The Northern Isles Day 18
The Northern Isles
Day 18 - Sunday, July 27, 2003 - ms Rotterdam - At Sea & Dover, England
Early morning again - at 6 AM the alarm went off and we were on the go. We looked out the window and saw the White Cliffs of Dover right outside the ship. We had the usual fruit, coffee and orange juice breakfast and then returned to our room to do the ship's survey of their service, food, accommodations and other such questions.
By 7:15 we were on our way to the Queen’s Lounge where we got our tour sticker and we were quickly called to go to the bus. The ship was docked and the gangway was quite nice for us the leave the ship. We were ushered through and our bus was #1.
As we entered the ship, no one had claimed the front seats so we sat there and had the view all day. It was an overcast day but there was a promise of sun as the sky was lifting.
We took the direct motorway route (A2 and M2) with our driver Clive. We passed Sandwich, Canterbury, Rochester seeing the rolling hills or “downs” with sheep, hops for making beer, and many cattle. As we passed Canterbury, Reg told us of the pilgrimages that occur to pay tribute to Sir Thomas Beckett.
We also saw that the distance in England is still in miles. They also use the Pound Sterling, not the Euro. Then to the outskirts of London and entered the city through the Blackwall Tunnel under the Thames River and into the dock area.
Then we drove through many areas seeing the sights of Sunday London including the garment district, Petticoat Lane, charity housing-row houses and he showed us where we could get jellied eels.
We passed the building for Lloyds of London, the bank area and the insurance companies.
We also saw the monument to commemorate the fire of London, the Lord Mayor’s home the court and government buildings, the Jewish section and many other churches. We passed by the Millennium Wheel, Waterloo Station, the House of Parliament and Westminster Abbey.
We left the motor coach in the city center and followed our guide Reg on a brisk walk of approximately one and a half hours. Some of the highlights we saw were Westminster Bridge, the famous Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey. Passing the side and end of Downing Street with all of its defensive measures that have been installed since 9/11.
We were impressed by the approach to Buckingham Palace, known as The Mall and as it was Sunday, no traffic was allowed and we walked down its long passage. We turned off and passed St James’ Palace, still the Court’s official headquarters and home to Prince Charles.
Just opposite we saw the Admiralty Arch which separates courtly London from the “hurly burly” of Trafalgar Square, whose center is Nelson’s statue and just behind is the National Art Museum.
We walked over to Covent Garden, passing the famous gentleman’s club where the movie Around the World in 80 Days was to have originated. This is the area of the theater district and all major productions are being shown here.
We walked around the area of Covent Garden, once a market that is now an area for little shops, seeing the National Opera House showing the Kirov Ballet and then we took a little lunch of scones, Espresso coffee and a lemonade on our own. People were out and about, with lots of young people, mimes, jugglers, and all sort of entertainers.
We met up with the group at 12:10 and went by bus, passing the original Hard Rock Café created by expatriate Americans and then proceeded to Kensington Palace.
The palace is a building that has seen such momentous events as the death of George II, the birth and accession of Queen Victoria and the public outpouring of affection upon the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
We visited the State Apartments and saw the stunning Dressing for Royalty exhibition, a unique presentation of royal court and ceremonial dress dating from the 18th century to the present day.
When we got there, Reg went in to get our tickets and then we were hand checked and collected an audio guide and made our way around the State Apartments.
Our audio guide lead us through dressmaker and tailor shop reconstructions to the final Court presentation. We saw a collection of dresses owned and worn by Princess Diana, together with items from the collection of HM Queen Elizabeth II, featuring “Hats & Handbags.” Gennie really liked the Queen Elizabeth’s hat display.
We got back on the bus and drove through the city on our way south, seeing the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. There was a lot more traffic as we motored south to Dover but we made good time, traveling at 63 MPH or100 KPH.
As we got to Dover, the bus driver gave us a view of the Dover Castle and the areas that were shelled by the Germans, from the continent, in W. W. II. Much of Dover came under heavy bombardment during the War. We got to the ship at 5 PM, tipped Clive and Reg and said our goodbyes.
Back in our room, Gennie did a masterful job of packing before our 7:15 appointed time with the Crows’ Nest. We tipped Haidee and Jess for their care and attentiveness.
We had dinner at La Fontaine and got the recipes for the chilled soups and the menus from the trip from Yopi and Max. We also tipped them for their service. Lastly we left our room steward a tip also.
We will lose another hour tonight. We have to have our luggage outside the room by midnight. It will be close but Gennie tells me she has things under control as I sit here an type the end of this journal.
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