Met Barb, Gary and Roxie and we walked into town for a little while – probably not much more than an hour or two as it was very hilly with not much to do, but walk around. Did make it up the first hill to see an old church. The town is built into a mountainside so walking was difficult for a couple of us. Had dinner at our reserved table, which Moises ensured that we have for all 10 of us for the entire cruise. Had drink with Barb & Gary in one of the lounges and then turned in.... read more

2 ½ hour bus ride to tour D-Day landing beaches in Normandy, France. Those soldiers had a very tough time! They came across the English Chanel and then had very high & steep rocks to climb up before even hitting land. 1ststop was La Pointe du Hoc beach and then Omaha beach. At Omaha Beach 34,000 soldiers landed with casualties of 3,000 which included wounded, MIA and dead. The barricades and bunkers that had been made are still visible. Some of the more agile men worked their way through the bunker caves and said they were quite intricate. Then we went to the St. Laurent Cemetery, which is the American cemetery. 9,870 were buried there, but about 2/3 were returned to the USA at the family’s request. UK requires that soldiers be buried where they die ... read more

We began the tour with a visit to Britain's most preserved Roman town - Caerleon - "Fort of the Legion". Explored the amphitheater where gladiators fought to their death, the bath house around which much of a Roman soldier's life revolved and tried to visit the National Legionary Museum, which didn’t open until late due to a children’s Halloween program. The gift shop had a small display of artifacts we looked at and then we went next door to St Cadoc Church of Wales first started in the 15th century. We also drove by lots of other Roman ruins – this area was occupied by the Romans for some time. We drove through Caerwent, which was once a thriving market town and saw more evidence of invader occupation 1900 years ago. We then went to some ... read more

Jones and Thornburg's arrived late last night. Roxie and I met them at 9:30 am and walked to the "tube" (train stn). Went and picked up our London Pass tickets and then got on "The Big Bus" (hop-on/hop-off). 1st stop "The Eye." Fun, fun, fun - saw lots of London and surrounding areas. Then got back on the bus and went to "The Tower of London." This is where brutal torture was done and heads cut off. Two of Henry VIII's wives were killed here and are actually buried in the chapel. My first time in the chapel. Saw the crown jewels - WOW - lots of jewels and gold. Got back on the bus and hit the train back to Earl's Court (closest to the hotel) and ate dinner at The Blackbird (http://blackbirdearlscourt.co.uk/food-and-drink). I had ... read more

Sad day - we had to say goodbye - even knowing we will see and talk to each other again, it was sad for us to go our separate ways. Had lots of luggage so decided to rent a car and drive home to Tampa. I was home before I would have arrived by plane. Stephanie followed me to return the rental and we went to dinner. Today it's Thursday, 10/15, and I finally got my wash done, went through a month's worth of mail, and still catching up on email. It's back to reality now. I love cruising so much; I wish I was a millionaire so I could stay on the seas more. ... read more