Those of you who know San Francisco will appreciate the title pun!! Sun shining 2 days on the run. Something's not right. It was a glorious day as Roisin and Chris headed for their breakfast at 8am. It was going to be a long one. The breakfast hall in the travel lodge was in full swing with French tourists and German businessmen pushing their way to the front of the scrambled egg and black pudding counter and kids running around appearing from god knows where and disappearing just as fast. Chris and Roisin took the shuttle bus back to T5 before transferring to the Heathrow express train to Central T1, T2 and the one they wanted…T3. Check in and security was a doddle. No security questions asked which was a shame because Chris had plucked up ... read more

7 get ups to go… …Chris and Roisin can't believe that the trip is almost up on them. Packing has not even commenced. Mind you that's nothing new. They have been known to pack the night before their holidays or I should say; Roisin (the sensible one) packs the luggage with (as Chris would put it) minor items such as clothes and toiletries!! He has, however, compiled a list of things to take with him. He's up to item 8 and still not a shoe or shirt in sight. In fact, his monopod comes in at number 6! What is a monopod you may well ask? The best way to describe it is that it is a tripod with 2 of its legs missing!! This is the final entry before Chris and Roisin depart. So this ... read more

Geo: 53.35, -2.7333 199 get-ups to go.... …The trip is coming together nicely. The cruise is booked and paid for. 30 days sailing the South Pacific aboard the magnificent Sapphire Princess. The latest update on the bits either side of the cruise is that Roisin has spent days trawling for decent hotels in San Francisco. She manged to get a brilliant deal in the comically named Nob Hill. Chris is already wondering how much mileage this name has and has already started to think up inuendos and other gags (purely for comic effect!!) in the months to come. Anyhoo, the room should have cost £380 per night. Roisin's price - £95 per night!! Chris is contemplating having one of those 'Gentleman's manicure' thingies. Last year it was his £10 patent leather shoes from Primark to finish ... read more

So far on this trip, the weather had been kind to us ranging from the 'white cloud' scenario to ‘sun lounging' weather whilst we were in Helsinki. We tend not to let the weather spoil the moment and although I concede that there are more pleasant environmental climates than ‘pissing down', it would be nice to get off the ship and explore the capital city of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein known as Kiel. The most famous events in the history of Kiel (apart from the opening of the canal!) OK, the second most famous event in the history of Kiel was the soldiers' mutiny which sparked the German Revolution in late 1918. Just before the end of World War I, the German fleet stationed at Kiel was ordered to be sent out on a last ... read more

The day we arrived in Stockholm was going to be a long one. We were due to dock at 8:30 at Stadgårdsterminalen on Södermalm. We got up at 5:30 to marvel at our approach through the archipelago (skärgården) If that wasn't early enough, the clock moved again!! This time it went back an hour. OK, an extra hour in bed but why do we have to mess with the time? They didn't have this in the Viking days as they were sailing to invade Finland and Russia. Olaf Silverblad reminded everyone that the sun would rise an hour earlier tomorrow so don't forget chaps, early to bed tonight!! I don't think so. They just got on with the stuff they had to do. They didn't worry about time. It just messes with people's body clocks and ... read more