Sunday 17.03 Now we had the car, we were determined to make the most of it, so after an early breakfast we set off for the south of Florida, and the Everglades. We could have got there much quicker if we could have taken the toll roads, but we were restricted to the non-paying roads, which of course were much busier.
Still, we reached the gateway to the Everglades National Park at about 11.00: The Ernest F. Coe Visitor Centre. This introduced us to the area, and gave information about what was there. From here there is basically one road right down to the coast at Flamingo, so as it was getting towards lunchtime, and there was nowhere else to get food except at Flamingo, we decided to drive there directly, and then to meander on our way back.
On the way, we called in at the site of the nuclear missile launch installations from the Cuban Missile Crisis. While it was interesting, and one of the volunteers talked to us about his experiences on a launch site elsewhere in Florida, I found it rather chilling and unnerving that it had become a tourist site. Our guide couldn’t quite understand why I felt like this, as I obviously didn’t explain myself well enough, but being there, next to a decommissioned missile made me feel very uncomfortable.
With the pause, it took a good couple of hours to reach Flamingo, but once we were there (about 14.30) we found the restaurant and had a club sandwich with fries and a large berry smoothie. Then we walked along one of the trails for a while, and saw a beautiful bird – the swallow tailed kite. It was so swift and agile in the air, we both stood and watched it for about 5 minutes!
We then drove back, stopping in different places to walk the trails, to see the wildlife, and to enjoy the strange beauty of a habitat we had never seen before. We saw alligators, turtles, white herons, egrets…and other birds I didn’t recognise.
We walked along boardwalks out to the edge of lakes, or over marshes, and we visited creeks where vines hung down and alligators probably lurked. The landscape wasn’t really what I had expected (although I wasn’t really sure what I had expected!) but it was really varied and interesting.
By the time we left the national park, it was getting quite late. We’d booked a hotel, rather than driving back to Miami, as the plan was to drive down the Keys the following day. We set the Sat Nav for the hotel and off we went (again, a slightly longer route on toll-less roads); when we arrived, at about 19.00, the desk clerk apologised and said he couldn’t find our booking. Mr FD showed him the booking on his phone and “Oh, no, sir. You’re in the wrong hotel. This one’s about 30 minutes away…” The wrong hotel had been programmed into the Sat Nav (I’m not saying who did that, but we weren’t using my phone…) So off we set to find the right hotel. Of course, on toll-less roads it took longer, but we were finally installed in our (correct) hotel an hour later.
We could barely struggle across the car park to the diner we were so tired. I had a chicken Caesar salad (that was so big I couldn’t finish it!) and Mr FD chose barbecued shrimps and a side salad (that was so big he almost couldn’t finish it!) By 21.30 we had both fallen into bed and were asleep! All this fresh air!!
Saturday 16/03: Today was the day we were going to get the hire car, because we wanted to travel beyond the bounds of Miami. Mr FD had cleverly thought that he should hire it from the airport, for 2 reasons: 1) The transport links from Miami to the airport were good, so it would be easy to get there to pick the car up and (2) When we were going home, we would be able to take our luggage by car to the airport, instead of manhandling it on public transport. The pick-up was at 15.00, so Mr FD suggested we went to visit Vizcaya Gardens which were over on the right side of the city.
We retraced part of our journey from yesterday, and arrived fairly early in the morning, not long after the gardens had opened. They were beautiful. The villa was also very pleasant, although neither of us are as interested in visiting houses as visiting gardens, so we didn’t see a lot of the house. The villa was built between 1914 and 1922 for a rich businessman, James Deering, as his winter home.
The construction of the gardens was finished about a year later. The property originally consisted of 180 acres of shoreline mangrove wetlands and dense inland native tropical forests and Deering made efforts to conserve at least part of these mangrove forests. The rest of the gardens are in the Italianate style.
They weren’t kidding about the mangrove swamps! This gentleman was within touching distance in the garden!
Just one example of many on the internet of “Vizcaya Gardens instagram”
We wandered the gardens, pausing in the shade from time to time, enjoying the ambience. The main problem was that they are so lovely and picturesque that many people want to have “insta worthy” photos – there were so many young women posing in front of arches, in arbours, by statues, in front of banks of bougainvillea that it was sometimes hard to move around. They didn’t seem to be enjoying the gardens, just looking for the next location for a photo. I wish I’d taken a picture of the slightly overweight gentleman, who was obviously taking the mickey out of these women, by posing, stretched full length next to a fountain, while his laughing companions took photos of him!
I wanted to visit an American shopping mall, maybe to pick up some cheaper-than-in-France clothing, or to just experience one. We knew that there was one, Aventura Mall, reasonably near the apartment so we went to visit. Oh, no, not the mall for us mere mortals!! Among the shops in the centre were Chanel, Givenchy, Abercromby & Fitch, Balenciaga, Louis Vuitton, Ferrari…. I think you get the idea. Not quite what I was looking for. We hastily decided it wasn’t for us, and drove to a very nice food store to purchase our dinner – we decided to eat at home. We had salad, steak or chicken, chips, and a dessert – I chose coconut cream pie, and Mr FD a Red Velvet Sundae!
After we’d cooked, eaten and tidied away, we started to watch a film, but predictably, we both dozed off, and so decided to stop and go to bed!!
Friday 15/03 We had booked a “food tour” of Little Havana for today. I thought we might have a leisurely start, as it didn’t start until 11.00, but I was wrong. As we were restricted to public transport, the journey would take an hour and a half (or more, depending on the traffic) so we had to leave the house by 8.30 at the latest.
We took the 100 bus which went from Miami North Beach (where we were staying) to the city centre, which was very crowded, and took about an hour and a quarter itself. From there we caught the Metro train to Vizcaya Gardens, and then another bus to Little Havana. We arrived with about 5 minutes to spare.
We gathered near our guide, whose name I have forgotten, until everyone had arrived. While we were waiting, we were pestered to have photos taken with parrots (for 5$) next to the Little Havana sign. I had my photo taken sans parrots, and sneaked a couple of parrot pictures while their owner wasn’t looking!
Our guide explained some of the history of the district, and took us to our first stop, where we ate empanadas and drank Cuban coffee. Empanadas are a little like cornish pasties, and the coffee is remarkably strong and very sweet. After this we moved on to view Domino Park, the social centre of the area, where playing dominoes is taken very seriously.
Then we went to a restaurant, one of the first Cuban restaurants to set up in the area to have Cuban sandwiches and mojitos. A Cuban sandwich isn’t traditionally Cuban, but was invented in the US, consisting of pork, ham, cheese, pickles and mustard. Maybe not Cuban, but definitely delicious! As were the mojitos!
A visit to a cigar making workshop followed, where we watched the worker rolling cigars, and then we looked at some of the vibrant murals around the district. We sampled churros – which are not Cuban, so I don’t know why we had them. Not that I’m complaining!! – and then were served banana and pineapple juice by “the grandmother of Little Havana”, a woman who had started her business way back in the early years, as the immigrants were settling in the district after Castro’s coup. As it was hot, the juice was very welcome.
Before we went on to our final tasting, we paused at the memorial to those members of the community who had been killed during the invasion of Cuba (Bay of Pigs), and also to those who had fought as guerillas in the mountains afterwards. It is a part of the world history that I don’t know much about; although I’m aware of the Cuban missile crisis, I don’t have much clue about the details. It was interesting to be told more about it.
The final delicacy was pastelilos – a puff pastry cake filled with cream cheese and guava jam. Everything had been really delicious, but I think these pastries, and the mojito, were the highlights!
After a drink in a bar, we started to retrace our steps to go back to the apartment. However, there was no sign of the bus we needed to take us to the Metro, so, as a shuttle trolley bus was coming, we decided to take that – it was going to another station on the Metro line (and – bargain! – it was free!!) We caught the Metro, and Mr FD checked the transport app. It suggested taking a different route, going on the Metro train further into the suburbs, and catching an express bus to North Beach. It seemed like a plan.
HOWEVER, when we arrived at the bus terminal to catch the express bus, we sat and waited…and waited…and waited…In the time during which three buses should have arrived and departed we saw not one. So finally, we gave up, and took the train back to the city centre to pick up the 100 bus. By then it was rush hour, and so when the 100 finally arrived, it was already fairly crowded, and it just got worse. With the rush hour traffic, it took over 90 minutes to do the journey – when we finally got back to North Beach it had gone 20.00…and despite our lunch (which, while it had been very nice, had only been small portions!) we were feeling a mite esurient (gold star if anyone can tell me where that comes from!) so we thought we would continue the theme and eat at a Cuban restaurant!
We both felt, after a marathon five hour journey from Little Havana, that we deserved another mojito – this one wasn’t as light on the rum as the first had been! I had Cuban steak – steak wrapped around cassava root & pork belly rind. The steak was okay but the cassava did nothing for me. However, it was good to relax over a meal and a cocktail!! We walked the 15 minutes back to the apartment, and then quickly found ourselves nodding off!
Wednesday 13/03 We opted for the “get yourself off the ship” option, which meant we had to be ready to leave by about 7.30 am. An early alarm call saw us in the posh dining room for breakfast, and then wheeling our suitcases off the boat ourselves. While this was an option that a few people took, I certainly think it was easier than trying to find our luggage with everyone else, and competing for taxis, buses, Ubers etc. Mr FD booked an Uber that arrived quickly, and took us to the AirB&B, in North Beach, Miami.
The owner had said we could leave our bags there, but check-in wasn’t until 15.00; however, she sent a text saying the place had been cleaned and we could check in immediately. So by 8.30 we were installed in a pleasant apartment. We unpacked, relaxed with a cup of tea/ coffee, and enjoyed an hour or two’s pause. I may have had a nap!!
We found a bank and a local supermarket & bought breakfast stuff, and pizza & salad for lunch. After this we went for a walk to the beach (5 minutes away) and through a local shady park. By about 16.30 I was very warm, so we went back to the air conditioned apartment to think about dinner options.
No, it’s not at all spicy! (Gasp)
We chose a Peruvian restaurant about 20 minutes walk away, and I enjoyed a meal of calamari, steak & salad, and cheesecake. Mr FD had a very spicy ceviche, then a typically Peruvian dish (that I had had when I ate in a Peruvian restaurant in Weisbaden) He finished with a Tres Leches cake which he said was delicious. We certainly needed the walk back to use some of the calories we had consumed!!
Thursday 14/03 After breakfast, we took the bus to South Beach, about 20 minutes or so. We got off the bus and just wandered up one of the streets, vaguely looking for a place that sold walking poles, as mine had got lost somewhere along the checking onto the cruise ship process. They hadn’t been expensive (about 8€ the pair) so while it was annoying, it wasn’t as though I’d lost anything of great value. But if we were going to be walking a lot, I needed them.
Partly as a result of not having sticks, my deformed big toe (caused by “clawing”, apparently) had become more deformed and painful, and was causing me to limp. So, coming across a Sketcher’s shop, Mr FD suggested I tried some sandals which avoided my big toe. This was an excellent idea, and about 30 minutes later we walked out with a pair of sandals for me, a pair of trainers for him and a new water bottle!
On the recommendation of a shop assistant in a shop that didn’t sell walking poles, we found a shop that did, and I bought a good pair for only 12$ (currently on sale on e-bay at more than double the price!) – a bargain! We had lunch in a Spanish restaurant, sharing a platter of meat and cheese, and a paella.
South Beach, Miami
After a shortish walk, during which I found the sandals rubbed & I needed plasters (!) we decided to hire bikes to see around. There were plenty of Citi-bike stations around, and in fact we ended up cycling the 7/8 km back to the apartment. It was all along the “promenade”, and was fun, but I was glad to see 79th Street on the signs! As you can see, I was more-than-a-little-pink at the end!!
Because we’d eaten well at lunchtime, we decided to just have a take-out sandwich from the local “Sandwicherie” for our evening meal. It was huge (I couldn’t finish my turkey, avocado, cream cheese sandwich) so we definitely made the right decision. Mr FD logged into his Amazon account and we watched an episode of “House”. We may have both dozed off!!
Today saw us back at sea for the last full day of music and conversation. We woke a bit later and went to the posh dining room for breakfast. Mr FD wanted to go to the Steve Hackett Q&A session, so we met at the Pool area to watch Jordan Rudess playing at 11.30. During Jordan Rudess I found my back was painful, so I just wandered around the deck, listening but also wandering. That made my back feel better. I quite enjoyed his music, until he started going a bit too techno for my tastes, so we repaired to the neighbourhood bar for our lunch. We both had a chicken Caesar salad, which was very nice, and then moved down to the area where BBT were having their Q&A session – we wanted a good seat!
BIG BIG TRAIN: (L-R) Gregory, Rikard, Clare, Alberto, Nick, Oskar
Mr FD went off and brought back coffee and cake for me, and we chatted to a couple of women from Manchester, who said that they hadn’t known of BBT before the cruise, but were now big fans. Then BBT arrived. They talked for a while & then I got to ask the first audience question; I asked each of them to tell me their favourite song to perform, and the song that really meant something to them. It was interesting to hear what they had to say, often choosing a song that was challenging as their favourite to play!
After the Q&A session, we went to our ticketed Riverside performance. It was OK, but not that inspiring for me. In fact, it was the second time I dozed off in a prog rock concert!! After this we went back to the cabin to pack as we were getting off the following day at about 8.00 or so. We listened to a musician in the lounge bar, and then went to the posh restaurant for our evening meal.
Sunset during Adrian Belew’s set
We listened to Adrian Belew playing on the Pool Stage for a while, which I enjoyed, and then our final ticketed concert was Flying Colors – about halfway through Mr FD indicated that he was leaving because he wasn’t enjoying it. I nearly left too as the music had been a bit too loud and “rock”-y for my tastes.
However, I didn’t want to leave my last concert on a bum note so I stayed. And in fact, they then played some much more melodic songs, which I enjoyed. I’m not sure I would seek them out to listen to again, but at least I enjoyed half their concert!! Mr FD came across some piano music he enjoyed, so we were both reasonably content. Although we considered going to Late Night Live, we decided that a (relatively) early night was a good idea, considering we needed to be up early the next day.
TIMETABLE: 11.30-12.30 Jordan Rudess ~ 12.45-13.45 waiting for BBT ~13.45-14.15 BBT Q&A ~ 14.45 – 15.45 Riverside (meh) ~19.30-20.30 Adrian Belew ~ 21.30 – 22.30 Flying Colors ( = 5 concerts. 16 in total)
We were due to be further down the coast in Cozumel, as the ship had sailed from its berth at 19.30 the evening before. However, when we woke we discovered we’d only moved about 300 m away from yesterday’s berth.
That meant our plan of visiting the Eco-park that was near the originally planned berth wasn’t so viable. However, after some dithering, we decided to get a private taxi for 3 or 4 hours to take us to the Eco-park. I’m glad we did. Yes, it was a bit pricier than just taking a taxi there, and one back, but because the park was spread out, we wouldn’t have seen as much without Sergio our driver. He was knowledgeable and affable, so it was a good morning.
After the 30 minute drive to the Eco-park we went to a somewhat rickety watch tower from which we could see the area and look for crocodiles. We didn’t see any from the tower, but there was a big beast lurking under the boardwalk!! Sergio then drove us on to the lighthouse.
We climbed the 133 steps to the top, but as the door to the outside was only about knee high, there was no way I could get in and out. Mr FD did it in an ungainly manner, but I stayed in the chamber where the light was. After our descent, we were driven to an area where there was a boat tour on one of the lakes. The Ranger explained how the Cozumel people had fought off legal battles from Disney, from Trump, from other resort owners all of whom wanted to build resorts on the island, in order to preserve the natural landscape. Today 70% of the island is still in its natural state, and 30% given over to tourism, rather than the opposite.
There was a near capacity crowd for BBT at the pool. Very patient during the technical problems!
After a shower, we went to have a late lunch in the posh dining room before installing ourselves in our favourite viewing place for the BBT concert on the pool deck. The ship had set sail by this time, and it was really windy (but warm). Unfortunately, due to technical issues the band started 30 minutes late, which meant we had to decide between seeing the end of the set or going to our ticketed Steve Hackett concert: I chose the former, Mr FD the latter. I was happy, he was less so, as he missed one of his favourite songs. Another great concert!
I slipped into the Steve Hackett concert and enjoyed what I saw. Then we went back to the Pool Stage to hear some of Protocol before going for a l meal in the complementary Asian style restaurant. It was very disappointing, with the waiters clearing the tables and cleaning the floor around us. OK, we were the last ones in, but it was only 10.00 or so! THe food was stodgy and fairly flavourless, so we dispensed with dessert and went up to the buffet for pudding!! After that, there wasn’t much else we were desperate to see, so we had a stroll before bed.
These posts are longer than I meant them to be. I hope you don’t mind!
Sunday 10/03 We had already docked in Cozumel by the time we had eaten breakfast in the buffet, so we hurried to get ready for our adventures. We had a trip on a see-through boat booked for 10.00 so we walked the 2 kilometres to the location. There they told us they hadn’t received the booking, so there was no room on the 10.00 boat, but we could go on the 12.00 boat. In fact, we suspect we were the only ones for the 10.00 boat and it wasn’t worth going out with just two of us. It wasn’t a problem, but we kind of wish they’d been honest.
We took a taxi into Cozumel town, which was quite interesting, but HOT! So we decided to go to the town museum. That was cooler and taught us a lot about the history of the island, which is much more the kind of thing we both enjoy, rather than lolling on a beach.
Who is this glamorous woman?
We then took a taxi back to the boat location. There was a group of six young adults from a Disney cruise ship that was in, a family of four and us. The young adults were great fun, and were there to have a good time, so they brightened the experience no end! We saw quite a lot of fish, and star fish, and had the chance to snorkel. I’m not a strong swimmer, and need my glasses to see anything, so I preferred just to impersonate a manatee and wallow in the water.
After that both Mr FD & I were copiously sick over the side of the boat – swallowing too much sea water, I fear – so we walked back to the ship, rather than taking a taxi as planned. After a shower, and a ginger ale, we were both feeling better so went to the neighbourhood bar for lunch. I was starving by then (and no longer feeling nauseous) so devoured a salad, a fish finger sandwich and a slab of carrot cake!
It was quite late by then (16.45-ish), and we decided there weren’t any bands we wanted to see before BBT at 10.15, so we wandered the ship and explored a little more, pausing to listen to musicians who were playing in different parts. Then, becoming more and more nervous that we’d miss BBT (it wasn’t ticketed) we made the seemingly crazy decision to start queuing at about 19.15. We thought so many people had expressed a desire to see the band, and that the ticketed Marillion audience might just come straight out of the theatre and line up again, that it would be prudent to start the queue. In fact there were others already there before us! I grabbed a chair and we installed ourselves for the wait. Several people commented on my wisdom, and did the same thing, and we spent the next three hours in conversation with various people, having drinks, sharing stories….We later found out that not everyone got into the concert so I think we did the right thing.
The Big Big Train concert was a-may-ZING! There were standing ovations for every song, it was the best I’ve seen them, I think. Really great. I loved it, as did so many other people. I think they have a lot of new fans through this.
Afterwards we went back to the neighbourhood bar for another chicken-wings-and-nachos snackette. The Late Night Live was Genesis based so Mr FD stayed longer than I to listen, but we were so tired from the day that I had hardly got into bed before he arrived back.
TIMETABLE 9.00 – 15.00 Cozumel ~ 19.00-22.15 Queue ~ 22.15 – 23.30 Big Big Train ( = 1 band. 8 in total)
Friday 08/03 We had a check in time of 9.45 so booked an Uber from the Hotel (another shitty breakfast!) We arrived at a cruise terminal heaving with people as a boat – maybe ours – had just thrown all its passengers off. Happily, there were many workers happy to direct us to the correct places and to help us with our baggage.
We entered the Norwegian Cruise Line’s terminal building and queued with other excited prog music fans. To begin with we were in our own little bubble, but started chatting to people “Is this your first CTTE?” was the usual initial question, which opened floodgates of conversation! We were then ushered through check in. I couldn’t find my ESTA form which almost caused a huge problem – I’d packed it in my bags which were now waiting elsewhere for delivery to our cabin – but happily Ultra Organised Mr FD had a copy on his phone, so I was allowed to join the cruise. 🙂
There was then a two hour wait in the departure lounge: lots of people were chatting, but we sat separately just being a bit overwhelmed!! We were then allowed onto the ship but not into our cabins, as they were still being cleaned. We snuck along to ours to put our carry-on bags in the wardrobe, and then explored the ship a little. Then we went to one of the complimentary dining areas for lunch. It became the place we went to most often, as it was nearest to our cabin, and also overlooked one of the performance areas.
At 16.00 there was a “sail away” photo and the first concert on the Pool Stage. We were there, and listened to Martin Barre playing. I was keeping an eye on the merchandise stall, as there was only a limited number of items, and I was determined to get a BBT “Big big Train on a big big boat T-shirt. As soon as the stall opened I was there, watching the bright blue T-shirts flying off the pile – very popular as most others were black or dark blue – but happily there were some left when I reached the table. So, I heard Martin Barre playing but didn’t take it in!
This photo shows what the Pool Stage was like – literally built over one of the swimming pools, but giving access for lots of people to watch, both from the same level, or up a deck. We preferred being up a deck to look down on the bands. I took this from the merchandise queue!
The Flower Kings play
We went back to our cabin where our bags had arrived, and unpacked. Then we lay down for one of our “little naps” waking up at about 19.00! We went to the Pool Stage to hear Stickmen (again, I enjoyed this) I can’t remember what we did for tea/dinner (a quick something from the buffet, I think) , but there was a Flower Kings concert at 21.15 to go to in the theatre. We found out then, how much one needs to queue for these things – those that were not ticketed! We arrived at about 20.45 to find a queue already quite long. It was tiring standing up in line, especially as the start time was delayed by about 30 minutes – setting up the band’s equipment, doing sound checks etc. There had already been one band in the theatre, so they’d had to move out before the Flower Kings were let in. We finally got in and listened to the concert – I quite enjoyed it, but tiredness got the better of me, and I managed to doze off, even in the middle of a prog-rock concert!
Straight after, we repaired to the cabin, and went to bed. No “Late Night Live” for us!~
Timetable: 12.00 Onboard ~ 16.30-17.30 Martin Barre ~ 18.00 -19.00 Nap ~ 19.30-20.30 Stick Men ~ 20.45 -21.45 Queue ~ 21.45- 22.45 Flower Kings. (= 3 bands)
Saturday 09/03 Today was at sea, and was going to be quite busy. Mr FD & I had decided what was important to us to see, and were not planning on rushing about trying to see everything. We wanted to enjoy the cruising experience too, even though this was not a typical cruise. So we went to our “neighbourhood bar” at about 9.00 for breakfast, and I enjoyed pancakes with fresh fruit and syrup, while Mr FD had fresh fruit and then a breakfast sandwich. We went to the customer service desk to deliver my card for all the artists, and happily came across Gregory Spawton, who plays with Big Big Train, and his wife Kathy. We had met them both in Italy, and they certainly seemed to recognise us. I was able to deliver my BBT card to the man himself. It was then almost straight out to queue for the photo experience with Adrian Belew, Big Big Train, and Jordan Rudess. I wasn’t bothered about the first and last, but was definitely about the second! As seemed to be normal, we started to chat to a couple ion the queue, about where they lived, their love of prog music etc, which certainly made the time go quicker.
Then Mr FD went to queue for Protocol in the theatre, while I went to the Pool Stage (no queuing) to listen to Wishbone Ash and do some drawing. However, I met up with Derek & Joyce (BBT fans we’d been in contact with) so I chatted with them for a while and then, as I was sat with Joyce during the concert, it seemed rude to get out my drawing things! After lunch in the buffet, we went to queue for Dave Kerzner’s All Stars in the little theatre. We were first in the queue, and this time I found a chair to sit on! Much better!! Derek & Joyce joined us and we had the usual “Queue Chat” I very much enjoyed this band, even though we had seats with poor sight lines.
As we’d had a late (and large!) lunch, we decided to skip dinner and have a late night snack in the “neighbourhood bar” after our ticketed concert at 18.30 and another concert we wanted to see. So I had another snooze (setting the alarm clock) and Mr FD went to listen to Brook Hansen in the piano bar lounge. Our ticketed show (no queuing, thank goodness) was Marillion, who were really good. Another concert I thoroughly enjoyed. Then it was straight up to queue for Lonely Robot in the smaller theatre – again, I snaffled a chair to sit on, and I think I was starting a trend, as a couple of others did the same. I enjoyed this concert too (again, poor sight lines) We came out of this at about 10.30, and had a thoroughly unhealthy late night snack of chicken wings and tortilla chips, overlooking the Late Night Live venue, where people who had already rehearsed their parts came together to play various prog rock classics. But we were very rapidly falling asleep so we went back to the cabin.
You can see how much time was spent queuing – it was a bit frustrating, but every time we ended up chatting to people about music and so on, so the time passed relatively quickly.
We have had a fantastic time away in Florida and on the “Cruise to the Edge”! I carefully noted what we did & listened to in a small notebook to keep, and then somehow it got “tidied” away as we cleared the AirB&B so I’m going to jot here our first week on the Cruise, with a few photos. My plan is to write some different posts about things we saw/ did/ thought, so this (& the next couple of posts) will be just a bare(-ish) record of the events, before other subject-based posts.
Wednesday 06/03 – what was due to be a leisurely, relaxed journey turned into a bit of a nightmare. Our flight from Lyon to Heathrow, planned to give us a four hour stopover to travel from Terminal 5 to Terminal 3, was delayed by 3 hours by fog at Heathrow. We boarded the plane on time, but then sat on the tarmac for 3 hours. Everyone was laid back, and both Mr FD and I were generally fine, as we were thinking “if we miss our flight, and there’s no later one BA can put us on then we’ll have to stay in a hotel” (We had a day’s grace in Miami before the cruise left) So, while it was frustrating, I wasn’t anxious.
I can fly the plane if you like!
The flight finally took off, (with the proper driver!) and we landed and disembarked with 40 minutes before the Miami flight left. I was of the “oh well…” train of thought, but Mr FD was not and set off like a bat out of hell to try to catch the plane (BA recommend an hour is necessary to make the transfer). So there I was, an unfit Fat Dormouse with bad knees, half running/half walking through the never ending corridors of Heathrow Airport shouting “Excuse me! We’ve got a flight in 15 minutes!!” Happily, the transfer bus waited for us to push our way to the front of the queue, and security was (amazingly!) empty with no-one waiting. My underwired bra didn’t set off the alarm (as it did in Lyon) nor was the hand baggage opened and searched (as it was in Lyon). Both of us were practically on our knees when we arrived at the correct desk to find others who had been in a similar situation on the same flight from Lyon (but ran faster than us!) had already been booked onto another flight. But “Wale party? Yes, you’re through. The plane is waiting…” Everyone was very kind, and told us to pause, take a breath…and as I entered the plane, a member of the cabin crew handed me an orange juice which I drained in one go!
We made it!
It took us both about half an hour to get settled, calm down and realise that the skin of our teeth had been the measure by which we had made the flight! We were in Premium Economy, which meant we had a bit more space, a proper meal, free drinks, and gradually we relaxed into the flight. I watched a film (I can’t remember what!!) and some episodes of Frasier, and slept, and ate some fairly enjoyable food. We landed in Miami, just before 5.00 pm; we took a cab to the hotel, and both of us lay down “for a nap”. We woke up at 8.00, got undressed, and went to bed!
Thursday 07/03 We woke and went down to what a member of American Airlines that we chatted to described as “the shittiest hotel breakfast ever” It really wasn’t very pleasant – everything was so sweet or just unpleasant! The “orange juice” was more like orange squash, the sausages were smoked frankfurters (for breakfast?) with leathery scrambled egg, the coffee was weak. Mr FD said the Fruit Loops cereal was disgusting. I had a hard boiled egg sandwich and waffles which were bearable, but Mr FD insisted we found a bakery where he could get something edible!
After, we took the free shuttle to the airport and picked up the train the the city centre (Sorry, to Down Town Miami!) We visited the Bay area, where there was a shopping centre next to the water. We had an exploratory walk round, and then settled on somewhere to eat lunch. We shared a fajita plate, with shrimp, chicken and pork, which was really delicious. I had another beer, Mr FD had a dessert, and then we hunted out a drugstore to buy one or two things we needed. By then (about 15.00) we were flagging, so decided to head back to the hotel. We arrived back at the airport to pick up the 16.00 shuttle bus. It didn’t arrive. Nor did the 16.30 or the 17.00. Mr FD was in a fairly grumpy mood by now, so he called an Uber which arrived within 5 minutes!
Back at the hotel for a little nap, we both woke at about 20.30! Mr FD went to bed, I went to the restaurant for a bowl of hummus and a glass of wine, then back to bed. Cruise tomorrow!!
What’s new? Not much!! I haven’t written a post since last Thursday, so I felt I should up date you – but I’m not sure on what!!
Mr FD has been a star recently – he’s been organising everything (and I mean everything!) for the holiday. The hotels, the car parking, the flights, the checking in for the cruise, the excursions, the AirB&B, the documents we’ll need, the money. I’ve done practically nothing except buy some new T-shirts & a swimming costume! Though, to be fair, he isn’t working, and I’ve taken on 4 more students this year, so I’m working more. All the same, I still have spent time just doing fun things, like crafting, or reading.
On the cruise there isn’t much access to wi-fi, without paying exorbitant costs, so I won’t be updating you along the way. And when we’re in Miami we’ll be too busy doing Stuff, so I’ll tell you all about it when we get back. The cruise itinerary has changed: we were due to go to Jamaica & Grand Cayman, but because of various warnings (safety & weather) we are now going to Cozumel, which is an island off the coast of Mexico. We’re there for two days, which is a bit disappointing, rather than going to different places, but as Mr FD & I have never been anywhere that side of the Atlantic, except Canada, we’re not too bothered. Other people, who have been to Cozumel several times, have been quite vocal in their annoyance.
We are slightly more disappointed that our favourite band is not playing a ticketed show, so there’s a chance we may only get to hear them once (and not at all if that concert, which is outdoors, is cancelled because of bad weather!) if we don’t get a seat at their inside concert. Oh well, we’ll just have to start queuing very early!!
I’ve listened to most of the bands that are playing and ranked them in order of preference to see them. Some are ticketed, so we’ll definitely see them; others are playing in various spaces around the ship. There are Q&A sessions, photo opportunities, and various other things going on too.
I’ve highlighted the bands I want to see on the schedule (bearing in mind it’s likely to change) and there is plenty of time left for me to just enjoy the “cruise experience”, to relax, maybe have a spa treatment, loll in the pool, or join the “Lonely Hearts” group – those partners of real Prog-Rock diehards who have just come for the cruise, not the music! Mr FD will probably be watching more shows than me.
Our plans for excursions include a trip on a see-through boat with optional scuba diving, from Cozumel, and a tour down to Key West when we’re in Miami. There’s also an eco-park in Cozumel which sounds interesting too, so we may try to visit that. Mr FD is keen to hire bikes too which I’m up for (as long as mine is electric!) to explore parts of the coast. There’s also a Little Cuba walking tour which sounds interesting.
We just need to make sure we don’t eat too much of the free food!!
There you are! I’ve found something to write about after all! That’s good.
View from the Teapot 