The Only Way to Cross

Quite literally- it's Cunard's promo line about itself and tonight it is entirely true.  About the only arrival in England this week that I am quite sure that you can count on is that QM2 will dock at Southampton around 6 am, Thursday morning, and that she will depart 12 hours later, bound to New York, no doubt loaded to the gills.   I've just checked the Cunard announcement re the volcanic event, they are saying they are sold out/ wait listed the next three crossings.  The only way to cross indeed!    I have a friend here in Denver who is , of all things,  flying to Iceland tonight  with hopes  of continuing on to the UK,   he's booked on QM2s Thursday evening westbound departure to NYC.     If he only gets to Iceland it could be a great time!    I bet he makes it to Southampton.       I wish I could be on board!     It will be a great crossing, all kind of good times to be had.   First off it's a 25 hour day, so it's automatically a party boat, westbound.  My prediction is that It will will be a more diverse group boarding than disembarking.   The current passengers must feel very happy on their choice of transportation, although there must a certain anxiety on the part of those who didn't book roundtrip.   Among those on board are the six hundred or so who have been on board since Southampton in January.    If you recall January, Great Britain was in the Great Freeze on the roads, now they've returned to an all different form of havoc.   Of course this weeks events may prove to be fleeting, but at this moment , the Mary out there in the Atlantic, just about half way from the US to the UK, for this moment in time, is the only way to go! (really)!    

More on the Mary!

Today Queen Mary 2 is at sea, bound for her American home port of Brooklyn, New York, arriving there Thursday morning.   That will mark the completion of her current 101 day 2010 World Tour.  I was lucky to have been on board the first 40 days.     Since I disembarked in Hong Kong, exactly two months ago now,  she went up to China and Japan, down to New Zealand, around the south side of Australia, across the South Indian Ocean to South Africa, then the South Atlantic to Rio, before heading up to Barbados, and yesterday, Ft. Lauderdale.      Wish I could have done the whole trip!   The first portion though did stop at a large percentage of the ports of call.   Since Perth, now nearly six weeks ago,  she only called at seven ports.    Just over one a week,  that makes for a lot of sea days,  which I like sea days , but at that late point in the voyage maybe enough is enough.   I can only imagine that there might have been a bit marital acrimony etc developed by then.    I wonder if anyone died?      One did while I was on board, crossing the Atlantic.    Of coarse they don't announce that kind of thing, but it's  fairly common.   I found out there was a death only because I was talking to some one who witnessed the removal of the remains.    I digress!        Actually there where surprisingly few who did the entire trip NYC to NYC-- just over a hundred.    An additional 500 or so are doing Southampton to Southampton, which where she heads Thursday evening, back out into the Atlantic Ocean, the ocean for which she was designed.    The photos I took in January, crossing to Southampton-- seems like a long time ago now!   

Back To The Queen Mary!

Just having read the Cunard blog re archbishop Desmond Tutu's stay onboard QM2 on her current World Tour, I am reminded how sorely I miss being on board.   I would be quite happy to be still be sailing , and you can bet, I would have met his excellency, the Archbishop!    He was onboard from Port Louis, Mauritius  to Capetown, South Africa.   There are photos on the Cunard blog. and I'm sorry I missed it.    Friends that I met during my stay on board are still traveling forward, at that very civilized speed of 24 knots or so.   I decided it's time to post more QM2 photos that I took along the way.  She's quite a beautiful ship, and I took photos all over the place.   This post features the grand Britannia Restaurant,  where I enjoyed dinner every night, as well as some lunches and one breakfast!    The food I thought was quite good, entrees were always hot,  beautifully plated,  graciously delivered by warm, friendly waiters.    They were always happy to do this, do that, whatever you wanted, no problem.    I loved it.   I love it that Cunard hires staff from all over the world.   It helps to make the ship an interesting place, I think.    All in all, in terms of scale and grandeur, i think it she's right there with the great transatlantic liners of the past.    Clearly, the designer drew on them for inspiration when cooking up this beauty of a room! 

The Mighty Ducks Mighty Pond!

The Mighty Ducks First Shower of the Season

A Happy Duck In The Backyard Pond

Greetings From Snowy Denver!

True to the prediction, we got our eight inches of snow last night!    A pekinese makes its way across the front yard to it's master, out for a morning walk, in not too cold,  but definitely snowy Denver.

I Love LA (Randy Newman)

Or is it Hate California It's Cold and It's Damp (Rogers and Hart)?     Well some of both I guess.   LA has lots of great architecture, my brother and sister live in the region, the grass is green and the flowers are blooming, so it surely beats coming home to snowy Denver.   Which is exactly where I am, eight to ten inches predicted tonight.   I digress.   I disembarked the ship  (very much against my wishes, I want you to know)  now four weeks and three days ago.   I've spent the time roughly equally in Hong Kong, San Francisco, Santa Rosa, Pasadena and Tustin, in Orange County.     The weather was indeed cool and damp, starting with Hong Kong, and lasting though Tustin, about a week ago it started to warm up.   I did  make it around the world in 80 days, arriving here Fri. 19 March at 8:00 pm on the California Zephyr (40 minutes late),  the same train I left on Dec. 30, from the same spot, Denver Union Station.   As I sit here typing, the classic Denver afternoon thunderstorm has developed, raining currently, will most likely turn to the promised  snow in a bit.   Back to the topic, which is LA architecture.   When I'm in LA I get around by trains and buses, with walks here and there.  The Gold Line light rail stops a mile from my sisters et al in Pasadena, goes into LA Union Station, where I can catch Amtrak down to my brothers.   There's lots of opportunities for photos  of  great buildings and interesting vistas along the way, so enjoy these:

I Love LA Union Station

The Magnificent Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels Looms Over the Hollywood Freeway

Anorexic Mannequins on Rodeo Drive

Yesterday Morning, That Special California E Ticket Ride--an Earthquake!

Sleep at my sister Margaret's house in Pasadena was interrupted at 4:04 a.m. by a 4.4 earthquake.   Lots of rattling, no damage, it woke me right up!   A little nerve racking, I guess, but I have to admit I kind of liked it.   Of course there's lots of dif between 4.4 and 8.9, on the richter scale.    Flew up later in the morning to San Francisco, where tonight I'm spending one last night, before heading East tomorrow morning on train no. 6, the California Zephyr.  Met up with my cousin Michael and his daughter Marika for a really good dinner tonight.     I realized recently if I arrived home in Denver on Friday that I will have gone around the world in 80 days!   So there you have it, that's the deal.   I still need to blog more about the Queen Mary 2, and of my time in California, with photos of course, so stay tuned!   Pictured is Margaret and family's home is Pasadena.  Thanks to all of you who been reading the blog!   

Happy St. Patrick's Day From Emerald Green San Francisco!

One Day in Bangkok!

The tour I took in Bangkok was organized by two other passengers, Richard and Sandy,  who I had met through the Cruise Critic website.   Was a fun tour as were the others that I did with them,  we saw more and paid less than if I had done a Cunard tour.   First on the tour was the floating market, where we boarded long low power boats and saw this whole village built on stilts, with locals paddling around selling their wares, seemed like mostly food.   Lots of interesting architecture and flora, especially orchids.   I thought that Thai houses looked vaguely Swiss!     From there it was off to lunch featuring good Thai curries- mmm.    Then back on a boat down the river to the incredible Grand Palace, the home of the King of Thailand.    Interestingly Thailand is the only country in Asia that was not colonized by Western powers, and has a monarchy that dates from the year 1238.    The current King Rama IX has ruled since 1946, making him the longest reigning head of state in the world.    He and the royal family are to this day highly revered.    The Palace is open to the public, it's used for ceremonial occasions, the King doesn't live there, but everyone is required to dress modestly.   Even though we were told in advance not to wear shorts or short sleeves some did, and they were denied entry.  To bad for them, the place is crazy good!   It's an enormous walled compound of manicured lawns, beautiful flowers, glittering buildings, statues, temples, buddhist monks- we were all wowed!   Interestingly the monks would shake hands with the men, but not the women,  I think it has to do with their celibacy requirement.     The heat and humidity were fierce in Bangkok, we were all glad to get back into AC on the bus for the ride back to QM2.

Toyotas Lined Up at the Dock in Singapore