Cruise 2023: Chapter 1

22 Jul 2023, The Disney Cruise - Normandy, 49 40.794 N/ 01 28.032 W

The MV Disney Fantasy departed Southampton, England on 22 July on a cold and rainy day. We arrived in Cherbourg, France early the next morning. Chris had arranged with Sophie, a local guide, to show us a few of the battlefields of the D-Day (Normandy) invasion of World War II. We started with the Eastern most Gold Beach where the British made their beachhead of the invasion. The last beach was Omaha Beach where the Americans made their assault on the Nazi fortifications. Afterwards, Sophie took us to the Normandy American Cemetery which overlooked one of the beaches. Afterwards, We got lunch at a small roadside stand near Omaha Beach. Sophie has been doing Normandy tours for over 11 years and demonstated her detailed knowledge of the invasion.

23 Jul 2023, On to Iceland (Reykjavik), 64 09.528 N/ 021 56.904 W

After two days at sea, we arrived in Reykjavik, Iceland. Now it was cold, with the highs in the low to mid 50's Chris had aranged an excursion, called the Gold Circle, where we would see hot springs, geyers, calderas, geolgic rifts, waterfalls, and crowds of other tourists. Chiara and Tomel, our tour guide and driver, made this very long day most enjoyable. That evening, we hopped back on the ship and headed for the Arctic Circle and the city of Akureyri, Iceland.