Stonehenge a Prehistoric Ruin

Well, the Transatlantic portion of the voyage is over.  My great-grandfather, who came from Prussia, made this voyage three times.  What he went through to immigrate to the United States has always fascinated me, and I have always dreamed of making this trip myself.  It is more than I ever imagined, with a force 10 gale to top it all off.  On our first tour of the voyage, we decided to go to Stonehenge. 

On the way, we drove through New Forest National Park.  A unique national park where the tenant family farmers are part of the park.  It used to be a royal country estate.  There are free-roaming horses and other animals with small villages scattered throughout.  It is amazing that now it is a public place.

We had never been to Stonehenge, which has been on our bucket list for years, so we signed up for the tour.  After an hour's bus ride, we arrived at some rocks in a field.  Someone said we should go see these rocks, and we did.  They seemed to be good rocks.  In all seriousness, they were a magnificent sight.  In their simplicity, they were a season and time tracking system.   This all happened in a time before history, shortly before the start of the Middle Ages. 

Returning from Stonehenge, we saw Old Sarum, an example of a mid-evil hill town near Salisbury, England.  In the distance, you could see fortifications and an outline of the old village on the hillside.  Then, we drove through Salisbury, which still had some mid-evil features, like an old town wall and castle clock.

What a great first tour of the trip, Old England at its finest.  Now it's back to the ship; it's time to prepare for the world cruise.  The sights we'll see will be amazing. 

A Transatlantic Crossing: The Queen Mary 2

 It is 3 January 2024, and after 5 days in New York, we are ready to get on board and start our adventure.  New York to Sydney, Australia.  On the Queen Mary 2 should be a unique experience.  Steep in English tradition, The Queen Mary 2 is an elegant ship.  It will be like living in an episode of Downton Abbey for the next 55 days.  A lot of English customs and etiquette.  

We left late in the evening.  Passing under the Varrazono Bridge looked like a close call, but it cleared under the bridge with no problems.  It's surreal that we are on this ship and starting this great voyage.  What a voyage it will be!  It will be 8 days to South Hampton and 21 days to Cape Town, with 2 stops in between.  Then it's 3 Stops in South Africa and 2 stops in the Indian Ocean.  Then, sail to Perth.  Then, 10 days to Sydney.  A week in Sydney, then a 15-hour flight home.

Well, we are settling into ship life.  The hardest thing has been traveling through the time zones.  We have gone through one each day since leaving New York.  It throws us off sleep patterns and planned activities.  The biggest mistake we made was trying to do too much.  We need to slow down and pace ourselves.  It's the 5th day, and we are starting to get into a rhythm.  

It's cold outside with snow on the decks.  The dinners have been great; we sit with a good group.  A father and son; the son is a  helicopter pilot, and the other couple is from Canada's Northwest Territories near Yellowknife. 

Sitting at the watching the snow and the waves.  It's a strange combination.   Last night, the rough seas woke us up a couple of times.  We had things sliding off our cabin table.  The captain told us we were sailing in a Force 10 Gale on the Beaufort scale with 10-meter seas.  12 is a hurricane, so it was pretty rough.  

This ship is built for it and is handling it well.  It has four stabilizing fins that are doing their job of keeping the ship relatively steady.   After a day of rough seas, the ship smoothed out.  The weather is a bit warmer for my walk around the deck.  The rough seas never affected the operation of the ship or its activities.  It was just a matter of getting your sea legs and learning a new dance step. 

Terri is taking a watercolor painting class, and I'm attending the historical lectures.  Which have been interesting.  If you want to know about Crime in the UK from 1939 to 1945, I'm your man.  

I went to a veteran's gathering, a mixture of American and British veterans.  We all had a few stories to tell.  We had one pilot in the group, and one of the British vets said, How can you know there's a pilot in the room?  Don't worry.  They end up telling you all about it.

We will be in Southhampton tomorrow night.  Rumor is that Cunard will have 2 ships leaving South Hampton on the same day.  The Queen Mary 2 is on an eastern world cruise, and Queen Victoria is on a westward world cruise.  After 8 days, we arrive in England and are ready to start the world cruise.  It's been a heck of a trip so far. 

New York City 2023/24: A City on the Verge of a New Year

Well, it’s the start of another adventure.  It’s good to be back in Gotham.  It was cloudy coming into LaGuardia.  After an early flight and a cab ride into the city, we made it to Chinatown. 

Our room wasn’t ready, so we walked to Katz Deli for a Pastrami on Rye.  They have been serving them since 1899.  They have had plenty of time to get them right.    On the way to Kats, we passed many Chinese markets selling food we had never seen before.    Hope we get a chance to try all of it.

Our hotel in Chinatown is a short walk to neighboring Little Italy.   Most people think of New York as a big city, and it is that.   But, in reality, New York is a collection of villages. You have heard of many of these and many more that you haven’t.   These villages and their diversity make the city what it is, and by extension, it makes America great. 

After checking into our room, we took a 3-hour nap, catching up on the sleep we missed yesterday due to our 5am flight.   Waking up, we see that darkness has enveloped the city.   From our 12th-floor room, we can see the Empire State Building lit up In Christmas splendor.   We walk over to the Chinese grocery store next door to stock up on snacks and drinks for the room. 

Then, two blocks from our hotel, we ate at a real Chinese restaurant, far from Chinese food in most of America. After dinner, we walked over to Little Italy to get cannolis for dessert. It was a good first day in the city that never sleeps.  

The city is alive with people in anticipation of the New Year.   It’s a great feeling to be part of it all. It's going to be a wild five days, and I can't wait to experience it all.