Day 15 - At Sea

---

Geo: 49.5096, -3.73094

Feel decidedly lacklustre this morning. Is it the fact it's our last day on the ship? No. I think it's more a case of over indulgence last night with both food and drink. A shower and a nice breakfast makes me feel a whole lot better. It chocolate themed breakfast today where you can have everything from chocolate cereal, chocolate pastries and even choc waffles/pancakes. I stick with just Eggs Benedict and no French Toast.

Peter does his cycling at the gym early today. I head for the Solarium with my iPad and a coffee to blog. On the way back I notice a few people are out on the sun loungers despite the chill breeze. They must be hardy Scandinavians. I cut through the Royal Promenade and notice there is a giant cake that the culinary staff have prepared to celebrate the Atlantic crossing. I take few snaps but doubt I will get a slice.

Peter returns from the gym and we head up to the Diamond Lounge which is busy. We sit outside and notice there is a big increase in shipping around us. We are close to the English Channel now, one of the worlds busiest sea lanes. It's mostly cargo ship and tankers but we know P&O's Oriana is slightly behind us also making her way to Southampton.

We lunch in the Windjammer where we spot Rick from the roll call. We met him on day one of the cruise at the sail-away on the pool deck back in Miami. This is the first time we have seen him since that day. apparently his wife Bobby has been poorly but is feeling better now. When they get off the ship they are heading for a river cruise down the Rhine.

The afternoon is spent doing the dreaded packing. We take less care and curse a lot more than when we are going away on hols. Not as much fun at all but got to be done. It doesn't take too long and it's nice to get it out of the way.

We dress for dinner. It's casual tonight so just jeans and a shirt. We meet Sue and Malcolm in the Imperial Lounge and are joined by Jennifer and Dougie as well. We enjoy our final dinner in the Main Dining Room. I have Spanish tapenade followed by Lamb Shank (which is amazing) and some Lemon Sorbet. After dinner we say our goodbyes to Sue and Malc. They will be off the ship very early in the morning so we will not see them. For the rest of the evening, all over the ship, we see this repeated. People saying goodbye to old and new friends alike.

We make our final donations to the casino and a last drink in the Schooner Bar before heading back to our cabin. We can see lights to the south of us and realise is mainland France, Cherbourg to be exact. We have a taxi booked to pick us up from the cruise terminal at 10am tomorrow so ewe don't need to rush off and can take it easy first thing.

---

Photos

Govt tourist shop
Manufacture and sale of clay, bronze and jade figures. Plus lacquered furniture, screens, carpets, etc.
We were told 'no bargaining' but they would give a 20% discount to the tour group. As experienced shoppers we successfully ignored this absurd negotiation ploy.
Rob and I bought a one-third size jade archer which they will insure and ship to Oz.

The impressive Pit 1
The vast majority of figures were in pieces but have been reassembled and replaced. Abby was much amused by and tried to memorize the Humpty Dumpty rhyme.

Buried in battle formation
The figures were buried with a front line (shown here) and many columns in depth. The rows were covered with timber roofs then covered over.
There are three pits and only Pit 1 still has years of excavation to go. Pits 2 & 3 have been fully explored.

A new recruit!
A cleverly constructed replica where they charge 10 yuan for a photo opp.

Bronze chariot, half size
Some bronze sculptures were found at the perimeter of Qin's tomb, about 1.5km away. The tomb itself has yet to be explored.

Xi'an City Wall
Xi'an is favourably situated according to feng shui and climate, rivers and fertile soil. It was the Cathay end of the Silk Road. The Ming dynasty decided that Xian would be an alternative capital to Beijing and built this city wall 600 years ago.
The wall is still very much intact and it's 14km perimeter encloses the inner city.

Top of the Xi'an Wall
The pavement was restored in the 19th©. The lighting is dramatic and includes a row of lights along the whole length of the battlements.
This wall is a much more formidable defence than the Great Wall that we saw. It has never been under siege.

Tang Palace Dance Show
Exquisite costumes and amazing musicians with a range of unusual instruments.

Comments

[Morag]

Top photo! Ivan and I are enjoying your comments wonder how you got on with the yin-tong music.

[robselclark]

The music did not do much for me. Michael, still smarting from his LDT award methinks, believes I am a cultural desert and therefore has nicknamed me Gobi!

[Morag]

Checking out the bikes! Tandem ride would suit me better than the loooong walk.

[John Lowe]

Sel,Thanks for blog. Warriors are on my bucket list. I know, I could have been there now! I will make sure I monitor Mike S very closely when next it is his shout! Appalling ineptitude! I think the one star rating on your blog is harsh
. Will try to work out what to do to change things.All the best.Cheers,Lowie

[Grant Mason]

Your 1/3rd sized archer will go with my half sized jade General Selwyn. Keen to see him when you get home. Is the poor old guy who dug up the warriors 40 years ago still signing books in the gallery? Not a happy chappy!!

[robselclark]

Yes. The oldest Mr Yang has passed on but another was there, signing and smiling for (paid) photos.