Southampton on 2nd May all seems a very long time ago as we head towards our final port of call, Victoria, the capital of British Columbia. I have been here before, and I merely plan to see if I can enjoy afternoon tea at the Fairmont Empress Hotel, the fourth I will have set foot in, of the great former Canadian Pacific Hotels. I may need to find a post office to mail home excess baggage no longer required.
Last night after dinner, I did my usual thing and went to the nightly show in the Royal Court Theatre. Three very talented mail singers The Three Tones backed by the always superb Royal Court Theatre Orchestra gave an excellent performance of mainly familiar songs from many genres of music, including opera, as well as rock ‘n roll etc. This time, I didn’t lurk at the back to ensure a discreet escape route; I took my seat midway on the lower level, and was surprised how many were there, thoroughly enjoying the show. Nevertheless, a much bigger audience would have turned this into a party night.
Today, I awoke around 7.30 which yesterday would have been 6.30. Had the loss of an hour affected my day? It certainly felt like it. I enjoyed my Lido breakfast complete with freshly made pancakes and honey. This is a luxury I will forego when my new journey begins on Thursday with a bus ride from Vancouver to Seattle. It is hard to believe the eternity on Queen Elizabeth is not so eternal!
Walking felt difficult this morning, but after a very relaxing decaff latte in the Café Carinthia, I did get into my stride, and finished the day with over 15,000 steps. Less than 10,000 will see me hit 1.2 million by the time I disembark on Tuesday.
Being a sea day, I had hoped to make a start with the packing. The fly in the ointment was having to don the formal gear for one last Gala Night, where tuxedo etc is the appropriate dress code. However, I did make a useful start, fully expecting to have to post stuff back home to make room. For the penultimate time, I joined Lesley for dinner, before adjourning to the Royal Court Theatre for Cunard’s “in-house” Hollywood Nights. I don’t quite know where the singers and dancers get their energy. And the lighting engineer is good, too. I was glad to see the audience show enthusiastic appreciation with a substantial and well deserved standing ovation at the end.
Unbelievably, I felt a tad hungry towards midnight. So, I had a snack before getting my head down, and sleeping quite well.
Many thanks for reading. David, 17.00 hrs in some posh hotel on Vancouver Island (see next blog)
David's Cruise 