Norwegian Fjord Cruise Vacation - 06/14/24 (Visiting the Tower Bridge and Family)

 

Neither RQS nor I wanted to get lost in the London Underground while staying for a short time in this large city.  So we decided to stay near our hotel and see some nearby sights.  Luckily, the Tower Bridge (often mistaken by tourists for the homely nearby London Bridge) and the Tower of London were near enough for us to spend a nice afternoon in the UK's capital city.

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We had no fixed plans for the day, and got moving a little late - but not late enough to enjoy the breakfast that came with our room.  With our stomachs filled to capacity, we walked from our hotel to the bridge, then started to explore the neighborhood on the other side of the bridge before returning to the bridge for a tour.

As many people know, the Tower Bridge is one of the most iconic sights in London, next to the Parliament building and Big Ben.  But many people don't know that one can go into the bridge's towers and walk across 70 cm thick glass panels to a tower on the opposite side of the Thames.  And that's where we encountered a family of "Karens."  

(Someone from the family of "Karens".)

One feature of many tall tourist attractions is a glass floor, where people can stand or sit on it to have their pictures taken.  The Tower Bridge has one of these floors, and many people dawdle while getting in their "important" photos.  While transiting the walkway between the towers there was a large family (I presume to be French, given their lack of concern for others) hogging space over a glass square.  When they shifted slightly, I posted RQS on the glass and started to take my picture.  And then the "Karen Family" decided to move into our square as I was starting to take my photo.  I was a little annoyed belted out (in my deep, rich, loud Mario voice) to STOP!  They were taken aback.  No one had ever challenged them for being inconsiderate before.  (Being a New Yorker does come in handy sometimes, as we don't have to care what some unknown "other" thinks of us.  Heck, the "F-Word" is only a mild intensifier here, with no one thinking the word is profane when Samuel L. Jackson utters it in this city.  But I digress.)  I got my picture, and then we left the walkway 10 minutes before these Karens.  (You should have seen them give us the "stink eye" as we rested in the gift shop.  But then, I don't care what my lessers think.)

Next, it was back to the hotel to rest, and wait for my niece (and husband) to come over for dinner.  We went to a nearby French restaurant (don't ever say that I claim that all things French are bad) and had a nice dinner.   All too soon, it was time to let my niece go to her sister in law's birthday party, and we bid each other farewell until next time.... 

Norwegian Fjord Cruise Vacation - 06/13/24 (Flying into London before the cruise.)

 

As I've mentioned before, this would be my first trip overseas and I would experience a lot of unknowns. But first, I feel that I should mention that this trip is being taken as Mario for convenience, as I'm not sure of how foreign governments (especially the UK) will deal with a visitor presenting ID for one gender while presenting as the other.

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RQS and I had a 7:15 pm flight to London, and everything went smoothly with our luggage.  However, I did have a problem when going through the TSA scan process - the machine was producing a false positive in my groin area.  The agent wanted to go through his whole spiel that if I had any contraband that I could be subject to the law, while I simply wanted to give him permission to do what he needs to do.  Something that should have been quick and easy had me telling RQS to watch my bags while the fellow did his thing.  This could have escalated into something bad had not a cooler head prevailed.  But I digress.

We now had 2 1/2 hours to kill at the airport, and we had a hard time finding both something good to eat and somewhere we could sit down to eat our meal.  There were 100 people in line around the Mickey D's we passed, and we ended up walking halfway to another terminal where we could eat gyros and falafel.  This killed some time, and we walked back to the gate where we'd board our plane.  And this is where RQS's cane became a great advantage for us.

Last year, RQS's leg was injured by someone falling onto her leg on the debarkation day for our Bermuda cruise.  She occasionally carries that cane for support.  The cane often becomes an asset in airports, as she is considered handicapped and in need of assistance.  So, we were able to skip ahead of the line and get on the plane without hassles, with me having no problems finding cabin space for our carry-on luggage.  After 6 1/2 hours on the plane, the cane again became an asset, as we were escorted to the head of the customs and immigration lines and out of the controlled area of the airport before 8:00 am.

Neither of us knew where we were going, but we knew that someone from Princess Cruises would be waiting for us, so that we could be driven to our hotel.  Another couple joined us in the van that took us to the hotel, but I wish we could have driven off without them.  No, it's not because they were unpleasant.  Instead, it was because of how I ended up being seated - facing backwards.  It took 2 hours to reach the hotel, and in a warm car driving a long twisting streets it could have ended up being a disaster.  I was getting nauseous, and I was glad to get out of the van and into the air conditioned comfort of my hotel.

Sadly, we arrived around 10:00 am, and they couldn't tell us that rooms might be available earlier than the official check-in time of 3:00 pm.  So RQS and I retreated to some chairs in the lobby and rested for several hours until we could check in to the hotel.  Once in our rooms, we passed out until 6:00 pm.

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My niece had arranged to meet us for dinner, and we walked over to a nearby restaurant for Fish and Chips.  If there's one thing that the British can do well, it's Fish and Chips.  Yum!  We even had a chance to eat some Mushy Peas.  (They may not be my cup of tea, but they were pleasant enough that I finished the portion.)  All too soon, we had to go to the hotel.  We now knew where the Tower of London was, and we made plans to see it the next day.  If things worked out with my niece, she'd meet us afterward.  If not, we have ways to spend our time on our last day in this city.  (And yes, it's a city where one should spend an entire week there to do a visit justice and to have one wanting more.)

 

By the time you read this....

By the time you read this post, I should be back from my cruise.  I figure that I'll have a lot to write about in the time I was gone.  Did I overcome my anxiety?  Did I really have anything major to worry about?  How did our time in London go with my niece?  So many questions, and I hope to be able to answer them here.

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There's a part of me that wishes that my friends could all get their acts together and live the best lives that they can live.  Unfortunately, I often meet people who can't get out of their own way (such as DCD) or who are afraid to leave their comfort zones (such as MAR).  This can be frustrating, as one invests a certain amount of emotional energy into every friendship, and it's frustrating to see people fail when success should be in their grasp.  For example, do I expect to see DCD get his car on the road?  No.  Given the screw-ups he has had in getting the car out of my parking lot and getting to DMV to register the car, I expect that the car will die of neglect.  MAR has a similar method of failure, as she is unable to follow through on advice given to her to escape her current dead-end career.  Do I expect to see her apply for a job at the post office?  No.  She'll likely make excuses for why she hasn't done so.

The key difference between me and these friends is that I eventually leave my comfort zone to grow.  Going out and about as Marian was scary at first.  But it is now second nature.  The other day, I wrote to the Bermuda board of tourism and found out that I should not have any problems with being gender non-conforming.  However, I am waiting for a response from their Immigration department to be safe. (If I don't get one, I'll ask the security people at the pier when I'm there in Mario mode.)  Growth is not always comfortable.  And by the time you read this, I'll have grown a little as a seasoned traveler..

My last day of packing, and I still can't find some things.

 

This is one trip that I'm glad to be traveling as Mario.  I don't have the right 3-season wear to travel as Marian.  And even as Mario, I  still have problems packing clothes that would take me from Summer to Winter and back during a single day.  What makes things worse, is that I misplaced (or donated) some of the cold weather gear that I bought (or was given) when I was with XGFJ.  

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My mind has been spinning in regard to what unknown unknowns could trip me up.  One of those things is what happens when we get off the plane and have to go through customs.  Another is what happens when we get to the cruise ship with different documentation requirements than I've needed for all of my other trips.  And then, there are the many currency/credit card issues that I have yet to experience for the first time.  AARGH!

Once I've gone through this experience, I'll be more relaxed for future trips.  Yet, I still have to do some research for future international trips to be taken as Marian.  When I go to Bermuda, I'll try to find out for sure whether it will be safe to go there as Marian, though my ID will say Mario.  Assuming that I end up going there as Marian, I still have a goal: To cruise around the British Isles as Marian, then return home on the Queen Mary. I'll be able to enjoy "Dressing to the Nines" and live even more of my life as Marian than I could have dreamed when I was much younger.

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But back to packing....

Now, I'm finishing up my packing.  Most of my electronic gizmos (chargers, wires, etc.) are going in my knapsack along with a week's worth of pills.  The rest of my medicine is going in my carry on bag.  I'll have a change of clothes in the carry-on, as well as enough underwear and socks for 3 days.. All of my paperwork will be stashed in the carry-on, as that will be the safest place to store them while in transit.  Once I arrive in London, I can put the passport in my trousers for when I reach customs.

Hopefully, I haven't missed anything major.  If so, I'll be writing about it soon.

By now, you'd think I have enough dresses....

 

The other day, I bought the above dress, as RQS said that it was very comfortable and that it would look good on me this summer.  This past weekend, she showed me the other two dresses in this style (different patterns) that she had bought, and I talked with her about buying the dress below:

Well, I dropped the hammer and bought the dress.  RQS said that it is now natural for her to see me in a dress, and it doesn't bother her.  I noted that since we own two patterns of the same dress, that we should go out one day in the same dresses - and she noted that she'd be a "mini me" in doing so.  We both smiled, but I wonder if she'd really enjoy this.

More to come....

Packing is such a pain in the ass - a short post

 

If only I could fit enough clothes to last me for 17 days in a small backpack.  Sadly, this is not doable.  Instead, I packed 45 lbs. of clothing into a large suitcase and left it at RQS's place.  However, I still have to manage packing a carry-on bag and a personal bag before my cruise.

RQS noted that if we were going on a cruise out of New York, this would not be a problem.  We'd load up both carry-on and large suitcases and bring them to the pier.  This is not the case if one wants to fly across the Atlantic.  One has to worry about luggage limits imposed by one's airline of choice.  Since we're flying on Virgin Atlantic, we had to look up their rules for luggage (carry-on and checked bags) before the trip.  This is a pain.  But then, I hate air travel....

What happens if they give us trouble with carry-on bags?  What about "hand luggage"?  There are so many things to think about when one doesn't fly that often.  But once we're accustomed to flying across the Atlantic, this will quickly become second nature to us....

Going to RQS's place to drop off luggage for our trip.

Since we will be leaving for our cruise next week, I decided to bring my luggage to RQS's place so that I don't have to handle two rolling bags, a CPAP machine and a small backpack on the subway the day before our trip.  And this is where my apprehension kicked in - I am a little nervous about flying overseas and going through customs in a foreign land.  To make things a little worse, I fear losing my travel documents (and other important things) while overseas.  Yes, I am a little out of my comfort zone.  But it takes a willingness to leave one's comfort zone in order to grow.

I called a cab to take me to the train station, then headed down to Manhattan on a local.  (I prefer express trains, but I didn't want to wait the extra 20 minutes and arrive within 5 minutes of the first train.) And then it was a descent into the bowels of the NYC Subway.  The MTA says that Union Square is an "accessible" subway station, but it is not so if you are traveling on one of the numbered lines (4, 5, & 6). There was no way that I was going to hump a 50+ lb. suitcase up a flight and a half of stairs to make a connection there.  So I made my transfer at Bleeker street.  I'm not sure if this was a mistake, as I ended up standing for my entire trip to Queens.  Luckily, the bus arrived within 5 minutes, and I was able to make to RQS's within 2 1/2 hours of leaving home.

Shortly after I got there, we went out to eat.  This was one day that I wish I had been able to do out as Marian, as it was a perfect day to wear a nice dress.  When we got home, RQS joked (but was half serious) that we're getting to the point where she's comfortable seeing me in a dress all the time.  Wow! Who'd have thought this 2 1/2 years ago?!?!

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The next day, we decided to go into Manhattan to see a play at the Irish Repertory Theater.  But first, we had to go to the bus stop.  On the way there, we saw a resident of this apartment building putting this sign up as a protest against the building's owners.  (There was a commotion at this building that made the news from what RQS said, and that the 2 owners come from an insular section of Williamsburg, Brooklyn where ethnic bonds are very tight.)  RQS is grateful that she has a harmonious relationship with her landlord, even though he lives at least 2 hours away from her.  But I digress....

Molly Sweeney is a 3 person play about a blind woman, her husband, and the doctor who allows her to see for the first time since she was 18 months old.  The actors were fantastic, and the play was moving.  It is tragic, as giving this woman sight ended up removing her from the world in which see without the benefit of eyesight.

After the play, we stopped into the above hot dog joint for a bite to eat before returning home.  While there, a bum started hassling the owner, demanding food and creating a nuisance of himself.  It got so bad, that the owner had to chase the bum away by swinging a 2" x 4" at the bum.   When the bum was gone for a while, the owner noted that the police don't bother coming to chase these people away anymore.  Store owners in the area are helpless, and have to defend themselves against these crazies who return on a daily basis.  A few minutes later, the bum returned and started hassling a lady.  Luckily, the bum stopped bothering her.  But if he had laid a finger on RQS (or myself), I would have slammed him to the ground, stomped on his balls, then make sure that he needed medical help before calmly walking away from the scene.

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The next day, it was time to go home.  In one sense, the return home was uneventful save for 2 things: 

• I made the mistake of going to White Castle and ordering the wrong food.
• My belt buckle broke, which rendered the belt useless. 

Why do I mention White Castle?  Well, I have loved "Belly Bombers" since I was young.  And this outlet was at the transfer point between bus and subway, a very convenient spot for me to indulge in a guilty pleasure.  However, Puerto Rican day was being celebrated a block away from the Castle, and several young children were getting in the way of the soda machine - which had run out of the syrups for the choices I'd like to have made.  The distraction of children near the order window caused me to order the wrong thing - 2 chicken sliders instead of the 4 burgers I usually get.  I also ordered clam strips - another mistake, since they were overdone and had no flavor.  (I should have gone to the local Mickey D's a block away.)  On the way out, I noticed that my pants were a little loose and found that the reversible buckle had broken.  Since I couldn't fix it, I had to toss it and go home with loose pants.  It would have been another perfect day to be out as Marian - especially if I could have been wearing a dress.  But I'll have to save that for tomorrow.