BALTIC BLOG 03

Sunday June 17, 2012

Sorry, sorry, sorry!

I know you’ve been waiting … wondering what we’re up to … hanging out for some news … checking our website every five minutes … feeling vaguely let-down. And I do apologise, from the heart of my bottom. But the first few days of a tour like this are a bit of a blur – and this has been blurrier than some.

Thursday it was, early in the morning, when we touched down in London. And en route to our hotel we got to enjoy a short panoramic tour of some pretty famous landmarks. Like what, you ask? Well, familiar places like the Houses of Parliament (alongside the Thames)… Big Ben, (the largest tick-tock in the UK) … magnificent Westminster Abbey … Buckingham Palace (where the Queen stays when she’s in town) … even Harrods.

In the afternoon, some of us rushed out on the streets to explore this glorious old city in greater depth – while others of us rushed into bed to explore the glories of sleep in even greater depth. Then, the following day (Friday) we did more of the same (exploring and sleeping).

If you’d been here too and bothered to look, you might have spotted some of our Mad Midlifers riding the London Underground … wandering around Trafalgar Square, Kings Cross, Liverpool Street Station, Piccadilly Circus, and other Monopoly-sounding locations … witnessing the colourful Changing of the Guard … reliving some spooky history in the Tower of London … or snapping some up-high photos on the London Eye (the city’s humungous observation wheel).

And that evening? A special treat: a luxury Bateaux Dinner Cruise on the beautifully lit-up River Thames!

Yesterday morning (being Saturday) we returned to Heathrow, waved goodbye to the UK, and flew to Amsterdam in Holland – where we lost time over a lost suitcase … rode a coach through the flat Dutch countryside … got caught in an hour-long traffic-jam … and only just made it to the port of Rotterdam, where our cruise-ship of the same name was waiting for us!

Phew! Talk about PANIC!

Anyway, that was yesterday, and it no longer matters, because we’ve now been aboard the ms Rotterdam for 12 lovely hours. We’re all settled in our spacious cabins … we’ve been sailing all night (and today) through theNorth Sea … and the pampering has begun!

YEEHAA!

Don’t go away, because the adventure’s just picking up speed!

PEOPLE NEWS:

Nominations have come in thick-and-fast, and two more mad Kiwis have had our little yellow rubber-duckies clipped to their name-tags:

The Mile High Club Award went to Karen – who (en route fromSingapore toLondon) left her bed in Business Class to heed the call of nature. Returning in the dark, she crawled back in beside her snoring husband and promptly went back to sleep. Except she crawled into the wrong bed! Another member of our group (Graeme) had also got up to heed the call, and he returned to find a body in the space he thought was his. Assuming he was mistaken, he groped around and eventually crawled to the empty bed nearby – only to discover a handbag and several other items he knew weren’t his. Totally confused, he finally had to ask a flight attendant to help him (i) local his lost bed, (ii) wake the sleeping Karen, and (iii) help her back to her own quarters.

The Lost-in-Space Award was won by Sue – who had a senior-moment at dinner the other night, and somehow forgot where she was. As the meal ended, I (John) got up, said goodnight, and wished the group a great time inLondon. “Oh,” said Sue, lighting up with surprise. “Is somebody going to London?”

TOMORROW:

We’re in wonderful, wonderfulCopenhagen… capital of Denmark… and home of the Little Mermaid (plus the oldest monarchy in the world).

Yours bloggedly – JOHN

P.S. If you want to leave a message for someone in our group, just click on the little speech bubble at the top of this page, and add your ‘COMMENTS’! Make sure you say who it’s for and who it’s from – and keep it brief.