Across the Pond with Music, and of course....Susan

Susan has inspired me for YEARS....I'm telling you YEARS!!

But when she wrote, "A Fine Romance," so different from anything else she had ever written....well, I took her inspiration to heart!!  I may have left out a pair of shoes in my suitcase, but that book was coming along with me!! 

So our journey begins.... after a night in NYC, we boarded the QE2

I looked at all the people everywhere, and even though it was typically an 'older' crowd, there were plenty of families, small children, even a baby or two!

 And....here we go!

 Bye-Bye NYC.... and that pool?  Well, I don't know if anyone went in it....but I sure wasn't going in it.... but it was lovely to look at...

 They handed out flags for us to wave as we passed the Statue of Liberty....

 And there it was............the main lobby and these lovely flowers, which I watched being changed mid-crossing..........very elaborate...just beautiful!

 Here's the dining room, just like in her book.............the pages were coming alive!!

 Blessed.............it made getting older not so bad afterall....

 And the statton-island ferry............. sure enough!

Now, we're ready for our first meal............table for two?  YES!!

 The shows were wonderful............

 And this cruise had ONE stop..........so we got our land legs on and headed out.  We didn't buy any of the excursions.......we chose to explore the place ourself: Halifax...it was lovely!

 Halifax is part of Canada....

 There were LOTS of shops and restaurants

 And Cunard himself lived there!!

 The Halifax public gardens were breathtaking............

 Scrumptious, aren't they?

 Wherever there's a moose, there is me.........

 Here, some of the locals dressed up in vintage attire....

 There's Cunard.....he knew what he was doing when he started building ships!

Well, we walked and talked and then it was time to get back onboard and sail away....

Ahhhh, time for afternoon tea!!  (Yes, I'll admit that we did this every day!)  Well, you've got to do something if you're not swimming in the pool, right?

 Cute little teapots with the Cunard logo on each...

 And fantastic deck chairs...............like in the movies!

 See the gal in the red coat?  shhhhh......that's James Taylor's wife...remember how I told you the family was on the crossing and they were going to perform?

 The night before his first performance, he did an hour plus long talk with the cruise director.  It was pretty fascinating.........I learned that the Beatles actually got him started!!

 And, here's the line that people stood in to shake his hand and get his autograph.

                      There he is!!!

 The concert was fabulous..............see the woman in the middle?  That's his wife.  See the young boy with the microphone?  That's his son Henry..........one of his twin sons.  But, they don't look alike.  You'll see him later...........

 Yes, A Fine Romance came with me everywhere............I was telling everyone about it....

 There's another shot of his wife in the middle and his son.

 What an entertainer...........I've listened to him since I was a very young teenager.  Dream come true!

 And this is the ascot ball....and this little girl was such a hit with her darling dress and cute hat!!

 And my book came to the ball, too.................

I had to have it handy in case I needed to talk with someone about it...........or get an autograph or two in it, right?

                                               LIKE HIS SON HENRY, maybe????

Yes, it's blurry, but it's the only one I have of him...... and I didn't want to keep him waiting.  He wanted to run off  (literally, he and his brother and friends ran all over the ship)  What a sweet young man he was....very polite and kind. 

Well, I'll close for now.............Southampton is in the distance....time to pack up...

Stay tuned and I'll tell you a little bit about England....