We got up early in order to be ready to leave at our assigned time. Jan called to say they had a table for 4 in Coffee Connection, so we met up with them there and just nibbled for breakfast. One last cappucino for me and double espresso for Michael. Jeffrey and Eric (servers there) always call out "dub-lay" when they see him. Guess he's the only one who has a double espresso. We got to say a last goodbye to Cruise Director Andrew and he suggested we connect on Facebook when I said I didn't know if we'd see him again. He hinted that he may not be doing this job for a whole lot longer (think it has something to do with his recently ex-girlfriend Megan). Last hugs to Jan and Tom and we were off for our transfer to Heathrow airport with a stop for a short tour of Winchester and the Cathedral.
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| Founded in 1097 during the Saxon times, it has undergone several remodels. In the center with the darker stone, you can see that the windows are rounded. Later, after the French figured out how to make windows with points at the top, most of the windows were changed by the Normans. You can see those on the left and right. To do that, they had to take out the middle row of windows. Must have been quite the project. |
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| It is huge, with the longest nave and the greatest overall length of any Gothic cathedral in Europe. It's something like 536 feet from end to end. This picture is taken from the middle looking east. |
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| And this is from the middle looking west. |
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| The detail on the carved altar was amazing. |
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| Cushions on the uncomfortable looking benches |
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| And also on the more modern chairs. |
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| The bones of those buried on this site before were interred here. Notice how it says "may contain" the remains. Guess it was hard to keep them straight when they were from 1100 AD. |
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| Lots of big whigs are buried here |
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| Including Jane Austen, who didn't live in Winchester, but died there. Guess that's close enough. |
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| A side chapel |
It is enormous and beautiful. I don't know how you'd concentrate on any services - I'd be too busy just looking around.
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| This is a mirror on a stand they set up so you could admire the gorgeous ceiling without having to do neck contortions to look up. Very clever. |
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| There were volunteer guides available and if we'd had more time, I would have loved to take advantage. |
We only had about an hour and then it was back to the bus. But on the way we passed by the Guild House (like city hall.)
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| It's not too shabby either. |
We got to Heathrow in plenty of time for our 4:40 pm flight and check-in was a breeze. Off to the Business Lounge where we were able to get drinks and food. One last aperol spritz for the road. While killing time, I checked on Facebook and saw that Andrew had indeed sent a "friend" request to me through Facebook. What a sweetie.
The flight home was uneventful and the service was very good on United. Again, we had the lay flat seats so I was able to stretch out and get a few hours of sleep on the 7-1/2 hour flight. We arrived on time at Dulles, and then spent about 30 minutes just getting to the Immigration/Customs area. Considering how many international travelers go through there, they have the most antiquated system. You have to wait for a shuttle bus to take you to Customs, and there seemed to be only 1 running for at least 2 flights that had just arrived. Ridiculous. Once we got there, we were able to breeze through with our Global Entry membership. No need to pull out your passport or even the GE card. You just look into the facial recognition camera and if you match, off you go. We had debated with Jan and Tom about what to declare at Customs. We bought a few souvenir aprons and hats that probably totaled $100. And we had spent our shipboard credit which was closer to $1,000, but since that was already paid for in our cruise cost, was that really buying anything? We decided not, and so I wasn't going to mention the globe or leather bag Michael bought on the ship. Turns out there were no forms to complete and the Customs guy just asked Michael if he had anything to declare, and he said souvenirs under $1,200, so the guy said to go on out. Hmmph. Times have changed.
Our luggage was waiting for us and we caught a LYFT right away and were home by about 9:30 pm. Not bad. Had to do a few things, like turn the water back on, restart the water heater, and water the plants, but then it was off to bed. We were up very early this morning, but that will get better in a few days.
We had a wonderful time and I miss some of the crew and nice people we met already, but it is good to be home again. Even if I do have to make my own bed and do my own laundry!
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