D&N

We do actually own our own photographic equipment, although we like to get as many as we can from the pros as well. We took about 800 last time before we upgraded to full frame, mainly of us. I doubt I would ever sail on one of the so called "high-end" lines. They seem awfully casual for my liking and none of them operate a liner.

And I've just found my own photo of the takeaway Pizza Menu at Casino Supermarket in Monaco on August 16th 2023. We've had the Poulet (twice) and Chorizo, and we had slices a previous time when a niece was visiting and we just took a seat at the port to eat them. The photo was exactly where it should have been in my archives so I don't know how I missed it before.

@Terry Bill Perhaps you should specify clearly what you mean. We're quite happy if a ship is seaworthy, comfortable and almost everything works correctly or is quickly repaired if it fails. We wouldn't be happy if we stained or damaged clothes on fixtures and fittings due to poor maintenance. And we like there to be nice backdrops (not fake photographers ones) for portraits. Some folk get upset at seeing the smallest spec of superficial rust on a balcony or a slight scratch on an item of furniture. I'm not sure about a May 2025 dry docking. I don't see any gap in the published schedule in latest brochure. That might be a mix up.

I can direct you to the Louboutin shop 😀. They have been tried for fit and maximum heel height, but not purchased as yet! They actually seemed quite happy to offer a fitting without buying.

To be fair, I think there was only one comment that they had not heard of him. I wrote that I knew the name. I couldn't put a face to him until I looked at the article. But for me that would be the same regarding 99.5% of actors or celebrities from anywhere. I don't pay much attention to films and TV programs/series and when I do it's the content or story that interests me not the actors so I rarely remember their names. By his CV, I must have first seen him in 1984. I'd find it hard to name anyone else from the soap he was in. My main memory of turning 60, was being happy I'd achieved my aim of moving here permanently before that marker three months earlier. Then in that year I set my PB for 10km outdoors at 47:15. My wife's celebrations this year will be different!

He's well enough known. He pops up all over the place. I vaguely remember his early appearances in Take the High Road, a Scottish soap of the 1980s. I don't watch much TV, more listen to what my wife is watching, but then she's probably reading a novel at same time. I enjoy watching some quiz shows, dancing, top quality football (soccer) and tennis.

Another thing I don't think I made clear; although Cunard only pre-authorise actual spend many hotels put a block on a daily figure for duration of stay regardless of whether you intend to spend anything in the hotel. Some cards are reputed to take a period of time to release those authorisations when the hotel cancels them. That was not the case with the Wise debit card. I used it for pre-authorisation at Sofitel New York, realised it was blocking a large part of our intended USD daily spending money, told reception to change to one of the credit cards I had with me, and within seconds I had notification on the Wise app that it had been removed and the full balance was available to spend. I'm sure that will also be the case with some other providers and it might be worth checking card policies when choosing/changing banks or providers if you might find prolonged blocking of balances inconvenient.

I knew the name and I've seen him in various things over the years without giving much thought to what his name was, I don't take a great interest in actors names. I'm surprised he was allowed on deck wearing a garment like that. The seagulls would be frightened. 🙂 I'm glad he enjoys QM2 though.

I did understand. I know we are unusual in walking down and returning up at least fifty-three floors on each full day on board. I thought I was supposed to be old!

Ten times per day! In two weeks my wife used a lift three times. I used one four times more because on two occasions she needed something fetched from the cabin and I was slightly quicker using a lift for ten floors each way than running up and down the stairs. At least we might be safe though! 🙂

In June 2022 we used a Wise debit card. I believe that's what @lissie used as well. We didn't have many transactions because we bought the drinks package a week at a time for the two weeks onboard. But did buy three bottles of wine not included in the package, a photography package, internet, laundry and a handbag when they were at 25% off for a day. Each time a debit or credit transaction was processed I got a notification virtually in real time on the Wise app of the revised charge Cunard were going to make. That included some drinks charged on the first day that should have been in the package and were eventually credited. I assume they put a hold for the actual amounts spent on the card at any time. I didn't have any chance to test that as there was an adequate USD balance on the card that I had no reason to attempt to use for other purposes. Other debit card providers may operate differently but from our experience Cunard doesn't put a large speculative hold on a card in the same way as some hotels do.

I wouldn't say that the bus services between Le Havre and Honfleur are very good, and I have no experience of them whatsoever. I did however spend 90% of my working life in all sorts of public transport rolls and I have lots of experience navigating French transport websites. The best resource you are likely to find is that of the Normandy Regional Council: https://nomad.normandie.fr/lignes-de-cars It appears you want to look at lines: 111, 122 & 123 Line 123 only seems to have one trip a day around lunchtime in each direction that extends to/from Le Havre. Line 111 is a bit confusing as it's shown as 111A from Le Havre and 111R to Le Havre. The timetables aren't the easiest to navigate because they tend to cover a variety of routes. Be careful that journeys operate on the day you need them. There may be trips that only operate on market days or vary from day to day because schools finish at different times.

We've not been that way yet. We have intentions to do the littoral walk but there were rock falls last summer so we stayed clear. We did do as much as is possible from Nice to Villefranche then up to Fort Alban and back to Nice. We have some nice photos of an empty Rade. QM2 should have visited that day but diverted to Alghero due to forecasts of choppy conditions. Back to the question. I don't see anything better than is shown on Google maps and street view for the walking route (what marazul is saying). There's no obvious pathways or staircases that would get you up to the Villa quicker. Of course sometimes it's easier to go a wee bit further on a more gentle route than a really steep climb. And coming back down is less risky. I prefer going up steep concrete stairs to going down them. Visions of blood pouring out of head wounds or worse! Depending on time available you might be quicker doing a few stops on 15 or 607 in one or more directions. If there is access all the way round the coast the going will be much tougher than following the road, but until we try it out I'm not sure how far you can get at coastal level.

Villeneuve Loubet. We normally only run to and from St Laurent, and have only walked as far as T2 and back in that direction but 16 miles in a day wouldn't be an issue. It's all flat pavements. If we can easily ramble 10 miles through the Esterel with several rough climbs to over 400 metres, a walk to Nice and back would be a dawdle. We still managed a picnic at Col Notre Dame though.

You used to get the 400 direct.

I'm sure it's fine for much travel within the city of Nice. In September 2019 they stopped almost all buses from other towns along the coast and some inland from coming into the city centre. They must terminate at a tram stop on the outskirts, where passengers transfer. In practice you get a seat on a bus from outside the area, and instead of just sitting there until you get to the city centre you must alight and then stand for the remaining 20 mins on the tram that is already full when it passes the interchange stop. On the way back you stand on the tram and hope there is not too long to wait for a bus connection at the interchange point. However it may get worse. They are currently working on an extension of the tram network to a neighbouring town. But they are not extending the existing network. The new line will be self contained from the interchange point westwards to the new terminus. I fully expect that we will need to take a bus to the next town, change onto the new tramline then change again at the existing interchange. As a retired public transport professional, I have experience of most aspects of that, but my speciality was in planning. As such I hate so called integrated transport. It's primary purpose is to make life easier for the provider rather than the user. I should note that we are perfectly capable of walking or even running the eight miles each way to Nice, but that seems a bit extreme for a shopping or lunch trip. 🏃‍♂️

How uncivilised!

I used the wall mounted Samsung to view some photos on an SD card in a USB card reader. I can't remember what source was shown for that. But it did work. Presumably if you had a video on a USB key that would play. edit to add: The USB was accessed from the right of the TV. There wasn't much space between TV and wall to reach in and plug in the USB.

@BVILady Having read back posts on this thread it seems you are booked single occupancy in Queens Grill. You are considering booking the same for your son. There have been other discussions about cheapest way of getting a third person into QG and the same principle might be applied here. I think you could enquire about modifying your booking to include your son in your cabin, therefore avoiding the single occupancy surcharge in QG. You could then book an additional nearby Britannia inside cabin for your son, paying the single occupancy fee. That may work out far less expensive than having two QG cabins but would still permit both of you to dine in QG. I don't appreciate the comment about the 1950's, which may have been intended to be amusing going by the emoji used. I wasn't born until late 50s and my wife hadn't even been thought about but we dress as formally as the climate and our activity allows. We live in a Mediterranean holiday resort. If we lived in a Caribbean resort we'd still dress as formally as we could. I might get to wear my ivory tux more often.

I think I've accidentally deleted my photo of the Casino Supermarket Pizza menu in Monaco. This is one I downloaded a few years ago. I think prices are from 2019 and will have changed quite a bit. I'll need to take another next time we're there. Parts (slices) are only available if they have a full pizza cooked already

Indeed, at many of the food festivals held in our town there are servings of Peach Melba available. I would probably not have heard of Nellie Melba without the story of it's creation. I'm well prepared now for the question coming up on Pointless. 🤣 We would normally just walk up to the palace area but for the sake of keeping the pizza hot take the bus. I think it's called Fisherman's Garden, which we find quieter than Jardins Saint-Martin. I shouldn't really be posting that, it won't be quieter for long! Le Rocher is sold as some of the cheapest areas to watch the Grand Prix. I think lots of folk are surprised they just have to find somewhere to sit/stand on a hillside.

Fortunately we don't play cards! 🤣

There's no doubt that he bought it onboard. He seemed more than willing to pay for it. He started with shots but wasn't happy with the sizes. I think he and his wife/partner left the restaurant after one bottle. The only thing I don't recall is whether it was an 0.7litre or 1litre bottle. Silja Serenade being a ferry you paid by cash or card at end of meal, no cruise cards.

@marazul When were you last here?

It's 1.8 km walk from the station to HOBO Coffee (the nicest place in the Old Town). We'd never consider taking the tram that distance. We'd miss out on all the shops in Jean Medecin. Besides by the time you buy or recharge "La Carte" at the ticket machine we would be half way there. It will be more difficult for mobility impaired folk. But the bottom line is, it's a change of transport mode rather than a change of trains.