Here I am, August 2023 and I’m getting ready for a big 15-night United Kingdom-Ireland-France cruise. This will be the biggest trip (vacation) I have taken in the past number of years. And it is truly a vacation. I am being selfish. I am not escorting a big group as I usually do when escorting groups we put together for the Vegas Voyagers or Fairview Travel. As I write this, I (we, Sharon, and I) leave for this trip in just a few days.
However, it almost didn’t come to pass. It seems, at least for me, the most important part of the pre-trip planning, is to BE CAREFUL OUT THERE. And just recently I wasn’t so careful, out there.
I took a fall down a flight of stairs in front of my house and it seems that I might have torn my rotator cuff. After visiting a number of orthopedic doctors and a trip to the emergency room, the final consensus was to let me go on this big adventure. Tylenol and pain patches in tow, our 15 day European adventure is still a go. I’ll deal with the after care of this injury when I return and just hope that physical rehab will cure the injury. Hopefully no surgery to repair the shoulder will be requires.
My admonition to all who read this, is BE CAREFUL. Take your time as you amble along whether in preparation of your trip or while strolling through your ultimate destination. Look around, be aware of your surroundings; I call it situational awareness or know the landscape. As I fully came to realize, one wrong step or slip can (might) really put a damper on all plans.
And I can’t wait for this trip to begin. We will start out in London for three nights prior to the cruise. We are staying right in the heart of London, Trafalgar Square and have a number of activities planned. We have plans to tour Buckingham Palace, see a West End show and maybe even hit one of the world famous British afternoon “teas”. Other possibilities might include a tour of Churchill’s War Rooms, a walk through Harrod’s or a tour through the Tower of London. It is safe to say that there is a lot to see and do for three nights in London.
Then it will be off on a PRINCESS CRUISE LINE 12-night British Isles/Ireland cruise. This will be the longest cruise we have been on since 2008 when we did a comprehensive Med cruise to Italy, Spain and France,
Ports of call on this cruise include Guernsey Islands in the British Channel, Cork, Ireland, Dublin, Ireland, Glasgow, Edinburg and the Orkney Islands in Scotland, Belfast, Northern Ireland and one stop in Le Havre, France for a visit to Normandy and the D-Day memorials. It will be quite the trip.
I will post a full report upon my return, and I might even be able to post while on the trip. And I will try to be careful out there, for sure.
