|
| Here are two more entries since the first one is short:
Day 13 – July 23, 2008
We had another sleepless night; we REALLY have to say “NO!” to Lorraine! I got less than 3 hours of sleep and Tony was completely wiped out. We spent the day at home (I never even put my shoes on) doing laundry, reading and watching TV – a Brit comedy series called Doc Martin – about a surgeon who becomes a G.P. on the Cornish coast. Lorraine made another delicious dinner of roast beef, potatoes, and parsnips along with asparagus and cauliflower in a cheese sauce. She also plied us with drink – a lethal concoction called “Texas Sunset” made with fruit juices, white rum and a fruit brandy. We had ice cream with fresh raspberries for dessert. Maybe it’s the rich ice cream – I had indigestion again and didn’t go to bed until 1:30.
Day 14 – July 24, 2008
I got about 6 hours of sleep and Tony was feeling better, too. After breakfast, we set off for Tonbridge and Penshurst Place, a Tudor country manor with gorgeous grounds. We drove through Tonbridge without stopping at their castle – and managed to find Penshurst. Henry VIII was entertained there; two years later he executed it’s owner and confiscated the property. His son Edward gave it to the Sidney family who has owned it ever since. Robert Dudley hosted Elizabeth I there; her portrait and death mask are in one of their galleries. Some of The Other Boleyn Girl was filmed there, and three of the costumes were in one of the rooms. The grounds contain many different gardens, including one of lavender, and red and white roses that form a Union Jack. There are several fountains and two lily ponds. The sunken knot garden was full of roses; those against the wall must have been 7’ tall. Two men were trimming the hedges with electric clippers – what a chore that must have been when it was all done by hand! I’m pretty good at identifying flowers, but one garden was full of plants that I didn’t recognize. Naturally, there no names posted!
By the time we left, it was quite warm – 84° - warmer than San Diego right now! As we made our way towards home, we drove through Royal Tunbridge Wells. Unfortunately, Tony missed the car park, so we didn’t stop there either. We had passed little markers with a flower that read “Downderry,” so Tony decided to find out what it was. Now, in England, roads with an “M” are motorways that can be from 4-8 lanes; roads marked “A” may be 2-4 lanes; however, roads with a “B” designation may be two lanes, or not. Most often they are more likely to be 1½ and, sometimes, not even that! The scenery was incredible – and the country air was wonderful. Eventually, we arrived at our destination: a lavender farm that smelled heavenly. They have more varieties than any place in England. Tony bought a lavender ice cream to eat as we explored the property. Not only was the air redolent with the scent of lavender, but also the hum of the bees could be heard throughout. We bought three different plants for Nick and Lorraine and returned to Malus Close.
We went to dinner tonight at the Gandhi Tandoori where I ordered Chicken Tikka. YUM. I wish we could find Indian food like that at home! As usual, we ordered too much food, but everything was delicious. I didn’t overeat  so hopefully, I’ll be able to sleep tonight. As we were leaving, we spotted some Morris Dancers, so we stopped and watched. Unfortunately, as soon as we got there, they stopped using sticks and began dancing with handkerchiefs. After a bit, since they didn’t return to the sticks (they dance and drink, dance and drink, so when they get out the sticks, it’s supposed to be quite funny), we drifted back to the car and home. We stayed up a bit watching TV and then turned in.
Tony is rather behind his editing, so this may the last photo until we get home:. It's from St. James Park.
 | | |
| Reading East of the Sun by Julia Gregson which isn't listed on Amazon.  Finally - something to read!
Here's another journal:
Day 12 – July 22, 2008
I had to sleep sitting up most of last night. Twice, just as we had dozed off, our cell phones rang; Tony’s a 10:30, someone from work, and mine at 1AM to remind me that the warranty was expiring on the Saturn. Lovely! I fell back into a deep sleep and woke up at 8:30, feeling great. Tony, however, was not so fortunate. He rolled out of bed close to 10:30. Since it was so late, we decided not to drive to Oxford to see the Tradescant collection, but go to Leeds Castle again. We had visited Leeds during our first trip in 2001, and I had forgotten how enchanting it was. In addition to exploring the castle, which dates from one of the knights of William the Conqueror, we strolled the grounds and the gorgeous gardens. Most of the plants growing there also thrive in San Diego. However, it is very unusual to see massed hollyhocks. I should have taken a pencil and pad of paper to write down the names of the fragrant roses we saw; I will when we go to Wisley on Friday. As the afternoon wore on, it became quite warm; I think it got up to 86° - so much for typical English rainy weather (we try to bring California weather with us when we travel). We shared a burger with a really different texture around 3. Tony took a balloon “ride” before we left and was able to get incredible shots of the castle and countryside from around 400’ up. (I was too chicken to go up.)
When we got back, Nick mashed potatoes for a chicken dish with mustard sauce that Lorraine had made in the crock-pot. YUM! We had a text from Alisa who was on the train to Paris with Kym around 6. My daughter, the world traveler! I hope they have a wonderful time.
As soon as Lorraine came home from work, she started pushing food and drink. I should really hate her – she’s so skinny!
Here's a photo of Leeds from the air:
 It gives you an idea of how much walking we did! | | |
| Not reading anything which is VERY frustrating!
Since they are short - here are two more entries:
Day 10 – July 20, 2008
Today was a lazy day. We slept late and Tony packed everything up. Although Alisa was awake, she and Kym decided not to join us. We left our luggage at the hotel and had one last panini at our favorite breakfast place around 11 AM. Shortly thereafter, we were on the Gatwick Express to pick up our rental car. It took longer to get the car than the train ride up! We finally loaded everything in our Spanish Fiat, a Leon, and set off for Kent. I LOVE the English countryside; gently rolling hills that are incredibly green. Tony did an excellent job (on the wrong side of the road) of getting us to Nick and Lorraine’s. We hadn’t seen them since April of last year, so it was wonderful seeing them again (even if Lorraine IS a food pusher). They had made a delicious dinner of a beef sausage cooked in a slow cooker. Nick made new potatoes, green beans and asparagus to go with it. YUM! We waddled off to bed just after 9, feeling guilty that they had given up their bed for us.
Day 11 – July 21, 2008
We got a late start this morning. After a disastrous attempt to make coffee, we had a chocolate brioche and set off for Winchester. While Nick said it was quite far away, it only took us about 1½ hours to get there. We spent about an hour in the Cathedral, which was not destroyed, merely vandalized by Henry VIII. William the Conqueror started the work on the Cathedral in 1067 and Mary I (Bloody Mary) married Prince Philip of Spain here. It is also the burial place of one of the sons of the John of Gaunt (one of my favorite Plantagenets) and Jane Austin. Unlike Westminster, photos were allowed inside. We had a very nice lunch at their cafeteria and then went to the Town Hall to see King Arthur’s Round Table, which dates from the 1200’s. (The coat of paint is new – Henry VIII had it painted when he married Anne of Cleves!) Outside, they have recreated the garden of Queen Eleanor, the wife of Henry III. In addition to the fountain, there were hollyhocks galore, lavender, Johnny-jump-ups, and honeysuckle. The air smelled heavenly! We walked up hill to the military museums, but didn’t go inside. On the way back down, we stopped to get a new map for Nick and found several books, but restrained ourselves. We were going to get bottles of water for the ride home, but the lines at Sainsbury’s were awful. Tony stopped at a roadside comfort stop and we paid 1pound 45 pence for a water! (Gas here is 1.19 a liter here – that translates to approximately $9.52 a gallon! And we thought our prices were high!) We had a bit of traffic on the way back, and returned to Nick and Lorraine’s at 6:45 to find a delicious dinner of Bhuna chicken and trifle waiting for us. I’ll have to look for the sauce when we get home, as we have no room in our suitcases for anything extra. I had an ice cold Tab with dinner, thanks to Kym’s thoughtfulness.
And a couple of photos:
 This is the inside of Winchester Cathedral
 The Round Table
| | |
| While it's 11:38 AM here - it's 3:38 in the morning in San Diego! No wonder we have problems adjusting!
I'm almost caught up with my London Journal - so here's the latest installment:
Day 9 – July 19, 2008
It was strange being by myself again. I had a leisurely English breakfast and then read until Alisa (who didn’t stay that long at the pub) and Kym joined me. They were starving, so we went across the street to our favorite panini place for a bite to eat. Afterwards, we walked past the front of Buckingham, through Green Park to Wellington’s Arch. From there we strolled through Hyde Park (which is HUGE – you forget that you are in the middle of a city of 5 million), eventually making our way to the statue of Peter Pan. By then, the card on my camera was full, so I sat on a bench to delete unnecessary photos while Kym and Alisa took more photos of the statue. We had been walking a long time, and my little feet were sore and I had a new pain in my knee. I checked by pedometer - 49 steps!! No way! We got up and counted another 49 steps – the park bench was still in sight! Sometimes it works and, obviously, sometimes, it doesn’t. We walked to the memorial fountain for Princess Diana, and then took a different route out of the park towards the hotel. We discovered that you can go to the top of Wellington’s arch, but it was getting late and we didn’t want to spend the money. The girls left me at the hotel and went to get ready for tonight’s ball at the London Zoo. When I got to the room and checked my counter, it read 3935 steps – more like it. I figure at I walked at least 7870!
After a bit of a rest, I set out in search for a pub that had either treacle or sticky toffee. It took a while, but I found it. I had a very good dinner at the Shakespeare Pub: chicken Kiev, a glass of white wine and a treacle sponge for dessert. YUM!!
Tony got back from the Farnborough Air Show around 8:30 and was asleep before 9! Not only is he sunburned (in England!) but he’s also wind burned! I stayed up to finish my book and turned out the lights just after 11.
End of the day tally 8708 – think I walked off the dessert?
And here are a couple of photos from earlier adventures:
Don't know when Tony snapped this one of the girls:
 Alisa's graduation:
| | |
| Time for a fast, fun read.
Thanks to all who left comments . For those of you who are jealous – start saving, get your passport, and go in the off season. Air fares and accommodations are much less then. Kym did quite a bit of research and had a list of things she wanted to see and do. And yes, the flower show was $52 a person - but for a once in a lifetime opportunity – worth it. If we had stayed to the very end, there would have been some free stuff, but where would we have put it? We have to get all of Alisa's stuff back to the USA.
Here's a rather long journal entry of our continuing adventures in London:
Day 8 - July 18, 2008 – Graduation Day
We got a late start, so we decided to skip breakfast and wait to eat until we had lunch with Alisa, who was busy returning keys to LAMDA. Rather than just sit in the hotel room until then, we headed out to see the Regimental Museum. By the time we got there, the guards were playing in preparation for the Changing of the Guard, so we watched them instead. Since we wouldn’t have time to see the museum, we wondered back, stopping to buy tea and postcards. (If the really cost 60p [$1.20] each to mail, I may GIVE them out when we get back home!)
Alisa joined us a little after 12 and Kym came a few minutes later. Alisa changed from her street clothes into her graduation outfit (no cap and gown here). We walked down the street to the Buckingham Balti House and had an excellent Indian lunch – early enough that I should be able to sleep tonight! From there we went to the MacOwen Theatre where everyone was surprised to see a very dressed up Alisa in killer high heels. Tony took lots of photos of her and her friends before she had to go in. A short time later, they opened the house and we found seats on the platform in the front. Notice I said “on the platform.” The graduates (and maybe the faculty) had chairs; the rest of us sat on the hard platform tops for about 2 hours. There was no program, so I may have mixed up the order of things. The principal talked forever; followed by performances by the E2’s and C’s who were graduating. Some of the scenes I could recognize, for others, I didn’t have a clue. They were all, however, excellent! The program started with singing in the blackout, something from the opening of their production of Twelfth Night. Beautiful! Near the end, they sang selections from Connor Mitchell’s latest play Diary of a Madman, which Alisa was DSM for. Her favorite song, “Keep Moving” needs to be recorded. Both Kym and I had lumps in our throats from it. What a talented group of people with gorgeous singing voices! After their performances, they received their certificates from John Light, an actor who graduated from LAMDA in ‘85. The principal announced each name, but there was so much noise the audience couldn’t hear them. After they finished with the actors, the students in the Stage Management Program were introduced. They had been told that he was going to call them up and have them demonstrate various knots; however, he was just jerking their chains one last time. Since they work behind the scenes and are not seen, the course director filmed them doing a set up, take down and set up for the last two show rep. When the screen was lowered for the film, all the actors came forward, sat on the floor and watched. It was a lovely tribute to them. The 2½-hour process was sped up and quite funny. Alisa was the last one to receive her diploma and the ceremony was over. Thoughtfully, LAMDA had provided a bus to transport guests to the reception/tea at their home on Telgarth Road where they served Pimm’s Cup (quite a potent potable), beer, wine, sandwiches and little cakes. Tony stayed a bit and then took off for the hotel to gather things to schlep to Kent to go to an air show with Nick. Kym and I hung around in the din and heat for almost 3 hours before Alisa was ready to leave. While we were bored witless and could hardly make ourselves heard above the noise, we hadn’t the heart to ask Alisa to leave. She has precious little time left with her friends here.
We FINALLY left LAMDA, walked to Hammersmith and took the bus to Alisa’s flat at 25 Acton High Street. It was small but cute and Jo’s “messy room” was immaculate! (Not so Alisa’s) Since all the graduates were meeting at The Cab, their favorite pub, for a lock down, Kym decided to stay in the flat and watch a movie. Alisa and I reversed our route by bus and then got on the District Line. Kissing goodbye at her stop, I gave her our standard admonition: “Have fun. Don’t Puke!” I continued on by myself to Victoria Station, stopped at Sainsbury’s for water and fruit, and made my way to our hotel where I collapsed into bed.
And for those who read ALL the way to the end, here are some photos, as promised –FINALLY!
 Kym in front of Big Ben (Actually JUST the bell is really Big Ben)
 The Guards before they leave for the Palace.
 The Austrian Carriage in the Mews
 The view from St. James Park
| | |
|
Premium
