Dec 27/08 NYE Western Cruise - Really New Thread

[Aisling]

Cory has been begging me to book another cruise. He said it was the best vacation he ever had. It's hard for his parents to take vacations because of their jobs...both health care facility administrators. I told Cory don't worry, we'll cruise again.

Tomorrow night we're going over to their house for Passover (SIL is Jewish), and we always enjoy the whole beautiful ritual. I'll have to leave early, by 9 or 10, to get a few hours sleep before leaving for the airport at 5 AM. What a difference going to Florida where we get to the airport 30 minutes before the flight. International flights ask you to be there 2 to 3 hours before flight. Waiting at the airport drives me crazy. Hopefully I'll be so stoned on Xanax nothing will bother me.

Tig, is DisUnc coming to the MagicMeet,, and if so, is he staying over?

 

[artman]

Cory has been begging me to book another cruise. He said it was the best vacation he ever had. It's hard for his parents to take vacations because of their jobs...both health care facility administrators. I told Cory don't worry, we'll cruise again.

Tomorrow night we're going over to their house for Passover (SIL is Jewish), and we always enjoy the whole beautiful ritual. I'll have to leave early, by 9 or 10, to get a few hours sleep before leaving for the airport at 5 AM. What a difference going to Florida where we get to the airport 30 minutes before the flight. International flights ask you to be there 2 to 3 hours before flight. Waiting at the airport drives me crazy. Hopefully I'll be so stoned on Xanax nothing will bother me.

I know a cruise with some wonderful Canadians that you can do.

I hope you have a great trip to England. I know you will, especially if you wash done those Xanax with a big drink of Jack.

 

[Marla Hellwig]

Wishing you all a Happy Easter weekend

We don't have much planned - mom is taking us out to eat sometime this weekend

other than that - going to start my spring cleaning and finishing up the laundry from last week (ok - starting the WDW laundry)

And since I am cruising again 05/10 - will just keep the one suitcase out and might even start a pile on what I want to take

 

[tiggerwannabe]

I get to take my sis and fam to the airport tomorrow, lucky ducks are headed to Cali to see Toms (dbil) bro and family in huntington beach california...I am so jealous

 

[CADZNYCHC]

Hey there

leaving next Friday afternoon - picking up Kara from school and zipping to the airport

Hey Brenda - I heard that she freaked you out the other night with her picture of her orange hair

To tell the truth, I freaked out when she walked in the door that day

yes Marla she TOTALLY did!! darn kids - trying to give us heart attacks at the young age of 40!!!

Kara was a little sad, but said that is the facts of life

Kara has been really trying not to check up on the babies, with the nervous Nellie momma, she is just adding food/water as quietly as possible - but she did break down and took a peak - all are thriving as far as she can tell, their tails are appearing, their eyes are still closed and you can see spots and colors starting on their skin

They are reall vocal though

The males in the cage next to the females are going bonkers - not sure if they can smell the babies or one of the females is in heat - they are sure wild acting this week

Spending the weekend getting ready to leave - not packing much since we will have to pay for each bag - darn airlines - so trying to get by with just 2 checked and a carryon each

Oh ya - I am cruising again - I am joining a friend on the 4 night pod cast cruise in early May - someone here has her nose out of joint but she can't miss any school that close to graduation

Hope everyone has a great weekend

ahhh missing a trip will just make them REALLY appreciate the ones they do go on even more!! ryan has to miss the next ones as not taking him out of univ for vaca - will take him out this fall to go to playa del carmen for his sister's wedding

Ok, let's work this out to be sure.

Where were you and what were you doing at around noon on August 19th, 1977?

i was at Leach Lake in Minnesota with my new husband's family - it was sad though as elvis had just passed away

You wanna sail with Brenda and me when the first ship is released from Germany to Port Canaveral?! Mine is a dream, if I am gainfully reemployed by then I will in fact be sailing with Mrs Tsuda

My thinking was to fly to Europe early and sail home (via FL) on board the inaugural sailing. Brenda is responsible for this idea, I would love to sail as a group if we can get enough people together!

That goes for the Christmas 2010 too~

If the group gets larger than 10 beds,
you qualify for a group,
ergo; you qualify for a discount!

Brenda, are you sure you want to sail in October?

...just sayin ....

i really am hoping to do both....but now that Ryan has DECIDED on the University of the Pacific...i may be totally broke for the next 20 years...it's a private college & we don't qualify for anything but 'student loans'....uggghhhh - all they look at is gross earnings....not house or car or CC pmts or even upcoming Disney cruises...the NERVE of them!!!

Happy to hear all is well with you Kelly.

I am offering a 2 drink onboard credit, for anyone that will go on the 2010 Christmas cruise with us. Is that desperate enough for you, I am trying to buy friends.

You my friend will have PLENTY of friends by the time that trip is over, but don't forget that we were your FIRST cruise buddies!!!


i HOPE all of you are well - i MISS you all so much - spend too much of my free time on facebook so don't get to the disboard as often....

Aisling - i know you're in the UK - I hope you're having a FABULOUS time & that you do have a chance to meet Kaz!!!

Love you all - Happy Easter!!!

 

[nskjerven]

Hi Mateys

 

[Aisling]

Hi kids, I'm back!

England is SO different than here. I had a great time, saw all the major highlights in London but spent most of the time in the English "countryside", since that's where my brother lives. People still live in thatched-roofed houses there! Driving is nuts there, not only the steering wheel on the opposite side but also driving on the opposite side, and they drive on top of each other. Scary!
I can see why so many Brits come to the USA for "holiday"...the US dollar is nothing but paper compared to British pounds these days.

One good surprise, I got a free upgrade to First ("Upper") Class on my fight over, and the seat lays down flat like a bed with a full sized pillow, a sheet and a blanket. I wasn't so lucky on the flight home.

It was great, but there's no place like home. I definitely wouldn't want to live there. It made me appreciate our country so much. But I'll definitely go back for more visits, and am planning a Christmas trip back with my kids.

So what's new with you all? How was your Easter?

 

[Orlanr]

Hi kids, I'm back!

England is SO different than here. I had a great time, saw all the major highlights in London but spent most of the time in the English "countryside", since that's where my brother lives. People still live in thatched-roofed houses there! Driving is nuts there, not only the steering wheel on the opposite side but also driving on the opposite side, and they drive on top of each other. Scary!
I can see why so many Brits come to the USA for "holiday"...the US dollar is nothing but paper compared to British pounds these days.

One good surprise, I got a free upgrade to First ("Upper") Class on my fight over, and the seat lays down flat like a bed with a full sized pillow, a sheet and a blanket. I wasn't so lucky on the flight home.

It was great, but there's no place like home. I definitely wouldn't want to live there. It made me appreciate our country so much. But I'll definitely go back for more visits, and am planning a Christmas trip back with my kids.

So what's new with you all? How was your Easter?

What are the must see's, we leave in 4 weeks?

 

[CADZNYCHC]

Hi kids, I'm back!

England is SO different than here. I had a great time, saw all the major highlights in London but spent most of the time in the English "countryside", since that's where my brother lives. People still live in thatched-roofed houses there! Driving is nuts there, not only the steering wheel on the opposite side but also driving on the opposite side, and they drive on top of each other. Scary!
I can see why so many Brits come to the USA for "holiday"...the US dollar is nothing but paper compared to British pounds these days.

One good surprise, I got a free upgrade to First ("Upper") Class on my fight over, and the seat lays down flat like a bed with a full sized pillow, a sheet and a blanket. I wasn't so lucky on the flight home.

It was great, but there's no place like home. I definitely wouldn't want to live there. It made me appreciate our country so much. But I'll definitely go back for more visits, and am planning a Christmas trip back with my kids.

So what's new with you all? How was your Easter?

so glad you had such a great time!!! did you get to see Kaz????

What are the must see's, we leave in 4 weeks?

Harrods...Big Ben...Harrods....the Tower of London...Harrods....the Palace....Harrods....

 

[tiggerwannabe]

Aisling, Please tell me you made it to Harrods!

 

[nskjerven]

What are the must see's, we leave in 4 weeks?

Haven't you been before????

Harrods, duh I suggest not only the food court and candy store, but go and see the toy section. I love the stuffed animals there

Paul and I love to travel on the underground, getting around to see things is a fun way to do it.

We'd live there in a heart beat too....

Best fish and chips ahhhhhhhh

 

[Aisling]

Brenda and Tig, have you no faith in me?? Can you imagine me in London and not going to Harrods??? It's a beautiful store, full of haute couture, but also with some reasonably-priced-no-specific-designer clothes. I treated myself to a Stella McCartneylovehandbag similar to this one:

Woven silk ethnic--styled scarves are very big now there, with both men and women wearing them. So gorgeous. I almost bought one, but it came down to either the handbag or the scarf, since they were both around 300 pounds, which is a lot, and I just couldn't afford both with a clear conscience.

Rus, here's some advice. Don't take your American Express card. There are hardly any places in England that accept that card, which caused me a lot of grief. Also, you probably know this already, but to convert pounds to dollars, take the pounds, half it, and then add the original number to get dollars. So 300 pounds would be 150 plus 300=450 US dollars.

The Tower of London was awesome. It's beyond my imagination to be walking around in the place where King Henry VIII had Anne Boleyn beheaded so so long ago. That's also where they keep the crown jewels, and it's the most heavily guarded place in all of the UK. Imagine seeing the crowns and sceptors used by not only Queen Elizabeth II but the previous kings and queens hundreds of years before her.

London Bridge is right there, and on the other side of the Thames River is Windsor Castle where the queen lives, and also Big Ben and the London Eye. It's a 20 minute walk to get to that area from the Tower of London.

Windsor Castle from the other side of the Thames.

The London Eye and Big Ben from the Tower of London.

The church where Princess Diana got married, St. Paul's (?).

Me with jet lag.

You have to pay for the public toilets, 30 pence which is 45 cents.
My niece Valerie.

The toilets are self-cleaning...after you leave and close the door, multiple water jets wash the whole inside down.

I have to upload more photos to show you the beautiful countryside. Rus, be careful driving, I'm not kidding. They have these things called roundabouts where you have to know what you're doing to keep the traffic flowing without getting into an accident. Google it and see, so you'll be prepared. It can be very confusing to figure out who has the right of way.

72 miles from London is Bury St. Edmunds, a lovely village with open markets and medieval architecture that people still live in. I didn't get to a pub, but they're everywhere. The fish in the fish & chips has the skin on it, not like here. There's also St. Edmund's Abbey, which is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. Acres and acres of gardens and ruins and history and tranquility that I can hardly describe.

I learned that trucks are lorries, that "bloody" is a very bad curseword even though it's used so frequently by people, and that soft-serve ice cream cones are called whippies.

I need to post this before I lose it...I'm in my car and keep losing the internet signal. I'll post more in a few minutes.

 

[Aisling]

Rus, we didnt try this pub, but my brother swears it's one of the best in London.

It's a few blocks to the right coming out of the King's Crossing stop on the underground tube in London.

I notice that the who Brits are more friendly to Americans are the ones who live outside of London. Try to get to Bury for areally good local pub experience, according to my brother. He lives in the village of Beck Row, which is 10 minutes from the RAF Mildenhall airbase where he's stationed.

The British Museum...we didn't go in, as this is an all-day place to see, but theoutside is cool.

I thought this was cool.

British teenage lovebirds.

Guarding the crown jewels.

And of course the double-decker busses. At each bus stop, there's a machine to buy your bus pass. They don't take cash to get on the bus.

I hope I didn't overwhelm you, but if you'd like to see the countryside, I can post those tomorrow. The houses are practically on the curb.

To see British estates, go to Newmarket...it's very famous for breeding many of the Kentucky Derby horse winners. They have riding paths in the middle of the streets for riding, gated from cars for safety. And it's near Bury St. Edmunds, as is the famous Cambridge, which has a a lot of big American stores like Toys R Us. The cute thing about the Toys R Us is that they have many toys of cartoon characters that we don't have here. Again, a beautiful little city filled with old and new architecture.

One more thing, after 11 pm they have soft-core porn on regular tv. It surprised me because I thought the Brits were conservative. NOT. Go into one of those red public phone booths and see all the nude porn ads! I took a picture, but I can't post it on the family-friendly Dis.

 

[CADZNYCHC]

oh I KNEW YOU would go to Harrods my friend...it's Rus i'm worried about...but i'm sure Chel will get him there somehow
looks like you had an awesome time....the 'lorry' is about the only english word i remember - do NOT know why i even remember that one...can't wait till my sister & I go back...we'll need to visit our home if we can & her birth hospital hopefully the AFB where my dad was stationed & so many other sites...am pretty sure it won't be till AFTER Ryan has graduated from college.
can't wait to see your countryside photos....

 

[CustardTart]

Sorry we didn't meet up, Aisling!!! As it turned out, t'was just as well we didn't make any plans as I was so SICK on the return flight - wheat overload most likely but suffice to say I was totally out of action for the rest of the day... Glad you had a good trip - hopefully we'll get together next time around...

...I can see why so many Brits come to the USA for "holiday"...the US dollar is nothing but paper compared to British pounds these days...

Bottom line is Britain is very expensive when compared to the US, Aisling. Always has been, always will be. We currently pay 15% (returning to 17.5% at the end of the year) sales tax on pretty much everything and don't get me started on fuel costs! We couldn't believe how little it cost to fill the tank of our hire car last week - $25 compared to the £50 ($70!!!) Richard and I routinely spend...

...Don't take your American Express card. There are hardly any places in England that accept that card, which caused me a lot of grief...

I'm surprised at this - my Amex card is the one I use most often...

...One more thing, after 11 pm they have soft-core porn on regular tv. It surprised me because I thought the Brits were conservative. NOT. Go into one of those red public phone booths and see all the nude porn ads! I took a picture, but I can't post it on the family-friendly Dis.

No comment...

 

[tiggerwannabe]

Great story, great pics!

You did ALOT in a week~

Brenda, I'm thinking England is close enough to Germany that a pre(InauguralCruise) trip thru some of Europe in 2011 should be on the plan. Your sis, Aisling, Kaz, Nan, you, me -TBH: if we could get at least ten people we'd qualify for group rates...nudge nudge, wink wink

 

[CADZNYCHC]

Great story, great pics!

You did ALOT in a week~

Brenda, I'm thinking England is close enough to Germany that a pre(InauguralCruise) trip thru some of Europe in 2011 should be on the plan. Your sis, Aisling, Kaz, Nan, you, me -TBH: if we could get at least ten people we'd qualify for group rates...nudge nudge, wink wink

COOL....& i'm sure Chel is still wanting to do the inaugural as well....humm if we are doing the eastern in 2010 - what about the 2nd ship in 2012????

 

[Orlanr]

We fly into Heathrow, rent a car, spend 2 days in London, drive to Liverpool, stay there for 2 days, drive around England for a few days fly home.

 

[Orlanr]

It was just announced in the San Francisco Chronicle today that the Walt Disney Family will have a Walt Disney Museum open in San Francisco this coming October. The web site is Waltdisney dot org.

 

[tiggerwannabe]

I like how you think Brenda!

If we dont do the inagural in 2011, we should do a Wonder cruise that year when it moves west! I guess the group is still split on 2010 between October and December