#32 - Final few days in Europe and a trans-Atlantic cruise

As our European tour was coming to a close, we drove back up to Wassenaar (in a single 11-hour driving day from Chamonix) to overnight before flying to Southampton to board the trans-Atlantic cruise on the Queen Mary 2.  

​Highlights:

1. Seeing friends for one last time in Wassenaar
2. The luxury of the Cunard Cruise line
3. Fine-dining on the Queen Mary 2
4. Wearing our finest thrift clothing every evening on the cruise
5. Long days at sea filled with everything and nothing
6. No shopping, cooking or cleaning
7. Entering the New York harbor in the twilight of dawn

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​(Click below right to read more . . . . . )

Highlights:

1. Seeing friends for one last time in Wassenaar – Even though it was a quick pass through, we really love being in Wassenaar. It is the place that is still “home” to us and most comfortable to be and live and shop and navigate.  We were happy to grab one last temple visit and some quality time with a few good friends before returning to America.
2. The luxury of the Cunard Cruise line – We boarded the Queen Mary 2, reportedly the world’s only true Ocean liner, which continues to regularly make the trans-Atlantic voyage from Southampton to New York.  It was a cruise liner filled with elegance and history and stories. We really liked the ship, much more tasteful than past Carnival ships we had cruised on.  There was a level of sophistication exhibited that other ships lacked.  The casino was located in an unobtrusive corner of the boat rather than being smack in the center.  The decorations were elegant and subdued rather than garish and loud.  The entertainment was full of educational presentations, and classical music performances, and tastefully clothed dancers.  We really enjoyed the difference from the Carnival “fun” ship.
3. Fine-dining on the Queen Mary 2 in our finest thrift store evening wear – We signed up for the cruise in early June, and all the info and documentation was sent to our “home” address in the US while we were travelling throughout Europe.  We had it forwarded to a friends’ address in Wassenaar where we were to stay the night before flying to England, one day before boarding the ship. In finally reading through the documentation, we discovered that the Queen Mary 2 required its guests to dress in alternating nights of “smart” evening attire or “gala” evening attire every night in order to eat in the restaurant.  This meant dinner jackets for the men and boys, and cocktail dresses for the ladies.  Of course, we had none of this, since we had packed light for our one carry-on each summer months in Europe.  But we did not despair. Instead, we ran down to the “Kringloop” thrift store in Wassenaar and spent the afternoon going through used clothing to find something suitably elegant and fashionable for the cruise dinners and gala evenings.  For about $100, we outfitted everyone; myself with a three-piece cleverly-matched black pinstripe suit; Tyler got a black dinner jacket with ebony rhinestones studded along each lapel; Jacob got himself a shiny black boys’ tuxedo.  Each of the girls got a selection of evening wear – dresses and blazers: my favorite was Megan’s shiny emerald blue-green sequin jacket.  The dining on the ship was spectacular, and the Brittania Restaurant is Jacob’s newest favorite place to eat.  He especially enjoyed getting 3 soups in a row at the same meal, when it was especially delicious – asparagus being his favorite.
4. Long days at sea filled with everything and nothing, and no shopping, cooking or cleaning – Since this cruise lacked any stops (six full days at sea with no land in sight), the days were full of movies, lectures, kid’s games, plays, educational classes, drama workshops, ballroom dance lessons, board games, etc.  I honestly liked the 6 days at sea, with no stress about ports and excursions, and no extra money for those things. We swam and danced and ate and were educated, and when we were looking for downtime, we easily found it reading or resting on the various decks of the ship.  We were also basically internet-free, since it cost $0.40/minute to connect.  While we missed using wifi/data to communicate with our family in the States, we only used it for the basic necessities (booking our next airbnbs, renting a car in New York) and spent the rest of the time onboard disconnected from the online-sphere. No food to shop for, not a single meal to cook, and no dishes to clean: a welcome respite.
5. Entering the New York harbor in the twilight of dawn – On the final morning of our voyage, Tera and I woke up at 4:30 am, just at the sky was lighting up and we were sailing into the New York harbor.  We passed under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge with the cruise ship antennas and funnels seeming to barely pass under the bridge girders.  We saw the skyline of Manhattan backlit by a beautiful sunrise.  The Statue of Liberty appeared in the distance, shining bright against the backdrop of a darkened New Jersey outline.  It was a peaceful, beautiful morning to return to the United States.  We realized that during the last 6 months (since January), we have only spent three weeks total in the continental 48 states.  It is nice to be back.