Sea Day #3

Well, we did not get to eat at Todd English last night.  Seems they were fully booked.  When we asked if we could come, we were told not until very late.  So it was Kings Court once again.  This is probably good for my diet.  The food is just okay so we do not over eat.  They had a green curry shrimp which I tried but it was very spicy so I only ate two pieces.  And a salad and fruit for dessert.

Yesterday afternoon I attended the knitting and needlework group.  Will not go again.  Seems that the ladies already have formed their groups and I was sort of out in the cold.  The social hostess did not even introduce herself to me.  If I am going to work alone, then fine.  I will do it where I like and not where they think I should be.  I like to sit by a window so I can see the work since I am doing cross stitch or needlepoint.  If I am knitting, then I can do that anywhere.  But I did not bring knitting this trip.

We went to bed early again last night so we are up early this morning.  Gained another hour.  I think we have two hours to go.  And then we will be back on the correct time for New York.

Not much to do today.  Routine is about the same.  I get some exercise in just walking around this ship. And we do the stairs.

Dinner tonight will finally be in the restaurant.  Hope they have held our table.  We will see.

Might try and see the show tonight.  And will try and attend some of the lectures.  We have been watching them on the TV in the afternoon.  Some of the speakers are good.  Not all of them but some.

Tonight we do not change our clocks.

Sea Days #1 and #2

We were up early as we went to bed rather early and we gained one hour during the night.  Had a light breakfast in the King's Court of fruit and Special K for me and meats for Bob.  It is strange that the buffet is on deck 7 and not a top deck like all the other ships we have sailed on.  It is convenient for us as our cabin is on deck 8 but it is rather dark in this area.

I spent most of the morning in the Winter Garden doing my cross stitch.  Met a lady who has been on this ship since it left New York about two weeks ago.  Did the crossing and then around the British Isles and now crossing back.  Cunard is celebrating 175 years in service and that is the reason all three ships were in Liverpool last week.  Liverpool is where Cunard started.  All three ships were in Southampton when we embarked but no big deal.

Went to the Kings Court for lunch but I think all 2600 people were trying to have lunch there so we decided to go to the restaurant.  We sat at a table for 2 but the next table for two was two inches away so we spoke with Jan and Larry from New York State.  They are from the Finger Lake region and I told them that I attended Keuka College for two years so I know something of the area.  Nice people.  Their daughter is associate producer for CBS This Morning and is a marathon runner but not fast.
For dessert we all had "Spotted Dick".  I ordered it because I wanted to know what it was.  Look it up.

We took a nap and then Bob went out and walked on the deck for one mile.  Three times around is one mile.  This is a long ship.

Tonight was formal night and we did not bring formal clothes so we ate in the Kings Court.  Not too bad.  I had a salad which I enjoyed and then some vegetables and a piece of salmon which I did not like.  Kind of dry.

We gained another hour during the night so we were up early again today which I think is Friday.  The routine will be sort of the same so I will not be posting again until maybe Saturday.

I think we will try Todd English again tonight.  The last time we were there we asked if we were dressed like we were would they seat us.  He said no problem.  Coat and tie and dress for me.  And he said we did not need a reservation.  The food was better than in the Kings Court.

The seas have been calm so far.   A little fog this morning but not bad.  Still very windy and cold.  Same weather we had last time.  I guess that is the normal for this area of the Atlantic.

I also listened to the lecture on the history of ocean vessels.  This was the only way to travel to Europe back in the 1920's or 30's.  They did use the ships for troop carriers during both WWI and WWII.  The QM2 is still the only ship doing crossings on a regular basis.  The other lines just cross to do Europe in the summer and then cross back.

Southampton and boarding the QM2

Up fairly early as we went to bed early last night as it had been a tiring day.  Breakfast here at the hotel.  When we came back to the room I discovered that my computer is not working.  Not sure if it is the computer or the cord so we are off to the Apple store.

So at the Apple Store, we had to make an appointment for 11 am.  Back to the hotel to check out and store our luggage and then back to the Apple store.  I had to wait for the computer expert but he was able to fix the computer.   Seems that my computer has not been charging.  Something is wrong with the cord.  They do not sell the cords but he did give me a UK plug and now my computer is up and working like a charm.

We had lunch at a place called Wagamama.  This is the restaurant that Dan told us about while we were in the pool.  Remember, he graduated from Johnson and Wales.  Anyway, when we saw it we wanted to try it.  Good but too much but we ate it all.

Back to the hotel to wait for our taxi.  We wanted to take the shuttle but they were booked so we hired a taxi to take us to the ship.   While we were waiting, we spoke with two ladies who are also on the ship.  From Atlanta and they have just spent 5 months on a ship doing a semester at sea.  You can be a life long learner and sail with the ship.  We might look into this.

Embarkation was great.  Nothing like we experienced the last time we sailed on the QM2.  Our room was ready and we settled in.  My luggage came before the muster drill.  Speaking of the muster drill, our station is the Kings Court and we had to stand along with most of the people and listen to the Captain on tape tell us about the policies.  Then the staff showed us how to put on a life jacket.  Sort of a waste.

Bob's luggage was in the hall when we returned.  His had a red tag that said "check by owner", we thought they found his Scotch but it was there.  Not sure what that meant.

Up to take pictures of the sail away.  Weather sunny but cool and windy.

Dinner was in the Todd English Restaurant.  Very good.  We both had the garlic shrimp and then Bob had a sea bass dish and I had the surf and turf.  And dessert was chocolate fallen cake which was to die for.  Wow, what a great dinner.  You pay extra for this but it is worth it.  Will return.

We gain an hour tonight.  Will post pictures later as I have not downloaded them yet.

Travel Day - Lyon to Southampton via Paris and London

Wow, what a day.  We got up early as we had no idea how to get our tickets so we wanted plenty of time in case there was a problem.  I had ordered the rail tickets on line back in March but the system now has you getting your tickets at the station.  They have plenty of kiosks available but you needed to insert the credit card that you bought the tickets.  Of course, I left this credit card at home.  So we needed to go to the ticket office where the man printed out both the first train to Paris and then the train to London.

When the train platform was posted we headed to that area.  Found a lift but it brought us to the wrong platform.  Found the right one and then had to head to Y area for our car number.  Plenty of space to store the luggage which was great.  Ride was uneventful.  You go so fast that you really cannot see much of the country.  Besides, we were sitting facing the rear of the train so that has a tendency to make me sick.

Arrived in Paris and had to transfer to the north station.  There were no taxi cabs so we had to wait for around 15 minutes.  The ride to the north station was fine but when we got there, we had to go through passport control and wait upstairs until the called the train for boarding.  Dragging this luggage around is getting old real quick.  Plus the pull up handle on my big piece broke.  Piece of junk.

Again, plenty of room for the luggage.  Took our seats and off we went heading to London.  They served us a nice light lunch with wine.  Love that about France.  It takes about 25 minutes to go through the chunnel.  Arrived in London but again at a different station than we needed for the train to get up to Southampton.  Had to take the underground to get there.  The man at the ticket office told us what underground trains to take, there were two of them, and we finally made it to Waterloo Station.

It pays to look lost, as a very nice lady asked us if we needed help.  She works for the train company in customer relations.  She was able to get the track number and took us to the train before anyone else came on board.  She had us put out luggage right up front and us in the first two seats.  And we met Albert, train attendant, who assisted us in getting off with the luggage.

Had to wait for a taxi but I hailed one down and the ride to the hotel was quick.  This hotel has seen better days or at least our room has.  Because we are using points, we have a room with no view or should I say, a view of other buildings.  Oh well, such is life.

Not sure what we are going to do about dinner.  I need to find out just where we are before we decide anything.  Tomorrow we board the QM2 for our trip to New York.

The day all told has been long.  Left the hotel at 6am and checked into this hotel at around 4:30pm plus we lost one hour so our body clocks think it is 5:30pm.  Long travel day.  But we made it so I guess that is something to be proud of.  But we are getting too old for this type of travel especially lugging all this luggage around.  We are both rethinking the way we pack.  Do not need to bring big luggage.  That is what the laundry is for.

We hope we have good internet on the ship.  If not, I will do my best to keep you updated but it is six days at sea.  Nothing much to see but water.  Till then.

Dinner last night at the Oxford Brasserie.  All quite good.  We were the first ones to sit down for dinner. Seems that the American eats early.  Walked back to the hotel.  A/C not working right so I turned it off and opened the window.  Much better.

Lyon Day Two

Up and decided to not eat here at the hotel.  Buffet breakfast is 26euros per person.   So we walked and found a small cafe where we had a light breakfast.

I opted for orange juice instead of coffee.  Not sure they understand decaf.

We walked around for a little while and then returned to the hotel to get our stuff together for the day.  On the walk back to the hotel we passed the French Cooking School.

Paul Boguse is a well known chef here in France.  He is from Lyon and most chefs train in his school.

We walked from the hotel to the Funiculaire to take us up to the Basilique of Notre Dame de Fouviere. I posted a picture of this the last time we were in Lyon.

This time we visited it.  What a place.  I have never seen so much mosaic tile work in my life.  It is beautiful.

The outside of the Basilique.  This is not the pretty side.

The pulpit with a marble statue behind it.  The statue is not on the pulpit but the wall behind.  Notice the kneelers.  Hard on the knees.  No pads.  These French are tough.

Another beautiful marble statue.

 And of course, stained glass windows.

The beautiful ceiling of the Basilique.

A close up of the ceiling.

And one of many mosaic tile wall art.

More statues.

The front altar.

There must be over 100 of this flower on the floor.  The entire floor is tiled.

The view from the Basilique.  You can see most of Lyon.  What I like about these cities is that there are no high rises.  You do see two in the distance.  The one on the left is still being built.  The one on the right is a hotel.  But not in the center city.

From the Basilique you can see the tour Metalique.  This is a twin but smaller of the Eiffel Tower.  Now it is a media tower.  You can no longer go up.

We then returned to the old city and walked around for a while.  We did get to see the outside of the Cathedral of St. Jean but it was closed so we did not have a chance to go inside.

The Cathedral St. Jean.  Sorry we did not get to go inside.

We did stop at one cafe to have lunch but here in Lyon, most cafes do not open for lunch until 12 noon.  So we got up and walked around some more.  Finally stopped at a cafe that was serving lunch and we each had a bowl of onion soup.

We both opted for beer instead of wine.  Needed fluids.

Walked back to the hotel.  By this time my back was really hurting.  But I made it back without having to get a cab.  We did stop once to sit and rest.

Back at the hotel we napped and then doing some catch up stuff.  We have to get up early in the morning for the train to England via Paris.  So we need to be ready to go.  Visiting Lyon has been nice but here in this part of France, most stores are closed Sunday and Monday.  So no shopping for me.  I think this was Bob's plan all along.

Dinner tonight is at La Tassee.  I found this place on the internet.  Hope it is good.  Will let you all know later.

Well I did good.  The dinner tonight was wonderful.  One of the best dinners we have ever experienced.  We had reservations for 7:30 but headed to the restaurant at 7pm.  It was just around the corner from the hotel so we were early but they were ready for us.  Seems that here they give you the table for the night.  So how long you stay is up to you.  Our dinner took two hours.  Great slow pace so that you could digest the meal as you went along.

We  both had the Pistachio hot sausage and the Stake fish cooked in a browned butter.

 

This is the ice cream dish that Bob had for dessert.

And this is the Pistachio dessert I had.  Boy was it good.  Only ate half of it.

Then we walked back to the hotel and packed as we are leaving Lyon early in the morning.  Taking the fast train to Paris and change there for London.  Then on to Southampton for the night.  QM2 on Wednesday.

Lyon, France

We had to get up early and put our luggage out by 7:15 am. I had packed last night but Bob needed to pack in the morning.  Luggage out and we headed to breakfast.  The others had an early bus to the airport. Our bus was scheduled to leave at 8am.  We were sitting with another couple and before we knew it, it was 5 of 8. Gathered our stuff and checked out and on the bus.

Ride to the airport took about two hours.  Got our luggage and the taxi driver was right there.  Ride to Lyon and the hotel took about a half hour.  We are staying in Sofitel Lyon Bellecour.  Hotel is very nice.  Right on the Rhone River.

Checked in but room not ready.  Not surprised as it was only 10:30am.  I sat in the lobby and worked on my cross stitch while Bob walked around outside to see what was in the area.  Room was ready at around noon.

We got our luggage delivered and then took a walk to find a place for lunch.  We passed several places to eat but they all appeared crowded.  This being Sunday I guess everyone goes out for lunch.  So we ended up eating at Ed's Eat and Drink.  Bob had a hot dog and I had a cheeseburger.  Talk about American food.  But this was about all they served.  No wonder they had room for us.  But the food was good.

Beautiful sculpture by the hotel.

Lovely fountain by the hotel.

A church on our walk.

Took this picture on the way back to the hotel.  Could not see what I was taking but it came out pretty well.  Captured the fountain, the sculpture and the French flag.

Returned to the hotel and now napping time.

We cleaned up for dinner and here in Lyon the restaurants do not open until 7pm.  So since we were ready, we decided to take a walk before dinner.  We crossed the street and walked by the Rhone River. There was one river boat that we could see.  It is called Provence and is run by Grand Circle Tours.  Looks old to us.

We continued to the Bellecour Square.  This statue is in the center of the square.

Louis the XIV.  Impressive statue.

And this is at the base of his statue.  Bob thought it might be his girlfriend.  Just as I was taking the picture, this young boy ran in to climb up on the statue.

In the square they were playing this game.  Not sure what it is called but these girls were quite good.

They roll a very small green ball and then the object is to throw the larger gold balls to stop close to the green ball.  You take turns and if one is very close, the opposite team throws the ball to land on the one close and hit it off the court.  So of like shuffleboard with balls.  Or curling on dirt.

Then we headed to Le Sud for dinner.  This was recommended on a web site I had checked.  We started with fish soup for Bob and a vegetable dish for me.  Then Bob had a chicken dish which he said was very good and I had a lamb shoulder dish which I did not like at all.  When the check came, they did not charge me for the lamb.  Nice of them.  Next time I will stick with the lamb chops.  A much better choice.

Walked back to the hotel and now updating the blog and then lights out.

Chalon Sur Saone

Today is Saturday and Bob and I decided not to take the tour.  We had breakfast with the gang and then came back to the cabin for a bit.  After the tours left, I tired to do the blog but the internet would only work when I was on deck 2 at the "business center".  The business center is a desk in the hall with  one apple computer.  But I used my laptop and was able to enter the last two days.

Bob and I then took a walk around this city.  We visited the Cathedral of St. Vincent.  Really nice cathedral.  Great tapestry which dated back to 1510.  Outside it appeared as a protest was gathering.

 The doors to the Cathedral were open and you could sit in the square and to seemed as if you could attend mass while drinking your coffee.

Here in Europe, it appears as if you only sit or stand to attend mass.  No kneeling pads seen.

The organ at the rear of the Cathedral.

Another view of the interior.

The building around the square all look like they belong in England.

This is the square by the Cathedral.

The other side of the square.

We continued our walk through the city up to the park and gardens. The map we were using was not as good as it could have been but we managed to make it there and back.  Partly by dumb luck.

Love the color of these flowers.

And the lily pads.

I thought this looked like a Dr. Seuss tree.

Lunch when the tour returned.  Cory is in some pain so Anne took him his lunch to eat in the cabin.

People were packing to go home or whatever their plans so the afternoon was quiet.  We took our nap and then got dressed for dinner.

Cocktails with the group.  Cory feeling much better.  Dinner was okay.  I ordered the tomato pie which turned out to be like a pizza.  So I at two slices and left the rest.  The brought a cake for Cory as his birthday is Sunday the 24th.

Back to the cabin to pack and then bed.

Tournus - Update

Friday we were in Tournus.  Our tour today was to the Cluny Abbey, a visit to a local goat farm with goat cheese tasting, and lunch at a local hotel in Cluny.

This is a typical wine makers house.  The family lived on the main floor and the upper floor was for storage.  The lower floor was for the wine.  Today most houses like this use the upper floor for bedrooms.

Our first stop was at an old Roman church.  The Abbaye de St. Philibert is one of Burgundy's older and greatest Romanesque buildings.  It was founded by a group of monks from Noirmoutier who had been driven from their island by invading Normans in the 9th century.  It was rebuilt in the 10th - 12th centuries.  This has been the best example of the Romanesque building we have ever seen.

The front door of the Church.

Inside the Church.

Next we visited the goat farm.  Lots of goats to be seen.  They are all milked by machine today.  And then we were able to taste two different types of goat cheese.  Would have loved to buy some but you cannot bring it into the states.

The town of Cluny is overshadowed by the ruins of its great abbey.  The Ancienne Abbaye de Cluny was once the most powerful monastic foundation in Europe.  The abbey was founded by William the Pious, Duke of Aquitaine in 910.  Within 200 years, Cluny had become the head of a major reforming order with monasteries all over Europe.  The abbey was closed in 1790 and the church was later dismantled.

The ceiling of the Abbey.

I am not sure the pictures of the Abbey can really tell you how large it was.  I included the people so you can see how much space is above them.

Without the people.

The dorms for the monks now used as dorms for students here to study.

After our tour of the Abbey, Bob and I walked around the village and stopped for a coffee.  Later we were able to speak with Jessie, the cruise director, who arranged for our transportation to Lyon and then a taxi to take us to our hotel.  Vantage had told me that the cruise ended in Lyon and this is not correct. If I knew that we would not be coming back to Lyon, I would have planned to visit Paris instead as now we are going backwards.   Oh well, Vantage does not get high grades from me.

Across from the Abbey are these two buildings.  At one time it was one building but the town wanted better access to the Abbey so they tore down the middle of the building.

And finally, we traveled to a local hotel in Cluny for a lunch of Boeuf Bourguignon.  This is a beef dish that has been cooked in red Burgundy wine for several hours.  One of the best meals we have had so far on this leg of the trip.

We sat and talked with Herman and Sharon after lunch in the hotel courtyard.  Herman was a dairy farmer from Washington state.  He has since sold all his cows but rents the land for them to use.

This is the sculpture in the hotel courtyard.

We returned to the ship where I bet most of the folks took a nap.  Wine was included in the lunch and they just placed the bottles on the table so you could pour as much as you wanted.

They had a cocktail party and the disembarkation talk.  Bob and I were late in attending as we finished watching "The Lucky One".

Dinner was the Captain's Farewell with baked Alaska for dessert.  They still do the parade of the Baked Alaska with the entire crew taking part.  Now on this boat, the entire crew is only 42 persons.  We both had the lobster for dinner which was okay.  At least they did not over cook it.  The head chef is from Poland.  So we have not had any true French dinners.

After dinner I stopped to check when we will leave the boat.  We are on the 8am bus to the airport.  Luggage has to be out of the cabin at 7:15 am.  The others are all on the 7 am bus.