The Widow & the Spinster Take a Bougie WBTA Cruise That Didn't Suck! - Our Last Day at Sea! 3/26

[franandaj]

Can really see how crooked it is!

Did he shout at you??

I had forgotten, but Jill said that they screamed when you pulled them out of the dirt.

I did not know this!

Jill is the smarty pants!

All of Warwick Davis's characters. Warwick also played 5-6 different roles in the Star Wars films, most famously as Wicket the Ewok in RoTJ. He also starred in Willow.

Cute pic, but understand the jet leg

Yeah, we'd been walking around the tour for about 5 hours by now, and I was getting really tired.

these were great pics, thanks!

You're welcome!

hehe I bet they weren't! a good shirt to wear for sure

Yes, their reaction was funny!

well this def aligns (or doesn't hehe) with the earlier pictures

I see what you did there!

you're doing it, it's going to take time (my mini muscles are happy to help this weekend)

Oh, I will definitely put you to work!

I sure like how their combos can include a boozy option

Yes! That's awesome!

Yum these both look good to me!

 

[franandaj]

Day 4

After a comforting dinner, I was able to sleep all the way to 4:30AM. With some tossing and turning I was able to get myself to fall back to sleep and slept until around 7:40ish. I was pleasantly surprised.

We went down to breakfast at 9:00AM and they were “seating” people and imposing a time limit. I don’t remember if it was half an hour or 45 minutes, but evidently on the weekends they didn’t want you to have a leisurely breakfast. That’s OK, we weren’t looking to linger anyways. Besides I didn’t want to eat a ton, we had a big meal this afternoon.

Our next stop was to pick up our 2 bottles of wine each for the cruise. Actually it was pretty much four for me. I don’t think Jill actually drank any of these bottles, but we picked up more on our port stops. We walked up the street to the market across from the train station.

See that on the left? That’s the train/tube station.

We were back in the room by 10AM with these little beauties. Only about £7 each.

Then we turned around and went right back out the door. When Jill asked what I wanted to do for sightseeing, I didn’t have a lot on my mind. I really didn’t get to study up on London like I did Egypt. I had too many other trips going on! But I knew that I wanted to see the department store, Harrods. We were on our way there by 11AM. Here’s some more shots of navigating our way to the tracks in the Tube. The trains themselves looked like any other train that you may be been on, but these massive escalators were crazy!

So when we got there, near the entrance where we came in, there were women’s fashions, designer handbags, and all kinds of other stuff that I really didn’t even care to look at. Hence no pictures! However, that’s where the title of this chapter comes from. As we walked through the displays, Jill kept saying, “Don’t touch anything!”

Pretty soon we came upon the candy department.

This was a massive room, and it seemed that every fancy chocolate company from Europe had their own little counter. It was just overwhelming to take in everything. So many things! Gold foil macarons!

We didn’t plan on purchasing anything here, we had a spot later for that. But I just wanted to have a look-see around. Next we went into the savory foods hall. It too was massive!

Kobe Beef! Only £775 per Kilo, for you folks in the US, that’s $443.86 per pound!

They certainly had a nice selection of cuts of meat!

Someone hard to shop for on your Christmas list? Only £15,000 for this tin of caviar! That’s $18,900 for us ‘mericans!

You think Alasakan King Crab is pricey in the United States? This works out to $111.68 per pound. Makes the $60 per pound they’re charging at my grocery store seem like a bargain!

Not everything in there was a terrible deal. These salads were only £9.

And actually £18 for a lobster roll isn’t bad at all. Most places I’ve seen them on the menu charge $30+!

We walked through the bakery room, and the rolls, bagels and other breads weren’t such a bad deal. We were full from breakfast still and we had a very big meal coming up so we didn’t want to spoil it! After admiring these cakes, we decided to look around in some other sections.

Jill had heard that there was a display dedicated to Princess Diana, but after some googling we found out that it had been removed several years before. We did find this holiday photo op. We took pictures for a large group of ladies who didn’t speak much english, but were able to ask us to take their pictures.

The entire lobby had an Egyptian theme to it. One of the previous owners came from Alexandria, but he was a horrible person, so let’s hope that it was this way before he took it over.

Next we ventured into the book section. I’m glad that somewhere they still sell books. There was lots of Disney influences!

As we walked through this section, I saw a sign that said, “Wines & Spirits”, so I followed that sign down a hallway and we came across a room full of all kinds of wines from all over the world!

They even had my hometown wine for sale! (It’s the bottle of Ridge, if you’re curious)

After about half an hour in the store, we decided we’d had enough window shopping. Alan and Wendy had been texting us and they were heading to Covent Gardens. Somehow we ended up with a card from the Harry Potter sets that we needed to give to them for the codes to some special pictures that they took the day before. They had paid extra for the magic shots of them playing quidditch, and somehow we had it.

So we got back on the Tube and took it the Covent Gardens stop. This was one of those that had a 15 story deep elevator. There were stairs, but the sign said that there were over 1300 steps to get to street level. No thank you! We took the lift up to street level and wandered around.

We found a Starbucks, you can actually see it in the photo above. We got some beverages and found a place to sit down. I was updating my TR notes when I remembered that I wanted a screen shot of the Venmo error I received the other night. I opened Venmo, fully expecting an error, when what do you know? It opened! I quickly transferred the tenant's money out to my bank and was thrilled to have accomplished that. I have no idea how it worked, because a day or two later at the hotel I opened the app and was able to get the screen shot that I showed you a few posts back. Perhaps since Starbucks is a US chain, the WiFi has some kind of US registry and didn't realize I was actually in the UK. Regardless I was going to have the money in my account to cover the bills I needed!

We spent about an hour with Alan and Wendy before saying goodbye. They had a show to get to and we had Afternoon Tea at Fortnum & Mason.

We had a bit of difficulty getting there. The Tube station we had arrived at was now closed. There was another station just a few blocks away, so we walked to it. It looked like typical London out of the movies. I took a bunch of pictures, but they weren’t that great.

We were able to board at the next station and soon we came up to see the Ritz Carlton. Evidently if you have Tea there, they require you to “dress”. Men need a jacket and tie, not sure what women need to wear, but us in our T-Shirts certainly would have been turned away at the door.

I’ll be back with tea!

 

[jedijill]

Our next stop was to pick up our 2 bottles of wine each for the cruise. Actually it was pretty much four for me. I don’t think Jill actually drank any of these bottles, but we picked up more on our port stops. We walked up the street to the market across from the train station.

I drank a little but (foreshadowing) I wasn't feeling the best when the bottles were opened on the cruise.

See that on the left? That’s the train/tube station.

That's Waterloo station for anyone wondering....its ginormous! Lots of restaurants and stores inside the train station as well.

As we walked through the displays, Jill kept saying, “Don’t touch anything!”

Some of that stuff was more than I make in a year!

Everything looked so good!

Kobe Beef! Only £775 per Kilo, for you folks in the US, that’s $443.86 per pound!

But it was on SALE!!!

You think Alasakan King Crab is pricey in the United States? This works out to $111.68 per pound. Makes the $60 per pound they’re charging at my grocery store seem like a bargain!

This didn't even include clarified butter!

Covent Gardens was gorgeous but super crowded on a nice Saturday afternoon. It was nice just to get a drink and relax for a bit after all the walking we had done the previous two days. Wendy and Alan were headed to see Tina in the West End and then they were headed back home in Durham. It was great to be able to catch up with them as I was going to miss them on their trip to DL and Hawaii 3 weeks later. They are the sweetest!

Now off to tea....pinkies up!


Jill in CO

 

[pkondz]

That was also a particularly strenuous photo op. You really had to stretch and sort of climb. I just didn't have the strength for that at that time of the day.

That would do it alright.

I was more afraid they'd use the killing curse on me!

I suppose this way the shots would all be the same in all the movies. No problems with someone who renders it just a bit different than someone else.

Good point

I'm so over "stuff". I think I actually purchased 5 or 6 souvenirs total.

I have enough stuff, too. Not much, but... enough.

I couldn't even bring myself to walk over and look at them. I was that tired.

Oh dear.

 

[DnA2010]

Only about £7 each.

Much better prices than

The trains themselves looked like any other train that you may be been on, but these massive escalators were crazy!

They have decent sized escalators in Vancouver for the sky train, but dannnnggg! I don't remember those, but I'm sure they were there, my mom's cousin lived near the Kensington station the semester I was in Manchester for university, and I toured around London a bit

Kobe Beef! Only £775 per Kilo, for you folks in the US, that’s $443.86 per pound!

25% off though!

That’s $18,900 for us ‘mericans!

Almost 27K for the Canucks, up yesterday from someone running their mouth...

These salads were only £9.

Those look quite good actually

And actually £18 for a lobster roll isn’t bad at all. Most places I’ve seen them on the menu charge $30+!

There actually looks like a LOT of lobster on those, like half- full tail!

They even had my hometown wine for sale! (It’s the bottle of Ridge, if you’re curious)

I wonder if they had my hometown

I’ll be back with tea!

yum, high tea is the best, bring on the clotted cream!

 

[missjackiemcg]

The last of the Harry Potter tour was awesome. I LOVE that giant Hogwarts model--so detailed!! All of the pictures also had me thinking about what an incredible job they did with these areas at Universal Studios Orlando. Just like the scenes in your pictures!!

I laughed at the description of the budget hotel rooms where your friends stayed. On our trip in 2000, my parents booked a room and another for my brother and I. The room was about the size of my closet at home!!! Literally couldn't move around the room at the same time; one of us had to be sitting on their bed, LOL.

 

[pkondz]

I was able to sleep all the way to 4:30AM. With some tossing and turning I was able to get myself to fall back to sleep and slept until around 7:40ish. I was pleasantly surprised.

Just about acclimated to London time.

evidently on the weekends they didn’t want you to have a leisurely breakfast.

I have this picture in my head with you poised with toast halfway to your mouth when a waiter snatches it out of your hand. "Time's up! No more eating!"

we picked up more on our port stops.

I just saw an article the other day that said if you bought alcohol at a port, you'd have to surrender it upon boarding the ship. You didn't experience any of that, did you?

We were back in the room by 10AM with these little beauties. Only about £7 each.

Not bad... as long as the wine wasn't bad.

I knew that I wanted to see the department store, Harrods.

ooohhh... so would I!

these massive escalators were crazy!

Reminds me of Chicago O'hare.

As we walked through the displays, Jill kept saying, “Don’t touch anything!”

Gold foil macarons!

Kobe Beef! Only £775 per Kilo, for you folks in the US, that’s $443.86 per pound!

Sweet. I'll buy a pound, grind it up and make four burgers.

Someone hard to shop for on your Christmas list? Only £15,000 for this tin of caviar! That’s $18,900 for us ‘mericans!

And over $26,000CAD... I miss when our currency was at par.

You think Alasakan King Crab is pricey in the United States? This works out to $111.68 per pound. Makes the $60 per pound they’re charging at my grocery store seem like a bargain!

I found it not very expensive... in Alaska.

These salads were only £9.

That doesn't seem like that great a deal, actually. Unless they were very fancy?

And actually £18 for a lobster roll isn’t bad at all. Most places I’ve seen them on the menu charge $30+!

Hmmm... I haven't had a really good lobster roll in a while, so not sure what the going rate is.

Jill had heard that there was a display dedicated to Princess Diana, but after some googling we found out that it had been removed several years before.

I remember seeing one... somewhere. I think it was at DTD.

I’m glad that somewhere they still sell books.

Oh, they do. You just have to know where to look.

I saw a sign that said, “Wines & Spirits”, so I followed that sign

I'm shocked! Shocked that you'd follow that sign.

They even had my hometown wine for sale! (It’s the bottle of Ridge, if you’re curious)

Did you notice how much of a price difference it was?

There were stairs, but the sign said that there were over 1300 steps to get to street level.

I opened Venmo, fully expecting an error, when what do you know? It opened! I quickly transferred the tenant's money out to my bank and was thrilled to have accomplished that. I have no idea how it worked, because a day or two later at the hotel I opened the app and was able to get the screen shot that I showed you a few posts back. Perhaps since Starbucks is a US chain, the WiFi has some kind of US registry and didn't realize I was actually in the UK.

Huh! You were using wifi before, right? Not data?

soon we came up to see the Ritz Carlton. Evidently if you have Tea there, they require you to “dress”. Men need a jacket and tie, not sure what women need to wear, but us in our T-Shirts certainly would have been turned away at the door.

Ooohhh... I'd do that.

I’ll be back with tea!

Alison's going to spill the tea, folks!

 

[franandaj]

I drank a little but (foreshadowing) I wasn't feeling the best when the bottles were opened on the cruise.

I think when you were finally feeling up to wine, I opened you a bottle of the Albariño instead of my cheapo Sauv Blancs.

That's Waterloo station for anyone wondering....its ginormous! Lots of restaurants and stores inside the train station as well.

Some of that stuff was more than I make in a year!

I wouldn't doubt it, some of the prices in there were crazy!

Everything looked so good!

But it was on SALE!!!

Read the fine print: 25% OFF selected items

This didn't even include clarified butter!

Right?

Covent Gardens was gorgeous but super crowded on a nice Saturday afternoon. It was nice just to get a drink and relax for a bit after all the walking we had done the previous two days.

Yes, it was nice not to be traipsing around the place.

Wendy and Alan were headed to see Tina in the West End and then they were headed back home in Durham. It was great to be able to catch up with them as I was going to miss them on their trip to DL and Hawaii 3 weeks later. They are the sweetest!

I got to see them on their trip to DL!

Now off to tea....pinkies up!

Coming soon!

 

[franandaj]

That would do it alright.

Yeah, that Harry Potter Experience had a lot of walking involved. If it wasn't so interesting, I would have given up and rushed through it.

I have enough stuff, too. Not much, but... enough.

I have too much. Waaaaaaaay too much.

 

[franandaj]

Much better prices than

Well, yeah, that's practically highway robbery!

They have decent sized escalators in Vancouver for the sky train, but dannnnggg! I don't remember those, but I'm sure they were there, my mom's cousin lived near the Kensington station the semester I was in Manchester for university, and I toured around London a bit

Yeah, I don't remember any that long for the sky train.

25% off though!

As I said to Jill, read the fine print. 25% off selected items.

Almost 27K for the Canucks, up yesterday from someone running their mouth...

I'm not paying attention.....yadda yadda yadda.......

Those look quite good actually

Yeah, I thought they could have been a tasty little "togo" snack.

There actually looks like a LOT of lobster on those, like half- full tail!

Yes, I thought it was a pretty decent deal.

I wonder if they had my hometown

Well.....Ridge is a world class winery.....not sure if yours is that.

yum, high tea is the best, bring on the clotted cream!

Yes there is that!

 

[Alison S]

I'm excited to read about your F&M tea! I didn't do the tea there (was by myself so I thought it would be a bit awkward) but I did a historical tour of the store and it ended with lots of snacks in the wine cellar.

 

[jedijill]

I'm excited to read about your F&M tea! I didn't do the tea there (was by myself so I thought it would be a bit awkward) but I did a historical tour of the store and it ended with lots of snacks in the wine cellar.

I did F&M tea by myself in 2019 and it was great. I was treated like a queen and it wasn't awkward at all. I had lots of leftovers that made very good snacks the next day! I hope you get a another chance someday!

Jill in CO

 

[Jules76126]

I usually lurk (I have small children so limited time), but had to comment in your London posts. I lived in London for a year, about 2 minute walk from Waterloo station. I climb all those stairs at Convent garden as I didn’t want to for the lift and it’s not for the weak. That was a one and done experience. I absolutely adore fortnum and mason. Their high tea is fabulous. I prefer that store over harrods.

 

[franandaj]

The last of the Harry Potter tour was awesome. I LOVE that giant Hogwarts model--so detailed!! All of the pictures also had me thinking about what an incredible job they did with these areas at Universal Studios Orlando. Just like the scenes in your pictures!!

Yes, it really does speak volumes about the lands at Universal. I can't wait to go back there again!

I laughed at the description of the budget hotel rooms where your friends stayed. On our trip in 2000, my parents booked a room and another for my brother and I. The room was about the size of my closet at home!!! Literally couldn't move around the room at the same time; one of us had to be sitting on their bed, LOL.

Yeah, I think that's about what their room was like!

 

[franandaj]

Just about acclimated to London time.

I wish.......

I have this picture in my head with you poised with toast halfway to your mouth when a waiter snatches it out of your hand. "Time's up! No more eating!"

I think they would have been slightly more polite than that....maybe.

I just saw an article the other day that said if you bought alcohol at a port, you'd have to surrender it upon boarding the ship. You didn't experience any of that, did you?

What cruise line was it? Disney allows you to bring 2 bottles of wine or 1 six pack of beer per person, per port. Yes, if you purchase alcohol, you do have to surrender it, but they let you have it back when you disembark.

Not bad... as long as the wine wasn't bad.

It was decent for £7 a bottle.

Reminds me of Chicago O'hare.

It's been so long since I had a layover there, I don't remember much about it.

Sweet. I'll buy a pound, grind it up and make four burgers.

Perfect.

And over $26,000CAD... I miss when our currency was at par.

That's insane!

I found it not very expensive... in Alaska.

Well....duh.

That doesn't seem like that great a deal, actually. Unless they were very fancy?

They were fancy salads, Nicoise, etc.

Hmmm... I haven't had a really good lobster roll in a while, so not sure what the going rate is.

Well in the US, it's around $32-35 for a sandwich.

I remember seeing one... somewhere. I think it was at DTD.

I'll take your word for it.

Oh, they do. You just have to know where to look.

I know where to find them. I was just pleased that a big famous store like that still carried them.

I'm shocked! Shocked that you'd follow that sign.

Did you notice how much of a price difference it was?

Well, I'm in their wine club, so I don't necessarily pay retail price. Also I get the special bottlings and shipments just for members. I rarely buy their regular wines that they make for retail and restaurant sales. So, no.

Huh! You were using wifi before, right? Not data?

Yes, I was using hotel WiFi.

Ooohhh... I'd do that.

I might have too, but evidently this tea is higher rated than the tea at the Ritz, as far as foodies go.

Alison's going to spill the tea, folks!

I've never spilled my tea.....wine, maybe, but not tea.

 

[franandaj]

I'm excited to read about your F&M tea! I didn't do the tea there (was by myself so I thought it would be a bit awkward) but I did a historical tour of the store and it ended with lots of snacks in the wine cellar.

It's coming right up! As you saw in Jill's response above, she did it solo and found it just fine. Your tour sounds fun too, but it would have to be on a different day because there is just so much food at tea.

 

[franandaj]

I usually lurk (I have small children so limited time), but had to comment in your London posts. I lived in London for a year, about 2 minute walk from Waterloo station.

I'm glad you came out of lurkdom!

I climb all those stairs at Convent garden as I didn’t want to for the lift and it’s not for the weak. That was a one and done experience.

I started to go up the stairs and Jill stopped me, she knew better.

I absolutely adore fortnum and mason. Their high tea is fabulous. I prefer that store over harrods.

I thought it was just fantastic too!

 

[franandaj]

 

[franandaj]

 

[franandaj]