Eclipsing Northern Europe by cruise : Basic black , and Baltic blues

We look forward to having the same experience next year on a HAL TransPac which we recently booked . Thanks for sharing it Mic ! :) :D

No worries, when you cross the international dateline, they have a ceremony where they get all tadpoles (people who haven't crossed the dateline) and initiate them to make them all polliwogs. It is a funny couple of hours.:D

No worries, when you cross the international dateline, they have a ceremony where they get all tadpoles (people who haven't crossed the dateline) and initiate them to make them all polliwogs. It is a funny couple of hours.:D

It sounds like a fun way to lose a day ! ;)

I can certainly say that I prefer west bound with the 25 hour days but then when going over the pacific, at some point you lose a whole day. As for the Atlantic, I haven't gone east bound.:D

I have decided that 3 West bound are sufficient:

1) Rome to Galveston, the Captain had to avoid Hurricane Wilma.

2) Harwich to Fort Lauderdale. Miami said we had to leave Bilbao, as it was saver at sea, rather than the ship be buffeted against the harbour wall and get damaged.

3) Southampton to Montreal. The Captain had to take a southerly course towards the Azores to avoid the eye of tropical storm Ian. We did however have to go through the tail. He had to use all 4 engines when he turned NW towards St John's Newfoundland ( he said bonuses would therefore be down at the end of the year- too much information?)

I have decided that 3 West bound are sufficient:

1) Rome to Galveston, the Captain had to avoid Hurricane Wilma.

2) Harwich to Fort Lauderdale. Miami said we had to leave Bilbao, as it was saver at sea, rather than the ship be buffeted against the harbour wall and get damaged.

3) Southampton to Montreal. The Captain had to take a southerly course to avoid the eye of tropical storm Ian. We did however have to go through the tail.

:eek:

That's a lot of storms at sea !! That was our primary concern with the West bound TA's - hurricane season . Also , our visits to Europe and Russia were best in the Spring , rather than the Fall . We prefer jackets to visit , rather than rough seas on the ship . Both of our East bound TA's have been very nice . :) :D

I have decided that 3 West bound are sufficient:

1) Rome to Galveston, the Captain had to avoid Hurricane Wilma.

2) Harwich to Fort Lauderdale. Miami said we had to leave Bilbao, as it was saver at sea, rather than the ship be buffeted against the harbour wall and get damaged.

3) Southampton to Montreal. The Captain had to take a southerly course towards the Azores to avoid the eye of tropical storm Ian. We did however have to go through the tail. He had to use all 4 engines when he turned NW towards St John's Newfoundland ( he said bonuses would therefore be down at the end of the year- too much information?)

Wow!! I can understand your decision to avoid Westbound TA's!!! :eek:

:eek:

 

That's a lot of storms at sea !! That was our primary concern with the West bound TA's - hurricane season . Also , our visits to Europe and Russia were best in the Spring , rather than the Fall . We prefer jackets to visit , rather than rough seas on the ship . Both of our East bound TA's have been very nice . :) :D

 

Both of ours were too..... and we are hoping that the Equinox TA leaving October 25th will be late enough in the hurricane season that we won't encounter any adverse conditions:eek: we'll see in just a few weeks!!!!

Wow!! I can understand your decision to avoid Westbound TA's!!! :eek:

 

 

 

Both of ours were too..... and we are hoping that the Equinox TA leaving October 25th will be late enough in the hurricane season that we won't encounter any adverse conditions:eek: we'll see in just a few weeks!!!!

I didn't want to drop the H word , but that was Wilma time (late October) . Of course that's a decade ago , and each year is different . And we thought about that when we booked the Yucatan this year , but it's the time when our friends can go .

I didn't want to drop the H word , but that was Wilma time (late October) . Of course that's a decade ago , and each year is different . And we thought about that when we booked the Yucatan this year , but it's the time when our friends can go .

I remember Wilma very well....ripped one of the roofs off a building at the resort..... lets hope for no repeats this year for both of us!!! :)

O the Roast Beef of Old England

The Painter and his Pug - also William Hogarth

Covent Garden

The 3 sons of John Stuart

I remember Wilma very well....ripped one of the roofs off a building at the resort..... lets hope for no repeats this year for both of us!!! :)

We'll toast to that !! :) :D

This was the last room we visited just before closing at 18:00 . It exhibited eclectic styles .

Susanna and the Elders

The subject is taken from the Old Testament. Two community elders lust after the virtuous Jewish wife, Susanna. They hide in the garden where she bathes and threaten that, unless she sleeps with them, they will publicly accuse her of adultery. She rejects them, and they carry out their threat, but her innocence is proved by the prophet Daniel.

Elijah and the Angel

Born in Germany, Kneller trained in Amsterdam and settled permanently in England in 1676 where he became the leading portrait painter of his day. This rare example of a narrative painting by Kneller is very Dutch in manner and subject. He valued it enough to bring it to Britain and display it at his house at Whitton, Middlesex. It depicts the Old Testament prophet Elijah who fled into the wilderness to escape the vengeance of Queen Jezebel. Hungry, he fell asleep and was woken by an angel who showed him bread and water sent by God to save him from starvation.

Cookmaid with Still Life of Vegetables and Fruit

He seems to have a fondness for melons .

Portrait of an Unknown Lady

Her rich dress and jewels show that this woman was of high rank, although her identity is unclear. Her most notable piece of jewellery is the cameo suspended on a black ribbon. It shows the figure of Prudence, one of the cardinal virtues and considered then an especially appropriate quality in a woman. The remains of an inscription, upper right, date the picture to between 1565 and 1568. The large heraldic arms were added later; they belonged to Lady Eleanor Brandon, but she cannot be the woman depicted because she had died in 1547, around 20 years before this was painted

Portrait of Elizabeth I

This portrait of Elizabeth I (1533–1603) is the earliest known full-length portrait of the queen. It is unique in alluding to her status as a prospective bride, painted at a time when she was forced to address the question of marriage. She holds a carnation flower in her right hand, representing the love of God, but also love and marriage. In the background is a tapestry elaborately decorated with fruit and flowers, unusual in portraits of this period. The entwined honeysuckle flowers suggest a union, while the ripe fruit symbolise the queen’s fertility.

The Cholmondeley Ladies

Twins , married on the same day and gave birth on the same day . A video about them from from the Tate :

http://www.tate.org.uk/context-comment/video/cholmondeley-ladies-artist-unknown

Charles the I , King of England

The price of the Tate

Outside of the Tate - Chelsea College of the Arts

The weather was quite nice and so we decided to take a walk

Lambeth Bridge

Victoria Tower Gardens

The Burghers of Calais

Churchill's view

Dinner at Pizza Express

Tomorrow we hope to go to the Isle of Man

We have done a few TransAtlantics, TransPacifics and a TransIndian/Southern and all have had some wet weather at one stage or another except for the TP via Hawaii and Tahiti.

Only one TP had really bad weather/ seas where we had to avoid two tropical storms by Alaska and the Aleutian Islands (just got the fringes) and a super typhoon off Japan. The Diamond Princess had a top speed of 25 knots (normally 23) and we were surfing (on about 4 swells) at one stage for around an hour, the captain was quite proud that the ship was handling it so well.:D

We have done a few TransAtlantics, TransPacifics and a TransIndian/Southern and all have had some wet weather at one stage or another except for the TP via Hawaii and Tahiti.

Only one TP had really bad weather/ seas where we had to avoid two tropical storms by Alaska and the Aleutian Islands (just got the fringes) and a super typhoon off Japan. The Diamond Princess had a top speed of 25 knots (normally 23) and we were surfing (on about 4 swells) at one stage for around an hour, the captain was quite proud that the ship was handling it so well.:D

:eek: What time of year was that ?

:eek: What time of year was that ?

That was September/October Vancouver to Beijing last of the Alaskan sailings and then onto China via Japan and Russia on the Diamond.

Churchill's view

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dinner at Pizza Express

 

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow we hope to go to the Isle of Man

 

I just loved London!! And the pizza looks wonderful .... what is the "green" on top...?

I just loved London!! And the pizza looks wonderful .... what is the "green" on top...?

We do too , definitely one of our favorite cities . Those are broccoli florets !! There were many veggies on my pizza and they added some crunch for me .

Here's Pat's Margherita version .

And Ty loves meat , especially bacon !!

The Pizza Express was very close , behind our hotel and across from the river .

The pizza's look great.

 

That was September/October Vancouver to Beijing last of the Alaskan sailings and then onto China via Japan and Russia on the Diamond.

Hurricane season in the northern hemisphere peaks in September and includes August and October and that's usually why cruise ships leave the South for Alaska and Europe . The storms usually generate in the warm waters and move North eventually ( we're watching one now which could turn North toward us on Sunday or Monday ) .

In the year that we went to Ireland , a storm just missed us and went North effect Ireland and the Isle on Man , where our friends had to wait for the sea to calm before taking the ferry to meet us in Ireland .

The pizza's look great.

Yes they were , and at a reasonable price also . :) :D

We took a cab to London City Airport (LCY) where we took a British Air puddle jumper to the IOM .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Man

It was cloudy , windy and cool when we arrived

It was great to see our friends Karen and Ron again and the spiffy new airport for the first time !!

The first stop on our Magical History Tour was Castle Rushen ( pronounced Russian ) .

The red arrow on the map

Welcome to Castle Rushen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Rushen

Where unfortunately , not all quests are treated equally ( like quests who forget to pay the entrance fee ) .

The entrance to the keep is protected by a drawbridge and a fortified inner gatehouse entrance with two portcullis with a killing area between them covered by three so-called murder holes, through which the defenders could attack any intruders trapped between the two portcullis (iron gates) .

wikipedia

Much of the castle was dark and dank and had some mannikins doing some creepy things . My flash made things much brighter though .

It was nice to have some windows to help light the way . Without them it felt like and interior cabin - without power .

And after exiting on the top deck the view got much better !

The way down was lighter and brighter

And we could smell food

This couple dining reminded me of Richie Blackmore and Candice Night of Blackmore's Night .

All that was missing to complete the picture , was some Renaissance music like Castles and Dreams !

Some of the mannikins looked incredibly lifelike !

The Lords of Man

and every proper castle has a dungeon

with a dragon

And this castle also had a back door

and comfortable seating .

I enjoy castles, and the evolution of the castle architecture as the weaponry evolved as well. Higher, thicker and stone, defensive and offensive aspects. Maybe it is a guy thing.:D