Sorry so late in posting. Just seems like no time to get anything done. All went well on our flight over and easy transfer to the ship. GREAT first lunch a really good Prime Rib - perfectly medium rare. We ate lunch with Tom and Mary, and most of the group dropped by the table. It is always so nice to see everyone again.

First day was a day at sea. We slept in really late and had lunch in Prime 7. Then of course cards at 2.00 pm and trivia at 4.00 pm. They have trivia and tea together in the Observation Lounge. This may be my favorite ship because there is enough room for trivia with a full tea on this ship. Our trivia team is Jim, Pam, Janice, Joe and Dave.

First port of call was New Castle. We cancelled a tour as it left in the afternoon and I was worried that we would not be back in time for our cocktail party. So we took the shuttle into town and walked around.

That night we had our cocktail party in the Library and it worked very well.

We had the drawings for the FCC's and preliminary winners for this cruise.
$8,000 FCC for Oceania and the winner was a client of Linda's named Robert (do not put surnames on the internet)
$10,000 FCC for Regent the winner was a client of Susan's Kim
Preliminary Free Cruise Winners - Curt and Sheila, Jack and Cirrelda, Bob and Joan, and Dave and Joan.

Final free cruise winner will be drawn September 23rd.

Edinburgh was our next port. We had a great tour to SCONE PALACE. This is the palace where Scottish Kings were crowned. It was about an hours drive and the scenery was interesting and the guide was great. I actually listened to everything she said. I normally have a tendency to "zone out". We went with Janice and Joe who are friends of Jim and Pam and they went on safari with us in 2016. The sun was shining while we were there. It was a little cool but quite comfortable.

The palace is still a personal home and pictures of the family were spread around the palace. It was beautifully decorated and we were able to go around the palace at our own pace. Each room had a lovely Scottish lady to answer any questions. The grounds were lovely complete with peacocks, including a snow white peacock. They also had some Scottish cows they are so much fun to watch. One was eating at the fence and the red hair was so long over his face you could not see anything but hair.

We had scones at Scone Palace but they were a little disappointing. I am on the search for scones like they have in New Zealand where they just melt in your mouth. I am on a mission for the perfect scone and will report if I find them. Probably the best are at a local small tea shop where the owner cooks them in her oven and brings them straight to the table.

Ken will hopefully post pictures tomorrow from Scone Palace.

Keene Luxury Travel Cocktail Party:



Mary, Pam & Ngaire.

Daniela wears her pins from our previous escorted cruises.

Andy the CD with his Scottish Kilt.

Edinburgh, Scotland - Scone Palace:


Scone Palace.

A white peacock.

Joe and Janice.

Ngaire and Ken.

Janice, Ngaire and a Highland Bull.

As always, great pictures Ken. I love that Highland Bull ! It was nice seeing a couple of familiar faces at the cocktail party. Keep enjoying such a great cruise.

Another pretty day in the UK. Really had good weather. A rough night the first night but the ship handled it really well. Three days in a row of sunshine and another day projected to be sunny tomorrow.

Yesterday from Belfast we went to the Stewart House and Gardens. The house was interesting but the tour inside took a little too long. I sure like it when you can do a self tour without the guide. The gardens were stunning. Many hedges in various shapes and statues around. Extremely well maintained. We really enjoyed it.

Today from Dublin we went to Powerscourt Gardens & Shopping tour. A totally different garden with huge open lawns and it was good just in a very different way from the Stewart House Gardens. We spend about an hour walking the grounds and really enjoyed the walk. The house was not open but an area of the house had been made into reception, shops and a cafe. We had some GOOD scones here and they were huge. We split one and it was all we could eat. All the food was first class and tempting. The shopping was very tastefully done and the food store was fascinating with a huge variety of wonderful temptations. Lots of prepared food people could purchase and also a huge variety of dips, dressings, sauces and jams.

Ken has been busy buying air for trips today but pictures will follow at some point. Tomorrow we are in Liverpool of course we are doing the Beatles tours.

Food has been really good. We have been very happy with the food.

Pam, your coat is gorgeous!

Ngaire, I agree with you about the tours. I like where I can just wander around on my own, and we LOVE Powerscourt Gardens! So beautiful, and the café there is really good.

Belfast, Northern Ireland - Mount Stewart House & Garden:

Loved Liverpool today. I think this is one of my favorite ports. Foggy in the morning but it lifted into a beautiful calm sunny day. We did the Beatles tour and it was GREAT. Had the best guide and I learned so much about the Beatles that I did not know.

The most revealing thing was that it seems ALL their songs had meanings behind them and it made the music come alive. Let it be (about Paul's mother passing) Strawberry Fields (about a children's home where John would climb the fence and go and play). Penny Lane, the fire station, banker, flower seller etc all still there at Penny lane. It just went on and on. The inspiration for their songs was all here in Liverpool. It was really a wonderful bus tour all over Liverpool and each detail was fascinating. We did the Beatles Story museum which was well done but crowded but a lot of good information. Yoko and Paul have done so much for Liverpool I left this port on a real high.

To top it off we got a perfect 15 again so now I have won 2 million on Regent. The cruise director, Andy and his wife Tammy, social hostess are excellent. It often takes me a cruise or two to warm up to a new senior staff member but I think this couple are excellent. They worked with Radisson from day one and were on the Song Of Flower. Then left the sea for about 17 years but sold their business and came back again. He does a great trivia and selects the questions himself and he is really good. Tammy is everywhere and absolutely delightful. A super addition to the Regent family.

We have met some new really delightful people on this cruise. That has been a real highlight for us.

We are making tomorrow a sea day so hopefully Ken will get some more pictures posted.

Dublin, Ireland - Powerscourt Gardens:







The best part of the tour was the little cafe with this delicious strawberry scone.

Liverpool, United Kingdom - Beatles Tour:



Epstein signed singer Cilla Black, who had been working as a hat-check girl in the Cavern Club.

(Ferry 'Cross the Mersey) is a song written by Gerry Marsden. It was first recorded by his band Gerry and the Pacemakers and released in 1964. "Mersey" refers to the River Mersey in northwest England, a river that flows into the Irish Sea at Liverpool. I never knew what the lyrics meant, but now it makes sense.

I always look forward to your photos and comments, but seeing these pics from Liverpool and the Mersey River really got to me. Thank you so much for sharing. Just added to my bucket list for sure!

Jerry and I visited Liverpool (and London) a few months ago and took a similar tour of the Beatles museums and their childhood homes and Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields and had a drink in the Cavern Club .... We had a BLAST. Definitely a must-do for those of us "of a certain age".
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Helen

We got a perfect score of 15 again at trivia today. That is third time and he gives a million dollars every time you get a perfect score. So now we all have three millions dollars. Been a lot of fun but we lose Jim, Pam, Janice, Joe as they get off tomorrow. We are adding Tom and Mary and probably Ken and Joan to make the six. Hope we do as well as we did this cruise.

HOW FUN ! We've never been to Liverpool...remind me again why we're not there with you !!! I hope there's a Beatles II cruise in our future, right up our alley. Thanks for sharing the fabulous pictures.

Congratulations on all the trivia wins..., you're in the $$$$ 😀

Ngaire, did you find the perfect melt in your mouth scone yet?

No unfortunately I did not. The ones on the ship were the best I have ever had onboard and actually better than the ones I found in England. That's okay I found good fish and chips today.

Regent offered the transit guests a tour to Salisbury and Stonehenge. We had never been to either destination so we signed up for a 7 hour tour. I usually have a time limit of 4 hours. It was a BEAUTIFUL sunny day and we had a great time. Salisbury was so cute but we did not have enough time there hence the speedy fish and chips. The cathedral was impressive. Stonehenge was better than I expected I really enjoyed visiting such a wonderful place. On the way back we drove through the "new forest" and absolutely loved it. Thatched houses and wild horses and beautiful green fields. Arrived back just in time for the lifeboat drill.

Dinner with Dave and Joan tonight to celebrate her birthday had a wonderful time.

Okay off to sleep now lose an hour tonight. St.Malo tomorrow - no tour just walking the old city as we have done before.

Salisbury Cathedral - Salisbury, UK - Stonehenge:

My face is the colour of GREEN with envy. All of this English culture/scenery/cuisine is exactly my English breakfast cup of tea (preferably with a scone, clotted cream and strawberry jam, if possible!). LOVED the pictures and would love to have been with you lapping it all up. Fantastic achievement at trivia Ngaire. WELL DONE! House still not completed but sufficient for the purposes of your visit, which we are very much looking forward to. Scrabble awaits you !
JMG

What beautiful pictures! Sound like a great trip-will have to add this to my bucket list. Happy birthday, Joan.

Great day yesterday. To start with a perfect lamb roast, medium rare it was fantastic. I will admit to having five serving I could not pass it up. One of the courses was my desert course.

Then we went on a tour to Chateau de Roquetaillade. I looked it up on the internet and did not look that impressive but we decided to go and we really liked it. Great history and now a private home that has been in the family for over 300 years. A lot of renovation was done to change it from a Fortress into a Chateau in the early 1800's. Most of that is still there and very well preserved.

The guides are what made the trip. The bus guide was funny, did not understand everything she said but she laughed all the time with cute little exclamations, just adorable. The chateau guide bought the whole chateaux alive with his stories and in particular the kitchen and modern bathroom (for the 1800's). The kitchen must have had 100 copper pots, a center island stove that was unique to that time period. All types of "machines" for food preparation. The bedroom had a LARGE bathroom with a large copper water heater that emptied into a bathtub. He talked quickly, kept it moving but you wanted to hear every word. He was so knowledge and so intelligent a cut above most guides you meet.

Once we were back on the bus the bus guide told us he was the owner of the Chateau from the same family that has been in the Chateaux for 300 years. It made me realize he did not dwell on the portraits or much detail of the family but on the innovate design and furnishings for the time period.

Today we had a day at sea which was nice and relaxing. Tonight we heard at dinner that we would not be able to tender in the port of St. Jean-de-Luz. The swells would be too high. So the Captain is heading straight to our next port of call Bilbao and we will get there at 11.00 am so we will have an extra afternoon and stay over night and then a full day in Bilbao. A good move making the decision early and setting course for Bilbao. They are creating new shore excursions now for tomorrow afternoon.

Life is good on the Explorer though our trivia team is not as intimidating. Because of tours we have not been at full strength, usually just four of us, and we were today but missed being in the tokens by one point.

What a very cool day!

First day in Bilbao we took the shuttle and spent a couple of hours walking the area around the Guggenheim museum. Beautiful sunny day. Back to ship and third in trivia. Wonderful dinner Sette Mari last night. They had a grilled veal chop that was really juicy we both loved it.

Today we took a tour that was all around the area with short stops at various places. Nothing was too long in the bus. Bilbao has some stunning old buildigs. I really enjoyed it like a hop pin hop off bus.

Ken will get around to pictures. Lots of things going n so he has not been able to get to his pictures.

Food continues to be great. The veal chop in Prime 7 was great as well never had that before. Will not take the place of my love for lamb but a close second.

Today we went to the medieval town of Guimardes. Tour was fine, great guide with a sense of humor. The highlight was the free time. Two coffees and two local yummy pastry treats for a total of 3 euros! We went into a church and encountered a mass featuring children. They had the children at the front and they sang to a guitar with a lot of vigor. One child about 10 did a lot of the service. Other parents came in with their youngsters definitely a celebration of children. So much fun to see local celebration in a small time. I also love coming across weddings.

While waiting for the bus I went into a local clothing store that was at the bus stop. I could not believe the prices. Four Euros for almost everything. I touched the fabric - really soft. Combination of cotton, polyester and a stretch fabric. I had about 15 minutes. So I raced into the changing room and bought two tops and some pants. Ken found a few things and at the back were a bunch of shirts with TWO pockets. He loves two pockets and it is hard to find but we did not have time to check those out and purchase. All in all a good day.

Finished it off with dinner with Nicki the GM and Daniela the F&B. It was delightful they are both such lovely ladies.

Ken promises to post some pictures tomorrow I have no idea where the time goes!

Tonight we are going to the show. We seldom do that. But we really like the cruise director, Andi and his wife Tammy who is the social hostess. Trivia has been fantastic. He does all his own questions and no repeats. Last two days we have come in second and only four of us so we think that is pretty good.

St. Malo, France:




Enjoying a seafood lunch.

The priest is inviting in the wedding party.

Bordeaux, France - Chateau de Roquetaillade:


Chateau de Roquetaillade. It is still privately owned by the Roquetaillade family who have been resident here since 1306.
We were not allowed to take photos inside the castle.

On the far right is Andy our CD and next to him is our guide and we found out later the owner of the chateau.


The chapel.



The Bordeaux night life on the river.


The Regent Explorer on the Garonne River.

We dock in Bordeaux this evening on the Navigator with 4 other KLT couples. Ngaire, Please say Hi to Nikki and Andy & Tami for us. BTW, Andy is a WWII buff.
Jim & Pat

Will do Jim. I have really enjoyed him he does a fantastic trivia. They did a very nice show last night both sing very well. John Barron joined the cruise today as well. I guess Andi and Tami are about to go on vacation. Shame we were not in port at the same time! That would have been fun.

Bilbao, Spain & Guggenheim Museum:


The Vizcaya Bridge was built in 1893 to connect the two banks of the Nervion River.









A cold mist was laying on top of the water.

Porto, Portugal:



A seed shop.

The city was very clean, this is a way to get people to put their cigarette butts in this container instead of on the street.
The writing on the container says "Have you smiled today"? There are 2 holes to put your cigarette butt into, the left side
is Yes and the right side is No.

Our coffee and tea break. These Custard Tarts called Pastel de Nata and are very tasty.

Ngaire with the Cathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady in the background.

Ngaire found some bargains at shops near the cathedral.

Mmmm, those custard pastries in Portugal are sooo good. Thanks for the pix, Ken
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Helen

A sculpture in front of Compass Rose on the Explorer.

Ngaire, you look absolutely gorgeous!
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Helen

Wow, Ngaire should hire that hairdresser full time! Beautiful Lady!

I did the hair. You know those moments when your hair is the perfect length that only last one day. That was the day. What you can't see in that picture is the body. I am going on a diet the second I hit home. Been traveling so much since the safari started in May just crept up on me. Ken was taking pictures and I said face only. That sculpture was the perfect spot

You look beautiful....happy, healthy and ageless!

you look beautiful. But I know what you mean about safari weight gain. I never gain weight on cruises because I walk so much, but I gained 5 lbs on the safari, and it took me 2 years to get it off.

Fortunately I can lose weight fairly quickly I have great self control. Should be good in about a four to six weeks. Ken has gained too he does not lose as easily as I do he likes the sweet stuff too much.