We're still at home .... for now!

This is the latest picture of our Charlie, who goes everywhere with us (well in our hearts!)

We're going to Vegas next Thursday 2 April for 5 nights to celebrate Nick's 40th birthday celebrations.

I'm so excited ... we'll be meeting up with Nev and Kate from Australia and I'm finally going to meet baby Charlize who's almost one year old!!

I'm also touching base with a very dear email/facebook friend from Texas. We met on a 99/00 cruise and have had one other cruise together but not seen since 2002. Annette and Rick, I can't wait to see you.

We're planning on seeing the Grand Canyon, (I want to walk out on the skyrim), Hoover Dam, David Copperfield, one of the Cirques and my big wish is to see Bette Midler.

We're staying at the MGM Grand and flying Virgin Atlantic, we're hoping to get better food than this passenger ...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/4344890/Virgin-the-worlds-best-passenger-complaint-letter.html

Day 58 Hong Kong and home!

I have already arrived home and awoke this morning to the sound of birds which I've really missed! I've been so used to the sound of the wind and the sea I'd almost forgotten how lovely birds singing is.

On our last night, we played host to the entertainers, they were a great bunch and will be hard to beat, they also got off in Hong Kong and are waiting to get on the Royal Princess.

Hong Kong was great, we'd been only last year, so I didn't take too many photos. We did, however, take a full day's tour because our flight wasn't until almost midnight. We had a fabulous meal on board the famous Jumbo floating restaurant and toured the usual hotspots, ie the Peak and Stanley Market.

On the flight home, I watched Australia before settling for some sleep, of which I managed four hours sleep, albeit broken!

Helen, Liam and Charlie were staying at our house and I couldn't wait to see them. Charlie took just a few minutes to realise who we were and I couldn't put him down all day!

All in all, we had a great cruise, but two months is one too many!

Thanks everyone for taking the time to look. I'll be back in September when we cruise onboard Ventura, if not before.

Day 56 Shanghai China

We certainly struck gold by being on the port side of the ship; we had the most amazing view of Shanghai skyline. We could see the strange looking Oriental Pearl TV Tower, the Jin Mao Tower which looks like a pagoda and the tallest hotel in the world which is 101 stories high, it’s the Park Hyatt. Our morning tour took us around these buildings and up 88 stories in the Jin Mao Tower. The lift shot up to the top in about 45 seconds; our ears suffered but what a view! Later we went on the shuttle from the ship to town and wandered around the famous Ninjang Road (known as Knockoff Road). We were pestered by people trying to sell us watches and bags which you couldn’t see you had to follow them to a warehouse. Well Phil was having none of that!

We caught a taxi back, which was fun!! We had a little card written in Chinese that told the taxi driver where to take us. Well he didn’t have his glasses on and sort of guessed where we were. He took us to the port but to the wrong end, so he and a security guard were having a heated conversation in Chinese and he finally turned the taxi around and had to go all around the one way system to where we were docked. I liked Shanghai but I’m not sure there’s enough there to pull me back. We now have two days at sea, which will include packing and looking forward to our flight home to see the family and CHARLIE!!?? :o)

Day 54 Seoul Korea

DON'T FORGET, YOU CAN LEAVE ME COMMENTS!!!!! We docked in Incheon South Korea via a small lock that, unfortunately, we didn’t know about. Our Captain must have forgotten to tell us that fact! We took the seven hour tour to Seoul where we visited the National Folk Museum of Korea, Gyeonbok Palace which is a massive 14th-century palace complex, a reproduction of an ancient traditional village and the city’s centuries old market, which was packed with people, food, souvenirs and clothes. We went into what looked like a ‘bling sweat shop’, all around were women gluing bits of diamante onto anything from phones to hair pins and making jewellery. On the bus, we were handed a map of Seoul and were amused to find Starbucks had its own legend; there are dozens in the city. We stopped for lunch and were all looking forward to the barbecued Australian beef we’d been promised. Instead it was something bubbling away on a stove top on our table with hot rice and cold vegetables, not very appetising! I was on the look-out for one of those many Starbucks afterwards, but couldn’t find one, but we did pass about four on the coach.

South Korea is far more westernised than Japan, a lot of the road signs were in English not just hieroglyphics, as will our port of call tomorrow which is ‘Knock-off city’ – Shanghai. Then just two days at sea, Hong Kong and home.

Day 52 Hiroshima Japan

Let’s go back to 08:15 on 6 August 1945; the city of Hiroshima was wiped out killing 200000 civilians and many more died over the years of radiation poisoning and leukaemia. This is why nuclear war is such a terrifying threat. I had tears when our guide was telling us of how, fortunately, her grandparents and parents survived but then of the little girl who was only two years old when the Atom Bomb dropped. The girl was quite well until March of her 12th year when she became ill with leukaemia. She believed that if she folded 1000 origami cranes, which are a symbol of long life, she would be cured. Her death just seven months later inspired a campaign to build a monument which is in the Peace Park. Approximately 10 million paper cranes are offered each year at the site. Also in the Peace Park is a museum depicting horrific photographs, a building which still stands incredibly intact and the A-Bomb Dome which was the former Industrial Promotion Hall, this is the only structural ruin of the war in the city. There is also an eternal Peace Flame which will not be extinguished until all atomic weapons around the world are eliminated. There are many different view points on this ship and obviously worldwide as to what happened in Japan back then, I’m not here to give my point of view and yes I understand what the Japanese did to our POWs but I just know what I saw and I have my imagination. On a lighter note, we took the Bullet train (Shinkansen), travelling at 200mph, to Iwakuni which is a beautiful area of historical interest. The wooden Kintai Bridge spans the river towards Castles, parks, Shogun houses and museums. We then had a typical Japanese lunch which was a complete mixture of about 14 different plates and dishes of something!! I know we had Sashimi, which is raw fish, I had one little bit of Tuna. My favourite dish was Tempura Prawns. We should have visited Miyajima island but didn’t have time. This island is considered one of the top three attractions in Japan, this is where the famous Tori Gate shrine is. Japan is a wonderful country, the people are so polite and their customs are intriguing. We will definitely return, maybe in the spring-time when the Cherry Blossom is in bloom.

Day 51 Osaka Japan

Japan is a country I have never been to but have read many books on Geisha’s, Shogun and Samurai, so was really looking forward to this and the next ports of call which is Hiroshima. We took a tour to Osaka Castle and its museum which had 7 floors of artefacts and an observation deck. I couldn’t possibly write about the amazing history of the Japanese except to say we visited at the wrong time of the year. Apart from the fact it rained, heavily, and was cold, the entrance to the castle was lined with beautiful plum and cherry trees which would be a site to behold if it were the spring! We all got back on the coach, soaked to the skin to visit Sumiyoshi Taisha, or the Grand Shrine of Sumiyoshi, which is one of the most important Shinto Shrines in Japan. Our guide, Minnie Mouse, (well she donned Minnie Mouse ears for some reason) told us that families take their babies to the shrines when they are about three months old to be blessed and we were lucky enough to witness this ceremony. It was quite touching. That’s the ‘granny’ in me! Anyway, the Shrine buildings were ancient and very Japanese. Shinto is one of their main religions, Buddhism being the other. Obviously there are others, but those two are the most popular. We were back to the port of Osaka for around 1.30 and went looking for lunch. We were told that you could just make your choice by pointing at a picture, so we pointed at 2 chicken pieces and fries and a zinger twister and fries!! We couldn’t find any Sushi what do you expect??

After souvenir shopping, we went on The Tempozan which is the ‘world’s largest giant Ferris wheel’. We’re not sure that it is the largest; it’s something we need to ‘Google’. We’re now heading for Hiroshima where we board the Bullet Train.

Day 47 Guam, Mariana Islands (USA)

We knew nothing about Guam and after our afternoon tour, unfortunately we still don’t! Our guide was not very informative; maybe he was new, so I will copy information from our ship’s guide. ‘Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan, sailing for the King of Spain, reached the island in 1521 during his circumnavigation of the globe. The island was claimed for Spain and Spanish colonization commenced in 1668 with the arrival of Padre San Vitores, who established the first Catholic mission. The Mariana islands were then governed as part of the Spanish East Indies from the Philippines. The United States took control of the island in the 1898 Spanish-American war. Guam came to serve as a station for American ships travelling to and from the Philippines, while the Northern Mariana Islands passed to Germany then Japan. During World War II, Guam was attacked and invaded by the armed forces of Japan on December 8, 1941. After the war, the Guam Organic Act of 1950, which established Guam as an unincorporated organised territory of the United States, provided for the structure of the island’s civilian government and granted the people United States citizenship.’ The island is surrounded by the Philippine Sea to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east. It’s a very pretty island of about 212 square miles with a population of about 169000. English is the first language but Chamorro (the local dialect) and Japanese are also spoken. The currency is the US dollar and we’re GMT +10. Osaka is our next stop in 3 days time, I’m very excited about visiting Japan.