The Zuiderdam was docked sometime around 7am, and even though it was a chilly 48 degrees outside, it appeared the rain had left for good and the sun was out.
We had passport inspections this morning and it was located in the upper dining room, displacing our little "Breakfast Club". Andri and Danu were down in our section, so it was about the same as always. Actually it was kind of nice to have a change of scenery seeing many guests and waiters we have not seen for a while. Even though our deck was called during our meal, we decided to go afterwards, with the last group being called. It doesn't matter since this was not a zero-clearance check, but a face-to-face with the British officials.
We went up to deck three and got in line to have our room key cards scanned. The process went swiftly, even though our passports were neither stamped or scanned. Once again, we got a small sticker placed on our key cards to show we had been cleared. Without this sticker, the security staff at the gangway would know we had not attended the mandatory screening, and getting off of the ship would not be possible.
So here is a snippet of info on England. The capital is London and the population of the country is 53 million residents. The official language is English, which makes everything a whole lot easier for those of us that speak the same language. The British Empire was successful in spreading English culture around the world. These days England is famous for football, art, films, rock groups, and real ale. Teatime is all of the time as is BBC, anything to do with the Royal family, as well as four thousand years of history. What else makes England famous? Anything London, Soho, the British Museum, and the London Eye, as well as St. Paul's Cathedral. The love of sports night top all of these such as Wimbleton, Wembly, and football. Stonehenge has to be the most iconic sight that carries an ongoing mystery to it. The Roman ruins of Hadrian's Wall, 2000 years old, reveals abandoned forts, garrisons, towers and castles. Cambridge and Oxford colleges rate high too.
Favorite foods are pickled eggs, dry roasted peanuts, and pork scratching that are served in the thousands of pubs around town. Drink favorites are real ale, but don't be surprised if it is served room temperature. Christmas pudding is a much- loved cake with fruit, nuts, and brandy or rum. A Sunday lunch might be roast beef with Yorkshire pudding. Ever heard of a Ploughman's lunch? We learned it is bread with cheese and salad with pickles as well as pickled onions.
So back to the port of call today – Portland/Weymouth. The port of Portland is actually an islet which is mostly military. The population is over 13, 000 people. There are a few sights to see such as a castle, museum, a church, a lighthouse, and a D-Day center for WWII. There is also a kangaroo farm with other animals like goats, sheep, and horses. Our destination today was actually Weymouth, a city of about 53,400 residents. It is a resort town with sandy beaches, Georgian housing, and many things for vacationing people to do during the summer months. Located fairly close to London, it is an easy get-away for those seeking sand and sun.
Tours offered today included Stonehenge and Salisbury for $170 for 8 hours (lunch on your own), or just a transfer to Stonehenge for $130 for 6 hours. The bus ride there was 2 hours, then two hours back. Two excursions for $130 for 4 ½ hours were magnificent Tudor Athelhampton and scenic countryside and Corfe Castle. Abbotsbury Swannery and Gardens was $100, as was relics of WWI and both were 3 ¾ hours.
Double-decker shuttle buses were used to transport guests from Portland to Weymouth, with a stop outside the port gate for private tours, or to see Portland Castle. Then the bus continued with a longer ride than we expected, mostly because we had no idea this seaside resort was so big. As we got closer, what a nice surprise we had seeing the vibrant community that turns into a thriving summer resort from May to September. We passed Georgian-style housing along the way, along with some very nice estates with a view of the bay and beach below. Being that today was Saturday, the long stretch of sandy beach was full of families. Once again, the water was too cold to swim, but the beach was OK if you bundled up a bit. Definitely not sunbathing weather yet. Speaking of weather, we heard that today was the first one in a month where the locals saw sun. How lucky was that?
Our drop-off was 2 blocks from the River Wry and the Town Bridge that spanned it. On the opposite side, the Custom House Quay that faced the Old Harbor, was already filling up their numerous cafes with morning pastry and coffee customers. Doing our homework with the help of Google, we had scoped out a place for pizza that opened before noontime. Most all of the other Italian eateries did not open until later in the day for dinner. This café was located up the pedestrian St. Mary's Street which was also filled with pubs, cafes, and clothing stores to name a few. We saw the most thrift shops ever. From scanning the menu, we did not see that they served beer. Can't leave town without one of their famous beers. We searched everywhere else along the way, but came up with nothing. However there were plenty of other streets to walk on the way back.
At the end of St. Mary's Street, we came upon the King's Statue dedicated the George the Third on his entering the 50th year of his reign. From here we began our hike on the Esplanade along the beach facing the Weymouth Bay. This boulevard was lined with old colonial buildings, the largest being a hotel. There were dozens of eateries, ice cream shops, and more shopping. Several rows of very low lawn chairs lined the seawall, but at a cost of 3 pounds for a ½ day or full day, few people were sitting in them. Ever try getting up from one of those chairs? Near impossible unless you are a young kid.
About halfway up the beachfront, we reached the Jubilee Clock, a tower dedicated to Queen Victoria. Many benches lined the esplanade, and we took advantage of a few along the way. It was still rather cold, but when the sun did peek out from between the clouds, it was slightly warmer. One of us had on five layers of clothing (counting the back brace), and the other had on double sweatshirts. Little kids on the beach were digging holes in the sand wearing sweaters with hoodies. By the way, there were almost as many dogs as there were kids. We did see a sign indicating no dogs allowed, but the closer we looked, that was from May through September.
We walked as far as Green Hill Gardens, a community project tiered on the side of the hillside. There was a nice café that served a light lunch. Some locals had taken blankets and sat on the slope with their food from the café. Flower beds, putting greens, a wishing well, and plenty of benches filled this small park. We also need to mention that there were many public restrooms along this Esplanade. We stopped at one located at The Bandstand, a two- story shop with a restaurant on the top level. It appeared empty so we figured it would open at night. That was about as far as we needed to go, because it was getting close to lunch time, and we still had not found a suitable place to go yet.
Halfway back, we ran right into Heo, Greg, Ginni and Rich doing the same walk we had done. They had stopped for pastries and coffee, which they all love to do. We pointed out the gardens, and they went to explore. We slowly headed back towards St. Thomas Street, which paralleled St. Mary's. We found no pizza restaurant opened there. Our last attempt was to walk to the waterfront on the river and check out those cafes and pubs. By now (1pm) every seat outside and inside was taken, which did not really matter to us since pizza was not on their menus. The last thing we wanted to do was squeeze into a crowd of folks, some of whom were coughing and sneezing. So we decided to go back to the first pizza café, Nicetta, and see for sure if they served beer.
That took us all the way back to the statue of King George. But it was worth the walk when we went inside, took a table, and saw the menu, which had several bottled beers available. We ordered a Hawaiian pizza to share, along worth two Peroni beers. It was worth even more just sitting down and relaxing, while watching the people walk by. What we did not realize was that we had come in at the perfect time. Had we been a few minutes later, we would have been told the café was closed from 2pm to 5pm. At least ten locals had come in to be told they were no longer serving lunch and they left disappointed. Especially the mom with two teenage kids. We still had time to add a slice of cheesecake for dessert, which was really tasty. We found the price we paid for lunch was still a better deal than what we would get at home. Crazy, huh?
Time to head back, we got to the bridge and heard some music blasting and people singing. It was coming from a corner two-story restaurant where on the upstairs level, some young ladies were having a fine time singing and dancing. Obviously, this town is for having fun and they sure were doing just that. We made it back to the ship by 3:30pm with a nice ride in the coach, except for the two women guests that quizzed two crew members relentlessly, never coming up for air. An awkward moment for the fellows, but the ladies were clueless.
At the second port gate, two officials came on the coach to check everyone's key cards. Some people were very slow in finding them, but one couple did not produce them at all. These two were escorted off of the bus to a small customs and immigrations building, and we never did see them after that. Either one or both of them lost their cards, or they were not passengers on this ship.
Right before 5pm, a group of mostly ladies arrived to sing for us. There must have been close to 50 people singing in this choir, and boy, were they fun to watch and listen to. In addition to this performance, a four-man military group came with a cannon, that they set up on the tip of the pier. After the singing ended, and we were about to leave, they made four attempts at setting it off. Almost became funny enough, because the chorale group began laughing. Finally, with much pomp and circumstance, they were able to fire off the cannon (noise only) for three times. The passengers watching from deck three and the verandas all clapped and said "God Save the King". What a nice way to end a day in Portland/Weymouth.
Dinner had only four of us since the guys went to the Canaletto. We ordered crispy spring rolls, salad, and sweet and sour shrimp. Desserts were frozen yogurt. Finally, Oscar said they are adding some favorite items in the dining room for dinner that can only be found in the Lido.
Tomorrow's port is Dover, a place that we ended a cruise over 20 years ago, and flew home. So it will be new to us.
Bill & Mary Ann
