Buzzing Around Britain

Home Again

2009-09-22T15:12:00.000-07:00

We arrived home safely last night after a ridiculous 20 hours of travel. Not all of that was in the air, but a lot of it was. I can hardly put into words how great it was to get home. Honestly, I’m nearly speechless with happiness to again be in my own little home, my familiar surroundings, my own bed. Shoot, I could go on and on and on about it, but I won’t. I think you get the point. That said, I did truly enjoy our trip. It was fun, interesting, educational, memorable, wonderful. It was very special to get to spend time with family. We saw so many remarkable sights – war related, castles, palaces.

I know God sent guardian angels with us on the trip – I never knew it more that I did yesterday when we landed in Philadelphia. The captain said there was a “slight problem” and that we’d need to circle the airport again… when we came in to land a second time, there were fire trucks with flashing lights lining the landing strip. Obviously all went well, but while we were circling again, I thought “you know, I’ve had an exceptional life. I was blessed with a loving home to grow up in, and I’ve been able to do everything I had ever wanted (and more) …. Get married, be a mom, be a nurse, have a wonderful job that I love, meet my “Mr. Wonderful”, love and be loved, etc etc. If this is ‘it’, I’m ready Lord. I’m ready to come home.” There must have been someone on the plane that wasn’t ready yet. So very happily, I came “home” to my little house in the forest.

One afternoon, towards the end of our trip, I plugged in my iPod and played some music. One of the songs I listened to was the one listed on the “Playlist” above. It reminded me of something so very important. Something that is really more important than any king, or castle, or throne. If you listen, you’ll understand.

I guess this is ‘goodbye’ from your humble Buzzing Around Britain bloggers… the buzzing is done. Please be sure to read John’s final post below. Thanks to all who took the time to read about our journey and comment too! :-)

A final word from John

2009-09-22T15:08:00.001-07:00

Dateline: The Midlands.

The drive from York was a breeze, just pointed east and looked for one of the three main freeways which run North/South. The freeways are easily recognizable, they are the roads with three lanes, a fast lane, the faster lane and suicide alley, all filled with lunatic speed freaks .

Truckers drive in all three, sometimes all at the same time.

The Midlands, home of the industrial revolution, (the worlds first iron bridge still stands here, ironically in a town called Ironbridge, how coincidental.) has fewer foundries, factories, or manufacturing plants these days and has replaced them with thousands of homes, which house millions of people. Robin Hood lived here, robbing the rich and giving to the poor, so the legend goes. He of course has been replaced by the Labour Party, the elected British Government.

Our hotel room was quite nice, the view pleasant, a small canal with Longboats moored at the waters edge, and in the early morning, one could hear the sound of birds, coughing, idyllic really. The problems with the “free internet” connection in the room were irresolvable, the hotel and their internet provider handled the situation like a chess game, and we unfortunately, were the ones stalemated.

We dined with family members, in the hotel restaurant, the service was excellent, the food acceptable and the mix-up in the orders was soon remedied.

As with most hotels these days, the ability to make coffee and tea was present in the room although we were a little hesitant to use it due to the substance growing in one of the teacups. The hotel manager was a pleasant chap, I met him as we departed, and at which time we discussed four star hotels in general.

Dateline: London.

Finally, we are off to London, ‘The Smoke’ or ‘The Big Smoke’ as it is fondly referred to by Midlanders. London, the hub of Britain, where pomp and ceremony reign, the laws of the land are conceived and passed, and at night thespians still tread the boards with eighteenth century fervor. We visited the West End, saw the play, ‘Woman in Black’, an excellent production, highly recommended.

The museums are fantastic, dripping in history and worth every penny spent to attend, allow many, many hours to soak up all there is to see.

London is also noted for something many people overlook when deciding where and what to visit. Stairs.

Nobody in London lives at street level!! They either live up a thousand stairs, or down a thousand stairs. Every public building and most private homes have stairs, and even if one is lucky enough to be in a building which has everything one needs at ground level, I guarantee that the bathroom is either upstairs, or downstairs. This applies to museums, theatres, stores, the tube, everything.

Tourist Tip: Be prepared for crowds. The ability to speak a foreign language would be helpful, any foreign language; every country in the world has sent fifty million representatives to live in London.

Some Facts: We drove one thousand six hundred and forty six miles at 47mpg and an average speed of 90mph. (seemed like). We walked five thousand and two miles. (seemed like) We consumed three thousand pounds of food. (each). We drank 300 beers and some cider.

In Conclusion: The tongue is now exiting the cheek, the reality is, we had a wonderful, wonderful time, created lots of amazing memories and to steal the title of David’s London exhibition, “Britain Can Still Make It”.

The end of the line

2009-09-20T13:38:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the day.... the day we finally head home. We are not sad, we're actually SO ready to be home again. I knew we would feel that way.... I do love to travel, but being home is such a comfort, so peaceful, simply wonderful. Not sure if others feel the same way I do, but there you have it.

Now for our last two days in London. On Friday we went to Harrods. I had never been there and was pretty much mesmerized with the whole place. The food court was something else... then we went upstairs and wandered through so many rooms and departments that I had no idea where we were. For instance the tableware department was divided into just how posh you think your eating habits may be. There was the "everyday" china room, the "fancy" dishware room, and then we wandered into the "elegant dining" area. I'll fully admit that we couldn't afford a thing in any of these rooms. That's okay. It was sure fun to look. I thought that just maybe I would be able to purchase ONE small item and say I got it at Harrods. I don't mean one of those boxes of tea that look like a London doubledecker bus. I thought maybe I'd see if I could get... lets say, a scarf possibly - since they are all the rage here and at home as well. I checked the price tag of one and saw 139 GBP, nearly fainted, tucked the tag back under the scarf, and moved on. No, I would not be getting a scarf at Harrods after all. When in the food court, we stopped and got some gelato. You can't get a bowl or a cone and mill around the store while nibbling. Oh no. Totally NOT allowed. If you want to have some gelato (or any other food) at Harrods, you will sit down at a proper place setting, and enjoy it like a civilized human, thank-you-very-much. Here is a snap of John and yours truly enjoying our gelato....

It was so totally delicious! Next is a close up of the gelato - gotta LOVE the little bear biscuits!

Looks yummy, huh? Raspberries and cream.

After Harrods, we went to dinner at a great Indian restaurant - Masala Zone. Then it was on to our play... "The Woman in Black". Loved it!! After a tube ride home, we collapsed for a great night's sleep.

Yesterday (Saturday) David, John and I went to the Imperial War Museum. People, if you have ANY interest at all in WWI or WWII history, go to this museum if you are ever in London. It's FREE and totally amazing. Here are a few photos:

Your humble buzzing around Britain bloggers at the Imperial War Museum, London

These are the real thing. A Spitfire, German Focke-Wulf, a huge V2 Rocket, and tons more. We could have spent hours and hours and hours at this place. That is if our FEET could hold up... and that's a big "if".

I can hardly say how very tired we are at this point in our trip. We feel like we've walked hundreds of miles although I doubt it's really been that far. I'm sure John will mention how far we've driven (well over 1000 miles) and we are simply exhausted. On our last day in London (today), we rode the tube into the city, had lunch at a great sandwich place, and then on to David's exhibition at the Liberty Department store. As the design editor of the Telegraph Magazine, David has a week-long exhibition of furniture and design items made in England. Click here for the article :)

David, behind the window at Liberty store - advertising the exhibition.

Damian and David at the exhibition.

David - the curator of the Britain can (still) make it exhibition! :)

David and his dad on the front steps. David and Damian have been such excellent hosts.... and we are very very happy that they'll be coming over our way come December!

Be looking for one last post after we arrive home................ :)

More from John!

2009-09-20T03:29:00.001-07:00

Dateline: Welsh Wales

Wonderful country, wonderful people, even if they do speak a language that makes no sense. Met some fellow Americans who were on their way back to Scotland which they had visited earlier in their vacation. Apparently they believe that the Tartan Savages north of the border are friendlier than the English or the Welsh. How misguided, but they are from Oregon, need I say more?.

Conwy was great, and the guest house awesome. Lots of walking here.

Tourist Tip: If a welsh person says to you “ ca a 'n glws ddiwrnod” do not reach for your concealed weapon, or run to the Scottish border like our Oregon friends. It means “have a nice day”.

Dateline: Liverpool & The Northeast

Liverpool.

The ‘amazing race’ drive from Wales to Liverpool was uneventful, I’m now really getting the hang of things, except for the short yellow lights which promotes ‘red light running’ in abundance, and the red/yellow combination which comes after red, and means ‘go’ apparently.

What can I say about Liverpool other than it’s the home of the Beatles, on which they prey heavily, and it has a cathedral and a mediocre soccer team. The Cavern, where the Beatles sang, is not really the Cavern where the Beatles sang, however, they did use some of the bricks from the original Cavern to construct this tourist trap.

The people are generally friendly and like Londoners, speak a form of English.

Whitby.

If you have ever seen an ant colony, you have seen Whitby. It teems with people who have suicidal tendencies, all rushing around endlessly, jumping from curbs into the paths of passing vehicles. Parking here is no problem, providing you are driving a unicycle.

The guest house was good and we did find a fantastic pub, where we ate a scrumptious dinner.

York.

What a great town, if you like history, and university students clogging up the public places. Had two long nights here, staying with, “the wicked witch of the east’s” twin sister, where the cooking of an egg at breakfast time, must be requested twenty four hours in advance. Apparently, the frying pans in York take too long to heat up, which would result in exceeding the allotted eating time, set down by the commandant.

Tourist Tip: If you are staying more than one night at a B&B, and on arrival, are presented with a checklist for the next day’s breakfast, be sure to ask if you will get a new checklist for the following day. This avoids having porridge ad infinitum!!.

Longer update on Midlands and London

2009-09-18T03:03:00.000-07:00

Whew. Finally a few free minutes to catch up on what we've been up to for the past several days. First up: Midlands. John was born and raised in the "Black Country" area near Dudley, West Midlands. His sister and her husband still live there. We met them at a local cemetery so we could at last view the graves of John's parents who passed quite a few years back. Well.... upon arriving, we discovered that while his sister had said that "mom and dad are 'buried' here", she didn't really mean buried. They were cremated (which we don't have a problem with), their ashes were apparently buried above the graves of his Grandparents, and there was no headstone to show that they were there, that they had lived, loved, and died. John was quite surprised to find these things out. In the end, we placed flowers on the grave, tried to clean up the grave site a bit, and did discuss with Chris and Alex about the possibility of getting a stone to commemorate their parents. While we were there, two cemetery workers came over to us and suggested that they would, "under the table", be glad to properly clean up the headstone for granny and grandpa - for a mere 40 pounds!! We were in shock, both at the ridiculous price they mentioned, as well as the simple fact that they would come over to a family and try to "sell" something.

After the cemetery visit, we checked in to our hotel, the Merry Hill Copthorne. It was a very nice place - Neat and clean..... but we ended up having lots of "issues". The internet connection wouldn't work, no matter what John did or who he phoned for support. The dinner got all mixed up in the kitchen. We were totally locked out of our room, even after receiving new keys. The tea cup which we planned to use the next morning was "growing something" inside it. Needless to say, hubby had a (very calm and civil) word with management the next morning and we did get an adjustment on the bill. We did have a very pleasant visit over dinner with John's sister and brother-in-law. It was great to catch up and have a good long chat.

Wednesday morning after speaking with the hotel manager, we hightailed it out of town. John had planned to get some of his favorite (but horribly UN-healthy) snack of pork scratchings to take home. Maybe it's a good thing in the long run that we just hit the motorway and didn't go on the scratchin-hunt! Pork scratchings are fried bits of pork fat. YUCK. How he can eat that stuff I don't really know...., but then he won't touch a "cheeto" - an unhealthy snack that I love.

Our next stop was Hampton Court Palace. What a fantastic place! I'd read all about it in "The Other Boleyn Girl". As I had said in a previous post, we got the idea to stop here from the super nice girl we met in the pub in Lynton. Well worth a visit!! Here are a few photos....

Part of the reenactment of Henry VIII and Katherine Parr's marriage (see video in previous post)

Henry VIII "presents" his new wife, Katherine Parr

I particularly loved the interactive reenactments. There were several different ones going on while we were there, with people in full traditional regalia. During one we got to see all the bits and pieces that made up the clothing of the day. I found that soooooo interesting. There was some talk about the popular TV show, "The Tudors" - how it is mostly, but not completely authentic. We haven't seen The Tudors yet, but I've got the first season on DVD on request at our local library - and can't wait to watch it!

After Hampton Court Palace, it was time to take on the biggest challenge yet for your humble "navigator". We had to wind our way through the many, busy, crazy streets of London proper. I had a map - but we have no GPS with us here. It was slow and steady, but we arrived safely at David's home at precisely 6:30 pm. It was great to get here, sit back, enjoy a dinner at home, and reeee-laaxxxxx. David and Damian have a lovely home in the Brixton area of London. I will have to take some photos of the house - haven't done that yet.

Thursday morning we got up, walked to the Brixton tube station with David (who was on his way to work), rode to Victoria station, then on to Westminster. It was there that we went to visit the Churchill War Rooms and Museum. If you are at all interested in WWII, this is a great place to visit. We both enjoyed it SO much and spent at least 3 hours there. Here is a picture of the "map room" - the way it looked during the war.

This was a secret location where Winston Churchill and his vast array of assistants pretty much directed the war. It was underground and protected with slabs of concrete and huge steel ballasts across the ceilings to make it as "bomb proof" as possible. Apparently the war rooms never received a direct hit during the many bombings of London, so they never really found out how "bomb proof" the area truly was. I could go on and on about this wonderful museum -- but to make it short, if you are ever in London, DO make this one of your stops. You'll be glad you did.

Just around the corner, literally, from the Churchill museum, is Westminster Abbey. When we were in London five years ago, we never went inside, so we decided to pay the price and see it this time. Unfortunately, when we got there, they had just closed the doors to visitors. We were ever so disappointed!

We sat down on the steps of a nearby building, simply for a bit of a rest, while deciding where to go next. An Australian woman sat down next to us and said "are you waiting for Evensong too"? We replied that no, we were just having a rest.... but then it dawned on us.... wouldn't it be marvelous to attend a choir service inside the church? We decided we would, and it was wonderful. A chance of a lifetime for us to hear the Westminster Abbey choir singing in the nave of the church before entering the main sanctuary. Then to actually be able to be part of the service was something I'll never forget. I'm SO glad we decided to attend.

Today, we are going to explore Harrods here in London, go out to a fabulous Indian restaurant, and then attend a play this evening in London's west end. Sounds great to me!!

Hampton Court, London

2009-09-17T14:23:00.000-07:00

We've made it to London! On our first afternoon in London, we stopped at Hampton Court. Believe it or not, the woman we met in the pub in Lynton suggested that we go here - and I am SO glad we did! Hampton Court was built in the 1400's by good old Henry the Eighth. What a spectacular palace it is, so full of great Tudor history! The day we were there, they were reenacting the marriage of Henry and Katherine Parr his 6th and final wife. Check out the video below. More coming soon!

Taken at Hampton Court

2009-09-17T14:14:00.001-07:00

York

2009-09-14T13:34:00.000-07:00

Hello again from your now-growing-weary buzzers around Britain! We traveled on Sunday from Whitby in North Yorkshire to the ancient walled city of York. Along the way we spent several hours at a very unique museum called Eden Camp. Since I am "fixated" these days on WWII history, this place was particularly interesting. Each hut in the former POW camp was dedicated to a different aspect of the war.... the pre-war buildup of Nazi Germany, the events that led to the declaration of war, the homefront during the war, coping with rationing, dealing with the nightly blackouts, the roles played by women, and on and on. We both really enjoyed this museum.

From Eden Camp we drove the 20 or so miles to York. We had to arrive at precisely 4pm. Why you ask? The day before, I had received 3 emails from the woman who runs the B&B here in York wanting to know if we would really arrive at the previously agreed upon 4pm. My first email back to her was that yes, we did plan on arriving at that time. The 2nd email sent to us suggested that I phone her when I was leaving Eden Camp. I wrote back and told her that our cell phones work some places and not others, and that I couldn't guarantee we'd have coverage. Not to mention that we are charged 99 cents a minute for calls within England. She wrote back and said essentially "Fine. See you at 4 o'clock". Okay, so we knew she was going to be an "interesting" person before we even arrived. I'm happy to report that we DID arrive at the appointed time, and Emma was here, waiting for us. She explained the 'house rules' to us. 1. Do not under any duress, open the front door of the B&B for anyone, even if they look like guests. They may NOT be guests. 2. Do not leave anything visible in your car whatsoever. 3. Breakfast will be between 8:30 and 9 am (all of our previous B&B's had a minimum of a one hour window, and some more. Never just half an hour). 4. You will vacate the property on 10 am the day of departure (all other B&B's have either a 10:30 or 11 am rule about when to get out). Your parking pass will also expire at exactly 10 am. After all the explanations, she then -- before we even laid eyes on our room -- demanded payment of both nights in full! NO other establishment has ever requested this before! We were quietly appalled. With all this in mind, there is no way I could/would recommend this place. All I can say is we both have weird vibes about this guest house and the general area where it's located. Oh well, tomorrow we are outta here!

Today we took the rather long hike into York, through the gates of the walled city, and went to York Minster.

Through one of the several gates into the city of York.

The majestic York Minster

We took an extremely infomative free tour of the Minster once inside. John and I both adored the little old lady who gave the very well done tour. She was quite passionate about her volunteer duties and really knew her stuff! The "modern" part of the the cathedral was built in the 1400's. It is magnificent inside and is used continually by parishoners as part of the Church of England (Anglican/Episcopal).

After visiting the York Minster, we continued our walk to the York Castle Museum. Another very very interesting place! To try and explain what all was inside would take some time... but there were large collections of everyday items arranged in rooms, shops, and streets - from Victorian days up to the 60's. It sure makes a person feel old when you see things in a museum that you used to have as a kid. Yes, there were things there from both of our childhoods - we are officially O-L-D. I think we spent at least 3 hours inside the Castle Museum and we knew we had a very long hike back to our place of lodging. Tired legs plus a long walk equals frequent "pub breaks" as we slowly made our way through York :) We made 3 stops along the way where I'd get a half pint of cider and hubby would get some local "Bitter ale". At the last pub we got a bit of a meal as well. We made it back to the B and B just before it was totally dark. Dear hubby said it was better to take the long hike (through a questionably dodgy area) while we still had a bit of light.

So here we are, settling in for a quiet evening, resting those well-used legs! Tomorrow we are headed to the West Midlands. One day in John's old stomping ground where he is already talking about all the pork "scratchin's" he intends to buy to take home! Be looking for another update in the next day or two. :)

Your buzzing around Britain (and now getting slightly weary) bloggers,

Wales to Whitby

2009-09-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

I had every intention of posting yesterday, but upon checking in to the hotel (yes, a hotel this time - Marriott City Centre, Liverpool -- thanks for the suggestion, Jane!) we found they had no free internet. The charge was 15 GBP for 24 hours or one hour - it didn't matter. The hotel was great in every other way, so we simply skipped "interneting" for one evening.

Thursday we drove from mid-Wales to north Wales. I'd always wanted to see Caernarfon Castle, and it did not disappoint. Again, we had fantastic sunny weather! What luck! We've heard from many different people about the horrible, dreary summer the UK has suffered through this year. Thankfully, September has been a gem!

Anyway, here are a few shots of Caernarfon....

After exploring the nooks and crannies of the castle, we drove to Conwy in Wales, a town with intact walls as well as a castle of their own! Our B&B - a very lovely home - was literally just outside the town wall. Here is a picture of the garden, right outside the door of the B&B -

We had a wonderful stay at the Bryn Guest House in Conwy. There were several things we did NOT get the chance to do while in Conwy. I would have loved to explore their castle too, but.... there doesn't seem to be enough time in a day! Here is a photo of our room at the Bryn. Lovely, just lovely.

On Friday morning, we had a great breakfast and traveled from the countryside of Wales to the large city atmosphere of Liverpool. John had told me over and over that Liverpool was more like a "cesspool" and a "horrible place". Well. He was wrong - and when he gets the chance to blog again, I'm just sure he'll ~~admit~~ deny it! At any rate, we navigated the busy streets of Liverpool, checked in to the hotel, and walked down to Albert Dock, the meeting place for the "Magical Mystery Tour". Here is the bus :)

We are both huge Beatles fans, so I just knew we'd enjoy this tour.... and we did! They took us to many sights around the greater Liverpool area, home of all the Beatles. They played Beatles music on the tour and the tour guide/commentator was very knowledgable as well as engaging. I loved listening to his very "Liverpudlian" accent. We saw Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields, homes of all four Beatles, as well as plenty of Beatles history and tidbits of info along the way. Here is the very unassuming Penny Lane.

If you enlarge this pic, you can see it says "Penny Lane" on the building on the left side. Then it was on to Strawberry Fields.

The guide told us that the gates to Strawberry Fields (as well as street signs for Penny Lane) had been stolen over and over. Finally they welded the gates permanently shut - nobody will be able to nick the gates again.

After our bus tour, we were dropped at the famous Cavern Club. Here's John, beginning the four flights of stairs down into the Cavern.

We imbibed in a beverage or two before heading back to the hotel for some much needed rest. As far as "beverages" go, I've re-developed a love for Cider again! I found I really enjoyed Cider a few years back when we made our wonderful trip to Australia and New Zealand. We don't have much in the way of cider in the USA, and certainly none on draft ("draught" here in the UK) - so I've been enjoying a pint or two of Strongbow and while in Cornwall, I tried the "Cornwall Rattler" which is supposed to put one on one's behind, so to speak.... I was very cautious and had only a half-pint. It was so lovely you could drink it down fast, and that, I believe is the problem!!

Today it was out of the big city and back into the beautiful countryside again. This time we went to the east side of England, to the Yorkshire seaside village of Whitby. Here is an ocean scene near Whitby.

Again, we have been blessed with lovely sunshine. Tomorrow it's York, with a stop off at a former WWII prisoner of war camp. I'm crazy for WWII history, so I am really looking forward to that. More later... from your buzzing around Britain bloggers....

More Lighter Side

2009-09-12T10:37:00.000-07:00

Dateline Lynton.

A day spent driving through the wonderful countryside, so I am told. It was beyond precarious to look!. I think I have finally figured out these one and one half car wide roads, you just sit in the middle aim for the approaching car and play “chicken”. If he gets scared you have a couple of feet to play with. If he doesn’t, you have 3”- 4” divided by two!. I was thinking I might put an American flag on the antenna and the word PATTON on the front of the car, surely that would intimidate them?.

We have experienced a variety of ‘roadkill’ as we have driven around the country, from foxes, birds, rabbits, a hedgehog and an all white, furry unidentifiable thing that Lady Suz wanted me to investigate in the event it was a mink. She was thinking, fur, and I was thinking blood, all over the rental car. If it was a deer (or venison as the pretentious Brits call it) and it looked fresh I may have been tempted to take it to a local Butcher or East Indian restaurant to donate to the people of this land. (my humble attempt to “share the wealth”).

Arriving in Lynton, we found our B&B and rang the bell. I have finally met the wicked witch of the east!! I first described her as a bat, I got the feeling she could get into a locked room and relieve one of the blood of life, later I realized she was not a bat but a witch. She wore clothes unfamiliar with typical witches and her welcoming smile belied her true intent. Having familiarized ourselves with her entry routine we unpacked, freshened up and left to seek sustenance. A local pub provided this, we had curry made from vegetables (a Korma) and probably venison, Aka roadkill, which tasted great and went well with the local beer. We met another young couple (yes, Lady Suz is young).

And were soon joined by a mother and daughter duo who spoke with a weird “black country” accent marked with affectation so as to sound semi cultured. I understood most of what they were saying but Lady Suz nudged for interpretation occasionally. This unordered group kept us busy until almost midnight whereupon we hastily departed to return to the coven. Arriving cap in hand and ever so quietly we the put key in the door…..bolted!!!

I rang the bell, the pitter patter of witches shoes led to the opening of the door and a greeting of “oh my goodness, I thought you were in hours ago”…..we were chastised.

We escaped the next morning, relieved to get in our much maligned vehicle to head for Conwy.

Tourist Tip. Watch out for motorcycles when driving the narrow roads, they hunt in packs. If one manages to squeeze through the three inch gap between your car and the oncoming car, do NOT close the gap, there will be another in close pursuit.

A Word From Sir John (Alias the White Knight)

2009-09-10T11:16:00.000-07:00

Lady Suz has asked me to contribute to her blog, so I reluctantly agreed, providing I could be politically incorrect and write from "the lighter side". I trust that my English humor will not offend and apologize in advance to those whose interpretation differs from the intent.

Where to start?.......I guess at the beginning....

If you ask me my idea of fun, it is NOT getting up at 4am and driving to Seattle to board a thin metallic tube which is hurtled into the air at six hundred and fifty miles an hour shaking like a 7.5 earthquake amid thought of instant disaster should the thing fall to earth. I understand the "black box" would survive. (why isnt the whole plane made from the same material?). The thought of 20 plus hours of travel was unappealing at best but Lady Suz was as enthusiastic as ever. Having been to England before, (ok, I was born there) I must admit this trip was not a high priority on the "must do" list, were it not for #2 son residing there and offering free accomodation and all the wine we can drink, I may have opted for the grand canyon and Yellowstone which I have yet to see.

Anyway, we are off to see some of Jolly Old, Jolly Old, through Lady Suz's eyes primarily and as an aside through mine, so here goes.

Dateline London:

Airport.

Arrived safely at Thiefrow Airport London and cleared customs quickly and without incident except for the American who thought that the custom officer calling “next” meant him and not the fifty or so people ahead of him!.

We hurried to the baggage claim area to await our luggage.

Tourist Tip: When arriving or departing Thiefrow Airport keep valuables in zipped pockets and get to the baggage claim area ahead of the luggage and before the thieves.

When riding an elevator or boarding a bus or taxi make sure that your partner enters first, then the luggage then yourself. NEVER the luggage first. Work in pairs.

Our “on airport” car rental proved to be “off airport” but just a short bus ride. After checking in we proceeded to the parking lot where we were given a choice of vehicle, we chose the one with the biggest boot (trunk),and because it was black and ‘mean’ looking, a Skoda, a Czech/VW production vehicle.

River Trip.

The trip down the river Thames (The word Thames comes from the Latin “Effluentus Maximus”) Remember, it took the Brits a while to figure out that drawing drinking water from the river downstream of the introduction of fecal matter upstream was not a good idea, was advertised as “with running commentary” which consisted of an older person steering the boat and eating “biggy French fries” while he spoke in a language similar to English. We saw swans, an overpriced house and a glimpse of a racecourse and a Salmon ladder up which Salmon migrate to escape the downstream water.

Tourist Tip: Speak English, most natural born Londoners speak some English and almost all of the foreign nationals who now reside in London speak and understand perfect English.

Dateline Windsor.

The castle was awesome, a tremendous monument to the class system, still prominent in some areas of Britain and in the minds of some southern English who insist on parking their Bentleys’ at the main hotel entrances rather than in the parking lot with the rest of the peons.

Bed & Breakfast.

The B&B was very good, if a little strange, a huge bedroom with the bed built on its own floor about a foot higher than the main floor, a bit like sleeping on a funeral pyre. Same thing in the bathroom, the toilet and bidet sat on a raised floor. I think it has something to do with the English term “sitting on the throne”. I imagine it could be disastrous if one has had a few jars and needs to use the facilities during the night.

Driving to Windsor was a test!.....I haven’t driven on the “wrong side of the road” sitting on the “wrong side of the car” for quite a while, nor have I use a stick shift either.

The roads are generally too narrow, people drive like it’s a race and then there are, the “roundabouts” and female extremist Muslim terrorists wearing bhurkas’ so you can’t see their faces trying to ram into the side of your car as you enter these things.

The English government were peeked when people got used to driving around roundabouts so they have devised three additional types just to confuse the unsuspecting motorist.

Not satisfied with the usual grass and shrubbery laden roundabouts they came up with flying saucer shaped domes (basically speed bumps) of various sizes of about 6” high and 4’ to 10’diameter painted off white and with painted lines around them, if you run over the edges at speed, its possible, I think, to be on two wheels for a while.

Then there is the baby roundabout, this one is not raised at all, just a painted solid circle again with lines around it. I thought it amusing to see people driving around these things like they had broken glass on them!.

But then, after you feel you know how to hit them with speed and fly through them without a thought, they came up with the daddy of all roundabouts, this one has traffic lights (signals) halfway round !!!!!!

Dateline Yeovil.

We arrived in Yeovil just as the local soccer game was ended and the fans filled the streets forcing us to do a minor diversion to reach the town of Thorne, the road to which was approximately 10’wide. The B&B once found was very good except we were once more located on the second floor. Thank god Bill, the host, helped carry Lady Suz’s 400lb suitcase up to the room.

As we were leaving the B&B the hostess Kath, accompanied us to the parking lot where I commented that the car we rented was performing well, to which she replied “I wouldn’t be seen dead in a Skoda”, we hope not to be seen that way also.

Dateline Penzance.

Another day of racing across the South West after leaving Yeovil, I managed to avoid most objects except for a rubber garbage can which was obviously located way too close to the roads edge and I did shave a few hedges. The B&B was good as I am sure Lady Suz has mentioned and the theater performance that night was awesome, although I must admit I never imagined Iago with a Yorkshire accent or Othello a lisp.

Had my first pastie today in Looe Cornwall, wow, I could live on these things.

Our host today, ‘Hippie John’ was pleasant and helpful and the room was great. Cornish people have a strange accent, in some part due to the influx of Londoners who have interbred with the locals creating an "all right then" greeting which defies reasonable expectation in the deep south.
Lands End was as expected, a typical example of a lower extremity, a misty seascape, a lighthouse and devine clotted cream teas intermingled with parasitic merchants looking to lay claim to your last penny.
Tourist Tip: Don't ask about Jethro when in Cornwall, they either hate him or deny knowledge of him or else refer you to his brother who still lives locally and apparently is much funnier.

Back soon with more..Lady Suz permitting...

Cornwall to Wales!

2009-09-10T10:14:00.001-07:00

Sorry about the abrupt disappearance! So much for the two days in one, I’m afraid. I meant to save a draft, but ended up publishing the blog half done! We left to go to a nearby pub for dinner – with plans of returning to the room to finish up the blog post…. but we met some really interesting and talkative people, ended up sitting with them, sharing a couple of pints with them, and exchanging email addresses. We retuned to our B&B right around midnight and were LOCKED OUT! This is the first time that has ever happened! John had to ring the buzzer and the proprietress appeared and apologized profusely, claiming she thought we were in our room. Oh well. Needless to say, we didn’t get back to finish up the blog. Then Wednesday – the one and only night we did not have pre-booked for this trip, we ended up in a cute little B&B somewhere in mid-Wales that did not have Wi-Fi. Hence, I am posting this on Thursday!

So, let’s go backwards for a bit! Where did we leave off? Ahhhh yes, we were in Cornwall. We went to St. Michaels Mount – which I have already blogged about – and then it was onward to Lands End, the very southwestern tip of England. To be honest, there’s not much there…high cliffs above the sea, a lighthouse, and some rather cheesy shops for souvenirs. There was also a restaurant which served “cream tea” and so we indulged!

Here it is, the scones and clotted cream with strawberry jam and hot tea of course! It was SO good! I think that may be my one and only clotted cream experience. Yes, it was good but my goodness, it was SO rich.

We asked a guy at Land’s End to snap a shot of us together – here we are, the “buzzers around Britain”. Maybe I should change that to “buzzards”? Ha!

Later that evening we made our way to the Minack Theatre on the Cornwall coast. I’d read about this place online and thought it might be an interesting experience to attend a performance there. Because it is literally beside the sea, I was worried that it would pour rain, or we’d freeze to death, or both. It didn’t actually rain at all, but certainly did a LOT of “misting”. It did get a bit chilly, but nothing too miserable. We saw a production of “Othello” put on by a traveling troupe of actors called “Mad Dogs & Englishmen”. I’ll freely admit I’ve never seen anything by Shakespeare, nor had John. I have read very little by Shakespeare, and because of that I was somewhat wary of how well I’d be able to either understand what was going on or truly enjoy it. What a pleasant surprise it was!!! I could follow the play and enjoyed it thoroughly! In fact, “enjoy” may not be the right word for this…. It was stupendous! We both absolutely loved it! I believe it was a mix of the setting, the professionalism of the actors, and the play itself that combined for this huge “home run” of an event! If you are EVER in Cornwall, do go to see something at the Minack. You’ll be glad you did! Here is a picture of the theatre, carved literally out of the seaside cliff.

The next morning (Tuesday Sept 8) we woke to gray skies. With all the fine weather we’ve experienced, we refused to be too disappointed about it. We began our drive up the north Cornwall coast, to North Devon. As always, the scenery was ever so lovely. The ocean, green rolling hills, and pastures of sheep and cows divided by hedgerows.

After several hours of driving, we reached our destination for the day – Lynton in north Devon, located within the boundaries of Exmoor National Park. Lynton is situated high on a cliff near the ocean. A mile away is Lynmouth – a tiny village deep in a valley.

Here is a photo of Lynmouth at low tide. There seems to be no sand here, just medium sized rocks all along the water’s edge. Not great for kiddies and sandcastles, I’d say. Our B&B was spotlessly clean, lovely new comfortable bed, but the owner was so odd. She appeared (to us) to have “glued on a smile” but underneath, we think she hates meeting people, making small talk, cooking breakfast for strangers, and last but not least, cleaning up after them. I say – if you hate your job that much, do yourself and everyone else a favor and find a new profession! John simply called her “the bat”. This is the same woman who locked us out of the house – as earlier mentioned.

As I said before, we had a great evening at a local pub in Lynton. There is a cat that “makes the rounds” from his home to the pub and back several times a day. He hopped up right next to me, and how could I resist? Especially since he looked so much like my very own Jinx! Check it out!

Here are the fun folks we met! Dan and Justine from Plymouth in Cornwall.

They are avid “ramblers” – that means “hikers” to all our American friends.

Wednesday (Sept 9) we woke to brilliant sunshine! The weatherman says the warm front will stay with us for about three days, for which we are very thankful. How’s this for some stunning north Devon scenery?

Soon we crossed the Severn River into Wales. Our first stop in Wales was in Abergavenny for lunch. I told John, “I could live here, let’s move”!! Such a lovely village! He just rolled his eyes at me. I’ll never get John to live over here. Never.

And now -- time for some more FOOD pictures!! I only snap shots of food if they are at least somewhat interesting. This lunch was definitely interesting! You’ve heard the old adage…. “When in Rome…..” Well, when in Wales………… have some………… Welsh rarebit!! (Aka cheese on toast). Here it is my first Welsh meal!

This rarebit was done with farmhouse cheddar cheese, leeks on top, and a small salad on the side – and oh my, was it ever tasty!! John raved about his lunch as well. Here it is:

You know what they call this here in Wales? “Cowl”. We’d never heard of that one before. It was a lamb stew made with new potatoes, celery, carrots, and plenty of Swedes (known as rutabagas in the states). It was half gone by the time I took this picture. It came with some yummy bread as well.

Here’s a roadside sign – all Welsh towns are spelled out in both English and Welsh.

We walked to the pub for dinner on Wednesday evening and there were two young fellows in there chatting away in the Welsh language. I think it’s great that they have done so much to preserve their language as well as their heritage. On the walk back to our B&B from the pub, I snapped this next photo.

I love this picture. I just love it. Dusk is coming, the trees are just barely beginning to get some autumn color, and the evening is at peace. Yes, I could call it “peaceful evening”.

Last but not least for this post – the B&B we “found” for our one un-booked night. This night we got lucky. A nice B&B, just a walk away from the pub, and such lovely, friendly people!

There will be more to come from north Wales ~ your buzzing around

Britain

bloggers,

Two, two......two days in one!

2009-09-08T10:59:00.000-07:00

No blogging yesterday - we napped in the afternoon for the first time on this trip (much needed!) and then went to the most unique and smashing theatre performance we've ever seen. We returned to our B&B quite late (for us!) - midnight, and fell into bed. Today - a trip up the north Cornwall and Devon coast to Lynton.

Yesterday: St. Michael's Mount was tops on the list. I'd always wanted to see it first hand, ever since seeing a program on The Travel Channel about the "best castles" in Britain. It ended up being the work-out of the year for us -- but well worth it in the end. It was a long walk at low tide, out to the castle...

Once we made the walk out on the "cobbled path", we read the sign that mentioned "you must enjoy good health to make the trek to the top of the castle". Hmmmmm.... for a few moments we debated it. John's knees have been absolutely killing him much of the time, but, since we were here, we decided to go for it. It ended up being a very steep hike, but we only stopped once to catch our breath and rest the knees.

Here's John at the top -- woohoo! We made it!!

There's Suz, on a turret of the castle, enjoying the view :)

We didn't realize that the castle is actually the home of the St Aubin family, and has been for a couple hundred years. It was a long walk down, and John is quick to say that going downwards is much harder on his knees than going up. The walk was very uneven and to be honest, you really needed to keep an eye at all times on where you step. Overheard between a 3year old (ish) girl and her daddy on the way down from St Michael's Mount: Daddy- "Be careful Elizabeth, it's slippy!" Elizabeth: "Oh daddy!! I just slipped a bit... but no blood. Thank goodness I'm wearing my Crocs!!!" They were right in front of us on the way down and little Elizabeth was SO cute. I mentioned to John that there is no way we could have a monument like this in the states (not that we have anything this old, anyway).... there would be a lawsuit every day... people tripping or slipping or falling... etc etc etc.

The road to Penzance

2009-09-07T02:11:00.000-07:00

Wow! We got home last night so totally knackered, fell into bed, and didn't blog a thing. So a bit of catch up!
Yesterday we drove from Yeovil in Somerset to Penzance in Cornwall. Along the way we stopped for a while in Looe -- a great little seaside village it was! Here are some snapshots....

The Looe Bakery - where I had my first real Cornish pasty!

Not a great picture through the glass, but the best I could do. John got the steak and stilton pasty and I had the cheese and onion. So delicious, I could live on them! Next pic - more goodies from the same bakery.

Upper right, proper Bakewell tarts. Then the cream tea scones which we have not yet had... but we will! A quarter pound of clotted cream? My goodness, that sounds like a LOT. Enough to clog plenty of arteries, I'm afraid. Will that stop me from trying it? ...... uh..... not a chance!

In Looe. Obviously it was low tide.

The beach at Looe. We have been so blessed with lovely weather!!

We watched two young men launch this small sailboat called a "Mirror". John built one of these Mirrors from a kit and raced it - back in his younger days :-)

Our B&B here in Penzance where we'll spend two nights. Very nice place - the Dunedin Hotel.

Today we'll explore the south Cornwall area.... St Michaels Mount, Lands End, St Ives, and tonight, the open air theatre along the coast (the Minack theatre) where we'll see a production of Othello. We're keeping our fingers crossed that it won't be raining!

Windsor Castle ---> Brilliant!

2009-09-05T13:58:00.000-07:00

Today - Windsor Castle... but first, our dinner last night. No, I didn't take any photos of the meal - but I will soon, I promise. We went to The Greene Oak, recommended by our hostess at Rainworth House. It used to be a pub, but now it's more like a bar and restaurant or maybe a very posh pub, if there is such a thing. I'd love to say that it was a marvelous experience, but... unfortunately I can't. These folks were...well, they were simply snotty. Or snooty. Not sure if it was John's Midlands accent, or my American one, but at least while we sat at the bar and drank a pint of English beer, they were not in the least accommodating. We later moved to a table, had a nice tasty meal, and found the folks over there if not truly pleasant, then faking it quite well. John enjoyed lamb chops with mint/pea risotto. He got a rather large portion of "proper" mint sauce to go with it, and was thrilled. I had chicken breast and mashed potatoes with pea/pancetta sauce/gravy. Sounds odd, but it was great. Oh goodness, I forgot to mention the appetizer. Hold on to your seats folks.... I actually consumed a bit (albeit a small bit) of smoked mackerel on rocket with chorizo. John loved it! I simply couldn't get past the mackerel bit. I kept envisioning it on a label of cat food! And "rocket" for all our American friends, is much like "baby greens" or arugula. For dessert, we shared a delicious Gooseberry Bakewell tart. Ok, enough about last night's eatings. On to today's outings!

What a great day to visit Windsor Castle! We woke to brilliant sunshine and blue skies - a welcome surprise. After a very pleasant "full English" breakfast (aka "death on a plate") we made our way to the castle. It was our lucky day, as the changing of the guard was taking place just 30 minutes after we arrived. We had no idea that they do a ceremonial guard change much like the one that takes place at Buckingham Palace. Then in to the castle itself with the excellent audio tour guide device. Every important area is marked with a number, you punch the number into your device and listen to the commentary. One of the interesting 'side effects' - if you will - was the relative silence as you walked through this magnificent place. Everyone was intently listening to the commentary in their own language. I am sooooo glad I read "The Other Boleyn Girl" before coming to Windsor. Particularly because there was a special exhibition dedicated to the 500th anniversary to King Henry VIII. There were portraits, Henry VIII's suit of armor (quite large, as his girth increased with his age), a letter/booklet signed by him that was sent to Rome when he was doing all he could to delete Catholicism in England, his royal seal, and much, much more.

What was particularly stunning were the State Apartments! I found my own mouth agape several times as we wandered throughout. They don't allow photography, so I have nothing to show, but the Waterloo Chamber was so impressive, as were many other rooms. After touring the main castle, we went to St Georges Chapel which is inside the castle grounds. A beautiful church which is still used daily for worship services. Inside are quite a few crypts of famous deceased people. Henry VIII is buried there with his 3rd wife, Jane Seymour. The present Queen's parents and sister are interred there as well as many others. We were so glad we took the time to visit Windsor Castle and take in all it has to offer!

Then it was onward towards Yeovil in Somerset. Along the way I managed to snap another "only in Britain" photo. This one I actually like. It's a picture of a free-range pig farm... aka "Hog Heaven". :) Hey, if we have free range chickens and "happy California cows", then why not give pigs a pleasant life too?!!

Next thing we knew we were at our B&B near Yeovil, Thorne Cottage. We're settling in for a lovely long sleep after a great dinner at a country pub - where the folks were ever-so-nice! Check it out here. Of course Somerset is known for it's cider - so we each had a pint of the delectable stuff with our meal!

Tomorrow: on the road to Penzance

England in the morning

2009-09-04T08:21:00.000-07:00

We knew it would be a brutal trip. It was.... but we made it all in one piece, safe and sound. I think it was the nearly 6 hour layover in Philadelphia which made this trip, well, six hours longer that it needed to be. Ahhh, the price we pay to save a buck! I was able to sleep a bit on the Philadelphia to London overnight flight, but morning seemed to arrive quite early. Flying coach means you have no way to truly stretch out, no warm towel to wash your face with, no mini toothbrush/toothpaste/toiletry kit.... they flipped on the lights and simply announced "good morning everyone, we will be landing in London in a little over an hour...." I'm thinking that we never should have flown first class 5 years ago -- then I wouldn't know what I was missing! That said, the flight itself is behind us and Britain is ahead of us!

Our first stop - Windsor. We took a 40 minute boat ride down the Thames River, had a stroll around the river front, and snapped a few shots. We even grabbed a "ninety-nine" -- for all our American friends, that's Wall's soft ice cream with a Cadbury flake stuck inside. Yum. Here are a few pics from today.

Out the airplane window this morning, English countryside.

Suz kicking back before the Thames boat trip. Yeah... put those already swelling feet UP! I don't know why, but EVERYTIME we go on a vacation, my feet and ankles swell. It is so annoying.

Want Thames riverfront property? This place is reportedly for sale for 2.8 million GBP.

Simply stunning view of Windsor Castle from the river! This is where we're headed tomorrow, a tour of the castle... can't wait!

And now for the "only in Britain" pic of the day.... I'm not sure I will be able to find one of these every day, but you can be sure that if I do, I'll post them. This vehicle simply made me break out into a huge grin. As I said... "only in Britain"!!! I believe you can click on any of these pictures to enlarge them... And wouldn't we all, if "hiring a toilet" want the luxury model? I know I would!

We've just checked into our first B&B, Rainworth House in Windsor. Time for a hot shower and tonight, maybe some pub grub. Tomorrow, Windsor Castle, and onward to Yeovil - home of "Jack the Treacle Eater"!! (thanks for that interesting tidbit of info, Shannie!!)

One week until takeoff

2009-08-27T21:16:00.000-07:00

One week from today we'll be on our way. What's even more amazing is that our time in Britain will just FLY by.... I know it will seem like we barely arrived, and it will be time to come home. Vacations always seem to take forever to arrive and then fly past us like lightning.

I feel like we've tied up quite a few of the proverbial "loose ends" this week, in preparation for the trip. We have now arranged all but one of the B&B's we'll be staying at. Our family visit with John's sister and her husband has been arranged. Places, castles, & museums we think we want to see have all been written down, our "Let's Go: Britain" guidebook has been purchased, and yesterday we popped in to TJ Maxx (a discount store of sorts) to purchase a new large suitcase. At home, we determined that the 9 year-old suitcase weighs 13 1/2 pounds - EMPTY!! I was convinced that not only was that prehistorically heavy, but that there was no way I'd be able to stay under weight when I'm starting out at 13+ pounds. At the store, we lifted many a suitcase, literally weighing one against another. At one point, John went to see if there was a scale anywhere that we could use - the answer to that was "nope, sorry". So, after lifting and judging quite a few bags, we chose one that was reasonably priced, light in weight, and brought it home. Of course the first thing we did was weigh it. Guess what? It weighed thirteen pounds!!! I wanted to scream. We were both so sure it was without a doubt much lighter than the old relic at home -- how wrong we were. Bottom line, it's going back. The old suitcase will just have to do... and I'm more determined than ever to really "pack light" this time. More coming soon! :-)

Still in planning mode

2009-08-11T13:26:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that I've put off making reservations for our vacation for so long! Normally when we're planning a trip, I'm "johnny on the spot" - picking out places to stay, lining up the car rental, etc. For this trip however, it took us literally months to come to a final conclusion about where we would go. So.......... much had been left undone until recent days. This past week we found a great deal on our car "hire" (as they say in Britain). If you are ever planning on renting a car in the UK, check out Holidayautos.co.uk. It's a division of Travelocity, sort of like "Hotwire"- in that, we picked out the car we wanted (compact, manual transmission, WITH air conditioning); we chose where we'd pick up and drop off (Heathrow Airport); and then booked it. After confirming, we found out who we'd booked with (Alamo UK). I can't begin to say how happy we were with the price - we saved between $60-100 by going with them. Of course, we'll find out the final verdict once we arrive. At any rate, the car hire looks good on paper and on the pocketbook.
For the past couple of weeks I have spent literally hours researching lodging in the general areas we want to stay. The first part of our trip will be spent "buzzing around Britain" - 13 days. The last part will be in London with David and Damian - 5 days. Thankfully, I'm not worrying about London lodging.... but the rest, well, it's honestly been a challenge. I think the biggest part of the challenge has been finding a "nice" place at this late-ish date, at a "reasonable" price. John and I both agree that we much prefer Bed and Breakfast Inns versus Hotels. I'm happy to report that B & B's are without a doubt cheaper by far than hotels in the UK - and of course they include food!! So far I have successfully lined up all but 3 nights of our first 13. John suggests that for part of the way we just "wing it" - which I would agree is a lot of fun and adventure, but on a Saturday night it MAY be hard to find just the right place to lay our heads! So, with that said, I'm thinking I'll be happy to secure lodging for that one stray Saturday night that's left, and leave those other two nights to chance.
In our previous post I mentioned the trials of packing just one suitcase per person for an international trip. We haven't actually started packing yet, but I'm already worried about the suitcase weight limit .... and how I can actually leave stuff at home so I can make room for what I might buy! This will really be a test! Some may find it strange, but when we go on holiday, I am not one who finds "shopping" as my favorite event. Yet, I really do like to bring home a few choice items - and hopefully some things for family and friends.... how EVER will I find room for it all in ONE suitcase -- with a weight limit??? Oh well, one hurdle at a time. This week's hurdle is car hire and lodging - and it's nearly complete.

We're going to Britain!

2009-08-05T09:58:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our new blog! As we begin to prepare for our big trip to Great Britain, we thought it would be fun to start a blog - a way to share our experiences abroad with family and friends... and anyone else who may be interested. As of today we are T minus 29 days and counting!

Back in January, we got in on a "great deal" to take a Greek cruise. We put money down on the cruise and knew that by the end of June, we'd have to pay the remainder - or cancel the trip. We purchased our airfare to London in January also. When June rolled around this year, we had a fantastic opportunity to purchase a motorhome that we'd both been dreaming of. The motorhome trips were supposed to be in the future, not necessarily now - but because it was the right coach for us, at the "right price", we nabbed it. Of course, this made us reconsider the wisdom of the Greek cruise. After much trepidation, we canceled the cruise - but as most folks know, there is no way to cancel airline tickets. Yes, we could have applied the ticket price to another flight to somewhere else, BUT the airline would impose a large fee to do that. In the end, we decided to take the plunge and go ahead and go to London, rent a car, and tootle around England, Wales, and possibly Scotland before ending up in London for a visit with John's son David. Our trip will encompass 18 days.
So, as we prepare for the big adventure, I'll make posts on here. As we are actually traveling, the plan is to try and post daily or nearly daily with photos included (hopefully) - as most of the Bed and Breakfast places we have booked state they have "free Wi-Fi"! YAY!
More coming soon....... on the trials and tribulations of trying to pack just ONE suitcase each for an international trip!
Suz & John