MEDITERRANIAN TO SOUTHHAMPTON AND RETURN TO NY, Posted 4/27/2008
As soon as we exited the Suez Canal and headed into the Mediterranean, we knew we were really on our way home! The European ports from Athens to Lisbon were familiar to us from previous visits. Unfortunately, the Euro is sky-high right now ($1.60 US) so we were glad that we had planned ahead and did our shopping in India and Vietnam where the dollar still goes a long way.
Our first Euro stop was Athens where we hiked up to Acropolis Hill with Ginny and Damon early in the morning before the hordes of tourist buses arrived. On the way up, we had an awesome moment as we stood on Mars Hill across from the Acropolis where Paul preached to the Athenians about the one true God amid all the temples to their other gods. (Appropriately, Captain Wells on the Queen Mary 2 read that very passage this morning in our church service.) Miraculously, we got a great picture in front of the Parthenon without anyone else in it. Tied up at the dock in Piraeus, we were amazed to find the Aegean 1 docked right beside us! This was the ship which took us on the Millennium world cruise in 1999-2000. It has been docked the past few years in Piraeus to undergo extensive refurbishment, but we did get a chance to board her and look around—a very nostalgic moment remembering all those good times with all the great people we sailed with eight years ago.
In Naples we took a ferry across the bay to enjoy a magical day on the Isle of Capri. We explored the island, took the chair lift to the peak for spectacular views, and enjoyed pizza at its Neapolitan birthplace. In Rome it was great to see a friend and fellow organist of Marilyn’s, Curt Sather. Curt moved to Florence in 2006 to join the Benedictine order at the beautiful San Miniato Al Monte Basilica and Monastery overlooking the Arno River. He and his friend, Roberto, took us on a delightful walking tour of Rome where we saw beautiful churches, architecture and art which we hadn’t seen in our previous visits. In Barcelona we walked the old Gothic Quarter and strolled up and down The Ramblas from the Christopher Columbus monument. Sailing to Lisbon, we enjoyed getting together for lunch with friends from our first world cruise, Marie-Odette Littmann and Stan Ryon. In Lisbon we retraced our steps from before, visiting the Castle, riding the quaint trolleys, and enjoying the monumental public squares. That night Cunard threw a huge celebration dinner for all of the World Cruisers at Campo Pequeno (bullfight arena), complete with silver candelabras, seven-course dinner, unending flow of wine and liquor, and even the CEO of Cunard. It was a fitting celebration to mark a great world cruise. In Southampton we transferred to the Queen Mary 2 (fortunately our 18 bags went directly from our cabin on the Victoria to our QM2 cabin). As we sailed out of the harbor with hundreds of small boats and multitudes on the shore, everyone saw the Three Queens for the last time in the same place—Queen Elizabeth 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Mary 2. The trip across the Atlantic has seen mostly rough water and gale-force winds, but this ship can really cut through the waves at high speed. And the Queen Mary 2 is always a joy to be aboard.
Tomorrow morning before sunrise, Lady Liberty will be waiting to greet us back into the USA as we enter New York Harbor. We’re almost home! We look forward to our return to all of our friends in Scottsdale and especially looking forward to seeing the Fennesseys who are picking the Gustafsons and us up in New York (along with our 25 bags)!
Our first Euro stop was Athens where we hiked up to Acropolis Hill with Ginny and Damon early in the morning before the hordes of tourist buses arrived. On the way up, we had an awesome moment as we stood on Mars Hill across from the Acropolis where Paul preached to the Athenians about the one true God amid all the temples to their other gods. (Appropriately, Captain Wells on the Queen Mary 2 read that very passage this morning in our church service.) Miraculously, we got a great picture in front of the Parthenon without anyone else in it. Tied up at the dock in Piraeus, we were amazed to find the Aegean 1 docked right beside us! This was the ship which took us on the Millennium world cruise in 1999-2000. It has been docked the past few years in Piraeus to undergo extensive refurbishment, but we did get a chance to board her and look around—a very nostalgic moment remembering all those good times with all the great people we sailed with eight years ago.
In Naples we took a ferry across the bay to enjoy a magical day on the Isle of Capri. We explored the island, took the chair lift to the peak for spectacular views, and enjoyed pizza at its Neapolitan birthplace. In Rome it was great to see a friend and fellow organist of Marilyn’s, Curt Sather. Curt moved to Florence in 2006 to join the Benedictine order at the beautiful San Miniato Al Monte Basilica and Monastery overlooking the Arno River. He and his friend, Roberto, took us on a delightful walking tour of Rome where we saw beautiful churches, architecture and art which we hadn’t seen in our previous visits. In Barcelona we walked the old Gothic Quarter and strolled up and down The Ramblas from the Christopher Columbus monument. Sailing to Lisbon, we enjoyed getting together for lunch with friends from our first world cruise, Marie-Odette Littmann and Stan Ryon. In Lisbon we retraced our steps from before, visiting the Castle, riding the quaint trolleys, and enjoying the monumental public squares. That night Cunard threw a huge celebration dinner for all of the World Cruisers at Campo Pequeno (bullfight arena), complete with silver candelabras, seven-course dinner, unending flow of wine and liquor, and even the CEO of Cunard. It was a fitting celebration to mark a great world cruise. In Southampton we transferred to the Queen Mary 2 (fortunately our 18 bags went directly from our cabin on the Victoria to our QM2 cabin). As we sailed out of the harbor with hundreds of small boats and multitudes on the shore, everyone saw the Three Queens for the last time in the same place—Queen Elizabeth 2, Queen Victoria and Queen Mary 2. The trip across the Atlantic has seen mostly rough water and gale-force winds, but this ship can really cut through the waves at high speed. And the Queen Mary 2 is always a joy to be aboard.
Tomorrow morning before sunrise, Lady Liberty will be waiting to greet us back into the USA as we enter New York Harbor. We’re almost home! We look forward to our return to all of our friends in Scottsdale and especially looking forward to seeing the Fennesseys who are picking the Gustafsons and us up in New York (along with our 25 bags)!
Last night we calculated that in the last 17 years we have spent 382 nights on ships around the world! Here’s a flashback of some of our fondest memories over the last 106 days on this World
Cruise:
New York – Best Broadway play (Jersey Boys)
Port Everglades— Best shopping for storage cabinets
Oranjestad, Aruba – Best white sand beach
Panama Canal – Best daylight transit (The Aegean I went through at night!)
Puntarenas, Costa Rica – Best zip-line adventure
Acapulco, Mexico – Best beer at 9:30 AM watching the cliff divers
Manzanillo, Mexico – Best visit to Mary Clemens’ vacation house
Los Angeles, California – Best studio tour (Universal)
Honolulu, Hawaii – Best Mai Tai with the Fennesseys at the Halekalani
Pago Pago, American Samoa – Best 65th birthday for Don at Barefoot Beach Bar
Lautoka, Fiji – Best port to cancel in the future
Auckland, New Zealand – Best port to visit friends from Pitcairn (Betty & Darlene Christian)
Napier, New Zealand – Largest crowds per capita that came out to greet us (plus an air show)
Wellington, New Zealand – Best museum visit
Melbourne, Australia – Best Australian vineyard tour
Sydney, Australia – Best sail away of the century saluting QV &QE2 with huge flotilla escort
Brisbane, Australia – Best drive in drenching rain to the Gold Coast and vineyard with Rob Thomas
Port Douglas, Australia – Absolute best snorkeling in the world on the Great Barrier Reef (gets the Gold Medal for our best day in port)
Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia – Best combination island beach with jungle hike
Hong Kong – Best city walking tour and busiest container port
Da Nang (Hoi Ahn), Vietnam – Best taxi driver and best bargains of the cruise
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) (Phu My), Vietnam—Best danger in dodging motorcycles
Bangkok (Laem Chabang) – Best yacht club and beach house visit with Peter Feddersen and Daraluk.
Ko Samui – Best island taxi tour
Singapore – Best orchid gardens and delightful guide
Kaula Lampur (Port Kelang), Malaysia – Best twin towers and pewter factory
Penang, Malaysia – Best visit to a snake temple
Chennai (Madras) – Best temple tour tiptoeing through muddy water
Cochin, India – Best missed port (we were off the ship on an overland tour of India)
Delhi, India – Best rickshaw ride through Old Delhi
Agra, India – Best monumental experience viewing the Taj Mahal
Jaipur, India – Best elephant ride and palace hotel
Mumbai (Bombay), India – Best outdoor laundry (largest in the world)
Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Best example of how much money sheiks have to spend
Salalah, Oman – Best visit to ancient biblical lands
Safaga (Luxor/Karnak), Egypt – Best monuments to the Pharaohs’ civilization
Athens (Piraeus), Greece – Best repeat city visit
Naples, Italy – Best chair lift ride to the top of Isle de Capri
Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy – Best city walk with our friend who recently joined a Florence Monastery
Barcelona, Spain – Best wine buy (3 Euros)
Lisbon, Portugal – Best World Cruise celebration dinner in a bull ring
Southampton, England – Best view (for the last time) of the three Queens together—QV. QM2 & QE2
New York (Brooklyn) – Best sail-in to USA
Of course the thing that makes a cruise great is being with friends, old and new. So we say thank you to our friends who shared this special experience with us; “Old” friends—Barbara & Dan Christy, Jane & Dennis Fennessey, Ruthanne & Larry Gustafson, Marie-Odette & Stan Ryon, and Christine Villard; plus “new” friends Susan & Chuck Bridges, Christine & Ernie Chamberlain, John & Denice Foley, Reet & Leo Goercke, Virginia Knight & Damon Martin and Susan & Barry Wescombe. Thanks for the wonderful memories and adventures—stay in touch!
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