NEW YORK - part 2

Today, we (in other words - me!) needed to escape the maddening crowds. It was going to be a hot day so we left early to walk to Central Park.

Being Sunday morning the streets were quiet, we passed a stable preparing their horses & carriages for the day in Central Park.

They kept the horses in this building

A number of local baseball games were in play -  Who's on first, What's on second, I don't knows on third.

 Many people enjoying the wonderful morning - including us

                             

 What would be a good way to relax & have fun?  

My rowing skills were not as good as Cliff's - I felt I was getting us nowhere & worried about running into other boats - so I was not feeling very relaxed.

The skyline of Central Park West was pretty amazing.

After rowing I think a well deserved soda was in order - there was nothing stronger available until midday.

Another lake full of remote control yachts - we found a shady spot to sit, eat salted caramel icecream, watch the boats & passing crowds.

We left the park & realised we lost Nessie -  not knowing where she could be, I asked these friendly NYPD cops for assistance. One very happy to help & one not so happy

Finally we found Nessie at the Plaza Hotel "Home Alone - Lost in New York"

McCoy's Irish Pub in Hells Kitchen, a soda for Cliff & beer for Nessie. The saying for the day in this bar was - "A hangover is something that occupies the head you neglected to use last night" how very true.

Bon Voyage New York city - we've had a very exhausting 48 hours but well worth it.

A day at sea & then Charleston, South Carolina next stop.

NEW YORK NEW YORK (part 1)

After leaving Iceland, we awoke to extremely thick fog. The Captain made an announcement, due to numerous icebergs off the coast of Newfoundland & thick fog the Sea Princess would not be docking in Halifax & we were proceeding direct to New York. A little disappointed on missing Nova Scotia but excited to have an extra night in New York.

We were lucky enough to be in the 2nd group to be processed by Immigration (apparently the last group finished well after midnight) After the experience of being fingerprinted & retina scanned (which was a little daunting) we decided to walk 7kms from the cruise terminal to the new One World Trade Centre (the tallest building below)

The weather was hot but there was a lovely breeze along the waterfront which was full of joggers, cyclists & families enjoying the ourdoors. By the time we arrived at the World Tower it was dark & very few tourists waiting to visit the observatory - which was great for us. The lift took less than 60 seconds to reach the 102nd floor where the 380 degree views of the city lights seemed to go on forever.

On the way back to the ship we stopped at Greenwich Village for a slice of Joe's Pizza (as recommended by Bec) the walls in this little pizza joint were covered in photos of movie stars who have eaten there - but for us, no stars were to be seen, one of the streets near by was closed for filming, so maybe in the early hours the stars go for pizza.

Now for a weekend to explore Manattan

This was a Saturday, so how busy must Time Square be on a weekday?

I think there's a super hero convention in town

People want their photo taken with the numerous characters in the square - I made the mistake of wanting my photo with Woody, Anna & Hello Kitty - after Cliff took the photo they demanded $5 each - lesson learnt - no more photos with cartoon characters.

Unless its a minion in Toys R us

"These pretzels are making me thirsty" 

Cliff needed a drink after devouring this huge salt covered pretzel

Ahh - nothing like a cold beer to wash down a pretzel - Cliff with Tommy the barman at the Landmark Tavern.

Michael the owner of the Landmark left Ireland & worked in Sydney pubs for a couple of years before moving to Manhatten.

After a full day of walking it was back for a quick sleep before the Lion King on Broadway - good thing I set the alarm or we would have missed it.

We had great seats, the costumes were amazing, Cliff enjoyed the show, but for me it felt more like a pantomime. Exhausted we walked back to the ship & fell into bed.

ICELAND - Reykjavik

Ahoy, Ahoy Iceberg off the port side - it was scary to see this giant block of ice in the distance -  thoughts of the Titanic came to mind & how many more icebergs to come?

The weather so far has not been very good - lots of rain & wind. Glad today we have sunshine although very brisk. This is the middle of summer with a high of 14 degrees

The city of Reykjavik looked interesting but unfortunately for us I booked the  glacier tour which did not include a drive through the city - oh well, maybe next time.

We boarded our 4wd bus with tour guide Ingvar & our driver Patrick (what a lead foot)

We stopped along the way at Thingvellire national park - this is where Reykjanes ridge (an above ground portion of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge) is divided by the American & Eurasian tectonic plates, the land in between is no-mans land, Ingvar said we were on 2 continents in 1 day.

On through the lava fields we went - I felt sure Patrick was going to lose control of the bus & our trip would be over.

Finally, we arrived in one piece at Langjokull glacier which is the 2nd biggest glacier in Iceland.

unfortunately the blue sky didn't last long

Total white out - sadly for us the driver said he could go no further.

He stopped so we could have some fun in the snow - Cliff was busy playing with Nessie in the front of the monster truck.

Finally he came out to play with me :-)

The abominable Nessie the snow beast.

Cliff still being a big kid at heart tried to hit me with snow balls - luckily his aim is not as good as it used to be.

Our drive through the Hallmundertiraun lava fields was pretty incredible - it looked like a scene from "Lost in Space" Danger, Danger Will Robertson :-)

Next stop Hraunfossar falls where numerous spings of water & melting ice run between the lava layers & create the falls which flow into the Hvita` river.

Let me tell you it was bloody cold

Cliff had to use Nessie to keep his neck warm.

Finally back on the overheated bus for out trip back to Reykjavik - unbelievable scenery - this mountain looked a bit like a scene from Lord of the Rings. 

A beautiful sunset to finish our day

Next stop Nova Scotia

IRELAND & SCOTLAND

As the English weather bid us farewell we watched tankers pass very close to our ship, it was becoming foggy & we hoped they all had a good view of us

The port town of Cobh (Cove) 

Off to Cork - cold & drizzly but one thing to say about the Irish - almost all of the pubs are in wonderful condition with lots of colourful flower pots.

they're very proud of their pubs

Back in Cobh they were celebrating Australia Day - this celebration is in relation to the convicts who were transported from Spike Island to Tasmania's Port Arthur - the town was in full swing with Australian flags, markets & entertainment. Cobh was also the last port for the ill fated Titanic.

We found a very eclectic pub - the owner "Danny" was an exceptional man - the pub was full of his personal memorabilia 

Cliff with Danny & Jacqui the barmaid

This is a photo of Millvina Dean - at only 2 months old she was a survivor from the Titanic, she was also a good friend of Danny & his late wife

A little bit of history from the Guardian newspaper: 

Millvina Dean, born on 2 February 1912, had been in hospital last week with pneumonia, having worked as a secretary until her retirement. Her death came just a month after Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, stars of the Hollywood blockbuster about the disaster, stepped in to help pay her nursing home fees. The pair joined with James Cameron, the director of the Oscar-winning film, to donate £20,000 to The Millvina Fund.

DUBLIN

The working port of Dublin didn't inspire hope we would enjoy wandering the city, but the further we walked the more attractive it became. We passed very moving sculptures of the Irish famine

All of these beautiful pubs were in the Temple District.

A friendly leprechaun very happy to have his photo taken as long as we added to his pot of gold

We spent the afternoon sitting in one of the pubs listening to irish music

We farewelled Ireland with a beautiful sunset 

BACK TO SCOTLAND

What can I say - Nessie was in her element back on her home soil, but along way from her famous Loch Ness. 

Greenock was a very small & quiet industrial town - not a lot of atmosphere

We did spend the morning looking at some beautiful artwork in the McLean museum

spot Nessie

Farewell to Greenock.

Next stop Iceland