Today’s the day. In a few short hours, I’ll be on my way across the pond again for a long-awaited two-week visit to northern Scotland. I wasn’t supposed to be going to Scotland this summer. I had long been planning on a trip to Germany and Austria for this year’s summer vacation. But upon the suggestion of a stranger on TripAdvisor last summer, I started looking at pictures of the Isle of Skye and the Outer Hebrides online. It was one of those times where my heart made the decision before my mind had a chance to catch up. I knew without a doubt I would be heading to Scotland after seeing those pictures and reading about this remote part of the world. And I never doubted my decision. After waiting until I was reasonably sure we wouldn’t be having any more snow days, I booked the trip. Then, of course, we had two more snow days. Good thing I left myself a few days’ cushion after the end of the school year! Continue reading
London 2016: Day 8
The final day in London. On the agenda for today were the Portobello Road Market and the Feast of St. George. I had my last hotel breakfast (I’m not a fan of British style scrambled eggs – too mushy for me) and checked out around 10AM. Repacking my suitcase took less time than I was expecting. And I managed to find the piece of fudge I bought in Cambridge! I left my luggage at the hotel and set out for Notting Hill to explore the market. I had plenty of company as I crept my way up Portobello Road. The market is roughly divided into sections covering antiques, new goods, food, etc. Plus, there are shops lining both sides of the road to stop into. My only purchase was a custard-filled donut from the same woman I bought one from last time I was there. One thing I will say about British sweets: none of them are overly sweet. The donut was good, but left me wishing I had stopped for a scone instead. Once I got to the end of the market, I wove my way back down Kensington Park Road to the tube. Along the way, I peeked into several of the neighborhood gardens, almost all of which require a resident key to enter. They were every bit as beautiful as the one Hugh Grant and Julia Robert’s climbed into in “Notting Hill”.
London 2016: Day 7
So… I saw the president this morning. Of course, that’s not what I set out to do today. But expected rain and colder temperatures put a bit of a damper on my original plans for the day (pun very much intended!). My original plan was to do a day trip to Rye. I was looking forward to wandering quiet streets, exploring the town, and enjoying afternoon tea. I knew a couple of days ago that the trip probably wouldn’t happen and was having trouble coming up with an alternate plan. Honestly, I would have been happy if I had been flying back to Boston today instead of tomorrow.
London 2016: Day 6
Rule Britannia! Today was the Queen’s 90th birthday, and while there weren’t many celebrations in London to mark the occasion, I did get to hear the 41-gun salute in Hyde Park while I was touring Kensington Palace. Today was also the day I decided I’m all set with the city and ready to go home. It’s not that I’m ready for vacation to be over, I’m just tired of the crowds of people everywhere and city life in general. I keep thinking back to last year’s April trip to the Cotswolds and wishing I had planned something similar this year…
London 2016: Day 5
“Do you hear the people sing?” I woke up this morning with absolutely no plans for the day and ended up taking a walk through Hampstead this morning before seeing Les Misérables this afternoon… it was a good day in London!
London 2016: Day 4
I spent the day in Cambridge today. I was looking forward to a fun day out of London, but I hate to admit I didn’t love Cambridge. What I did love was my afternoon tea in Grantchester (more about that later). I left my hotel around 8:30 AM and got to King’s Cross Station around 9:15. Plenty of time to buy my ticket and find the correct platform. I’m not a Harry Potter fan, but I did manage to snap a couple of photos at Platform 9 ¾. The train ride to Cambridge takes about 45 minutes on the fast train, and then it’s about a 20 minute walk into the city from the station. (You may be noticing a theme of a lot of walking in this trip!)
London 2016: Day 3
It was “freezing”, cloudy, and windy this morning, so I probably didn’t enjoy my walking tour of Greenwich as much as I otherwise would have. Greenwich is one of the parts of London I haven’t visited before, and was on my short list of must-dos this time. I decided to take another London Walks tour so I would be able to learn more about what I was seeing. The tour didn’t start until 10:30, so I had some time to walk around Westminster and the Tower Hill area before meeting up with the tour group.
London 2016: Day 2
Despite the 5 hour time change and jet lag, I woke up promptly at 5:15 AM (which happens about 360 days a year). Breakfast didn’t start until 7, so I had some time to ease into the day. After breakfast, I was out the door for a Sunday morning walk. I meandered my way through back streets in the general direction of St. James’s Park. Almost all of the flowers in the park were in full bloom. I walked through the park towards Buckingham Palace. Along the way, I found a group of large pelicans and a family of geese, perfect photographic subjects. As I was walking, I could hear a bass drum occasionally in the distance and decided to find out where it was coming from. I discovered a whole group of what appeared to be “guards in training” going through training exercises across the street from the park. Pretty impressive to watch!
London 2016: Day 1
If you know me at all, you know I am not a city person. I hate the crowds, the noise, the fast pace… pretty much everything about a city. So it may come as a surprise that I picked London as my vacation destination. Especially since I was just here last year for a couple of days and spent a week here three years ago. I know it’s a bit of a contradiction, but as much as I hate cities in general, I love London. I think it’s the combination of history (I’m not a history person either, so another contradiction…), music, and culture that continues to draw me back. The British scones certainly have a bit of pull as well!
Turks and Caicos 2016 – Day 6
A very windy final day on Grace Bay! The waves were crashing this morning as I set out for my beach walk. I didn’t make it as far as I have previous days because I couldn’t find much hard-packed sand to walk on. Breakfast this morning was at Bay Bistro, located directly on the beach at the Sibonne resort, right next door to The Sands. I walked over and enjoyed French toast while I watched the waves roll in. Despite the winds, the water was still a beautiful green (with some whitecaps mixed in). After breakfast, I quickly slathered on the sunscreen and made my way to the pool. The beach was way too windy to be comfortable.
Traveling with Laura 