let my shyness be a hindrance (especially after a disastrous meeting with Todd Rundgren when I shut down completely) and was actually able to conduct a relatively decent conversation with him. At least he didn’t act as if he thought I was a complete idiot. I do have to say that he was quite kind to me and went out of his way to make me feel comfortable. In between George and John, I also met George Martin, their former producer. He was quite charming and I was quite tongue-tied.

In the shop I purchased some baseball-style caps for my brothers and myself (they are also huge Beatles fans) and a T-shirt from the Cavern Club. Then we were off to Penny Lane.

After taking photos of both road signs, we got back on the coach and drove along Penny Lane while listening to the song. I did manage to get photos of the “shelter in the middle of a roundabout” and the barber shop. Although it isn’t the same barber shop as in the song, it is in the same location. There was also a statue of John near the roundabout of which I also caught a photo.

From there we headed to Strawberry Fields. Located in the suburb of Woolton, Strawberry Fields had been a children’s home when John Lennon used to play there as a child on the grounds. The original children’s home was torn down in the 70s with a newer building put up. The children’s home closed in 2005 and the site is now run as a tribute to John Lennon by the Salvation Army (who acquired the place when the children’s home closed).

There wasn’t any way for the coach to get anywhere near George Harrison’s childhood home. But we were able to see John’s Aunt Mimi’s home, called Mendips, at 251 Menlove Avenue in Woolton (where he grew up). We got off the coach and walked down the street to Paul’s childhood home. This was where he lived from 1955 to 1964. The address was 20 Forthlin Road in Allerton.

Ringo grew up in a number of houses. We went by a couple of them. The first was his birthplace on Madryn Street in Dingle. The other was the house they moved to next at 10 Admiral Grove, also in Dingle.

Our Beatles Experience was over and we headed back to the ship.

Next time – Liverpool: A Gentleman’s Club.

September 8, 2024

Viking British Isles Explorer Cruise: A Private Tour of Gwydir Castle in Wales

On part of my mother’s maternal side, I have Welsh ancestry. They came from Caernarvonshire. By the time they settled on a last name (when they came to the US) the name was Jones. Prior to that, the name changed with every generation. Jones was for the son of John. Roberts was the son of Robert. Davies was the son of David. And on from there. This makes tracing one’s ancestry interesting. Even so, I have managed to get into the late 1700s to someone with the last name of Thomas.

Due to my Welsh connection, I have been to Wales many times in the past. It is a beautiful country and I love visiting there. I have also toured some Welsh castles in the past, but they have mostly been in ruins.

Considered to be the ‘finest Tudor House in Wales’, Gwydir Castle is also located in Caernarvonshire. It is on the River Conwy across from the market town of Llanrwst. This is actually one of the easier Welsh words to try to pronounce – “Clanwurst”.

While having tea after the tour of Gwydir (“Gwideer”) I repeated a couple things my grandmother had taught me in Welsh, especially a particular word I used to hear a lot. It was “kirikeg”. The lady of the house, Judy, laughed at that one. It means “shut up”, not a polite “be quiet”. No surprise there. My grandmother was not exactly the cuddly type. She (and my paternal grandmother too), were much more prickly types. Who knows how I ended up being such a hugger.

The oldest part of the castle is thought to date back to sometime around 1500. By the time the current owners (Peter and Judy Welford) purchased the property, several parts of the castle were missing. They were really quite fortunate that anything was left. Judy said during our tour that it was quite a daunting task. I purchased both the guide book (Gwydir Castle: A History and Guide) that Peter wrote and the book (Castles In The Air) that Judy wrote telling the story of the restoration. Both are well-written and quite fascinating.

After giving us an introduction in the Great Court with its adjoining knot garden (populated with some of the 25 peacocks roaming the grounds), Judy took us around to the Great Terrace to the East of the castle. Then we went through Sir John’s Gate. Sir John Wynn was the 1^st Baronet of Gwydir and inherited the castle in 1580. One of the dogs was hanging out there, keeping an eye out as dogs do. We passed through the Old Dutch Garden on the North side of the castle to enter through the main entrance into the Lower Hall. This was originally the kitchen, but became the entrance hall fairly early on as the manor house expanded into a castle.

From there we entered the Hall of Justice, which served as a manorial court at the time of the 1^st Baronet. The Dining Room was next. The contents of this room (not just furniture, but paneling, fireplace overmantel, chandelier, etcetera) had been sold in 1921 to William Randolph Hearst during an auction of the remaining contents of the house. It was subsequently sold to the Metropolitan Museum of New York and finally tracked down and returned to Gwydir in 1996.

The Solar Hall in the Solar Tower has been used as a parlor for much of its life. From there we had a choice of taking either the medieval turnpike stairs or the Victorian staircase to get up to the First Floor (in the UK, it is Ground Floor, First Floor, and so on). I chose the medieval stairs. Reaching the top, I found myself alone in the Great Chamber. The rest of the group had chosen the Victorian staircase. Plus I could hear questions being asked and answers being given from below, so I decided to move on to the passage and explore that until the rest of the group came upstairs.

There, to the left of a chimney, I found an old Tudor loo. Across the hall was a bedroom furnished in the manner of the mid-1600s. The 2^nd Baronet, Sir Richard Wynn, was the Chief Gentleman of the Bedchamber to King Charles I and so this room was furnished for that time period. It is called the Ghost Room. I found it to be somewhat creepy, but not terribly so.

It was the small space between the Ghost Room and another chimney that really creeped me out. I didn’t know why a Priest’s Hole would feel so odd to me. All it contained was a trap door where the Catholic founder of the Wynn family, Meredith Wynn, could hide a priest and/or any specifically Catholic religious objects. In addition to the decidedly spooky feeling that I was not entirely alone, I had also experienced a very unpleasant aroma.

The others were coming up the stairs, so I decided to rejoin the group in the Great Chamber. My favorite part of the Great Chamber was a smaller area with windows on three sides which jutted out over the Great Court with wonderful views of the Knot Garden. Once we had explored the Great Chamber, everyone moved on through the corridor to reach the Hall of Meredith, which was directly above the Lower Hall. This time, the Priest’s Hole didn’t unnerve me so much as I passed. I also didn’t smell anything disturbing. I shrugged and continued on with the rest of the group.

Later, in the guide book, I read about the ghosts at Gwydir Castle. It seems that one of the former owners seduced a serving maid in his youth. Then, when the relationship became complicated, he murdered her in the ghost room and walled her up in one of the chimney breasts. Earlier this century, both the loo and the priest’s hole were discovered during the renovations. The skeletal remains of the dead girl were found in the priest’s hole. So, when I was on my own, did I encounter the serving maid’s ghost?

We spent quite some time in the Hall of Meredith before moving on to the Paneled Parlor. The Hall of Meredith was named after the Wynn family founder, who was descended from Welsh royalty. He managed to father 27 children with three wives and four ‘concubines’. He also had a reputation as quite the warrior. The Hall of Meredith had a really cool arched-braced collar truss ceiling.

After visiting these last two rooms, we headed back downstairs (I took the main staircase this time) to the Lower Hall to enjoy some tea and scones. This was when my Welsh grandmother and the word “kirikeg” came up in the conversation.

Back in the Knot Garden, one of the male peacocks was showing off for one of the females. I got him to show off for me too and got some beautiful photos of him in all of his glory. Then, another male decided to fight it out with him and I needed to quickly jump out of the way before ending up in the middle of the fight. The original male was defeated by the interloper and ended up going up onto the garden wall to sulk. The newcomer then showed his fine plumage to three female peacocks and me. As another male strode over towards us, I decided to move elsewhere so as not to possibly end up in the middle of another territorial ruckus.

Before heading back to the ship, we took a drive through Snowdonia National Park. It really is a gorgeous place with loads of mountains. We also went through the town of Betwys y Coed. It is a place I have been to on four or five of my other trips to Wales. We didn’t stop this time, however. A shame really as I had learned on other visits some great places for wine, cheese, meat pies, and pastries.

Our final destination on our way back to the ship was to the town with the longest name in Wales. This was Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. Do not ask me how to pronounce it. I do know that both Welsh actor Michael Sheen and Scottish actor David Tennant can say it correctly as they memorably demonstrated on the Graham Norton show one of the times that they appeared on that British chat show together.

Back at the ship I attended Russell Lee’s discourse on “The Story of the Beatles in Four Songs” after the port talk on the next day’s visit to Liverpool. Sherry and Christine joined me for both and the wait staff brought me “the usual”. Then we went to dinner.

Next time – Liverpool: The home of the Beatles.

September 2, 2024

Viking British Isles Explorer Cruise: Irish Baking at Ballyknocken Farmhouse in County Wicklow, Ireland

After two days at sea, we had no problems at Dublin on what was Day 5 of the tour. We dropped anchor just off the Dun Loaghaire Marina and tendered to the dock. The tenders looked rather tiny from the outside, but had loads of room inside. The pilot sat up above. There were plenty of people to help us on and off. But the sea was quite calm, so I didn’t have any issues. However, when a gentleman offers his arm, I take it.

I had visited Dublin before, including during a trip around all of Ireland, so a good share of the shore excursions were things I had already done. There were two that especially intrigued me, but they overlapped so I needed to choose. Ballyknocken Farmhouse Baking won out. TV chef and food writer, Catherine Fulvio, has a cookery school at her farm in County Wicklow.

I tend to watch many of the cooking shows on Saturday mornings on PBS here in the states. I figured it was a good chance to experience a live cooking lesson and spend some time on an Irish farm all in one excursion. I also have some Irish ancestry on my maternal side although I have not yet been able to find out from which part of Ireland they came. The census records and the ship records merely say “Ireland”. This was my maternal grandmother’s father’s mother (a great great grandmother).

In addition to the culture, people and history of a place, I also enjoy learning something new such as how to cook or bake something that epitomizes the location. We were scheduled to learn about baking scones. But, since we were a tad early and she had loads of time with us, she also chose to teach us how to make Irish Soda Bread. Afterwards, we ate both. We had some homemade Rhubarb and Ginger Jam with the scones and some tea. It was all delicious. The scones were much lighter than what I had on the ship. They were more like the recipe I use from my grandmother’s cookbook. I intend to make both of the new recipes myself.

After our lesson and tasting were over, we were invited to explore the farm. There were some sheep out in one area. They didn’t seem to have any interest in us. But they were probably quite used to constant visitors and thought to themselves, “Oh no. Not another bunch of city folks.” There were about 30 of us in the group, mostly from the US.

We had a lovely drive back to the port. Taking the tender back to the ship, I was on the side where I could get a photo of a docked three-masted schooner. I actually sailed on one when I was in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and have toured many others in various countries.

I shot some photos of our ship as the tender returned to it. Too bad the Guinness tour was at the same time as this one. It would have been nice to follow up with a pint there. I just needed to order one with my very light lunch (a small salad with some fruit on the side) on board the ship.

I met up with Sherry and Christine for the evening lecture on the Bayeux Tapestry, by Dr Caroline Malloy. She had some tidbits of information that I hadn’t ever heard or read before. The ship also had representations of the tapestry all over it.

I had visited the tapestry on my Grand France River Cruise in 2021. They didn’t allow photos, but they did allow me to film it. My video camera is a direct to DVD recorder. Whatever I film goes straight onto a little disc that I can just pop into a DVD player to watch. I filmed pretty much the whole thing, only pausing when someone decided to walk or stand in front of me.

At dinner, they were serving lobster tails. I had two with some grilled vegetables and a delicious Chenin Blanc. Sherry was a definite carnivore, usually getting a steak and a baked potato. Christine favored pizza although she did often peruse everything first and then make a decision. She frequently ended up with a pretty eclectic mixture of foods. I mostly went for any fish or seafood they were serving, although I did occasionally go for some meat. Then I usually got some veggies with whatever I got and maybe some fruit salad. The variety at the World Café worked the best for all of us.

Next time – A private tour of a Welsh castle being restored near Holyhead.

August 25, 2024

Viking British Isles Explorer Cruise: Hey, Weren’t We Supposed to Dock in Dover?

I was all set to have a great day when we docked at Dover. I had booked an excursion to the Shepherd Neame Brewery in the medieval market town of Faversham. This was touted as Britain’s oldest beer maker. Then, in the afternoon, I was to spend my time in Canterbury. The excursion included a short orientation walk of Canterbury’s main sites followed by plenty of free time to really explore the Cathedral.

I had already gotten up, dressed, and had my breakfast before finding out that, due to high winds and choppy seas, we would not be able to dock. Instead we would have an unexpected day out at sea. Since my stateroom was on the Starboard side of the ship, facing the coast, I thought that perhaps I would be able to see various parts of the English coast as we went by. But no such luck. We were far enough out to sea that it wasn’t possible to recognize any landmarks.

Unless I wanted to hang a “do not disturb” sign on my door, I needed to vacate the room for housekeeping to be able to do their jobs. I grabbed the book I had been reading on the plane and headed down to the Living Room. There I had a hot chocolate with Bailey’s, which I leisurely sipped on while reading a novelized version of life in southern England shortly after William the Conqueror conquered the country.

Soon we had newly printed schedules in hand and could plan our onboard activities for the day. I was interested in an 11am lecture by resident historian Dr Caroline Malloy on “The Vikings”. One of the reasons I had selected this trip was because I had discovered through both genealogical research and DNA testing that I had some Viking ancestry. Some of those ancestors had moved from Norway to Orkney in the 9^th century. Then, once Orkney became part of Scotland in the 15^th century (and after a lot of intermarriage), they moved down into mainland Scotland before some of them headed down even further to Northumbria and Yorkshire. On this trip, after roaming around the UK and Ireland, we would head on up to Norway.

On the way to the lecture, I ran into Christine and Sherry from the day before. They were also interested in the lecture, which turned out to be quite fascinating. We sat together and then went to lunch. Since I had eaten so much the night before and had a pretty decent breakfast, I had a light lunch. After lunch I had a swim and then rested for a bit before our next lecture at 4:30pm.

By the way, Viking helmets that have been excavated in archaeological digs have not sported horns. So, Minnesota Vikings – not accurate.

Since we were at sea, the shops were open. Out at sea, they were both tax free and duty free.

I love amber. I had first purchased some jewelry of that semiprecious stone while on a tour of the Baltic countries back in 2012. The amber in the shop onboard ship was all from Poland. It came in many different shades with many different styles of settings. All of it was gorgeous. Most of the amber I already had was in a honey color. I quickly found some earrings in a more reddish shade and then hunted for a ring to go with them. I slipped these finds into my purse after giving them my stateroom number (they would be charged to the credit card attached to the stateroom) and headed for the next lecture.

This one was on “Enjoying Jane Austen and Her Characters”. I got there a little early and ordered a Lemon Drop Martini to sip on while waiting for Sherry and Christine to join me and the lecture to begin. The guest lecturer was a fellow named Dennis Fitzsimonds. He was there setting up and so we ended up having a chat about Ms Austen between the two of us. He was knowledgeable on the subject and I learned a few things I didn’t already know.

The lecture by Russell Lee that evening was called “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep – How Wool Transformed the World”. His lectures were quite entertaining as well as informative. The California ladies and I got into the habit of attending them every evening. It also wasn’t long until the wait staff knew my drink of choice and stateroom number by heart. I had my usual cocktail (just one) every evening to sip during the lecture. They were refreshing and acted as the perfect appetizer for dinner (which we would have once the lecture ended).

The following day was a scheduled day at sea. So two days in a row of lectures, the pool, and shopping. Not a lot of shopping though. I did attend a lecture on amber by Gabriella from the Baltic Amber Shop. Afterwards I spent some time with her in the shop looking at some green amber pieces and a golden-colored bracelet and some earrings to go with it. Then I was done. I figured I now had enough amber for any occasion. I guess I’d better stay out of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia for a while.

Each afternoon at 4pm tea was served in the Wintergarden. This was a full afternoon tea with a variety of sandwiches and desserts plus whatever tea met your fancy. My choice was Darjeeling. The only quibble I had was that they had only one type of scone – raisin. I don’t like raisins. But I was quite full anyway, so I only had half of it and picked out the raisins. No dinner needed.

That evening it seemed that everyone I encountered complimented me on my beautiful purple dress. Only it wasn’t a dress. It was a top that I used to wear with jeans. However, I had lost about three sizes in weight so, when I took a selfie (worn with some black jeans) and sent it out to friends, the consensus was that the top was now a dress. Time to switch out the black jeans for some black lace leggings.

Next time – Learning about Irish baking at Ballyknocken Farmhouse in County Wicklow (near Dublin).

August 19, 2024

Viking British Isles Explorer Cruise: London

My flight left the US on the 3^rd of July, arriving on the 4^th. It was the day of the UK General Election. The only other time I had been in Britain for a General Election was back in 1997 when the Labour party won by a landslide and Tony Blair began his first term as Prime Minister. I was very interested to see how this election would turn out.

Upon arrival at London’s Heathrow airport, after customs and luggage, I was met by a representative from Viking Cruises. This was my first time with Viking. I had done a couple of river cruises before: the Nile in Egypt with Movenpick, and a Grand France river cruise with Avalon Waterways. I had also gone on one other small ocean-going ship in the Aegean (to Greek Islands and Turkey) with a French line, Louis Cristal. With those ships, there were no children, no casinos, and an emphasis on learning the history, art and culture of the places we would visit. The same applied to Viking.

The ship, Viking Neptune, was supposed to be docked at Greenwich. But when docking the day before, the winds were too high for them to do so. We took the northern M25 loop to Tilbury. I had been to London many times before and had visited Greenwich several times in the past as well. I really like Greenwich and had planned to spend my day there, wandering around and exploring. Ended up spending the day mainly on the ship, exploring that and taking photos.

My stateroom was a Deluxe Veranda on Deck Five. I was just two decks directly above the tenders/lifeboats. The World Café, which served breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffet meals opened early for lunch. I love the idea of a buffet on such trips as I can choose what I want and how much. I tend to prefer smaller amounts of a variety of dishes — usually seafood or fish with a couple of vegetables, some fruit, and possibly a salad. If I have dessert, it is usually a sorbet or a mousse of some kind. They had some delicious salmon with grilled vegetables. I had some fruit salad and some seafood salad with that. I was also served a welcome drink involving bourbon and a premium Riesling. I had signed up for the Silver Spirits package so I could have better wines and an occasional cocktail.

I could get into my stateroom at 1pm. My cases were already there waiting for me. I unpacked and got organized for both dinner (the relatively casual dress code did involve something a bit nicer than a T-shirt and jeans) and the following day. The tickets for the shore excursions for which I had signed up were there, except for the excursion to Scone Palace in Edinburgh. Not enough people had signed up for that one. They provided me with an automatic refund. I could also sign up for a different excursion right there from my room. Had a nice early dinner too and, since I didn’t sleep on the plane from the States, turned in a bit early.

I had signed up for the walking tour of Greenwich for the following day. That was the only excursion they had available for that day and it was included (free of charge). Even though I had been to Greenwich many times on previous visits, I still wanted to go on the tour. You never know. I could learn something new or see something I hadn’t seen before. Since we hadn’t been able to dock at Greenwich, I was especially glad I had signed up. We were loaded onto a clipper that would take us up the Thames and deliver us at Greenwich’s dock.

I met a couple of very nice ladies from Long Beach, California (Sherry and Christine) and ended up hanging out with them for much of this excursion and quite often for presentations and dinner on the ship.

We started with the Cutty Sark. My mom and I had toured this ship on our very first trip to London in 1983 – long before the fire in 2007 that nearly destroyed her. I visited her again in 2016. The ship was named after a witch in the Robert Burns poem “Tam o’Shanter”. The figurehead of the ship is supposed to represent the witch. The Cutty Sark was built in 1791 as one of the last of the tea clippers. Although it was one of the last, it was one of the fastest. But, when steamships took over the tea trade, the Cutty Sark was then used for the wool trade from Australia. After that, she became a training ship and was finally put in permanent dry dock in Greenwich as a museum.

From there we went to the statue of Sir Walter Raleigh in front of the Visitor Centre and then to the Old Royal Naval College. This was the site of Greenwich Palace, which was the birthplace of Henry VIII, Mary I and Elizabeth I. Then we went past the National Maritime Museum to the Queen’s House. This was built in 1616 on the grounds of Greenwich Palace and is now part of the National Maritime Museum. From there we looked up the hill at the Royal Observatory. Then came the one new thing that I had not ever seen before. Nelson’s ship in a bottle.

Throughout all of this, the heavens would periodically open up and drop some fairly heavy rain on us. A few minutes later, the rain would stop only to come gushing down again a few minutes after that. I was wearing a rain jacket with a hood that was strapped down over a baseball cap, allowing me to take my photos either by camera or phone without having to deal with an umbrella. Although I was surprised to encounter such chilly weather in July, all of my prior trips to the UK had taught me to always be prepared for the potential of rain, snow, hail or all three.

Our last stop was to take a quick photo of St Alfege Church. The church was built on the supposed spot where St Alfege was martyred in 1012. The church was built around 1290. Henry VIII was baptized there in 1491. The present church was rebuilt in 1712-1714 after the medieval church collapsed due to the number of burials both inside and out.

By the time we returned to the clipper to head back to our ship in Tilbury, the rain was coming down in torrents again. I still managed to capture a few photos of the O2 Arena and the Intercontinental O2 Hotel plus the Thames Barrier between the raindrops.

When I got back to the ship about 2:30pm, I found that I had a fairly relaxing afternoon ahead of me as the ship set sail for Dover. I also found that Kohari (the fellow who was looking after me and my stateroom) had provided me with some cans of orange Fanta in my fridge. I don’t tolerate caffeine and so don’t drink the usual sodas provided. Very nice of him.

I decided to take a shower and really dress up for dinner that night. I had a black camisole with a lightly beaded sheer top over it, plus some slinky black slacks. For dinner, I had signed up for a five-course dinner at The Chef’s Table restaurant inspired by China’s Cantonese and Hualyang cuisines with special wine pairings. The courses were as follows:

Hot & Sour Soup (Cantonese style) with Martin Codax Mara Martin (Godello) from Monerrei, Spain
Fried Prawns (crispy garlic & chili) with Vinologist (Chenin Blanc) from Swartland, South Africa
Coconut (lemongrass & ginger infused)
Wok-Fried Beef (black pepper sauce, rice in lotus leaf with Altano Organic (Tinto Roriz) from Douro Valley, Portugal
Chilled Mango Cream (pomelo and sago) with Broadbent Madeira from Madeira Island, Portugal

Was feeling just a wee bit squiffy afterwards. I usually have one or two glasses of wine with dinner, but not four. The ship was sailing and I wasn’t sure if the ship’s movement was the problem or the four glasses of wine. I decided it was both.

Next time – Hey, weren’t we supposed to dock at Dover?

March 6, 2023

Thoughts While on the Avalon Waterways Grand France River Cruise: Learning new things while on vacation is fun

Past Trips

Navajo Reservation

One of my favorite parts of the trip I did to the Western National Parks in the US back in the spring of 2013 was to visit the four corners area and the Navajo Reservation. The place where we stayed (Goulding Lodge) and all of the restaurants where we ate and gift shops were owned and operated by the Navajo.

All of our excursions while there in and around Monuments Valley were also led and hosted by the Navajo who lived there. I was able to learn so much more about their culture and lives than I had known before. We also had one of the last living code talkers from World War II join us during a cookout to tell us about his experiences. I had watched a movie about that. But to hear actual stories from someone who had been there was very special.

Battlefields and Other Sites of War

I have also had a real interest in visiting battlefields, both in the US and other places. In the US, I have visited a couple of Civil War (Gettysburg, Fredericksburg) and Revolution (Yorktown) battlefields. But also several other locations having to do with either war (Appomattox Courthouse, Richmond, Harper’s Ferry, Valley Forge, Charlotte, Savannah, Beaufort, Williamsburg).

Overseas, it has been a lot of European World War II sites (battlefields, D-Day landing sites, and concentration camps), but also the Culloden Battlefield in Scotland (where Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Highlanders with him met their downfall), where David met Goliath in the Valley of Elah in Israel, and where the 300 Spartans met the Persians in Greece (at Thermopile), and Gallipoli in Turkey (World War I) where so many Australians lost their lives.

One of the reasons why I find battlefields and other sites connected with wars interesting is because of the heavy toll such actions take on human lives and the incredible stories that are associated with both the loss of life and some of the miraculous survivals that also took place. History is about peoples’ stories. I find learning those stories to be fascinating. Seeing where they took place (when the battlefield has been preserved) brings it into perspective. And yes, each time, I am left in tears.

NYC 9/11 Memorial

On my most recent trip to New York City in 2016, which was also my first trip back to NYC since 9/11, I visited the memorial. I recommend it to everybody. It is one thing to imagine a twisted firetruck or a collapsed staircase or a mangled piece of one of the World Trade Center buildings and quite another thing to see them for yourself.

I do have to say that I did not go into the room with the photos of the people and their voices from their last cellphone messages to loved ones. I just couldn’t. It was too much.

Kennedy Space Center

One of my cousins eventually worked at the Kennedy Space Center on the space shuttle crew, mainly for Endeavour. But he was also involved with all of the shuttle launches. Many years before that, Mom and I had visited the Kennedy Space Center and toured everything that a regular citizen on a tour could see. So, when he started working there, we already could picture a certain amount of it. I love it when something pops up in a TV show or movie or some other context and I been there and have seen whatever it is.

Hadrian’s Wall – Vindolanda

I have long been fascinated by Hadrian’s Wall. On one of my trips to Scotland (in 2016) I took several day trips to parts of the wall. One of those trips included the Roman fort of Vindolanda, which actually predates the wall. They had a wonderful museum containing items discovered at the site – shoes and other clothing, dishes and pottery, bridles, saddles, stirrups, etc from horses plus loads of other items. They also had much of foundations of the fort, despite the location having been robbed of much of its stone works over the centuries. A favorite of mine was the replica of the wall that gave a really good idea of the actual size and dimensions of it. I could also go up on top and walk along it.

This Trip

Van Gogh’s Art Techniques

Vincent Van Gogh is a favorite artist of mine. I have visited many sites associated with his life and death as well as viewing his art at the Musee d’Orsay during past trips to France. So, when I saw that I had the option to join a class on Van Gogh’s techniques while in Arles, I signed up for it immediately. I ended up painting a very quick version of a portion of his most famous “Starry Night”, which is now a treasured souvenir of the experience. Since returning home, I have also begun a couple of his other paintings that he did in Arles – “Starry Night over the Rhone” and “Café Terrace at Night”.

Truffles

On the Grand France River Cruise, I was able to visit a truffle farm and watch how the dogs searched for truffles. Then I was able to sample the truffles. It was fun to learn about truffle farming and to pet the dogs once they were off-duty.

Crepes

Although I have had dessert crepes before in restaurants, I had never had a savory crepe prior to this trip. On the day that we were setting sail for Les Andelys, we were offered savory crepes for lunch. I went with a buckwheat crepe filled with ham, cheese, mushrooms, and onions. There was some crème fraiche on top. Delicious. Since returning home, I have purchased a special crepe pan and spatula in order to make my own.

Chocolate Mousse

Chocolate Mousse is something I have made myself. But I have to say, the two that I had in France made mine seem more like a simple chocolate pudding. In Bayeux I had one at the restaurant where we had lunch. It was heavenly. On the ship, we had a mousse made with dark, light and white chocolate that was also amazing.

Calvados

An optional tour to Baveux and the Calvados region of Normandy included a visit to the Le Breuil-en-Auge Calvados Distillery. We learned all about how apples became Calvados and sampled some of the finished product. I felt that the amount in the glass was a tad stingy until I actually tried it. It is about 82 proof. It made my eyes water and my voice go raspy. I have since learned to mix it with cider and drink it with ice.

Hospices de Beaune

Touring and learning about the Hospices de Beaune, which were in service from 1443 to 1971, was really fascinating. We could see the wards, the pharmacy, the kitchens, etc. much as they had been.

Swimming Pool for Horses

At Bizy Castle, there was a lovely pool in the courtyard. Its purpose wasn’t just for looks. It had been created to allow the horses to cool themselves off. How thoughtful. Out of all of the castles I have seen all over Europe and the UK, I had never seen one with a swimming pool for horses before.

December 15, 2022

Thoughts While on the Avalon Waterways Grand France River Cruise: Knowledge of my own ancestry within an area makes me feel more connected to it

Probably as part of my love of history, I also trace my family roots. Some people just stick to one part of their family. I don’t. I trace both sides and all the little branches that stem off from them. It has been some of those branches where I have found some of the most interesting ancestors, including the occasional saint or not so much a saint.

Full disclosure, one of Richard III of England’s henchmen, William Catesby, who has been considered to have possibly been one of the men who murdered the two princes in the Tower of London, and who died at Bosworth along with his boss, is a 16^th great grandfather. But then I share that particular ancestor with the Game of Thrones actor, Kit Harington, so that’s alright. I’m descended from Catesby’s daughter, Elizabeth, while Kit is descended from his son, George.

Since I had some Viking (Norse) ancestors head down from Norway to settle on Orkney, I definitely loved being able to spend some time on Orkney, exploring some of the places they would have been. Then we get into Scotland where there were many, many ancestors running around. One was actually murdered in Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh.

Loads of ancestors all over England and Wales too. A Scottish de Ros ancestor acquired the original version of Belvoir (pronounced “Beaver”) Castle through marriage in the 13^th century. When his male line died out, the Manners family (a de Ros nephew who became the 1^st Duke of Rutland) took over and still owns the place. When I visited the castle, I was on a tour. But my tour group was small and given a private tour of the castle by a member of the staff. We were also greeted by the Duchess at that time.

In the United States, I have a lot of ancestral ties to Massachusetts from the 1600s in places like Plymouth, Boston, Marblehead, and Salem. In Boston especially I know where my ancestors lived and where some of them are buried. It was so wonderful to be able to walk around in that area and try to imagine back to when they were there.

For the Grand France River Cruise, I had printed out the names, dates and birthplaces of my French ancestors. There were a few hundred of them. That way, as we traveled around, I could have some context of which ancestors were from where and when.

In Arles, all of my ancestors were from such an early period of time that it was possible that some of them might have lived in houses that were built in the Arena when that was no longer used for its original purpose. The time period that those houses existed was the same as the time period of my ancestors.

I had ancestors from all over Burgundy, but I don’t necessarily know the individual towns. So, when we got to that part of France, I just took loads of photos of anything really old. I also drank a fair amount of the wines from that region.

In Normandy, I had many, many ancestors. A couple of the main towns in which they lived were Bayeux and Rouen. There were parts of both places where I felt transported back in time and could easily imagine what it might have been like in their day.

I started on my genealogical quest back in the days when I had to physically go into a library and study the microfiche and other items they might have and then send away for birth, death and marriage certificates, etc. Having access to online data sure does help enormously. There are a lot of things that can be found out without ever paying any money to anyone.

Although I love traveling to every place to which I have traveled so far, I have to admit that I get a warm and fuzzy feeling when I am someplace where I know my ancestors have been and I can get an idea of what their lives might have been like.

November 21, 2022

Thoughts While on the Avalon Waterways Grand France River Cruise: Knowledge of the history of a place makes being there more interesting

I love history anyway, so I can easily get excited over seeing someplace like Hadrian’s Wall or Egyptian pyramids and temples or battlefields like Gettysburg, Fredericksburg, Yorktown, Culloden, the D-Day landing beaches, etc. Smaller historical events are also intriguing to me.

Whether you are fascinated by history or not, knowing just a little bit about a place can make it much more interesting, such as what is the significance of an old cemetery? Who is buried there?

In St Augustine, Florida, I was fascinated by the fort. It had been built by the Spanish prior to the English settlements at either Jamestown or Roanoke, Virginia or Plymouth, Massachusetts.

In Israel, Masada would have just been several piles of rocks up on a high, hot plateau without knowledge of its history. For those who hadn’t read up on it before the trip, there was a short film down at the base that everyone watched before taking the cable car up to see it.

At Thermopylae in Greece, without knowledge of what had taken place there a couple thousand years ago, just looking at a monument to Leonides and the 300 Spartans who fought and died there wouldn’t have been all that fascinating. Since I knew the story, I could use my imagination. And a good imagination was necessary. The topography has changed quite a bit since 480 BC.

On this trip, my knowledge of Joan of Arc came in handy while in Rouen. I knew that the museum dedicated to her was in the very building where her trial had taken place. I also knew about all of the other locations associated with her.

In Avignon, I was aware of the history of the town, the Pont de Avignon, and the Palais des Papes. Despite it being a very hot day, my back hurting, and lots of stairs to climb, I was very interested in seeing it all.

Sometimes when visiting a place where you already know the history, you can find that seeing the place itself can make your understanding of it much clearer. It was one thing to read about traboules (the secret passages that had been used by the French Resistance to escape detection), but quite another to actually walk through a few of them. They had been built in the old, Renaissance portion of Lyon back when that part of the city was new. People who lived there knew about them. But people who didn’t live there were at a loss. To this day, only a handful of them are open to the public.

Although most people are well aware of who Napoleon was and his role in history, I always find it to be fun to see personal objects used by such iconic public figures. In Napoleon’s case, it was his hat on display in the library of Malmaison – the home he shared with Josephine. It made him seem more human. Like when I saw one of Queen Victoria’s gowns and Admiral Horatio Nelson’s uniform.