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

LONDON

Oh my goodness - our final week - where has the time gone  - As the song says 

"Let me take you by the hand & lead you through the streets of London - I'll show you something that'll make you change your mind"

Rob organised a 2 bedroom apartment in Islington - very handy to London -  so off we set with map in hand for a week of walking.

Cliff liked the fact there were still phone boxes for those who refuse to live in the modern world of mobile phones.

On the banks of the Thames - I imagine this will be the closest I will ever get to Egypt

Gothic architecture of the Houses of Parliament, very impressive

Where modern meets old - We found a great little bar directly under the Tower Bridge with views of the unusual modern architecture of London

Tower Bridge was extremely pretty

But very crowded

Lions guarding the Tower of London

Buckingham Palace - we didn't see the Queens guards but there were plenty of police with big guns

No folks - we didn't actually go to Wimbledon but we did get to walk through the entrance to take some photos

West End - Rob booked tickets for Les Miserables - what can I say - the performance so very moving - Rob & I shed a tear or two - I'm sure I caught a glimpse of Cliff wiping his eye.

Time to stroll to Camden Markets & Little Venice, we walked along canals lined with beautiful barges. A very relaxing way to spend our day.

Cliff & Doug found a pub they said was named after Rob & I - They wanted a photo of us under the sign - no matter what they say - We don't nag - we just make suggestions :-)

Off to Borough food markets - where else can you wander drinking Pimms & Sangria while checking out incredible food stalls.

Our final night at a Japanese restaurant

Rob booked a taxi to transport us to Southampton while they continued on to Portsmouth to catch the ferry to France for the next leg of their holiday. 

For Cliff & I, the Sea Princess check-in took no more than 15 minutes 

To Rob & Doug - we want to say thank you for making our holiday so memorable - you showed us places we would never have seen & we appreciate all Robs hard work for booking wonderful accommodation in beautiful villages

Cheers to all who have followed our blog so far - Farewell to our land leg & here's to another 53 days of sailing - Stay tuned.

TETBURY & BATH

Our accommodation in the village of Tetbury was very comfortable - the staff were extremely friendly & the pub had lots of games to play - we spent our first night drinking sangria (obviously beer for Doug & Cliff) & playing dominos & Uno - lots of fun.

the next day we spent wandering streets dating back to medieval times - such as the cobbled Chipping steps

 the covered market house - constructed in 1655

this building was also constructed in the 1600's

We met some locals in the street who invited us to share a drink with them in their local club. They had lots of gossip on the area, apparently Charles & Camilla live only 10 minutes from town, Charles owns a dairy & also the Highgrove shop in the centre of town - all profits from the sale of Highgrove products go to his charities.

Next day we were off to Bath

Now this was not what I was expecting to see!!!

We walked from top to bottom

tried out lots of pubs

had lots of fun

Decided to take our Ferrari for a spin

walked through some local galleries

Met up with Rob & Doug to finish off our night before our final week in London.

This has been quite an experience.