United Kingdom
Southampton

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    • Day 21

      We’re Negative!

      October 18, 2022 in England ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

      To embark the ship on Thursday, we need to not only have proof of our COVID-19 vaccines in hand, but also PCR or antigen test results showing that we are in good health.

      Once we were settled into the room, we took out the e-Med testing kits we had purchased earlier this year. Using the free wi-fi provided by the hotel, we connected with testing proctors who gave us step by step instructions and watched as we followed through. Fifteen minutes later, we had what we wanted … a “single pink line” negative result for each of us!

      We’re now all set for embarkation day. But first … a bit of relaxing tonight … and a bit of sightseeing tomorrow.
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    • Day 22

      A-Wander in Southampton

      October 19, 2022 in England ⋅ 🌬 63 °F

      Admittedly, Southampton itself doesn’t offer all that much … sightseeing-wise … especially if you’ve been there before as we have.

      Of course, we could have stayed in London … but a big city wasn’t what we wanted since we had just one day prior to embarking our cruise in Southampton. Of course, we could have taken the ferry to the Isle of Wight … or done a tour that would have taken us to some of the charming towns and castles nearby. But, we just wanted an easy day to rest up after a long travel day. Southampton gave us just that today.

      A tasty and filling breakfast at the Holiday Inn — included in our room rate — started off our day. Despite a light breeze, the temperature was comfortable. The early morning overcast gave way to sunshine and patchy blue skies by mid-morning. Perfect for a wander around town.

      Our meander took us to old city walls … where we walked in the footsteps of yore and wondered what life was like when these same walls stood tall and strong to protect the residents. Along narrow, cobblestone streets we walked … where colorful blooms and interesting architecture charmed us. To two museums we went … the Seacity Museum offering a peek into history and the city’s connection to the ill-fated Titanic; the City Art Museum giving us a glimpse of some colorful and interesting art.

      Our quest for a midday meal took us to the Duke of Wellington, an inn/pub built over the foundations of a house dating back to the 12th century … and housed in a building that dates back to around 1490. Damaged by enemy action during WWII, the inn was restored in the 1960s but has the charm of much earlier times … delicious fish & chips and an exceptional brownie served with vanilla ice cream for dessert. Yummy! Yummy!

      We returned to the hotel mid-afternoon, happy and satisfied with our day of exploring Southampton … and ready to put our feet up after an 11,100-step day.
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    • Day 23

      Embarking Celebrity Silhouette

      October 20, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

      As beautiful as the weather was yesterday, it was that crummy today … at least until late afternoon.

      We woke up to decidedly chilly temps and rain, which continued on and off throughout the day. At times it was just a barely noticeable drizzle. At other times it was a downpour … usually short in duration. Keeping fingers crossed that we’d catch a break when it was time to embark Celebrity Silhouette, we went down to the dining room for our morning meal.

      In fact, we did luck out a couple of times with the weather.

      First, there was a break in the rain when we set off to drop off our checked bags with the longshoremen at the City Cruise Terminal. To double our luck, we found an old IKEA cart at the entrance to the port … which made managing our bags on the sidewalk that was in less than good condition much easier.

      We had no desire to board the ship … it was only 10:30a and we planned to walk into town for some gelato before embarking Silhouette. But we wondered if we might be able to check-in while the terminal was still quiet. So we headed there next.

      No problem … even though our check-in slot was between 1:00-1:30p. No one blinked an eye. They just directed us inside with instructions to have our passports and express passes handy. No lines anywhere … just a few passengers lallygagging here and there. Formalities took maybe 5 minutes and we were done. We would realize later just how lucky we were to have managed check-in so quickly.

      Leaving the terminal, we walked out into ever-increasing rain. No can do on the walk into town for gelato. We had arranged for a late check out at noon at the Holiday Inn and left our carry-on bags there, so we returned to relax in our room for a while. A smart move, as it turns out. No sooner were we under cover that the rain really started to come down … the downpour lasting about an hour this time.

      Another lucky break in the rain just as we decided to return to the terminal to embark the ship shortly after noon allowed us to walk to the City Cruise Terminal without getting wet. In fact, the clouds seemed to be moving out … the sun breaking through with patches of blue in the sky. Excellent!

      Seeing the lines snaking around the waiting area inside the terminal — passengers queued up at least four deep, waiting their turn to check-in — made us appreciate our quick check-in this morning all the more. Since we’d completed the formalities already, we were allowed to skip the line with just a quick scan of our express passes and continue straight to the gangway.

      The rest of our embarkation day story will be in the next footprint …
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    • Day 4

      Radtour "Das Beste von Southampton" 1

      September 11, 2019 in England ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

      Laut Wikipedia ist Southampton eine bedeutende Hafenstadt im Vereinigten Königreich. Sehr bekannt geworden aber auch als der Startpunkt der Titanic im Jahre 1912. Wir sind gespannt auf „Das Beste von Southampton“, das wir nun mit dem Fahrrad erkunden wollen.
      Murdin kennt sich aus und bringt uns sicher durch das Städtchen, zeigt uns wichtige alte und neue Gebäude, Gedenkstätten, einen uralten und wunderschönen Friedhof, riesige Parkanlagen, die Arbeiterviertel im Vorort ...
      Wir sind alle drei begeistert und Angelika jauchzt bei jedem Hügel und freut sich über ihre Elektromobilität 😆!
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    • Day 4

      Radtour "Das Beste von Southampton" 2

      September 11, 2019 in England ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

      Auch die fleißigsten Radler brauchen mal eine Pause. Also stellen wir unsere Drahtesel an der Stadtmauer ab und machen Sightseeing zu Fuß. Im urigen Pub essen wir ganz traditionell Fish and Chips, dazu gibts Cidre und Ale - lecker 😋. Noch 10 Minuten shoppen und schon müssen wir zurück zu den Rädern. Und was sehen wir da? Eins 🚲 ist weg 😱! Geklaut, mitten in unserem schönen Ausflug, nicht zu fassen. Murdin will nun neben uns herlaufen und uns so zum Schiff bringen, nebenbei noch das Tudor Haus zeigen und den Pub, in dem die Ingenieure der Titanic immer ihr Bierchen tranken. Nach kurzer Schockminute finden wir eine bessere Lösung: ich nehm den Shuttlebus zurück zum Schiff und Murdin beendet die Radtour mit meinem Fahrrad.Read more

    • Day 22

      National Express Comes Up to Scratch

      October 19, 2022 in England ⋅ 🌬 63 °F

      Before we took off for our meander this morning, I sent an email to National Express to plead our case.

      Basically, I was asking if they would consider refunding the second set of tickets we purchased to get on the 6:15p bus yesterday since we’d not been able to get through to them on the phone … and instructions to make changes online didn’t apply in our case. I was hoping that the fact that we’d purchased the “change and go” fare, which would have allowed us to switch to another bus within 12 hours on either side of our 9:00p tickets, would help our case.

      An email response was awaiting me when we returned to the hotel after our wander around Southampton. Yes, they would refund the second set of tickets. Yay! The email went on to say that we should see the credit to the original form of purchase within five days. Double yay!
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    • Day 6

      All aboard!

      July 22, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

      So today we got up at 7am, grabbed a local pastry, and took a rental van from our hotel in London down to the docks in Southampton. It was about a 2 hour drive. I got car sick riding backward in the van..... Boarding the ship was very easy and we were in our rooms by 1pm. It rained almost all day and was about 58 degrees. It gave up plenty of time to explore the ship and get a board game in. We headed out at 4:30pm and made it into the dining room for supper. Tomorrow we have a relaxing day at sea which our feet appreciate.Read more

    • Day 69

      Southampton Sojourn

      August 15, 2023 in England ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

      We started the day with a progression run, as part of our training for the half marathon on the Faroe Islands. It was definitely turning out to be a nice day, and quite hot with the sun shining.

      Remember the windmill we toured in the Netherlands? They mill flour these days for bakers. So today was the day to bake up my fruit&nut bread mix! It was a delicious success and a wonderful way to extend the memories; the best souvenirs of all 🧠 🥸

      Decided an afternoon trip to explore Southampton was in order. We weaved our way south in the rental car, and into the old town. The fresh sea air smelled fantastic! Meandering our way along the southwestern section of the old city wall brought us by Tudor House, built in 1491 and became a museum in 1912.
      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tudor_House_and…

      Eventually we found ourselves at the Bargate, built in 1180, predating the fortified city walls build after the French raid in 1338.
      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bargate

      This area of Southampton High Street opened up in to a pedestrian only outdoor mall. We found a much larger sporting goods store to find a few items for the Faroe Islands.

      As we were expecting G & S to join us for dinner, we beetled back to Whitchurch to get dinner on the go. The beef brisket A had been slowly cooking was fantastic! We didn't need to order pizza after all 🤣
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    • Day 38

      Southampton UK...laundry day

      September 18, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

      Laundry and mani/Pedi day for me in Southampton. Rainy and windy. This weather seems to be following us from Sweden. Even the pigeons were basking in the short-lived sunshine in East Park Southampton near the Titanic Engineers Memorial. As we head towards Spain and Portugal from tomorrow, hopefully, the sun and warmer days will return.Read more

    • Day 1

      Southhampton, England

      October 1, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F

      Arrived in England after 7 hour flight. The gentleman next to me thought he could just lean his huge guitar case in front of him at the bulkhead…halfway over my middle seat. That was taken care of. Neither of us slept well and mom had a small tumble getting off the plane. But she wasn’t injured and it didn’t even slow her down!

      Immigration at Heathrow was painless and we proceeded to wait for the Ncl bus. The drive to Southhampton took about an hour and a half. We were met with our next line at the port terminal…again it wasn’t awful and the lady waiting for numbered groups sent us along early because we were polite and helpful and enthusiastic. Poor lady kept pulling the Home Alone face due to disorganization. Got to our room quickly…hope our luggage will too. The pile was massive.

      Met out steward, Jobani then ate an early dinner at the buffet. Waiting on our bags before we go to sleep.
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Southampton, ساوثهامبتون, Sauthempton, Горад Саўтгемптан, Саутхамптън, Σαουθάμπτον, ساوت‌همپتون, סאות'המפטון, SOU, サウサンプトン, Саутгемптон, 사우샘프턴, Hantonia, Sautamptonas, Sauthemptona, ဆောက်သမ္ပတန်မြို့, Hantonne, ساؤتھمپٹن, Саутхемптон, เซาแทมป์ตัน, 南安普敦

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