Reflections on a Wonderful Trip - June 2018

 This was one of our best trips ever.
 It was full of incredible variety, for one. We stayed in big cities (London, Paris, Vienna, Prague), small cities (Wroclaw, Turin) and towns. We stayed in villages, on a farm and on a vineyard.
  We were alone, we were with friends, we were with family.
  We saw 2 plays, a concert and an opera, plus a variety of street performances.
   Best of all, we paced ourselves. Sometimes, we both hit a wall at some point in the trip where one of us really wants to be home. (Luckily, we rarely hit the wall at the same time.) This time neither of us hit the wall and we were not exhausted when we got home. We didn't do many long drives, we didn't have too many one-nighters. We didn't try to see everything a place had to offer. We walked a lot. We ate well but didn't overindulge very often.
  Overall, we hit very few glitches. Barbara messed up one day where we had no reservations and we ended up in Conques which was not bad. We only had 2 accommodations that were substandard. (outside Conques and the last night in Paris.)
    On the plus side, we had a lot of surprisingly good accommodations including the one outside LaRochelle, the Gasthof in Wolfsberg, the funky place in Turin, the hotel in Ljubljana and the castle outside Verdun.
    The biggest glitch involved the car rental in England, but we coped and were lucky.
    It was a wonderful trip.

Homecoming, May 30, 31....

   We landed in Boston and stayed 2 nights at the Wyndham. On the 31st, we both had dermatology appointments at MGH. That night, Mark's birthday, we met Jecca and Willy at Meyers and Chang for a fun birthday dinner. The next day was supposed to be Mark's eye surgery for dry eye, but the doctor's office rescheduled for the next day which was a shame as we had to drive to Middleboro to the Quality Inn that we'd reserved. So, we rented a car in Boston and drove to Middleboro where we took Alice, Carol and Jackie out to lunch and met Matt and Maureen for dinner.
   The next morning, June 1, we drove back to Boston and Mark had his eye surgery. Then, we drove to the Cape and took the SSA fast ferry home where Nick picked us up.

West Wickham, Part 3, May 29, 30

  On May 29, we had our first day of rain while in West Wickham.
  As Annie and Katrina have passes to Greenwich (given to them by Sue Williams), a group of us took the train and DLR. (Annie, Ewan, Adam, Katrina, Lewis, Connor, Ken and us). We all were pretty soaked, but it was a warm rain.
   We toured the museum first. The kids enjoyed the big map on the floor as well as the temporary exhibit of seaside photographs, highlighting British beach customs. It was interesting, and, quite strangely, held their interest. Afterwards, Mark gave them each a little lesson in photographs and let them all use his camera, as did Ken. They were primed to look at photos differently.
   Then, we dashed to the Queen's House in the pouring rain and looked at architecture and art. Ken laid on the floor to photograph a spiral staircase which led to the kids all laying on a gallery floor and photographing the ceiling. They had a blast.
   Then, back to West Wickham.
   Everyone, except Walshie, met for fish and chips at a local restaurant in the high street. (Walshie was working on his VAG festival and then got stuck in a traffic jam, making him late to work.) Will paid for it all, despite Ken and Mark's intention to foot the bill. Then we walked to "Afters" an ice cream/dessert shop where the kids had ice cream.
   On the 30th, the last day of our adventure, we got up and visited Katrina and the kids at her house for a last cup of tea.
   We returned our car with trepidation as the company, Green Motion, is a scam. They tried to bully us into admitting to a small scrape on the INSIDE of a door. Mark put up a big stink. Everyone around us was doing the same. One young man paid over 600 pounds for a 60 pound damage to one tire, but, because of time, he paid it. At any rate, to get rid of us, they waved us away, so now we just hope that we get our deposit back. We called the broker, Indigo Cars, from the airport to register our complaint.
   Then- off to the Norwegian Air Club where we had salmon salad and cappuchino waiting for our flight.

West Wickham, Part 2 May 27, 28

 We had two beautiful days in a row.
  On the 27th, Chris, Katrina, Connor and Barbara went to Horniman's museum in the afternoon. (Lewis and Walshie went to Horsham with Walshie's parents to a car show.)
   They toured the museum and also went into the new Butterfly House which was very interesting. Butterflies only live about a week. And, we saw some new butterflies emerging from their pupa. They take about 2 hours to dry their wings. Then, the staff lets them out and in a few minutes, they take off.
  Later, all 12 of us met for dinner. It was nice enough to eat in the garden and we had another feast.
   The next day, the 28th, there was a family expedition/picnic to Crystal Palace where we sat by the playground and basked in the sunlight.
   And, later, we all gathered for another big family dinner. And, again the weather cooperated and we were able to sit outside.

West Wickham, May 25, 26

 

We left the Cotswolds after another huge breakfast. We had hoped to walk on the wolds before we left, but it was raining. It took over 3 hours to get here. Driving here is not easy and Mark was pretty stiff-necked by the time we got here. We stopped in Purley at a Tesco's to get a bit to eat and some flowers and got quite turned around even trying to get in.

   Christine put on a fabulous family dinner for 12 people with a huge variety of foods including quiche, salmon, chicken, salads......Katrina, Paul, 8-year old Lewis, 4-year old Connor, Annie, Will, 10-year old Ewan and 6-year old Adam. It was a lovely evening - weather-wise and people-wise.

   The next day, Saturday, we went in 3 cars to Chartwell, the home of Winston Churchill. As we had been in the house not that long ago, and we had children, we opted to go in the grounds/garden only. We started with Katrina and family, plus Ewan. Annie, Will and Adam met us later. (Adam had cricket) The kids followed a trail to find things.

The weather was sunny and warm. It was a nice way to spend a day.
   Afterwards, we had another family dinner, eating in the garden. Another nice day.

 

Cotswolds, Day 2, May 24

  We got up to a sumptuous breakfast this morning at the Woodchester Lodge. There was only one other couple at breakfast, a Dutch couple who are on a walking tour. They planned to do 14 miles today to another spot.
   The Lodge was built in 1896 by a local timber merchant. The house was one of the first in the area to have electricity and the buildings were virtually unchanged until the 1980s.

    During World War Two, it was requisitioned, initially as an officers' barracks for the British Army. Before D-Day, it was taken over by the U.S. army. After the war, it was used to house prisoners of war - first Germans, then Italians. There were 8 bunks to the rooms, including ours. Quite hard to imagine. One of the Germans had been a P.O.W. in the U.S. and spoke English. He became the spokesman of the other Germans while here. He played football with the local team and became a friend with many of the locals, a friendship that was maintained for years.

    We spent the morning touring locally. It was drizzly and overcast, so we did not do the planned walking. We drove to Wooton-Under-Edge first and walked the high street. Then, we drove through North Nibley and through Nibley Green where the last battle between private feudal armies took place in England. From there we wandered about ending up in Slimbridge by a canal. There is a Wildfowl and wetlands center there which we would have visited had the weather been a bit better. From there we drove into Stroud but failed to get a parking spot. So, we drove back to Woodchester and ate at a local pub, The Fleece. Mark had a sausage sandwich and Barbara had a salmon/fish cake.
   We read the afternoon away.
   In the evening, we met Sue and Andre Sobrzak for a pub dinner close to
our bed and breakfast.

To the Cotswolds! May 23

We left Meaghan's around 9:30 and drove to the Cotswolds.
 The day started out cloudy and grey, but the sun came out by mid-day which was great.

  We first stopped in Stow on the Wold and walked around. We thought about eating at a place recommended by the NYTimes, but it was crowded, so we decided to move on to the next village that was recommended.

   Bourton-on-the-Water, the next village was Disney-perfect and almost too cute, but just beautiful. You can see why it is well visited. A little river runs through the old market town with little bridges. The Times recommended the Bakery on the River, but it, too, was crowded, so we ambled along and looked at various charming restaurants and settled on a fish and chip place where we ate outside and people watched.

   From there we drove about three-quarters of an hour to the Woodchester Lodge Bed and Breakfast which is outside a little village and down a narrow, green lane. The manor house has 3 rooms. Ours is large and light with windows overlooking green hills with cows and sheep-incredibly bucolic. We have a private bathroom, but we have to go into the hallway to get to it. (Robes provided.) We feel in the laps of luxury. (Often the note to a more upscale accommodation is the thickness and size of the towels and these are big and thick!)
   We booked 3 nights, but...due to my writing a date wrong, Christine and Ken planned a big family dinner for the 25th. So, we have to cancel our third night here. (And, have to pay for it. Oh well, but too bad.)

    Anne, the proprietor, could not be more helpful, bringing us decaffeinated tea and coffee and fresh milk so we could have a cup of tea before going back out.
   We made our way to the Sainsburys in Dudbridge and got some snacks to tide us over as we had such a late lunch.

    Everything here is flowering and the gardens are spectacular. It reminds us a lot of the Lake District, actually. We feel like we've been encountering Spring for months which is lovely. (Except for allergies!)

Cambridge, May 22

 

Meaghan took the morning off and we drove partway to the Cambridge University Botanical Gardens and walked around it. It was created in 1831 by John S. Henslow, Charles Darwin's mentor. We saw an apple tree which is a direct clone of Newton's apple tree. We saw Britain's first redwood. We had a tea (we had scones, too) in the cafe and then, after going through the glass houses, Meaghan took off for work. We wandered the gardens for a while longer on our own.

 

    From there we walked to the Fitzwilliam museum, the art and antiquities museum of the University. We had already walked quite a lot and had recently visited the Egyptian Museum in Turin, so we skipped the antiquities section.

   There was an exhibition of pottery which is where we started. One room was devoted to an exhibit of parianware, a bisque porcelain which is not particularly stable. An artist, Matt Smith, assembled many parian ware busts of famous people, considered heroes in the 19th century.  However, history has not judged many of these people kindly in retrospect. Behind 6 series of busts, was specially designed wallpaper depicting the cruelties that happened as a result of these "great" people. The events included the Opium Wars, famine in India and in Ireland etc etc. It was powerful.

    Then we went through some of the permanent art on display, staying longest, as we always do with the Impressionists.
     From there we walked into town and ate at the Pho restaurant again as we liked it so much the previous day. We shared an Asian chicken salad and some spring rolls. We bought a "Free Dobby" bag for the Hutcheson clan and walked home after stopping along the river to watch some more punting.
   Curry stayed home from doggy daycare today, so we played with him and took him for a bit of a walk.
   It was another large walking day! And, another sunny day, although a bit cooler than yesterday.
    We got Indian take-away for dinner and had an early night. Meaghan was out practicing roller derby and we never heard her come in.
 

Cambridge with Meaghan, May 21

 Another sunny day! We are having such a string of them.

 After saying our goodbyes to Pete and Shirley, Mark drove to Cambridge. It is only 70 miles, but the bit through London took quite a time and we arrived after 2 hours at Canterbury Street in Cambridge.

   We are staying with Meaghan Lynch who was in Mark's 7th grade class and who was in the Drama Club. (Steel Magnolias) We have kept up with Meaghan who we last saw in Washington, D.C. She works for the U.S. Army in intelligence and is stationed about 30 miles outside of Cambridge at an Air Force Base. But, she didn't want to live in a village, so she commutes from Cambridge where she has a cute little 3-bedroom house with a garden.

   She instructed us how to get in, as she was at work, and we walked into town, about a mile and a half away. We ate at a little sushi place and then explored. We went into the open air market and found the riverwalk by the River Cam where we watched the punts going down the river. It was quite warm and we sat and people watched under a willow tree. Then, we ambled our way home through the beautiful town, peering into the historic college squares. (They are, understandably, off-limits as they are functioning colleges, although some are accessible via tours and paying, which we opted not to do.)

   Meaghan came home with her dog, Curry, a corgi mix who goes to daycare. We all walked back into town where we ate at Pho, a wonderful restaurant where we all had fabulous meals. Then - walked home. (A big walking day!)
   The next day, Meaghan took the morning off and we drove partway to the Botanical Gardens and walked around it. We saw an apple tree which is a direct clone of Newton's apple tree. We saw Britain's first redwood. We had a tea (we had scones, too) in the cafe and then, after going through the glass houses, Meaghan took off for work. We wandered the gardens for a bit longer

Streatham, Clare, Part 3, May 20

   Another gorgeous sunny day in London.

   We met Clare Aucterlonie for lunch at the Northwood pub. She moved back to the U.K. in March to look for a job. By amazing happenstance, she has been staying with friends in Streatham, of all places. So, she took the bus and we walked to the pub. She had good news as she starts a job on Tuesday as an Administrative Assistant and will be in the vicinity of the Barbican. The next big task is working on Chris's visa as he cannot come over from the U.S. until she's on the job for a bit. Anyhow, we sat in the garden of the pub and chatted for quite a while. Then, she expressed interest in the West Norwood Cemetery which was very close.

It is one of the "Magnificent Seven" cemeteries of London with historical, architectural and ecological interest. It has a famous collection of sepulchral monuments, including a large section of Greek Orthodox monuments including a replica of the Parthenon. It is weird that we went to one of the other Magnificent Seven cemeteries, Nunhead, just yesterday.

   Shirley, meanwhile, went to a rehearsal for a singing event that she will be in later in the year - at the Royal Albert Hall!

   She came home in time for a barbecue in the garden in the sun. Pete made a plethora of salad offerings and grilled sausages and hamburgers. Sue brought some cole slaw and we sat and chatted away. It was another lovely day.

Streatham, Part 2, May 18

 Today is Jecca's birthday as well as Cole's graduation from high school, so are thoughts today are back home. Nick is in N.C. for Cole's graduation.
  Pete went out for a 40 (!) mile bike ride. Shirley went off to the gym. We decided on a nostalgic foray for Barbara.

We drove over to 76 Idlecombe Road in Tooting when her gran and grandad lived. We couldn't park as it was residents only, but did pop out to look and take a photo. Then we drove to Merton Abbey shopping area where we visited a Sainsburys and a Marks and Spencer. We bought two little carrier bags from Marks and Spencer. Then we had a bit to eat at a generic Italian restaurant in the neighborhood. From there we went back to Tooting Bec Common and took a stroll.
   The weather was sunny and Shirley and Barbara basked on the lower deck. Shirley and Barbara worked on a Word Wheel, somewhat in competition with Sue. Shirley let the chickens out to roam which was funny to watch. Given their freedom, they choose to lay together even in the garden.
    In the evening, we went to a local Italian restaurant that they like. Sue and Charlie also went. It was a lovely evening.

    The next day was also great...and another sunny, warm day. It was the day of the royal wedding which none of watched or followed. Pete went on another long bike ride into London. We went with Shirley into Dulwich where she joined one of her choirs before they were to perform at Nunhead Cemetery Open Day.

   We ambled over to the cemetery beforehand. What an amazing place. It is huge and historic and quite overgrown. It was not like the manicured cemeteries we are more used to. We looked at the memorials to the war dead (WWI and WWII) as well as strolled through a section where long-forgotten music hall celebrities are buried.

    Then we visited the booths set up near the ruined chapel and got a bite to eat. Then it was time for Shirley's chorus and we went back to the chapel to listen. They only performed a few songs, but it was really nice with an amazing venue and acoustics. Then we all went back to the avenue of booths to look at the plants etc. The plants on sale were all grown from cuttings in the cemetery. It seemed like Shirley knew everyone there! Barbara bought a t-shirt.

    The afternoon was spent doing more sunbathing and reading as well. Pete and Barbara watched the end of a stage of the Giro d'Italia - a very difficult mountain stage won by Chris Froome.

     Then we walked over to Sue's house which we had never visited. (She has only been there 11 months.) It is a charming house and well suite

d to her. We ate a delicious meal in the garden and then adjourned to the living room as it was getting chilly. She then served an amazing rhubarb/ginger fool. Yum.

   In the midst of the evening, Pete and Shirley's burglar alarm went off, so Mark and Pete walked home to check on it. They have been burgled before, so cannot be taken lightly. But, they found nothing amiss and brought the car back so that we could ride home. A lovely family evening.

Paris to Streatham, May 16, 17

 

We checked out of our hotel relatively early and walked to the Gare du Nord where we had our last coffee and French croissants.  We managed to get our bags to manageable weights and it was a bit easier than we thought it might be.
   Boarding the Eurostar is easy and efficient and we left on time around 11:15. We arrived at St. Pancras and then got a train to Gatwick, again all very easy and well marked.

  When we got to Gatwick things got a bit more difficult. First, it was not easy to figure out where to pick up the shuttle for the rented car and Mark had to call the company in Leeds twice. Eventually we found the right spot and took a van to the rental agency, Green Motion.
  There, things got worse. The company would not accept either of our credit cards because the numerals on our VISA cards are not raised high enough and are not on the front of the card. We had pre-paid most of the car, but they would not accept the card for the deposit.
  Finally, they accepted Barbara's Nantucket Bank debit card, but that meant that they wanted to charge us about 300 more pounds to make Mark the secondary driver. (Mark's Nantucket Bank debit card does not have raised numbers.) Mark got quite angry and called Indigo Car rentals which brokered our account to Green Motion. After several calls, we got them down to only 100 extra pounds. (Still nonsense, but we were not guaranteed to get a refund, so they had us over a barrel, even though our instinct was to leave and go back to Gatwick and either rent a car or take the train back in.)
  We are nervous about all this as our credit cards have all sorts of liability protection and the debit card doesn't. And then, when we were about to leave we were told that we do not have unlimited mileage. Fortunately, we computed that we should be able to do our traveling under the limit.
   From there we drove to Streatham to stay with Pete and Shirley. Mark made only one mistake almost turning into traffic by being on the wrong side of the road.  It took about an hour to get there.

    Pete and Shirley welcomed us with open arms and Pete made a huge salmon dinner complete with roasted potatoes and two salads. Sue came over with her dog, Beanie and Charlie was also home. It was a lovely evening with a lovely meal.
   The next day, the 17th, we took a bus and 2 tube rides to Finsbury Park to see a matinee of Building the Wall at the Park Theatre. Sue met us there. Written by Robert Schenkkan, the powerful play is about the consequences of Trump's promise to build a wall. In the play, he has declared martial law after a dirty bomb attack in NYC. Immigrants began to be rounded up.

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   The 2-person play was about a jailhouse meeting of a black historian and a white Trump supporter who had been in a for-profit prison that ended up killing immigrants in a "final solution." The actor playing the man in jail, Trevor White, was brilliant exhibiting  a wide range of emotions. The woman, Angela Griffin, was also brilliant. As Shirley said afterwards, it was real acting.

   It was sober, somber, thought-provoking and depressingly easy to see how it could happen.

    Later in the evening, we all met, including Charlie, at an Italian restaurant.
    A very nice day.
 

 
   

Paris, May 15

   We drove to Paris after nice breakfast in Hattonchatel. It is a place to which we can see ourselves returning. The weather was very hazy, so not much to see on the way.
  We dropped our luggage off at the Hotel Gare de Nord d'est. Ugh. What a dump. And, not cheap either. (98 Euros!)
  Then Mark drove across Paris (brilliantly!) and we returned the car to the Peugeot place. We did about 6,100 kilometers in the time we had the car.

    We did not want to return to our neighborhood to eat, so we got on the subway and made our way back to the Ile St. Louis to eat a late lunch/early dinner. We chose to return to the St. Regis Cafe where we ate in March, feeling like it was completely a nice circle of our stay on mainland Europe. We both had duck magret with scalloped potatoes and it was amazingly yummy. The sun came out and we walked around the Marais district a bit before getting back on the Metro and back out to our neighborhood.

Eisenach, Germany, Hattonchatel, France, May 13, 14

  We left Wroclaw fairly early hoping to reach Eisenach, Germany by 2 p.m. BUT - we hit the biggest traffic jam of our entire lives. We sat for 2 hours almost not moving. And, there were other traffic slow downs later and tons of construction. Luckily we got some snacks and water and went to the bathroom before we came to a standstill. We did not get our hotel until after 6 p.m. We were exhausted.

   Eisenach is only 10 kilometers from the old border with East Germany. (It was in East Germany.) Everywhere we drove was in East Germany. It was strange to drive there knowing the history and how the wall came down in our adulthoods.
   The hotel is not great, but adequate. We did not have to drive, thank heavens, for food, as a Greek restaurant is attached to the hotel. Mark had some traditional Greek food and Barbara had a Greek salad.

     Today we drove from Eisenach to Hattonchatel, France, not far from Verdun. We did not hit much traffic, but the roads around Frankfurt were intricate - thank heavens for the GPS. We, gulp, ate at a Burger King by the side of the road as we needed gas and were hungry. We never eat at those places and cannot remember a previous trip to a Burger King!

     We got to Hattonchatel around 2:30. As we drove in up some windy roads and through some very quiet and not very attractive towns, we had a sinking feeling that the chateau we were going to was going to be a dump.

     But - what a surprise! We are staying in a CASTLE! Fabian, the manager, showed us to the room we were supposed to have where we'd have to share the bathroom. For 30 Euros extra, he offered us a luxurious room in the main part of the castle with a beautiful bathroom. We did not hesitate. We have a terrific view as the castle is perched high on a hill. We overlook Lake Madine, but it is hard to see as it is a bit murky and foggy.
    The first castle here was built in 859 for the bishop of Verdun. It was destroyed on the orders of Cardinal Richelieu in the early 17th century. It was destroyed again in the Thirty Years War by the Swedes. And, it was destroyed again by the Americans and the French when it was retaken from the Germans in World War I. It was rebuilt by an American, Belle Skinner. She never saw the finished renovations because she died of pneumonia first. It was a convent from 1930-1970. It is now owned by a Danish couple. They are continuing to renovate it and add new rooms every so often. Fabian and Sophie are the managers and have been here for the 10 years that it has been run as either a Chambres des Hotes or a hotel as it is now.
     We explored some of the less visited World War One sights. We toured Verdun in the early 80s and saw the big sites. Our host pointed us to some different ones.

     We started at Montsec which has a huge monument to the American war effort situated on a high hill. It was held by the Germans during the bulk of the war. In 1918, it became one of the first offenses of the Americans who took the hill in a few days. We were the only tourists there. The memorial is beautiful and includes a relief map of the battle and the surrounding area.
    It was all part of the Salient of Saint-Mihiel. (A salient, also known as bulge, is a battlefield feature that projects into enemy territory. The salient is surrounded by the enemy on multiple sides)
     The battle was fought from September 12-15th and was the first major battle fought by the American forces under the command of General John J Pershing. It was a battle in which the air force played an important role with over 1,000 planes participating. Artillery also played a major role in taking the hill.    

    From there we drove to Saint Baussant to try to find some old trenches. We drove down a single car lane and did not find it and turned around, thinking we were in the wrong place as there were no signs at all. But, then we decided to try
again and this time we passed two walkers and we asked them in the German trenches were nearby. They told us to keep driving and we found them. They are barely marked and not kept up.

They are getting grown over which makes them, to us, even more poignant. The site is green and woodsy and the birds were singing. When we got to the trench, we found that the Germans called it the Trench of Birds. Again, it was sobering to think of the hellhole that the trenches were.

      From there we drove to Vigneulles les-Hattonchatel where there is a grocery store. We got some bread and pate and came back to the castle and ate in a room at the bottom of a tower. Unfortunately, it is not good enough weather to sit outside. Maybe tomorrow morning.