Sea Day Number One

Today was the first of our sea days and we were very happy to have a more liesurly pace after a busy week. The weather was gorgeous today. Very sunny. We enjoyed breakfast and then enjoyed the views before heading to the gym (much needed after all the good food and drink!). We enjoyed lunch at the buffet and then headed outside to enjoy the views.

There are many quiet places on our ship to sit and relax. I really liked that. In the evening we had dinner at the main dinning room and then went to a bourbon tasting. We got to taste a couple of bourbons we hadn't trued before. It was a lot of fun!

Then it was time to rest up for a busy day tomorrow! Travel hack: Most cruise ship walls are made of metal. We brought magentic hooks to hang jackets abd hats from to give us a little more organization.

Beautiful Geiranger

Yesterday was a long, but fantastic day. After a night of extremely rough seas, we woke up to the calm in the fjord ready to moor in Geiranger. This town only has 300 people year round. The town swells for the summer tourist season. It was cool and gray. Our first excursion was kayaking in the fjord. It was spectacular! The green water was very calm and warmer than we thought. Our guide Pontus was very knowledgeable.

It did rain on us, but it was still amazing. We still have a lot of cruise to go but we already know this will be a highlight. After a quick lunch and shower, we headed back on shore to go on a bus tour around the area. We navigated up the mountain to Eagle's Bend where the views were fantastic.

We then went the opposite way to get a great view of Geiranger and then to a lake further inland.

After that it was back to the ship. We headed down to the Nordic Spa after our long day and it was just what we needed. It is a definite perk having it on the ship! We ate at the other specialty restaurant, Manfredi's. It was very good. Travel hack: Bring a lanyard for your key card. You will always be able to find it!

Bergen Highlights and Bumpy Seas

Our boat stayed in Bergen today and Darren and I started off on seperate excursions this morning. Darren went on an e-bike tour of Bergen. Darren enjoyed the views and the liesurely pace.

I went on a Mount Floien hike. We started up the finicular that took us half way up. We got off for a few photos. The views were fantastic. You could see most of Bergen and the fjord beyond. The troll is very famous.

Here is our boat from afar.

The hike ended up being about 8 km. It was a gentle slope up and the weather cooperated! Bergen gets rain 265 days a year, but not today! Here is the view from the top.

Darren and I met back at the ship where we had some Norwegian bites for lunch and to run some laundry. Travel tip: The laundry was very busy on embarkation day. We decided to wait a day and found it way less busy. For the afternoon we did a walking tour of Bergen. We go to see the Brigin port buildings, the fish market and the fortress.

Then it was all aboard to sail out! We enjoyed cocktails in the Explorer's Lounge as we sailed through the fjords out of Bergen.

We had a great dinner in the main restaurant with good conversation with a few other passengers. The North Sea proved to be bunmpy. We tried to go for a hot tub soak but everythong was closed. We retreated to our cabin to endure the bumpy waves. We felt fine as we headed to bed. Fingers crossed!!

Ticket to Norway

Today we were up early to head to Bergen. Gatwick airport was very busy so we were glad we got there early. We were only a little delayed taking off from London.

When we got to Bergen, we went through passport control fairly quickly but our luggage took a little longer. We then got on the Flybussen to the port. It took us through the city and stopped a few places. It was only a short walk to our boat. Embarkation was very easy and our stateroom was ready, so we decided to take our own luggage on board. As soon as you board you have to check in at your muster point. It only took a few minutes. You also have to watch a short safety video in your room.

We unpacked a few things and then decided to get some lunch. Travel tip: On embarkation day, if possible, skip the buffet and try one of the other restaurants. They are often much less busy.

Next it was time to get unpacked for the next 2 weeks. What we love about cruising is that you can unpack once and you are not living out of a suitcase. Of course we had to have happy hour and I enjoyed my old standby, an Aperol spritz.

For dinner, we were able to snag an extra reservation at the Chef's Table. As soon as we got on board we downloaded the app to make extra reservatoins at the 2 specialty restaurants. Today was an Asian inspired menu and it was fantastic. Darren and I are big fans of tasting menus and the pairings were excellent.

Here is one more of todays's pictures.

Off the Beaten Path

For our second full day on London, we decided to explore more of the city we had not seen. We have always stayed in the center to be close to the famous things to do in London. Today we went the opposite way and took a long stroll down the Thames into Chelsea and Hammersmith boroughs. Because it was Sunday, it was very quiet on the streets and by going the way opposite of all the attractions we were able to walk freely without all the crowds.

After walking for awhile, we decided to go for brunch in Chelsea. We found a little cafe called Charlotte's Cloud. This cafe seemed pretty typical of the area with a small seating area and also catering to take away orders. The coffee was excellent and so was the food. I had smashed avocado on sourdough and Darren had pancakes and bacon. They were not what we think of as pancakes, they were thicker and more like biscuits. Darren really enjoyed them.

We then continued to explore and worked our way to Putney Bridge station in the early afternoon to head back to the area around Victoria station. Next we decided we'd earned a pint (or 2!) with all that walking. We went to the Duke of York pub, NOT named after the current duke! I had the apple cider on tap and Darren started with a cherry fruit beer (to quote, "it was lovely") and he also had an extra stout. We also took a picture of the inside to show the feel of many pubs, dark and lots of wood.

Of course we could not come to London and skip afternoon tea. We booked at our hotel, the Clermont. We have had tea there before and loved it. It did not dissapoint. My favourite part is always the scones and clotted cream.

As we have an early flight the Bergen out of Gatwick airport tomorrow, we decided to book a hotel at the airport to avoid the Monday rush, and to get a little more sleep. We prebooked our tickets on the Gatwick Express. It took about 30 minutes.

Tomorrow we are off to Norway to board our boat! Travel tip: If you are planning on taking trains in Europe, staying at the station makes it very easy to get to your train with all your luggage. We have found many great hotels around train stations.

My Favourite City

We are back in London! My favourite city in the whole world! Being a British history major, everything in London is my thing. I love all the places you can go, so rich with history and Darren and I are huge fans of the pubs. This is our forth time here and we have seen all the big sites, so this time we decided to focus on just enjoying the city itself. We arrived yesterday after a direct flight. When here, we always take the London transit. It is very efficient and easy to navigate. We made it to cental London easily and found our hotel conviently located right next to Victoria station.

Surprisingly, it had a rotary dial phone! And it works! I wonder if my boys could figure out how to use it!

After getting checked in, we got back on the Tube and headed to the British Museum. We only went through a few sections as it is a huge museum and we were very jetlagged! There are so many things to see there.

Next we decided it was time for dinner and found Two Brewers pub. We of course had to have fish and chips and cider. During our last visits, we have come to love the ciders you can get here. We always like to enjoy them while sitting at a pub soaking up the atmosphere. Our favourite is Old Mout. We had the kiwi and lime and both loved it. Darren also tried the pineapple and strawberry (I am not a pineapple fan).

Then it was time for bed after an extremely long day. Today, we did more exploring. We decided to walk along the Thames to Bourough Market. It was about an hour walk with a couple stops along the way. I of course had to get a picture with one of my favourite Prime Ministers, Sir Robert Peel.

At Bourough Market we walked around taking it all in. We decided to treat ourselves to a fresh strawberry lemonade, made with real strawberries.

After walking all morning, we needed lunch. We found Blackfriars Pub. There we enjoyed a couple different ciders they had on tap and Darren had a meat pie.

We got on Tube to head to Buckingham Palace. We had been before, but decided to see it again. It is pretty majestic. Our favourite room was the ballroom, where they host state dinners. Darren liked all the 16 foot couches on the main level. No pictures are allowed inside but we did get one picture outside the back, while in the gardens.

We then went for a walk in St. James's park. After that we headed for a pint at Bag O Nails Pub (I love all the pub names). For dinner we went to The Market. Here you can order from a number of places like a food court. It was definitly a younger crowd there. Then we were back at the room to rest up for tomorrow. Here are a couple more pictures from today's adventures.

Travel tip: Having an email account that you can easily access, that is dedicated to travel, and that keeps all emails accessible, no matter how old is helpful.