Mad Dogs & Englishmen.....

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August 13, 2019

Weymouth, England

Never heard of Weymouth, England? You’re not alone! England’s BEST. KEPT. SECRET!

We weren’t able to dock until 11am, so we had a leisurely morning. Typical breakfast in the grand dining room (with Milica) an espresso at Barista’s with Gaia. While in the dining room the Pilot came on board (aft…we didn’t have the same front row seat this time); we went up to Barista’s and watched the Pilot guide us through the first man made harbor in the UK.

The wall is deceptive as there are two main “entrances” – one…which we thought we’d enter because it looked larger and the other “larger” one. The first one is actually angled, so a large ship would have a difficult time. We both thought the ship was going to ram the wall, because we couldn’t see the other entrance (because we were aft in Baristas) Espresso comes first! ANYWAY…they MUST have greased the side of the ship because we SWEAR we could have touched the wall from the deck of the ship. TIGHT. FIT! One false move and it’s DISASTER. Clearly, this Pilot knows what he’s doing. Kudo’s to him. Whatever he earns – it isn’t enough. Must be a “cowboy”.

We went back to the stateroom, cleaned up and headed out to see Weymouth. The ship was cleared quite early so by the time we were downstairs, an announcement was made. Off the ship and onto the bus (provided by the port) we didn’t have to wait for anything. So – let’s see what Weymouth has in store for us.

We took a rather circuitous route from the dock in Portland to Weymouth. There’s a small spit of land connecting the port to the mainland – which winds through Wyffe and Portland on the way to our final destination. The bus made a few stops and we finally ended in Weymouth near the Nothe Gardens.

We were advised by the locals to take the “long” way around (keep the sea to your right) and go up and over through the park and end up on the Quay. So. Glad. We. Did. GORGEOUS. Amazing views. People enjoying the park. People swimming….a woman responded after our look of horror at her husband’s swimming in that frigid water…”Mad Dogs and Englishmen”! She will go out later in the afternoon! PASS. We said Hi to everyone we passed – they all responded. The weather was perfect. We were ready for the rain and cold. IT. WAS. GORGEOUS! Why does 62 here in the sun feel SO MUCH WARMER here in the UK than at home?? I had on a long sleeve shirt – rolled the sleeves up as far as I could, had on a down vest and long jeans. TOO. HOT! Christopher had his rain jacket on – he wore it around his waist. We should have known better. We SHOULD have worn shorts!!

OK down the hill after a slight climb, and there in front of us is the beach of Weymouth. All three miles of it! What a CHARMING town. We were so very impressed. What a wonderful way to end this journey (well, the cruise portion anyway). Alas, our final stop.

Weymouth is a charming 17^th century beach resort town. The beach is an undisturbed three mile arch, with areas set aside for families, areas for “quiet” and areas for recreation. Clever! The sand looks rather like large grains – NO…we did not venture onto the beach. We know better. Would have had sand in everything for the remainder of our holiday. PASS.

We walked, and Walked, AND WALKED some more. We walked along the shore. We walked along the quay. We walked through downtown and we walked back to the bus stop – this time we took the direct route. Much faster, but far less interesting and entertaining.

We stopped at a little Cornish Pasty shop and each ordered a Steak & Ale Cornish Pasty. FILLING! Inexpensive as well. Wouldn’t you know it….Mark, with his camera at the ready, caught us each mid bite. Not the least bit flattering. NO-ONE shall ever see those shots. He had better destroy them IMMEDIATELY. So, what did we do next? Right next door to the Sweet Shop. We bought peanut brittle and dark chocolate covered ginger. YUM to both. Don’t need either, but that didn’t stop us!!

We are now ready to head back to the ship – almost 3pm at this point. And…who do we run into?? Our buddies: Gaia, Karmelo, Milica, Alberto & Antonio. They invited us to join them – we didn’t want to intrude on their time off – so we settled for a hearty handshake and I took a picture of them all to remember them. They have made this trip so wonderful for us both.

We decided to leave the main street and take another route back to the bus so we can see more of the town. We just had no expectation of Weymouth and were very pleasantly surprised.

We got back to the ship around 3:30 or so. Up to the Spa Deck for a soak in the hot tub. OH, just what we each needed!! We picked up our “book” once we found our chaise and read…for about 10 minutes. Christopher was asleep and I was freezing. I gave up after a while opting for a warm shower, and a change of clothes for dinner. Not far behind was Christopher.

Dinner tonight was at Jacques. Benoit remembered us, got our room almost right – he still had us in 11036 – which was the previous cruise. ANYWAY. He has been trying all cruise to get our names right. He was successful with Christopher and came the closest he’s ever done previously with mine. He will be on Marina in April when we go from Rio to Lisbon, and has PROMISED to be able to pronounce my name properly! I intend to hold him to that.

Christopher had the Cream of Pumpkin Soup, which was sublime (according to himself), I had the escallope of fois gras (again) one last time (sigh). For our main, I had the Scallops (meh…overrated) and Christopher had the Pork Chop…which looked AMAZING. For dessert, Christopher had the Chocolate Mousse- light and delicious, I had the Tart Tatin with a blob of Vanilla ice cream. Delicious. We finished the Viognier (Lambert Bridge) and ordered a glass of Poesia, Soave – excellent minerality!

Dinner done. Now we have to pack. Oh what sweet hell is this. The cruise is, for all intents and purposes OVER! NOOOOOO. (actually, I think we’re ready for some land). All packed.

We have to be OUT of the room at 8am. YIKES! It’s going to be an early morning and a bit of a long day tomorrow. Off to London!!

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