The journey continues! Join me as I head from London to Southampton on my way to taking a cruise. Or start from the beginning, if you prefer!
June 29th
I was in London, getting ready to head to Southampton.
I had pre-purchased a train ticket from London King's Cross to Southampton -- that's what it said on the ticket -- but looking at the fine print I realized the train actually departed from Waterloo Station, and it was my job to get from King's Cross to Waterloo. Which I did, with lots of time to spare, but it took two trains (metro) to do it. The first one was packed to the gills, and the second one looked like this:
I killed some time at the Waterloo station, then caught the train. The ride took about an hour and a half and I got 2 seats to myself.
I arrived in Southampton and made my way on foot toward my hotel. Remembering the phone issues I'd had a few days previously, I'd made sure to take screencaps of maps/directions to my lodgings.
I'd made reservations in one of the bedrooms above The Grapes Pub. I had to check in at the bar. One of the staff members gave me my key and led me up two flights of stairs to my room.
A sink that's not in the shower? Such luxury!
I headed out to find some groceries, as I was running low on rations. As I walked toward the store, I took lots of pictures, because Southampton's architecture was so interesting!
The view from my room...
I then just relaxed for the rest of the evening.
I know. I can be very boring sometimes. NEXT?
June 30th
This morning I got up early and took a walk around town. I didn't have to check out of my room until 11am, after which I planned to walk to the pier to check in for my cruise.
Speaking of which, one of the first things I saw as I headed out on my walk was... my ship! The Caribbean Princess was already in port.
But she would have to wait. In the meantime, I wandered along Southampton's historic wall...
Or, I guess, ex-wall...
I came upon a free Mayflower museum, so I stopped on in...
I recently learned, through Ancestry.com research, that I may have had ancestors on the Mayflower. That's one of those facts that I'm not sure quite how to process. (Yay immigration, nay colonization? Something like that.)
With names like Resolved and Peregrine, how can you go wrong?
Ah, to be famous enough that 200 years after your death, you get plaques honoring the spot where your brother once skated and you once walked.
I made it back to my lodgings with just enough time to grab my stuff and drop off my key before the 11am check-out time.
The Princess Cruise app on my phone had finally updated and given me a check-in time: 11am-2pm. Well, all aboard then, eh?
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