Okay, to be honest, Dan’s alarm went off at 4:00, so he woke up then. Mine was set to 4:15. But he must have hit snooze so after he got up his alarm went off again and I figured I might as well rise as well.
We were fully packed yesterday, aside from things like iPads and watches, so we just had to deal with our showers and doing a few small tasks. Still, it took about an hour to do those things.
Our flight was leaving from SFO. Oh how I wish we could do SJC for a change … and a closer airport. But so it goes.
Dan did the driving, and we were both a bit surprised by the number of cars already on the road. Gee, I guess people have to work! Go figure.
We parked, took the tram (or whatever it’s called) to the terminal, and went into the lounge where we could have mediocre coffee and breakfast. But hey, it didn’t cost anything, so there’s that. Then it was a lot of waiting time. Time in which I could start today’s blog entry and then read.
We easily boarded the plane and managed to get the luggage stored right above us — that’s not always possible as people tend to put their luggage closer to the front of the plane rather than at their own seats, but since Dan gets to be in boarding group one (thus I do too!) we were in pretty quickly.
Then we sat for about 45 minutes as they said our take off was delayed. I did more reading and I do believe I slept a bit.
Our flight, when we finally did take off, was unremarkable and easy, and we saw some nice snow-covered peaks. (Bad photos, but oh well!)
Once we landed we made our way to the train (they call it something else) to get us to the location where Dan’s brother picked us up. Then we drove to Richard and Diane’s place.
Hello, Woodinville, Washington!
We did a ton of talking, snacking, and eventually ate dinner. Ruth Ann had joined us as well, and it was great to see her. She drove on her own from her home in California and I am rather impressed, as I’m not sure I could be so adventurous.
I could write more, but having been up since 4:00 AM or thereabouts I’m absolutely exhausted. I would imagine this post is both boring and full of errors but so be it: my brain is fried!
Maybe tomorrow I’ll actually take a few good photos. But who knows?
I have a spreadsheet (surprise, surprise) for flights. As I’m trying to figure out an upcoming trip I have to keep track of so many options. We have three flights to deal with. We have two potential departure dates. And it’s crazy making! (Warning: this post is crazy making too … I’m not sure how understandable it is!)
I won’t divulge where we are going or the dates (you know me — those must remain a surprise!), but I just printed out all that I’ve put together for Dan and here are the basics he has to go over:
[insert date of first flight here]
Option One: I do legs one and two together, saving the third leg for later First group of three options includes one class of seat for leg one, and a different class for the second leg. I always list things for one ticket only. Paying with: Option 1: ALL $$ — I list the cost and I list the PQP earned Option 2: Money & Miles — I list the cost, miles needed, and the PQP earned Option 3: Miles — I list the cost (they do have to charge a small fee of $5.60), miles needed, and the PQP earned
THEN I do that same thing with all the same seat class rather than two different ones.
After that I have to list the third leg of the trip, again doing the three options. It’s a shorter flight so I only go with the basic seats.
Finally I put all THREE legs in one, doing, again, the same three options, and doing two combos of seat class.
Are you confused? I sure am!
I repeat all of this with a different starting date (just one day later in this case, and the preferable departure date but it’s so much much more we’ll probably have to opt for the earlier day).
From there I have to do math. Me. Math. Ugh. We have options and I want to figure out the very best one. Here are my options at this point and I have to do them all for both starting dates I’ve done:
For the two leg + one leg bit: Both of us pay $$ for the first two legs and then use miles coming home One pays $$ and the other uses $ and Miles and we both pay $$ coming home One pays $$ and the other uses $ and Miles for both legs One pays $$ and the other uses All Miles and we both pay $$ coming home (We don’t have enough miles for both of us to do the miles bit so I do get to skip that.)
Then I have to do the math for the three in one leg data: Both of us pay $$ One pays $$ and the other uses $ and Miles One pays $$ and the other uses All Miles
Of course the cost of flights changes nearly every day, so I play this game numerous times. Some days the price has changed by thirty cents, sometimes by thirty dollars or more. You just never know and I’ve yet to make any sense of it.
At this point I’m still playing the plane game, but I hope that ends soon.
If you’ve read all that and made any sense of it you should get a gold star, by the way.
Trains are, in many ways, so much easier. There are price changes on some trains, so it’s good to book at the right time — too soon or too late and you pay more. Finding that middle spot isn’t always easy. Some train prices (regionals are usually this way) never change price. And I always have to remind myself to tick the box that says I want to choose my seat: why that isn’t automatic is a mystery to me!
Once our flights are set I will work on trains that are most important first, and then move on to the ones with a ton of options. I try to choose a train that departs shortly after the check-out time at a hotel, hoping it arrives in the next spot about when we can check in, but I also always check to see if the next hotel will allow us to leave luggage if we are too early.
Okay … now then, what about elevators?!
Dan and I had our fair share (more, really) of stairs on our last trip. We had no choice, and of course we dealt with it, but this time I thought I’d be sure and see if elevators were in as many places as possible, so on my spreadsheet I have a box to tick for that. I had also read, though, that the star system in European countries is state mandated and if it’s a three star in at least one country we’ll be visiting it must have an elevator. So I found a hotel that works well, with strong recommendations, and it’s three star. With no elevator! Say what?! I thought it was state mandated. So more research ensued. (I really enjoyed using the word “ensued” … you don’t know how satisfied I feel right now!)
It turns out that if it’s an older, historical building, they can ignore that elevator requirement. Heh. Go figure.
Ah well … at least we have no boats or cars to schedule on this trip! At least not to my knowledge.
And now, please enjoy a flower from our last trip. (For those who don’t know, I post a flower every day on my photography site and this one is today’s flower.)
We had our final “free” (not really!) breakfast. I only mean “free” as in we didn’t have to pay for it this morning: we paid a good amount for this walk and breakfasts were included. From the breakfast area it was back to our room to just hang out for a bit since the train Dan and I would take didn’t leave until 10:55. Greg and Jan were still figuring out their next step as some of their plans had changed, but they later texted that they were catching the earlier, 9:55 train to Oxford to collect a rental car.
That didn’t mean we wouldn’t see them again, as we are all are headed to the same destination for today!
We woke to cloudy skies, and occasional showers. It appears we are now in for more rain on the trip so my rain jacket and hat are out, ready to be put to use. Goodbye, Moreton-in-Marsh. Goodbye, Cotswolds. I will miss you.
When it was time, we checked out and walking in light rain to our train. It wasn’t a long wait before we boarded. We would have about an hour’s ride to our first stop. The first photo below is from our room. The rest are just walking to the station. Thrilling, I’m sure. Should you wish to have a print of them I can do a stunning one for you. Or not.
Views from the train … including the “Oxford blur”. I hope you know that’s how one is supposed to shoot the Oxford train station. Or perhaps the train was moving too fast. Hmmm.
Then we arrived at our first destination of the day, Reading. (Rhymes with “wedding”. Not the Monopoly Reading.) Why Reading, you ask? Well, we would have arrived at our final destination too soon to check in and I thought, “Why not check out Reading on the way?) Besides we had to switch trains there anyway. So there we were. In the rain. We got of the train and first headed to a place called Top Gun Tattooing. It was time. We both needed tattoos.
Or maybe not. It actually was the place we would leave our luggage while we ambled. There are several companies that have this service and I used one called “Bounce”. You look up the city you’re in, see where spots are to leave luggage, and pay a fee to drop bags off. It’s quite handy. And you might just end up at a tattoo parlor.
So the luggage was dropped off, and we rambled.
We walked through a bit of a park until we came to the Abbey Ruins. Then it was getting a bit rainy again so we went out to look for a spot to eat.
We found an Irish pub. Yes, in England. It had a lot of TVs showing the Stanley Cup. It seemed odd to watch hockey in an Irish pub. I had a salad, Dan had sausages and mash, and we both had zero zero beer.
At that point we just decided to head back to the train station. I took exciting photos. You’re welcome.
We got on our train, kicked someone out of one of our seats (I would have been fine sitting in the row in front, but he moved so whatever). And aside from a few shots I spaced out.
And then we arrived … Hello, Bath Spa!
We made our way out of the station and stood in the taxi line. Traffic was awful so taxis were slow to arrive, but we did finally get one. The driver explained that road work was being done everywhere and it was messing things up. He did get us to our destination, though, and gosh, there were stairs to climb to get to the front door! We checked in and gosh, there were more stairs to get to our room! We are becoming experts at climbing stairs with luggage. Granted, the man who checked us in to this B&B offered to help, but pride didn’t allow me to take him up on his offer. (And now “Pride goeth before the fall” has a meaning I hope not to demonstrate.) Our room is sort of your typical B&B room, and it has a nice view outside. A view that showed me it had started to rain somewhat significantly again.
I started this blog entry (and hooray for a better connection that allows pictures to load pretty easily) and Dan started a short nap. (My writing took longer than his nap.)
Our B&B is on one side of the River Avon, and the main part of Bath is on the other. We are up a hill. It’s probably 20 or more minutes to get into the part of Bath we are going to want to see. We are going to have a great excuse to eat too much. (As if we need that.) I do look forward to investigating the area, but I sure hope it doesn’t rain every day.
We decided, finally, to take that 20 minute walk and headed down the hill and over the river.
We wound up at Sally Nunn’s Eating House. I’d seen a list of “don’t miss” things and that was on said list, although I believe it was more about the afternoon tea. They had room for us so in we went. we both had the “Set Trencher Dinner”. Loads more food than I could eat, but tasty. Comfort food kind of tasty — nothing gourmet, but quite yummy.
It was then time to walk back, although we took a small detour past the Bath Abbey. Then we continued.
It began to rain lightly, and it was rather windy. (And I had thought I was done with rain gear and warm clothes!) And then there was a rainbow. We continued our walk and the rainbow was still there. Lovely!
Then more walking up the hill. And up the stairs.
Tomorrow we can be lazy: we have a 9:00 breakfast since the earlier times were already taken. I’m fine with that. We’ve risen earlier so much that a little later will be enjoyed.
Toodle-oo!
(What with train rides and rain and all my stats today aren’t as great, but they’ll do! Plus, of course, when comparing all of our watches it makes it pretty darn clear these aren’t perfectly accurate!) 12,318 steps, 4.74 miles, 11 flights climbed.
Today began with hotel coffee since they had a Nespresso machine and that coffee isn’t too bad. We’ve avoided all the little packets of freeze dried (at least I’m assuming it’s freeze dried), but Nespresso will do. I’ve yet to figure out the kinds of coffee though: there were three colors and none were labeled (so Dan can’t figure out if any are decaf). After getting dressed (for me) it was just waiting until Dan was also ready so we could head on out.
Our first destination, or so we thought, was to be Elizabeth Fort. It wasn’t open to enter, we knew, but we at least wanted to walk by. So off we went, taking some photos as we walked, Dan with his Fuji and me with the iPhone for the moment.
We managed to get sidetracked — no surprise — when we saw this church, St. Finn Barre’s. We shot from the outside, as the gate was closed, but soon a man came up with a key. I suspect opening to get ready for the service. But he said, “Let me open it for you.”
Do you see the gold angel (perhaps easiest to see in the fourth photo)? Apparently the architect of the church, William Burgess, put it there and the legend is that if it should ever fall the world will end.
From there we continued on our way to the fort. I saw the organist’s house and the choristers’ house, but I couldn’t find the oboist’s house. Strange.
Some of the photos of a wall above are from the fort. I neglected to take a photo of the entrance. Oops!
Our next destination was a good walk away. For the first time on this trip I was actually getting too warm while walking. Where did that sun come from?! But on we walked.
I saw a fork in the road but I didn’t take it.
And then we arrived: this was the Marina Market. I thought perhaps it was a market that would have, oh, you know … things that are in a market. Veggies. Fruits. Meats. But no, it wasn’t that kind of market. The area around this is run down, with lots of vacant buildings, broken windows and all. I think they are attempting to change the area. (One building is going to be housing with 25 stories and it’s so strange as they are starting by building two extremely tall — gee, maybe 25 stories tall! — skinny structures, but the photos show a more normal looking building. I should have taken a photo of what is to be the finished structure, but of course I neglected to do so. Oh well.)
But I ramble. Back to the Market. As we started to get close I saw a little girl carrying a tiny violin case. When we reached the entrance of the market I saw why: there was to be a Suzuki performance there. Sweet!
The entrance:
When we entered the building we saw a large number of food options so we toured the entire building in order to search for our first meal of the day.
We settled on a place and while Dan ordered our breakfasts I headed to the coffee spot and ordered our coffees. It took a while to get our food, but oh dear … SO MUCH FOOD! Here I thought today would be a day on which to be responsible. Never mind. I opted for the vegetarian meal and Dan went for the meat. We should have ordered one meal and shared and had we known how much would be in our “breakfast box” we would have. Too late to do that, though. And no, I couldn’t finish. Nor could Dan.
After we ate we walked by the Suzuki concert. I shot only a very short bit. But so doggone sweet to see all those young musicians!
After our meal we ventured back out, ready to walk to our next destination: the train station.
We bought our tickets for a 25 minute or so round trip, and also purchased tickets for a tour at our next destination, and shortly after boarded the train and headed out.
And hello Midleton! We had another mile or so walk then. Since we were early for our tour we looked at a few other things in the village. Every village we’ve been in, be it Ireland or Scotland, always has memorials to the war or wars.
And then it was time for our Jameson Whiskey Tour! We of course had to go to the distillery since they clearly named it after our youngest! Heh. Or not. We hung out for a bit, shopped a little, and finally the tour began. It was really very informative and I enjoyed it. It ended with a sampling of three high end whiskeys. My only complaints about the tasting: it was rather rushed and they didn’t have the little bottles that Talisker had so if you couldn’t finish your whiskey (and who could in that short time?) you just had to leave it behind. Too bad! From there we were taken to another spot where they gave us a final drink. Dan and I opted for the whiskey with lime and tonic water (at least we think it was tonic water). Yum!
Do you see the wings above? That’s representing the “angels’ share” of whiskey. As it ages it evaporates and they say they it rises up and the angels get it. The longer it ages the less whiskey you get from a cask, which can explain why older whiskies cost so much. I also showed a photo of the final whiskey we could sample. It is €240 a bottle! It could only be purchased there, I believe, and no, we didn’t buy a bottle.
When the tour was finished we started our walk back to the train station.
We had about twenty minutes to wait. I was fine with that, as I was quite tired of standing. Then on to the train we went.
I wish I’d taken a photo of the tons of people (most in red shirts that resemble soccer shirts in the states) who were getting on to the train. Wow! BUT as we walked back to find dinner (as if we needed food) there were absolute masses of sports fans. We had noticed some when we were at the Marina Market in the morning and since so many were young children we assumed it was a sports event for children. Nope. It was Cork versus Clare.
But what were they playing? Well, I had to look it up and here’s the answer I received:
Cork defeated Clare by 1-30 to 1-14 in Round 5 of the Munster Senior Hurling Championship on Sunday May 24th at Supervalu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
So now you know.
As we looked for dinner we continued to run into crowds of people. Some were walking to who knows where, some were at bus stops, and many were at various drinking establishments. Most were in the red and white shirts, Cork’s colors. Clare’s colors are saffron and blue (as I later looked up to verify) and I did see a few of those, and one little boy looked rather dejected as he was walking. Poor guy! I wish I’d gotten a good photo of the crowds, but honestly it was hard to get through some areas so I could only grab this one after we made our way through.
We were searching for a place with room for us, so we could grab a bite. We went into one place, thinking it might work for dinner, but the noise was deafening. Thankfully we did find a place called The Raven (looked like no Cork fans were there) and we ordered, surprise, surprise, far too much food. I think I need a fasting day! I had a shrimp sandwich and Dan had chicken. HOW he managed to eat that huge thing is a wonder, don’t you think?
From there we walked back to the hotel. A bit of laundry was done, and I got this entry typed up. What a long and full day it’s been!
We had a lazy morning: our train was to depart at 11:30 and we didn’t have to check out of the hotel until 11:00. We aren’t so brave as to check out that late, though, for an 11:30 train. Odds are that would work fine, as it’s just a 10 minute drive away, but we like to allow time for any problems that might arise.
After hanging out in the room for a bit we went out to get breakfast. (Since I normally don’t even eat breakfast I sure wonder how much weight I’ve already gained!) Cinnamon rolls and coffee were enjoyed.
We walked back to the hotel to check out and had them call a taxi. Said taxi didn’t seem to show up in the one minute they promised, but another cab dropped some folks off so we grabbed that. The driver was a nice guy and he asked how soon our train was leaving. We told him we had plenty of time and he proceeded to talk about the people who head to the airport with no time to spare. We assured him we always allow time for either train or plane. (Dan knows me well enough to know I’m not a risk taker, and I think he is also quite careful about making it to stations with time to spare.) I took a couple of photos as we said goodbye to Dublin.
We reached the train station, entered knowing we had extra time, and went to a store there to grab something to eat on the train. This particular train had no food to purchase, but I’d prefer picking things up in any case since it’s less expensive off of the train. We waited only a short time for our track number, and when it seemed as if it should have been announced we went up to the spot I thought would scan our tickets but the man there looked at them and pointed us on to a further walk, telling us we were on track 7. As we walked Dan said he thought it was actually track 8 since he saw that on a board and, sure enough, it was 8. It was a good reminder to always double check!
Our car was the second to last. Of course! I told Dan, since we were in car B, that we’d either be right near the front or all the way back. Figures it was the latter. Our seats were in the row right by the door so that was easy, but there was no luggage rack there (I’m guessing I chose those seats because I thought our luggage would be right behind us!) so Dan had to lift the suitcases into the space above us. Even his large suitcase fit there, but lifting it? Well, that was a challenge … but a young man was behind us and offered to put it up for us. Whew! Sometimes it’s not fun to realize we are unable to do things like that any longer, but as Dan said, he’d lifted luggage for other so much so this was just okay.
Soon the train was departing. As it went I did shoot a few photos, including the stops we took.
And then we arrived. Hello Galway!
Oh — and hello rain. Not at all surprising: it seems our trip has been full of rain.
We had to get our rain jackets out of our luggage, but then we took a very easy three minute walk to our hotel. It’s sort of on the edge of the main part of Galway that people visit, and it’s a fine spot. It’s also very expensive. I was rather shocked at prices here for lodging, but maybe it’s because people come here to then go to the Aran Islands. (When we left our room to investigate the area we saw a van advertising eight minute flights — yes, really — to the Islands.)
We are back to the smaller “king size” bed, but so be it. The view from our window … well … see for yourself!
Once we were somewhat settled and got anything of value we didn’t want to cart around in the safe we went out. I didn’t bother with the Fuji camera due to rain. We eventually got to the Latin Quarter (yep, in Galway). I’d heard that you could find a lot of Irish music spots there. We walked through the area looking in at shops and pubs and a rather amazing bookstore, and also ambled into less populated areas. Street art is all over the place.
From there we walked over to the water, where what I think is an estuary (thank you, Dan!) goes to the sea. It was racing out pretty wildly! We crossed over a bridge and read about and saw what used to be a lock as well.
At that point it was nearly dinner time, so we went back to where the crowds were now gathering and tried to find a place we could hear some music and enjoy a meal. Two places were impossible to get into, and we then went to a place where music had yet to start and, toward the very back, found a place to sit. Dan ordered a couple of beers while I held the seats. What we didn’t know until he returned was that it wasn’t a place for dinner. So we sat, enjoyed piped in music until whoever played arrived, and then barely heard the musicians since they were so far away and the place was packed so it was quite noisy. Ah well. Tomorrow we will plan better!
After our beers we left and went to find a place to eat. Nothing really worked in the Latin Quarter (crowds!), so eventually we just opted to eat at the hotel restaurant. First we went to our room to drop some things off. But what did we find? Um. The “safe” wasn’t so safe since we neglected to close it. Hah!
The restaurant downstairs was quiet, which was nice, and we sat and ordered: Dan ordered salmon and I ordered chicken. When they brought our meals both of us had chicken. Oh well! He opted not to tell them, and the food was actually quite good. Typical of me, I forgot to take a photo until I’d eaten most of the food so I think I’ll skip sharing my meal here. Just imagine a nice plate of chicken, peas with pearl onions, and mashed potatoes. (I must say we are getting more than our fill of potatoes and I am actually getting tired of them, which I wasn’t sure was possible.)
And now we are back in our room. I’ll finish up this blog entry and get ready for bed. (But meanwhile I just received a notice that we have a power outage at home. Sometimes I wish I didn’t get these messages, as there’s not a thing I can do about it.)
Tomorrow I think we’ll walk to Salt Hill, as I’ve heard it’s a lovely walk. I think we have seen much of what there is to see in the center of Galway.
I’ll start by writing about sleep. On a train. On a top bunk.
Or maybe I’ll just write that I did a whole lot of reading through the night. I figure if I can’t sleep I may as well work on finishing my book.
But, really, the train was fine. The ride was smoother than some, and the top bunk, while needing a new mattress, worked okay. I do think, though, that it’s our last time getting this kind of room. If we do another sleeper train I’ll be seventy or older and climbing up and down a ladder that is completely upright is not an easy feat. This train has a double room and while the bed is tiny I’d just work on making myself as small as possible and share it with Dan.
We woke at 6:30 and got dressed. Oh … that, too, is rather humorous. I didn’t want to climb down while Dan was getting dressed because there really isn’t room for the two of us to get dressed on the “ground floor”. So there I am, on my back, attempting to put clothes on. I’m sure I looked hysterically funny.
Then we went to the dining car for our breakfast. We had ordered a full Scottish, nice coffee (decaf espresso for Dan, cappuccino for me), and orange juice. As has been so very typical on this trip, something wasn’t available. This time it happened to be the coffee, because their machine wasn’t working. So we both got “coffee in a bag” … like a tea bag but filled with coffee, as you might have guessed. Not quite the same as the nicer coffees we wanted, but nothing to weep about. Publicly, anyway.
As we waited for our meal (orange juice had already arrived), a younger couple (okay, okay, nearly everyone is younger that the two of us!) sat down. They were clearly speaking American English, and I think Dan asked where they were from. “California.” “We are too! Where in California?” “San Jose.” Heh … talk about coincidences. And they live somewhat nearby. Crazy!
Our meal appeared. (Darn, I forgot to take a photo of that — all I did was this “before shot” above.) Breakfast was fine, but being as I don’t eat at that time of day I couldn’t come close to finishing mine. And yes, it included haggis. And no, I wasn’t even repulsed. (I apologize to my vegetarian and vegan friends.)
Back to our room we went, preparing for our arrival. (Below you can see the pretty view from the hallway window, and the hallway itself, looking both ways.)
It didn’t take very long.
Hello Inverness!
We opted to take a taxi to our lodging, in order to drop off luggage. It was only a bit before 9:00AM and with check-in being 4:00 we sure didn’t want to be hauling it around. We quickly dropped the luggage off at Aye Stay, which happens to be around the corner from where we stayed when we did the Great Glen Way walk.
Then it was walking time. Lots of memories!
Since we missed out on good coffee earlier we went to get that. Of course it would just be wrong to have coffee on its own, so we suffered and ordered a couple of croissants. Sometimes you just have to be brave and suffer, you know?
More walking …
I thought maybe Dan would want to take the stairs you see above. Then he could return and tell me if it was worth going up. He, however, didn’t agree with me.
We eventually reached the castle. When we did our walk in 2023 the castle was covered in fencing because it was being fixed up. Now it was looking quite nice, but I can’t say it’s the kind of castle I enjoy — it’s newer than many. I like the old and decrepit ones. (Is it maybe because I can relate to those? Hmm.) We didn’t go in. They have turned it into an experience and when I saw all the stuff in the photos at their site I knew it just wasn’t our cuppa plus it was costly. So we just walked around.
While doing that walking Dan noticed a museum below it, so after the castle we headed that way.
Well, we didn’t last long! We’d both slept (or not slept) so fitfully last night that Dan hit the wall and while I didn’t feel tired I felt like I was going to faint. (That’s more likely to my having food too early in the day, and not having enough water.) So while we didn’t plan to have lunch we headed to a restaurant just so we could sit, drink water, and eat a bit.
The restaurant wasn’t worth photos or writing about, but we were happy to spend time there.
Leaving the place, we walked more, and investigated places for dinner. We had crossed the river Ness when it began to rain so we popped into a small spot for tea (for me) and, if I’m remembering correctly, espresso for Dan. No food this time. We didn’t really even need the drinks, but it was a way to get out of the rain since we’d not brought our umbrellas.
Yes, that was silly. It’s Scotland, after all!
The rain died down so we went into a few touristy shops just to enjoy the beautiful wool clothing, then did more restaurant research, and just walked a wee bit more. (Can you hear my Scottish accent now?) I loved this busker sign …
Finally it was check-in time so we aimed toward Aye Stay, passing by an episcopal church on the way that had some trees blossoming to the side — just gorgeous.
We picked up our key (no one is at this place … you just find your room number on a board and then find the corresponding key), and found we were on the first floor. So some stair climbing ensued. I believe I counted nineteen steps. I’m glad my suitcase is small. Too bad for Dan!
Our room is quite nice, and I’m not on the top bunk!
The photo above is the view from our room.
One of us then took a nap while the other started her blogging for the day.
As we were sitting in our room the wind got pretty wild. We weren’t sure if we would go back to the city center for dinner or eat closer to “home”. I knew that if that wind continued I did not want to go over the bridge.
And no, we didn’t go over. Not because of wind, though: that had died down. But we were just taking it easy, and opted for a short walk. I ordered soup of the day (split pea) and mussels. They even brought me a bowl of water with a lemon to clean my hands after eating the mussels. That was something I’ve not had before, but it was a great addition. Both my plates were from the appetizer section. Dan ordered Chicken Balmoral. All was yummy.
Walking home the church bells began. I recorded just a bit … and do excuse the video work: we were walking and I wasn’t being very steady.
The theater near us had a poster for Marriage of Figaro. Sadly we’ll be long gone by the time they get here.
Oh … side note … I forgot to mention the games my ears play when I’m in certain environments. As I was attempting (and failing) to sleep on the train there was train noise, of course. But what my brain and ears tell me is that a radio station of rock music is playing. Later it was a crowd cheering. Sometimes just people all talking. I don’t know that that’s about my bad left ear. I tend to think it’s just my brain trying to make sense out of noise. Or maybe I’m just weird.
Stop nodding your heads, please!
I think I’ll try to remember to post walking info here. I am well aware it’s not always accurate, but it’s just fun to see what my watch thinks I did. As long as it’s high enough I’ll agree with it. 18,048 steps, 7.15 miles, 7 flights climbed
When it was time, we were told we could board the train. We walked and walked … I think our car was the second to last. We used our room key to enter room 2 in car P. Such a tiny room, but it’ll do.
Taking this train is costly, but it allows us to have one night lodging, a train to our next location, and breakfast. Plus it means we don’t lose a day in travel.
We managed to get things into the room, although Dan’s luggage wouldn’t fit under the bed. After filling out our breakfast form we walked it down to the dining car. We weren’t required to walk it there, but just figured we’d do it anyway. We asked for a 7:00 dining time, but were told it could be 6:45 or 7:15, as 7:00 had already been filled up. 7:15 it is.
This means we get up around 6:30. I set my watch alarm and my phone alarm since I’m never sure if I’ll feel the watch or hear the the phone but between the two surely one will work!
After tooth brushing and all I climbed the ladder to my bed. It’s all rather funny attempting to maneuver on the top bunk, but I managed and as I write this I’m just hoping I sleep some.
Of course I can’t post this until tomorrow, so stay tuned and I’ll fill you in on the sleep bit.
I was so tired by 9PM last night I had to get to sleep. And sleep I did … until about 1AM. Then it was four hours of wakefulness. This wasn’t unexpected, but still annoying! Looking at the bright side, though, I didn’t have restless legs so I could just lie in bed. A dark side? Well, a Traviata ear worm was driving me batty. I think I need to listen to some music today in order to remove that thing. Of course it will just be replaced by something else. I very rarely don’t have an ear worm.
I did get back to sleep eventually, and then woke at 8:30AM. The other traveler here was still asleep, but he’d said to set an alarm for 9:00 so we’ll see if that gets him to stir. I could tell he was awake a lot in the night as well (we never talk — I suspect he feels the same way I do: don’t add anything that might cause sleep to become even more difficult. I’ll have to ask him about that!)
After Dan woke it was shower and pack time. By the time we were ready to head out it was nearing the time we had to check out (11:00 AM), so we did that, left our luggage at the hotel, and went out in search of a spot to eat and get coffee.
As we walked out I spotted a plaque on our hotel wall.
A short walk later we found a nice place, Dolce London, and enjoyed a leisurely meal that should cover us for both breakfast and lunch. (We do try to keep to a two meal plus an afternoon snack plan on these trips.)
Then we walked on one of our random walks. This place caught my eye.
Then, surprise, surprise, we happened upon King’s Cross Central and a lot of new things. We hadn’t heard about this before. Maybe we should have? Dunno. But an old spot that has been completely altered. It was fun to wander through.
And then just a lot more wandering, eventually going over Black Friar’s Bridge (we walked past The Mad Hatter Inn — the place we stayed last time we were here — but I didn’t bother with a photo).
For our afternoon snack, which was mostly about sitting down a bit, we ended up at Black Sheep Coffee (or whatever the chain is called). No coffee for me, though.
At that point we had to decide how to get back to the hotel. We opted to walk a bit further so we could head over the Millennium Bridge. We took a few alley detours as we went, shot a couple of signs for the info they gave, and made a bank visit so we could pay cash for dinner. Then to the hotel we went.
We opted to eat right at the hotel. It was just easy and that’s what we were ready for.
When Dan pulled the cash out (we wanted to get some change which is why we wanted to pay with cash) we were informed that they didn’t take cash. Heh. Shoulda thunk it. This seems to be more and more common.
Getting our luggage we walked to Euston Station for our train adventure. Because we have the sleeper car we could relax in the lounge and listen to far too many people coughing. Oh dear … we’ll see what happens next, I guess. (Dan and I did get a Covid booster before our trip.)
So here we sit. And here we blog. I will post this before I fill you in on what’s next since we haven’t a clue what kind of WiFi we will get on the train. I know sometimes it works. I also know sometimes it doesn’t.
And no, Dan isn’t unhappy. I just caught him looking serious. I think it’s his, “Don’t mess with me,” look. Maybe?
Anyway, stay tuned … just maybe I can post the rest of the story from the train. I can dream.
We’ve had a trip planned for quite a while. Flights have been purchased. (And how we hope nothing gets canceled, but we have to be ready, of course.) Trains are scheduled, along with one bus.
About these trains! What an adventure that is!
Some trains were purchased early. Possibly too early — the prices could have dropped more, who knows? Some were purchased late because they only became available later. Some that I thought would be a straight shot ended up with a transfer. Two then turned out to include a few hours in towns where we can spend a bit of time in before moving on. One was split in two not because I opted to do it but because that particular train company said “it’s cheaper if you split this in two but you can stay in the same seats and same train.” Okay then. On one day we have three trains to take, each leg being with a different train company. (The UK has a LOT of train companies!)
Oooh … guess I just gave you a clue about where we are headed, eh?
But we aren’t headed there quite yet: I have four more opera performances (La Traviata, to be precise), and a few more lessons to teach. When we do board our first plane I plan on a celebratory glass of bubbly: retirement will have been achieved!
Meanwhile, I’m not only packing in my head (which I do for months), but I’m starting to set things out to get a feel for what I must bring, what I should bring, and what I want to bring. The must column will certainly go in the pack. The should list probably will. The wants? Well, that all depends upon weight!
Speaking of weight … yes, I weigh things. A lot. I was thinking of bringing certain pants, but then I weighed those and compared to some new ones I’m feeling are working well and nixed that first pair. I weigh shoes in order to decide which pair I’ll pack (only two pair of shoes for this trip). I weigh purses to choose just one. I weigh underwear and socks. I weigh … well … everything. Because every ounce counts!
But in any case, things are getting set out (currently on top of my printers), so I can get a handle on the all of it. It looks like a lot, but things will get put inside packing cubes and it’s amazing how it all fits. Most everything is merino wool, and that fabric can easily be rolled and squished and still come out looking pretty darn nice.
What a mess, eh? But no worries, it’ll all get sorted!
I’m attempting to use the Sudoku Method for packing this time. Heard of it? After putting it together three of these items (one of each — top, bottom, layer) will be worn on the plane which cuts down, obviously on what gets packed.
When I make the final choices I’ll try to take a photo to show people what I’ve opted to choose. Maybe. Sort of. Unless I cheat.
I would love to say we can manage with carryon only, but we are on one smaller plane going to and from one country, God willing: those are the flights most likely to get canceled because of this abomination of a war someone in our country jumped into on a whim. Sigh. Those little planes are also much more picky about weight and we might not be able to keep our bags as light as they require. 10kg … can we do it? Dunno! That’s 22 pounds, and honestly I really don’t want to carry more than that on my back in any case. The carryon bag/suitcase/pack has to measure 21,5″ x 15.5″ x 9.5″ and for that I’m okay. But then the personal item can only be 15.5″ x 11.5″ x 8″. Mine is 16″ x 12″ x 5″. So the big question is just how picky are they and am I willing to take a chance? I’ll have to ponder that. Or buy a new personal size bag. I’ve been reading up and it appears I’ll probably be fine but …??
So what else has been done or needs to be done?
Well, today we got Covid shots and then drove to get our International Driving Permits. We have a house sitter who can stay here, as well as neighbors who always keep an eye on our place. Mail has been stopped for a month (and then I have to stop it again since we are gone for other a month). Our house sitter can collect a stack of what I’m sure will mostly be junk mail when that first stop comes to an end. Well, junk mail and all the money people are going to send me because they want to sponsor the trip. Right?
RIGHT!!! (I can hear you all agreeing with me. So thanks!)
We woke nice (?) and early. Dan, in fact, woke up before his alarm went off. I was nearly packed, so that took no time at all. Dan was quite speedy in his packing so I think he’ll get some sort of medal at a later date.
We checked out, went outside, and our Uber car was already there. (Turns out ordering it a day ahead meant we paid about 5€ more, however.)
When we reached the station it was too early to even see our train listed. We bought coffees ad croissants, and sat for a bit. Travel days are a lot of sitting.
The train was a speedy one. I snapped some photos from my nice big window, as well as some videos.
We only stopped in one place before heading to CDG. At that station a woman came in to the train and I could tell she was confused about her seat. Or, perhaps (could it be?) I was confused earlier. One of us was in her seat and ours were in front of the pair we took. Oops. I’m going to blame the early rising. (Why not?!)
We left Brussels at 7:17 and arrived at CDG terminal 2 at 8:59.
Then it was navigating: first we dropped off our checked luggage which took a bit of a walk. Then it was a walk to border control. And then there was quite the line. You have to have your passport scanned by a machine, then you walk in a small space and have your face scan, and finally go up and have your passport stamped. That took much longer than we had expected. From there we hiked (okay, maybe walked. Maybe even strolled.) to security. That, too, is a distance.
After security we again had to navigate to the Star Alliance lounge. But after about 1 1/2 hours from getting to CDG we were in the lounge and able to sit back, relax, and charge our devices. Oh, and a glass of champagne because we are, after all, in France. For all of about three hours, perhaps.
While the inbound plane was nearly an hour late, we received a text saying our boarding was on time. Until it wasn’t. In truth we boarded about 25 minutes late, I think. But on the plane we went.
The flight was fine. No Polaris for us this time, but we had decided that we really didn’t need the lay flat seats during a daytime flight. I did, however, decide that ordering the gnocchi for lunch was a huge mistake. Really not great food on this flight! Later I had some biryani and it, too, was only mediocre at best.
And then we landed. Pretty much on time, which was nice. A bumpy landing, which wasn’t scary, but definitely a bit of a hop at one point. Exiting the plane the heat and humidity hit us hard. We’ve been so used to the cooler climate in Europe. But hey, here we are …
Hello New Jersey. For a short time anyway.
We collected our luggage and headed to the Air Train, and then to the New Jersey train station where we caught our train to our final destination on this vacation. The train — ack! — was so slow I could barely believe it, and the high school kids who were talking so loudly at the front of our car made the ride pretty rotten. Welcome to America …?!
But, finally, we ended up where we had our hotel.
Hello New York City!
We got up to our room (24th floor) but I neglected to take photos. No biggie. It’s not anything spectacular, aside from the view. But it’s clean and it’ll do just fine.
After freshening up we went out to meet our “kids”. I know they are no longer children, but they will, after all, be forever our kids! We met up at the Grand Central Station Oyster Bar and Restaurant, and had some very tasty food.
But here we are back in the USofA. It feels a bit strange. I feel more than a bit sleepy. And now I’m cutting this short: I’m too weary to write more at the moment.
