British Isles Cruise Photo Heavy Review

This is the back entry to one of the bunkers

The inside was much larger than I thought it would be.

Inside one of the bunkers

This is the view that the Germans had as the looked out for incoming attacks. The fencing is new as is the walkway around. It was built to protect the site from erosion. The barbed wire was there is historic reminder of the German defenses.

Terri

You brought me to tears just reading about it. I'd better make sure I have lots of Kleenex when we go. Don may need a couple extra handkerchiefs Your pictures are beautiful, I'm glad the weather cleared up for you.

Sandi.

The slit at the bottom of the bunker is the lookout pictured above.

After our free time and seeing all of the we could we were off to Sainte-Mère-Église to have lunch.

Here is this from Travel France online:

Sainte Mere Eglise, a strategic crossroads town

Sainte Mere Eglise was a strategic crossroads town situated along the N13, the road that led to Utah and Omaha beaches.

The Germans had occupied it since June 1940 and turned it into a secondary inland outpost, which had been subject to regular Allied air raids.

And from Normandy tourism:

Paratroopers rained down on this Norman village as D-Day operations began in June 1944 to liberate Europe from German occupation. Famously, American soldier John Steele was left dangling a time from the medieval church as his parachute got caught on its tower.

There are few reminders left of WWII here. Sophie said that this is because of the fires and destruction during the war. We still had a nice walk around the village and enjoyed a sandwich in the area outside of the tourism office and across the street from John Steele’s church.

Terri

 

You brought me to tears just reading about it. I'd better make sure I have lots of Kleenex when we go. Don may need a couple extra handkerchiefs Your pictures are beautiful, I'm glad the weather cleared up for you.

 

Sandi.

Thank you Sandi. Kleenex is a good idea if you are anything like me. The weather did clear up. There was an occasional gale and sprinkle but so much better than what I thought it would be. I hope you have as nice a time as we had.

Being a cardiac cath lab nurse I couldn’t help but notice the AEDs hanging on outside walls here in the village. I am still very impressed by the accessibility of these devices. Here in the US they are few and far between.

Okay, all of you should know by now that I can’t walk past a church and not wander in to admire the craftsmanship and beauty of the place. So here is the church in Sainte Mere Eglise.

Thanks, Terri. I hope we do too. I've really enjoyed reading about your cruise, taking almost the same one in June and I can't wait. I think the Beaches will be the highlight for DH, he was a little kid when all of his brothers were off fighting.

Once we were altogether again we were off to visit one more church. This church is where two American paratroopers provided care to soldiers from both sides as well as civilians. The church is in Angoville-Au-Plain.

Thanks, Terri. I hope we do too. I've really enjoyed reading about your cruise, taking almost the same one in June and I can't wait. I think the Beaches will be the highlight for DH, he was a little kid when all of his brothers were off fighting.

Wow, I agree the beaches will be really big for him. June will come faster than you think. Thank you for hanging in here with me. I know this is taking forever to complete.

There is a memorial to these two brave, kind soldiers.

Inside the church there are still blood stained pews

In the small cemetery at the back of the church one will find the grave of Robert E wright, one of those two paratroopers. Following a long life it was his request to be buried here. His family still come to visit the grave and we were told were the ones responsible for the hot sauce on his grave stone.

When we all got back into the van we had a conversation about what we would all like to do with our remaining time in port. Sophie said we would not be held to any strict itinerary and had plenty of time before we needed to head back to the ship. Did we want to see Utah beech or maybe go to Honfleur? Kevin and I voted Honfleur as did almost everyone else. We had seen the beach, tide was in and most of us were in the mood for something else.

At first Sophie said the vote should be unanimous and if the one out couple wanted to return to the ship then that was what we needed to do. Many on the bus napped as we started back in what I expected to be the direction of the ship. I was watching the exit signs as we went along, and noticed we took the exit to Honfleur. YAY!!! Now you can guess that we were not the couple that wanted to return to the ship to pack.

Honfleur is a pretty little town known for it’s slate covered buildings and cobbled streets. Our time here was very short. Just 45 minutes if memory serves, so we needed to make the most of it. I absolutely love France and wanted to bring something home for our oldest son that would remind him of our trip to France when he was still in high school. I needed some chocolate for him, a crepe for me and I really wanted to ride the carousel like Sean (DS) and I did in Cannes.

Chocolates for Sean and Caramels for me

And a crepe for me

Performance street art.

This was as close to the ride on the carousel as I got. Our time was up and this was our meeting point. Out time here was short, but if you have an opportunity to visit, you really should. I can’t wait to go back with a lot more time.

We arrived back on board just ahead of the next rain storm. We headed up for dinner in the buffet. While eating we were treated to a rainbow.

Our dinner views

Everything packed and ready to go. I am usually one of those people that put the bags out at the very last moment. This time I had done all of the packing the day ahead and was ready to relax for the rest of the evening. We spent our last evening in the Churchill Lounge and talked over the highlights and ugly warts of the cruise. I usually hate the end of a cruise and want to stay on board much longer. The highlight of this cruise was definitely the visiting such wonderful ports. The ugly warts were enough though to ease the pain of disembarking in the morning.

We do still have quite a lot planned for this trip before returning home. Next up? Post cruise fun in Bath, Thornbury and London.

Great review! Thanks for posting! Looking forward to your post cruise pics as well...deciding between Bath (and Cotswolds) or Rye for my post cruise trip...

I would like to thank you Terri for your excellent review and I have enjoyed reading it so much! I am in the planning stages for our next cruise... just booked British Isles from Dublin May 16, 2019 on Crown Princess. Your pictures are amazing...I loved them all but, the how you captured the Normandy area just evoked such feelings. I share your interest in cathedrals also...just love their architecture and beauty. Wishing you all the best in your future travels!

Great review! Thanks for posting! Looking forward to your post cruise pics as well...deciding between Bath (and Cotswolds) or Rye for my post cruise trip...

Thank you so much. The Cotswold area is just beautiful. Our first time through the area was during a wonderful private tour booked through David Stubbs. I thought I was booking a 9-5 tour of Stratford Upon Avon and a trip time allowing at Warwick Castle. What we received was a 12 hour delight. I emailed David explaining how excited I was to be able to see a bit of the countryside. Our guide picked us up at the cruise port of Harwich and set off for Stratford. We visited all things William Shakespeare and then headed out into the Cotswolds. It took me quite a while before I realized our guide actually built a tour special for me,just so that I could see and visit all that could be fit into an entire day. It was amazing. His website is:

http://www.londoncountrytours.co.uk/

I found him through TripAdvisor where he is still 5 star rated.

I would like to thank you Terri for your excellent review and I have enjoyed reading it so much! I am in the planning stages for our next cruise... just booked British Isles from Dublin May 16, 2019 on Crown Princess. Your pictures are amazing...I loved them all but, the how you captured the Normandy area just evoked such feelings. I share your interest in cathedrals also...just love their architecture and beauty. Wishing you all the best in your future travels!

Patti, thank you very much. Writing this has really been an experience. I'm so glad everyone here has been so patient with me. I know is taking me a long time to get it done. There are so many memories and places I want to share that I didn't want to rush and miss things. Normandy is a place that will, I think stay with me my whole life. I still have Bath Abby coming up. What a beautiful place that is, that stone fan vaulting - gorgeous.

I hope you enjoy the British Isles as much as we did.

On to Bath and our quick overnight stay there.

We were up, off the ship and on our way by 9:30 with another Smiths For Airport driver. Again with a clean car, and a polite, professional driver. The price for this transfer was 90 GBP and distance of 101.27 km. I know there are probably cheaper ways to get there, but this no fuss way suites us. We stayed at The Royal Hotel in a “Four Poster Double” room with a bed and breakfast rate. The hotel is a Grade 2 listed building and first opened as a hotel in 1846. It fit our taste perfectly. Historic, small and very comfy.

We arrived at the hotel rather early and our room wasn't ready yet. We checked all of our luggage and set out to see the city. I had purchased HOHO bus tickets before leaving home but Kevin wanted to take a walk around before getting on the bus. I had expected to see many Jane Austen fans around town dressed in period costume as the Jane Austen Festival had just started. There was very little sign of anything special happening. The visitor’s center had programs and there were a few souvenirs about but that was about it.

We decided to buy tickets to walk through the Parade Garden. The fee is only 1.5 GBP for adults and 0.80 for children 5-16, children under 5 are free. With your ticket you can get chairs (deck chair type) and sit all day if you’d like. We passed on this as it kept sprinkling on us.

The gardens are so pretty

Following our walk around we headed back to the hotel for my most important Sunday Roast. I had read about it in books, I’ve seen it on menus. Now here we were in England on a Sunday with plenty of time to order it and enjoy in, and yes we really did.

Have thoroughly enjoyed your pictures and narrative! We have been considering a British Isles cruise and this definitely makes me want to book one. Many thanks for the information and inspiration!

Have thoroughly enjoyed your pictures and narrative! We have been considering a British Isles cruise and this definitely makes me want to book one. Many thanks for the information and inspiration!

I'm so glad you found this helpful. The British Isles are beautiful and make for a wonderful cruise.

Once we were fed and extra bags were dropped off in our room and it was on to the Baths, the Abby and or HOHO Skyline drive.

The Roman Baths front and back views

I have been sneaking in reading here and there your amazing cruise. Thank you so much for sharing. I don't care how long it takes you, please share. Your pictures are amazing.

I have to confess, I booked a Celebrity cruise for this October with the most amazing ports in Ireland, etc. without my husband's okay. I wanted to go that bad. But, I came to reality and cancelled. It was a 12 night cruise and we cannot take off that much time from work, especially this year. But, your cruise review is helping ease the pain.

Following along!

I have been sneaking in reading here and there your amazing cruise. Thank you so much for sharing. I don't care how long it takes you, please share. Your pictures are amazing.

 

I have to confess, I booked a Celebrity cruise for this October with the most amazing ports in Ireland, etc. without my husband's okay. I wanted to go that bad. But, I came to reality and cancelled. It was a 12 night cruise and we cannot take off that much time from work, especially this year. But, your cruise review is helping ease the pain.

 

Following along!

Thank you. I'm glad this is easing the pain instead of adding to it :). I hope you get the chance to rebook it as it is really a great cruise, and Celebrity would have made it even better (sorry Princess fans).