Home, October 29-31 and Thoughts on the Trip

 We were picked up by Alec at Logan after a very smooth flight on Virgin Air, operated by Delta. Even the food was a cut above. There was a bit of a scare about the Clarity starting as it had been sitting for so long. 

  We enjoyed seeing Cameron, 14-months old, the next morning. What a lovely child he is.

  We were worried about the battery (not the one for the electric part of the car, but the other battery.) So, we drove an extra hour to Jecca and Willy's. The four of us went out to dinner at Seoul Kitchen which was very nice.

    We took the 2:45 boat home on Halloween and were amazed at the crowds out celebrating on the island, so that it took us quite a bit longer to get to the house.

Thoughts on the Trip

We had a GREAT trip. Full of variety. Eight countries in two months with a mix of old and new. We traveled by plane, ferries and busses. The accommodations ranged from a hostel, hotels (modern/old), apartments (medieval to sleek), to homes of friends/family. 

We think that travel is good for our brains as you have to adjust, adapt and problem solve as things are bound not to always go smoothly.

We did get tired of wearing the same clothes because of only doing carry-on luggage. It was challenging because of preparing for temperatures from the 80s to the low 50s. But, when we see people struggling with large suitcases, we are convinced we are doing the right thing. It is a bit frustrating not to be able to buy presents, but...again, lugging things up spiral stairs and onto busses.... 

We loved the feeling of the Scandinavia countries where we did not feel people were worried the way Americans are - about health care, child care, education. 

We ate well and Mark got great ideas for new recipes.

  

West Wickham October 19 - 23

 October 19  Motspur Park to West Wickham

 

Tram

    Maura took us to the station; it was quite rainy as we stood on the platform. Mark and I took the train to Wimbledon and caught the tram to Elmer's End - 20 stops! Ken picked us up and we went to a sports place where Connor was celebrating his 11th birthday playing soccer with some of his friends. Walshie and Katrina were also there.

   

Connor, age 11, at Bromley football match

Ewan, age 17, at Bromley match

   

Then we went to West Wickham and settled into their newly reconfigured guest room and beautiful new shower room. Mark left with Ken, Ewan, Connor to see Bromley Football Club in a match, which they lost.

       Christine, Katrina, Annette and me sat in the garden as the weather became sunny and gorgeous. We had tea and homemade cookies. 

        We all met up at the Fish and Chips restaurant in West Wickham. (13 of us) 

         Then we came back to Goodhart Way and had cake and presents. Connor's big hits- a cell phone of his own and a keyboard. Many had a rollicking game of Uno to end the day.

Compilation of October 20 - 23

        I am writing this a few days after we left West Wickham and am going to write a summary of our days there.

Katrina, Annette, Christine at High Elms

        Every night we were in West Wickham, we had a big family dinner in the dining room. Sometimes it was made by Christine; one day it was made by Annie and Katrina and one day it was made by Katrina. It was amazing to see 11-13 around the table every night with lots of delicious food and also a huge selection of desserts. We had Indian Shepherd's Pie, Coq-au-Vin, salmon en croute, macaroni & cheese etc. Every night, Will handled most of the clean up which was a lot of work. 

 

Ewan and Connor

Adam and Annie reflection on the underground

    Another nightly activity involved noisy and fun games - a variety of UNO games, "Mind the Gap" "Piece of Pizza" etc. So much fun.

   

Mark and Annie

High Elms walk

   One day a group of us went to Greenwich via public transport. (Chris, Ken, Katrina, Annie, Connor, Adam, Ewan and his girlfriend, Connie.)

Brothers, Ewan and Adam

Cutty Sark, Greenwich

         We walked around the Cutty Sark and down to the river and then to the Greenwich Market which was a big hit with everyone. Everyone ate something (sausage rolls, waffles etc). Fudge was bought. Ken bought a print of an old map of their part of London. 

     We went to the cable car across the Thames and back - a big hit. Then, a visit to the O2 center where some shopped and the four "oldsters" had coffee.

      Another day, most of the family went to "High Elms" Park where we walked and then had a lovely lunch at the cafe there.

      Another day, we went with Chris and Ken to see a matinee of The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard at the Old Vic.

       It is a play about relationships and was excellent. The main character, played by James McArdle, is a playwright whose two wives were serial marital cheaters. Words are so important, especially to a playwright. It's impossible to summarize, but the actors were fantastic, especially Bel Powley, who played his second wife.

 

The Old Vic

   James McArdle was wonderful in the lead, supported by an excellent class

    On our last morning we went to Kitchen, a restaurant in West Wickham with just Katrina as we had not had any private time with her. 

Annette with Connie (Ewan's girlfriend) playing Uno

     

  

        

         

         

Off to Streatham! October 24-28

 October 24  

     I am also writing this after the fact and will consolidate the visit to Streatham to stay with Pete and Shirley in their lovely house.

 

   Pete picked us up from West Wickham and we went to see Giant at the Royal Court           Theatre

Set of Giant at the Royal Court Theatre

. It was an incredibly powerful play about Raoul Dahl after he wrote a piece in a newspaper against Israel and pro-Palestine in 1983. He devolved into anti-Semetism as the play progresses, despite the fact that his publicist of years (Richard Hope) is Jewish, but not a practicing one. His American publisher sent a woman ( Romola Garai)  to persuade him to retract/soften his stance with a statement. She is also Jewish. There were epic and visceral arguments between Dahl and his publicist and the American which sometimes made the audience gasp or squirm uncomfortably. Raoul Dahl was played by the amazing 79-year old John Lithgow. His wife was played by Rachel Stirling, the daughter of Diana Rigg. 

    We went out for several dinners. The first night we went to the Italian restaurant, Garden, in Streatham where Sue met us with Beanie, her dog. She had just flown in that day from a tour of Vietnam.

       Another day we went to a local pub and another night we got take-away fish and chips. One night Pete made spagetti a la Norma with eggplant. He has been experimenting with the recipe having spent two weeks in Sardinia recently. Yum. And, Sue joined us that night as well as joined us in the pub while she was babysitting for her grandson, 14-month old Dylan.

        One day, we went to the Dulwich Picture Gallery with Shirley to see an exhibit by three generations of the Yoshida family. It was the first exhibition of the family's block prints outside of Japan. We all loved the variety of the prints by the various family members. Wood blocks are difficult and they used more colors than most print makers.  

     

   We also walked in Dulwich Park and Shirley gave us a tour of the high street, Dulwich where she attended secondary school.

        On October 28, we had a relaxing morning with Pete and Shirley and then they drove us to Clapham North Tube Station. We went on the Northern Line to the Elizabeth Line and checked into the Hilton Garden Inn for the night.

          

On to Maura's in London, October 16, 17, 18

 October 16, Brussels to London

Pagoda at Kew Gardens

     We got a taxi to the Midi Station for Eurostar in Brussels and arrived shortly after noon in St Pancras Station. Then, we took the train to Vauxhall where we got out at a food hall and had a bite to eat so we didn't arrive at Maura's hungry. Then, we got the train to Motspur Park where Maura was waiting with a car.

Barbara as a Supreme Court Judge looking very stern

    We spent the day chatting and doing a laundry and had a nice meal with Maura

October 17 A day at the Supreme Court in London. 

Maura, a more pleasant Supreme Court Judge

O

       We took public transport to Charing Cross and had a lunch at St. Martin's in the Field. Then, we walked from Trafalgar Square to Parliament Square, passing the Horse Guards and Downing Street, a walk we have not taken in years. It was a lovely day, so crowded with tourists. 

St Martin-in-the Fields window 

        Then we went to the fairly recently created Supreme Court. (I think it was formalized in 2009). It is a lovely building right across from Parliament and near Westminster Abbey.

   

      We spent time reading the exhibits about the history of the Court including the struggle to create it. It was very interesting. Their old Supreme Court was comprised of 3 people from the House of Lords. So, it was attached to the legislative branch. This new court is separate, so more independent. The judges have to have judicial experience and there is an effort to be sure they have expertise in various types of law (criminal, civil etc etc).

         We had a coffee in the cafe and visited two of the three court rooms.

         From there, we wended our way back to Motspur Park and had a lovely salmon dinner together.

         We also watched episodes of Ludwig with David Mitchell which we hope we can get back home as we are hooked.

         Another 4.5 mile day of walking.

October 18 A Day at Kew Gardens

        Today we spent the day at Kew Gardens. We started the day with a chilly drizzle, but, by the time we got to the Gardens, the sun came out.

   

    We had coffee at The Botanical, the cafe there and then we strolled a good deal of the garden including the Marianne North House which could not be photographed. She was a Victorian biologist and artist who was noted for her plant and landscapes and who traveled the world. The gallery walls are crowded with her amazingly precise works of art and are quite overwhelming to see all at once.

The Hive, immersion sight and sound installation at Kew

       Then we took the train to Raynes Park and ate at Lime and Thyme Italian restaurant and got home after dark.

     A full and good day. 5.5 miles of