London, England & Embarkation

            Tuesday, 25 Aug 2015 – After disembarking the Royal Princess in Southampton and taking the Princess Coach Transfer to London’s Victoria Coach Station, we checked into our London hotel at about 2:10 PM.  As we have almost come to expect, it was raining fairly hard when we left the transfer bus and walked, dripping, into to our hotel.  We stayed again in the Comfort Inn, Buckingham Palace Road, and also again in their building across the street from the lobby.  However, this room was slightly larger and had a better view than our previous room.  This time, since we would be staying for four nights, we partially unpacked our luggage, more than previously.  After our arrival, we considered walking around the area for a little while, but opted to relax in our room for the remainder of the afternoon instead.

Sri Suwoon Thai Restaurant 

Although the hotel clerk didn’t have more discount restaurant coupons this time, he suggested that we tell the restaurant personnel that we were staying in the Comfort Inn and ask if any discounts are available.  He also recommended an Italian Restaurant located just down the street for our dinner.  After more consideration, and also finding that the St. George Tavern dining area was not yet open, we decided to try the Sri Suwoon Thai Restaurant instead.  The meal was filling and somewhat interesting, but the restaurant did not offer a hotel discount and we felt that the meal was not worth the cost; therefore, we wouldn’t be returning there.  After dinner, we returned to the hotel, where Sally planned our activities for the next day (with bus routes, etc.).

Although the currency exchange during this trip has not been previously mentioned, now might be a good time to do so.  The current exchange rate for the Euro to the US dollar is good (1 Euro = 1.13 US Dollar).  On the other hand, the British exchange rate is poor (1 British pound = 1.54 US Dollar).   In Great Britain, only Southern Ireland uses Euros; Northern Ireland and Scotland both use British pounds (or “Sterling,” as they sometimes call it).  England, especially London, is expensive anyway, but the bad exchange rates make it even worse for Americans.  We’re being careful about spending money here – although, no doubt, we’ll end up taking some British pounds home with us!  It always happens.

Jesse has felt for the past day that he was coming down with a cold, which was becoming worse by tonight.  This is unusual because, normally Sally catches a cold first.  At least, we brought plenty of medication with us!

            Wednesday, 26 Aug 2015 – We awoke to our alarm at 6:00 AM and went across the street to the main hotel building for breakfast.

            By 8:00 AM we left the hotel and walked down the street to the bus stop.  The first leg of our trip was going to be a ride to St. Paul’s Cathedral on bus #11.  When we boarded the bus with our Oyster Cards, the driver asked where we were going.  Hearing our answer, he said, “Right bus, wrong direction.”  We needed to board a bus on the other side of the street.

            When we arrived at St. Paul’s Cathedral, we took photos of the outside.  However, after entering the building, we were told that they no longer (since 2014) are associated with London Pass and we would need to pay £17 each for entrance.   Since we could see most of the Cathedral from where we were standing and there were so many other sights to see that would not cost us extra money, we opted to continue with our day’s itinerary.
 

Tower of London

We walked back to the bus stop and took bus #15 to the Tower of London.  Inside the Tower, we walked almost everywhere (Bloody Tower, etc.).  But we did not buy the services of a “Beefeater” guide dressed in an outfit of several centuries ago or rent ear phones.  Since there were signs everywhere telling visitors what they were seeing, we felt well informed.  (Also, Sally had been there 45 years ago, and Jesse didn’t seem that interested!)

            As we left the Tower, it poured rain while we found the Thames River Cruise pier where we could board a river cruise boat.  On the boat, we were well shielded from the rain, and we sat and watched the interesting sights.  The time went very quickly and soon we were at the end of the cruise at Westminster Bridge.

            In Westminster Abbey, we received phones with numbers corresponding to various places, often only yards apart.  In the center, some people were attending the 12:30 PM worship service with communion; in fact, a service had just started when we arrived.  Kings and queens, statesmen and soldiers, poets and priests, heroes and villains are recorded in the history here.  Since the crowning of William the Conqueror in 1066, the Abbey has been the nation’s coronation church.  It is also the burial and memorial place for many famous historical figures.  For example, in one alcove lie the bodies of Queen Elizabeth I and her half-sister, Queen Mary.  The two women were much different: Mary, the oldest, had reinstated Catholicism and had many Protestants executed; however, she lived for only a few years and died without issue.  Then, Elizabeth I became Queen and reversed her sister’s restoration of Catholicism.  However, in death their graves are very near each other, both awaiting Resurrection.

            As we exited Westminster Abbey, it was pouring rain again.  At that point, we asked about toilets (the English think the American word “restroom” is very strange!).  We were directed to a small separate building, where there was just one line of both men and women waiting to use the facilities.  Inside, the mix continued, with a man or woman going into the first available stall.  Then, each person went to one of the many sinks to wash, and then exited the building.  That was a unique experience for us but the system worked very smoothly.

            On our next bus ride (to return to Victoria Coach Station), it was announced that there had been an accident near the station so that we would be delayed for a short time; therefore, if people were in a hurry, they might prefer to get off and walk.  However, since it was pouring rain again at that time, we stayed on the comfortable bus for the rest of the trip.  Unfortunately, when we heard the announcement for Victoria Station, we exited the bus, only to realize  shortly afterward that we should have waited to hear the “Victoria Coach Station;” as a result, we had to walk an extra two blocks or so and arrived back in our room totally soaked.  (The Victoria Station is the train station.)

            For dinner, we went to the nearby Italian restaurant, Da Scalzi Ristorante Pizzaria, that the hotel clerk had recommended and ordered a calzone, salads, and beer.  When we saw the size of the calzone, we were glad that we planned to share one.  (It was good but not as delicious as the calzones at Huckleberry’s in Rock Island, IL.)

            When planning our stay in London, Sally had hoped we could use the Underground between locations, which would have been easier and faster than busses.  However, we had heard the news that railroad workers would be on strike starting on Wednesday and the strike would become more wide-spread on Thursday and Friday, the very days that we would be in London.  Although later, we found out the strike had been settled without any loss of service, busses seemed to work fine for us; in fact, we found that the comfort of sitting while watching the scenery and people was enjoyable.

            Thursday, 27 Aug 2015 – Again this morning we crossed the street to our hotel’s breakfast area, where we also talked with an Australian couple.  Then, after Sally spent some time on the laptop looking for bus connections, we found a bus stop from whence we traveled to the Churchill War Rooms.  During the periods of London bombings during WW II, Winston Churchill lived in these basement quarters, not very far from the Prime Minister’s residence (at #10 Downing Street).  Of course, the rooms have been restored to their original appearance.  The building was never bombed.  Although Churchill hated being holed up here, he knew it was best for Britain that the government survive.  We saw the various rooms (meeting room for the cabinet, kitchen, dining, Mrs. Churchill’s bedroom, the secretary’s room).  Since Churchill disliked noise, special “quiet” typewriters were used here.  Last, we visited the attached museum, with displays of that period, as well as more details about Churchill’s life.  (It took Jesse about three minutes to tour the museum; then he sat on a bench and nodded while Sally finished her tour.)

            From there, we walked a short distance to the neighborhood of Downing Street, where we hoped to glimpse the door with “10” on it, the home of the current Prime Minister of England.  Apparently, he was at home – or at least the street was closed to any walkers.  A gate closed off the street, with two policemen standing there.

Resting Up

            After that, we set out for the Florence Nightingale Museum.  Sally had seen it on the south side of the Westminster Bridge after our Thames River cruise the previous day; however, she it wasn’t exactly where she remembered seeing a sign, and we walked for a fairly long distance along the riverfront before we found it.  Instead of being killed in battle, about 90 percent of the soldiers in the Crimean War were dying from disease and unsanitary conditions.  Florence Nightingale, who came from a well-to-do family and went to serve as a nurse, worked tirelessly to change that.  She became greatly beloved and the most influential woman in Victorian Britain after Queen Victoria herself.
 

Bust of Florence Nightingale

            After some of our bus travels, Jesse was becoming familiar with some of the routes; so on our way back to the hotel, when we saw a bus #11, we felt certain it would be going past the Victoria Coach Station – though we checked with the driver to make sure!  Then, we had a spot of tea in our room and relaxed.

            For dinner, we ate at St. George’s Tavern again, where we sat next to a young couple from Orlando, Florida.  Though visiting London on business, they were touring the city.  When we received our bill, we noticed that the manager had given us a 20 percent discount (again). 

 

Friday, 28 Aug 2015 – We left our room a little later this morning, and talked with the Australian couple again at breakfast.

Prince Albert Memorial

            For today, our original plan was to visit Kensington Palace and the British Museum.  The bus connection was more complicated this time.  However, a woman at the bus stop helped us and gave Sally her map, a better one with bus numbers, which she had gotten from the coach station “for free.”  (She was a local resident.)  At any rate, we boarded bus #C1 and were told where we should transfer to bus #360.  As we had learned from experience, before boarding the second bus, we first asked the driver if his bus would take us to Kensington Palace.  He said that it would take us “near” the Palace, but we would then need to transfer to another bus.  Near the end of our journey, the driver suggested that, since we were very close the palace, we could walk from there.  We had already learned that a half-mile is considered an easy walk for the British!  (On the other hand, Sally always tried to save her energy for walking in the museums, etc., not for transport on the street!)  We took photos of the very impressive Prince Albert Memorial.  (Prince Albert was Queen Victoria’s husband.)


Queen Victoria Statue

After our long walk through Kensington Park, we arrived at Kensington Palace, which has been home to members of the Royal Family since 1689.  Individual rooms included (1) where Queen Victoria is believed to have been born; (2) where Queen Victoria held her first council just hours after learning she was the monarch; (3) where Queen Mary II died in 1694 at 32 years of small pox, with her husband sleeping in the room on a camp bed; (4) King George I’s state apartments after he was brought over from Hanover, Germany to be King; and (5) rare dresses from Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret and Princess Diana.  At the front was the palace was the gate which had been covered in floral tributes to Princess Diana in August 1997 after news of her death.  Sally found the many portraits with historical notes concerning the monarchs of the 1600’s and 1700’s very interesting.

For our return trip, we boarded the #52 bus, whose route terminated at the Victoria Coach Station.  By that time, Sally decided she was too tired to enjoy the British Museum.  Also, she had been there once (45 years ago) and Jesse really wasn’t that interested, so we decided to head back to our hotel.  Later, Jesse found the closing time for the British Museum to be earlier than Sally had believed, so that we couldn’t have seen much there anyway. 



After resting for a little while in our hotel room, we walked down to the Victoria Coach Station and purchased tickets for our trip to Southampton.  While we were out, and knowing that we were finished using public transportation, we turned in our Oyster Passes at Victoria (train) Station and received back credit of £23.60.  Also, we stopped at a pharmacy to pick up some additional minor medications, and by a small shop to pick up postcards and souvenirs.  We walked past two policemen standing not far from each other; they weren’t wearing guns.  (But then, this was England, not the dangerous USA!)

            Since it had gotten a little late by then, we decided to walk directly to the St. George’s Tavern for dinner.  During dinner, we conversed with Joan and Henry of San Marcos, California, where Sally’s brother, Joe, lived, and his widow, Marlys, still lives.

            Sally considered packing but there was enough time in the morning for that.  Jesse stayed up much too late, working on the computer to take advantage of the hotel’s fast internet.



Saturday, 29 Aug 2015 – We awoke about 7:30 AM, well before our 8:00 AM alarm.  After a filling breakfast, we finished packing, checked out of our hotel, and walked to the Victoria Coach Station with our luggage in tow, arriving at 10:30 AM.  Another coach was departing from our gate at 11:00 AM, but after they boarded we were able to find vacant seats.  At 11:30 AM, our bus departed the station; and although we were scheduled to arrive in Southampton at 1:30 PM, due to traffic delays, we did not arrive until 2:00 PM.

            At the Southampton Coach Station, we stood waiting for a taxi for 30 minutes.  Although we expected to see several taxis in line, at first there were none!  Soon, two separate taxis pulled up for coach passengers who had pre-booked transportation.  Next, a very large taxi pulled up, but a group of four people took it.  After that, we were standing there alone!  Then, a taxi stopped, but it was too small to carry us and our luggage.  However, finally a taxi did come - and the taxi drive to the cruise terminal took only 10 minutes.

            We quickly boarded the Caribbean Princess and were in our cabin by 3:00 PM.  Although we had planned to go to the Horizon Court for a snack (we were definitely ready for one!) and Sally would have liked a short nap, our cabin steward, Smith, knocked on our door; after introducing himself, he said that the Muster Drill would start at 3:30 PM.  Therefore, we went to the Muster Drill, and then went for our snack afterwards.  (No nap.)

            After our snack, we returned to our cabin and unpacked.  For dinner (it was fairly late by then), we went to the Coral Dining Room, where we ate at table for two.  Our waiter was Rolando, from the Philippines.  We remembered him from a previous cruise, but haven’t figured our which one yet.  After dinner, we returned to our cabin, set our clocks forward by one hour, and retired for the night.  There was dancing in the Explorer’s Lounge, but Sally was much too tired for dancing (so was Jesse, but he refused to admit it).