At sea Oct 12 2022

We have now been at sea for four days.  It is so astounding to me that on a trans Atlantic cruise we would now be preparing to arrive at our final destination.  This stands as proof of the vastness of the Pacific ocean!  We will be arriving in Honolulu on October 13.

Our days on board have been quiet.  We have been taking advantage of the gym which is well appointed.  Classes are offered and I have been taking those.  We have also taken some bridge lessons and played in tournaments. 

 Other than that we have watched some movies, taken in some shows and relaxed on our personal balcony.  

One thing that surprised us, we have had to wear masks.  We had expected that negative tests prior to boarding would have been enough to let us all be mask free, but not so.  

Today the entire ship will be subjected to rapid antigen tests, and then a decision will be made as to whether we all must continue or not.

On to Hawaii!

Day one at sea

October 7 2022

We boarded the ship.  Always a stressful day for me as I inherited the worry gene and so want to be early, with all papers in hand.  I discovered early in the day that I had forgotten to print boarding passes...which caused me anxiety and promised to be a big problen at the boarding gate.  Fortunately, and with the use if the hotel's wifi I was able to download an app which saved our bacon!

A word on packing...I travel with a carry on and a small backpack.  Many don't believe this is possible and it is hard as many things get left behind...but I think it is worth it.  I can manage my own bags without relying on help to lift and carry and I don't bring things I would not use in any case.  It served me well this time as we ended up having to bring our cases on board ourselves.

The ship is lovely...carrying only 1900 passengers which is small by todays standards.  Our cabin is small but we have a nice véranda where we can enjoy the view and the fresh air.  

We unpacked, got settled and explored the ship.  We joined a trivia team and watched San Diego disappear in our wake as we left the USA behind us.

Here we go again

It has been a long two years since our last big adventure.  Since 2020 life has sent curve balls our way.  We had to postpone travel plans to care for my ailing parents, an all-consuming task.  The COVID-19 pandemic struck which affected the entire world and forced us into vaying degrees of quarantine .  Sadly, and during the pandemic both parents passed away. 

Then I was struck down by cardiac issues and had a lengthy recovery.  We purchased one condo, then purchased a second one whcih we renovated.  We welcomed two new grandchildren, Leila and Diego) into our lives...such joy; and we moved again and here we are in October of 2022.  It has been...well...busy.

Now that the pandemic has diminished and travel has opened up we decided to take on a new adventure...a trip to Australia.  We are starting with a 34 day transpacific voyage on the Noordam, leaving from San Diego and arriving in Sydney on Nov 12.

We arrived in San Diego early on Oct 7 and spent a quiet day recovering from jet lag. We had a wonderful mexican lunch; went to the Gas lamp district last night where the entire under-30 population had descended for drinks  (we beat a quick retreat); then hit little Italy where we had a lovely meal and then retired for the night.  We are in an older hotel across the steeet from the cruise center.  The bay stretches out in front of our balcony and we can watch the world go by.  Having been in San Diego preciously we don't have a list of things we really want to do.  We will join the ship this afternoon and then several days at sea en route to our first stop...Honolulu.

Oct 12 -16 Abbingdon and Oxford

The last phase of our trip was spent with cousins Alan and Hillary at their home in Abingdon a village close to Oxford.

On our first day we took side trip to Kings Langley, about one hour away by car, to visit childhood friends of my parents. Lu and John Smith have known both my parents and us for many many years and it was lovely to see them and to spend an afternoon with them.

We topped the day off with a lovely dinner at the Boar's Head a pub with a lovely atmosphere and even better food!

We spent the next very rainy day wandering through Oxford. Alan and Hilary came with us as we wound our way through the streets past old buildings and the colleges of Oxford University.

We visited the Oxford Museum where we saw incredible Roman artifacts.

Then we moved on to the Natural History Museum. The collection is amazing, topped only by the building it is in. The building was built to be a museum and houses two collections, one artifacts of the natural world...

...And the second housing the Pitt Rivers collection. This collection was started in the eighteen hundreds by a colonel in the army who, having been charged with developng a new gun, started collecting guns from around the world. He eventually gave uis collector to this museum in Oxford and through others' donations it has grown. It was so interesting because it includes an eclectic collection of artifacts, grouped together based on their use or type rather than by epoch or geographical region. It would take many days to thoroughly explore the entire collection.

We spent a quiet day Monday. Paul and Alan went out to play pool while the ladies relaxed. We finished the day with a tour of the Oxford Plant where the MINI is produced. This was an incredible tour which all four of us found incredibly interesting and informative. I came way wanting an Emeragle Green Cooper S, until I saw the price that is!

Before we knew it our last day was upon us and we spent it wandering around the village of Abbingdon, the oldest city in England.

 This included a visit to the local museum, from the roof of which we could see the city around us. We learned about 'bun throwing' a tradition of throwing buns fro the city hall into crowds below when there are celebrations, especially of a royal nature.

We saw the oldest street in the village and the two churches which are their centre. The Thames runs through the village and we watched a narrow boat make it's way down the waterway.

After these days spent with family we prepared to leave and bid Britain adieu.

Stats: 40 days in Wales, Britian, and Scotland, drove 3,394 miles (5,500 km); walked 90 miles 144 kilometers.

October 12 - Winchester Cathedral

Our wandering time coming to a close, we made our way towards Oxford where we were going to spend a few days with my cousin Allan and his wife Hillary.

The day was overcast but not rainy so we took our time driving.

On the way, we stopped in Winchester to see the famous Winchester Cathedral, home of the Illuminated Bible.  When we arrived we discovered that the entire bible was not available to be viewed as the church was undergoing renovations.  One volume was on display and one page was posted so we could see it up close.

Nevertheless the Cathedral is beautiful, with the longest nave in England

and the burial site of Jane Austen and St. Swithin.

Its choir stalls are beautiful and have impressive carvings, notably the "green men", a symbol of fertility that was adopted from pagan iconography.

The Cathedral has sections which are very old, as the original church was started in Norman times and the art work is so lovely.

The stained glass is just beautiful...

...and the ceiling and exquisite stone Altar has been cleaned (a process taking 3 years).