From Northern Ireland we headed 131 nautical miles south and east back to England. We docked on the Mersey River (made famous by the song Ferry Cross the Mersey) right at the city center. I did not know what to expect of Liverpool, but this sophisticated, old (think 1190) maritime city far exceeded my expectations.

We were excited about the forecast of sun and temperatures in the mid-60s since we were booked on a walking tour. No umbrellas and bulky rain coats to tote for the first time in over a week. We immediately regretted our blind acceptance of the forecast however. Rain and wind drenched our optimism parade while we were still in view of the dock. Luckily about an hour into the walk the sun came out.

Our walk centered first on architecture, history, and landmarks. Three huge, old, elegant building known as the Three Graces are front and center on the dock. The White Star Line, builders of the ill-fated Titanic, had their headquarters in town. Houseboats were tied up to docks making up colorful little communities. We passed beautiful bronze statues. One was erected in remembrance of the 4,000 residents who died during the Blitz, another one honors the many who left everything behind and immigrated, and one of a work horse is in appreciation of the valuable contribution to dock work horses provided back in the day. The Umbrella Project had a colorful display of 100+ umbrellas hanging in a small outdoor corridor, and whimsically painted Superlambananas greeted us in the most unexpected spots. An old church had a moving Homeless Jesus statue on a bench in its courtyard.

The second half of our walk centered on the city’s most famous native sons: the Beatles. Our guide’s Mother was a teenager when they were getting started and attended dozens of lunchtime concerts in The place to play at the time, The Cavern. Between February 1961 and August 1963, they played there no less than 292 times! It is in the basement of an old brick warehouse and has low ceilings, interlocking arches, and back then no ventilation. Smoking was allowed; food was served; and dancing was encouraged making it a warm, unpleasant smelling place to spend time but none the less popular. We had a chance to check it out and were surprised by how small the stage is. The Cavern is a music venue to this day.

The Beatles and Merseybeat shone a bright light on Liverpool and it became a much sought after spot on every aspiring musician’s tour. Music was an industry here. Near The Cavern is a large wall of bricks, each with a name of an A-lister who has played here. Think the Drifters, Stevie Wonder, The Who, Queen, Chuck Berry, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart, and loads of others. Near this wall is a plaque titled Liverpool’s Wall of Fame which lists all 58 number one hits by Liverpool-based musicians from 1952 to 2001. Beatles’ hits account for 17 of the 58. Add to that Paul McCartney’s two, John Lennon’s  three, and George Harrison’s two. No wonder the city loves the original Fab Four. It seems fitting then that Liverpool holds the Guinness Book of Records title for being the Capital of Pop meaning more artists with a Liverpool origin have had a number one hit than from any other location.

We ended the tour with a visit to The Beatles Story, a museum of sorts. It does a very good job of telling their story and explaining the influence they had on contemporary music. I was glad I used the restroom before leaving the building because it was decorated like a yellow submarine.

Dan and I enjoyed lunch on the ship and then ran back to spend a couple hours in a museum on the dock. It was beautifully done and we could have stayed longer, but we had to be back on board by 4:30. The ship pulled out with Beatles music blaring from speakers on the dock! Liverpool’s pride in the Fab Four is no secret.

Dinner, as always, was wonderful. Walter came up with another cool seating scheme. At each seat was a card. On each card was a beverage. We were to choose the beverage that described a preference of ours. Ronnie’s was Coke, Cleone’s Jack (Daniels), Dan’s gin and tonic, Hettie’s coffee, Walter’s was What cha got? and I was wine. We each took turns asking questions from the Table Talk box and Dan’s birthday cake made an appearance. Late but a surprise none the less.

The evening ended with a lively song and dance revue.

Before lights out we put away our pounds and got the euros back out.

…FOR THOSE WHO CARE…

The original Superlambanana was a cross between a lamb and a banana. It was yellow.

At it zenith, Liverpool was the center of seven miles of docks!

The world’s first passenger railway line was built in 1830 and ran
from Liverpool to nearby Manchester. A local member of Parliament was killed
soon after, in the first ever railway accident.

Liverpool was the first city in the world to have a lending library, a school of tropical medicine, and an American consul.

Liverpool’s waterfront is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.

We sailed down the long River Clyde out of Glasgow and into the North Sea and moseyed the 87 nautical miles south and west to Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland. We woke to gray skies with the prediction of a high of 63 and 50% chance of rain off and on. It was out first time in Northern Ireland. The big news: we skipped breakfast altogether. Not even coffee and eggs from room service like we had done the last couple of shore days. Good decision because our first stop along the Antrim coast was for tea and scones.

Our guide was knowledgeable as well as a comedian just like all the others. He warmed us up with a few jokes about Americans but mostly broke bad on the Scots. Always with a wicked grin. When he was not being silly he spoke like he was reading from a history text and welcomed our questions. He told us about the ancient system of farming where a field was defined as a space large enough to graze a single cow. Needless to say farms were pretty darn small back then. He went on to tell us about the Vikings who raided monasteries for their treasures and took slaves to trade in foreign ports. In time they quit raiding and came to Ireland to trade for, of all things, butter. After the Vikings lost interest the Normans came from France and finally the English who never left. Just about the time Jamestown was being settled in North America, England slowly began to withdrew its troops from Ireland and in their place created settlements called plantations which, at the king’s insistence, were financed and managed by successful merchants. The merchants needed to profit from this endeavor, of course, and did so by deforestation leaving Northern Ireland the most deforested country in all of Europe. The merchants recruited mostly Scots to immigrate to Ireland and work in the timber.

Between stops our guide continued with one interesting story or tidbit after another. Things like Northern Ireland’s 1.8 million people are far outnumbered by sheep, most of which are exported to France. Saint Patrick is the patron saint of this principally agricultural country that has been part of the United Kingdom since 1922 when it was separated from the Republic of Ireland to its south. The guide clearly has a soft spot for the 100,000 men who were lost to the battle of the North Atlantic during WWII and shared a couple of stories about Americans who went to England to volunteer to help before the United States entered the war. We thoroughly enjoyed all the commentary.

Guide aside, the ride along the Antrim Coast was very pretty. The beaches were either beautiful white sand or a combination of boulders and rocks of black basalt and white limestone. We passed bailed hay protected from the weather by black plastic wrap. Most homes were white or taupe and the towns were neat, tidy, litter free, and charming. We even passed an outdoor laundromat which seemed out of place is this damp, cool  country.

Our first stop for the day was to see Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge which is almost 100 feet above the water. It spans the 20 meters between the mainland and a small island that used to be used as a salmon fishing camp. The fishing must have been great because this camp was 100 feet above the water so a tad inconvenient.

Our second stop was far and away the highlight of the day: the Giant’s Causeway. The visitor center for this UNESCO World Heritage Site had an orientation film that familiarized us with the mythological giant, Finn McCool, who carved four miles of this craggy coastline with upwards of 40,000 interlocking basalt columns. For those more science minded, the film went on to explain that Finn might have had an assist from intense volcanic and geological activity 60 million years ago when successive flows of lava inched toward the coast and cooled when they came in contact with the sea. At first glance we were not impressed, but once we walked down to the beach we were won over by the fact that these stone pillars each have five to seven irregular sides, making them look like carved stepping stones leading from the cliffs into the sea. They range from 15-20 inches in diameter and are as tall as 80 feet. Some are integrated into the cliff side and look like a huge pipe organ.

We had a delicious roast beef and Yorkshire pudding lunch at 3:00 before heading back to the ship. Because our mid-day meal was so late we settled for a snack at the buffet on board for dinner.

Danielle Williams sang and played the piano and sax for us tonight.

…FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH…

The Scots assert that whisky is their gift to mankind. The problem: the Irish confidently assert the same. Seems the key is distillation. Who taught whom this process.
Vikings? Arabians? Traveling monks?
The jury is out.

The Titanic was built in Belfast.

Brothers William and Anthony Traill invented the world’s first electric tramway with the construction of the Giant’s Causeway Tramway in 1883.

Ireland’s cyclists benefited from Belfast-based John Dunlop’s air-filled tubes long before cars made Dunlop tires famous.

Frank Pantridge invented the portable defibrillator in 1966 and has been dubbed the ‘Father of Emergency Medicine.’

 

 

Drizzle, fog, dark clouds, and cool temperatures welcomed us to Glasgow. Our dreariest day so far. On the up side, a bag piper piped us ashore. On the downside it was pouring by the time we left the ship.

Just like her predecessor, our tour guide did not disappoint! She introduced the bus driver and gave us a warm invitation to come to them with any and all suggestions for making our day as wonderful as possible. She followed, very deadpan, with, “In all probability we will do nothing about your requests.” She wove the word wee into her narrative at every opportunity. As in wee stop, wee bit of time, wee snack, wee building, wee baby. We learned that a punch-up is a fist fight and chucking it down means pouring rain.

Our tour started with a short car ferry ride across the Clyde River. On route to today’s destination our witty, wisp of a guide told us about Glasgow’s hay day. Sugar from the Caribbean, in fact, put it on the map and shipbuilding followed. At one time there were a whopping 42 builders along the river. Only 150 people work in the industry today and their jobs are now in jeopardy. We drove past highland cows for which I am now a groupie. They have thick floppy bangs and comically cute babies. Sidebar: a group of highland cows is called a fold. They do well here on the poor quality grass.

The narrow two-lane road hugged one lach after another, some freshwater and some saltwater. We passed Holy Loch and learned that it got its name when a small boat carrying soil from the Holy Land sank during a storm just shy of its destination. Of all things, Holy Loch was home to a Polaris submarine base during the Cold War. There were sheep at every turn as well as beautiful small pastures and fields. We passed a stand of California red woods that had been planted at the entrance to a botanical garden 150 years ago. They seemed to be thriving. From time to time we’d see a sort of bald area on one hill or another. The Funny One explained that Ireland was once covered in wild woodlands made up of slow growing hardwoods. The valuable hardwood is long gone with fast growing softwoods, a cash crop, now in their place. The bald areas are where the trees have been felled and the soil has been left to rest and recover for five years.

The point of our scenic bus ride was to visit Inveraray Castle, home to the 13th Duke and Duchess (a Cadbury [think chocolate] by birth) of Argyll and their three children. Here’s the backstory. Clans ran the show in the highlands for centuries. Clan Campbell was the dominate one in this area and lived and worked out of a fortified castle. About 300 hundred years ago when most of the fighting, plundering, and general warfare gave way to diplomacy, the clan leaders, some of whom were by then lords and dukes, decided to build modern homes (as in small castles) that were not fortified. The leader of Clan Campbell was by this time the head of the second most prominent dukedom in Scotland and addressed as the 3rd Duke of Argyll. He tore down the old castle and started construction of a modern, unfortified home in 1746. Sadly he died. The 4th Duke had no interest in living so remotely and left the unfinished project alone. The 5th Duke not only completed the castle some 40 years later, he also built a small loch-side community right down the road. This charming, small, planned community was built to support the castle and the people who worked in it.

After a quick lunch we explored the narrow streets of Inveraray and then drove across the one-lane bridge to the imposing green stone castle. We explored the beautifully appointed public rooms and found it interesting how the very old, think 1,300 piece of armory, have been integrated with pastel rugs, bright tapestries, and antique furnishings. One of Queen Victoria’s daughters married into the family, so there are gifts from the queen on display. We found of interest a collection of pins that men in the family wore to secure the swath of cloth tossed artfully over their shoulders when they were wearing traditional kilts of days gone by. The old kitchen was so big it looked like a movie set. Three ornate gold sailing ships were on the dining table. These ships had wheels and could be rolled from diner to diner in a self-serve fashion. The lids with their sails, masts, and flags would have been removed to reveal what delight was inside. A similar ship was designed to house a bottle of wine.

The grounds were just as impressive as the interior with beautiful views of water, woodlands, hills, and formal gardens. No other buildings were in sight.

Back on the ship we rallied for cocktails at 5:00 followed by our usual four-course dinner. Oh poor us!

Tonight’s seating was brilliant: Walter used the letters in my name. Going clockwise around the table the person whose name started with an S sat first. Next was the person whose first name started with a C. Next was H. At this point the women were all seated. With me so far? for the E, L, and final E Walter asked the guys to use the 5th letter of their own name and sit at the appropriate spot for that initial. Genius!

This evening’s show highlighting the music and traditional dance of Scotland was fantastic.

FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH

The origin of the kilt is actually Egyptian.

The game we recognize today as golf can be traced back to Scotland in 1457.
The first courses, clubs, and rules came from Scotland
as well as the world’s first tournament (1860).
China and Rome had rudimentary versions of similar games far before that however.

Scotland has a population of 5.4 million.

Glasgow is on the same latitude as Moscow, but the Gulf Stream guarantees no extremes in weather. A hot day is 68 degrees.

Scotland comprises 34% of Britain’s landmass.

 

We all love sea days and squandered this one away by sleeping late, eating basically nonstop, attending a lecture on future cruises, and dinner. The seas were rough this afternoon for a few hours, so we took no chances and found the Dramamine right after lunch. Things calmed down half way through dinner.

Walter outdid himself with the seating arrangement this evening. Working off a Snow White theme he placed a card at each seat and asked us to choose the character that was meant for each of us. Since tonight was a surprise birthday celebration for Dan,  he was meant to sit at the place with the Prince Charming card. As the prince’s special someone I was obviously Snow White. Hettie, the only one in the group with a PhD, was obviously Doc; Ronnie falls asleep literally at the drop of a hat, so he was Sleepy; Walter chose Grumpy for himself which left an unhappy Cleone to sit at the place marked Witch. Walter, what WERE you thinking?

Everyone ate light tonight except me. I started with squash soup, moved onto veal cheeks and polenta (both amazing) and ended with a dessert of ginger bread ice cream and creme brûlée in the shape of an egg sitting on a ginger cookie with a swoosh of meringue and four tiny gelatin cubes decorating the plate. We were anticipating a surprise dessert with a candle and some singing for Dan, but that didn’t materialize, so we assumed the celebration was moved to tomorrow night. As it turned out the dessert part of the celebration had been moved alright, but our butler had not gotten the word, so we came back to a room decorated with balloons, two elephants made out of towels, a card, and a bottle of wine. We’ll find out in time if Dan’s dessert materializes.

Tonight’s conversation cards read as follows:

1) If you owned a boat, what would you name it?
2) Would you choose to be the worst player on a winning team or the best player on a losing team?
3) Which is more important: the respect of your children or the respect of your parents?
4) Is it more important to be book-smart or street-smart?
5) Is science or art more essential to humanity?
6) Who would you like to change places with for one month?
7) What’s the most fun party you ever attended?
8) Are you mentally of physically tougher?
9) Which language would you like to speak fluently?
10) Have you ever bought anything from a TV infomercial?
11) What are the most important qualities in a friend?
12) What’s the secret to staying young?

We continued our 460 nautical mile journey through the night. The seas were calm.

…MORE TRIVIA…

Dolly, the world’s first cloned mammal, was created in 1996 in Edinburgh. She survived six years and is now on display at the National Museum of Scotland.

Driving on the left entered Scottish law in 1772, more than 60 years
before England and Wales adopted it.

Peter Pan was created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie and is based on the author’s older brother, who died at the age of 13.

George Cleghorn, an 18th-century doctor, discovered that quinine could cure malaria. Quinine was typically drunk in tonic water, but it was so bitter
that gin was added to make it more palatable.
Bottoms up!

Eighteenth-century watchmaker Alexander Cummings was the first to patent a design for the flush toilet. In 1775 he also invented the S-trap which uses standing water
to prevent nasty smells backing up out of the sewer.

Welcome to the Highlands of Scotland said the sign visible from the dock in Invergordon. Just like in Dover, they drive on the left in Scotland, spend pounds, and are accustomed to their share of gray days, wind, and rain. Today would prove no exception. From the ship, as a matter of fact, the trees in the distance looked black because of the low, dark cloud cover. Scotland, the land of tartans, Braveheart, clans, kilts, bagpipes, and distilleries (120 legal ones we were told), has more sheep than people. Their national flower is the thistle and their road signs are in Gallic and English. We were excited to explore Scotland for the first time.

After a a quick breakfast in our room we enjoyed a very scenic 40-ish mile ride with a knowledgeable, fun, and funny guide who kept us entertained all day. She started by explaining that Scotland comprises the northern third of the United Kingdom and the highlands comprise the northern third of Scotland. It is too far north for wine grapes but ideal for whisky distilling and small amounts of berry wines and liqueurs. Our guide joked that Scots spell Whisky without an e because they like it neat. She also quipped that any whisky that evaporates during the aging process is considered a gift to the angels.

On our way to our first stop we passed charming farms with sheep (raised for meat, not wool) and horses in the pastures and small villages with homes made of red sandstone, rock, and stucco. Lush ferns carpeted the forest floors as well as the roadsides. The soft purple blossoms from the heather that was in bloom was a nice contrast to all the green. There were stone walls, hedgerows, bales of freshly cut hay, and window boxes. Everywhere we looked was clean, tidy, and just plain oozed charm. The dreary weather seemed to suit the landscape.

Our first stop of the day was on the shores of Loch (lake) Ness, the large, deep, freshwater home of the elusive Loch Ness Monster. Nessie to the locals. We were there to enjoy the ruins of the medieval Urquhart Castle, a stronghold magnificently situated on the water’s edge. Reputed to be the greatest castle of the Scottish Highlands, it was won and lost multiple times over a 500-year period. We climbed the tower to get a view of the large castle grounds and the beautiful lake. A trebuchet was on the grounds to tickle visitors’ imaginations. It is a type of massive catapult used to hurl large stone balls hundred of meters. Built of timber, rope, cord, animal hide, iron, and lead, it could be dismantled and relocated as needed.

From there we were off to Cawdor Castle, backdrop to King Duncan’s death in Macbeth, which is far from a ruin. Urban legend has it older than the first documented date of 1454. No matter, it’s old by anyone’s standard. The last major renovations and additions took place in the 17th and 18th centuries. It is massive, beautifully and comfortably furnished with old and new, has huge tapestries hanging on the walls, is still lived in by the Cawdors, has wonderfully laid out and maintained gardens, and unbelievable views. The family crest over the front door says Be Mindful. A bagpiper was near the car park to bid us a proper farewell.

Between stops we enjoyed a nice lunch, and I think Dan might have even snuck in a little shut-eye on the way back to the ship.

In light of our late lunch and long day we opted for a casual buffet dinner rather than going to the dining room. We were entertained tonight by vocalist Hanna Goodman who definitely had a beautiful voice. We all agreed, however, that her skirt, which was open almost the full length of both thighs, was a huge distraction.

…FAMOUS SCOTS… 

Scotsman Robert Burns wrote “Auld Lang Syne” in 1788.

Andrew Carnegie, son of a weaver, left Scotland in 1848 at the age of 13 and
became a billionaire steel magnate.

Sir James Y. Simpson, a professor of midwifery, experimented with chloroform and went on to use it as an anesthetic to ease the pain of childbirth, which lead it
to be accepted in modern medicine.

Scottish scientist James Maxwell presented the world with its first
color photograph – of a tartan ribbon – in 1861.

In 1880 Dr Henry Faulds, a Scottish surgeon working in Japan, published
his idea of recording fingerprints with ink, and was the first
to identify fingerprints left on a glass bottle.

 

Seas were calm as we inched the 556 nautical miles to the next port. The day flew by in large part because we didn’t roll out of bed until 11:00. On the upside, we’re finally feeling as if we’ve gotten ahead of the jet lag.

Our first meal of the day was a light lunch at the al fresco healthy buffet. It was followed immediately by a minute steak and fries for Dan at the every-man, fun buffet. We pushed away from the table in time for the Fly Boys’ terrific encore afternoon performance. Their take on Beyoncé, Pharrell, Sinatra, and the Jungle Book were high energy and fun! We zipped off to tea from there for another scone smothered in strawberry jam and clotted cream which pretty much lead up to cocktails in a large lounge in the front of the ship overlooking the water.

It was dressy night in the dining room, so we spent a little longer primping before heading to the dining room for dinner. The cruise buddies arranged a 50th anniversary celebration with a cute little anniversary cake for each of us. The waitstaff even sang happy anniversary. Tonight’s table topic was why each of us thought we’d managed to stay married for 50 years. Walter’s seating arrangement placed Dan and me at opposite ends of the table.

From dinner we went to the Broadway-themed cabaret show and stayed on for Steve Womack’s funny encore performance at 10:30.

After our low-key, food- and entertainment-centered day, we flopped into bed with full stomachs and a new resolve to get ahead of our food addictions.

 

 

 

We pulled back the drapes this morning to a spectacular view of the iconic White Cliffs of Dover. These chalk cliffs run for eight miles, are 350 feet high, and have been featured in numerous movies and songs dating back to Shakespeare’s King Lear. I think of them as a sort of Statue of Liberty in this part of England in that you know you’ve arrived once they are in sight. 

Just for grins we decided to weigh in this morning. Silly idea.

We choose to spend the day exploring Leeds Castle, which dates back to 1119, and it’s magnificent gardens and stately grounds. The immense, regal castle is situated on islands in a small lake and made quite an impression as we meandered out of the gardens to find it looming in front of us. It has been occupied for nine centuries and owned by six medieval queens as well as Henry the VIII. It has obviously been well cared for with some areas renovated into totally modern spaces and others looking as they did hundreds of years ago. A fun story about the castle is that a wealthy American lady wanted to buy and improve it, but the locals said this would not be allowed because they felt it best that the owner be a local or at the very least married to a local. So, Lady Baillie dumped husband number one, found a local to marry, bought the castle in 1926, and transformed it into a magnet for the rich and famous of her time. Cue applause for this force to be reckoned with. Sidebar: Lady Baillie divorced the local and later married a Scotsman with the family name Baillie. 

We stopped briefly in Canterbury (as in Canterbury Tales) on the way back to the ship to have a brief look at the oldest (think 600) cathedral in all of the United Kingdom. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Anglican Church, and years ago one of Europe’s most important pilgrimage centers. The buildings surrounding the cathedral prevent seeing it in its entirety from the outside, so once inside we were surprised by how huge and imposing it is. 

Getting to and from these two sights we drove through farmland on roads originally laid out by the Romans. Most fields were small to accommodate the rotation of cereal crops (wheat, barley, oats) that the Brits collectively refer to as corn. (What we call corn they call maize.) Hops used to be a thriving crop. We passed some former drying sheds as well as dwellings for hoppers, the laborers who harvested the hops. We got a grin out of driving through Sandwich and hearing how the Earl of that area came up with his namesake meal-between-two-pieces-of-bread.

We were a bit chilled after being out all day, so we stopped in Michael’s Club for tea and succumbed to the temptation of a scone with mounds of jam and embarrassing amounts of clotted cream. A shower and quick change had us at cocktails at 5:00 where Walter facilitated a fun guess-who-sang-this and name-that-tune quiz. A delicious multi-course dinner followed at 6:00 with a cake and singing in honor of Ronnie’s 74th birthday. Knowing this was coming, Walter had a seating arrangement with Ronnie presiding at one end of the table and his lady at the other.

Tonight’s entertainment featured a British comedian, Steve Womack, who sang beautiful, poignant songs he had written which were in sharp contrast to the laugh-out-loud jokes and stories he told. We thoroughly enjoyed him.

It’s nearly impossible to believe, but laughing seems to work up an appetite because we grabbed a snack at the buffet on our way to bed. Shame on all of us! Jelly beans and watermelon for me and jelly beans and ice cream for Dan. Why did we bother weighing in this morning? 

 

 

Our little cruise group has unanimously titled Hettie the Cruise Director for good reason: she thinks of everything! The hotel she chose, for example, is located on the dock. When we woke up this morning Celebrity Reflection was docked right out the back door! That meant we could sleep late and just walk on board when the mood struck. She also kept track of price shifts as the sail date approached. We originally booked verandas, but when suites went on sale just ahead of the cruise we all jumped on it and now have access to a special lounge (Michael’s Club) and fine-dining restaurant (Luminae). Hettie’s attention to detail does not disappoint!

Our cruise director had us organized and ready to board as soon as possible, which went without a hitch. When a hostess saw our suite access cards she pulled us aside and escorted us to Michael’s Club where we were invited to wait until our rooms were ready. We thanked her for the special treatment, but as soon as she was out of sight, we made a beeline for the sumptuous lunch buffet.

Our suites were ready around 1:00. Everyone but me (late luggage) was unpacked and had everything put away before the 4:00 safety drill. From the safety drill we went for cocktails and from there to dinner in our beautiful dining room.

Walter volunteered to be in charge of dinner seating for the cruise. (We like to mix it up so we’re not by the same person each night.) To kick things off he placed a small card at each place with a key word on it. We were each to decide which one referred to us and sit there. Cleone’s word was matriarch, Hettie’s was director, Dan’s traveler, Ronnie’s fixer, Walter’s tinkerer, and mine was contractor.

I am in charge of table topics for the cruise. To kick things off we started with this question: What good news have you had in the last week or so. Dan and I knocked it out of the park and took everyone by surprise with the news that we are going to be first-time grandparents early next year! 

Dinner was delicious! Besides having as many courses as we want, there was also an amuse bouche to kick things off and sorbet to cleanse our palettes before dessert. We waddled out of the dining room.

We set sail at 5:00 and three hours and a few locks later ended the long trek out to the open water of the North Sea. I did not realize Amsterdam was tucked so far inland. 

The Fly Boys were the entertainment tonight and performed with great enthusiasm. Popular tunes meets four-part harmony meets swing meets big band … with a seven-piece orchestra backing them up. We thoroughly enjoyed them!

Before going to bed Dan and I set our watches back an hour, packed away our euros, and got out pounds in preparation for our first port tomorrow. We had a whopping 171 nautical miles to cover before dawn.

NOTE

A nautical mile is a unit of distance used for air and sea travel.
It is equal to 1.151 miles.

We woke to intermittent heavy rain and 60 degrees. After fortifying ourselves with a hearty (free) breakfast we braved the weather. At the recommendation of Cleone and Emily, we had booked tickets (10:45) for the Van Gogh Museum and did not want to miss our slot. The concierge explained how easy it is to take either streetcar #2 or #12 almost to the front door, so we headed out and sure enough, it was a breeze. 3.20 Euro each. We made such good time, in fact, that we snuck in a coffee and cake before our time slot. We chose a cafe nearby in case the rain started up again, and sure enough, it was pouring for our two-minute walk back to the museum.

We know very little about art and famous artists, so we went straight to the auditorium for a 25-minute presentation on Vincent van Gogh. I enjoyed it thoroughly and Dan slept through the whole thing. Three hours after entering the museum, we were amazed that a 47 year old man who suffered terribly from mental illness, was never successful enough to fully support himself in spite of creating 2,100 works, and whose work was not popular in his day now merits a huge, beautiful museum dedicated to his work and his sad-in-many-ways story. Paintings with a particular appeal to me were The Potato Eaters, Sunflowers, his many self portraits in hats, The Bedroom in Arles, and Farmhouse in Provence. 

Saturated with all things Van Gogh (thanks to wonderful headsets), we headed back to the hotel confident we would have no problem retracing out steps, because all we had to do was follow the tram tracks. An hour into the walk back we decided to check Google Maps to see where in the heck we had gone wrong only to find out we had six kilometers (0.6 km = 1 mile) to go factoring in backtracking. Why not jump back on the ole tram, it being so easy and all? We didn’t know which one would take us in the right direction. Hail a cab? We didn’t see a single one. 19,000 steps into the day, our dogs were barking when we finally walked through the doors of the hotel!

Our walk took us past a few Interesting-sounding museums: Museum of Bags and Purses, Prostitution Museum, two diamond museums, and the Rijksmuseum. Sadly we didn’t have time for any of them. We did see our share of scenic canals though, thousands of bicycles, interesting monuments, houseboats galore, and fun architecture. The only downside was the graffiti and small items of trash in the streets and on the sidewalks.

The reason we are in Amsterdam in the first place is to take a cruise. Just as we were getting on the tram this morning, Hettie, Ronnie, Walter, and Cleone, our cruise buddies,  were arriving at the hotel. They joined us for a casual dinner in the hotel bar. Boy were we happy they did not want to walk to a nearby restaurant!

FUN FACTS

The Netherlands is the most densely populated country in the world.

The Dutch are the second biggest (after Scandinavia) coffee consumers in the world.

Amsterdam has more canals than Venice!

The Netherlands is home to the world’s first stock exchange.

The narrowest house in Amsterdam has a facade one meter wide!

The trip is off to a very positive start. We were 90% packed ahead of time, woke up to wonderful weather, had great traffic to the airport, got checked in luckity split thanks to our 1K status with United, and enjoyed light snacks in the lounge before boarding our 5:30 nonstop flight. Seven hours, six time zones, and one multi-course meal later we landed. Immigration was a snap; luggage was a breeze; and Dan located a hotel shuttle on the fly. 18.5 Euro each.

We checked into the Movenpick Hotel Amsterdam City Center and …believe it or not… were told our room was ready. Not only that, it is on the executive level, overlooks the water, and comes with breakfast, all-day access to the Executive Lounge, and free amenities from our minibar. We are paying with points, so we can only assume this special service is part of the agreement with American Express. Anyway, we took advantage of the lounge immediately by going up for breakfast. I love Dutch butter and cheese, so I focused on those two treats plus some amazing cooked mushrooms, ho-hum potatoes, coffee, and juice. The one surprise on the breakfast buffet was tiny boxes of chocolate sprinkles, milk and dark, to put on toast. We are bringing a few home to try.

Our day was wide open, so after taking a short nap we got our bearings and headed out. Come to find out it’s only a 10-minute walk to the main rail terminal which is across the street from the old city center. We strolled the streets enjoying the architecture, canals, and vast variety of fellow pedestrians. Dan was in the mood to shop, so we ambled in and out of stores seeing what was on offer. We opted to walk on side streets for the most part in order to avoid the souvenir shops. Dan bought a much-needed pair of tennis shoes and four sweater vests—his fashion signature piece. We stopped for hot fries at a popular takeaway stand, saw a mini- (seven-step) escalator, countless bicycles, and meticulously maintained, dedicated bicycle lanes with their own tiny stop lights.

It was time for our free happy hour (in the Executive Lounge) at the hotel before we knew it. Knowing snacks would be served, we decided to offset the price of the vests by making happy hour our evening meal. Just kidding. I would have sprung for the vests no matter, since this is Dan’s 70th celebration. We did make it our evening meal though and then headed to the room to get organized for bed after a super first day!

FUN FACTS

Dutch people are the tallest people in the world.

Almost 25% of the Netherlands is below sea level!

Holland’s famous tulips were originally imported from Turkey! Who knew?

The Netherlands is the largest beer exporter in the world. Again…who knew?

Approximately 30% of all Dutch babies are born at home. Say what?