Tag Archives: UK

Wednesday, May 27 — Walk, Day One

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We woke rather early. Okay, Dan woke up first since he had his alarm set. My good ear was against the pillow so I didn’t hear a thing. I did wake up about fifteen minutes after his alarm went off, though, and that gave me plenty of time to pack.

This was to be the test day: will I be able to put everything into my suitcase that I don’t want to bring on the walk? I knew it would be a bit of a challenge.

In some places there is a service that will mail things back to your home if you want to dump some items. I wouldn’t mind at all if we could do that — it’s quite clear that both my wool hoodie and wool shacket will not be used for eh remainder of the trip. Had I been able to dump those I’d have plenty of room in my small carryon suitcase. Ah well! I just have to scrunch that doggone suitcase down to zip it shut. Dan has a bigger suitcase and it even expands, so he doesn’t have quite the challenge. (And yes, I can take some of my things, but I have this “I can take all my things myself” kind of pride going on.) The final “if” was whether I could fit my iPad in the suitcase.

Answer: Absolutely, positutely not!

So, hearing my mother’s voice, “You made your bed. Now lie in it.” I put the iPad in my daypack, figuring I could deal with that bit of extra weight. But Mr. Rescuer suggested he could fit it in his large suitcase, so I guess I don’t have to lie in my bed now. Nice!

After we packed we took our bags downstairs so the transfer company could pick them up and take them to the next locale. Then Greg, Jan, Dan, and I went to breakfast. And ate. Too. Much. Food.

Can we justify it due to a 7+ mile walk? Yes. I think we can! This first place we stayed, Manor House Hotel in Moreton-in-Marsh was incredibly nice. (And, odds are, nothing we could have afforded had we looked on our own.) What a great way to begin our walking holiday!

I neglected to take a single photo of our breakfast, but you’ll just have to believe me when I saw it was quite delicious. I had salmon and smashed avocado on toast, along with two poached eggs. The others ordered different things. All of us were quite satisfied.

Soon it was time to head out on our walk. I went out the door and went right.

Wrong.

I never have been good with north and south when in places other than my home town. But we did quickly figure things out and off we went. Jan took one very important photo, as you can see:

Thankfully the weather wasn’t quite so hot today, and there was a gentle breeze much of the time. We quickly moved from road to path.

Eventually we reached our first village, Longborough.

We went to St. James’ church, as I’d read about it, but I pulled on the handle and said it was locked. Um. Greg is smarter than I am: he turned that handle and we went inside.

I had read about a cafe/store, run by volunteers and we decided to stop in. Not that we were really hungry, but why not?! Three of us ordered cappuccinos and one had an espresso and chocolate croissant. As we sat a volunteer chatted with us a bit. He left, but returned shortly after, clearly enjoying chatting more than the work part. Greg asked where he was from since he clearly had a North American accent. Well, born Pennsylvania, but lived in Oakland. Heh. Okay then. Then he mentioned that he taught at Stanford so I asked him which department. Well gosh, music! He was in early music. What a world we live in!

We said our goodbyes (sadly neglecting to ask his name), and left Longborough.

At one point I lightly brushed against and evil plant. Stingweed or some such name. And just ouch. Even lightly brushing against it is unpleasant. Thankfully the sting didn’t last as long as it did some years back when I really got stung!

EVIL plant!

More walking. Frequently we ran across sheep, cows, and some horses. Such beautiful country! There were a few climbs, but nothing like we did on our other two walks. Still, we are a bit older now, so there’s that!

We continued the walk including going through the small village of Donnington, but it was a quick place to pass through.

And then we got to Broadwell, which is where I had suggested, in a write-up I made about each day, we get lunch. First we visited the church that I’d also read about, and then hit the Fox Inn. We actually weren’t all that hungry, so we got some bar bites and two of us had Donnington BB beer and two of us had Old Rosie cider (even though we are ever so young). It was just nice to sit and relax. Oh, and as I ordered our ciders the bartender said that those would help us get up the hill. Hm. Who knew we had another hill to go up?

From there it was the last stretch to our final destination for the day. On we walked.

And then there we were: hello Stow on the Wold! But what a sad photo that is below — it really is much more charming than that.

But we all were a bit weary and since I was having difficulty finding our lodging I didn’t take any other photos, but we did find it and we did get up to our somewhat small rooms. UP meaning we had to lug our luggage (gee, lug and luggage must be related, right?) up a flight of stairs. That IS one issue with these walks: so many place won’t have lifts and they won’t take our luggage up to our rooms for us. (Another good reason for backpacks, really.) But we did it, and then we showered and rested a bit.

Oh … and where we are staying? It’s called Sheep on Sheep Street. And guess what street it’s on? Yep. So we are staying at Sheep on Sheep Street on Sheep on Sheep Street.

We had agreed to meet up with Jan and Greg again at 5:30 to have a look at the village and then make our 6:00 dinner appointment. I had made reservations at “The Porch”. I did see our lodging also had a dining room so I thought I’d look to see what they had as well. Hm. Both places had the same photos of food. How curious is that? (Later, after our meal, we looked again at our place and, sure enough, they had a kitchen, so we never did figure out why some food selections were identical and others not. It will forever remain a mystery. As so many things in the Cotswolds are … I mean … we’ve seen those shows. We know about all the murders. In fact, I’m sure I’d be great at solving crimes around here.)

But back to what we did. First we went downstairs and when the person at reception heard that I’d already made reservations for dinner and, in fact, had made them for every night we are here she said something about me being a genius. Or perhaps I’m exaggerating. But I know she was impressed. (And to remind everyone, including the three I’m walking with, I’m not a control freak or anything close to that!)

We headed outside and saw where we’d have our dinner. Then we went toward a church, but first there was this “ture”. Something I’d never heard of before!

Then we headed to a church that had an image that JRR Tolkien is said to have in mind when he wrote the LOTR trilogy. Jan shot a photo for me. We shot one for Jan and Greg. I think we are having fun!

Then we walked back to The Porch for dinner.

Finally I didn’t order something too heavy. I also didn’t take a single photo of our meal although I did manage to shoot a sweet photo of Jan and Greg. But because I know you are dying to know, Jan and I had a salad with three (somewhat overcooked) falafels along with other yummy things. It was quite refreshing. Greg and salmon and Dan had a Caesar salad if I’m remembering correctly. My meal was just perfect!

It is so wonderful to share this week with Greg and Jan and my heart is full!

After dinner we opted to go straight back to our hotel (if that’s what you call this — I’m not sure what is a hotel, what is a B&B, and what is an inn at this point) and shared a bottle of wine with Greg and Jan in their room (thanks G&J!).

We agreed to meet around 8:30 since that’s when our luggage is to be downstairs. We have a much shorter walk tomorrow so we can really take our time.

Goodnight!

22,000 steps, 8.72 miles, 8 flights climbed

The Rest of the Story

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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.

And finally … posting now!

And Now We Are Home

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We began our morning quite leisurely since checkout was at 11:00 and there was no rush to get to the airport. Packing is usually more difficult at the end of the trip, even while we never purchase souvenirs. This time, though, I had no issues at all. I suspect it’s because I had to unpack and pack so many times I knew where everything would fit.

When we checked out we called a car to take us to Paddington Station. Normally we’d just do the tube — the cost would be MUCH less and the time wouldn’t be much more. But with our extra luggage we opted to spend the big bucks.

Well … getting out of our area took quite a bit of time: traffic was rotten. We finally got over the Thames and our driver took us near Buckingham Palace. Who knew there would be a bunch of horses and riders in full regalia going up the street ahead of us?! More delays. Finally they headed straight and we turned a bit.

Only to find they were again in front of us!



We could only laugh.

Eventually we did make it to Paddington, but it took quite a bit longer than the tube and it was, oh, perhaps $50 more! But on a trip like this I suppose that’s a drop in the bucket. (That being written, one drop can make a bucket overflow … right?)

Next up was getting to the Heathrow Express. Again, this was a bit of an extravagant expense. But it was only a 15 minute ride compared to the longer, less costly way to go.

Except there was a delay!

This delay was nothing like the “horse delay” though, and we did get to the airport. From there we walked (and walked) to the United area to check our luggage. Easy peasy.

Next up was security. Being in another country our TSA pre-check doesn’t do much good, but we were able to get through via a speedier lane. Well, I had a good pat down at Frankfurt’s airport, and this time I set off the alarm again. No pat down this time … just had to remove my shoes. And yes, those were the culprits. I wonder if there’s a way to research and find out if a particular brand and/or style of shoe sets off the alarm. It sure would be nice to know. But if I wear these again (doubtful), I’ll just remember to remove them and put them in the tray, even if they say not to bother.

But wait, there’s more! We then had to navigate to the United area where our gate and the lounge were located. Signage made it somewhat easy, but when we got to one spot it said to reach the gates including ours was a mere (okay, they didn’t use the word “mere”) 15 minute walk! I can’t remember in which order we did escalators but there was some up and down and maybe down and up … or something. Clearly there were people who had arrived thinking they could just get to their gate quickly and arrived a wee bit late … lots of running going on! But of course we did make it, with no running, and we entered the rather full, and in need of an update (ripped seats and all) United lounge.



When it was time to get to our gate that was quick ‘n easy. Close to our arrival we were able to line up and get ready to board. The plane was not close to full, so boarding went quickly.

Taking off did not.

While we were ready to take off, the captain said that we were delayed due to other planes ahead of us, making our arrival time a bit later than we had expected, even while we would have arrived early had we been able to take off on time. We settled in, readying ourselves for a 10+ hour flight.


About eight hours into the flight I put the flight map back on: I love seeing where we are. Well, apparently the internet was down (a reason I rarely bother to spend any money on purchasing WiFi — and never on an international flight as it’s tremendously expensive) so while the info was provided (2h 19m to destination) the map showed the UK only and was pointless. Ah … but when I clicked on it it showed us over South Dakota. Hello USA! I guess we really were going to get home.

(United has updated their map and their safety video since the last time we flew. The map is better, I think. The safety video is definitely not (yawn). FYI … because you know you want to know.)

At the start of our flight we were served a rather substantial dinner. Then lights were dimmed and it was clearly time to rest. I’m not sure how airlines determine whose time to use, but I’d much prefer adjusting to the time ahead of me rather than the one I just left. When I get on the plane (or sometimes even right before) I set my watch for the destination time. What can I say? I guess I like to think ahead.

The flight was pretty uneventful, although I did end up with my restless legs and a bit of a stomach issue toward the end: the legs are no surprise, and the stomach was, I think, simply due to eating too darn much!

My sister Carolyn picked us up after we easily breezed through customs (thank you, Global Entry!), and she drove us straight to our house. THANK YOU, Carolyn!

And now we are home. Not unpacked, because of the time, but home. Tomorrow will be a washing, grocery shopping, and house cleaning day, for sure.

Over ‘n out.

Soooo … time to plan the next trip …?!

And Now Our Final Full Day

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The last day is always a bit of an interesting day. We do less most of the time, as I think our brains are busy thinking about the travel day and our bodies really let down because we know we are nearly done.

As is always the case, it was breakfast first, and then after getting ready, heading to the tube. It was Jubilee to Westminster this morning. We then walked over to Westminster Abbey: there were no (expensive) tours today since it’s Sunday, but there was Matins scheduled at 10:00 so we opted for that. Worship services are always free, and it was nice to worship on a Sunday in London! This time we were wiser than we were in York, got there early, and had lovely seats where we could see and hear better. It was all quite beautiful.

The formality of the service is, of course, not what I experience at home. I really miss a bit of formality so I enjoyed it. This was not a service with a sermon, but it was music, scripture, and prayer. I was moved.

No photography was allowed in the service, understandably, and it did make me realize we should someday pay the whopping amount they charge if we really want to see the entire building. I was ogling the markers for various famous musicians as we walked in and a guide came and clearly wanted us to move on.

On the way out people did pull out cameras, so I felt comfortable taking a few shots outside of the actual church.


From the church we ambled a bit, checking out some nearby spots.

After that we headed toward Trafalgar Square. When we were here the first time we met up at the Square with Greg and Jan and from there we walked to a nearby pub. Dan thought he could locate it and he did! All I remembered was that we got to go down two flights of stairs which I loved — it felt so private.

It hadn’t yet opened, so we continued our walk toward Trafalgar.

There was a huge area fenced off. Hm. And why might that be? Baseball. The Phillies & Mets are here to play, wouldn’t you know? So this was some sort of spot where they had a huge screen and I could hear someone talking and music playing. We weren’t interested in going in, so we continued to walk.

Eventually it was time to get back to “our” pub. It just opened, and the person opening it told us to go on up to the main floor. Ah well. We didn’t opt to ask if we could go down, being the shy retiring sort of folks we are. Today is Sunday so the menu was different … it’s roast time. Dan had chicken and I had some sort of plant-based nut roast. It was all quite tasty. (I think the roasted potatoes won the day, though!)



More time to walk, and we were on Fleet Street. You know what that means!

Okay … it doesn’t really mean “The Amicable Society of Lazy Ballerinas”. (I looked it up: it’s a wine bar.)

But this …

We headed to St. Paul’s.

I wasn’t interesting in paying £22.50 per senior to go in, nor was Dan, so we just wandered around it a bit and then went to the Millennium bridge, which took us toward our hotel. A quick climb up some stairs later and we were back.

On the Millennium Bridge.

Eventually it was time to head to Holy Trinity Church. Greg (one of my brothers, for those of you who don’t know) had mentioned that Gesualdo Six would be singing there and I was so glad he did!

The church is in Chelsea. Some restaurants were quite posh, and clearly the area is that way as well.


We found a more affordable place to dine, and then we headed around the corner to the church for the concert.

First a choir from Birmingham, Alabama sang, then Gesualdo Six joined them for one song, and then the Six sang an absolutely exquisite half. For both the choir and GSix I had to pull a tissue out. There is simply nothing like the human voice, and the music hit me in the way I love. If you ever have a chance to hear the Gesualdo Six I highly recommend that you do!


Finally it was another train “home” where I’m writing this and we will spend our last night. Our flight tomorrow doesn’t leave until 4:15 PM, but we will take our time packing, and head over to the airport which is a bit of a distance. But hey, the flight home is only three hours! We arrive at 7-something PM. Yep, I’m still funny as can be. Or not.

Some views from the Blackfriar’s Bridge: we crossed this bridge a number of times.

So this is it. End of vacation. Maybe I’ll post when we get home (if I have a brain left), and I’d like to post some thoughts on what I’d do differently next time. Having the Great Glen Way walk added to this trip did make it difficult to pack lightly, though. I’d love to see if there would be a way to do that despite doing a walk. (And honestly I think I’d see if these less expensive trekking poles we bought would make it through in carryon. If they took them away I’d just sigh and deal.)

Posting these blog entries has been cumbersome and I need to find a better way to upload photos, but that will wait for another day. For now it’s close to slumber time, and then let the packing begin!

Ciao!

Up Early & Off We Went

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So yeah … I write “early” and that just means we had to get our breakfast by 8:00. Not really early, I know, but for Dan and me, well, we’ve been taking it awfully easy.

After breakfast we took the Jubilee to Baker and the Bakerloo to Paddington.

I write that because I think it makes it sound like I know what I’m doing now.

Then we had a bit of time before we caught the GWR at Paddington Station.

What a crowded train it was. Fortunately I had reserved seats, but some people had to stand in the aisle the entire hour.



And we were going to … wait for it … wait … wait ….

Okay, don’t wait. We were going to Oxford.

Aside from some slow delays, we had a short ride. We exited the train station and really just followed other people to get where we were going. First up was a bit of lunch since by this time it was near noon.

Then it was more walking and we saw some cool buildings, went into a church, went to the river where we observed a few people punting, and then rambled more, including entering Trinity College. I’m just going to paste photos below and leave it at that.

There had clearly been a wedding somewhere nearby.
More of a wedding party.
There was a tour guide talking at one point, explaining that to get married here one has to get a reservation seven years in advance! Someone had done that and she still hadn’t found her guy, but she still has two years left in which to find him. Heh.
All the doors had these signs and they explain who they beat and in which year.

After Oxford time it was train time again. NOT a crowded train at all, plenty of empty seats, and an easy ride.

Back to the Bakerloo to Baker, and the Jubilee to Southwark. Into our hotel, dropped stuff off, and went downstairs for dinner. I had fish pie, Dan had chicken pie of some sort, and we shared sticky toffee pudding. Surely that must be good for our health.

The Cheshire Cat agrees, no doubt.


One more day in London and then home we go. Do I want to go home? No, not really. But I know it’s time.

Nearing sleepy time ….

Happy Friday in London

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Not a lot to write about or post today, really.

Breakfast. Check.

Tube to Embankment. Check.

Walk to the British National Museum. Check.

Meet up with Brandon again. Check.

Stand in line for eons. Check.

Go through security where they didn’t confiscate my cookies (whew!). Check.

But these days I don’t really take photos at museums, so we wandered, we ate lunch (where I did take this one photo)

… and we wandered more. The museum is so much about antiquities (obtained, I am guessing, in less that admirable ways sometimes). I confess I’m more of a painting person, but there really is something about seeing things that are so amazingly ancient.

From there we walked to a close, very old, pub. Also turned out to be incredibly noisy due to one group of guys. Go figure. I must say I’m enjoying the 1/2 pints I get, and all with lower alcohol content. The smaller beer works for me: I so frequently can’t even finish the pints!


We decided to head back to our hotel for a bit of a late night, nearly 5:00 siesta.

Brandon contacted us some time later, saying he was just across Blackfriars bridge so we walked back over to meet up and have dinner at the pub. We had a great time. It’s our last meet up with him and I’ll miss him a ton.

After dinner it was back to our place — and hey, the elevator was working! Earlier today it said it was out of order … I’m glad it’s fixed because I’d have hated to lug our stuff down stairs on Monday when we head home.

Tomorrow we are taking a short train ride to another town. We have to set our alarms, in fact, because we are going to have to get things done earlier to make the train.

Night!

A Brief Post … I’m Tired

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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

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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.

A questionable structure.

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).

Here is an example of the Snickelway.

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!

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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.

The gardens at our hotel are lovely.

After settling in we did a bit of laundry, and then we went out to investigate the area.

This is down “our” street. The buildings look more contemporary. When I saw a sign on one, though, it said, “Built to the Glory of God, 1899”. Hmm.)

The bathroom … well … sometimes I have to take photos in the bathroom. This restaurant called for them!

Now we are back in our room, and both of us are unusually weary this evening. I’m hoping it means a good night’s sleep!

Ta ta!

Friday, May 17

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What a lazy start to our day! I woke up a number of times in the early morning — it gets light here very early — but since Dan continued to sleep I’d roll over (in our tiny bed — I’m not used to that, as we have a huge California king bed at home) and fall back asleep. Finally I woke again, looked over, and Dan was reading. Oops … I slept until 9AM! After the little breakfast this place provides (we can pick and choose from oatmeal in a cup, “croissants” that aren’t anything like real croissants, tea, coffee, hot chocolate, orange juice and more … but all prefab stuff), and after our showers, it was time to figure out what to do before our 3:00 whisky tour at the Oban distillery.

Side Note: I’m actually not usually much of a whisky drinker, but when in Rome, or at least Oban …

When we headed out the door our first destination was all about coffee. No surprise there, right? We located a place, ordered our cappuccinos, and sat outside in the lovely sun. It was not too hot, and just a really pleasant spot.

Next up was making our way to McCaig’s Tower & Battery Hill. The walk (and stairs) were just lovely and my back behaved! We spent time up on the hill, taking photos and just relaxing. Oban is sure a beautiful place! I was sorry I neglected to bring my macro lens up the hill with me: flowers are abundant here at the moment. Ah well … maybe I’ll remember in Fort William if we head out on walks there.

Lunch was next on the agenda. We wandered. In our typical fashion we had to investigate a number of places before settling on a spot. I had a smaller lunch: after yesterday the salmon pate seemed to be a good option. Yesterday’s food was just far too much, and my stomach is suggesting I go a bit lighter!

From there we went to the Oban Distillery for a tour and tasting.

What a fun time! The young man who led our tour was great … and hey, even with a deaf ear I could understand him easily, as he spoke so nice and clearly. We took the tour and on the way sampled three whiskies. Only small amounts of each, mind you We now, for the first time in eons, will have a souvenir to bring home: we were given one of the glasses they served a whisky in. Normally we aren’t souvenir buyers. With our small bags and lack of space we just don’t go there. But for little Oban whisky glasses … well, we will just have to find spots for them!

We dropped by Cuan Mor, where we want to have dinner (recommended by my boss Robert Massey at Symphony San Jose), but they don’t take reservations, so we just have to return and wait for a spot to open. That’s fine — it’s not like we are under any time constraints!

And then it was back to our room, where I could write up some of this blog entry, and then rest a bit. I could also look out the window … it is so doggone lovely here!

We might have rested a bit, too. You decide.


Dinner was enjoyed at Cuan Mor … they said it would be a 30 minute wait but in reality it was only 15. A yummy dinner — AND dessert! — were enjoyed. When I get home I’ll sign up for a weight loss program. (HAH … as if I ever do that!)

The sunset at 9:10 was gorgeous! I’m so glad we are where we are, as I can see it from our window, while Dan, great photographer that he is, went outside to shoot it.

Tomorrow we leave lovely Oban and head to Fort William. We are going the long way, via train. The bus would have been 1 1/2 hours, while the trains (we switch in Crianlarich) total almost 4 hours, but I had written to a travel group and was encouraged to take the train. I was told we are in for some great views. I do hope this was the right choice!