@tomandelaine
A celebration cruise
4 months ago
@tomandelaine
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1
Salisbury
Jun 30 2026

We left this morning to fly to Chicago, then onto London where we’ll meet up with mark snd Susan Robertson. We’ll stay a few days in England and then board the Celebrity Apex for a 7 day cruise to NorwayWe’ll be celebrating our 40th Anniversary, my birthday and Susan’s birthday.

We arrived at Heathrow about 8am and then waited for Mark and Susan to arrive. Tom had arranged transportation to Salisbury, about 90 minutes away. We’re staying at Milford Hall, a quaint little inn.

After resting a few hours we walked to a pub in the town square for dinner. England happened to be playing in the World Cup, so there were lots of cheering fans when they won.

@tomandelaine
2
Bath
Jul 02 2026

Tom arranged a tour Stonehenge and Bath today. The tour guide was able to get VIP tickets to get up close to the stones with a small group of about 50 people. This was only done before they opened to the public at 9:30. Our time was 6:45, so we were picked up at 6:15am.

They think Stonehenge was built about 4500 years ago, which was quite a feat since the stones were probably brought from at least 20 miles away, before the invention of the wheel or the use of animals to help move them. They are positioned perfectly to see the sunrise and sunset of the summer and winter solstice from a certain place. Unfortunately, it was cloudy, so we couldn’t see the sunrise.

After getting some coffee and breakfast, we began our drive to Bath. We drove through the Cotswolds and stopped in the town of Lacock.

Face?

Lacock

Next we drove to Bath and toured the Roman Baths.

Street in Lacock

Harry Potter’s house in movie

View of the Cotswolds

St Cyriacs church from 1300s

Street used in a Harry Potter movie

@tomandelaine
3
Salisbury
Jul 03 2026

Today we just explored Salisbury.

Midieval clock

Baptismal mid

One of 4 original Magna Cartas is here

The cathedral

Coffee break

Inside St Thomas church

The Poultry Cross

@tomandelaine
4
Southampton
Jul 04 2026

We got a taxi to the port of Southampton to get on the Celebrity Apex. Since were celebrating our 40th anniversary, we splurged and got a suite in the Retreat, an exclusive area of the ship where we have our own restaurant, lounge and pool areas.

Retreat whirlpool and pool

In the Retreat lounge

Patriotic drink

Sailing away

Our suite

Retreat pool

Sailing away

Our bathroom

Retreat bar

@tomandelaine
5
Haugesund
Jul 06 2026

After a day at sea , we arrived at our first port, Haugesund, Norway. We were very fortunate to have a sunny day in the upper 50s!

We went on an excursion to Skudeneshavn.The town was established in the early 19 th century. Most houses are white, many with their original exteriors.

10:40pm sunset

Sailing away

We drove to The Fishermen’s memorial, built to remember the fishermen from the area lost at sea.

@tomandelaine
6
Flåm
Jul 07 2026

When we woke up in Flam,we were surrounded by the Norwegian Fjords. The view from our room was beautiful!

Views from our room

We boarded a bus for our excursion. We drove up a winding road to

Today was Susan’s 75th birthday

We boarded a bus for our excursion. We drove up a winding road to Stegastein at about 1900 feet. The views were amazing!

Next we drove to the Stalheim Hotel with more gorgeous views.

Our last stop was in the village of Gudvangen, population 70 for more views.

We drove through 5 tunnels during our drive today. The longest was 11 km and had changing colors in the middle.

Waterfalls

We drove through 5 tunnels during our drive today. The longest was 11 km and had changing colors in the middle.

We drove through 5 tunnels during our drive today. The longest was 11 km and had changing colors in the middle.

Workout with a view!

A Costa Ship.

@tomandelaine
7
Geiranger
Jul 08 2026

We got an early start for our excursion this morning in Geiranger. Only about 200 people live here full time.

Views from our balcony

We had an early excursion this morning. First we drove the windy Eagle Road to an overlook with amazing views.

Some of the hairpin turns.

Eidsvatnet Lake

200 people live in Geiranger

1,000 meters

Deepest mountain lake in Scandenavia 200 m

1500 m top

Old hotel

Dypvasshtta lake

A ca we could have rented for the day

At Skywslk Dalsnibba. 5000 ft

We had a group lunch here

Views from our balcony saling away

@tomandelaine
8
Bruges
Jul 10 2026

After a relaxing day at sea, we came to our last port of Brugge.

Nothing like celebrating at sea!

Since Tom and I had been here several times, we decided to venture out on our own. He researched places to rent bikes and we took an Uber to a small beach town. We road along the beach on a nice paved walkway and bike path for about 9 miles. At the end was a place where you could see the border of the Netherlands.

Tom woke up and saw the sunrise

Since Tom and I had been to Brugge several times, we decided to venture out on our own. He researched places to rent bikes and we took an Uber to a small beach town. We road along the beach on a nice paved walkway and bike path for about 9 miles. At the end was a place where you could see the border of the Netherlands.

The Netherlands

After returning to the ship from our bike ride, Tom and I had a couples massage to celebrate our 40th anniversary.

Birthday dinners

Our room attendants decorated and left me another cake.

Chandelier show at the Martini bar

Our last sunset.

@tomandelaine