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Published: September 3rd 2014
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Red Lion Southampton
This pub is 965 years old! Hi everyone
Peter here for a brief interlude! Before we boarded the boat we did a guided walk of the Western Walls of Southampton. Very interesting and historical. On the walk we befriended a local couple and joined them for a drink in the Red Lion, England’s second oldest pub, only 965 years old! Luckily the beer was fresher. There should be a photo of Sandy on the way to the ladies, which was up a creaky staircase and over a swaying floor. Conveniently the gents was downstairs. Boarding was fantastic. Late is best. We managed to get my two bottles of single malt on board undiscovered by the grog Nazis at the gangplank.
It was great being back on the ship 12 months later. We knew where everything was but somehow I missed the journey of discovery. The boat was updated, but the only things I can see are the flat screen TV in the cabin and huge screen over the pool. The new artwork isn’t a patch on the old, and they have stopped serving cheese and biscuits in Windjammer. Otherwise same, same. Iceland is on my bucket list, so am looking forward to the experience. Over
Red Lion
I was slightly worried about walking up the wonky stairs to Dr Sandy………
Sandy here…I’ve just lost my glasses in the 75% off sale in the cruise shop. It was quite a scrum and I watched some Spanish people argue with the salesperson about why they should be served before the gazillion other people who had queued up. As I faced a substantial wait to get served, I decided to undertake a sociological experiment and talked to everyone I could. Upon analyzing the data that I collected, I found that the dominant nationality was English as you would expect and that they were pretty fed up with pushy Spaniards. I also learned that the EU human rights organization has stepped in to support the British who live in Malta because they are treated so badly by the Spanish (Sorry, thought that they were Maltese? pj) who hate them. Apparently they Brits are constantly abused both in public and private.
OK, that’s my research over for this trip. It’s day 3 of the cruise and we are expecting 3-4 metre swells. This is much better than yesterday which was a shocker. I felt sorry for the poor ice-skaters who really made the best of a bad situation with only
On the ship
I found this lion hanging around on the ship a couple of falls. Imagine ice skating when you’re very drunk!
I did my own Oscar worthy drunk impression, swaying and slipping all over the place. In the cabin last night I watched the curtains swing endlessly from side to side. Amazing how things get so much better when you turn the lights off! Somehow the ship seems go much more smoothly
We went on Adventure of the Seas last year and not much has changed except the art work and some of the staff. Amazingly some of them recognised us and we them. Talk about feeling like old home week! It was really nice to be recognised 12 months later out of a crowd of 3000 passengers who change every fortnight!
An extraordinary co-incidence happened yesterday. It’s one of those “what are the chances” moments. 18 months ago we went on a cruise to New Zealand and quite amazingly had a cabin next door to one of Peter’s university friends, Alan and his wife Liz. There were only 67 of them who finished Ag Science at Sydney University in 1967 so it was a pretty amazing that they met up.
So yesterday, went to the
art auction for the free champagne as you do, and striding across the room were Alan and his wife Liz! I wonder what the odds are of meeting a uni friend from 1967 on the same cruise ship going to Iceland at the same art auction. We were all gobsmacked! Definitely karma at work! It’s great to have people you know to hang out with.
I'm finalising this blog from a bar in Reykjavik. It's teeming down outside but we're snug in here. Peter's having Icelandic beer and I'm enjoying a lovely glass of pinot grigio and feeling very pleased that we're not outside in the rain. You know how sometimes things just go right!
Our down jackets have had their first workout. It's not that cold out but they operated well in the rain. I bought a cool pair of boots (cream and blue) with an "off road" sole. No slipping over this trip. Tonight we have booked a trip to go and see the Northern Lights. I really hope it fines up or all we'll be seeing is a cloud bank.
I'll keep you posted of how things went.
love Sandy and pj
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