Orient Express and Venice 2019

Lobby of the Grosvenor Hotel, London	Leaving Victoria Station, London	Rifle Brigade War Memorial (WW I and II) at Grosvenor Gardens, London	Lioness and Lesser Kudu Sculpture in Grosvenor Gardens, London	Wellington Arch (1826) is the centerpiece of Hyde Park Corner, London
Venus and the Quadriga were added to the Wellington Arch in 1912	At the World's First Hard Rock Cafe, London	Hard Rock Cafe London opened 14 June 1971	Lunch at Hard Rock Cafe, London	Specialty Cocktail at Hard Rock Cafe, London
Attending The Tina Turner Musical at the Aldwych Theater, London	Tina--The Tina Turner Musical	Aldwych Theater opened in 1905	The Grosvenor Hotel (1929) is connected to Victoria Station, London	The Grosvenor Hotel is the Former residence of the Dukes of Westminister
Checking in on Belmond British Pullman, London on the 4th of July	Historic Poster in Belmond British Pullman Lounge	Belmond British Pullman at Victoria Station, London	Glad we checked in Early	Boarding Ione Dining Car on the British Belmond Express
Welcome aboard the British Belmond Express	Ione Carriage was built in 1928 and seats 20	Our Table for Bellini Brunch	Leaving Victoria Station, London	Route from London to Folkstone, Enlgand
Market on the Outskirts of London	Last look at London from the Belmond British Pullman	Bellini Brunch Menu on Belmond British Pullman	Bellini Toast	Second round of Bellinis
Starters for Bellini Brunch	Bill had Salmon for Brunch	Susan opted out of Salmon for Ham at Brunch	Dessert on the Belmond British Pullman	Field of Wildflowers in the English Countryside
Homes on the outskirts of Greater London	RV Park in Rochester, England	Crossing the River Medway in England	The River Medway is the 2nd longest river in England	Passing an English Farm
I believe this is a field of Flax (Lindseed)	Burr wood panel and Victorian light in Ione Carriage	Galley between Ione and Gwen Carriages on Belmond British Pullman	Car Gwen was built in 1932 and used in 1948 by Queen Elizabeth	Car Cygnus was started in 1938, but delayed until 1951 due to war
Cygnus carriage was reserved for use by royalty and visiting heads of state	Car Minerva was built in 1927 and seats 26	Car Minerva features Edwardian-type marquetry	Car Phoenix was built in 1927 and was the favorite carriage of the Queen Mother of England	Car Phoenix features marquetry flowers on American cherrywood
Car Ibis was built in 1925 and seats 20	Car Ibis features Greek dancing girls marquetry	Car Audrey was built in 1932 and seats 20	Car Audrey features marquetry landscape panels and Art Deco glass	Car Lucille was built in 1928 and seats 24
Car Lucille is decorated with Grecian urn design on green dyed holly wood	Car Vera was built in 1932 and seats 20	Seat 20 on Car Vera was where Nelson Mandela sat when traveling on the Belmond British Pullman	Springbok marquetry in Car Vera	Each train car toilet has a unique mosaic tile floor
Another mosaic tile floor on the Belmond British Pullman	All toilets on the Belmond British Pullman have Art Deco windows	Interesting architecture in south England	Homes in Folkstone, England	Dixieland Band welcome to Folkstone, England
Aboard a motorcoach from Folkstone, England to Eurotunnel	Headed to the Euro Tunnel aboard a motorcoach	Information on the tunnel under the English Channel	On 6 May 1994 the Eurotunnel was officially opened	Each tunnel has a 31 mile single one-way train track and averages 148 feet beneath the seabed
You have to exit United Kingdom and clear French customs before boarding the Eurotunnel Train	French passport control on the United Kingdom side of the English Channel	Railcars at the Eurotunnel Rail Yard	Eurotunnel Railcar with Transport Truck loaded for crossing	Cars are loaded on closed double-deck rail cars for Eurotunnel crossing
Motorcoaches are loaded on closed single-deck rail cars for Eurotunnel crossing	Our Motorcoach and Driver inside the Eurotunnel Railcar	Each Railcar is closed and motorcoaches have no air conditioning for about 35 minutes	Sparking wine aboard the motorcoach aboard the Eurotunnel Train	Eurotunnel train at Calais, France with truck waiting to drive off the railcar
Interesting building in Calais, France	Arriving at Calais, France Train Station	Staff of Venice Simplon-Orient-Express in Calais, France	Venice Simplon-Orient-Express in Calais, France	Venice Simplon-Orient-Express Bar Car
Venice Simplon-Orient-Express Coat of Arms	Our Twin Cabin on the Orient-Express	Flowers from Beth at Concierge and VIP Travel	Our Cabin Steward, Jonathan, pouring Champagne for us	Inlaid wood trim in our cabin on the Orient-Express
Our sleeping car was built in 1929	In 1929 (and now), the toilet was at the end of each train car	Traveling through the French Countryside	Farming in France	Dinner in Etoile du Nord Dining Car 4110
Etoile du Nord Dining Car was built in 1926	Dinner on the Orient-Express is still a formal affair	Le Diner Menu	Turbo Filet with Lobster Sauce	Marinated beef filet with summer vegetables
Tarragon iced souffle with apricot and assorted chocolates	Champagne Bar	Snacks and Pianist in the Bar Car	Bar Car getting crowded	Cabin transformed for sleeping
Top bunk is long enough for Bill--with 2" to spare	Susan on the bottom bunk	Vanity in twin cabin on the Orient-Express	Morning in France aboard the Orient-Express	Entering Switzerland from France
Outskirts of Basel, Switzerland	Transforming from sleeping berth to daytime configuration	Storing mattresses from bunk beds	Conversion from nighttime to daytime cabin takes just over 5 minutes	Continental Breakfast served in our cabin
Swiss countryside	Swiss Village	Swiss Farm	Mid-morning snack	Swiss Lake
End of Swiss Lake	Arth-Goldau, Switzerland	Mountains of Switzerland	Boats on glassy Swiss lake	Old barn in Swiss countryside
Some of the Swiss Alps seen from the Orient-Express	Swiss mountain town	Cloud covered mountain in Switzerland	Interesting house in Switzerland	Mountain stream in Switzerland
View from Railway above Swiss town	View of Orient Express from our car at the end of the train	Orient Express entering tunnel in Switzerland	Swiss Village Church	On the way to the Bar Car for pre-lunch cocktails
Passing through Etoile du Nord Dining Car to get to the Bar Car	Pre-lunch drinks in the Bar Car	Scenery from Bar Car	Scenic View from the Orient Express Bar Car	Waterfall in Switzerland
Another small waterfall in Switzerland	Lunch in the Cote d' Azur Dining Car was built in 1929	Cote d' Azur Dining Car is famous for its Lalique designed panels	Cote d' Azur (Dining Car 4141) was decorated by Rene Lalique	Lobster appetizer for Bill
Lobster salad for Susan	Chicken Breast with Bacon for Main Course	Lunch dessert on the Orient-Express	Lugano, Switzerland	Cabin Steward's Cabin
Lake Lugano is a glacial lake on the border between Switzerland and Italy	Passing through Milan, Italy	The Italian Countryside	Italian Farmland	Birds in field in Italy
Grapevines growing alongside railroad track in Italy	Crossing the Adige River near Verona, Italy	Hedgerows in Italy	Farm in Italy	Approaching Venice, Italy
Crossing the Venetian Lagoon	1 of 118 Islands around Venice, Italy	First look at the City of Venice from our train car	Arriving at San Lucia Station in Venice, Italy	Farewell to Jonathan and the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express
Susan with heads of departments for the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express	Water Taxi in Venice from Train to Hotel	Crossing under the controversial Constitution Bridge on the Grand Canal in Venice	One of 400 Bridges in Venice	2 of more than 7,000 Chimneys in Venice
Moorish influence on buildings in Venice, Italy	The Man Who Measures the Clouds by Jan Fabre	16th century Palazzo Barbarigo is now a hotel in Venice	Palazzo Salviati is on the Grand Canal in Venice	Bruno Catalano Statue in front of Palazzo in Venice
Bruno Catalano creates statues of workers with large parts of their bodies missing	Basilica of Saint Mary of Health was consecrated in 1981in Venice	Church of the Most Holy Redeemer (1592) with St. Mark's Belltower in the background	Arriving at the Hotel Monaco in the former Palazzo Dandolo (1638) on the Grand Canal, Venice	The bathroom in our hotel room is bigger than our cabin on the Orient-Express
The flowers had to spend the night in the bidet	At the Hard Rock Cafe Rock Shop in Venice	Obligatory selfie in St. Mark's Square in Venice	Hotel Colombina was where we stayed in Venice in 2017	Dinner in the courtyard of a Venice restaurant
St. Mark's Square in Venice by night	View from our table at breakfast at Hotel Monaco in Venice	Watching Gondoliers from our table at breakfast at Hotel Monaco in Venice	Cruise ship on the Grand Canal in Venice	Hotel Monaco Lobby
Enzo Fiore paintings in the Hotel Monaco lobby	Mosaic Tile Picture in the Hotel Monaco lobby	Azamara Pursuit docked in Venice	Lunch at Pool Grill on Azamara Pursuit	Margaritas on the Azamara Pursuit
Cabin 7038 on Azamara Pursuit	Television picture of our cruise itinerary on the Azamara Pursuit	The bar in the Den aboard Azamara Pursuit	Inlaid wood floor in the theater of the Azamara Pursuit	Tony was a really good Cruise Director on the Azamara Pursuit
Breakfast on the balcony on the Azamara Pursuit	Sunday morning in the Dorsoduro District of Venice	Sunday morning in Venice	Virgin Mary on a sidestreet in Venice	Small canal in Venice
Reading the Sunday paper on a small bridge in Venice	More interesting chimneys in Venice	The Church of Saint Barnabas in Venice (1350-1776)	The Church of Saint Barnabas with its 11th Century belltower on the left	The Church of Saint Barnabas is now deconsecrated and hosts a Leonardo da Vinci Exhibition
Ca Macana is one of the best-known mask makers in Venice	Ca Macana is probably best-known for its masks in the movie Eyes Wide Shut	Some Ca Macana masks in Eyes Wide Shut	Masks of Ca Macana	Masks of Ca Macana
Sneak Peek at the start of a Mardi Gras Costume	Palazzo in Dorsoduro District of Venice	Lunch at Trattoria ai Cugnai in Venice	The house Prosecco at Trattoria ai Cugnai in Venice	Susan's unique purse bought while waiting for restaurant to open
Spicy Shrimp and Scallops Pasta	Spaghetti Carbonara	Rio Terra Foscarini, Dorsoduro, Venice	Squero di San Trovaso is one of three remaining boatyards that build Gondolas	One of the many yachts docked in the Mediterrean
Back at the San Basilio Terminal in Venice	Summer Squall in Venice produced 77 mph wind gusts	Summer Squall also left some hail on our balcony	Susan with some of today's purchases	Storm has passed and now you can ship in middle that was obscured by the storm
Leaving Venice on the Giudecca Canal at 2 AM	Dorsoduro District of Venice at around 2 AM	Passing the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute in Venice	San Marco District along the Grand Canal with St. Mark's Campanile in the background	St. Mark's Clocktower, St. Mark's Basilica, and and the Columns of St. Mark's Square in Venice
National Library of St. Mark, St. Mark's Campanile & Basilica, and the Doge's Palace	Passing Castello District in Venice along the Grand Canal	Park of Remembrance in Venice is dedicated to the soldiers who died in WWII	Two Campaniles (bell towers) on Venice's Skyline	Last look at Venice at 2.30 AM