Paris and London WOW

5/1/20088:51:50 AM Link 0 comments | Add comment

As we sat under the Eiffel Tower on a beautiful sun lite day I amazed at how wonderful our transatlantic cruise has been for us. Here we were among visitors from around the world visiting the City of Lights. We took a short walk down to the Seine River and watched the barges go by and listened to people speak their native languages from all around the world. Paris is a MUST see for all of us.

Over night we cruised to Southampton where we disembarked from the Brilliance of the Seas. Our 12 day cruise was at an end though we still had London ahead of us. In trying to put together our trip and England being a country we had not visited trying to figure out how to get from Southampton to London was challenging. Everyone suggested taking the train but there were buses, tours from the cruise line and of course private car service available. We selected to train it so we could see the country side. It was the best decision as the trains were clean, service was excellent and the poepl very friendly. The one thing to share that was not good was the price. We paid 27 pounds each or the equivalent of $54,00 USD for a 1 1/2 hour train ride.

Arriving in London we took a taxi to our hotel. Once we dropped off our luggage we headed out to see London. First stop was Buckingham Palace. It is as beautiful as you see on TV. We hoped to see the changing of the guard but it was postponed to Sunday. Still the magnificence of the palace was mindboggling.

Next we were off to see St James palace where we were tld stoof guards in the formal dress. Not true. We learned that because of the war in Afganistan many of the English military guard was deployed. We did capture pictures of less formally dressed guards. Along the way were beautiful tulips in fill bloom. Red, yellow, blue and white flowers lined the way along Green Park. Lots of picture taking opportunties.

Then the long walk came down to the Thames River. It truely was worth the walk.. There we stood by Big Ben (the name applies to the bell not the clock) and across the river from the famous EyE ferris wheel. There are lots of tour buses and river cruises you can take to see London withour all the walking (we did in two hours over 4 miles). The cost for the tours ran around $24.00 pounds ($48.oo USD each)..

After close to 8 hours we decided to call it a day and head back to our hotel because we had a very early flight the next day. We choose to fly back to the US on Virgin Atlantic in their Upper Class. We were extremely pleased to experience their service. Starting with their car pickup at 6:30 am we made the 30 minute drive to Heathrow. There we entered Virgin's private car checkin area being greeted by a represented who welcomed us by name. From the opening of our car dorr to sitting down in Virgin's Clubhouse it took approximately 7 - 8 minutes including security. Talk about first class.

Next came the 9 hour flight back to Miami. Virgin atlantic has in my opinion the finish in fligh service available. Excellent food, comfortable seats, attentive inflight staff and giving the customer the feeling they were valued all made the Virgin flight a memorable experience.

Well we are now home and reliving the transatlantic experience looking at close to 1000 pictures taken on our journey. 

Where next - the Greek Isles.

Now it is your turn. Where do your dreams take you? Allow us the opportunity to make your dreams come true. Give us a call at 877-492-1201 and we can make your vacation as memorable as this has been for us.