Fly In The Ointment!

The third day out, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, Ed becomes seriously ill. It’s a good thing the QM2 has an outstanding medical department! The doctor performed a number of tests to make sure the ailment wasn’t the Noro-Virus or Swine Flu. If he had contracted these viruses he would have been quarantined! He is diagnosed with Acute Febrile Illness (urinary tract infection), and is forced to spend two days recovering in his stateroom. Nurse Donna frequented deck 7 to secure rations for the sick patient. When Ed was sleeping, Donna spent some time with her childhood friend Anne from South Carolina, who was the travel agent that arranged the details of this trip. In between spending time with Ed, Donna was able to work on the Blog and attend a few lectures and movies. There is a long list of activities to keep anyone occupied. Ed’s fever finally retreated and he was able to attend dinner last night with our dynamic table mates. Today he is much better and we plan on spending our last afternoon at a lecture from a Maritime Historian on the Legend of The Bermuda Triangle. Fortunately our Liner is not passing in that direction! It is also fortunate that we have outrun Hurricane Bill. Soon we will be passing a hundred miles East of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket on our way to New York. We are currently approximately 41 degrees North, and 67 degrees West.

This will be our last Blog until we get home. We will be disembarking at 6:30 am and driving directly home via Queens and Brooklyn. We can’t wait to see our family, friends and cats. We have been blessed with a safe vacation, lifetime friendships and memories. We will be home to celebrate Jen and Matt's Anniversary, Jack's 3 month birthday, Eileen's birthday, and the celebration of the news of our new grandbaby to be with Therese and Ben. It has been a magical journey – and we will be unpacking and reminiscing about our many excursions. We will complete our Blog when we get home with an update on Ed’s health, and a proper tribute to our special friends across the pond!!

More Transatlantic News

Wednesday, August 19, 2009 - It is 7 AM and I am ensconced in my favorite breakfast alcove once again. A few joggers and walkers move past the floor-to-ceiling windows. Queen Mary 2 is pitching and rolling an unusual amount today, yet the weather is much improved from yesterday; there is some blue in the sky and moderate whitecaps, so I am unsure what is causing this rare (and actually not at all worrisome or sickening) movement. Perhaps the brisk wind is the culprit, little improved from yesterday.

During “normal” hours it is impossible to find a free alcove seat here, as they are extremely desirable. But at this ungodly hour there are many available for “early birds.” So here I am. This is one of the things I’ll miss most on Sunday when I leave this tub.

Last night was a wonderful evening. Great dinner conversation from our New York City-area friends Joel, Annette, Marcia, and Rich, again almost all retirees from the world of education. We had earlier made a special request to the maitre ‘d to sit with them on our return trip, as dinners with them on the cruise east were so enjoyable. Luckily, the QM2 was able to accommodate us. Our dinners are very entertaining with non-stop laughter! Rich is a frequent cruiser, and a part-time travel agent, and always gives us good tips on enriching our experience here. Joel is a season-ticket holder at Citi Field with the New York Mets, and keeps me up-to-date. Unfortunately, last night’s report from him that third baseman David Wright was beaned with a pitch and may be out the remainder of the season (along with the rest of the starting line-up this sorry season) is the most depressing news I’ve received this entire voyage. Fortunately the good news far outweighs the bad this month!

We then attended last night’s performance. The Royal Cunard Dancers and Singers put on a spectacular review of Motown hits. Then came the featured performer, Broadway singer Jeri Sager. She is a brassy, high energy, younger, prettier version of Liza Minelli, with a slate of top roles to her credit: Fontaine in “Les Miserables” and Grizzibella in “Cats,” and in “Swing” and “Evita.” Thus we were treated to alternatively sensitive and high energy songs like “Memory”, “Caberet,” and “I Dreamed a Dream.” Possibly the best performance of the cruise. We will again see her perform at the final evening’s show.

Back on the Queen Mary 2 Heading Westbound

Tuesday, August 18, 2009 - There is a very stiff breeze blowing on promenade deck. Once again, its boards are being hosed, the windows squeegeed. A tiny contingent of walkers and joggers are starting to stir. My suggestion card from our first crossing must have been read! No Blondie or disco music this time. On the PA is some delightful, soft classical piano music. And once again, I am ensconced in my glass alcove in King’s Court Lotus, cup of Cunard coffee (not bad) at hand. Now, however, I face away from sunrise, and back toward our beloved England, wishing we could have stayed longer. It was a magical time.

Yes. We are back on the Queen Mary 2, heading for home, to arrive in Brooklyn in five-and-a-half days. To my left, Land’s End and the rugged, stark beauty of Cornwall, perhaps to be visited on a future trip. To our right, France, whose lights and coast we thought we may have sighted in the dark last night. In one sense our return will be slightly easier. Sailing west creates a 25 hour day, and now one sets ones timepiece back an hour each night before retiring. More time for lectures, films, shows, reading, blogging, and EATING. Cunards fantastic selection of desserts are especially inviting!

Back to the Queen Mary 2

Monday, August 17, 2009 - Our last day in England. Queen Mary 2 leaves Southampton at 5 PM (that’s 18:00 in British time!) so we will be on the road for part of today. It’s back to work for Steve and Lyn, so we are all up early. Steve will drive us to Waterloo train station in London before he starts his shift, for which we are grateful. We travel through the South East part of London past the famous Millennium Dome (where we pass over the International Dateline at 0 degrees Longitude), and the Isle of Dogs and Tobacco Dock (where the famous East India Tea Company had their docks. With Steve’s knowledge of London, we are there lickety-split. Our baggage is deposited on the sidewalk. The separation is not tearless. We are VERY sad to leave.

Waterloo is big, and we have a bit of trouble finding our way around. But Donna is a savvy traveler, and we purchase tickets for a train that leaves in twenty minutes. I leave a tall coffee on one of our suitcases, and when Donna moves another bag, the coffee splatters to the floor. Not a great start. We are sorry to leave a huge puddle in Waterloo station for janitors to clean up, but we have no choice. Our train is ready to board! We climb onto the train, and soon we are heading out of London, looking at the lush green countryside.. The rest of our hour-and-a-half trip is fortunately less eventful. While passing through Winchester, we scan the skyline through the trees in an effort to spy the spire of the famous cathedral, but are unsuccessful.

At Southampton, we flag down a large taxi, needed for our luggage, and in ten minutes are at the Cunard terminal. QM2 doesn’t embark passengers until noon, so we read for an hour. We know our way around now. Soon we are in our stateroom, again 5073, and we are unpacking. Then we move to promenade deck, plop down onto a couple of deck chairs, and watch as QM2 majestically backs out of her berth and begins to move down the channel. Many on board have brought their bottles of champagne on deck to celebrate this event. With champagne in hand, we are on our transatlantic voyage home.

Writtle Green Tour and Lunch

Sunday, August 16, 2009 – Monday, August 17, 2009 - A sad couple of days. Our stay in England is fast coming to an end. But there are still some pleasant times and surprises to come! Sunday morning our six-year-old friend Harry takes us on a tour of Writtle. We stroll along some of the streets in town, look into a few of the shop windows, visit an ancient church, and watch the many ducks on the village green’s pond. Extremely picturesque. We would love to live here. It’s brick or stucco for English homes, not wood like we use in America. Their properties are set off by six-foot brick or wooden walls, often covered in ivy, providing a sense of privacy, and much time is spent on lawn and garden maintenance. What we see is quaint and beautiful. After a while, Harry leads us back to the sidewalk, and we saunter past the Rose and Crown pub, and on to home. A wonderful morning.

Many of Steve and Lyn’s friends have asked us to come by for Sunday coffee. They are all great folks, and we’d love to, but we are out of time. Steve and Lyn pledged weeks ago to escort us for a visit to the home of Iain and Sheena Munro in Chelmsford for lunch and drinks. We had already previously met them at the Endeavor and at Steve and Lyn’s garden party. Iain and Sheena are extremely gracious hosts, and have become experts at hosting such luncheons. What’s more, their home is spectacular, with a large yard (“garden”) for England standards, and it is superbly laid out and lush with vegetation, flowers, bird feeders, and water features. We spend several hours at a huge round table under a back yard awning. The food and alcohol were superb, but the banter was even better. Steve and Iain are constantly engaged in good-natured kidding, often over their English vs. Scottish backgrounds, and never have we been so entertained. It seemed like Iain and Sheena enjoyed making new American friends as much as we enjoyed making new Scottish ones. We were treated to a feast including homemade breads, gourmet entrees, homemade champagne ice cream, and a final testing of some true Scotch, and some 7.5% ale. Reason enough to stay on these islands! All too soon, though, it was time to leave. Iain and Sheena have turned entertaining into an art, and their home an incredible canvas, We are sad to depart.

We return to Steve and Lyn’s to pack. Considering all that we have purchased, that will be a challenge. We share a last few drinks. We watch a final TV show (“Waterways”?), where an English commentator canoes down a stream, and talks, somewhat humorously, of the history and culture of the region through which it passes. Today he paddles the “Lee”, which flows through Essex County, the Olympic site, and into the Thames. A wonderful show I hope is picked up by PBS. Other shows we’ve seen the last two weeks are intriguing as well. One show was a full depiction of how a thatched roof was made from start to finish. Another show follows a team of London exterminators and their rat terrier “Charlie” as they chase bees, bugs, and, yes, rats. How the camera is able to keep up with Charlie as he races like a fiend under furniture and into cabinets and cellars, and actually films close-ups of the dog shaking rats to death, is beyond me. Another show is a tiny bit like Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice” called ”Lion’s Den”. Folks who have ideas for businesses or inventions are given the chance to pitch their suggestions to a high-powered panel of successful, well-known entrepreneurs, all of whom do the Simon Cowell bit. However, if in the end they feel the idea has a chance of success, one or more panel members will offer to financially help get it off the ground. Another great possibility for American TV! Then it’s time to talk some more about future visits on both sides of the pond, and we turn in. It would be impossible or us to give a proper tribute to all our wonderful hosts and friends in England. The best part of our trip was the chance to be with our special friends (old and new), which was even more moving than any historical site or tourist attraction!