We decided to be leisurely this morning and why not, it’s Sunday. After the Beer and Pretzel Fest yesterday, how do you top that? Well.. with a Faerie Festival of course! This was the Forged Fantasy Faerie Festival, say that five times fast! sponsored by the Drunken Smithy. The Drunken Smithy is a place that opened about a year ago at the Lebanon Valley Mall, I think I told you about it, because they offer axe throwing, which PSM and did a few months ago, we love it! We’ve done it in a few places, great fun and a great release!
The Drunken Smithy also offers forging classes, something, when we take, I will definitely share with you! Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localized compressive forces. Sounds fierce! It is! Looking forward to making something! PSM did buy me a hammered metal flower, actually it’s a dragon disguised as a flower and I so forgot to take a pic, I’ll do that, promise!
We were actually going to the movies and stumbled about the fabulousness of the Forged Fantasy Faerie Festival! It was like the Renaissance Festival in a mall, I loved it! There were people in costume, at least, some of them were in costume, I know some people live the life and this is how they dress every day. Faerie freedom! The best is when you see someone in full faerie regalia in an unlikely place, like loading something into their car in the parking lot. That was great!
There were so many vendors, some things repeated themselves, but all of it was wonderful and so many hand crafted items! There was music, minstrels, live Dungeons-and-Dragons role playing, face painting, libations, magicians, crystals, artists, and so much more, what else could you want?
Well…baby goats, that’s what! I was talking to a vendor and PSM came over and said “I don’t mean to interrupt…but there are baby goats”! What?! I have no idea, but I la la la love baby goats! And PSM knows it, I turn into mush! So…we rushed over, well, rushed while still being safe and not running into anyone and there they were! $5 for 5 minutes. My beau got me $10 minutes in with the baby goats! Some of them were only a few weeks old!!! I got in the pen, sat down and started loving on the baby goats! I was in heaven!!! Squeeeee!
Time with the baby goats was up…again, I was denied a baby goat or two…you really have to have more than one, they are pack animals. I think it would be so much fun to have a baby goat on the bike! In a side car?! Can’t you just see it?! Goggles and all! Yes!
We walked around some more, then it was time for the movies, luckily, in the same building. We headed over to the theater, got our water and popcorn, you have to have popcorn! Funnily…at home, I might put a little salt on my popcorn, but never butter, in the movie theater, must have butter! Don’t ask me why, that’s just the way it is.
We went to see The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. It was SOOOO good! The tagline: The British military recruits a small group of highly skilled soldiers to strike against German forces behind enemy lines during World War II. It was based on Damien Lewis‘ 2014 book Churchill’s Secret Warriors: The Explosive True Story of the Special Forces Desperadoes of WWII.
It was directed by Guy Ritchie, you can imagine the cinematography and style. It was very clever and funny, the dialog was brilliant, the cast…amazing! Henry Cavill, you know…Superman! as the lead, Gus March-Phillips, Alan Ritchson, Jack Reacher!! as Andres Lasson, what he could do with a knife or bow and arrow?!, Alex Pettyfer as Geoffrey Appleyard, master planner, Cary Elwes, The Princess Bride!! as Brigadier Gubbins ‘M’, the one who initiates the operation, Henry Golding, Crazy Rich Asians!!! as Freddy Alvarez, a master at explosives, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, new to me, as Henry Hayes, a great navigator, Rory Kinnear, he’s been in a lot of action movies, but I know him as a funny man, he was a fabulous Winston Churchill.
Freddy Fox played Ian Fleming, the author himself! Eliza Gonzales, as Marjorie Stewart, and Babs Olusanmokun, as Heron, both new to me, but I look forward to seeing them in future films! And lastly, Til Schweiger, I’ve seen him before, he plays a very good bad, and I mean bad guy!!!
There was action, a lot of it, adventure, great dialog, I mean funny and witty, violence, yeah, a lot of violence, it was WWII, fighting the Nazi’s, there’s going to be violence, but interestingly…not a lot of blood, in one or two scenes, there was blood, but overall… not much! Oh, and there were explosions, and fire, lots of those, and very clever tactics and ploys to do what they needed to.
Overall, I recommend this movie, I want to see it again, yeah, two thumbs up!
And on that note… Gute Nacht (gooteh nakt) [Good night in German]
First night with my family was fabulous, as always. Second night is always with PSM’s family, a fun time that!
It’s Tuesday, so it’s still a work day, that means, more cooking, just to fill in some of the gaps from what we ate last night at the first seder. We made two more kugels, another matzoh brittle, more gefilte fish, and more broccoli pancakes, oh yeah, more hard boiled eggs.
In between cooking, there was work to be done, for my job that is! I actually got a lot done, had a few calls, GES and dad went to the grocery store for some supplies, I did go out and treat myself to a chai at Starbucks, ended up talking to a nice guy about bikes, he commented on my Sturgis sweatshirt, how could I not talk about how much we love to ride?!
About 5p, I started to pack up my stuff and about 530p, I hugged and kissed everyone goodbye and headed to PSM’s family’s for seder. There were a lot more people at the second night seder, GES was having about 20, we had 11 last night, sound about right!
I walked in with my goodies, the fabulous veggie matzoh ball soup for me and the peach matzoh kugel for all. Let’s just say, I know it was good, but…there was absolutely nothing left for me to take back to PA and PSM! Happily disappointed!
We sat down about 630pm, I ended up at the kids side of the table. Kids being the youngest was about 16 or 17 and the oldest in their 20s, these are bigger kids. They still do the Four Questions, well, they’re still the youngest! Of course, I was also seated across from some of the older trouble makers, myself included, not complaining, there was a lot of laughter and love!
As all families, they have their own traditions, we sing Take Me Out to the Seder, sung to…you guessed it, Take Me Out to the Ball Game! They use different Haggadah’s, as most families do, but like most families, everyone takes a turn reading, participating in the service and the telling of our story.
I stayed until the seder was over and we started clearing the table, and some folks were heading out, it was about 930p and I had a very long drive home! Not looking forward to that…I got on the road, had the top down for part of it, of course! I decided to go through Connecticut, how much traffic could there be at 12-1am?! Well…not hours of traffic, but there was traffic! Seriously? I cannot stand driving through that state! I may have already said it, I enjoy the state, just not driving through it! ugh!
After about 3 hours, I probably stopped every hour, to get gas, walk around, keep myself awake and ready to go. It was a very, very, very long drive. I find that during the day, I can drive for what seems like forever! I remember driving from St Louis to Denver, CO, it’s about a 12 hour drive, I did it in one fell swoop, isn’t that a great expression! But once the sun goes down, I’m not good for the full drive without stopping.
I made it home safely, finished a podcast, started a new one, that kept me going for hours, I wasn’t sure when it was going to end, but good for my drive! I made it home about 330am and I was done! I emailed dad and my sister to let them know I was home, went into the house and was greeted with running, snuggles, and kisses from the fur babies, someone had fallen asleep and left them out.
I proceeded to love on them, get them in the crate, and it was all I could do to walk upstairs, put on my jammies, and fall into bed, the alarm was still coming at 6a, really?
All in all, a good trip, too short, but a good one. Family, friends, food, and fun, what more could you want? Notin’ I tell ya! Nothin’! G’Night!
Yesterday, after the Biker and Bike Blessing, I loaded up the convertible, kissed PSM and the dogs buh bye, jumped into said convertible, dropped the top and away we went! We being me and the cah! [I said cah because I was heading to Bahston!]
PSM gave me a way to avoid the traffic in Connecticut, that Connecticut is so famous for and makes people not want to go or drive through Connecticut. Ok, so maybe people want to go, I spent a great weekend there with CWB two years ago, but driving through it to get to Boston, not my favorite, or my husband, or my dad, or anyone else who has to do it. That being said, PSM gave me a route that would add about 100 miles to my trip, which meant about an extra hour, but I would avoid Connecticut, and it worked!
I arrived at my sister’s about 830p, eyes were slits, but I made it! After visiting for a bit, I was done! Down to the sofa in the basement, set up the blankets, jammies on, and I started talking to you and couldn’t sleep, really?!
I did not set an alarm for this morning, but lucky me…I woke up about 530a, fun! I lay there not thinking or doing anything, I just snuggled deeper into the covers, it was cold in the basement, but I was toasty under a few layers, works for me! Eventually I got up and wandered upstairs and my sister was in the kitchen with EJS, she was heading off with ACS, to do a father-daughter college tour and soccer ID clinic. Can you believe it…college tours! O M G!
MGS came down eventually, she had a soccer game in the afternoon, she was going to chill until then. GES and I started to cook some of the dishes we would need for the Passover seder tomorrow and Tuesday. She hosts first and second night. I’m always at first night and when I started dating PSM, we go to second night with his family. Their first night seder is usually held in a hall with a lot, when I say, a lot, I mean a lot of people! They’ve had up to 100 in the past! That would be something to see!
We have to strategize what we’re going to cook because there’s only so many good size burners and only so much oven space! We started with a matzoh brittle, y u m! This is one cup of brown sugar, one cup of butter, melted, then you put it on a tray of matzoh, which goes into the oven for 5 minutes at 350. When it’s cooled, you break it into pieces. Some people make it with chocolate chips and nuts, I’m a purist. You’re welcome, you’ll thank me later!
I started on the veggie matzoh ball soup, y u m! Then we made I lost count of how many hard boiled eggs, then the potatoes, we had gefilte fish to make too. This is where the musical burners comes in because there are only two large ones and we use large stock pots for everything!
We had thumbprint cookies to make, coconut macaroons, matzoh apple and peach apple kugel, charoset for just the two of us, since we can’t eat apples. I think that’s everything. You know…I really need to give you our recipes for these dishes, they are sooo good! Other people would be bringing items tomorrow, so we don’t have to cook everything like we used to when we were kids.
About 1030am, we went over to a friend’s house to help them with the crafts for her son’s bar mitzvah, it’s a baseball theme and she needed a little extra zhuzhing it up [you just have to say the word out loud]. That was a lot of fun, there were glue guns, batteries, lights, baseballs, the whole nine yards! And she had a Cricut, so I had someone to chat Cricut, you know I was in heaven!
After the craft party, we headed back home to cook some more. When we got there, dad had arrived! The family is together! We chatted and caught up while we made a few kugels, then everyone left for the soccer field, I stayed behind a few minutes to get the kugels out of the oven, the off to the game I went.
Great to see MGS on the field, it was a lot of fun, she’s really getting so much better! This was her first game with this team, definitely a new experience! I’m so very proud of her! I hope she knows that!
Let’s just say, I had my top down on the way to Boston, today…I couldn’t warm up fast enough when I was back in the car after the game. I could not feel my feet or fingers, thank goodness it all came back to me! Back at the house, a little more cooking and then it was time for dinner. They brought in pizza and salads, I had a nice big salad, I had to go to the grocery store earlier and got some of my favorite vegan cheese, Chao Cheese, the brand is Field Roast, I actually never noticed the brand name before! I was always focused on the flavor. It is a full, rich, cheese, and melts nicely!
Dinner is always fun at my sister’s house, lot’s of chatter, banter, silliness, and laughter, what more could you want?! After dinner we did the last of the cooking we needed to, cleaned up the kitchen, everyone else went up to bed and GES and I sat on the sofa and relaxed! What a day?!
I know I nodded off a few times while we were sitting there scrolling through our phones and watching something on tv, I know this because I kept waking myself up! ha ha. After a bit, I went downstairs and here I am telling you about my day.
I’m going to say Bonne nuit (bon nwee), that’s french for good night.
Say that 10 times fast! Today was a great experience, I told you last night I would tell you all about it today and here it is!
A biker and biker blessing is a truly moving event, we participated in our first one in Hawai’i. It was held at a church, it felt like every bike on the island was there! We met, there was a blessing, in Hawai’ian and we went on our way, knowing we were, well, blessed!
Today, we were with the Lebanon Valley Motorcycle Club [LVMC], there was also the biker/bike blessing with our Indian Motorcycle Riders Group [IMRG], it wasn’t an easy decision, but we went with the LVMC because we haven’t ridden with them yet and last weekend we had our first IMRG group ride of the season. I also needed to be closer to home, after the blessing and lunch, I high tailed it to Boston for a few days!
We got to the clubhouse at 1030a and there were already about 30 bikes and people there, by the time we left, I think we were somewhere between 50-60, maybe, I couldn’t tell, but there were a lot of us! It was fun meeting some new people in the group and seeing what everyone rides, that’s always the best part.
We were very organized, not us personally, the group. There were several people who would be blocking traffic, that means that they block traffic at lights and stops so we can all ride together as one big group. The idea, which I liked the analogy when we rode in Hawai’i was we should function like a tractor trailer, everyone stays together.
We left in one big group, I know someone was taking photos, I can’t wait to see them! I have to tell you, it is such a site to see all the bikes riding in one long procession, it sounds wonderful and it looks beautiful! We rode to the Lebanon VA Medical Center, what an honor! There were some residents who were outside watching, some in the lobby, and many from their rooms. We did a tour around the perimeter, came to park in front and we all got off our bikes and walked towards the chapel.
Father Paul was waiting for us, he was wearing a long white robe, full regalia, with sunglasses, a baseball cap, and sneakers! LOVE IT! We all gathered around and Father Paul read from his prayer book, a few prayers I recognized, what I loved was he added motorcycles in there! He talked about being able to ride was freedom, reminding us of what we can do, and to keep each other safe. It was a lovely ceremony.
We all received badges/pins, oh yeah, before we left the clubhouse, we all received an American Flag with the Biker Blessing on it to attach to our bikes! After we received our pins, we got back on our bikes and rode past Father Paul, who then blessed us each with holy water! SO cool!
After we were blessed, we made our way back to the clubhouse for a fine feast of picnic and comfort foods and good conversation. We met some new folks and really just enjoyed ourselves. I know we would have had fun with the IMRG folks, this was fun getting to know the LVMC folks!
After lunch we headed back home, played with the dogs a little, I loaded up my car and headed out and here I sit at my sister’s house writing to you. I’ll tell you more about that tomorrow! I need sleep! After getting up about 6am, then the biker blessing, then a 7 hour drive to Boston, I’m beat!
Vroom Vroom…God natt (goo nat) [Good night in Norwegian]!
Today was your average work day, it seemed to go on forever, was yours like that? I looked up, it was 12p, then I looked up and I thought it was 3p, nope, it was 1p, then 2p, what happened?! I was very busy, so that should mean the day flew by and I didn’t have enough time to get what I needed to done. Nope, it was weird. I didn’t quite make my deadline, but I got a lot done, go figure!
After work, take the pups for a walk, they got in their smells, found some potato-chippy worms to munch on, munched on some grass, I listened to a podcast, and that’s how it usually goes for us. Oh, we did meet some of the dogs in the neighborhood, we said hello to Charlie, the teeny poodle who definitely tries to defend and protect his property and his humans, Calvin, the black and white great dane, what a sweet and gentle doll baby, having a moment on the other dogs names, but they all did the doggie meet-n-greet, let’s sniff there, oh my!
Then PSM got home from work and we tried a new place on our Lebanon Valley Libations Trail, The Union Beer House. It is in a random place, nestled in between some car dealerships and other businesses, you almost drive by you. When you walk in, it’s very cool, they have beer coolers on the left, a lot of coolers, basically, a wall of coolers, these hold bottles by the six-pack for sale. Then on the right, there are shelves of wine, and a cooler with beer cans, I didn’t get over there to look if the cans were for sale in six packs as well. The last cooler had single bottles of beer, again, didn’t get over there to see if they were for sale individually.
At the counter you can order food and drink, on the left were all the taps and a proper bar. When I say proper bar, I just mean that you can sit or stand at the bar and gather, chat, congregate, which is the same as gather, right? In the middle, wide open space, they had tables and chairs for eating, they had a high top long bar along the window. Then as you wander, they have a video gambling room, that was different.
The food was ok, I’ll be honest, the only thing on the menu I could eat was veggie fried rice and an order of 5 mini spring rolls, I asked about a veggie burger, I was told they have a black bean burger, but it was spicy. Fried rice and spring rolls it is. PSM had fish and chips. The chips were good, we both liked them.
The place was crowded with friends, families, single folks, groups, couples. It had a good atmosphere of people enjoying themselves on a Friday night. Kitchen closes at 8p, brewery closes at 10p, welcome to Central PA!
We went because it’s on the Libations Trail, but it wasn’t a place I would go back to. I could see going if PSM wanted a beer or some friends wanted to go have a beer and hang out, but overall, not my first choice. I enjoyed the experience and I’m glad we tried something new, but it wasn’t for us. We really like to sit at the bar and talk to people. Oh well…
Now, the plus…we were only a 2 minute drive from the Lebanon Valley Motorcycle Club! Score! We got there a little before everyone was going up to the meeting, we just missed the home made carrot cake, bummer! D is a great baker! I really like everything I’ve tried!
Tonight the place was packed, not quite standing room only, but a lot of people! I think because the weather is getting nicer and rides are about to start happening, people were there to get more information. Tomorrow, I’m excited, we’re going to a bike blessing, not telling you much more because I want to tell you about it tomorrow!
I’m glad I ran into R when I was at White’s Harley Davidson and he told me about the club, and I’m glad we finally went to a meeting and joined. Everyone is very friendly and has welcomed us warmly and we’ve really enjoyed getting to know everyone. And…excited to go on our first ride with them and see what everyone rides!
And on that note, I’m going to wish you a शुभ रात्रि (shub raatree) [good night in hindi].
I was so tired last night after I got back to the states, but I’m proud of myself, I stayed up until about 10pm and then it was lights out! I think 10p is pretty good for 17 hours of travel!
Crashed about 10p, up at 4a, what?! Not cool! I refused to get out of bed, so I stayed put…until about 630/7a, it was so good to snuggle deeper into the covers, and to be in my childhood bed, secure and safe in a place I knew so well. I decided it was time to get up, so I took a nice long hot shower, thanks dad!
Got dressed, went downstairs, made a cup of tea, I found a cannister of vanilla chai powder, it was quite tasty, left it at dad’s house so I can have some the next time I’m there! I made myself a breakfast sandwich and sat down to get some work done. I was chatting with some co-workers about the eclipse and then about 315p, I went outside to see if I could see anything. Well…if you don’t have the special eclipse glasses, you won’t see much.
I zoomed my camera as close as I could get it, those are the very fuzzy pics, but wow, I found them stunning! The really bright white orb is me zooming in as much as I could…it was blinding! Then I went to the back deck and met some of dad’s neighbors, J&S, their kids, and J’s parents, it was a family affair! They offered me a pair of their glasses and what a difference!
I was able to put my phone behind the glasses, those are the amber pics, but then I got it right and the almost black with a sliver of the eclipse, oh wow! I even impressed myself! I share that with J&S, it was thanks to their glasses!
I was talking to people and we all expected that it might get dark, it didn’t, but it did get quite cloudy and the temperature dropped quite a bit. Some folks even said their animals went a little loopy leading up to the eclipse.
I watched for about twenty minutes, not all at once, I looked for a minute, then I took them off and talked to the neighbors. We continued like that for a bit and then it was done. I also needed to get on the road. I thanked them very much for the use of their glasses, exchanged information and I sent them the pics.
I loaded up the car with my stuff, grabbed my bialys from the freezer, thanks dad! I only forgot two things, as I found out when dad told me after he got home! I got in the car, dropped the top and I was off!
I didn’t hit any traffic on the way, stopped once for gas and I was home by 7pm, attached by the fur babies and the hubby, very happy to be home. Missed SDL and Miss A a bunch already, hard not to when you spend a week in close quarters with someone, but very happy to be home. I will be staying up until at least 10pm, I’m a little tired from driving and I still have this cough, but I’m ready to put on fresh jammies, crawl into bed and sac out!
As a side note, I don’t know if I mentioned how much trouble I had posting while I was in London that I gave up, so you’re going to get our whole trip, it will just be spread out a little, but it’s coming! How could I not share all that we did! And we did it all!
A fine good night to you my friends, a new day is coming tomorrow and I’m going to see if I can sleep past 4am, wish me luck!
Happy to be home and talking with you again! G’night!
We start with an 8am alarm, that’s not too bad, we woke up with the sun, which is better than the alarm, but the alarm kept us honest!
Start with breakfast, we gave ourselves two hours to get breakfast and get an Uber to where we were going. First stop of the day…The Tower of London! We had 1030am ticket times and we got there at 1022am, walked right up and in, it was perfect!
The first thing we did was speak to a yomen of the guard who showed us, on the map, where all the accessable and non-accessable points were, thank you very much!
We decided to start with the Crown Jewels, where else should we start! Luckily, the queue to get in was not long, still a lot of people in walking around, but wow! Shiny, blingy, shiny, and more blingy! If you haven’t seen them, go! Unfortunately, no photos at all, not even of the entrance sign! sigh…
There was one cool feature, it was a moving sidewalk near the last set of crown jewels, wish there were moving sidewalks near all the exhibits, then you might be able to see them all!
When we were finished, we went to wander around the grounds to see what else we could see and, while taking a picture, we noticed that Miss A was missing part of her hair bob concoction, the skull and rose, uh oh. So, they walked down the hill to retrace their steps and I went into where the crown jewels were and spoke to the guard at the entrance. He radioed and guess what…someone found it! See David, the guard with the hair bob! How cool!
We walked around, went to the new cafe, had a snack, then wandered around some more, headed to the gift shop and out to Tower Bridge. We took some photos and headed towards the Tower Cruises, we got a one-way trip to Westminster and The London Eye area. While we waited we chatted with a nice couple from Orlando who were here following a band.
It was starting to rain, so we were glad for the cover, then on the boat, it was a double decker, we were inside, I got us some tea and then the rain came down heavy and all the people from upstairs came downstairs, they weren’t feeling sitting in the rain I guess!
The captain was funny as we traveled he told us some history and funny stories, I’m sure some of it was to see if we were paying attention!
We docked and began walking in the rain, it’s London, of course it’s going to rain! We walked towards Trafalgar Square, then through the West End to Chinatown. It was still a little early, but we had to be at the theatre at 730, why not wander through Chinatown and see if maybe we get a very late lunch/very early dinner, it was about 430 when we got to Chinatown and we began to wander.
It’s such a cool neighborhood, lots of people, shops, restaurants, and the entrances and lanterns let you know where you are. There was street performers to enjoy, sights to take in, and restaurant after restaurant after restaurant to tempt you!
We decided on China Modern, it had a great selection and was relatively empty when we got there! It got even better, they had a healthy vegan section for me! Except for most of the dishes having chili peppers indicating spicy…I was set!
I ended up getting stir fried mock chicken with ginger and spring onion and veggie dumplings, the food was very appealing and tasty, I was set! I ate more than I normally to, but it was good and apparently we were hungry!
After eating, we ventured into Chinatown, stopping at Chinatown Bakery, which reminded me of the place that JCT takes me when I visit to get all sorts of Chinese treats! I was looking for Chinese almond cookies, but no one carried them, sigh…but I did get a few red bean bun items, so very excited to eat them on my flight home!
We stopped to hear a musician who was from Sweden, he was great, he put his own spin on Whitney Houston, Coldplay, and ABBA, we were set! We sat and listened to him for his last three songs, then moved on to wander through Chinatown some more.
Eventually, it started raining again, and we still had about an hour before we needed to get to the theater, and we were only about a 10 minute walk, if that… so, we went into Paul, a patisserie chain, which I love when I’m over here. They actually have a few locations in the states, it’s fun, but I prefer it over here!
We had some tea and just sat to enjoy the warm and dry, Miss A decided to take a nap on SDL, and we spoke with a family from Sweden sitting next to us, who had the same idea, since they were going to see Back to the Future, which it turns out was next to the theater we were going to.
About 715p, we got motivated and walked to the theater, they let us in a side entrance, then made a chair lift to lower Miss A and her chair to the stalls, where we were sitting! It was so cool! The taxi driver with the ramp and now the theatre with the list, we were spoiled!
Now…we’re seeing Six, the hit musical about the six wives of Henry VIII. This is the third time I’ve seen the show, first time in Boston in 2022 with Dad, LaLa, GES, and MGS. The second time in St Louis with PSM, and now, here in London with SDL and Miss A! We tried to go in NYC last summer but it was sold out.
It’s not a huge theater, but it was cozy and the accoustics were great! I sat in the middle of a row near SDL and Miss A, they were at the end of their aisle in accessable seating. The best part…I could hear Miss A when she started singing and really enjoying the show, it was awesome! I knew they would love it!
When the show was over, we grabbed a taxi, ramp out to roll Miss A’s chair right into the taxi, got to the hotel, they took showers and have gone to bed and I stayed up to talk to you!
Another fun and jam packed day! We’ve gone to almost all of the places on our list, at least the highlighted ones, some are just a would be nice if we could do it, the rest, we’re getting them all!
Tomorrow is another jam-packed day, or I know it will be the way we do it! So…won’t you join me tomorrow! For now, I’ll say fare thee well! G’night!
What a day! It was a very nice start to the day, no alarm! We got up liesurely, Miss A kept trying to dig herself deeper into the bed, and under the covers, we totally get that feeling!
Got up, dressed, and headed to breakfast. Muffin for Miss A, waffles for SDL, and my usual…hard boiled egg on multi-grain baguette, y u m! And a cup of tea with sugar cubes, of course!
Back to the room to get our stuff to get out to greet the day. We went down to the lobby, called for an Uber, and headed to Covent Garden. The driver dropped us off, we got out and started to wander. It’s a beautiful area, classic architecture, as always, beautiful walkways with shops set in, something to see around every corner, nook, and cranny!
When we got into the center courtyard, well, even before we got there, we could hear the musicians, one cello, and four violinists, how wonderful! Later, there was an opera singer, and later, there were two violinists playing the opening overture from Barber of Seville, my favorite opera.
We walked, explored, looked, touched, admired, bought a few things here and there. Then we went to the Transportation Museum, that was a lot of fun, and full of wee tots! Since it’s a charity, it’s one of the only museums not free in the UK, goes to a good cause, we’re good with that!
After the transportation musem it was time for some lunch, we walked around and found someone to help us with the lift, elevator, to get to the lower level and we went to the Punch and Judy pub, a very nice establishment, very friendly staff, warm, and cozy place to spend some time. I had pea and mint soup, it was quite good, SDL had fish & chips and Miss A had some fish & chips, peas, and sweat peas, there was sticky toffee pudding for dessert, but she wasn’t interested. Truth be told, it wasn’t very good, I think some of the toffee they made was burnt, oh well.
Back outside, we walked around a little more and headed towards Picadilly Circus. On the way, we stopped in a theater, I’ll tell you more about the theater tomorrow, and we got tickets to see Six, the musical about the wives of Henry VIII, I can’t wait! i saw it in Boston with MGS, GES, my dad and Lala, can’t wait for SDL and Miss A to see it, Miss A is going to love it, it’s a 90 minute concert basically!
We continued on to Picadilly Circus to see all the pagentry! The sights, sounds, people, movement, nothing stands still! Sometimes reminds me of Times Square in NYC! We stopped at the Hard Rock Cafe store, of course! I didn’t buy anything because I got GC’s pin at the other location and I got him one at this store when I was here two years ago.
We ventured out of Picadilly towards Soho, which was another thing on our list. It’s beautiful, lots of shops and pubs and people, so much to look at. We were taking photos, someone offered to take ours and then we asked for food recommendations and they pointed us towards Kingly Court.
This was lovely! It’s outdoors with canvas covers at the roof, so you could sit outside comfortably. There were trees in the center, benches and tables for different restuarants, with heat lamps to keep you warm while you sat outside, since the seating was limited in some of the restaurants. There were only restaurants in the Kingly Court, all on the permiter at each level. It really was lovely.
We ended up at Paradiso Burger & Cocktail Bar. Most people were sitting downstairs, but they had room for us upstairs, where the kitchen happened to be. It was kind of nice, we had the place to ourselves. I had a viking vegan burger, no idea why they called it that! SDL had a chicken sandwich, and Miss A had a sweet potato with some butter and magnos, then for dessert, avocado and mangos, not a bad meal overall!
Back out onto the road, wandering around Soho, the sights, sounds, people, feeling, experiences, and finally back onto a main drag to get an Uber back to the hotel, we were done!
Miss A and SDL went down to the pool, and I stayed behind to talk to you! I’m so glad I did, so much to share with you!
Tomorrow is a new day, the alarm is set, not as early as yesterday, but we’re going to see he crown jewels, gotta be up and ready to go in case one happen to land on our heads, gotta look our best!
It’s a new day, day 3 and we have lots to do! First, I want to take you on a tour of the restaurant in the hotel, it’s fun!
It’s a nice restaurant, wide, open, and inviting, if that makes sense. They have a few walls with animal heads, but just wait…the animal heads are all made of newsprint! Most likely paper mache on the outside, if you look closely, you can see headlines and typeset in the ears and on the face, horns, etc. It is very clever, if you take the time to look at it all!
The food presentation is nice, they have everything you might want or need for breakfast, pre-made scrambled eggs, eggs made to order, potatoes, grilled tomatoes, grilled mushrooms, think full english breakfast, then there are pancakes and waffles made to order, breads, cheeses, yogurts, fruit, breakfast cereals, muffins, coffee, tea, juices, you name it, they probably have it!
It was time to head out and say cherrio to London, and btw…they don’t say that, just in the movies, and if they do, I haven’t heard it!
They do say love at the end of every sentence, and I have to tell you, I like it, it doesn’t bother me, like in the south when someone , who I don’t know, calls me hun, or sweetie, it’s syrupy sweet and I’m not a fan! But call me love, it works, it’s just part of their vernacular. Ooh, I love that word!
We’re off…we got an Uber to Green Park, we were meeting our tour guide by the Constance Fund Fountain of Diana, isn’t she stunning!? I could just imagine, when it’s summer and the water is flowing.
There were so many tour groups meeting there, we finally found our guide, Alan, who was fabulous, by the way! I always thought if I was retired or we were living somewhere for PSM’s job and I couldn’t work for whatever reason, I would get a job as a tour guide, I would love it! One of these days I’ll tell you about a tour business…shhh…
We started walking, and Alan was very knowledgeable, giving us all sorts of tidbits and history and also very conscious of where the steps would be that we would need to get Miss A’s chair over. For the whole tour, everyone in the group was very aware and helpful where we were and if we had to pull the chair over something.
We started off, our first stop was by this amazing statue, across from the guards station on Marlborough Road, at St James Palace. We were waiting for the band to come out, we had such a great vantage point! While we waited, Alan gave us lots of great information, like there were only 2 guards there, that meant the king was not there. Interesting!
I love that I got Alan’s audio! He was telling us that when you look at their hats, the higher the hat, the higher the rank. There was an inspection first, I hope they pass!
Sorry it was slightly shaky, I was holding my hand up above my head, harder to keep it steady, everyone was so much taller than me!
Alan was trying to guess what they would play, would it be something serious or something light hearted. These are the Scottish guards, apparently they passed muster, here comes the band. Do you recognize the song?
We hated to leave the band, they were so very talented and I love that song! But…if we didn’t leave, we wouldn’t have the fabulous spot we did for the next phase of the tour and changing of the guard! [a lot of really cool background in that link!]
As we waited for the guards, we learned a few things. King Charles does not want to live in Buckingham Palace, understandable, with 775 rooms…it’s more of an office, so that’s why he and Queen Camilla are taking up residence at Clarence House, which only has 5 bedrooms, a little more manageable, which, was where William, the Prince of Wales had their residence, but since the King and Queen are there they’ve moved to Kensington Palace.
Since there were only two guards, that meant that the king was not in residence, if he was, there would be more. Also…the reason they walk back and forth, about every 10 minutes, is because it was a rule set down by Queen Victoria, if they are walking back and forth, they are proving they are not drinking or gambling! Oh my!
And from where we were standing, we could have reached out and touched a horse, we didn’t, but we could have! oh wow! such precision! such beauty!
Here are the guards walking back and forth!
Here comes and there goes the band! I don’t know if I said this, they only have the changing of the guard on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, mainly it’s dependent on the weather! Check out the full schedule in the link!
Here’s Alan telling us about the women in the guard! We definitely saw one! And the police officer at the end was a woman, again, girl power!
This was so exciting to watch, and this up close. Normally, you might be outside the gate or across the street, we were up close and personal! Turns out this is punishment duty! Oh my, that is quite the punishment!
After the tour was over, we got to stand and take pictures with the horse and guard! It’s definitely allowed, as long as you don’t touch their reigns or bridle, I think that’s what it was. I was ok, I didn’t touch anything! But…it was awesome! The horse we were standing/posing with put his head on my shoulder! He did!!!
After the pictures and me squealing about the royal horse putting his head on my shoulder, you are welcome for the ear worm! We walked to Trafalgar Square, it was right up the street. It wasn’t overly crowded, unusual, but nice. The fountain was doing it’s thing, people were walking around, climbing on things they weren’t supposed to, oh well, and the traffic was going by as if nothing would stop it.
I don’t know about you, but we were hungry! So…we went to The Clarence Pub in Whitehall. Thing thing about The Clarence…I was there with my dad in December 2022, then again with my dad, PSM, and my sister’s family in December 2022, a few days after dad and I discovered it. The food is good, they have a great veggie burger and sticky toffee pudding! I think I first saw it either on Gordan Ramsay or The Great British Bake Off and I first tried it in Glasgow, Scotland and fell in love with it and now, I try it whenever I can!
I just had to introduce it to SDL and Miss A and it did not disappoint! They went out of their way to find us a table, SDL had steak and ale pie and a beer, I had their veggie burger and a pot of tea, and Miss A had, you guessed it, sticky toffee pudding with ice cream, she was happy.
It’s a great atmosphere, warm and inviting, cozy, friendly, great staff, great food, great ambiance, what more could you want!? Would I go back? You bet, it might be my go-to for London trips for a good, affordable, convenient lunch!
It’s time to explore again! No the day isn’t even close to being over! We walked back down Whitehall looking at the architecture, the people, listening to the sounds of every day life in London, all the way down to Big Ben and Parliament. We learned somewhere that Big Ben is actually ‘just’ the clock and the tower itself is called the Elizabeth Tower, imagine that!
As we walked back down Whitehall, we were treated to another changing of the horse guard, but we were on the outside this time.
Let’s keep walking… we walked back to Buckingham Palace in all its glory and then we walked Constitution Hill to the Wellington Arch. It started to rain while we were walking, but did we care, nope, not at all! We were in London, the sun was out, and we were having a grand time! As we came out of Constitution Hill at the Wellington Arch, what did our eyes spy…THE Hard Rock Cafe! London!
Now…when I say THE Hard Rock Cafe, I mean THE Hard Rock Cafe, the very first, established in 1971, a very good year, if I do say so myself! The cafe was established June 14, 1971 and it was just that, a cafe. We decided we had to go in! [We really needed a looooo!] We maneuvered in, got a table, SDL ordered cheesecake for herself and a piece for Miss A and I had a pot of tea, there honestly wasn’t anything there for me, and we were just looking for dessert, I was happy with my pot of tea. Let’s just say the cheesecake was a big hit!
After we relaxed a bit and Miss A enjoyed the music, it was cool, they were playing classic videos on the TVs, things I haven’t seen in years! Next, you know we had to, we went across the street to the shop. I don’t know if I told you, but…wherever we go, we always look for the Hard Rock, SDL likes to collect their t-shirts, if it’s cool and the price is right, for me, I have a friend that I always get a pin for! I got him one when I was here the last time, at the store on Piccadilly, and I wasn’t originally going to get one this time, but it’s the original cafe/store! Shhh…don’t tell him!
As we were walking around, this guy who works there offered to take me on a tour of the museum downstairs, SDL wasn’t interested, so I went and it was cool! They had the corset Madonna wore in the Express Yourself video, Slash’s guitar, John Lennon‘s lyrics to Instant Karma (We All Shine On), a chair from Freddy Mercury and more! It was quite the treat!
When I came back upstairs, I found them waiting and Miss A was nodding off in her chair, it was time to go! I got us an Uber back to the hotel, there was no way we were walking! It was 3.2 miles and we had just walked how many miles, no thanks! 15 minutes by car or 60 by foot, hmmm…
We got back to the hotel, ordered some takeout and chilled out, it was a great day, but we were tired! I might fall asleep as I’m writing this to you, could you blame me?! What does tomorrow hold?! It’s only day 3, we have so much more to see!
We were all so tired last night we just passed out! Let’s go greet the day and see what adventure London holds for us!
No alarm, thankfully, we got up liesurel, got dressed, and headed downstairs. It’s Easter Sunday, what are we going to do? Well, first…food! We headed to the restaurant for some food, Miss A was dressed ready for Easter, she had an Easter Bonnet fasinator on, very British of her!
Aftef breakfast we went into the lobby, they had baby bunnies and chickies! I cannot believe I don’t have any photos of the bunnies or chickies, I’m sorry! I just realized all my photos are with the bunnies, chickies, Miss A, and SDL, and you know I won’t post those here!
They were soooo cute! Only about 15 weeks old, they were brought in by a company called Living Things, ‘A Five-Star Animal Welfare Company’. Very nice people/kids working it, you sat on a bale of hay and they put a drape on your lap and gave the child the animal to hold. SDL and I held the animals, and we helped Miss A pet them, lots of great pics! They were so soft and fuzzy!!!
I told PSM about it later, he told me I couldn’t bring one home. Party pooper!
After the bunnies and chickies, we headed out and walked down by the river and across the Millenium Bridge towards St Paul’s Cathedral, stopped to take some pics and as SDL is trying to take a selfie, I’m also taking pics, a guy jumps on the bench behind her and basically photobombs her pics without realizing it! We al had a good laugh, especially his wife and I, SDL, not as amused in the moment, ha ha! I even texted him the pics!
We walked by St Paul’s, went to the tourist office, asked some questions, and then got an Uber to Camdentown to see Camdentown and the Camden Market.
Camden Market and Camdentown are very ecclectic, hippy-dippy-trippy, punk, alternative, you name it, it’s there. Reminds me of Greenwich Village in the 70s and 80s. There are markets, one-off shops, flea markets, some name-brand shops you may have heard of, and most you probably haven’t. There is Camden Locks, pubs, restaurants, shops, stalls, vendors, all types, clothes, art, collectables, foreign, local, you name it, you can probably find it there!
After a while of walking in and out of some stalls, shops, markets, it was time for a break. We went to Dingwalls, it was up a level, we could get in, they have food and drink, and we found a spot to sit. Actually, a few people offered up their space for us to sit and enjoy, very kind! We met Winston and Master Nelson, two very sweet dogs who love to give kisses.
We settled in, I went up to the bar and ordered us some food and drink. The food and SDL’s drink I got from inside, my tea had to be ordered at the outside bar, ok. It took a llllooooonnnnggg time to get our food the drinks were right there at the bar. When I went to get a refill on my hot water, I thought I could get a refill for SDL from the same outside bar, not the case. They only had certain beers inside, ok…
There was someone who walked in looking for things, I ended up giving them the lowdon on where everything was, bartender confirmed!
I have to say, my veggie burger was quite tasty! The fries were soooo good. I hadn’t had fries like that since Germany! All in all, a tasty lunch, if not a very slooooowww lunch. I know, I know, it’s all about taking our time and enjoying, and I agree, but it’s hard to take time and enjoy when there’s nothing to enjoy! ha ha.
After lunch, we ventured back out, the weather was fabulous! As we were walking by the lock and taking pictures, a boat was coming through and we got to see them ‘lower’ the water and boat, then open the locks, so cool!
Back out onto the main road, shops, shops, people, food, pubs, and more shops and people and food and pubs, oh my!! Camdentown is such an ecclectic place! I love seeing everyone’s style and individuality and even a few true and honest punk rockers with fabulously long spiked hair, what more could you want?!
Don’t you just love the character of the buildings, some of them modeled what the store was, like the Rayban shoppe was covered in glasses, the New Rock store had a New Rock boot above the sign, Cold Steel selling body jewelry, like I said, individual in every way!
Eventually we went into Camden Market itself, more shops and food, I love the umbrellas lining the ceiling, the horse at the entry to the horse stable tunnel shops, talk about using he space, some of the shops are set up in horse stalls!
Eventually, it was time to head back to the hotel, I grabbed a snack in the executive lounge, SDL wasn’t hungry, she very smartly packed a lot of good snack food, that’s what she was looking for, worked for me!
We took Miss A to the pool, she had about an hour to play and she was quite happy! At 10pm, they came and kicked us out of the pool area, so upstairs for showers and jammies!
We have a tour tomorrow, can’t wait to tell you all about it! Are you tired yet? I am! G’night!
Peaches Prattlings 