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On October 7, 2012 Margaret
McCarty, her sister Marianne, and friends Mary and Sue took off from
Detroit Metro Airport on a trip that spanned 2 weeks. The destination was
London, England for a week, then a week on a cruise back to New York City
aboard the Queen Mary 2. Included are some stories and pictures of this
memorable trip.
LONDON,
ENGLAND
OCTOBER 7-14
It was a smooth seven hour
flight as we arrived in
London. Got in @ 11:30 am. Took the Tube to Leicester Square. It's a a
very busy place near Picadilly Circus & got tickets for "One Man-Two 'Guvners" & The Big Bus Tour. We also saw Big Ben, Parliament & Westminster Abby, but it was after 5 pm & they were closed. Just as well, because we were tired. The next day, Tuesday, we took the Thames River Cruise to Greenwich. This is where the meridian line that divides the earth's eastern & western
hemispheres is located. The 19th century "Cutty Sark" clipper ship is here also. Finished the night off with a ride on The London Eye. Cool to see all the lights @ night.
Wednesday we went on the Big Bus Tour, but traffic was so congested, we would 've made better time walking, although it was quite informative. Toured Westminster Abbey,
WOW!!! Went to the matinee of "One Man-Two 'Guvners". Funny, but hard to understand the accents in the beginning. We headed over to Harrod's for some shopping & dinner. found a diner in there & a burger & fries was $32.50!!!! Everything was very expensive. It was just like a museum but everything was for sale, if you could a ffford it. We went to the Godiva Chocolate Cafe for dessert, don't ask! Thursday we headed over to Tate Modern Museum. Interesting, not sure I got it, but, okay. Went to St. Paul's, Mary Poppin's "Tuppence" was filmed here. Walked by The Tower of London, didn't go in because we had "High Tea" Reservations @ The Brown Hotel. Tea was lovely, different sandwiches & any tea you wanted & of course, sweets. Friday Marianne & I went to Kensington Gardens & walked through to the Italian Gardens & I went to Will & Kate's Palace while Marianne went back to the hotel. Sue went off on her own Dickens' Tour. Mary met us & we all grabbed a cab to the train station. Two & 1/2 hours later we were in Southhampton. The cab driver suggested "Cowherds" for dinner & it was great. Just what you would expect an English Pub to be. Saturday we walked around Southhampton & went to the Dolphin Hotel where we were shown the ballroom Jane Austen danced in. Went shopping. Had dinner.
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| Margaret at the London Eye |
Double Decker Bus |
Ello?? Ello?? |
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| Marianne & Margaret on the
Thames River |
The Princess Di Memorial |
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| Big Ben |
St. Paul's Cathedral where Charles
& Diana got married |
Gold Prince Albert Monument |
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| An evening on the town |
William & Kate's crib |
SAILING
BACK ON THE QUEEN MARY 2
OCTOBER 14-21
Sunday: Cruise day! OMG!!! QM2 is ginormous!
We boarded the RMS Queen Mary 2 in Southhampton, England for the
transatlantic trip to New York City. The QM2 is the first major ocean liner built since Queen Elizabeth 2 in 1969, the vessel she succeeded as flagship of the Cunard Line.
She is 1,132 feet long and weighs 76,000 tons. Went to the spa every day. Everyone got a facial or mani/pedi or massage or a variation. The aquatherapy pool was great. There was a Finnish steam room herbal steam room and some other steam room. Deck chairs all around. They had a relaxation lounge where you could sit & read or sleep & drink tea or water & watch people walk by on deck. Early seating for Formal dinner. Our dinner companions were Bev & Pete from Chester, England. Cute couple & a Catholic priest from KY and his "driving Miss Daisy" friend, Andre.
Had steak almost every night. Good food & great desserts. My days on board the QM2 consisted of a morning walk, breakfast, movie or reading, lunch, watching the waves, a nap, lecture or a class in the afternoon then dinner. It was great. Everyone did their own thing all day. We would occasionally cross paths, but we always met for dinner. Then, after dinner we would see a show or play a trivia game in one of the many lounges on board. Saturday night my roommate, Sue, sang with the National Symphony Orchestra. It was a good show & we enjoyed it immensely. We met people from all over the world & I would do it again. I am saving up for the next Transatlantic Cruise.
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| Boarding the Queen Mary 2 in
Southhampton, England |
Time for a Titanic rehearsal |
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| Mary and Marianne |
Had to veer directions to avoid a
hurricane |
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| Ladies Night |
Margaret & Marianne enjoy some
breakfast |
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| Reading from my Kindle |
Dinners were superb every night |
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| The shows were great too |
Glad to be back in the states |
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