At Sea

On our last night in Dover we had an intruder in our room.  Woke up and heard a noise in the bathroom but when Ron checked, he couldn’t see anything.  In the morning we discovered Ron’s toothbrush on the outside window ledge and the dental floss sticks.  A bird, probably a gull as there are many around, had decided to do some thieving.  Guess the noise we heard was the toothbrush on its way out the window.

 Boarded the Sea Princess on Friday afternoon and unpacked.  Not sure how the contents of our cases can also manage to fill all wardrobes and drawers in our room.  Where did it all fit!  Trouble is – it has to go back in the cases again (but not for a little while).

In Rotterdam we had a tour out to the Windmills of Kinderdjik. These are the traditional mills we see in photos, but their purpose was to drain the fields, not mill grain.  There are 19 of them and it is now a National Heritage site.  Saw some very narrow houses in the old Delfhaven area.  Apparently they were taxed on the width of the house so this was kept small but the houses are quite deep to compensate.

  

In Copenhagen we visited the Little Mermaid again and had a bus trip around the city.  Sightseeing buses had free wifi but was fairly patchy, only managed to clear the junk from emails without sending anything.

Not good internet access in this area, so including a few ports.  In Oslo we went  for a trip to the Viking museum and saw three long boats from around 800AD.  Two had been restored, one was as found.  Huge number of burial gifts, beautifully carved were found in the burial mounds with these ships.  Went to the Holmenkollen ski jump to see scenic views of city before going to the Vigeland Sculpture Park.  Over 200 statues, all except one ‘au natural’ depicting the Circle of Life.  Wonderfully made in great detail.  Most were bronze casts, but the central monolith display was marble.  This was completed after Vigeland’s death following plaster casts he had made. 

No port stop for Faroe Islands because the weather was unfavourable.  Had travelled through fog for some time and the wind was coming from the wrong direction to make berthing easy and widened the turning circle of the ship.  Now on a seven sea days to New York.

Dover Castle

 Dover Castle dominates the skyline when you look up from the town

From the top of Henry IIs Great Tower, you can see the Church of St Mary-in-Castro and the Roman Pharos (lighthouse).  This is all inside the castle battlements.

Thursday

Today we have walked our feet off I think.  Up to town to leave the washing at laundromat for a service wash before taking a taxi up to Dover Castle.  We did think of walking, but I decided that I would rather ride.  Thank goodness!  It was a steep winding road and quite a distance - a good half hour walk we were told and all uphill!!  A very interesting castle with a very long story.  Went down into the underground tunnels and had a sound and light type presentation of Dunkirk.
As part of our hotel package deal, we had a cream afternoon tea - scones, jam and cream, very beautifully presented on a two tiered plate.  Too much really for afternoon tea, but it was very nice.
Suitcases to repack tonight for almost the last time for our holiday.  gosh I like that aspect of cruising.

10th July

Left London today and caught high speed train to Dover.  (Took a photo of train for Jay)  Hotel is nice and right on the sea front, not that it is any comparison to our beaches – all small rocks. Saw some people ‘sunning’ themselves and preparing for a swim.  Didn’t actually see them go in though. 

Weather has changed and had a few spots of light misty rain, but still not that cool.  It is really nice to feel some fresh cool air.  Have noticed before that it is not always that easy to get room windows open, and of course in London, there was no cool breeze anyway as it was so warm.

Tomorrow we are going up to Dover castle.  It dominates the skyline of the town.  Not sure about walking up there, wonder if there is some form of transport?

Tuesday 9th July

Last full day in London.  More shopping for 'bare essentials' before going to theatre to see matinee performance of Jersey Boys.  We bought half price tickets and got front row seats in the dress circle. Enjoyed the show and the music.  Tomorrow we are off to Dover by high speed train.  Decided that it would be a bit more comfortable than a stop start bus trip and cheaper than a private transfer!

Sunday 7th July

Arrived in Dubai after a little eventful hiccup.  Found out Friday that Visa PIN wouldn't work and problem couldn't be fixed over phone.  Needed to get to Adelaide by 12 to sort this out.  Made it with about half an hour to spare.  Visa fixed and off to have lunch with Tish and girls for Cassie's 17th birthday.  She passed her driver's test that morning so will now move up to being a 'P' plater.
From there, to Mark's where we helped Connor celebrate his 8h birthday (a little early), before he and Tatum flew back to Brisbane on Sunday morning.

June 27th
Two weeks tomorrow we will be boarding the Sea Princess for our cruise home.  One week on Saturday we fly out of Adelaide. All of a sudden there seems a lot to do in a short time!  Visiting Scott and Tania for a night before heading home to induced chaos.