We finally left from the ship and had a very smooth disembarkation about nine am. We had gained another hour last evening so felt rested and ready for this transition day. Packed, breakfasted, and dressed, we join fellow passengers in a coach to Victoria Station in downtown London. Pretty exciting!

The sun continues to shine on us during this trip. It is warm and very comfortable to travel this time of year.

We drive through Southampton and notice all the familiar spots, the rock wall, the Holiday Inn, and other landmarks that we had noted just two weeks ago when we stayed and walked prior to embarking on the ship.

Out of the city we are on a major freeway and rolling hills in the distance remind me of some photos of Tuscany … Green, some trees scattered here and there. Traffic was around, but it is Sunday and we really had very few stops. As we began to enter the area around London I started to notice the place names made popular by the movies such as My Fair Lady, Notting Hill, Mary Poppins, Love Actually, Harry Potter to name a few. I am sure more will come to mind.

Glimpses of the Thames, and bridges that cross her.

We arrive at the very busy station and hail a delightful black cab with room for luggage beside the driver! He, of course drives on the other side of the car than we are used to. We fit three of us in and in a few short minutes we are in South Kensington area at our small quaint boutique hotel. It reminds me of my stay in Paris … Same very small bedroom and larger bathroom.

We head out for a stroll and notice immediately,that the private square park across the road fenced in, is so like that one in Notting Hill movie … Perhaps it is the same park? Sweet. We find a street dotted with English pubs and little shops for groceries and hair salons … Busy with busses and pedestrians. We wander some more. After sorting luggage and a quick return to the hotel, we head out for an Olde English Pub dinner…

We are planning out with maps where we will venture tomorrow. We also hope to get tickets for a musical show and hop on hop off ride to orient us to the big attractions in the city.

Many of our friends from the cruise are popping up on fb as new friends, and soon I hope to hear from all of them by email.

Missing our dinner companions tonight ….. We became close in that two weeks of dining and hanging out as a group of ten.

Here is a preliminary list of a few of the places we will look out for tomorrow.

Time to sip our newly purchased bottle of red wine.

Ciao tutti,

Natural history museum
Big Ben
Tower and bridge
Bucking ham Palaces / change of guard
Queen and royal family
Notting hill
Hyde park, speakers corner
Globe theatreShakespeareTatemodern
Westminster abbey
London eye Ferris wheel
National gallery
Tottenham court rd
Covent garden piazza
St. Paul cathedral
Old billings gate market? Waterfront
Soho square
Camden market
Portobello rd