New York City and Broadway

We arrived in NYC on the QM2 on a foggy morning of a rainy day. After breakfast and luggage offloading we were off on a tour of Manhattan by bus (with the world's worst guide) then to our hotel. Our whirlwind three days and nights included a Broadway show each night (one of them a departure gift from Chuck's office-mates in London). We, of course hit some of the usual tourist points -- the Statue of Liberty and Liberty Island, a first for us both and another first -- Ellis Island, the scene of entry for Chuck's grandparents.

Shown here are a view from the top of Rockefeller Center (on a hazy day) with the Empire State Building prominent, a view of St. Patrick's Cathedral just as rain began to fall and the interior of the main hall at Ellis Island. To see all of our New York City photos click on:


http://chuck.smugmug.com/gallery/3582086#203449907

The Voyage Home

Our three great years in London came to an end in July -- Chuck's last day at work was 10 July and we departed the country on the fantastic ocean liner Queen Mary 2 (from Southampton) on 12 July. After a great 6 nights and five days at sea we watched the Statue of Liberty take form out of the early morning fog, while passing under the Verrezano Narrows Bridge at dawn. What a sight the New York City skyline is from the harbor!

The Atlantic crossing on that great ship was quite an experience. The ship is big! And it's beautiful and luxurious, with many great activities available every day - and, of course, with wonderful meals. The ambience is different from most cruise ships, with a much more formal air (though only in the evenings). In fact, on the six nights we were on board, three were formal nights, with gentlemen attending dinner in tuxedos and ladies in gowns. Two of the evenings were "elegant casual", which was defined as jackets and ties for men and ladies dressed accordingly. One night was designated as "casual" -- but casual Queen Mary 2 style, meaning ties are optional for gentlemen, but jackets are expected. While this is unusual today, we did find that the evenings tended to be very elegant and actually quite enjoyable. There were two formal balls over the six nights, as well.

The ship has a very modern, highly sophisticated planetarium, which featured several different cosmic displays and shows; the two theaters were busy several times each day and evening, with a wide variety of lectures and musical entertainments. The ship has a library that is actually quite beautiful and is located near the forward end of the superstructure, providing, through the large windows, great views of the sea ahead of the ship. Of course there are several bars and pubs, grills and cafes -- as well as the more formal restaurants used for dinner. We were fortunate to have two very pleasant couples, one British, one American, as our table-mates.

Our cabin was surprisingly roomy, notably larger than on the one cruise ship we've sailed with and for ship-designer Chuck, just exploring the ship provided sufficient entertainment for hours. Our cabin door opened on to the very long fore-and-aft corridor that ran the entire length of the ship's superstructure (not as long as the ship's hull, of course) and since our cabin was near the forward end of the ship, looking aft in the corridor gave a good idea of how long the ship was -- the far end was so far away that people there looked tiny and there almost seemed to be a haze in the air from the effect of the distance.

Pictures of the trip are posted in three photo galleries. The departure from Southampton:

http://chuck.smugmug.com/gallery/3576531#203035128

The crossing:

http://chuck.smugmug.com/gallery/3576585#203040391

And the foggy, dawn arrival in New York:

http://chuck.smugmug.com/gallery/3582036#203446354