Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Heathrow Airport 6/30 to Amarillo 7/1/10

It was a several hour bus ride from the ship to the airport. A very comfortable bus and we even had a rest stop mid-way. The driver said that there were times when the M26 became a big parking lot and he didn't want a lot of uncomfortable passengers!
We got through ticketing and security fairly easily but were surprised by how less strict security was than the last trip here about 2 years ago. The signs said shoes were to be removed but we only saw one gal who had on knee-high boots who was asked to remove those. We had several hours to wait and one of the places we browsed was in Harrods shop. Lots of pretty things to tempt tourists with something to take home.

On the flight from London to Minneapolis. We were in the center section with 3 seats, I had the middle seat between Bob & Karen from Des Moines, Iowa who had been on the cruise with us. Not much space in the middle so I was truly ready to get off 9 hrs later!


We were on Delta again from Minneapolish to Dallas. We got in about 10:30 p.m. Texas time, many, many hours after we had gotten up in Dover, England, so we spent the night in Dallas before catching an American Eagle home on Thursday, July 1.



And here we are descending into the airport in Amarillo. Good to be home!




Dover, England to Heathrow Airport 6/30/10

We were up very early as we had to be ready to go into customs on the ship at 7 a.m. before leaving the ship. They have everything organized so that it is an easy process, once your passport is stamped you go with your group to where your checked luggage is held off the ship. Your large luggage is collected the evening before and you have only your carry-on for over-night and to take off with you. The groups leave the ship according to the time of their flight or other transportation. This is a view of the beautiful "white cliffs of Dover" which were strategic to England's safety in WWII.
This is our last view of our ship, Oceania's Regatta.

This is the building where we picked up our luggage. As we walked in from the gang plank, a porter met us and led us to where our luggage was. He put our 2 bags on a cart and walked us to the bus which would take us to Heathrow Airport.


This was our first view as the bus left for the airport, very foggy. Really can't see the cliffs at this time.



A bit better view of the lighthouse with the white cliffs behind it.




Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Sailing away from Belgium

The last day of the trip is always bitter sweet--we never are ready for it to end! After walking on cobblestones for about 5 hours, Bob's back was really hurting so he took a nap while I packed. Hard to get it all crammed in to go home and be sure the weight in the suitcases is balanced for checking at the airport. We decided we needed to have tea one more time as we knew no one would be fixing it at our house.
Out on deck for the sailing away from Belgium. A nice warm & breezy afternoon.

We had amazingly calm seas the entire cruise! Really spoiled us. We sail tonight to dock at 4 a.m. in Dover, England tomorrow.


After having a big tea we weren't ready to go to dinner very early so went to listen to the piano and have a diet Coke. While we were there one of the passengers, a lady about our age, got up and sang 4 songs. She was very good & Bob asked her if she sang professionally and she said she sang just as a hobby. Quite amazing.




And one last time to sit down and listen to the string music. They play several times a day and we always enjoy taking a few minutes to listen. From here we went on into dinner and to tell people we had met on the cruise "good bye".



Bruges, Belgium

Another of the corner "Ave Maria" that were in many corners of the city. The flowers show in this one.
This is another of the little pocket gardens next to an ancient wall of the city.

One of the bridges with modern life seen on the other side--a bright yellow delivery truck.


Can you believe? A Texas flag in Bruges, Belgium! The guide said a Texas man had bought this building & was doing interior renovation. Would be fun to see inside!



Just another view of the canal & a bridge with foot traffic. We certainly got in a lot of little boat trips but each was different and this was definitely our favorite!




The Madonna & Child of Bruges

This tells about the Madonna & Child which was stolen by the Nazi's and then returned to the church in Bruges. It doesn't mention that it had been stolen but this is the one which was discussed in the lecture.
This shows the placement of the Michelangelo's sculpture and the sort of green lines over it is because it is protected from being stolen again! This was a beautiful church and we were allowed some time to stay and view it. Bob's back was still bothering a great deal so he was glad to have a place to sit down for awhile.

And this is a close-up of the statue. It was truly beautiful and a joy to see particularly after learning how it was nearly lost to the world.


Another canal view but with a house built across the canal! These were such peaceful places to walk along and we would have enjoyed lingering to look at our leisure. Love the reflections in the water.




A peaceful green area to enjoy on our walk--there were a number of places like this with lots of flowers and shade.



Bruges, Belgium June 29, 2010

Today's tour was to one of our most favorite places, the medival city of Bruges, Belgium! If I could go back to any place we have visited, it would be here. This was our 2nd visit but better than the first. When we got to Bruges we picked up a 2nd guide, a nice older man who led us about at a nice pace & stopped to explain what we were seeing instead of just walking quickly & talking all the time as some of the younger ones do. Since we had 2 guides, they split us into 2 groups each of about 20. This is a typical street scene in the "new" part of Bruges. The gables are much like the ones on homes in Amsterdam and there are even more canals.
Many of the street corners had corner statues of Mary and Jesus. Some of them were very beautiful & I wanted to share this one. Most had flowers with them but they don't show in this photo but made bright spots as you walked down the streets.

It is hard to pick what photos to share! This is leaving one of the fantastic squares with civic buildings and churches which had much gilding and decorative statues. You may want to click on this to see how beautiful this little street is with it's arch, & statues. I would love to go back and just spend several days wandering down these little old streets and stopping in the shops & churches!


This is a view from a bridge looking down one of the canals. Very peaceful at the moment.



Another view with a graceful willow tree at the edge of the canal. Shows one of the bridges that cross the canals.




Monday, July 26, 2010

6/28/10 Amsterdam continued

The place we all think of in Amsterdam is the home where Anne Frank was hidden from the Nazi's during WWII and it was one of our stops.
This shows the sign up close that is in front of the house.

And just another view of the bicycles of Amsterdam--it is hard to believe how many there are until you see them!


This was one of the nice little cafes along the canal. Looked like it would be fun to sit there with coffee and watch the boats go by.



The typical gabled roofs of the many storied homes and another house boat in front. We very much enjoyed this tour of Amsterdam.