Today we ate a leisurely breakfast. I suggested we visit the museum that was closed
yesterday but my travel friends are anxious to pack up and move on to our final
land destination of Southampton. We
called for a 9:30 taxi and checked out with a warm hug from Ken, our Merchant
Marine who gave us good advice. He was
kind and caring during our short stay and an asset to the Jury’s Inn
Waterfront!
Our taxi driver, Anthony, agreed to the price that the hotel
had arranged for us to go door-to-door once again. We settled in for the two hour drive with our
informative and chatty driver. He
explained that he lived in Hove which is now Brighton – Hove and that it was
helping his economy to be a new city. As
a single man he enjoyed the city’s entertainment, the sports, the pubs, and his
Mum’s cooking!
Our route was so very pretty on this sunny morning as we
drove along the English Channel and past water sports venues, piers, yachts and
all things beachy. Even some of the
buildings reminded one of south Florida but there were no pale pinks, yellows,
or blues! No Seafoam Green in sight!
As we began to drive inland toward the ‘fast road’ we went
through some very pretty neighborhoods.
Red brick bungalows with bay windows overlooking still blooming gardens
offered a refreshing view. The yards, as
we would call them, looked tidy.
Everything seemed proper and quiet along the narrow laned road. We reached the highway and turned for
Southampton. We were after the rush hour
so there was not much traffic and the traveling was quite nice. Again we felt we made a good bargain paying
one fare between us instead of splitting a before and after taxi and individual
train fares which would have required us to change trains.
The ground transportation is excellent and reasonable in
England. But there is more than one
train system and all rails lead to London.
So even if we didn’t have to backtrack all the way we would have had to
drag our bags, they don’t call it LUGgage for no reason! After a short ride we would find the station
where we could change lines and lug those bags again. This time possibly up and over the tracks
without benefit of an elevator. Boarded
the second train to arrive in Southampton and taxi again to the hotel. I was glad to be comfortable. Carol and I agreed that it was the safest way
for Elva to travel and we are trying to make sure we all arrive to the ship in
good health!
We did arrive at the
Blue
Keys Hotel .
I am giving you the
link right here because I highly recommend it and advise you to book directly.
I did that and the young man, Matthew, even
downloaded WhatsApp so I could call him at no cost.
They don’t take your credit card except by phone.
I did make one mistake which was not to book an early
arrival. It is a small family business
which is closed from 11 to 3. Had I asked
in advance Matthew would have been there to greet us. As luck would have it Anthony, our nice taxi
driver who was trying to get back to Brighton by 3 p.m. to accept delivery of a
new mattress, did call the hotel number from his phone and we spoke to Tanya, the
mom, who had the housekeeper come open the door. We put our bags inside, used the restaurant
washroom and stepped back outside.
There we met Bob and Robin.
They had also not realized the place would not be open at lunch
time. They were on Cruise Critic and had
seen me say that I had booked and that it looked like a nice place and kind of
fun. We all started to walk to the City
Centre to have lunch when Bob decided to go back and wait on the bench at the
Blue Keys. They had just arrived from
the States. Robin said he had had back
surgery previously and now needed knees.
He was not up to walking and wasn’t really hungry.
We walked to the corner and then two traffic lights to the
left and turned to the right and walked about three blocks. We stopped a couple times and sat on a wall
here and there for Elva to rest. Here is
a picture of two people you know and our new friend, Robin.
We found the CafeMonde which was a classic English Sandwich
Shop as I have come to know and love them.
Small with a few plain wooden tables and chairs. The menus are basic but the food is made
fresh and hot things are hot and cold are cold.
You order at the counter, the food is brought to the table and you pay
at the counter on the way out. Robin and Elva had sandwiches that had avocado
on them, I had something delicious and so did Carol. Everyone was happy and we had a nice long
chat getting to know each other.
 |
| My guess is that this is a dentist office! Note the zebra, pronounced zeb-bra with a short e sound, crossing. Now note the yellow flashing light. When a cross walk has yellow lights on all four sides it is a penguin crossing. As soon as your foot steps from the curb all traffic must stop. And it does, as soon as the drivers see you standing poised to cross. Even buses and taxis don't risk not doing so. |
After eating, and laughing, and exchanging
family histories for about an hour, we set out back to the Blue Keys. Perfect timing. Tanya had arrived to check us in and Nina,
the housekeeper, had put our bags in our rooms.
Carol had a double bed on the first floor, remember in England that is
not on ground level. Elva and I were on
the second floor because we had twin beds.
The rooms were really everything I had hoped for. Elva was excited to have a step – in shower.
The ceiling was sloped up here in the servant quarters but the room was wide
and square and quite comfortable. The floor
was level and when we tested the beds we knew we would sleep well. The desk had a tea service and electric
kettle ready to go.
 |
| We had a fluffy, fuzzy rug on our carpet. Extra nice walking about and extra warmth. |
Our booking included free breakfast because we booked
direct. We also had a 10% discount that
way. We decided, after the walk to
lunch, to have dinner on site tonight so we made a reservation. Elva decided to have a nap and Carol and I
set out to find the Titanic Museum and sites in town.
I am, as I have said, more of a stroller than
a walker. Just past where we had lunch
we came to the beautiful park with memorials to various people. There was one
for the Titanic Engineers, another for the ship’s valiant musicians. There was a WWI statue in honor of the city’s
heroes. We crossed the park to the
pretty fountain in front of the Art Museum and Library.
Then made our way around the corner to the Titanic
Museum. It was closing shortly so we
decided to come back the morning we leave since we don’t go aboard until around
one in the afternoon. On the walk back
through the park we studied the monuments more closely. We circled through the Alpine Garden Carol is
amazed how many things are still in bloom. I think England’s ocean tempered
Island climate is similar to that of Atlanta.
 |
| Yes, that Watts. And no, I don't know what is shrouded beyond the statue. But I can't resist a pidgeon on a head picture! |
We walked back to the inn by a different route and soon saw
how easy it is to get curved away from the street you think you are walking parallel
to. No worry though. We were not far and when we came to Archer
Street we knew to turn left and then right on Northlands to #82. We went briefly to our rooms to wash up and collect
Elva. Upon returning to the bar we saw
Robin and Bob and asked could we join them for dinner and we all had a
delicious, freshly prepared meal. Mine
was Chicken Parmesan that had a couple of thin slices of ham under the
crust. The large breast was almost too
much to eat. Oddly it was served with
mashed potatoes but was really good. I
couldn’t resist the special dessert of Black Coconut Surprise. It was some of the creamiest ice cream I have
ever eaten. It was, indeed, black. It had a very good coconut flavor and a few
fresh berries across the top. I let everyone
have a bite and we all agreed it was amazing.
After a little more chatting, some tea or coffee, we headed
to our rooms. We planned to meet Carol
at our usual 8:30ish for breakfast and said good night. Elva got right ready for bed and was asleep
before I was out of the shower. The bed
sheets felt cold to me since the window had been open. The fresh air was great but I closed it. Neatly folded on top of our comforters, we had fuzzy wooly
fleece throws. I tucked mine in under
the blankets and it was a perfect solution to having no cold feet. I read for a
while but quickly fell asleep.
