13 August 2018 – Eastern Europe Adventure – Greenwich – Bruges – Amsterdam

Laurie and I were surprised to discover that we are the only two South Africans on our Expat tour. There is a varied mix of other nationalities including Kiwi, Australian, American, Canadian and Asian. We have already made friends with several of our traveling companions,

It was a great thrill to find that we would cross the channel by train. I have crossed on a ferry and the Euro Star before but never in a bus on a train!

Driving onto the train

Our bus

Filip, our guide kept us informed and entertained with interesting information about our trip and the places we passed through. After crossing the channel to Calais, we drove through France and at lunchtime we stopped in Bruges for an hour and a half. We were all free to wander around on our own and explore. Lolz and I found a place to have a quick bite to eat and I had the best caffeine fix ever. Belgian coffee is to die for. Then we explored the beautiful town.

Belgium is of course famous for its chocolate and we had a taste before buying a couple of slabs from the stunning shops that sold the most beautifully packaged choccies.

The time flew and by 2:30 we were back on the bus for the 3 hour ride to Amsterdam. It was a quick check in at The Hampton by Hilton Hotel then back into the bus to the city. Once again we were free to explore on our own with a choice of taking the bus back at 9 pm or staying later and getting the train. We chose the latter so we could meet up with Laurie’s friend Daz. What fun we had. After a bit of sight-seeing we had drinks and snacks at a pavement restaurant and then did the compulsory walk through the red light district and passed some ‘coffee shops’ along the way. Some interesting smells came from those. We decided not to explore the joys of smoking weed and eating space cookies!

Interesting architecture

Mom and daughter selfie

Bikes everywhere

The most popular way to travel

We rather liked the name of the boat😀[[[[[[[[

We all walked to the station together and Daz helped us find the right train. It was a quick 20-minute ride home and then a short walk to our hotel. A great end to an interesting day of travel.

I had an amazing weekend catching up with my friend and to end our time together we went out for brunch before I had to catch my my train back to Clapham Junction.

The weather today brought slight rain but I managed to stay dry.

I now consider myself to be a confident and capable user of the British Public Transport System. I was even arrogant enough to comment to my friend that if you get lost using it you must be an idiot. There are constant reminders of the next stop, announcements about delays or changes, electronic notice boards indicating platform numbers etc. It’s all so simple.

It can be tricky sometimes, she warned, people do get confused and find themselves on the wrong train.

Well I certainly won’t, I scoffed and off I went dragging my bag confidently behind me.

It was rather a heavy bag but I could manage it quite well thank you. But it was nice when a young man gallantly took it from me and helped get me and it into the coach. Did my grey hair give away my advanced age?

At Harrow & Wealdstone I had to change trains. There was a half hour wait for the 14:29 to Clapham Junction. I found the right platform and sat in the waiting shelter. Over the public address system I heard something about cancelled services due to line maintenance – Does that affect the train to Clapham? I asked the shelter full of people.

A Jamaican voice replied, No – your train is the second one to come into platform 6. Relieved, I thanked him. But did I listen properly? I was about to hop onto the 14:25 when the same Jamaican voice called out – hey I told you – the second train – it comes @ 14:29!

Oh boy – I would have found myself on an express and miles away before I could correct my error! To say I was profusely grateful would be an understatement.

You would think that after that near disaster I would not be so stupid as to get confused about a familiar bus! Ha! Usually only the Number 170 bus stops in Grant Road outside Clapham Junction – but today there were extra busses transporting train commuters from station to station because of the work on the lines! And it was onto one of these I innocently hopped! I HAD asked a bus conductor if the bus went to York Road but he ignored me as others were questioning him too. He DID say where the bus was going but I didn’t know if my stop was on that route. And only when the bus moved off did I get an answer! Oh dear! Fortunately it stopped around the corner at another Clapham entrance and I got the 170 from there.

Moral of the story – Always check and check again that you’re going the right way!

The rest of my day/evening was stunning. Lolz and I sorted out the flat, dropped the keys with the concierge and took an Uber to The Holiday Inn Express in Greenwich. We checked into a stunning twin room, freshened up and Walked (15 minutes) to O2 which is very viby and has dozens of restaurants to choose from.

Katja and hubby Philip with 10 week old baby in pram met us there. We chose to dine at Zizzi’s. Lolz had Risotto and I had a divine prosciutto salad. We drank Prosecco and the waiter asked, Are you celebrating anything?

In unison Lolz and I said Yes – then I said, Every day is a celebration🥂 and she said we’re celebrating Life! 🍾

And we did, the food was good, the conversation interesting and the company charming.

Tomorrow we’re off to Europe!

10 August 2018

Today dragging my suitcase, I caught the bus successfully by myself, got off at the right stop, used the machine to get my online tickets and found the right platform to get my train. I had half an hour to spare so went to one of those kiosks vending coffee and junk food. The one that had a sign saying – saving good people from bad coffee – proved to be a good choice. I didn’t think I could manage taking my Americano and croissant to eat on a bench so I stood to one side of the counter and enjoyed it right there. The friendly server got into conversation with me. He was from Zanzibar and I said, “How could you leave such a beautiful sunny place to live in this climate!” He laughed and explained that he’d come to study, met a local girl, fell in love and married her. But, he assured me, he goes home every six months. And he loves London.

The chap on the left is from Zanzibar.

On the platform another passenger greeted me and we were soon chatting. I’d always believed that the British dislike talking to strangers but this lady proved this perception to be wrong; or is she the exception to the rule? We sat together on our journey too and continued to solve the world’s problems. She got off three stops before mine and so my hour long ride was saved from boredom.

I am now spending the weekend with a friend and we are having the best time. I will not be posting this weekend but will continue to report on our adventures on Monday when we begin our European Tour.

9 August 2018

When we arrived on Tuesday London was hot, yesterday was cooler but today it was back to what one expects when visiting the UK – wet and somewhat chilly! We should have come prepared but found ourselves about to go outdoors without umbrellas. But lucky for us we found a rather cute one in the hallway ☔️ hope you don’t mind us borrowing it Olivia😻

We did not hesitate to hop on the bus 🚌 instead of walking today. Then after doing some chores on Clapham Junction Main Road we took the overground to Windsor!

It was raining quite steadily and our baby brolly wasn’t serving two adults too well so we quickly popped into the nearest restaurant for a cuppa and hoped it would ease up. But it didn’t so we dashed off to the nearest shop that looked like it might have umbrellas. Of course it did and so we remained dry for the rest of the day.

The queue to get into the castle was extremely long and seemed not to be moving so we decided to browse the shops and check in later. It was still raining at lunchtime and we were feeling cold and hungry. We both craved a good curry and Lolz knew from past experience that Wetherspoon Pub would serve one. What luck to discover that on Thursdays they have a special on our chosen meal. We both had chicken korma with a complementary glass of wine for only £17 for the two of us. And it was delicious,

Windsor Castle was awesome. The queue had shortened considerably and we didn’t even have to join it as we had bought tickets at The Palace yesterday. We were fast tracked to the entrance and were in without a hitch. Because we didn’t have our own personal expert with us today we took to recorded commentary instead and it was very good,

Exploring the castle was awesome. It is far grander than ThenPalace and steeped in history. Unfortunately no photography inside the state rooms is not allowed but we enjoyed drinking in the beautiful art, murals and history and imagining ourselves being courtiers there in bygone ages.

Outside was just as wonderful as inside and we marvelled at how big and imposing the castle is. Many people live and work there and it is in fact like a small village.

Every tourist and his child photographed this poor guard who didn’t even flicker.

It was after five by the time we got home. Lolz went out with friends but I decided not to join them. The old lady needs rest!

8 August 2018 Buckingham Palace State Rooms

Public Transport in London is awesome! Well we who come from a country where it is appalling think so. I could see that a few others were a tad irritated when they heard that there were slight delays caused by trespassers on the railway line! Well at least they weren’t striking, burning coaches or stealing overhead cables. We were unaffected and hopped onto an express within seconds of arriving at Clapham Junction. Our destination – Victoria, London to visit the queen. Okay so she wasn’t there but we roamed around her palace anyway.

He didn’t move a muscle

Baby Brother was our guide and while all the other tourists listened to commentary through earphones we were royally entertained by our own personal expert. My brother is extremely knowledgeable about the history and art of The Palace and shares his passion with enthusiasm and wit. It was a most enjoyable morning. No photography was allowed in the state rooms but here are a few of The Queen’s backyard!

Uncle and Niece sitting

The Palace from the garden

The Gift Shop

A duck on the pond

Canada Goose and coot

After enjoying the gardens my brother hailed a London Black Taxi and whisked us off to the RAF Club for some fine dining. We felt like proper English ladies in their fine restaurant. The lunch – leek and potato soup followed by pork belly and vegetables for Lolz and me and Asparagus and roast beef for Nicholas – was delicious. We were waited on by charming and attentive staff and felt very spoilt indeed.

Beautiful table setting

My brother and my daughter

After lunch we went to Covent Gardens, enjoyed the vibe and did some shopping and then returned to The RAF club and were treated to High Tea, the best part of which was the champagne 🥂

It was a great ending to a superbly entertaining day. Once again we were ushered into a taxi, driven to Victoria where we got our train and headed home for a relaxing evening.

6 /7 August 2018

Well for the next four weeks I am going to attempt to blog about the trip that I am enjoying with my daughter, Laurie. Please bear with me as I’m doing this on my IPad. It’s external keyboard has died so I am having to make do with the touch screen. Not ideal for a touch typist who learned her skill on an old fashioned typewriter! Also my photos have to be loaded onto the iPad and I’m hoping not to run out of space!

I got over my fear of flying years ago. So why did I find myself with sweaty palms, shortness of breath, beating heart and very sore tummy all of yesterday before boarding the aeroplane with my darling daughter who organized everything?

I don’t know. It it might have been some subconscious reluctance to leave the darling Earl behind. He is a an independent man, quite capable of taking care of himself but we very seldom travel without each other and I might just have been a tad reluctant to go without him!

But as soon as BA 58 took off dead on time @ 7:30 and fortified with some calming herbal medication I was fine! The adventure had begun!

Lolz took this selfie of the two of us on the plane

And this one flying over The Thames

You’ve got to hand it to the British – they must be the politest people in the world. So often cabin crew though efficient are offhand and clearly irritated by their difficult passengers but not the British. They are charming and never lose their cool, Nothing is too much trouble. By the time Laurie and I got to our seats right at the back of the plane, the overhead cupboards were full. Our steward with no fuss at all rearranged things and all was sorted with kindness and charm.

I also love their sense of humor. “How was your night ?” I asked our steward.

“just fine’ came the reply.

“So no difficult, demanding passengers.”

“Well, perhaps just one or two,”he said waving his hand in my and my daughter’s general direction!

Passport control in my experience usually have the most officious staff – but not in England. Once again everybody was dealt with politely and welcomed into the country with a smile. One almost enjoyed the 35 minute wait in the queue,

In spite of not sleeping a wink all night I was in high spirits and ready to enjoy our first day in London. We took a while to get our baggage as there was confusion as to which carousel to monitor but at last we found it. Then we dithered over whether to take the train or Uber. Lolz has the app – I’m too old to drag suitcases and negotiate station changes so Uber won! It was about an hour through London traffic but painless and we arrived in Battersea in the best of moods. How lucky we are to have the use of Big Brother’s flat for our week in London. We feel so spoilt and Lolz who is actually a princess has found no pea under her mattress. We overlook The Thames and have views from the lounge and both bedrooms. It’s just the most awesome place.

Lolz’s photie of the view from the flat

Not only did my niece make sure the flat was ready for us, she also sent us tips of where to go and what to do in the Battersea area. So after settling in and freshening up we were exploring by 10:30 am.

We found a lovely French restaurant nearby where we fortified ourselves with a delicious lunch before shopping for future victuals.

Later in the afternoon we went walked to Clapham Junction where we sorted out some banking, local SIM cards and loaded our Oyster cards. As we were pretty tired we decided to take the bus back. We were slightly disorientated when we got off at what we thought was the right spot but nobody panicked. Lolz has a good sense of direction – mine is non existent – and she got us home safe and sound.

Tomorrow we will be meeting Baby Brother and doing a tour of Buckingham Palace State Rooms!

Here are my answers to this weeks Share Your World from Cee

In regards to puzzle what’s your choice: jigsaw, crossword, word search, mazes, logic or numeric puzzles, something else, or nothing?

How my daughters and grandchildren love doing those impossible thousand piece puzzles with their tiny pieces and hard to distinguish colours!   They encourage me to join in and if I manage to even place one piece an hour I’m overjoyed!   No – jigsaws are not for me.  I don’t have the spacial perceptual skill for them.

I adore doing crossword puzzles.   Years ago I did the daily cryptic puzzles in our daily newspaper but it was becoming addictive so I stopped and only did crosswords on weekends or during holidays.

I’m not sure how I got into number puzzles but I now do at least one Sudoku per day.  I have an App on my phone!

But word puzzles remain my favourite.  I do the  Mega Crosswords in The Fair Lady Magazine every month.

List at least five favorite treats and it doesn’t necessarily have to be food.

• Going away for the weekend especially if bird watching is involved
• Having a massage
• Having a facial
• Chocolate
• Meeting friends for coffee
• Wine

What is your favorite type of dog? (can be anything from a specific breed, a stuffed animal or character in a movie)

My favourite dog is no longer with us.  She was black and had the name Tammy but The Earl called her Black Dog and she responded to that more than her given name!  She was of no particular breed – she was spaniel sized and also had a Labrador look about her.  Black Dog was rescued from a litter that would have been euthanized if our friends’ daughter, Nicky, hadn’t promised to find homes for them.  I didn’t want a dog but she was placed in my lap and when my kids saw her they said, “Aw Mom – she’s so cute!”  So I said, “Okay we’ll take her.”  She turned out to be the most precious pet we’ve ever had.    Black Dog adored accompanying me on my daily runs.  In a perfectly normal voice I would say, “I think I’ll put on my takkies,” and she would go crazy.   Then off we’d go and she would race ahead then race back to me and cover five times the distance I did. As she aged she became slower but still would not miss that run for the world.  Even toward the end of her life when she simply couldn’t any more, her tail would wag at the word ‘takkies’  or ‘run’  and how sad she looked when I wouldn’t let her follow me.   It was the saddest goodbye when we finally had to let her go.  I held her paw as the veterinarian gave her the last merciful release.   She lifted her head and looked at me as if to say – I’ll be okay. I going to where there is no more pain.  But still I cried for the most playful, protective and faithful friend one could ever wish for.  Gone but not forgotten.

Tammy teaching Beth to beg for a treat.

What did you appreciate or what made you smile this past week?  Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination. 

We spent four days in Cape Town last week and catching up with friends and family made me smile.

My great-nephew made me smile when he took the watering can to the tap and asked me please fill it so he could water the garden

There are some cool questions from Cee this week  Here are my answers.

What would you name the autobiography of your life?

I think I would call my autobiography, My Soap Opera Life.

At one stage I wanted my character to go into a coma so I could rest!

Which do you prefer sweet, salty or buttery? 

All of the above.  I love food to be tasty.   I have been told that salt is bad but I crave it and always add more to my food. My husband’s cardiologist told me that due to my low blood pressure I need lots of salt.  I like this guy.

I avoid sugar but who can live without a little bit of sweetness from time to time.

My current eating regime encourages high fat so buttery is really good!  All my veggies get loads of butter added to them.

What’s the finest education?

The university of LIFE.  Learning from life experiences is the best education.

You can go to the finest school, college or university but if you don’t have the right attitude you won’t really learn anything.   My advice is take every opportunity to learn that is offered to you and get out of it whatever you can. No education is wasted. Learning broadens the mind and it does not matter if you study a subject at school that you won’t ‘need’ later in life.

What did you appreciate or what made you smile this past week?  Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination.

We are in the midst of the coldest part of our winter right now but we have had a reprieve.  The past four days have been stunning. The rain has ceased, the sky is blue, the sun has shone.  That has made me smile.