Hello, readers. I intended to write more about my beloved Connemara in this post but as you know from the news, Hurricane Dorian is coming by for a visit. It is possible that we will miss the worst of it here in South Florida but it is still too soon to accurately predict if & how it will impact the southeast coast of the USA.
Hurricane Dorian is now a Category 4 hurricane which according to the USA National Hurricane Center is a storm that has maximum sustained winds 130 – 156 miles per hour (mph) & was a Category 5 hurricane (maximum sustained winds above 156 mph) just last night. This hurricane is a monstrous one & at the moment is over the Bahama Islands just east of Florida. Our prayers are with our neighbors in the Bahamas.
So, to take our minds off the hurricane I thought that it might be diverting to post some excerpts about a trip that John & I took in 2017 to Great Britain. Some of you might find this familiar as I did send family & friends some e-mails with these stories in them back in 2017. By the way, thank you Susan Moger for the idea of using some of my 2017 e-mails in my travel blog.
From 2017 …
We are enjoying our travels immensely & are well & happy. Now a few experiences about why travel abroad (or anywhere) may not be for the faint of heart.
After spending months searching for the perfect flight & seat selection our airline changed the flight times several times on the day of departure & then moved us to another airline out of Atlanta which actually worked out nicely for us. Those comfortable “Comfort” seats that we paid for disappeared but the airline did refund what we paid for them & we bought extra legroom on the other airline. From now on I’ll just throw caution to the wind & spend 20 minutes selecting our flights & seats instead of researching for weeks on end as it is now confirmed that when we make plans, God just laughs.
Our bed in London was so tiny that we each almost fell out at least once; we had to cuddle (had to, but liked it very much!) to hold onto to each to prevent a broken hip from falling out of bed! Otherwise the apartment was lovely & we expected Mary Poppins to fly by our windows.
The train ride from London to Bath was pleasant, well except for the man who boarded the stop before Bath, stood near our seats & yelled angrily (or so it sounded) in German for the entire trip. After recent terror attacks we were first thinking that we’re not going down without a fight. Running through my mind were all the self-defense lessons I’ve learned – shades of CaneFu, Mom! Thankfully, he was not a terrorist but someone who apparently was suffering with an illness; God bless him.
Bath is lovely & no, I didn’t mind falling down on the sidewalk & starting to roll downhill. Florida is so flat that one forgets to maintain balance on hilly streets! The Bath rental was very nice & it had a view from our window of the church next door. Being in Bath was like walking through a Jane Austen novel.
The brand new laptop bought expressly for this trip stopped working 3 days into the trip. Good news … Dell Care Center transferred our warranty to the UK & even sent a Tech to our Guest House in the Cotswolds; now, that’s service!
Our Guest House in Oxford had a serious water issue – at 10pm we heard dripping & then running water that seemed to get louder & louder by the minute. When it was clear that it wasn’t a neighbor showering we called Reception. Turned out that an overhead (over our heads!) water basin had an issue. The staff moved us to another room since it was very loud in ours. The bed in that room was small – see London bed above. Anyway, hardly any sleep that night & only a small discount for our troubles & being told that no one else had ever complained. We thought a bigger discount or a comp & a thank you for alerting them to what might have been a catastrophic flooding was in order. Oh well, it’s not as if we’ll be returning to attend Oxford University!
Now for the good & fun stuff …
The weather has been sunny, warm & blue skies – how unusual & delightful! We’re taking credit for the sunshine as we tell people that we brought it from Florida – gets us in good with the locals! Yesterday it was 73 in York & maybe 83 in the direct sun. The gastropub food has been delicious. We’re walking 3 – 6 miles a day & hoping that it’s helping to burn all the calories we’re eating & drinking – one can hope, can’t one?
One day in London we walked 11 miles through Kensington, Hyde, Green & St. James’s Parks & then across Westminster Bridge to meet up with a friend on Southbank for a lovely evening together. In memory of those killed & injured by the terrorist, flowers have been laid at each lamp post across the bridge & a mass of flowers laid on a nearby lawn for the Police Officer who was killed. We paid our respects to those who were killed/injured by the terrorist. WWII didn’t break the Londoners/British & neither will terrorists.
We attended Evensong at York Minster & it was a grace-filled, beautiful, spiritual experience. There were about 30 young boys & men in the choir & their voices were truly a gift from God. Candles were lit & prayers were said for you all at Evensong & the thought that came to mind as we heard the magnificent voices praising God was … And it pleaseth the Lord. Sunday church bells were ringing yesterday morning & the sound was glorious – what a great way to start a day!
John’s manual shift driving here has been wonderful & I appreciate his taking the wheel & letting me be the navigator. I don’t mind driving on the left side of the road but can’t quite manage that plus shifting with my left hand & sitting on right side of the car.
The countryside here is gorgeous, the people friendly & helpful & I just wish that we spoke their language. For example – pudd/pudding is dessert & we had an interesting conversation with a server about how we wanted dessert but the lemon posset & not the pudding; mobile = cell phone & the list goes on.
We’ve seen half-timbered homes, thatched homes, rolling hills, beautiful ruins & are learning so much about English history. York especially is a city rich with history, ruins & buildings many centuries old.
We are blessed with good health & appreciate how fortunate we are that our retirement plans of saving & being able to travel as we’re doing now are coming true. Many of our friends (especially FDNY) & family never got to live to enjoy their retirement. We thank God for this opportunity.
Speaking of God, may he bless you all. Oh, the Dean of York Minster was a woman at the time of our 2017 visit – just love that!
Please keep all those in the path of Hurricane Dorian in your prayers. Both John & I worked before, during (John) &/or after hurricanes in the past & we know how difficult & stressful it is to leave your families during a time like this. We are grateful to all those who are working to keep the rest of us safe & who will be out right after the hurricane to help those in need & to assess damage. God bless you all & keep you safe.
Great article!