Granddaddy

Yesterday morning we docked in Southampton, England at around 7 A.M. and by late morning, we had transferred to the Queen Mary2, a ship we like as much as the Queen Victoria, although it is a couple of years older. Here is an interactive website for the Queen Mary 2: Tour the Queen Mary 2 Both ships are really quite spectacular. This morning early, 7 A.M. we were notified that we had turned back toward England to meet a medical helicopter, which was coming out to pick up one of our passengers who had a serious medical problem. The helicopter didn't land on the ship. The patient was hoisted aboard on a stretcher in a basket. We had to evacuate our room as we are on the 12th deck and the helicopter hovered one deck up ... read more

The capital of Italy and another beautiful city built amidst the ruins of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire lasted 400 years. At its height there was a saying: ´All roads lead to Rome, and it was true. This morning Granny Lynne and I went into Rome with a car and driver and went to the Vatican, the world headquarters of the Catholic Church. We had been there before, but the Sistine Chapel was closed for renovations, so we missed it on that earlier visit. Today we had a wonderful guide who took us through that beautiful Chapel covered up with the artistic labors of Michelangelo. I have enclosed a photo (not very good) of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel taken with my IPhone and without flash, which is disallowed. The other photo in the ... read more

HAPPY EASTER!!! Not sure you can find a place for a pin on your map for this stop. Our daily program describes Mykonos as follows: “A Greek Island and a mass tourist destination renowned for its cosmopolitan character and its intense nightlife.” We arrived here at noon and are leaving tonight at 7 P.M. We have to use the ship's tenders here, the weather is cool and windy and the sea is rough, so Granny Lynne and I opted to stay on board. The one photo shows you what we missed by not going ashore. Tomorrow we are in Athens, Greece, where we have another private tour scheduled. Love, Granddaddy and Granny Lynne Please click on the links below for the tracking map, the Queen Victoria Bridge webcam and the Queen Victoria tracking map. Chuck and ... read more

Can you find a place for a pin? This is a pretty Turkish coastal city with lots of hotels and resorts which are frequented by European vacationers. It is best known for the nearby Greek/Roman city of Ephesus, a city built originally by Alexander the Great before the birth of Christ and rebuilt after earthquakes by the Romans in 6-7 hundred A.D. Nearby is where supposedly the Virgin Mary lived and I am enclosing a photo of her house. Other photos are of Ephesus ruins which are only 10% excavated. The pictures are of the Library, the Coliseum, which seated 40,000 and where gladiators fought in Roman times.. There is even a cemetery for gladiators here! And finally, there is a photo of a men?s bathroom from Roman times!! The city was destroyed again by earthquakes ... read more

Today we are going through the Suez Canal which connects the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Google it and see what it looks like from the air. It is 101 miles long and at its narrowest, less than 400 yards wide. Traffic is one way and in convoys. Each day, early in the morning, two convoys depart north to south and one departs south to north (Us today). Unlike the Panama Canal, there are no locks needed to raise and lower ships as the sea level at both ends of the Suez Canal is nearly equal. There is a lake in the middle and we pass the south bound convoys in the lake and at one other passing place. We go about 10 miles per hour and it takes about 11 hours to complete the ... read more