Day 54 London

First thing this morning was a face to face immigration check: a fiasco with long queues which caused us to be last on the tour bus and late! It seemed a waste of time. It was a one and a half hour drive from Southampton to London, then we had approx 5 hours on our own to explore the sights. It was a bit on the cool side but a nice change for us. This was our first visit to London so we headed off to The London Eye, we passed Big Ben and Hyde Park. The queue there was very long but we bought a Fast Track pass which cost 10 pounds extra but we went straight on basically. The cost for this and a Thames cruise was 72 pounds for both of us. Well worth it. The capsules on the Eye hold 12 people with plenty of space to move around. I still have my height fear but I forced myself as I don't want to regret not doing it. Wow is the appropriate word. It takes around 30 minutes and its an amazing sight. The River Thames ride was good too and we sailed under the London Bridge. The sky was turning blacker by the minute, we just made it back onto land before it rained. London is a busy, noisy and vibrant city. We walked around the sights, saw all the famous streets as on the Monopoly board. It was a very enjoyable day.

The bus ride home took 4 hours.....we struck heavy traffic. However our lovely bus driver made the most of it for us and took us through Windsor. It was a beautiful place and we glimpsed the castle and Royal Ascot.

Sail away was cold and very blustery. We have had 2 very long days so tomorrow's sea day will be relaxing I hope. Lots of new faces onboard, 840 we have heard. The rumour going around was that heading toward USA would bring changes in a lot of onboard things such as food, activities etc. We will be keeping an eye our for this and last night we certainly had more paper info for coming events than when we actually embarked in Sydney.

Day 54 Continued

 

Day 53 Paris

Our tour today was City Highlights and lunch on the River Seine. I admit we were a bit nonplussed at the thought of a Princess tour. It was a 3 hour drive from Le Havre to Paris but it was a lovely passing through the little towns and countryside. Our guide was very knowledgeable and had the beautiful French accent which made it pleasant to listen to. Once we arrived at Paris and caught our first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower it was a wonderful moment for us. Its probably not the most stunning icon we have seen along the way but breathtaking just the same. Took all the usual photos and yes it had a lean to it with my pics!! Our careful bus driver took us on a drive to all the city attractions, it is THE most beautiful city we have ever seen....leaves Rome for dead. The bridges are spectacular and so many of them. The Louvre was closed but we still drove past it, we were gob smacked at the architecture of building after building. Gold seemed to adorn most monuments. I can't say enough about this city and the highlight of the day was still to come!! Around lunchtime we boarded a river boat.... very plush one. We had a table for 6 all ready and waiting along with flowing wine. Off we sailed along the Seine.. just surreal to pass by the most amazing sights. We had our lovely friends with us which made it all the more memorable for us. The food was delicious, French violinist played terrific songs. 2 hours later we were back on the bus, a little boozed up but happy! We had a short shopping stop at a very fancy shopping centre, a bit too expensive but nice to see anyway. We had more sightseeing before heading home to Mother Ship. The traffic was very heavy and our 7 o'clock arrival came and went. Not to worry, Princess's motto....If you are on a Princess Tour , the ship will not leave without you, Guaranteed....so we just sat back and let the driver do his thing. We hit the dock at 7.50 , with the crane waiting to remove the gangway and the Captain blowing his whistle to leave lol. All in all this was a fantastic day and one we will never forget. We will come back to Paris as we only saw a fraction of it.

We watched the best show so far on the cruise, a Beatles tribute band....they brought the house down and received a standing ovation.

We also had to say our goodbyes to Gail and John, we will certainly keep in touch ( Gail is following the blog,so I have a high standard to keep). And Barry and Linda leave tomorrow too. There were a few tears shed at this farewell as they have become life long friends for us. We only met 7 weeks ago but we all clicked instantly and we  shared long, memorable conversations.... once we had a 5 hour dinner!!!  They are spending time with family in UK so we wish them a happy time.

So, London tomorrow.... should be a good day.

Day 53 continued