October 2010 - Queen Elizabeth Maiden Voyage

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.....and so do we!! So here we are...once again in the land of "lifts" (elevators), "humps "(speed bumps) and "Qs" (long lines that wind around and around...) We're very excited to be on this maiden cruise of the new Cunard Queen, especially since it sold out in 29 minutes!! (And we love being able to run our bare toes through the carpeting before John Q Public does!) Here is our itinerary in brief: 13 days on Queen Elizabeth traveling to Spain, Portugal, the Canary Islands and Madeira. We will then get off the ship and travel on our own to Guernsey and Sark in the Channel Islands. (Hoping to sample some of that potato peel pie!) We'll then rejoin QE for 3 weeks in the Aegean, returning home around the beginning of December.

Since we're too technologically challenged to set up a new blog site, we're piggybacking this one on top of our 2008 blog....hope you'll come on along!

October 7 - Driving on the left in the New Forest

This morning we strapped ourselves into our rental car (a little tighter than usual since we'll be trying to remember to keep ourselves on the left side of the roadway....Yikes!!) and took off for the New Forest. We lunched on, what else?....fish and chips in scenic Lyndhurst, where the grave of Alice Liddell, Lewis Carroll's inspiration for Alice in Wonderland, can be found. We moved on to Beaulieu where we toured Lord Montagu's palace and Britain's National Motor Museum.


Chuck was excited to find a twin to the beloved MG that he had when I first knew him! (Is it a sign of age to see cars we've driven in a museum??)

We even saw some models we haven't seen on the road....


... and even a little display that reminded us of sister Binky!

The major challenge of the day was avoiding the New Forest ponies that roam free through the area, ignoring all strictures to "keep to the left!" (A little reminiscent of the camels and cows in India!!)

October 7-12 - Southampton

Yes! There she is!! We watched Queen Elizabeth make her first entrance into Southampton Water on Friday morning. The newest Queen in the Cunard fleet was welcomed by hovering helicopters and fireboats spraying plumes of water into the air. She is definitely dominating the waterfront and drawing lots of interest. And we've already made friends with Maria and Sergei from the ship's entertainment troupe who were dining at a neighboring table on Friday night!

We've found lots to do during our 5 days in Southampton. The White Star Tavern where we're staying http://www.whitestartavern.co.uk/ is right on Oxford Street, which seems to be where all the action is! I know we all supposedly speak the same language, but the menu here sometimes has us wondering.... "pork scratchings".... "fundamentally fungus tempura".... "frazzled duck egg sarni" .... really!?!

And just what famous person, we wonder, might this little byway be named for??



We're close to the water, the docks and the museums (we now know nearly everything there is to know about the Titanic.) We are also near the old walled part of town, including the world's oldest bowling green ...which has been in use since around 1299! We even cheered on the Southampton Saints at the football/soccer stadium (the home team won 2-0, Go Saints!!) and took a harbor cruise to get up close and personal with our (soon-to-be) floating home.

It is now Monday, and the city is all aflutter because the Queen (the two-legged one!) is arriving to break the champagne bottle on QE's bow at this afternoon's naming ceremony. So...lots of security!



And now.... today's history lesson! Most people think the Mayflower departed from Plymouth when, in fact, she started out from right here in Southampton. The Speedwell joined the Mayflower here in Southampton and together they set out for the New World. After turning back to Dartmouth, and a second time to Plymouth for repairs, the Speedwell was abandoned and the Mayflower sailed alone to Plymouth in New England. We loved this weathervane atop the Pilgrim Fathers Memorial on the waterfront.....






We're looking forward to sprouting our sea legs tomorrow!! Queen Elizabeth sails at 5 PM...we are anticipating some special ceremonies...and maybe some fireworks!

October 12 - "One Moment in Time"

Finally....the day we've been anticipating! Her Majesty and her entourage and all the dignitaries have cleared out and we can begin to settle in. We popped the cork on the champagne welcoming us to our stateroom and had front row seats for the band marching in formation right below us on the quay....

They performed a medley of patriotic music as well as a moving rendition of "One Moment in Time." This maiden departure from Southampton is truly that!! Queen Elizabeth moved away from the pier amid much cheering, toasting and flag-waving. She was surrounded by spectator boats packed to capacity, fireboats putting on a spectacular water show and helicopters circling as she made her way through Southampton Water.

Our last view of Britain was the sun setting over the Isle of Wight as we passed through the Solent. What a magnificent day!!

October 13 - The Ship

Queen Elizabeth is essentially a twin sister of Queen Victoria..... so having done the maiden world cruise on Victoria, we have the advantage of already knowing our way around this ship. They are so alike that every time we round a corner, we half expect to run into one of our "mates" from QV. (Sure wish we would.... we miss you all a lot!) There are a few differences.... QE has a boxier stern to allow for more cabins (thumbs down) and the decor in the Royal Court Theatre is blue rather than red (thumbs up!) Elizabeth has also gone green. Your room card key must now be in a slot by the door to activate the electricity in your cabin....so no charging our camera batteries during dinner. Here is a look at some areas of the ship.....


Theatre boxes in the Royal Court Theatre.

The spiral stairway in the library.

The stairway in the Britannia dining room.

Relaxing deck chairs.

October 14 - Vigo, Spain

We learned that the itinerary for this cruise is identical to that of QE2's maiden voyage. Our first port of call is Vigo in the northwest region of Spain. This city is the second largest fishing port in the world after Tokyo. It has been said that Vigo Bay is large enough to hold the combined fleets of all the world!

We headed out of the city to Bayona, a delightful fishing village and now a summer resort. The coastline is an outstanding feature of this region of Galicia.... the deep indentations, or "rias" are said to resemble fjords.

And now....history lesson for today: We all know that in fourteen hundred and ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue....with the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. What you might not know is that after discovering the Americas, the Santa Maria stayed there while the Nina and the Pinta returned to Spain to report on their findings. The two ships were separated in a storm and the Pinta was blown far north and landed here in Bayona. The people of Bayona therefore claim to be the first to have heard of the discovery of the New World.

They are very proud of the replica of the Pinta in their harbor.

There's almost always a surprise for us in every port! We were excited to hear the wail of bagpipes as we approached the ship at the end of the day and learned that they are traditional in this area.

Just imagine a lilting tune as you look at this photograph of dancers in native dress!

October 15 - Lisbon

Lisbon's position along the River Tagus in Portugal has been sought after by different civilizations through the ages. It is even thought to have been founded by that great wanderer Ulysses. We took an open top bus tour around the city....

.... and spent some time at the Tower of Belem. It was once known as the Castle of St Vincent, Lisbon's official patron saint. It was built in the 16th century to guard the approach to the city by water and at one time stood nearly in midstream so that prisoners in the dungeons could enjoy a neck-high bath at high tide! We thought it looked like a spectacular sand castle!

We then embarked on our adventure of the day. We thought we would take a relaxing tram ride through the Alfama which is the oldest and most picturesque quarter of the city. It is a tangled maze of narrow cobbled alleyways and overhanging houses. The trams operate on rails and resemble the cable cars in San Francisco. The first one we tried to get on had a very cranky operator who wouldn't let anyone get on. After quite a wait another one showed up. By this time there was a very long line of people wanting to get on so some pushing and shoving ensued. We adhere to the "when in Rome" philosophy, so did a little "manuevering" ourselves and managed to not only get on the tram but to even get a seat! Okay!! Ready to go!! But, oops....not so fast. The tram ahead of us will not budge. Our driver gets off and has a heated "discussion" with the other driver. While this is happening, some of the people on our tram get into an argument and some of them leave. Our driver gets back on and makes an irritated announcement and then proceeds to go to the back of the car where he is now going to drive the tram backwards. We, of course, have NO idea what anyone is saying or what is happening. It's like watching TV with the audio off! We back all the way around the square, as does the empty tram, and when the driver switches back to driving forward again, the empty tram is still in front of us. So....on and off....a few more arguments, and finally we are riding the twisting and turning alleyways of the old quarter. In places where the trams can pass each other, there is only a hair's width between them!! (Sticking your head out the open window to see where you are??.... not a good plan...) We finally get to a steep hill with a blind curve and barely room for one tram to pass.... and a tram is coming the other way! So we are all at an impasse!! The drivers all get out and once again start yelling at each other. There's a lot of backing up, and they even get out some tools and do something to the rails. Suffice it to say, we spent about an hour on the tram, maybe ten minutes of it actually moving, and had to run like crazy to get back to the ship on time. And we have absolutely no idea what was happening! These cultural experiences are great!!