Traveling with the Jones — Sharing Travel Discoveries

Making Best Use of Frequent Flier Miles: Kansas City to London via Halifax, Nova Scotia

by Janis on July 12, 2011

We are sailing on Holland America Line’s ms Prinsendam on a 14-Day Celtic Circle cruise around the United Kingdom, round trip from Tilbury, England. To get from Kansas City, Missouri, to Tilbury, we used some creativity in redeeming frequent flier rewards.

Taking Advantage of a Stop Over

In addition to getting to London to catch our cruise, we wanted to stop in Nova Scotia en route to attend a memorial service and visit family members. Using Continental frequent flier awards program, we booked two business class tickets to Europe using Star Alliance carriers. These award tickets allow a stopover en route to your final destination. We flew on Continental between Kansas City and Halifax, connecting in Newark, New Jersey.

After spending the night in Halifax, we drove to Chester, Nova Scotia for the memorial service on Saturday afternoon, and then returned to Halifax to board the evening flight on Air Canada to London. Flight time between Halifax and London was only five hours and 15 minutes, getting us into London Heathrow around 9:30 am Sunday morning.

Save Money With Heathrow Connect on Sundays

From Heathrow, we took the Heathrow Connect train to Paddington station. The Heathrow Express only takes 15 minutes but costs £16 per person. The Heathrow Connect trains, which run from the same platforms, only cost £8 per person. Usually, these trains take nearly twice as long to reach Paddington station, but on Sundays they make fewer stops and get you to Paddington quicker.

A London Cab to Tilbury

From Paddington Station we took a cab to our London hotel, the Grosvenor House. Once we arrived, we arranged with the same cabbie to take us to Tilbury the next day. The Cruise Port of London at Tilbury is about a 45 minute to 1 hour and 15 minute drive from London, depending on the traffic. We found the fare to be around £80 which was comparably priced with bus transfers for two. London cabs are spacious and comfortable, with the world’s most knowledgeable cab drivers.

Have you traveled to from the United States to Tilbury, England? How did you get there?

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Sailing around the United Kingdom on the ms Prinsendam

by Janis on July 11, 2011

We are in London, about to head to Tilbury, London to board our favorite ship — the ‘elegant explorer’ ms Prinsendam. This afternoon, we set sail on the 14-Day Celtic Circle cruise.

Sailing from Tilbury, outside of London, we look forward to exploring 10 different ports in the United Kingdom.

After a day at sea to relax and get reacquainted with the Prinsendam, we arrive at the port town of Rosyth, Scotland. From here, we’ll head into Edinburgh, or perhaps explore the town of Dunfermline.
Then, it’s on to Invergordon, where we will head to Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle, looking for Nessie “the Wee Beastie“. We are also looking forward to exploring the city of Inverness and perhaps checking out the whisky trail.
Next our ship sails to Kirkwall in the Orkney Islands, with 5,000 year old Neolithic ruins nearby at Skara Brae.
In Portree, on the Isle of Skye in Scotland’s Inner Hebrides, we will tour the countryside on the ride to Talisker Distillery, learning about whisky production and perhaps sampling a wee dram.
Then it’s on to Ireland, first stopping in Greencastle. From here we hope to head to Londonderry, and the walled city of Derry in Northern Ireland. There’s also the Giant’s Causeway, a landform with a legend and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In Dublin, the ship stays overnight, giving us plenty of time to visit Trinity College and its Book of Kells, tour the Guinness factory, take a literary pub crawl, and stay overnight off the ship in the historic Shelbourne Hotel
From the port of Bristol, we plan to take a train to through the Cotswold countryside to the city of Bath, where we hope to visit the Roman Baths, among other attractions.
In Illfracombe, England, we are taking a shore excursion to Exmoor National Park, and taking a ride on the historic Lynton & Barnstaple narrow-gauge railway. Being in Devon, Mr. Jones will be searching for a place to try Devonshire Cream Tea, white creamy white tea and scones with clotted cream.
While we’ve visited Guernsey before, we look forward to walking on the cliff paths again, and perhaps visiting some of museums from German occupation of the island during World War II.

We will relax during one last day at sea before disembarking in Tilbury and heading back to London.

When we can, we hope to blog about our discoveries, and life onboard the ms Prinsendam.

Have you traveled to any of these places around the United Kingdom? Please comment with any “local discoveries” that we must check out.

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Eating and Drinking around San Francisco’s Neighborhoods

by Janis on July 10, 2011

We spent 4^th of July weekend in San Francisco. We love to walk all over this city – hills included – to work up a thirst and an appetite. There’s no shortage of great neighborhood places to eat – from long-time favorites to new-to-us discoveries.

Mr. Jones’s favorite: A slice of meat pie at Henry’s Hunan Restaurant on Sansome Street between between Broadway & Vallejo near Levi’s Plaza.

Crunchy bruschetta washed down with a glass or two of Sangiovese at Sodini’s in North Beach. We love sitting at the bar – tended by either Mark or Anna.

The Ferry Building offers a cornucopia of food choices. After browsing all of the bottle selections, we enjoyed a glass of champagne and the cheese plate at the Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant.

A new discovery in the Inner Richmond neighborhood on Balboa Street: Piroshkies at Cinderella’s Russian Bakery & Café. We loved the beef and the mushroom versions, plus the chocolate éclair.

At the recommendation of our waiter at the Hilton, we had a delicious Italian dinner at Allegro Romano on Jones St in Russian Hill.

And for a sweet treat, the original Swensen’s Ice Cream at the corner of Hyde and Union streets.

A nice way to end an evening is with an ice cold martini at the Pied Piper Bar at the Sheraton Palace Hotel on Market Street.

Do you need a foodie-themed guide to San Francisco’s neighborhoods? Check out this
100% Bamboo Board for Serving and Entertaining

What are your favorite places to eat and drink in San Francisco?

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Other San Francisco posts you might enjoy:

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Photo Friday: It’s a gloomy afternoon at the Newark airport.

by Janis on July 8, 2011

Friday afternoon summer travel crowds and thunderstorms don’t mix well at EWR, the Newark, New Jesery airport.

The airport is under a ground hold with no flights arriving or departing.

Flights are delayed or canceled.

We won’t let gloomy weather ruin our vacation excitement.

It’s times like these that being a member of an airline club is priceless.

What do you do when your flight is delayed in an airport?

See all of this week’s Photo Friday submissions for “Gloomy” here.

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