Hyatt Family Blog

London

Our week in London was totally different than our first week on the ship. We both had colds, the weather was chilly and damp, and the prices were astronomical. Nevertheless, we had a great time walking everywhere, revisiting many famous sites, going to the theaters at night, and going to Leed's Castle and Canterbury one day.

After arriving at our hotel, St. James Court, we went to Hyde's Park, where Art enjoyed the variety of crazy speakers, and we both mingled with the crowd there for the Party in the Park concert.

Another favorite spot was Covent Gardens, where they have shops and entertainment.

Here are shots of Marble Arch, Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, which was a block from our hotel, St. James Park, Parliament, Big Ben, and the Millenium Ferris Wheel.

Our only organized tour was to Leed's Castle, with it's beautiful gardens and roaming flamingos, .

and to Canterbury, with it's famous Cathedral.

Alas, all good things must end. Here's our last picture at our last great meal at our hotel. We're with Bebe and Don from St. Louis, of all places!

Queen Mary 2 Transatlantic Cruise

We just returned from a fabulous two week trip. The first week was spent on the Queen Mary 2, which went from New York City to Southampton, England.


The ship's interior was magnificent and I managed to get great shots of the many rooms and murals. Notice how bare each area looks...hard to believe that this is the largest ship and there were over 2600 people aboard! Our stateroom was the largest and nicest one we ever had and we were pleasantly surprised to have a balcony. Of course, the lifeboat blocked our view and it was too chilly to sit outside but it was nice anyway!

This picture is actually made up of small pictures of ships!


The ship is the only ship to have it's own planetarium onboard as well as a pub.

One of the most beautiful and interesting features of the ship was the main hallway, which was covered with bronze murals depicting seasons, continents, etc.

Now that I've shown the ship, I'll show the beautiful views of New York that we saw when we first got on the ship and as we left the harbor.

Besides the beauty of the ship, we enjoyed lectures, formal nights, exploring the ship, relaxing, meeting the captain, and the many activities, like the Mascarade Ball and the Ascot Ball, where the women showed off their hats.

Saving the best for last...the best part of the cruise was the interesting people we met and especially, the friends we made at our great dining table. For instance, we met Louise Rennsion, the British author, who writes popular teenage novels and is quite a funny, interesting person. We also were lucky to have the second in command, Chris something, sit with us and tell us stories about life on board as well as buy the wine each night! The other couples also added to our lively conversations, which got quite loud at times. All in all, it couldn't have been more fun, educational, and special.

The second part of our trip, London, will be posted soon.

Trip to Atlanta

I made a trip to Atlanta, where Greta and the kids are, for the 4th of July weekend. I found the kids to be much more grown up - the were walking around constantly, doing advanced things, understanding more of what we told them, etc. In short, they are doing great. So of course, I have many new pictures that show them off. Here's a few to whet your appetite...

And there's more: