Halfway point

Friday 10th
Halfway day!  I really can't believe that we've been onboard for 7 weeks.  Had a flick through the photos (only 1,200 so far) and already some places almost seem distant memories.  Last sea day of this sector and we "celebrated" by not waking up until 9.00.  No option but the Horizon for tea and roll - some idiot mislabelled the apricot jam & the marmalade. I strongly dislike the latter.  Cruise Critic group lunch was well attended and we are still meeting new people.  Apparently over 40 new CC members join us in Southampton.

Back to the cabin to get camera etc. for the Princess Pop Choir (featuring among others Mark).  When we got there we found that we'd missed his solo performance in the passenger talent quest - bother. The choir was good, although the music was a little too loud to enable us to appreciate the voices. 

After a quick rest, Vivian went to have afternoon tea with Anne (from Tauranga), her bridge partner.  Oh yes, no bridge today as it conflicted with the above.  Anyway, Vivian comes back to our stateroom (doesn't it sound real posh!) with a certificate and bottle of French Champagne (bubbly white from France anyway) as they had won the 2nd Sector bridge championship.  Well done you good things!!!!  We shared the bubbly with our dinner table, which is funny as everyone else had won/been gifted a bottle of something and we'd been lamenting last night that we never win in anything.

Sort of last night for the table tonight, as tomorrow is open sitting as we don't sail until 8.00. Also, Margie & Ash get off for 5 days, rejoining us in Scotland.  More importantly, Gregory (or his Polish name) leaves us at Southampton, so Margie did up a card, we put in money, and we sang "Now is the hour".  He was quite emotional!  Oh yes, of course it was the usual parade of the Bombe Alaska as well. 

A big night, topped off with the ventriloquist Kieran Powell again.  He was very good & he was telling us when we were talking to him before lunch that he is the youngest professional performer at just 19!!  Another 11.00 to bed, with alarm set for 6.00 tomorrow as we arrive in LeHavre.  Forgot to mention, the weather & sea have improved, but we are resigned to a much cooler climate from here on - just 19 degrees.

Saturday 11th
Woke up just ahead of the alarm as we were entering LeHavre. We are surprised how big the city is - feels really chilly outside.  Breakfast in MDR and off to our assembly point for our tour today. General announcement is made that it is mandatory to carry our passports, so back to the cabin to collect them from the safe. Note - as expected, no one asked to see them, probably just more officialdom.

Our trip this morning is to the little port town of Honfleur, which is effectively on the other side of the River Seine. There were 6 buses, so was pretty popular. We certainly weren't going to Paris, with 6 hours driving!  So back to our trip - it was great as initially we took the long way through scenic Normandy's small villages and thatched cottages. 

Our guide, although from Paris had a great sense of humour and was full of knowledge.  For a change we had gender reversal, with our guide being male and a female driver (she was excellent). We got a full history lesson of France and particularly the influence of Normandy.  As this area is my distant ancestral home (apparently the Pollock's came to Scotland from Normandy at the time of William the Conquerer).

Honfleur was originally the major shipping port, but due to silting of the Seine, the port of LeHarve was developed and Honfleur has a lesser role now, mainly as a fishing port.  The history however is fascinating and the old buildings around the port have been retained in most cases.  Not only was the history fascinating, but being Saturday, it was market day and this was a true country market to put Matakana to shame.  The locals and visitors came with their traditional baskets and loaded up with fresh local products ( not imported from other areas).  It was huge and very busy.

Unfortunately the weather was overcast and cold - luckily I put in a jumper.  Apparently it is a long standing joke that Normandy is always wet and cold!  Had a delicious coffee, bread roll & jam for €5. The locals patronised the cafe too, so must be good.  About this time the sun decided to appear and for the rest of the day it was a pleasant day and sunny, just to prove there exception to the above.

All too soon it was time to head back top the ship and this time we took the more direct route over the newer suspension bridge.  Unfortunately there was a hold up at the toll booths, which added an extra 30 minutes to our journey.  Apparently the traffic was heavier than usual as many people were taking advantage of French National Day (formerly known as Bastlle Day) on Tuesday, and taking Monday off to have a long weekend!

Back onboard, and not having to produce our passports, we had a quick pizza on deck 8 and blobbed out for the rest of the afternoon.  Open dinner during tonight, and our usual companions did not partake, so we dined on our own.  We were chatting with our Head Waiter, Jean Paulo, who got on in Lisbon.  He said that he remembered us and after a little while we established that it had been on the Royal Princess 2 years ago. Goodness knows how many thousands of passengers he must have seen since then, yet he could identify us - scary. 

We are on our way now across the channel and due in Southampton at 7.00 tomorrow. Good news however is that our clocks go back again tonight, so an extra hour sleep is in order.