Wednesday - January 16, 2008
New York, New York
We had a great two days in New York while waiting for our departure day. We started off by doing a bit of shopping, looking to replace a vital item of clothing that I left behind (the little black jacket) and purchasing a few books to take with us. And if one needs something to wear, what better place to search than Bloomingdales! During a sale, of course. 
We wanted a nice, quiet Italian place for dinner that night and the hotel concierge steered us to a great place nearby called San Martin. Our waiter, Roberto, was from Sicily so it was a great opportunity to practice my Italian. The food was just superb, especially the Ravioli in a gogonzola and crushed walnut sauce. Paul McCartney was nowhere to be seen, unlike our previous pre-cruise dinner in New York, but we enjoyed the music of a guitarist who was a bit older than Paul, but more talented. This was a gentleman from Jerez, Spain who played classical guitar and sang for the enjoyment of the diners. He came to our table to sing and talk with us a couple of times, and the combination of great food, a tasty Spanish Rioja wine, excellent service, and romantic music made it a memorable evening for us, Paul or no Paul. After dinner, we realized we were just around the corner from the Waldorf-Astoria, so we walked over for a look at that elegant Art Deco landmark hotel. The hotel has been beautifully maintained and it would fun to stay there sometime. 
Saturday was a study in contrast. Rather than admiring the past, we spent a good part of the afternoon at MOMA, the Museum of Modern Art. While a number of pieces in the Museum were not to my taste (I kept hearing docents giving tours use the phrase "It begs the question...." and I'd think it sure as hell does!), there was enough art that intrigued me to keep me interested for a few hours. Then, seeing as the concierge had been so successful with the previous evening's recommendation, we asked where we would take Mike's goddaughter, Sarah, for a nice dinner. Bad idea! The meal cost a bomb. The food cost twice as much as the night before and was half as good. But we did get a chance to have a nice evening and some good conversation with Sarah, so we chalked it up to a New York experience.
Sunday, was D-Day - Departure. We couldn't wait to get on board, so we showed up at 2 pm only to find that the power was out and we could not check in. So we sat in the terminal for an hour waiting for the power to come on. Not a great start, but things quickly improved once we saw our stateroom! It is very large, very elegant, and very comfortable. And all four bags and one trunk that we had shipped ahead showed up as planned.
The Queen Victoria, who had crossed the Atlantic from Southampton was berthed next to us. I would say that they crossed in tandem, but Peter, the young Scot who will be taking care of us (I was hoping his name would be Basil so I could call him Basil the Butler) told us that the Victoria can only go 20 knots while the QE2 can do over 30, so the QE2 was zigging and zagging waiting for the Victoria to catch up. He was going to suggest to the Captain that the QE2 pass her backwards (the QE2 can go 19 knots in reverse) just to freak out the passengers, but thought better of it!
At about 7 pm, it was finally time to begin the history-making departure. The wind was cold as Mike and I and our friend Marty Martin and her roommate, Lynn Krieg, stood on deck waiting for the Queen Victoria to back out first. The ships whistle gave three long blasts, which gave me shivers up my spine, and she started to move out. TOnce she cleared the dock, the tugs pulled into position to nudge us away from our dock, and the incomparably deep whistle of the QE2 gave three blasts. This brought tears to my eyes, as it always does - something like listening to a Scottish pipeband march by. 
These two Queens then sailed out the Hudson River to meet up with the QM2 which had left from her dock in Brooklyn. Just as we rendezvoused, the rain started to fall! So we quickly scampered indoors, up the stairs, into our starboard cabin, and out onto our balcony where we got a fantastic view of the two ships in front of us and the Statue of Liberty.
Just then the fireworks show began to the sounds of Handel's "Fireworks"! The colorful "bombs" were definitely bursting in air over the majestic Statue of Liberty. What an incredible sight! My photos don't begin to do it justice, given the rain, the wind, and the dark, but you get a bit of an idea of the incredible scene.
Now we are off to Fort Lauderdale, taking two days instead of the one it took last time. Peter Crimes, our destination specialist, said it was because of the albatross (the Victoria) we are sailing beside in lock step as far as Lauderdale. Every time I look out our window, there she is, like some kind of stalker!