Monday Oct 8 – Cherbourg France

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Bon jour from Cherbourg France. This is actually our 3^rdport in France during the whole vacation, but last night we received a message that we had to turn in our passports for Immigration to see before we would be allowed off the ship in Cherbourg. But it was easier to comply than to argue, so David ran them down to Passenger Services late last night.

This morning we got up at 6:30 because we needed to be in the Wheelhouse Bar by 8:00. We got dressed and went to the breakfast buffet in the Horizon Court. Apparently there were more people in the late night nightclubs than the early morning buffet, so we had an easy time of finding a table and had a quiet breakfast. We discovered our dinner waiter (Rolly) was in charge of burning the toast and then letting it sit until it was cold – can you tell we don’t endorse the toast? However he cooked an English Muffin special for Janet and she had it nicely done and still hot – it pays to know people!

We reported to the “get ready point” for our tour and Janet told them she could not easily manage all the steps in the Princess Theater, so they let us stay in the Wheelhouse Bar and we rode the elevator down to the gangway, just as the rest of our group was arriving – sometimes it’s not WHO you know but WHAT you know, and when to say the right thing. We still had to walk through the terminal to the bus, so everyone got there ahead of us, but it was just fine.

Today we were off to Bayeux France. Certainly you know why this is such an important destination and it rescued a somewhat disappointing opinion of excursion experiences for Janet. YES, this is the needlework location that she came to Europe to get to see. We rode the bus through the French countryside with our guide explaining the French history of the Normandy Region from very early days up through World War II. Along the way we drove past the turnoffs for Ste. Mere d’Eglise, for Utah Beach, and for Omaha Beach. We also saw the turnoffs for the American Cemetery and for the German Cemetery. In the outskirts of Bayeax we saw the large cemetery for other nationalities killed here in Normandy during the first couple of weeks after D-day. It was very moving.

When we got to the place where the bus parked, we had a quick shot at the public bathrooms and then a short walk to the museum where they display the Bayeux Tapestry. There were a bunch of stairs to climb outdoors just to get indoors, but Janet managed them – not going to be defeated at that point. Once inside we had a slow walking tour of the 70 meter tapestry. Each person got a handheld speaker to hold to their ear and listen to the explanation of all 59 scenes in the scroll. Janet says they were actually separate pieces of material that were carefully stitched together, but to David it looked like one very long roll of stitching. Anyway, it took about half an hour of shuffling along listening to the story and Janet did not once mention being tired until it was all over – then we were looking for a chair for her to rest.

After the tapestry we rode up to the second level and saw an exhibit with a lot of information about both the actual tapestry and also about the Normans and their towns, and clothing, and lifestyle. Janet mostly concentrated of the stitching, but David walked around and saw it all. Then we rode up to the top level and saw a 16-min movie about it. Turns out this tapestry was not so much about the history of the 1066 war won by William the Conqueror, but more about the moralistic values of breaking your oaths and the consequences thereof. At least that’s what the movie said. David thinks it was a “war thing” anyway. Then we had the “opportunity” to explore the gift shop. We could have bought some embroidery kits of the tapestry for 300 Euros but Janet really has enough projects for now. We settled on a book about the tapestry.

Since we had moved at a slower pace, the rest of the group had gone ahead with the guide to see the Cathedral at Bayeax. Janet did not want to walk that far, so we got her a café au lait and an apple tart, and she sat at a table on the cute street that runs toward the cathedral. David went on up the hill and explored inside. He missed the explanation of who was buried in each little nitch of the church and has no idea how many pipes that were in the organ, but he got to see it all anyway. Then he went back and collected Janet and we headed off for the short walk to the bus.

We had a very nice day for exploring in France today. It was a little chilly (around 59) but no wind and lots of sunshine. The ride back to Cherbourg was a little difficult to stay awake, but we got back fine and returned to the ship without any problems. Janet went to the International Café for a coffee and sandwich while David went up to the buffet for a larger lunch since it was 2:30 by then. Afterwards he went to the Passenger Services desk to get luggage tags for our suitcases and collected Janet from the café.

Back in the cabin we packed most of what we had unpacked a few days ago. There were 2 suitcases which were pretty much untouched since we moved into the new cabin. We will have to put the “bags in the hall” tonight so we will still need to have a little room available in the roller bag, but we think we have this process pretty well understood by now. Janet was able to get on the United Airlines web page to get us checked in and then she settled down for a little rest before we start our final evening on the ship.

We are happy to report that Janet was very thrilled with what she saw today. She got kind of worn out by all the activity, but she was happy to have done it. This tour was rated the same difficulty as the Bus/Tram in Lisbon, and as the walking tour in Vigo, and as in Fatima which we declined. There certainly is a wide variety of exercise level for these tours and we are going to have to shop more carefully before our next cruise. She kept saying that David would have a lot of trouble explaining to the grandchildren if he went off and left her somewhere in Europe, but sometimes she was sure she could not make it to the pickup point. But she is coming home tomorrow and can sleep for several days if she wants.

We decided not to go to the Lounge before dinner tonight, but instead we stayed in our cabin and had some of our free beverages. Then we went to the dining room for our last meal with our tablemates and our last dinner with our waiter (Rolly) & his assistant (Yan). Janet had Shrimp Cocktail while David had fettuccini and also watermelon cubes. For her entrée Janet had a chicken & veal sweetbreads. David had the New York Strip Steak. For dessert we both had the Apple Pie. We gave both of our staff a little gift and said goodbye to everyone. Then we went back to our cabin.

David had to go down to collect our passports from Passenger Services. He asked if they knew why they had been required in the first place. The clerk shrugged his shoulders and said, “it is just what the French told them to do.” Oh well, we got our passports back with 2 Cherbourg stamps (in and out).

Back in our cabin we put our suitcases out in the hall and settled down for the evening. We are watching some movie called Goodbye Christopher Robin. We do get an extra hour of sleep tonight, but it will still be an early morning and a long day. Good night.

By the way, Elizabeth and Mike have volunteered to pick us up at the airport when we get back Tuesday evening – THANKS!

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Comments

[Janel]

safe travels home
Glad Janet got to see the Bayeux trapistry. Thanks for sharing your trip!

[Janel]

safe travels home
Glad Janet got to see the Bayeux trapistry. Thanks for sharing your trip!