Formal Dining On The Royal Princess

Friday evening on board the Royal Princess the dining attire was formal. Most men wore suits but we enjoy dressing in our tuxedos. Today we're going to be on tour near Cork, Ireland.

Scenes From St. Peter Port, Guernsey, UK

We braved the rain today to savor a bit of the UK Channel Islands...Guernsey...a charming seaport with a picture post card waterfront. Also in town we found a unique Gothic chapel with origins in the 10th or 11th century. The main attraction is, of course, shopping on the main commercial street in town. With better weather we would have done more, but you have to do the best you can in spite of conditions. We returned to the ship early and enjoyed a nice nap before cocktails and dinner on the first of two formal dress evenings on board the Royal Princess.

Royal Princess Atrium

Two views of the multi-level atrium of the beautiful new Royal Princess. This is the ship's inaugural season.

Guernsey, UK

As in our previous sailing from Southampton (a few years ago, for a trans-Atlantic crossing on the Queen Mary II,) the customs and security screening was extremely slow. Once on board, we had a late lunch in the cafe, and then settled into our cabin to unpack. Jim took advantage of the gym to work out, while Dan finished reading his book by Gail Tsukiyama, about the difficult period in Chinese history known as the "Hundred Flowers." Then we joined a couple of other passengers at the LGBT cocktail period in the Crooners Lounge. But dining late was not easy, as the ship, the Royal Princess is on its inaugural year, and the staff seemed uncertain where to place us in the Concerto dining room. The food and wine (a Pinot Noire from California) were excellent, including a creamed artichoke soup, pasta with chicken (for Dan only), and a fine chocolate/hazelnut souffle which we both liked. This morning we are in the harbor of St. Peter Port, the capital of the channel isle of Guernsey. It's foggy, but not raining so we hope to walk around the town before the ship leaves here at 2:15 PM. -Dan

In Transit

We left London this morning by bus travelling to Southampton to board the Royal Princess. The sunny weather in London is gone. Hopefully the rain will let up as we sail to the Channel Islands this evening. Photos: Trafalgar Square and St. Martin In The Fields.

London: New Adventures And Favorite Treasures

The main event of today was visiting the State Apartments in Buckingham Palace. Most of them were designed in the first half of the 19th century by the great architect John Nash. They humble most palaces, and the only rivals were could think of were the Hermitage in St. Petersburg and Versailles. Jim's photos reveal these magnificent rooms in their splendor, but he had to take them from photo in the souvenir guide, since photography is not allowed at the Palace. Some of the art works in the Royal Collections were on display, and include some of the greatest works by Rubens, Canaletto, Vermeer and Rembrandt. After the visit we went to an old favorite attraction, the National Gallery. Sadly, two thirds of the museum is closed because of a strike by museum personnel since February, but we were still able to enjoy masterpieces by many of the greats of art history, including Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Gauguin, Seurat and Van Gogh. And we had a terrific, full lunch in the dining room. Then we took the underground to Lambeth North to visit the rather strange Imperial War Museum. We're not fans of war, but the relics are very popular. I liked Sargent's large mural "Gassed" one of the most famous WW I pictures. We ended the afternoon's activities by visiting the British Museum to see an exhibit of the Rothschild Renaissance decorative arts, and the celebrated Parthenon Marbles by Phidias and his workshop. In the evening we dined at Nizuni, another favorite restaurant in Fitzrovia, a very bustling and exciting part of central London. Jim had 'Hotate scallops" with spinach, and then a delicious spicy mackeral. Dan enjoyed a delicate sliced yellowtail sashimi with a truffle oil, followed by a marinated and grilled black cod; the desserts were a chocolat fondant cake and a remarkable, subtle chestnut cake with green tea ice cream. -Dan

Back in Bloomsberry

We arrived late in London on Tuesday since our plane had been delayed leaving Philadelphia and left only at 11 PM. It was great to be back in this beautiful city; it's regal, full of a refined sensibility and British grandeur that is best not taken for granted. Parks are interspersed with the red brick and granite buildings in graceful patterns. The beauty of the city is not proclaimed as often as it is for places like Rome or Paris, but this more subtle architectural and city planning stand out in a special way all its own. After a short rest at the Hotel Russell, we took the tube to the Victoria and Albert Museum. Jim hadn't been there in a long time and was surprised at how the huge museum (60,000 objects) has been remodeled and modernized. We particularly enjoyed the Turner and Constable paintings, the amazing hoard of jewelry from ancient to contemporary, the murals painted by Lord Leighton, the cast courts (full of gigantic plaster versions of great old European sculptural monuments) and the building itself. The great Victorian building is full of lunette ceilings, architectural details and its own broad symmetry.After a stop back at the hotel, we headed to Fitzrovia where we had a great dinner at Tsunami, one of our favorite places that we equally enjoyed two years on our last visit here. Some of the highlights were a junmai daigingo sake, Goma nasa (peanut sauce on eggplant), steamed sea bass, unagi (sweet eel for the uninitiated) and a delicate panna cotta for dessert. This morning we're headed off to a couple of new attractions and lunch at the National Gallery. Stay tuned for our second report on wonderful London.-Dan

Enjoying London

The Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington has a variety of fine and decorative arts.We had a surprise upgrade of our British Airways Boing 787 flight seats...what a nice aircraft with so many new bells and whistles. London is packed with tourists but there is always so much to see and do. Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

It's Been Tough

A friend on one of the heart valve disease web sites that I frequent just lost his longtime canine companion. I posted a sympathy note for him. I said: "No amount of preparation or understanding on an intellectual level that it was time seems to help with the pain associated with the loss of our little companions. I lost my Bradley while I was in the hospital recovering from OHS in February. I didn't get to say that final goodbye or hold him one last time. After I fought my way back from the depths of my sickness post OHS...that is when the loss of Bradley finally hit me. I've been depressed about it for three months now. Post OHS cardiac depression is bad enough by itself, but so much more devastating combined with the loss of a 13-1/2 year old sweet companion. I see him everywhere we went together, I still talk to him on walks, I look for him on the shore when I swim in the ocean. But he's not there. Sometimes I take comfort in things I read. Usually the comfort is momentary, but some relief if only briefly. I'm trying to decide about adopting another dog now." It's been tough on me and tough on Dan, this depression. Maybe adding another dog to my life will help. Photo: portulaca from our deck garden.

Orchid Excitement

Got an orchid from friends in March when I was convalescing from surgery. The blooms faded but I brought the plant out to the summer cottage and found a nice spot for it. Looks like I'll be rewarded with a second set of blossoms soon.