June 2017 Crossing Day 15

I met Sheila for breakfast (She was as exhausted as I'd anticipated, though the reason was not the severity of the terrain but the voluminous number of insects that accosted the hikers and the heat!) Had my final holiday omelette made by Birt, kidded with Richard and went off to read for a bit, then remembered I needed to convert UK and Canadian currencies to American and down I went to Purser's Office. 

Rob Bayley (balloonist) lectured on his real job as a BBC producer. Among his programs is the UK version of Antiques Roadshow. If the Americans are anything like the Brits, the behind the scenes finagling and arguing and complaining is flabbergasting! Staid grandmotherly types become very agitated when a family relic has less value than they imagined. An entertaining hour.

I declined hearing about submarines in the Cold war in favor of tea/brunch with Dianne and Scott in Carinthia. Waiting for them, I chatted with Gwendolyn from Sussex about our appreciation for Turner. I have no idea how we got onto the topic!

Brunch was good. Conversation was excellent. Scott had given Dianne a bracelet with a shield-like dangle. When she shared that this symbolized their love and God's love protecting her from further illness, I suggested she look up aegis, which I thought closer to the meaning she was seeking than shield. 

After three attempts, I finally got my boarding pass printed!! Then I sat on my balcony enjoying the calm seas, the sunshine and the warm breezes. 

After packing, I lunched with Lael who has just retired as a U.S. Senate secretary; unassigned to a specific senator, she was a free-lancer who substituted for ailing secretaries. What an exciting but potentially pitfall career. 

Christine Roussel gave a wonderful talk on the State of Liberty as her company worked on the latest renovation for more than 2 years!

When I returned to 8077 to get my knitting, a phone message from Chris and Tim inviting me to join them and Sheila for the champagne tea in Queen's Room. Scrapping knitting, off I went. When the tea ended, we moved to Carinthia and continued for more than hour. 

Suddenly it's time for dinner!! Sheila does not do Last Night dinner, ever, she hates saying goodbye and "needs to get back in New York frame of mind," so I had the guys to myself. I splurged on a bottle of Sancerre (at Ekaterina's suggestion...our sommelier) after all I'd been drinking their wine for several nights. They all were stunned when I ordered it.

I'm meeting Joel at 7:30 to cab it to LaGuardia. Daniel and Ayward hugged me good bye and now I'm finishing packing, a bit concerned I'll be over the luggage limit and have to pay, but nada I can do about it now. Unlike Sheila, I can't just give away clothing. 

Tomorrow I won't post. I'm taking a day to ponder what I've learned and discovered before I write the final chapter of the crossing. Tomorrow night I'll be asleep in my bed at 4606. Sigh of joy.