I am now three weeks into a five-week European sojourn and things couldn’t be going better. I missed the US actors strike by a week, the England Southwestern Railway strike by three days, and the London Underground strike by two days. However, in Italy, I was hit by a one-day rail strike there.
Better yet, the stock market is up ten days in a row, torturing the few summer players left in it.
Who wouldn’t love a week in the Big Apple, its vibrancy and energy overwhelming? I booked a VIP seat to watch the Macy's Fourth of July fireworks display, including all the Champaign and hot dogs I could eat and drink. Despite several flirtations with bankruptcy, Macy's still puts on a great show.
I also spent two days at the New York City Department of Records tracing my family history. Among the amazing facts I discovered was that my grandfather’s first job upon entering the US in 1915 was to work as a machinist for Orville Wright at Wright Aeroengine in New Jersey. This was America’s first effort at mass-producing aircraft. That explains my family’s long association with aviation.
The New York Strategy Luncheon was outstanding, with a good time had by all. A collection of long-time loyal subscribers, some going back as far as 12 years, received the briefing of a lifetime and managed to throw in a few ideas of their own.
I joined the Queen Mary II at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, reclaiming the owner’s suite. It’s nice to be home again. This 2,200 square-foot palace included a large living room, my own office, and exercise room, a private elevator, a dining room, and a full-time butler. You can’t help but tear up passing the Statue of Liberty where so many of my forebears first glimpsed their new homeland.
A brisk eight times around the deck everyday assured me I was getting in my prober two miles' worth of exercise. You don’t get to be my age and still be ready for battle without a lifetime of tough exercise. At the mid-Atlantic, I even spotted a whale spouting and diving and sending his regards.
I managed to put in a vigorous morning of fencing. With “En Garde” a woman let out a blood-curdling scream and charged, attacking at every opportunity. She attacked so aggressively that at one point the safety fell off the tip of her foil and she started poking me in the chest for real. It turned out she was the former captain of the University of Melbourne Woman’s Fencing Team. But I held my own.
Fencing on a ship adds a new element. When you lunge forward and the deck disappears out from under you, the results can be surprising. Next is fighting with sabers. I never know when I might get challenged to a duel.
In London, I made the pilgrimage to the Royal Air Force Museum in Hendon. It turns out I had flown six of the aircraft types on display.
The London Strategy luncheon was a sold-out affair, with ten guests coming from eight countries. We covered every subject under the sun and a half case of French wine made the ultimate sacrifice. Too bad, the private military club banned photos for security reasons.
Even after three trips, the Orient Express never gets old. It’s even more popular now that the train gets destroyed in the latest Mission Impossible movie by, you guessed it, artificial intelligence. I had a three-star diner approaching Paris, breakfast in the Swiss Alps, and lunch in the Italian Lake District. I was positively waddling by the time I got off.
But traveling on a 100-year-old train has its adventures. A shocked couple discovered that they needed passports to get into the EC post-Brexit, so we were all turned back at the border. A flash flood washed out the tracks behind us. So just ten minutes short of Venice they moved the Orient Express onto a siding, detached the engine, and sent it to help with emergency repairs. As it passed, I thought “There goes our engine.” In recompense, we were offered all the free Champaign we could drink until it returned four hours later.
We finally arrived at a steamy and torrid Venice at midnight, the streets absolutely packed with tourists of countless nationalities and every restaurant full.
TO BE CONTINUED.
To watch the Macy's Fourth of July fireworks display grand finale, please click here. Turn your volume up for maximum effect.
With a 1949 Lockheed Constellation
New York City Department of Records
At Home Again on the Queen Mary II
En Garde!
Making Progress
On the Fantail
