PHILADELPHIA

It's a very nice town, I bit spoiled by it's inhabitants. A lot of shouty people and obnoxious school children. Many wonderful buildings, open spaces and parks. It's the home of the birth of the USA. I was amazed by the number of signers to the Declaration of Independence, 56. It was drafted by Thomas Jefferson but he claimed it was butchered in order to get agreement. The side of town that borders the Delaware, the original parts of Philly is a beautiful area with little cobbled streets. We had a nice guided tour around Independence Hall by a park ranger. We had no tickets but one of the rangers got us in.

Independence Hall was originally the Pennsylvania State House where the declaration was agreed and George Washington appointed Commander of the Continental Army.

As I say, a nice town, that's Ben Franklin who was buried just across the road from his head. That's William Penn on top of the town hall tower. He & I have something on common, we were both on a jury in the same room at the Old Bailey. Never had a cheese steak.

HELL'S KITCHEN......

.....is the district that our ship is docked in Manhattan. It's not really clear why it's called that.

1. Two cops watching a riot there, one said this is hell, the other cop, Dutch Fred, said - hell's a mild climate, this is hell's kitchen.

2. A newspaper report of murders in a tenement referred to the area as Hell's Kitchen - the name stuck.

3. A gang called Hell's Kitchen operated in the area. Whether they were named for the district or vice versa is not clear.

4. There was a rowdy restaurant named Heil's Kitchen that maybe led to the name.

Hell's Kitchen was used well before the New York adoption coming from a district in South London. You pick.

The only Concorde to fly two liveries, BA & Singapore Air. Had a long career, continuing to fly after the Paris crash. Holds the record for the fastest scheduled East West transatlantic flight.

Never went into space used as a test bed & in the investigation of the shuttle disasters.

The Growler with a nuclear cruise missile that was a stopgap before the introduction of Polaris.

Linda looking lost on Penn station before our Acelar trip to Philadelphia. Nice high speed train, very comfortable with trolley service & plenty of baggage space.

BOSTON

 We have been to Boston a few times over the past 30 years and witnessed significant changes. We saw the big dig that built tunnels under the city to remove the elevated freeway sections and to put parks where the roads ran. This time we have seen the redevelopment of the dock areas into a modern neighborhood. Wonderful!

We took a guided tour of historic areas and Cambridge where Harvard & MIT are located.

Lot of stories here, tea party, massacre, Paul Revere, bunker hill, undefeated USS Constitution - it's a lot more complicated than what's told. The Constitution is interesting, 18th century frigate still on active duty. It has to sail several times a year and does so, not just a museum piece.

This is Harvard, very nice spot in Cambridge.

Just across the river is Copley Square with the library,  Trinity Church and the old glass Hancock Building which was a build beset by massive problems including subsidence of nearby buildings. The glass reflects beautifully though.

Set sail late, captured the ship when quiet and a UFO landing at Logan.

CANADIA

 Weather makes a transformation. Arrived at our first landfall since leaving Glasgow, Corner Brook. Still raining and miserable. Went ashore to stretch our legs around a park in the drizzle.

Next port Sydney and weather transformed, danger of sun burn. Sydney is a nice civilised town that is the gateway to Cap Breton. This is reputed to be a scenic drive that's one of the best in the world. It's a 7-8 hour trip that needs good weather to do it justice. Alas, that will have to go on the list for another day. Spent a good 20 minutes talking to a local, really nice guy by the name of Miller. I wonder if he is related to Seb?

NOT GOING TOO WELL

 This is a little summary of the days following Le Havre. Due to go to Saint Malo, Falmouth, Cork, Holyhead, Greenock(for Glasgow), Killybegs. We only made it to Cork, Holyhead and Greenock - all the others cancelled. We had a private tour booked at Killybegs, luckily got a refund despite the short notice.

Croquet on deck, Lin wanted to keep the mallet for disciplinary purposes. Crew made her leave it behind.

Met with the locals in Cork, nice walk around town in pleasant weather.

Holyhead, Wales. After a long tender ride into port we took the train to Conwy. A really lovely town with the castle & suspension bridge, pretty harbour and quaint shops & cafes. Visited Plas Mawr Tudor house from 1577. Restored to original condition thanks to the fact it had been owned by the hi same family since it was built. The original owner's wife had a coat of arms that featured the severed heads of 3 Englishmen - nice!

Back into Scotland - and it's raining, no surprise there. Spent the morning in the spa centre, thalassa pool, hot tub, all in the rain followed by sauna & steam to round off. Did get off for a stroll around Greenock, but it was so miserable.

Now mid Atlantic in heavy weather, lots of rock & roll and I've never been on a nosier ship. The banging & crashing in our cabin are so loud.

OFF.....AGAIN

 It must be a conspiracy. We have the driest summer since records began 190 years ago, we go on holiday and it's pouring with rain. Never mind, make the best of it. Started off good with the train journey to Southampton. Got an Uber cab deal £30ish down to Waterloo station, then train to Southampton and shank's to the hotel nearby. We live about 8 miles from Waterloo & it's 70 miles to Southampton, yet both legs of the journey took around the same amount of time - 1 hour 10 mins. Let the train take the strain. Nice time in Southampton, it's got a very decent shopping centre (free breakfast in IKEA with expiring loyalty points) Visited the Tudor house & Gardens, (half price to us) and chatted with some really lovely people.

Another Uber to the ship & unbelievably there was no one at all waiting to get on - never experienced that before! Ship is pretty comfortable and it doesn't look like it's anywhere near full. Cabin is quiet and comfortable. We are in Le Havre and had planned to get a cab to Honfleur, but it was tipping it down this morning, we lost an hour's kip, so went for breakfast in bed and got up at 10am. Been exploring the ship and it's got a nice golf course on board. Went in the nets and then took Linda on. Tomorrow is croquet.

HOME - AT LAST

 World cake day, is there such a day? The ship apparently thinks so.

All gone in ten minutes, four tables like this in the restaurant. 

We had a journey from hell to get back home. All started well, off the ship nicely, cab picked us up on time, traffic good between Rotterdam & Amsterdam airport. Once we disentangled ourselves from the Air Fungus line even got through check-in, security and customs without anything except a minor blip with a wheelchair passenger who was carrying something they shouldn't be carrying. Five mile walk to the gate, which is normal for Schiphol. Unsuspecting we sat waiting. I started to check flight track on the incoming aircraft and noticed problems escalating at Heathrow. Delays and cancellations mounting up, average departure time running over 1 hour late. Usual airport shambles, change gate, change again, don't know when the plane will arrive. We ignored it and bought a sandwich. Plane finally arrived 1.5 hours late. Captain got off and spoke to everyone - "storms lightning etc at LHR, lost our return slots, best to sit tight & board at 5pm, it'll be more comfortable here than sitting on the plane, we're off to get a cuppa" 4pm, the gate chirps up "We're boarding" Cynical me said that's to to stop us going over 2 hours late when compensation is due. So sat in the full plane with the blinds drawn to keep cool for 35 mins. I asked the chief stewardess how the day had gone, she cheerily answered "pass". Finally set off, very bumpy, got in to Heathrow OK & parked up in remote spot. Announced we had to bus in, problem was no buses. Everyone had to sit down again to let those busting have access to the loos. 45 mins later the first bus arrived. Great I thought, we're getting going, let me plan next stage - Piccadilly line closed, bus replacement service, OK, Elizabeth line to Liverpool Street, Weaver line home - lovely. Huge crowds waiting at the platform - there was a Bad Bunny performing at Spurs Stadium. Finally made it home by around 9pm, cheese sandwich and bed. Been up since 5:30am, had no trouble sleeping. Give a thought to all those poor folks losing their flight connections.