Special Edition - Week 34a Wrap up

Dividing this week into two because there was definitely enough to write about in the first few days and it makes sense to start the next phase of my journey in the next blog post. Next post will be about the Mediterranean Cruise on Norwegian Sky!

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Schedule

• Thursday, August 27: Southampton / Brighton, UK

• Friday, August 28: Brighton, UK

• Saturday, August 29: Brighton, UK

• Sunday, August 30: Brighton, UK / Barcelona, Spain

  
  

Thursday, August 27: Southampton / Brighton, UK

Well, that’s truly a wrap on Oceania Vista. I had an incredible time both because of the ship but mostly because of the cast & crew. So much so that I’m a bit hesitant to go on another ship where I won’t know anyone again, but since Vista doesn’t go to the Mediterranean next, I guess it’s time to switch. (Plus, my budget doesn’t quite allow continued travel on Oceania without any cruise credits. Being partially retired so early does have some draw backs.)

My morning started as normal, which was in Baristas, waiting for my luggage tag to be called. For those of you who have never cruised, I’ll take a minute to explain the process. A few days prior to disembarkation, you get a little survey where you have to check a box of what your travel plans entail. Such as, do you have an early flight? Do you want a bus transfer from the ship to the airport? Do you want to take a tour first and be dropped at the airport? Or do you have individual accommodations? From those questions, they assign you a color and a number. I’m pretty sure the colors just indicate your mode of transportation while the number indicates the order you’ll be called. For me, I was Gray 6, which I’m assuming means last off for individual accommodations. They can only give you an estimated time of when your tag will be called, but you do need to be out of your cabin by 8:00 am so the room stewards can start cleaning and flipping for the next round of guests. Hence, why I was in Baristas waiting for my luggage tag to be called.

When I heard Gray 6 over the PA, I grabbed my stuff and headed to walk the plank. Yes, this time I will call it a plank because it feels like the Pirate version where you’re dumped off the ship in the middle of now where and have to find your own way from there. (Dramatic, I know.) As I slowly moved along with the line, I was doing my best to keep the tears in as I faced my impending doom. That, and having to say goodbye to those that I’ve enjoyed spending so much time with these past 7 months.

Once off the ship and into the terminal, the tag color comes into play again. All the big luggage that you sent off the night prior is waiting for you, organized by color. I had decided to send my duffle back off instead of trying to haul it through the ship this morning, so once I had it in hand, off I went to find my Uber. Before scheduling the ride, I debated about just walking as it was under a mile from the port to the train station, but I’m very glad because it started to rain.

After collecting my ticket and passing through the little gates, I saw Nathan and Daniel (two of the Production Cast) boarding their train to head to London for the day. While I had the chance to say goodbye to Daniel the night prior, I didn’t bid farewell to Nathan yet. I chose to dramatically yell over the crowd, “BYE NATHAN!!” as he stepped onto the carriage, but he was too focused on his mission to hear me. Sigh… good thing there’s messaging and I could send a note once I was settled on my train.

The ride to Brighton was uneventful. My favorite kind of travel. We passed through small English sea side towns and over large farmland. Ultimately terminating in Brighton. (I also love when I don’t need to count stops because my stop is the last on the line.)

My vision of Brighton was largely based on Pride and Prejudice. Specifically that it’s a vibrant city full of British Officers, or as Lydia claims, husbands. No, that is not why I wanted to visit Brighton, but when you need to chose a place to spend a few days, why not pick a place mentioned in a book?!

Speaking of books, as mentioned in my last update, I started a series called Brighton Mysteries by Elly Griffiths. As I read them, I had been adding tags to the specific places mentioned to my Google Maps list. Other than the Hop On Hop Off bus, I hadn’t planned anything else for this stop, so I decided to go on a bit of a scavenger hunt to see or visit all of the places while I was in Brighton for a few days.

Checking into my hotel, I took the lift (aka elevator) to my room. In a lot of these European hotels, you can tell they are old and converted buildings based on the elevators. This one could only hold up to 4 people and honestly, with my giant duffel back on my back and my backpack on my front, I was wondering if I’d even be able to turn around. But I made it to my floor.

In my room, I was instantly reminded that many European countries don’t have AC because most of the time, they don’t require it. However, with this recent heat wave that had moved through, it left the room very humid and stuffy. My first move was to open the windows, which were limited to only a few inches. (I assumed to restrict a person going in or out.) Without the immediate relief, I quickly changed and headed to explore.

Since I didn’t get checked into my hotel until around noon, instead of rushing to make the most of the HOHO bus ticket, I just wandered along the seaside. There are two routes you can take - the upper path that runs along the road or you can take the stairs down to the lower path that meanders along the shoreline. I chose the lower one to start. It is full of walkers, joggers, and bikers. This route passes by shops and restaurants that are built into the side of a cliff. And since I hadn’t had anything to eat yet today, I decided to stop at one called Salt Shed.

The waitress recommended the Pastrami Burger, so I agreed and it was the best decision! Instead of typical bacon on the burger, they added this melt-in-your-mouth pastrami to add a bit of the saltiness that the bacon normally provides. Along with that, the fries were so crispy on the outside, but almost cloud-like whipped potatoes on the inside. If you find yourself in this area, I highly suggest you try it!

From there, I set off towards the Palace Pier, which highlighted an arcade and amusement rides. At the start of the pier, they do require a £1 entrance fee. Luckily, I had a bag of coins just for this purpose! So I dutifully handed over my coin to which the helpful attendant explained that the pound coins I possessed where actually out of circulation (aka old!), but that they had a deal with the banks that they could still accept them. She recommended that I swap out any others that I had with her. Apparently this is what happens when your grandma gives you a jar of foreign currency that she’s collected over the years.

Once on the pier, I meandered past the shops that advertised donuts and candy floss (aka cotton candy). Purposefully, I stayed outside of the arcade to start, thinking I should at least see what else is offered before getting sucked in to the games for a few hours. At the very end of the pier was rollercoasters, carnival rides, and a haunted house. My engineering brain was flabbergasted that the ancient, wooden structure (127 years old) could support all of those dynamic movements, especially since that was not the initially intended purpose. Originally, the pier was built for promenading and dining, not for tossing children and adults about on carts and metal apparatuses.

Finally, it was time to make my way indoors to explore the games and claw machines! However, because I am very limited on luggage space and because you had to figure out the coins and because it was actually very busy, I just walked right on through.

Instead, I found my way back along the waterfront to the hotel. My intention was to nap and read for a bit, but then I kept reading. And at some point, the sun went down. Did I mention I had the most amazing view from my room?! These big windows that overlooked the sea, so in addition to reading, I found myself just breathing in the warm, salt air and watching the waves crash in.

My evening was not shipical - probably because I was no longer on a ship, so instead, I just went to bed, without setting an alarm.

Friday, August 28: Brighton, UK

Naturally, I was wide awake around 6am. Still weird to me that I wake up around 6am most days without an alarm, no matter what time zone I’m in or what time I go to sleep the night prior. Knowing that the HOHO bus didn’t start until 10am, I pulled on my walking shoes and headed in the opposite direction than I went yesterday.

My plan was just to walk until it made sense to turn around. An interesting tidbit for this area is that they have constructed the brightly colored huts that line the path. The purpose for these are basically storage or shelters for whoever owns them. Each is owned individually and can be bought / sold just like other property. After venturing about the area, I completely understand why someone might want to store their beach chairs and toys there instead of hauling them up and down the hills / stairs since parking is not anywhere nearby.

Eventually, after I had made my way all the way to Hove and back, I showered and changed in time to catch the first HOHO bus. Initially, I had imagined the bus would go all the way back to where I walked this morning, but it only went about a block past my hotel before turning into the main areas of Brighton. From the map, I had decided that unless something looked really interesting, my first Hop Off would be at Stop 8, which was by the Royal Pavilion and The Lanes.

From the outside, the Royal Pavilion looks more like something you’d see in India with dramatic, onion-shaped domes topping the archways and columns. As I walked through the gardens, there were signs encouraging visitors to come find the dragons! Well, who could pass that up?!

Inside the Pavilion, there were indeed dragons! Not only had they used the dragons to create fun exhibits for children to participate during the self-guided tours, but Prince George, the original owner, had most of the rooms decorated to include dragons. Apparently this is because dragons are a key factor in Chinese folklore, as symbols of power, protection, and imperial majesty, and while the outside represented India, the inside was decorated with an obvious Chinese theme, given all the bamboo and gold elements.

One of the key features is this massive chandelier over the dining table. At the very top is a very detailed, fierce looking dragon, but there are also dragons on each of the lights, with their mouths pointed up to where it would have looked like they were breathing fire back in the time where candles were used for lighting.

Side note as I just add a few more photos for effect - apparently all of this was paid for by the citizens via taxes. However, instead of just giving it back to the public as a museum, Queen Victoria sold it for £53,000. I agree that it’s way under value, but still. Now it’s operated as a museum, so you’re welcome to wander the halls and promenade along the great hall if you wish.

Back out in the sunshine, I looked at my Maps to figure out where the first stop on my Book Scavenger hunt would be.

While I wasn’t able to go inside, I stopped by The Theatre Royal. This is a key landmark in the books because the story often references the shows performed by the Magician, Max Mephisto. Looking at the show posters outside in current day, I realized that I could possibly attend a concert there as there was one playing the next night - A Tribute to Whitney Houston. (I searched tickets later and decided not to go.)

Next stop - The Hippodrome. While the Theatre Royal was constructed for the Royal family’s entertainment, the Hippodrome’s purpose was for circus-like entertainment. Such as the Variety shows in the early 1900s. Unfortunately, the building was not maintained and had fallen into disarray. Per Google, the building has been approved for restoration, so hopefully one day I’ll get to see the inside as well.

I got lost. If that gives you any indication about the organization, or lack there of, within The Lanes. This is an area of Brighton that dates back to the 16th century when it was part of the fishing village. As the population grew, the maze became more complicated. Honestly, after wandering for a few hours, I couldn’t figure out which way was up. At times, I realized I was back to where I had been before, but no clue how I got there, nor could I find my way back again.

Using my handy Google Maps, I found my way to Bath Arms, a local pub. Again, this was a location from the books where the detectives would grab a pint after a long day of work. One thing I’ve noticed is that since I rarely eat breakfast, that means I’m usually the first one in for lunch, especially since many restaurants don’t open until noon! The bartender today even seemed surprised that I was there to order food, but one thing I’ve learned when traveling is to just eat when you’re hungry. It’s an added benefit of solo traveling is that I don’t need to coordinate my appetite with anyone else. Anyway, the pub was very quaint. Other than that, I don’t have much to add because it’s a typical English pub with cask beer and decent bar food. However, I did add a photo to my Instagram story, tagging the author, which instigated a bit of a chat with her about the various landmarks!

Finding my way out of The Lanes maze, I ended up at Stop 7 on the HOHO bus. Yes, I had gotten off at Stop 8, which was after 7, but didn’t get off again until I was back at Stop 2. It makes sense if you have ever taken a HOHO bus. Basically, it’s a circuit where you can start anywhere along the route. Just hop on the bus, pay for your ticket, and they give you earbuds to listen to the audio in the language of your choice. I learned quite a bit on this tour, but won’t go into all the details here as you could just google to find out more about Brighton and Hove.

At the hotel, I decided it was time for a nap! And some more coffee before heading back out.

On the bus, I heard an advertisement for a Ghost Tour in The Lanes. While I wouldn’t normally voluntarily get spooked out of my mind while solo traveling, I thought it would be an interesting way to learn more about the area’s history. This also meant that I needed to go find my way through the maze again. After a few wrong turns, I found the starting point. There was a sign that said "Ghost Tour Meets Here”, but in a bubble had the note “Only on Saturdays at this time.” Given it was Friday, that meant my psyche was saved for another day! (Post edit note - with the rain and wind the following day, I did not go back to the Ghost Tour. Maybe next time!)

Throughout the day, the weather changed, which I hear is typical for England, especially by the sea. Instead of warm and sunny, it was now a blustery winds where you could barely walk forward against the wind. But I managed to stomp my way back up the hills to the hotel, where I had to plant my feet and pull hard against my door because I had left the windows open and created quite the backdraft in my room… At least it had cooled down a bit.

Saturday, August 29: Brighton, UK

It’s raining. Not just raining, but inconveniently drizzling to down pouring.

My plan for the morning was to take a trip to Portsmouth to see the historic ships in the harbor. However, that was quickly thwarted by the wet skies. Along with the rain is still the winds that started last night. Luckily, I had looked at the weather app yesterday and had an idea this was coming my way, so before retiring for the evening, I found a grocery store to stock up on some snacks for the morning.

Naturally, with my To-Do list growing and growing with things like Journal, Photo Edit, finish your photo books from the World Cruise, figure out how to create a 2-D waters of the world poster, etc., I spent the morning reading and playing games on my phone, such as Meowduko and Royal Match. At some point, I’ll need to figure out how many “rest days” I’m justifying before I find my motivation to actually complete some of these other tasks.

Oh well, so at some point the rain slowed to the point where I wouldn’t be drenched going outside. However, the winds had not subsided, creating some massive waves rolling into shore. After spending some time watching the water’s dance, I headed down the beachfront towards the pier. On my way, I saw a group gathering, which can only mean one thing - something is happening! Turns out, some idiot, looked to be in his 20s, decided to tempt fate and enter the sea. With the size of the waves, I think he drastically underestimated the strength of the undertow and was not able to pull himself back to land, so one of the lifeguards had to charge in after him. After they both were safely to shore, I couldn’t quite hear what was said, but I imagine the lifeguard, who was probably the same age, would say something like along the lines of, “What the hell man?! You’re a bloody idiot.” Or something more colorful than that.

With that short show over, I continued my way with a partial plan in mind. Another attraction in Brighton is the Volk’s Electric Railway, which is the world’s oldest operating electric railway. My mental coin flip was if the train was in the station, I’d jump on and ride it to the other end, which was about a mile down the shoreline. If it wasn’t in the station, I’d walk and play the same chance game on the other end. It was in the station, so I bought my ticket and got on.

There’s not much to add about the actual train ride. It was very slow and straight. However, when it reached the mid-way point, I saw a restaurant that I might want to check out for lunch.

At the other end, there was another restaurant that I had flagged, but was leaning towards the one at the mid-way point instead because this one seemed more like a breakfast spot. Just as I was starting my way back towards the city center, it started to sprinkle. Then it started to drizzle. Then it started to pour. And my decision was made to go to the restaurant by the train station to wait this out and hope that it cleared long enough to get back to the hotel.

Best non-decision made! I ended up getting a chipotle BBQ Chicken toastie and it may have been one of the best sandwiches I’ve had in a very long time. Other than the fact that my mouth was a bit on fire and my nose was running from the spice, the bread was perfectly crunchy and the pickled onions balanced the chili spices. Yum!

And the rain did stop for a bit. Long enough for me to get back to the hotel. However, the winds did not stop, so it was quite the challenge covering the few miles against the gale-force gusts.

Once safely back inside and again, having to plant my feet to push my door open, I closed the room up and decided it was time to write the wrap up from the prior week. I always have good intentions to keep up with the journaling on a daily basis, realizing how much time it takes to document all these events when I do it all at once, but alas, I procrastinated once again.

Sunday, August 30: Brighton, UK / Barcelona, Spain

Very simple travel day - Uber to train station, take train to bus station, take bus to airport, take plane to another airport, take train to subway, walk to hotel. What could go wrong?!

Step One: Uber to train station. Uneventful. Although, I had noticed there were very few people and cars about, so at one point, I made the comment that it seems very quite for a Monday. The kind driver paused before informing me that it is actually Sunday… Good thing I have tons of spreadsheets to make sure I get to the correct places on time and not rely on my memory!

Step Two: Train to Bus Station. When I was figuring out how to get to point A to point B, I made a rookie mistake and didn’t specify which terminal I needed to end up at. As terminal 5 at Heathrow is not exactly near terminal 2 or 3, when I updated my travel destination, my trip options changed. No panic, I found one that I could take a train to a different station and get on a different bus. Given that I was on a bit of a schedule, I decided just to book my bus ticket that morning before I headed out to ensure I had a seat. Well, good thoughts cost money sometimes because even though I was supposed to have over 25 minutes between arrival and departure, the train ended up having a fault on the line, forcing us to switch trains to the one coming after it… 30 minutes later. So I missed my bus. Still not panicking as at this point, there’s no going back, only figuring out forward. And worst case, paying $150 to Uber to the airport. (Yes, I checked that option too.)

Step Three: Bus to airport. Once at the bus station, I checked my options and the one that made sense was a 9am bus with arrival at 10:10am. Since my flight was scheduled for 12:25pm, this was still a good option. However, when I went to book the ticket online, the system had an error and I missed that one. No worries as there was another one coming at 9:05am. (Turns out, there are lots of buses that go to Terminal 5 at Heathrow.) For this one, I was able to go find the machines to just print my ticket. As I was waiting to board, one of the other passengers was trying to claim her bag should be considered a “small” luggage. This thing was larger than my biggest suitcase and looked to weigh as much as a baby elephant, so the bus driver was having none of it. He said if she wanted it to come with us, she had to pay the extra luggage fee (£15). She continued to argue and eventually he took my bag, allowing me to board since I had already paid the fee. I’m not quite sure what happened after that, but she got onboard, but not after the bus driver stepped on for a minute and muttered something about “The joys of the 210 to Birmingham.” This debate added another 15 minutes to the trip as the driver threatened to leave the bag if she didn’t agree to pay. She must have agreed at some point because she was on and we were preparing to depart. Before the driver took a seat though, he made an announcement - “We don’t tolerate any video recording of the drivers. If I see you, I will throw you off.” Nothing like a friendly welcome aboard speech! Anyway, after that, nothing eventful happened and we somehow made it to the airport at the time scheduled.

Step Four: Heathrow airport. At this point, I figured I’m a seasoned traveler, so I should be able to go on autopilot. However, I was flying a different airline than normal, so bad assumption. Took three tries to figure out which security line I was supposed to go through, but eventually got the right one. Plus because of my status with American Airlines, I was granted Fast Track through screening. Within 10 minutes of arrival to the airport, I was already through. As I was debating where to go next, I saw a sign for the British Airways lounge that had the little OneWorld logo. Hoping that meant I would have access, I tried my luck. Success! Main benefit was free food! After a snack, I thought I should go find my gate, but apparently, they don’t publish those until closer to departure time, so I ended up walking to the other lounge to see if there was anything different. There wasn’t, but shortly after arrival, my gate was updated and almost ready to board, so I headed back. The gate was back on the other side of the airport… oh well, getting in my steps and thankfully, I had already checked the heavy backpack.

Once onboard, I was a bit surprised that their First Class cabin had 2 groups of 3 seats for each row instead of two by two like on American. But because it’s still considered First Class, they just don’t seat anyone in the middle seat. Instead, they have like a tray table attached to cover the seat. After take-off, they came around with drinks and snacks, like usual. With it only being a 2 hour flight, I was surprised when the next course out was a full lunch! And then we were landing.

From a lot of social media, I didn’t know what to expect when we got to Barcelona customs as there had been reports that the EES entry system was delaying more than helping. However, the system was similar to those used in Canada and Singapore, so I was processed through with no problems. Once I grabbed my bag from the belt it was on to the next step.

Step Five: I cheated. After a long day of travel, I looked to see how much an Uber would cost to my hotel. Since it was not much more than the train / subway option, I decided to take a shortcut and take the easy way to the hotel.

When I booked the hotel, I just looked for a Marriott near the port where I could use my points and have a convenient trip to the cruise. Apparently, I booked a 5-star hotel - Le Meridian Barcelona. With my status, I got upgraded as well! Along with the room change, I also got a free glass bottle of water! (I’m mocking this because we also got free cardboard cartons of water already - all you can drink! But apparently the glass bottled version is better??)

Even though their website said Laundry Facilities available at the hotel, apparently that means that they offer the service not that there are washer / dryer available to guests. Since my later arrival and early departure, I could not use this option. Instead, I needed to find a local laundromat. Thankfully there were two within a block or two of the hotel, so I spend the next hour resetting my clothing stock. You may be thinking that I sure do a lot of laundry, but keep in mind that I packed for all four seasons in one duffle pack. I don’t have many options at each location due to temperature range and need to keep up, unless I want to wear a sundress in the Baltics or wool in the Mediterranean.

With clothes folded and repacked, it was time to explore! My original plan was to take the train to the Sagrada Família church as that has been back on my Bucket List for a while, but the area where the hotel was is so pretty! And walkable, so instead, I just went to wander. There were little restaurants throughout the median and tons of shops. I walked past what looked to be an Opera Theater, but I didn’t stop to translate it. At the end of the road is the marina, where you could see the ferris wheel and shopping areas.

After ensuring that I got all my steps in for the day, I headed back to the room. Initially, I planned to start working on this Wrap Up, but after taking a shower and turning on a movie, I fell asleep. (Side note on the movie - I picked one that I had seen before, assuming I wouldn’t last much longer. From the TV guide, the title was in English, so I figured I had slightly better than 50% chance that it would be in English instead of Spanish. Dear readers, it was in German! However, I did not change it. As mentioned, I’d watched this movie before, so I could follow along well enough and lasted all of 30 minutes before calling it a night.)

And with that - I’m off to a Mediterranean Cruise!