A "Wicked-ly" great time in London!

Due to the Gale Force 10 winds we encountered on our last day at sea (exciting!!), the Grand Princess arrived late into port at 12:30pm (instead of our originally scheduled arrival at 7). By the time we disembarked the ship, gathered our luggage and picked up our car it was already after 3pm. As DS and I had tickets to see the show Wicked at London's Apollo Victoria Theatre at 7:30 that evening, we were getting a bit nervous about making it to the show on time.

We arrived at our hotel, The Marriott County Hall in London at 6:15pm. DS & I literally just had time to change our clothes, grab a few bites in the Executive Lounge, run to Westminster Station, and catch the tube to the theatre! This in itself was quite an adventure! Luckily, we arrived at the Apollo at 7:10 and even had time to check out the gift shop! DS was besides herself with excitement in anticipation of seeing the show. In fact, several theatre patrons and employees were quite amused by her enthusiasm. For me, it was extra special since I personally saw my first musical Starlight Express here at the same theatre in London!

We had great seats in 4th Row Center Stalls (orchestra) and enjoyed the show immensely.

An almost perfect evening at the theatre (DS' shoes broke!) ended when DS got to meet Elphaba, Galinda (DS' favorite next to Elphaba), Nessa and a few other cast members who took pictures with her and autographed her program.

DS with Dianne Pilkington (Glinda)...Drew's favorite!

Glinda and Elphaba in character...


DS with Alexia Khadime (Elphaba)... She's absolutely FAB!

Then we headed back to our hotel and enjoyed seeing Big Ben, The London Eye and the River Thames lit up at night......

Meanwhile PS and Daddy had fun strolling the Queens' Walk in front of our hotel, enjoyed the night lights and a nice sushi dinner at a nearby Japanese restaurant.

It's a green theme tonight... PS eating (and enjoying!) Green Tea ice cream...

After DS and I came back from the theatre, we had the chance to catch up with Ray and exchange stories on what we did that evening. We were also able to enjoy the lovely suite the hotel upgraded us to! I took several pictures of our room since it was SOO nice! The views in itself were absolutely amazing.

View from our hotel bedroom...

The next morning after a leisurely breakfast, we walked to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guards. By the time we got there, the huge crowds made it difficult for the girls to see anything. So, we decided to just get out of there. But as we were working our way out, we got lucky and got stuck right at the entrance of an opened gate where we got a clear, front-row view of a little part of the ceremony!

We then ditched the crowds and ended up at Green Park where the girls enjoyed running around before heading back towards our hotel. On the way back, we again got caught at a road stop where we got a great view of the guard's band leaving Buckingham Palace. We walked through beautiful St. James Park where we stopped for drinks while the girls enjoyed feeding the swans and squirrels their spare snacks.

St. James Park

After strolling past Big Ben and the River Thames, we proceeded down the Queens Walk in front of our hotel trying to find a place to eat Fish and Chips for lunch. To the girls disapointment, we couldn't find any, but ended up satisfied with a local noodle shop instead.



All too soon it was time to depart London to make it back for the 6:30pm ferry back to France. While on board the ship, wouldn't you know the special dinner of the evening was fish and chips!!

By jolly, brilliant!



We put the girls to sleep in the car as the next day was their first day back to school... And back to a normal routine again. What a perfect way to end our summer!!

See our 1st trip to London here...

A Pre-Cruise Holiday

The HMS Warrior, in 1860 The Pride of Queen Victoria's Fleet, Portsmouth

Sometime last year, we made plans to take a Princess Cruise with our good friends from back home, the Yuki's. Well, amazingly, what seemed like a trip in the far off future was suddenly here!

Since the cruise would be departing out of Southampton (on the southern coast of England), we took the opportunity to leave a few days earlier to explore that part of the UK before we met our friends on board the cruise ship.

Jo booked us a reservation on the Calais to Dover ferry again, much like our trip to the UK back in May, 2008. It really is a simple and relaxing way to "cross the channel" to England. And its always a nice sight to be welcomed by the "White Cliffs" of Dover once you arrive...

Once in the UK, we headed west to the Marriott Meon Valley Hotel and Country Club in Southampton, where we spent two evenings. It's a very nice resort (probably even better if we played golf!)

Our first order of business was to check in, get situated and go find someplace to eat! We usually ask the hotel staff for their recommendations and were told to head over to The Cricketers Inn for a proper English dinner. And it most certainly was...

Everyone's happy after a fine English meal!


We retired early to our hotel and put the girls down for the evening. The following morning, we had a nice breakfast at the hotel and headed out for some sightseeing.

Winchester Cathedral, one of the largest and famous cathedrals in England is nearby and has its origins in the 7th century.

It is the burial site for English novelist Jane Austen and for also a couple of notables named "Washington", who are ancestors of a guy named George...

The cathedral also has a children's education center and hosts many educational events througout the year. DS and PS partipated in a "create a bug" competition and submitted their entries for judging...

Afterwards, we walked through town and over to Winchester Castle and the Great Hall.

The Great Hall

There, hanging on the wall is the Winchester Round Table, commissioned by King Henry VIII to celebrate the various knights of Arthur's court. Its 18 feet in diameter and weighs about 2,400 pounds (about the same as a small car!)

This shot gives you an idea how big this hanging table top is.

The Great Hall had children's activities, such as a scanvenger hunt where clues are given and you had to find the answers hidden in various parts of the castle. It was a great way to get the kids involved and interested in the castle...

PS showing off her completed quiz sheet!

That evening, we headed into nearby Portsmouth to check out the waterfront area known as Gunwharf Quays and to find a place for dinner.

The Spinnaker Tower is an observation deck that provides a birdseye view of the surrounding area.

The evening was clear and breezy, but a bit cold. However, that didn't deter us from finding a nice outdoor restaurant to enjoy the waterfront and live music.

After dinner, we happened upon this Fish and Chips stand. What better way to cap off a nice dinner than with MORE food??

We were glad we stopped, because it was probably the most delicious fish and chips we have ever eaten! Crispy and piping hot, with just the right amount of seasoning! Jolly good!

These last two days have been a perfect start for a week of lots more food and sightseeing on our Princess Cruise...