The Christina O

Here in Canary Wharf, London;

This 325 ft. mega yacht was built in 1943 as a Canadian convoy escort, and purchased by Aristotle Onassis in 1954. Onassis converted her into the most elegant and advanced private yacht afloat. He named it after his daughter Christina and made it his floating home for 30 years. It has hosted dignitaries and Hollywood stars, including Marilyn Monroe, Liz Taylor, Richard Burton, John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, John F Kennedy, Winston Churchill, and numerous worldwide royalty guests as well. Two most celebrated wedding receptions aboard the Christina were the Prince of Monaco to Grace Kelly and Onassis to Jacqueline Kennedy. In 1975 after Onassis died, the yacht was donated to the Greek Government by Christina.

Now this beautiful ship is again refurbished for private charters. With these tough economic times they offer a smoking deal on charters. Up to 12 guests, £45,000 daily. 24 guests, £55,000 and up to 34 guests a very reasonable £65,000 per day ($101,876.70). There is a crew of 34 and a very friendly British Captain, Edmund Wilkinson, who took the time to chat with me this morning. I was invited to come aboard next month by the Captain, since I was somehow overlooked on the Onassis guest list 40 years ago. February it will officially open for tours. I'll say it again, I love this city!

Mumbai India

These are my work colleagues from London and India. This is the last stop before heading home. Three different cities with flights between each made for a busy week. We had drivers taking us to our business centers in each city so no worries of getting lost or run over. The driving is really chaos, they don't use turn signals in the city, you indicate using your horn. After 5 days of constant honking and congested cities my ears were ringing. The drivers are very skilled and only use the lines in the road as "suggestions" more times then not there were 10 cars across in a street meant for 4. The second shot is the Dhobi Ghaat (The Washing Place). They collect the washing from businesses and wash them in the concrete basins, they pound them against the sides to both clean and get the water out. They are then hung to dry. In the back they have someone ironing and folding and then ready for delivery. It is an amazing sight! The bottom picture is the Taj Hotel which was attacked by terrorists in 2008, they entered Mumbai from the sea and attacked this beautiful hotel. Security now is very high indeed. Multiple checks everywhere which is time consuming but much appreciated.

India Business Trip

This is Julie blogging for a change...A one week business trip to Delhi, Chennai, and Mumbai India didn't leave much time for sightseeing. Most of these pictures are taken from a car window. This shows an open air market where shoes were very popular. Cows are sacred in India and are free to wander the streets. They always find their way home for dinner though. It is a bit weird to be in the 5th largest city in the world and share the street with cows. If you have seen Slum Dog Millionaire you will recognize the housing that many of the poorer people live in. This was typical in all three cities. All in all we had a fabulous trip and our hosts from India were fabulous in giving us a taste of the local culture.

Duxford

The Duxford Imperial War Museum is Britain's largest aviation museum. I spent a whole day there with friend Jerry who lives close by in Cambridge. The exhibits include about 200 aircraft and military vehicles in 7 buildings. This site was operated by the British Royal air force in WWI and by Britain and the US in WWII. One huge exhibit is the American air Museum which is large enough for the monster B52 bomber. The museum is an outstanding tribute to both British and American air forces. During WWII the US lost about 45,000 aircraft and the British lost 23,000. With so many great pictures, I posted a photo album on Facebook. "I'll be Back", there's just to much to see in a day.

Happy New Year 2012

Julie and I brought in the new year with great friends Jerry and Paula, in a small pub near Cambridge. We did the same last year and once again had a blast with the locals there. The bottom picture is a shot of the Conga shuffle, which spilled out into the parking lot. It is little fuzzy but the best I could do under these extreme conditions. The weather this winter has been the warmest since we've moved here in 2007. The best wishes of all go out to family and friends for the new year. I pledge to make it the best.