Cheerio Fabulous Followers from London! I don't know yet how much I will blog, but am going to give it a go again.
Let's chat, shall we? This trip all started with Joe having a couple of items on his bucket list. Go see the Jags play in London and take a transatlantic cruise. We stay in London 10/9 to 10/22, then go to Southampton for 1 night and then catch our 12 day Celebrity Apex transatlantic cruise. On the cruise we will stop in the Azores and Bermuda.
We arrived in London with good friends - Skip, Dawn, Richard and Beth. We all flew together from Orlando to Gatwick on Norse Atlantic Airways. I don't like flying, but this airline was nice. For a relatively good airfare, we flew Premium Economy. Joe and I had bulkhead seats with pillow, blanket, eye mask, 2 meals and beverage service. I actually slept about an hour and did catnap here and there.
So, back to the story. We decided ok, let's go to London and we are staying at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Kensington, London. I did not want to travel all around lugging luggage to different places. I settled on this hotel and we will sightsee by walking, taking tours and using the subway. I spent a lot of time researching hotels. Traveling like this takes a lot of time to research, make decisions, make reservations and plan ahead. Joe and I are planning WAY ahead. I mean, we are fully booked for 2025 and looking at 2026. I do have a friend who is a travel agent, Pam. You have seen her in the past and will see again. She helped and booked the cruise, but I decided to tackle the London portion on my own. Any failures are my failures and lessons learned.
And boy, did I learn a lot. It is hard to find a king sized bed. I mean the people over here are quite a bit smaller. Joe and I DO NOT LIKE to sleep in anything but a king sized bed. We need space! We had to pay more, but we got a larger room with a king bed. What's the point of taking a trip if you don't sleep well?! I made a list of all items I want to see in London and coordinated with Richard and Beth how we will spend our time together.
I had a lot of angst about this trip and kept waiting for God to give me peace. He did grant me peace, but it was the day we left. To be gone for nearly 30 days just worries me. How is the house? the Garden? Bills? Well I have my laptop, so bills, email, communication does not stop. We can still monitor our bill paying. I will miss my son (hope he misses me)! I have my sis-in-love, Joy, to keep the house going. I have friends praying. So why worry? I don't know. Also, Hurricane Milton added another level of stress. We hated leaving our family, but were glad to get one of the last planes out of Orlando on Tuesday before the airport closed Wednesday.
Packing, I do hate. We packed with 3 phases in mind. 1) A backpack each with required meds, electronics and any clothing needed if our luggage does not fly over with us. 2) A larger suitcase for London. I packed in pods....love pods. Joe and I had our own pods for socks, undies, clothes, shoes, etc. The clothes stay in the pods and I take the pods to put away in the hotel. Some items are hung in closet. 3) Smaller suitcase for cruise. For the cruise, I want shorts, t-shirts and beachwear. These items are not needed in cooler, rainier London.
We had the added pleasure to fly over with friends. You will be seeing them with us for the first Jags game. Richard and Beth are hanging with us for several days as we tour the city. Skip and Dawn are here for a couple of days and then on to their own adventure.
So far, Richard, Beth, Joe and I have spent a day touring the Tower of London. This was a must see for me. Oh! I saw the crown jewels - I was so in awe. You view them on a people mover, cause I guess people like me won't ever walk away. But I got on that people mover 3 times. Photos were not allowed, but the images of all those jewels and stones are ingrained in my memory.
We also spent a day touring the Cutty Sark and going to Greenwich to see the observatory and Greenwich Mean Time. Pictures of these adventures can be seen on my Facebook page.
Enjoying tasty food and cider! Yum.
This blog catches you up until today. Tomorrow is the Jags game! Go Jags!
Blessings!
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