A Brief Post … I’m Tired

Posted on June 5, 2024 by patricia emerson mitchell

There isn’t a ton to report for today, but I’ll quickly write so I don’t forget.

We began slowly, since checkout wasn’t until 11 and our train was scheduled for 12:02. But eventually the cab arrived, and we headed to the lounge at the station. We were there rather early (typical of us), and just hung out, watching and listening to a D-Day memorial program.

From there it was to the train and into our comfortable seats. I confess I mostly slept this time. Just one shot from a moving train. Thrilling, I’m sure.

And then we arrived at Kings X station in London! I always enjoy coming back to London, and this time it’s special because Brandon is here. We easily figured out how to get from Kings X to our hotel across the Thames, and settled in for a bit.

We are at The Mad Hatter Hotel. Maybe you can see evidence of that?

When we finally went out we just randomly walked in what someone here thought was the direction of The Tate Modern. Um … wrong! We reached The Eye, and then turned around and headed the other way.

At that point Brandon texted to say we could meet up, so we went to our hotel and met with him there, eating dinner in the pub connected to this place. It’s so great to see him! Last year we met up with Meghan and Jameson. This year it’s Brandon (missing Lia, though). It’s fabulous when your kids travel and then even want to spend time with you!

Now we are back in our room and it’s definitely time for some rest.

Tomorrow we spend the day with Brandon — he will direct things so we don’t have to think. I like that. I think. (<— see what I did there? How funny can I be? Um. Maybe don’t answer that.)

G’night!

Our (Wet) Day in York

Posted on June 4, 2024 by patricia emerson mitchell

We had hoped — or at least I did! — that we left wet weather behind when we left Scotland, but today proved us (me?) wrong.

We spend a bit of time in our room: Dan had the coffee they provided and I splurged and had the cocoa. Sometimes one just has to do that, right?

Then it was out and about again. We ended up on a street very clearly tied to Harry Potter. We also had ~~tea~~ coffee and scones with clotted cream. Sorry, UK, we just aren’t much for tea although I occasionally give it a go.

I had mentioned the tiny alleyways to Dan, called Snickelways. We found a few, and that worked for us (there are a ton and we certainly didn’t need to find them all).

We then searched for the city wall. Hm. Found it, could barely walk it because it was closed shortly after we began, due to safety reasons. Ah well. At least we saw it!

This is out of order … but you don’t know that and it hardly matters, right?

With the rain we headed to an indoor restaurant for lunch. Nothing remarkable. Nothing bad. Just a small meal and a lemonade. (Hm. Lemonade in the rain? Well, it worked fine.)

At some point (maybe right after lunch) we went back to our room. I was tired and just needed a rest. Dan patiently put up with me!

From there it was a glass of something (wine for me, beer for Dan) in the lounge of our place, and finally we headed to evensong at York Minster.

WELL SHOOT!

By the time we arrived we were told we had to sit in the next room (sorry, I don’t know the terms for these places!). We stuck around, but I could barely follow what they were singing. So that was a disappointment. I guess I should have researched. But it was great to see the church — it’s quite a place! We weren’t allowed to take photos, though.

From there it was dinner time and we had a light dinner (pasta) nearby.

Then back to our place again, having passed by another building that was rather questionable … how does it stay standing, I wonder?!

Just a very short hop from our room to this view …

And “home” … for one more night.

The next five nights are elsewhere, and I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to blog with photos each night. Time will tell.

For now … nighty-night!

Hello England!

Posted on June 3, 2024 by patricia emerson mitchell

We hung out at our Edinburgh hotel for a time since our train didn’t leave until 1:00, but eventually it was time to call a taxi, since we had to check out by 11:00.

Goodbye Edinburgh!

Then we had the joy of navigating the train station. It’s a large one, and the first thing we needed to find was the lounge. It took us a while, but we did manage to get there. From there we went to track 9. That meant taking a lift up, and another down. We got into our first class seats, and could then relax. And eat. Food came with the tickets.

The train ride itself was just fine, but both of us are pretty tired at the moment so we mostly closed our eyes. Not sleeping … but trying to in any case.

And then we arrived in our next spot … York! We caught a taxi to our lodging …

No, not where we are staying … just a place on the way there.

… and while the room is tiny I’m happy to say it is a vast improvement over the Edinburgh place. Expedia gets some bad marks for what they touted as a decent place to stay. The smell of mildew really came through once the stuff they spray to try and hide it dissipated. The toilet didn’t always flush well. Twice there was no hot water for showers. And it was just generally in very poor condition. (I know, I know, first world problems and I should just deal!)

But now we are at Middletons Hotel, and while our room is “cozy” (that means tiny), it is just fine and we are here for two nights of cozy comfort.