Finally remembered something about Portsmouth. It rained cats and dogs through the bus tour, but the sun came out when we went down to the beach. We were shown the train tunnel that served as a bomb shelter during WWII. There were exhibits about the living conditions, which were awful. There was a coffin with a porthole that lifted up so you could see the face of the dead person. This was used so the bereaved relatives wouldn’t have to see how badly mangled the body was. That part of England really suffered during the war. But we saw more statues of famous people that meant something to the British but left me appreciating the artwork because I didn’t have a clue as to who these people were.
The next day we docked at Dover, and I marveled at the White Cliffs. I’ve seen pictures but the reality is much more impressive. Then Gordon and I took the Battle of Britain tour. We started out at a museum dedicated to the Hurricane and Spitfire planes. Basically, they were wooden frames with stiffened fabric (I think the guide said it was linen) stretched over. You add a machine gun and a Rolls Royce engine and that’s what the RAF flew against the Luftwaffe. They were such tiny little things. I wouldn’t have wanted to fly in one of them.
We were taken to a pub in a little town (can’t remember the name of the pub or town) and were treated to a fish & chips lunch. They were excellent. I enjoyed the pint of ale that was included but Gordon, of course, had a soda. The one item I wasn’t too impressed with was the side of mushy peas. Gordon said they reminded him of his mother’s split pea soup without the ham, but I never liked the soup either, so I was unimpressed. But I ate them. I was doing the English experience and that included apple tart with clotted cream for dessert.
That afternoon we went to a museum dedicated to the 3,000 fliers who fought the Battle of Brittain. They were all young men who went up in those cloth planes to fight the Luftwaffe. The Battle started in July 1940 and ended in September. The kids were told to fly over dry land; they couldn’t afford to lose a plane or a pilot in the English Channel. They were badly outnumbered but they kept the Germans from securing a beach head for a land invasion. The Germans were stuck in France and England hung on until the US entered the war. Now I understand Churchill’s speech: “Never have so many owed so much to so few.” The kids held off the mighty German military machine. In cloth planes. It’s humbling to think about.
We landed at Tilbury on the north bank of the Thames the next day. We took a tour of the Tower of London. The crown jewels were on display. The guide told us that the jewels are uninsured. Their value is incalculable. Remember the crown with the ping pong ball used in the investiture of Prince Charles as the Duke of Wales? It was on display with the other crowns. Massive diamonds, fabulous emeralds, rows of rubies—and one gilded ping pong ball. I giggled when I saw it. I enjoyed the Tower. We wandered through the living quarters of past kings and listened to a Beefeater give a performance. I snickered when we went through museum of armor. They showed Henry VIII’s suits of armor from when he was twenty (very slim) to when he got fat (HUGE suit). On the latest suit of armor, a metal codpiece of large proportion was a standout. Tee hee. This must have been Henry’s version of a rock & roll musician stuffing a stock in his pants. Another woman and I had a good snort over it.
We had one last good meal with Billy and Dawn before going back to the cabin. We had to pack and have our luggage outside our room before ten that night. It was a great meal. Nice way to end a trip.
Takeaway: I enjoyed the service on the ship. The staff is outstanding. Example: When I spent time in the hot tub, usually all by myself, one of the staff would bring me a glass of champagne. I didn’t ask for it, I wasn’t charged for it, but it made me feel special. And rich. Nice feeling. There was always something to do if you chose to do it. I enjoyed BBQ night, a nice bit of Americana. We ate beef and took a line-dancing class—which was hard to do in sneakers on carpet, but I didn’t break anything. I also enjoyed most of the entertainment. Personally, I think Americans are better at it; maybe because we have more people doing it. The lectures and music were nice. I particularly enjoyed the Munch exhibit during a recital in the atrium as we waited for a table in one of the restaurants. And speaking of restaurants, I enjoyed the food. The proportions were kept small so I never had to feel like I had to overeat to clean my plate (can’t’ waste a thing!). Gordon and I played trivia, but we didn’t do very well. It was mostly stuff about Europe that neither one of us knew much about. The one trivia game we enjoyed was music trivia. The entertainment director would play a phrase of a song, and we were supposed to guess the song and the year it came out. The room was packed, but we all knew the songs and sang the whole thing after the phrase was done. The director seemed surprised as we all bellowed along. Even the young adults who accompanied their parents and grandparents on the cruise. Viking cruises tend to skew “old” so I thought the kids would be miserable. Not so. Every time I saw them, they seemed to be having a ball. They were louder than the rest of us old-timers, but I guess you have to expect that.
Anyway, I had a great time on the cruise. We’re going on another one in two years with Billy and Dawn if, as Billy puts it, we’re all still alive. We’re getting to the age where you never know.
The cruise was finished but the trip wasn’t. We still had two days in London, but I’ll talk about that later.
No pictures to add. Guess I was running out of gas.
