My Mind Isn't I Home Yet

During our brief flirtation with England we saw lots of rowhouses like these and they are the stuff of my dreams and hugely expensive. We peeked in as many windows as we could and they were just as charming inside.


On the other hand, this is the London city hall. Makes you wonder what they were thinking.


I had to have an indoor shot of Burger King. Melissa had scratched a card and won free fries so now she’ll have to travel a long way back to collect on them. The interiors are not the cookie cutter kind we’re used to. This one has two floors and the washrooms (argh) were on this top floor. No elevator and steep stairs. Better than one Macdonald’s we visited where it cost twelve pee to pee.







This shot is of the first underground platform I encountered, although it wasn't unerground as you can see by the skylights. Harry Potter lives.


Our main object was to tour gardens and these are part of Hampton Court Palace gardens. We visited in the only rain we encountered but they were worth the damp tour.


We were getting bone-chilled and weary so we stopped in the tearoom for scones and tea. English scones could do serious damage if dropped on one’s toe but you can’t beat them for comfort food. Total cost for the two of us was $18.07 Canadian.


Nobody can beat the Brits for their pageantry, bless them. This was a shot of the Queen on her way back to the palace after opening parliament. Take my word for it, there is a Queen in that coach. We were surrounded by a zillion Bobbies, snipers on rooftops and Uzi-toting soldiers. Cozy.

About English Hotels

It's always a suprise when you meet your hotel room for the first time; forget the picture in the brochure—if that room exists it’s reserved for royalty.

After a gruelling flight intended for extremely tiny double-jointed people, we were so grateful for separate beds and our own bathroom that we didn’t mind having to suck in our breath and turn sideways to pass one another.


The bath posed another problem; there was a wonderfully deep tub but the only person who could get in intact while grasping the safety rail had to be at least six foot six.

This bathroom was a study in narrow and in order to reach one’s clothes, one places the tiny, by now soggy bath mat on the floor and scootches the feet slowly to the opposite end to the toilet, where the clothes are out of shower spray range.


The hotel provided a free continental breakfast and I’m not sure why that word “continental” should take the rap. We appreciated it though after taking a good look at meal prices.


What the hotel considered superfluous were wash cloths (I mean, those ears have got to be cleaned people), a piece of soap any larger than a gumdrop, Kleenex and ice machines (so sue me). They did provide, though, scented toilet paper and we considered whether a rash would ensue. So far so good.

Each of us was given a magnetized card to open the door. In order to turn on the lights you slip the card into a special slot beside the door and then turn on the light switches. When my pal went out one night to visit the Internet café she forgot about this system as she pulled out the card to take with her on her way out the door. I sat there in the dark, book in hand, wondering where I had put my card. I finally groped my way to my knapsack and found the elusive little thing, figuring I’d at least get a blog out of this.

There is the stench of smokers in the corridors everywhere although to their credit the staff gave us a non-smoking room so that didn’t smell.

I solved the ice dilemma for my evening martini. It would be too pricey to call room service just for ice so we walked two blocks to MacDonald’s and ordered a soft drink with lots and lots of ice. One person sipped and gulped as we raced the precious cargo raced back to the hotel. Much cheaper, and frankly a martini without ice is like ingesting a lethal weapon.

There was a civilized kettle in the room and I had brought my tea bags with me (fennel tea—not in large supply in the world.)

The staff was pleasant and helpful and we noticed that the constant tour groups moving through seemed to develop deep friendships with lots of hugging. Perhaps they were just grateful they hadn’t got lost.

The hotel was situated in a central spot where we could walk to Kensington Palace or the tube and in my daughter’s opinion, Buckingham Palace was a gentle stroll away instead of an energy-sapping, Mount Everest ordeal.

We had a ball.

English Signs

I loved being a tourist in Britain. It was fun to hear the clipped accents, some of which were English. I swear tourist overtook the Brits by eight to one.

This sign cracked me up.


I was afraid to ask for an explanation about this one.


This lane led to the river. The townies must go crazy on Saturday nights.


Dog owners beware.


This was the mailbox at Windsor Castle. It looked so regal.


The flowers were tucked in the gate to Kensington Palace. The card reads, "Never Forgotten." Good luck to Camilla—she’ll need it.


I caught a bit of this Macdonald’s menu at Gatwick Airport. A pound was worth $2.40.

Ah, Those Elusive English Gardens

Our reason for traveling to England was to cram in as many visits to English gardens as we could manage in one week.

We planned to base ourselves in a London hotel and take daily out-of-town bus trips until we were sated with the beauty and lushness of the gardens we longed to see.

Only thing is, the weather there is exactly like the weather here at this time of year so very little was in bloom. The tulips and bluebells were out and some azaleas, the wisteria was plentiful but that’s about it.

We managed to get our fix by taking a tour bus to the Cotswolds with hour-long stop-overs in three towns, where we wandered through the winding lanes and peered over privacy walls, digital cameras at the ready.

This is one of a small row of attached houses and they were begining to ready their entryway.

This was a pretty front garden bordered by a dry-stone wall, quarried locally from way back in time.

There is wisteria everywhere, some with trunks as thick as a wrestler's arms. I wish it would grow for me that way.

This house is perched beside the river. I'd be happy to move right in.


Another day we visited Windsor Castle and this garden was a delight. I don't envy them cutting the lawn.


If I can just think of a way to return in a month's time, the gardens will be bursting into summer bloom.

There's always the lottery--after all, someone always wins. Why not me?

Ah, those English Men

On this, my first morning back from England, I bolted out of bed at five, full of dismay.

Okay I admit this might have had something to do with my body still working on London time which is five hours ahead of us, but honestly I attribute this to realizing I hadn’t taken a single picture of English men. Fabulous, some of them and they had me absolutely slavering.

On my frequent tube rides, I dedicated my time to analyzing a particular group between twenty-five and fifty and yowzers, they were gorgeous. This group dressed in faultlessly tailored black suits, the whitest starched shirts you’ll ever see, a discreet tie and shoes so perfectly shined they could reflect your face. These men had perfect heads, a bit on the small side with equally perfect haircuts, clipped close to the head but nothing as abrupt as a buzz cut.

They carried soft-sided brief cases, looked as though they were about to do incredibly clever things at the office and all the while looking gorgeous.

If you’re planning a trip there any time soon, please take lots of pictures of these beauties and send them on to me.

I'm In Love

We return to Canada tomorrow and I am leaving my heart here--despite the unholy prices.

I will never figure out the pecking order for passing people on the sidewalk. some walk on the left, some on the right and some dead center. The trick is not to get mashed or tossed onto the road with traffic hurtling by two inches from the curb.

We watched the Queen ride by in her coach this morning, on her way to open parliament. We think Tony Blair was in the coach behind her--it looked like him.

We have done all the tourist things and don't regret a minute.

I love it when the voice over the P.A. system on the subway, says "alight from the train" when we would say "get off."

Then, when you're about to step off the subway, there is a gap big enough for a Yorkshire terrier to fall through, never mind the thirteen-inch drop to the platform. That's when the voice says, "Mind the gap."

There is no such thing as a cheap meal, although we have given it a good try.
Tonight for our last meal here we will just go into a restaurant and throw ourselves into the system. Macdonalds's will miss us but we won't miss them.

What an unbelievable week of walking over tombs hundreds of years old and visiting castles.

We saw very little of the other side--the poverty and homelessness.It's there but our hotel seems to be in a relatively affluent area.

Tomorrow we return to our real world and we'll miss this one.

Welcome Back "Stebe"

My travelling son has returned after three months of back- packing in Thailand.

On his first day back, we celebrated with lunch at what had been our favorite spot,Burger King, but he had some adjustment problems because there were no noodles on the menu. Such a scene he made at the counter while he pleaded for his precious noodles and he whimpered something about vegetables but the staff were firm.


With gentle support and a threat or two about starvation he has taken the first step back to the land of carbohydrates; it will take time but we feel he should make it.

He looks better here--we promised him noodles for dinner and he promised the staff never to return to their store.

Welcome back Steve.
And to Steve's new friends in Thailand:

Sawadee Cah!