Disembarkation in Southampton, England

As the saying goes, 'All good things must come to an end'.   After seven wonderful days on the Queen Mary 2, it was time to disembark and begin the next part of our vacation.  We set our alarm for 5:00 a.m. The photo below was taken from our balcony at daybreak as we were approaching Southampton.

We went down to the Britannia dining room for one last meal [breakfast] at 6:30 a.m. and sat with a very nice couple from Scotland. Breakfast was normally 8:00 - 9:30 a.m. but all disembarking passengers ate earlier that day. The dining room wasn't bustling with other travelers yet.

~ Approaching the port at Southampton ~

Our time to disembark was 8:20 a.m. and Cunard had everything well organized.  We walked past the sign below after leaving the Queen Mary 2.

Rows upon rows of luggage sorted by stateroom decks in the Cunard disembarkation terminal.   I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw our two suitcases with the curly orange ribbons on top.

After getting our luggage, we exited the terminal and were directed to the pre-booked coach that would take us to Victoria Station in London.  The two hour coach ride was much more convenient than taking the train.

  

Upon arrival at Victoria Station, we collected our luggage and went outside the station to wait for a taxi to take us to our hotel - Park International on Cromwell Rd. in Kensington.

Our room #223 for the next seven nights.

The first thing on the agenda was walking to The Muffin Man Tea Shop on Wrights Lane, just .06 miles away.  On my previous visits to England I never made it to this tea shop, so it was high on my list this trip.  It's not large, but very quaint and quite busy both inside and outside. Fortunately, the wait for a table wasn't too long.

We ordered a pot of Earl Grey tea and their traditional Muffin Man sandwich [Chicken, crispy bacon pieces, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers with mayo on toasted multi-grain bread].  It was very good.

~ Dessert Counter ~ 

~ Window Display ~

I was so happy to have finally made it to this quaint British tea shop and it was the perfect beginning to our stay in London.

To be continued...