Vacation is over. We are now in the midst of remodeling the upstairs bathroom next to our bedroom and have been in a state of chaos and dust for 3 full weeks, and we start on week 4 today. I painted both days over the weekend, leaving the housecleaning untouched, and managed to get the bathroom painted, which sounds so simple, but in actuality was a stupendous feat. I primed--twice; I painted door and window trim--twice; I painted the ceiling; and I painted the walls and repainted portions. The walls are at least 14 feet off the ground along one side of the room. The first day my knee started to bother me and swell up and by day two I was in serious pain, but nothing to be done but push through. So here it is Monday and I can hardly move. My knee, which has given me trouble in the past (all initiated by time on a ladder) decided not to play nice, but to put on a full-blown hissy fit of pain and swelling. I spent many weeks with a physical therapist about 8 months ago learning to strengthen the muscles which support the knee laterally, and did my exercises religiously until the knee was better and I had no pain. At which point I stopped doing the exercises, naturally. So here I am again today and here we go again.
It all brings me to the point of today's homily---it's a bitch getting old(er). hate it...hate it...hate it. Feel like I'm turning into my mother; feel like it's NOT FAIR; feel like the future road looks like a downhill slope from now on and that's just too depressing.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Travel Tips for anyone-anywhere-anytime
Rule One: My first rule of travel is that you should be totally opportunistic. In other words, when you have an opportunity to eat--eat; when you have an opportunity to go to the bathroom, do so; when you have the opportunity to rest--rest. One more--when you have the opportunity to use an ATM, do that also. We found ATM machines in England to be few and far between in the countryside and not always working, so having cash was a necessity when many of the small B&Bs didn't take cards, and many places only took cards from English banks and couldn't take "american cards" for some reason.
Rule Two: prepare, over-prepare, print out everything you will need ahead of time, get confirmation numbers and emails to prove it, get good maps ahead of time if possible, put information like phone numbers, addresses into a small notebook (and take enough extra paper for making notes). Then go with the flow knowing you have covered your a**. We took accordian folders with stuff printed out for each day and it was a good system until our schedule went haywire and we mixed things up. Next time it will be one folder with things alphabetized for easy access.
Rule Three: Take the smallest suitcases you can get by with and plan to do laundry (or send it out) along the way. Alternatively, I heard of people taking old crappy things and wearing them and throwing them away.
Rule Four: Allow extra space in your luggage for souveniers and paperwork that accumulates.
Rule Five: Get some money changed before you leave through your bank. It saves standing in line at the airport when you are tired.
Rule Six: Get your phone unlocked so you can make calls in an emergency.
Rule Seven: Take any medications, including OTC stuff like Pepto Bismol, ibuprofen, etc. in your carry-on, as well as electronics, cameras, etc. Don't put in your luggage anything that you feel is absolutely essential for your health or expensive enough that you couldn't lose it.
Rule Eight: Take an umbrella, coat/jacket, and something extra that you can use to layer and/or sleep in. Some of these places were drafty and socks were So necessary, as was a sweater.
Rule Nine: Take at least two credit cards and a debit card if possible. Some places couldn't/wouldn't take one card or another, some machines were touchy. A couple of times the machine took hubby's card but not mine.
Rule Ten: Take a list of all the people you want to send postcards to, with their addresses.
Rule Two: prepare, over-prepare, print out everything you will need ahead of time, get confirmation numbers and emails to prove it, get good maps ahead of time if possible, put information like phone numbers, addresses into a small notebook (and take enough extra paper for making notes). Then go with the flow knowing you have covered your a**. We took accordian folders with stuff printed out for each day and it was a good system until our schedule went haywire and we mixed things up. Next time it will be one folder with things alphabetized for easy access.
Rule Three: Take the smallest suitcases you can get by with and plan to do laundry (or send it out) along the way. Alternatively, I heard of people taking old crappy things and wearing them and throwing them away.
Rule Four: Allow extra space in your luggage for souveniers and paperwork that accumulates.
Rule Five: Get some money changed before you leave through your bank. It saves standing in line at the airport when you are tired.
Rule Six: Get your phone unlocked so you can make calls in an emergency.
Rule Seven: Take any medications, including OTC stuff like Pepto Bismol, ibuprofen, etc. in your carry-on, as well as electronics, cameras, etc. Don't put in your luggage anything that you feel is absolutely essential for your health or expensive enough that you couldn't lose it.
Rule Eight: Take an umbrella, coat/jacket, and something extra that you can use to layer and/or sleep in. Some of these places were drafty and socks were So necessary, as was a sweater.
Rule Nine: Take at least two credit cards and a debit card if possible. Some places couldn't/wouldn't take one card or another, some machines were touchy. A couple of times the machine took hubby's card but not mine.
Rule Ten: Take a list of all the people you want to send postcards to, with their addresses.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Final thoughts about the trip
We're home now and this is my second day back at work. Arriving late on Saturday we were pretty tired puppies. Our flight had been changed so the new seats were at the very back of the plane for the long trip and we had been changed to middle seating instead of the side. Our inflight system for the movies/music was not working and so it made for a very long flight. But a safe trip with nothing worse than Jim picking up a cold somewhere along the way.
Sunday was spent catching up with laundry, mail, shopping, putting away, etc. The usual stuff. And then back to work for both of us. I'm so glad that I took my ipad and was able to at least keep up with the work email from afar, as I had deleted all the junk stuff and just had important stuff in my inbox. Saved me a lot of time weeding through it all.
Everyone asked about the trip and if it was fun. So my qualified answer was "mostly", because it was not a truly relaxing trip with the driving aspect. And of course, the initial hassle about the car switch meant that we lost about a day and it threw off our plans. We didn't see half of what we intended to see, no go to half of the towns we intended to visit. We didn't get to see Salisbury or the great cathedral there. Owlpen manor was closed, Sudley castle was closed. We had windy, cold, rainy weather for about 4 days. And I was always worried about possibly having to pay for damage to the car which we didn't cause. So all of those things led to much more worry and upset on my part.
The Cotswolds were lovely, but we would never do it the same way again. We would pick a central location and go out from there each day. We would travel to surrounding towns back and forth via public bus (not tour bus). We would take smaller suitcases and find somewhere to do laundry. Hauling two big suitcases and two carry-ons, plus our small over the shoulder bags was just too much to wrestle with, especially moving every night.
But on the positive side: we met lovely people along the way. The English people were friendly, helpful, smiling, and cheerful. We saw lots of great stuff in London: The British Museum, the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, The Greenwich Observatory, the Maritime Museum. We saw cathedrals and small churches, gardens, quaint villages, marvelous pubs, rolling hills and beautiful vistas. We spent 24/7 together and didn't fuss or fight. We ate wonderfully well every day.
So defintely a qualified "yes" to whether the trip was wonderful. Not a relaxing vacation but an interesting one.
Sunday was spent catching up with laundry, mail, shopping, putting away, etc. The usual stuff. And then back to work for both of us. I'm so glad that I took my ipad and was able to at least keep up with the work email from afar, as I had deleted all the junk stuff and just had important stuff in my inbox. Saved me a lot of time weeding through it all.
Everyone asked about the trip and if it was fun. So my qualified answer was "mostly", because it was not a truly relaxing trip with the driving aspect. And of course, the initial hassle about the car switch meant that we lost about a day and it threw off our plans. We didn't see half of what we intended to see, no go to half of the towns we intended to visit. We didn't get to see Salisbury or the great cathedral there. Owlpen manor was closed, Sudley castle was closed. We had windy, cold, rainy weather for about 4 days. And I was always worried about possibly having to pay for damage to the car which we didn't cause. So all of those things led to much more worry and upset on my part.
The Cotswolds were lovely, but we would never do it the same way again. We would pick a central location and go out from there each day. We would travel to surrounding towns back and forth via public bus (not tour bus). We would take smaller suitcases and find somewhere to do laundry. Hauling two big suitcases and two carry-ons, plus our small over the shoulder bags was just too much to wrestle with, especially moving every night.
But on the positive side: we met lovely people along the way. The English people were friendly, helpful, smiling, and cheerful. We saw lots of great stuff in London: The British Museum, the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, The Greenwich Observatory, the Maritime Museum. We saw cathedrals and small churches, gardens, quaint villages, marvelous pubs, rolling hills and beautiful vistas. We spent 24/7 together and didn't fuss or fight. We ate wonderfully well every day.
So defintely a qualified "yes" to whether the trip was wonderful. Not a relaxing vacation but an interesting one.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Last full day in London, and it was great
Took off early this morning after breakfast, took the tube to Tower Gate and, believe it or not, we were the first in line to enter the Tower of London. The first! That's never happened becore. So, of course, we walked straight to the Crown Jewels, and it was like going to DisneyWorld when no one is there. There were lots of ropes and stiles, and rooms to pass through with videos for the crowds to watch while they inch forward--and we just passed through and into the rooms with the jewels. Very, very much money tied up in all this stuff. Honking big diamonds, emeralds, rubies, gold, gold, and more gold. Gold cups,ewers, basins, plates, spoons, christening basins. You name it, they did it In gold. I kept thinking about how much it was worth.
So we walked around the Tower grounds, went to the armory exhibit and saw swords, armor, vans, cannons, chopping blocks, maces, etc. All the various and sundry things man has invented to help kill one another..
We left, after a spot of tea, and took the tube and then the light rail out to Greenwich to the Royal Observatory and Naval Museum. Jim got to stand on the prime meridian, and he got to see the clock exhibit and the chronometer which was invented to finally solve the puzzle of longitude. He was happy.
Back to the city again, and walked around and ate supper at a little Thai restaurant, which had very good food.
Our plane tomorrow leaves at 2 so we will leave for the airport about 11:00. That means that we won't have time to do much in the morning, so it's a leisurely morning and a walk to Russell Square Park.
Found out that my oldest cousin died early this morning, so now I'm thinking that there's probably no way I can get to the funeral without some serious and expensive changes in plans. And, I'm expected back at work--I've been following my work email and just keeping the important stuff and it's a lot! So I'm sad.
So we walked around the Tower grounds, went to the armory exhibit and saw swords, armor, vans, cannons, chopping blocks, maces, etc. All the various and sundry things man has invented to help kill one another..
We left, after a spot of tea, and took the tube and then the light rail out to Greenwich to the Royal Observatory and Naval Museum. Jim got to stand on the prime meridian, and he got to see the clock exhibit and the chronometer which was invented to finally solve the puzzle of longitude. He was happy.
Back to the city again, and walked around and ate supper at a little Thai restaurant, which had very good food.
Our plane tomorrow leaves at 2 so we will leave for the airport about 11:00. That means that we won't have time to do much in the morning, so it's a leisurely morning and a walk to Russell Square Park.
Found out that my oldest cousin died early this morning, so now I'm thinking that there's probably no way I can get to the funeral without some serious and expensive changes in plans. And, I'm expected back at work--I've been following my work email and just keeping the important stuff and it's a lot! So I'm sad.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Question: How many times can you go by he Aldi's in Swindon?
Left Bourton on the Wsger this morning about 8:20 and drove to Swindon, which was about 39 miles away. This took us about an hour and then we proceeded to get lost in Swindon. We passed the same Aldi's grocery four times, asked directions three times, got escorted by a nice lady one time (who also didn't know which way to go). The problem was that the street was shut down for a few blocks as a pedestrian mall and you couldn't get there from here...
We finally found our way, and it took an hour. Then we tried to tell them that we hadn't done any of the dents and nicks, and the agent found a paper under the cover in the boot which vindicated us and had a list of all the damage. Whew! Bus back to London, quick grab of a late lunch, and off to the British Museum for a couple of hours. Then off to the nearest pub for a pint and supper. The pub was really great, lots of young locals, great decor--big carved fireplace and carvings on the ceiling. Beer was twice what it was in the countryside, but what the hey. Tomorrow is the London Tower and then the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, where my husband is determined to have his picure taken standing on the prime meridian.
We finally found our way, and it took an hour. Then we tried to tell them that we hadn't done any of the dents and nicks, and the agent found a paper under the cover in the boot which vindicated us and had a list of all the damage. Whew! Bus back to London, quick grab of a late lunch, and off to the British Museum for a couple of hours. Then off to the nearest pub for a pint and supper. The pub was really great, lots of young locals, great decor--big carved fireplace and carvings on the ceiling. Beer was twice what it was in the countryside, but what the hey. Tomorrow is the London Tower and then the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, where my husband is determined to have his picure taken standing on the prime meridian.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
If it's Wednesday, it must be Bourton on the Water
Left the farm this morning after another big English breakfast and my tummy is still quite upset and touchy. Drove to Hidecote Manor Gardens (pronounced Hit Cot), and spent about three hours walking around the extensive, elaborate gardens, all through with walkways and arranged into different "rooms", each with a different theme. Had to stop for a creme tea, which is a scone, jam, clotted creme (very scrummy), and then tea. Tea, tea, tea...many cups of tea each day.
Then we drove on some tiny, narrow winding roads to Bourton on the Water, which is one of the loveliest villages we've seen. It has a small stream. Which winds through the center of the village with little stone humpy bridges. We walked around in the grey threatening skies for a couple of hours and a shopped for souvenirs.
Our B&B tonight is on the edge of the village with the pub in the front and separate little rooms in the rear with a nice large carpark. It's great to have a place to park a car because many, many places there is NO space and people just park in the street which reduces the lane to one and makes driving even more of a challenge, with cars having to take turns to pass.
We spent 1/2 hr repacking all our stuff. I was so relieved that we will be able to come back without buying another suitcase! But just barely.
So tomorrow is a very early start with about an hour drive into Swindon, a difficult city to navigate, and then a fight with Hertz about the car, I'm sure, about the nicks and dings which we did not cause....Not looking forward to that.
But tonight is a 1/2 pint and some good pub food. Our time in the countryside is almost over. England is a study in contrasts, with big, wide open farmland, fabulous views, rolling hills and then the villages are teensy, crowded, and everything jammed together. Tea rooms are tiny, shops are tiny with low ceilings and narrow doors. It makes you feel like a giant. I have yet to see a straight road. I cannot imagine driving, and my wonderful husband has sone ALL the driving--bless him. It's incredible to see the big tourist buses drive down the streets, you just can't see how they do it, but they squeak by.
Then we drove on some tiny, narrow winding roads to Bourton on the Water, which is one of the loveliest villages we've seen. It has a small stream. Which winds through the center of the village with little stone humpy bridges. We walked around in the grey threatening skies for a couple of hours and a shopped for souvenirs.
Our B&B tonight is on the edge of the village with the pub in the front and separate little rooms in the rear with a nice large carpark. It's great to have a place to park a car because many, many places there is NO space and people just park in the street which reduces the lane to one and makes driving even more of a challenge, with cars having to take turns to pass.
We spent 1/2 hr repacking all our stuff. I was so relieved that we will be able to come back without buying another suitcase! But just barely.
So tomorrow is a very early start with about an hour drive into Swindon, a difficult city to navigate, and then a fight with Hertz about the car, I'm sure, about the nicks and dings which we did not cause....Not looking forward to that.
But tonight is a 1/2 pint and some good pub food. Our time in the countryside is almost over. England is a study in contrasts, with big, wide open farmland, fabulous views, rolling hills and then the villages are teensy, crowded, and everything jammed together. Tea rooms are tiny, shops are tiny with low ceilings and narrow doors. It makes you feel like a giant. I have yet to see a straight road. I cannot imagine driving, and my wonderful husband has sone ALL the driving--bless him. It's incredible to see the big tourist buses drive down the streets, you just can't see how they do it, but they squeak by.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
English Roads - a tutorial and a warning
"you can't possibly get lost"---- that will be the motto for this trip, because we've heard it at every place, pub, village, out of every mouth to give us directions and we've always managed got, indeed, get lost. And here's the reason: the English road system is not like America's.
1. No directions-- North, south, east west. No, they have small signs, usually hidden behind a very large hedge, that give the next town up the road. Therefore, if you don't know where yu are going, you can't ge there.
2. Hedges, see above
3. Signs are only given once, right at the round about and you must read quickly and then navigate the roundabout.
4. Once you are on a road, they never tell you what road you are on, nor do they give speed limits. Although for us, that has not been a problem as we have been driving so slowly, trying to miss the edge of the road, which grows right up to the edge with those very large, obstructive hedges. No shoulder, no verge...
English roads fall into 5 levels. The large blue roads-M roads: these would be equivalent to our interstates. Then the green roads, usually A roads: equivalent to our state roads. Then the B roads, smaller state roads. Then yellow roads, like county roads, then white roads, the country lanes. White roads are usually 12 ft across and often require one driver meeting another to back up to a wide spot to allow passage. Again, no shoulder, no verge...
It's been very stressful and I'm sure to have an ulcer at the end of the trip. Jim is laughing as he reads this, but I'm dead serious. Ulcer. My stomach has been upset for three days,such that I cannot eat much and only want bland, potatoes and bread things. I've been taking pepto bismol for two days just to keep stable. So Jim thinks it's stress, and perhaps it is. The roads are so twisty, steep, narrow, poorly marked, potted, and wife driving on the left and with the steering on the right----man! Constant stress in the car.
1. No directions-- North, south, east west. No, they have small signs, usually hidden behind a very large hedge, that give the next town up the road. Therefore, if you don't know where yu are going, you can't ge there.
2. Hedges, see above
3. Signs are only given once, right at the round about and you must read quickly and then navigate the roundabout.
4. Once you are on a road, they never tell you what road you are on, nor do they give speed limits. Although for us, that has not been a problem as we have been driving so slowly, trying to miss the edge of the road, which grows right up to the edge with those very large, obstructive hedges. No shoulder, no verge...
English roads fall into 5 levels. The large blue roads-M roads: these would be equivalent to our interstates. Then the green roads, usually A roads: equivalent to our state roads. Then the B roads, smaller state roads. Then yellow roads, like county roads, then white roads, the country lanes. White roads are usually 12 ft across and often require one driver meeting another to back up to a wide spot to allow passage. Again, no shoulder, no verge...
It's been very stressful and I'm sure to have an ulcer at the end of the trip. Jim is laughing as he reads this, but I'm dead serious. Ulcer. My stomach has been upset for three days,such that I cannot eat much and only want bland, potatoes and bread things. I've been taking pepto bismol for two days just to keep stable. So Jim thinks it's stress, and perhaps it is. The roads are so twisty, steep, narrow, poorly marked, potted, and wife driving on the left and with the steering on the right----man! Constant stress in the car.
Today is Tuesday, and I'm doing another catch-up. I lost signal last night in the pub, so never got yesterday's blog posted. This has been a recurrent problem. Internet is weak, it goes out frequently, and the signal is not strong enough for certain functions on the iPad. Anyway, we stayed above the pub in Paxford, and the room was the least nice so far. The room was tiny, the bed was soft and lumpy, the toilet was almost impossible to flush. Altogether I wouldn't recommend this place at all. I thought the food was overpriced as well. 12.95 for fish and chips!! Really!
Anyway, the day was windy and very misty so we went to Moreton in Marsh for the weekly market, which was great. Lots of vendors of fresh veg and this and that. I got a sweater for 2.50--a real bargain. We bought a few souvenirs, and had a cream tea and sandwich at a tea shop. Britain must have more tea shops than anywhere else in the world.
Then we drove to Stow in the Wold and walked around, in the rain this time. Found a great chocolate shop. Then we drove to Willersley and found our farm for our farm stay. Strict instructions to not arrive before 5:00 pm and to take off our shoes. So we're debating whether to venture out for supper tonight. Not very hungry after the large tea at 2:00 pm and we have nuts and granola bars. We were give tea and cake at 6:00. The English seem to eat a lot of cake, and, of course, tea must be taken at multiple times during the day.
The farm has lovely views and horses and sheep to look at. Tomorrow is Hidecote gardens, which we've been told are lovely.
Anyway, the day was windy and very misty so we went to Moreton in Marsh for the weekly market, which was great. Lots of vendors of fresh veg and this and that. I got a sweater for 2.50--a real bargain. We bought a few souvenirs, and had a cream tea and sandwich at a tea shop. Britain must have more tea shops than anywhere else in the world.
Then we drove to Stow in the Wold and walked around, in the rain this time. Found a great chocolate shop. Then we drove to Willersley and found our farm for our farm stay. Strict instructions to not arrive before 5:00 pm and to take off our shoes. So we're debating whether to venture out for supper tonight. Not very hungry after the large tea at 2:00 pm and we have nuts and granola bars. We were give tea and cake at 6:00. The English seem to eat a lot of cake, and, of course, tea must be taken at multiple times during the day.
The farm has lovely views and horses and sheep to look at. Tomorrow is Hidecote gardens, which we've been told are lovely.
Monday: today we drove to Broadway, which was a lovely little town. We spent a few hours walking around. Then we drove on the Chipping Csmden, had lunch, and again walked around. Another blustery day with wind and sprinkles, though no outright hard rain. But it made walking around less pleasant. Then of to Paxford, a teensy village of about 1000 people, at most. We are staying abode the pub st Thd Churchill Arms, the only place in town. Again, an early arrival and Jim took a nap. He's been doing all the driing, and I've been navigating. He's had a two day headache and I had some sort of tummy thing yesterday all day, which made me feel punchy all day yesterday. Evidently, there is some 24 hr flu going around, so it was either that or something I ate.
We're sitting in the pub now, and waiting for dinner. I've had a pint of Hook Norton, local brewery ale. No Internet upstairs in the room, so this is it for the evening.
We're sitting in the pub now, and waiting for dinner. I've had a pint of Hook Norton, local brewery ale. No Internet upstairs in the room, so this is it for the evening.
Another day, another pub...
I was unable to post yesterday, be auss the intent at our farm stay went out. So, I'll try to do catch up.
Sunday: we lest Painswick and Simonne with kisses and hugs and took off for Sudley Castle. It was. Loses because the family was in residence. The family which has lived there for 200 years.... so we walked around the areas that tourists could visit and then walked through the gardens. It was a windy day with sprinkles of rain, so we didn't linger. Had tea and a scone and then took off for Tewkes urn and to find out farm. We arrived very early, about 3 PM and walked around, played with the dogs, took a turn through the vegetable garden. Very nice, and the room was wonderful. Big fluffy robes, leather chairs, big Telly.
We had a vey early dinner at The Swan, which was wonderful! I had a duck and chicken liver pste to die for. I promise a separate blog just for the foods we've eaten. Not a bad meal so far. Anyway it was back to the farm and we spent a long time planning ou the routes fo the next 3 days. Internet is so unreliable and another blog will be on the roads, signage, and amazingly easy many ways to get turned around and lost!
More on the next post....
Sunday: we lest Painswick and Simonne with kisses and hugs and took off for Sudley Castle. It was. Loses because the family was in residence. The family which has lived there for 200 years.... so we walked around the areas that tourists could visit and then walked through the gardens. It was a windy day with sprinkles of rain, so we didn't linger. Had tea and a scone and then took off for Tewkes urn and to find out farm. We arrived very early, about 3 PM and walked around, played with the dogs, took a turn through the vegetable garden. Very nice, and the room was wonderful. Big fluffy robes, leather chairs, big Telly.
We had a vey early dinner at The Swan, which was wonderful! I had a duck and chicken liver pste to die for. I promise a separate blog just for the foods we've eaten. Not a bad meal so far. Anyway it was back to the farm and we spent a long time planning ou the routes fo the next 3 days. Internet is so unreliable and another blog will be on the roads, signage, and amazingly easy many ways to get turned around and lost!
More on the next post....
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Finally learning
Today we took cab to Gloucester and walked around town. Spent a long time in the cathedral, which was very interesting. It was completed in 1164. And there was an Abby of monks there from 690. Then we took a bus to Cheltenham, which took about 1/2 hr for 2.50 pounds each. Walked sound the town which is a big shopping town, with multiple malls, avenues, etc all devoted to high end shops. Went to a Beatrix Potter shop, which was the shop about which one of her books was written, The Tailor of Glouscester. Then we took the bus back to Paimswick, another 1/2 hour, and went to dinner at a pub. Jim had wild boar stew which he thought excellent. Maybe if I stayed here for a while I would lose weight, because I haven't been hungry at all. So this was the best day yet, as there was no driving. Tomorrow we go to Tewkesbury and hopefully just spend a day in the town, which is very small.
The driving has been the worst thing about this trip, and if we ere came back, we would do as we did today and take the bus from town to town. The bus driver was very close to the edge of the road and was mashing up against the shrubbery, which grows right to the edge of the road in a mass, but it didn't bother me when he did it.
More tomorrow...
The driving has been the worst thing about this trip, and if we ere came back, we would do as we did today and take the bus from town to town. The bus driver was very close to the edge of the road and was mashing up against the shrubbery, which grows right to the edge of the road in a mass, but it didn't bother me when he did it.
More tomorrow...
Friday, September 10, 2010
Another day another set of problems
When we finally got to our B&B yesterday, the people were lovely. Just wonderful. Bill took us in and fed us tea and current cake. We talked and talked and the. Went right across the street to the pub, The Ragged Cot, and hac a great meal. Again, I was so stressed out that I had no appetite, nor did I want anything alcoholic. But when we came back we talked again with our hosts for a good 2 hours, and finally bid them goodnight at 11PM.
Up with a full English breakfast and then on to Painswick, with only one time getting lost. Painswick is a wool village with a lovely church, very, very narrow streets where only one car can pass so they block traffic so that only one lane travels at a time. We went to see the Rococo gardens and it was windy and threatening rain. Then back to Painswick to walk around. The village is so tiny that they don't have a bank or any regular ATMs and the B&B wants to be paid in cash, as did the one last night. So we are out of cash and must find an ATM tomorrow to pay our bill. Local pub for food tonight that was very good. I will have to have a special post just for the food we've had. Not a bad meal so far. Back at the B&B now and siting in the courtyard to get an Internet signal. But too cold and windy, so will end this post.
I noticed today that the car has lots of nicks, dings,and scrapes, and I'm quite sure we haven't done the damage, but we were so happy to finally get a little car that we just took it without going over the outside with the agent. Now I'm sure they will charge us for all the damage to the car, which is not ours. This is upsetting me greatly, but nothing to be done at this point.
Up with a full English breakfast and then on to Painswick, with only one time getting lost. Painswick is a wool village with a lovely church, very, very narrow streets where only one car can pass so they block traffic so that only one lane travels at a time. We went to see the Rococo gardens and it was windy and threatening rain. Then back to Painswick to walk around. The village is so tiny that they don't have a bank or any regular ATMs and the B&B wants to be paid in cash, as did the one last night. So we are out of cash and must find an ATM tomorrow to pay our bill. Local pub for food tonight that was very good. I will have to have a special post just for the food we've had. Not a bad meal so far. Back at the B&B now and siting in the courtyard to get an Internet signal. But too cold and windy, so will end this post.
I noticed today that the car has lots of nicks, dings,and scrapes, and I'm quite sure we haven't done the damage, but we were so happy to finally get a little car that we just took it without going over the outside with the agent. Now I'm sure they will charge us for all the damage to the car, which is not ours. This is upsetting me greatly, but nothing to be done at this point.
So much to post! Travel stress multiples times ten
Did not post yesterday or the day before, though it is early morning on Friday and at last I am a little bit relaxed. The last two days have been awful. The bus trip to Swindon was fine, taking a taxi to Herta was fine, but they didn't have the car we had ordered and onlynhad a hue, huge diesel ford galaxy. We took off and promptly got lost (we've bee told since tha Swindonis a nightmare to dire in). Finally stopped and some vey nice people took pity on us and led us through the city (300,000 people) and out to our route. We quickly realized that this car was impossible. Not used to deicing on the left and with the steering wheel on the right, it made it vey difficult to judge the edge of the road and I kept having to tell Jim to "mind the verge". We got lost multiple times, not used to the roundabouts and the way names of streets changed willy-nilly. By the evening we had had multiple close calls and were both frazzled, exhausted, and I had broken down and cried at least twice. We found our B&B and ate at a local pub. Didn't sleep well at all and the next morning it was up at 6 in order to do the dawn tour of Stonehenge, which was quite lovely and worth the effort. More on another post
We were helped by Margaret, the owne o the B&B, who contacted the Hertz people in Shipton, so we drove to Shipton to transfer the car, but they didn't have a small automatic either. Another breakdown by me, I'm ashamed to say. So they located a car in Bristol, 50 miles away
and said we could drive there to pick it up. Bristol is one of the big cities, maybe 1 million people. So, another breakdown. They finally offered to drive our car to Bristol, with us in it, to make the switch. A nice young Polish man, probably about 21 years old, who didn't speak English, drove us there. I'm so glad he did, because Bristol was incredibly confusing. We did swith to a small automatic Ford focus - the very car we had originally ordered two months ago - and we found our way out of Bristol and onto the M5, one of the major "interstat
e" type roads. We had at this point not seen any of the town of Salisbury, nor the cathedral, which was the original plan. We drove to Nailsworth, then Dursley, then Uley, getting lost multiple times and backtracking. I know we went through Nailsworth at least 4 times, getting lost each time. And we finally found Owlpen manor, which was up a one lane gravel track, with no verge and no way for two cars to navigate. At this point we are tired, thirsty, hungry, and short-tempered with each other. Jim kept running off the road on the verge, and I kept getting more an more nervous.
Owlpen Manor was closed for restoration. We only got to walk around the gardens, which would have cost us 4 pounds each, but she took pity on us because at this point it was 4 pm, we hadn't had lunch, we looked bedraggled, and we were!
After leaving Uley and finally getting lost again, another lovely man helped us find our way to Minchinhampton. Honestly, honestly, we would never have found it. At one point we went across a cow ield, where the cows were grazing with NO fence, right up onto the road. It was a series of switchbacks and little winding steep roads with no name.
We were helped by Margaret, the owne o the B&B, who contacted the Hertz people in Shipton, so we drove to Shipton to transfer the car, but they didn't have a small automatic either. Another breakdown by me, I'm ashamed to say. So they located a car in Bristol, 50 miles away
and said we could drive there to pick it up. Bristol is one of the big cities, maybe 1 million people. So, another breakdown. They finally offered to drive our car to Bristol, with us in it, to make the switch. A nice young Polish man, probably about 21 years old, who didn't speak English, drove us there. I'm so glad he did, because Bristol was incredibly confusing. We did swith to a small automatic Ford focus - the very car we had originally ordered two months ago - and we found our way out of Bristol and onto the M5, one of the major "interstat
e" type roads. We had at this point not seen any of the town of Salisbury, nor the cathedral, which was the original plan. We drove to Nailsworth, then Dursley, then Uley, getting lost multiple times and backtracking. I know we went through Nailsworth at least 4 times, getting lost each time. And we finally found Owlpen manor, which was up a one lane gravel track, with no verge and no way for two cars to navigate. At this point we are tired, thirsty, hungry, and short-tempered with each other. Jim kept running off the road on the verge, and I kept getting more an more nervous.
Owlpen Manor was closed for restoration. We only got to walk around the gardens, which would have cost us 4 pounds each, but she took pity on us because at this point it was 4 pm, we hadn't had lunch, we looked bedraggled, and we were!
After leaving Uley and finally getting lost again, another lovely man helped us find our way to Minchinhampton. Honestly, honestly, we would never have found it. At one point we went across a cow ield, where the cows were grazing with NO fence, right up onto the road. It was a series of switchbacks and little winding steep roads with no name.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Day 3 - Tues. Really tired
A very full day, and my little brain has suffered sensory overload. We went to the British Museum, which is just around the corner from the hotel. In fact, we can look out the window to see the back of the museum. We spent the entire day there from 10-5, and covered a lot of area. The British Museum is a huge place, filled with the plunder of countless British explorers, who literally took everything they could get their hands on and brought it all back to Britain. Millions of objects. We saw Chinese jade, the Rosetta stone, Indian buddhas, Assyrian tablets, walls, friezes,and huge statues. Greek vases by the hundreds, statues, jewelery, etc., etc. We only saw a portion of the stuff, and finally we pooped out. Went to get a pint of ale and talked with a nice local man who lived round the corner from the pub. Then we came back to drop our stuff, went out walking again and ate dinner at a place called Tas; Arabic/middle eastern. Tabouli, hummus, lamb....
Back in the hotel planning our trip for tomorrow,
I was struck at all the foreigners I saw in the museum--Japanese, German, polish. Then, it occurred to me that, of course that's who was at the museum! All the English were at work, and this was where tourists go. I was also aware that I didn't see very many fat people. Most were average sized. Not a lot of extremely tall people, either.
So we leave London tomorrow and we haven't done quite what we originally planned..no tour bus, no Natural History museum. But that's ok. Things are just taking more time than we thought. We plan to leave extra early tomorrow and take a cab to Victoria Station because trying to schlepp our suitcases on the tube again is not a good idea. Jim's back is still hurting and I just can't imagine doing this during rush hour.
So, off to bed and dreams of masses of antiquities will float in my head, I'm sure
Back in the hotel planning our trip for tomorrow,
I was struck at all the foreigners I saw in the museum--Japanese, German, polish. Then, it occurred to me that, of course that's who was at the museum! All the English were at work, and this was where tourists go. I was also aware that I didn't see very many fat people. Most were average sized. Not a lot of extremely tall people, either.
So we leave London tomorrow and we haven't done quite what we originally planned..no tour bus, no Natural History museum. But that's ok. Things are just taking more time than we thought. We plan to leave extra early tomorrow and take a cab to Victoria Station because trying to schlepp our suitcases on the tube again is not a good idea. Jim's back is still hurting and I just can't imagine doing this during rush hour.
So, off to bed and dreams of masses of antiquities will float in my head, I'm sure
Monday, September 6, 2010
Day two-monday: first impressions and a full day on my feet!
We were both stiff upon awaking this morning, Jim saying that the bed was too soft but my thought was that it was carrying the heavy suitcases up and down all the stairs at the Tube.
It promised rain, and there was to be a 24 hr strike of the Tube workers at 5 PM today so we changed our itinerary. In the morning we went to the National Gallery and spent 3 hrs looking at great works of art. I noticed right away that I'm not used to being on my feet and sanding and walking on hard floors....but we saw several Cezannes, Monets, 1 Rembrandt, and 1 Vermeer
Lunch was at a Pret a Mange, a lovely shop with very nice, healthy food choices. I had a middle eastern salad and Jim had a tuna and egg salad. I've noticed that so far the food choices feature healthy food and we have been very pleased so far. It's not going to be hard to eat healthily.
Then off via the Tube to the British Library, where Jim was in heaven--as there was an exhibit of maps, quite extensive and nicely done. We spent an hour on that one exhibit. Then, on the upper floor, they have Treasures of the Library, and it was wonderful. Originals of the magna carta, Gutenberg bible, Alice in Wonderland, original musical scores from Beethoven to Handel, handwritten lyrics of a few Beatles songs, Audebon's bird folios, an early copy of Beowulf, and more. Spent a couple of hours.
To avoid the shut down on the tube, we took a taxi back to the hotel.
Went to a pub for a few 1/2 pints and stayed to eat fish and chips, with the ubiquitous peas. Quite nice and we felt very relaxed indeed. Jim had a Pim's (english style) and a Crabbie, which is an alcoholic Ginger beer. I stayed with ales and had and Admans and an Old Peculiar.
First impressions of London are that this is a eery multicultural city, and it seems large and typically city-like, but without the rushing, pushing energy oF New York. Not as dirty, no graffiti that I saw (though I did see a lot of graffiti yesterday from the train into the
city). If you had enough money, it would be a good city to live in, but it does seem that it would be very expensive to live here.
So the day is done and we're feeling very tired and content. A bit of Telly and then off to bed.
It promised rain, and there was to be a 24 hr strike of the Tube workers at 5 PM today so we changed our itinerary. In the morning we went to the National Gallery and spent 3 hrs looking at great works of art. I noticed right away that I'm not used to being on my feet and sanding and walking on hard floors....but we saw several Cezannes, Monets, 1 Rembrandt, and 1 Vermeer
Lunch was at a Pret a Mange, a lovely shop with very nice, healthy food choices. I had a middle eastern salad and Jim had a tuna and egg salad. I've noticed that so far the food choices feature healthy food and we have been very pleased so far. It's not going to be hard to eat healthily.
Then off via the Tube to the British Library, where Jim was in heaven--as there was an exhibit of maps, quite extensive and nicely done. We spent an hour on that one exhibit. Then, on the upper floor, they have Treasures of the Library, and it was wonderful. Originals of the magna carta, Gutenberg bible, Alice in Wonderland, original musical scores from Beethoven to Handel, handwritten lyrics of a few Beatles songs, Audebon's bird folios, an early copy of Beowulf, and more. Spent a couple of hours.
To avoid the shut down on the tube, we took a taxi back to the hotel.
Went to a pub for a few 1/2 pints and stayed to eat fish and chips, with the ubiquitous peas. Quite nice and we felt very relaxed indeed. Jim had a Pim's (english style) and a Crabbie, which is an alcoholic Ginger beer. I stayed with ales and had and Admans and an Old Peculiar.
First impressions of London are that this is a eery multicultural city, and it seems large and typically city-like, but without the rushing, pushing energy oF New York. Not as dirty, no graffiti that I saw (though I did see a lot of graffiti yesterday from the train into the
city). If you had enough money, it would be a good city to live in, but it does seem that it would be very expensive to live here.
So the day is done and we're feeling very tired and content. A bit of Telly and then off to bed.
Day one. The trip
All travel should be dull, because the alternative is that it be exciting, a much less wished for alternative. Our trip, by that standard was dull, as nothing went wrong. Tiny airplane seats, poor sleep on the eight hour flight, long lines at customs, and a long, long trek to the hotel, involving a 36 pound cost for the express train from Heathrow to Paddington, where I purchased the first souvenier, a small Paddington bear for my granddaughter. Then the tube from Paddington, which involved many steps down and up with our two small and two large suitcases. The public transport does not lend itself to accommodating the handicapped traveler and we saw no one on crutches or in a wheelchair..they must all travel by taxi.
We arrived at our hotel around 2:30 pm local time, having left our home in NC almost 24 hrs previously.
The Morgan hotel is a tiny hotel with low ceilings, narrow stairways, and very small rooms. But it's clean, we get a full English breakfast (eggs, sausage, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes, and toast), along with coffee or tea, juice, cereals, and yogurt. Lovely.
Supper was at a noodle shop called Wakamama, and it was great. I had saisen noodle soup with tofu, sprouts, mushrooms, pea pods, zucchini in a lovely broth. Jim had a curry noodle dish with prawns. He had a drink of apple juice and cucumber pulp---very odd, but ok.
Early to bed with several episodes of waking and deliberately deciding to sleep again.
All in all, glad to be here. They speak my language!!
We arrived at our hotel around 2:30 pm local time, having left our home in NC almost 24 hrs previously.
The Morgan hotel is a tiny hotel with low ceilings, narrow stairways, and very small rooms. But it's clean, we get a full English breakfast (eggs, sausage, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes, and toast), along with coffee or tea, juice, cereals, and yogurt. Lovely.
Supper was at a noodle shop called Wakamama, and it was great. I had saisen noodle soup with tofu, sprouts, mushrooms, pea pods, zucchini in a lovely broth. Jim had a curry noodle dish with prawns. He had a drink of apple juice and cucumber pulp---very odd, but ok.
Early to bed with several episodes of waking and deliberately deciding to sleep again.
All in all, glad to be here. They speak my language!!
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Waiting in the airport.....
What a day.... All packed and at the airport waiting to board for Atlanta! Where we will have a 4 hour wait for the flight to England. It will make for a very long day and I know, even with the water, No Jet Lag, etc that I will be blasted when we finally arrive, noon local UK time, but 7 AM body time. But at least we are on the way. Today has been crazy, trying to purchase Skype miles only to find out that our credit card had a block on it. 30 min later with a rep and 3 supervisors, they assured me it is fixed but I have doubt in my heart! Also lost my international drivers license, but luckily had made a copy of it. Just crazy-making stuff. Our son is here and seems ready and able to take care of the house and dogs, we were able to pack enough so that we don't have to worry about doing laundry. We are using my son's MUCH nicer luggage and we have back up of all information we will need. So let the adventure begin!
Friday, September 3, 2010
anticipatory butterflies
Almost time...we leave tomorrow evening so today is the last day for preparation. Picking up cleaning, getting stuff packed ahead of time. Cleaning the house and doing some laundry. Have to get our son from the airport as he will be housesitting and taking care of the dogs (one less big worry).
It's becoming very clear that by tomorrow we will be on our way, and I have to admit to anxiety, stress, worry--all the bad stuff that clamps down on the good feelings of excitement and anticipation that someone with less OCD would be experiencing. But I am what I am. Worrywort par excellence! At this point my biggest worry is about jet lag because I really felt it when I went to Paris and that was years ago. Now I'm older and thus, it might hit me even harder. In Paris I spent a day in bed feeling awful so I don't want a repeat of that experience. All I can do is try to sleep on the plane and take the No Jet Lag stuff that I bought. Lots of water, no alcohol. Stay up the first day and then go on local time for sleeping. We'll see and I'll chronicle it, of course.
We have duffels for carry-ons into which I will put my ipad and my purse and my pillow. Also, lots of vitamins, nuts, granola bars, etc. With 24 hours before a shower I'm sure we will both be funky and stinky by Sunday when we check into the hotel. The weather reports are saying high in the low 70's and dry which is perfect weather. Low in the 40's at night, so definitely jacket weather.
Another worry is the transportation system in London, specifically the Oyster cards which we will buy. This allows transportation within several zones of London, but I'm not really clear on the zone system. Hopefully, we will be fine. Not enough time in London, I'm sure of that. We could spend the entire vacation in London and not see everything, so I'm already thinking of this as Trip #1 with more to follow. Would love to go to Ireland and Wales, but no time, no time. I feel like the White Rabbit.
Got British pounds in hand and am really trusting that my ipad will be up and running (WiFi signals are necessary) so that we can make use of the apps I have for London. Still need to purchase bus tickets for Swindon.
It's becoming very clear that by tomorrow we will be on our way, and I have to admit to anxiety, stress, worry--all the bad stuff that clamps down on the good feelings of excitement and anticipation that someone with less OCD would be experiencing. But I am what I am. Worrywort par excellence! At this point my biggest worry is about jet lag because I really felt it when I went to Paris and that was years ago. Now I'm older and thus, it might hit me even harder. In Paris I spent a day in bed feeling awful so I don't want a repeat of that experience. All I can do is try to sleep on the plane and take the No Jet Lag stuff that I bought. Lots of water, no alcohol. Stay up the first day and then go on local time for sleeping. We'll see and I'll chronicle it, of course.
We have duffels for carry-ons into which I will put my ipad and my purse and my pillow. Also, lots of vitamins, nuts, granola bars, etc. With 24 hours before a shower I'm sure we will both be funky and stinky by Sunday when we check into the hotel. The weather reports are saying high in the low 70's and dry which is perfect weather. Low in the 40's at night, so definitely jacket weather.
Another worry is the transportation system in London, specifically the Oyster cards which we will buy. This allows transportation within several zones of London, but I'm not really clear on the zone system. Hopefully, we will be fine. Not enough time in London, I'm sure of that. We could spend the entire vacation in London and not see everything, so I'm already thinking of this as Trip #1 with more to follow. Would love to go to Ireland and Wales, but no time, no time. I feel like the White Rabbit.
Got British pounds in hand and am really trusting that my ipad will be up and running (WiFi signals are necessary) so that we can make use of the apps I have for London. Still need to purchase bus tickets for Swindon.
Friday, August 13, 2010
 |
| grandaughter's 1st pony ride |
Went to lunch with a friend this week who reassured me that England is, yes, quite wonderful with little serendipitous things to be had around every corner and that overplanning was not necessary. So Go With The Flow has become my new mantra and I got to practice it last evening when we got to the outdoor concert and the music was awful--thumping electric guitar. Nope, not relaxing, not condusive to conversation. We turned around and went inside a restaurant for dinner. Menu terribly overpriced, but we each had salads and shared a small pizza, plus we had a 20% coupon so all was fine. Then on to the drugstore where my hubby found hair coloring at 70% off. So all in all, the evening was a plus. Instead of turning around and fleeing home after hearing the music, we adapted to a new plan. Happy outcome. Hopefully, that mentality will carry us through our journeys overseas and we will meet delightful surprises around every corner.
Monday, August 9, 2010
The Cost of Travel: Or, You can't have your cake and eat it too
Life has lots of conundrums. You can't be this if you choose that. You either have youth or you have wisdom. You can't be single and married both. It goes on and on, but you get my point.....
Travel is like that. You either have the time or you have the money. When you are young you have the time, the energy, and the freedom but quite often no money. When you are older you have more money but, at least for me, time is precious. I'm still working and I only get two weeks vacation. To "spend" it all on a vacation seems like a big 'cost'. Money is still an issue, of course, but we're using frequent flier miles and taking the tube/bus in London; staying at a very moderate hotel (even by London standards), etc, etc. We aren't high rollers...we're middle class conservatives....We chose B&Bs rather than hotels because they are less expensive and they also give a more intimate look at the country and the locals. Hopefully, we'll meet some nice people and make new friends. That choice was an easy one.
With all the research we found some of the other lovely places that we could have stayed at: manor houses and lovely Inns that cost 500 GBP per night. Tickets to some of the London musicals that ran 150 GBP each. Again, mildly tempting but not really a sacrifice to forego.
No, for me, this trip is all about the cost of my time. My precious, precious time. This will mean two weeks less time to do other mini-trips--perhaps to go see my granddaughter, or spend more time at my annual high school girlfriends reunion, or take a trip to the west coast to see the wine country. There is just so much time and that's all there is. It makes me want to retire so there would be LOTS of time. But then there would be no money (or lots less money). Conundrum.
And at this point, we've committed to the trip and I'm looking forward completely to it. So, I'm paying the price in time in order to have this experience. When it's completed it will be mine forever.
Travel is like that. You either have the time or you have the money. When you are young you have the time, the energy, and the freedom but quite often no money. When you are older you have more money but, at least for me, time is precious. I'm still working and I only get two weeks vacation. To "spend" it all on a vacation seems like a big 'cost'. Money is still an issue, of course, but we're using frequent flier miles and taking the tube/bus in London; staying at a very moderate hotel (even by London standards), etc, etc. We aren't high rollers...we're middle class conservatives....We chose B&Bs rather than hotels because they are less expensive and they also give a more intimate look at the country and the locals. Hopefully, we'll meet some nice people and make new friends. That choice was an easy one.
With all the research we found some of the other lovely places that we could have stayed at: manor houses and lovely Inns that cost 500 GBP per night. Tickets to some of the London musicals that ran 150 GBP each. Again, mildly tempting but not really a sacrifice to forego.
No, for me, this trip is all about the cost of my time. My precious, precious time. This will mean two weeks less time to do other mini-trips--perhaps to go see my granddaughter, or spend more time at my annual high school girlfriends reunion, or take a trip to the west coast to see the wine country. There is just so much time and that's all there is. It makes me want to retire so there would be LOTS of time. But then there would be no money (or lots less money). Conundrum.
And at this point, we've committed to the trip and I'm looking forward completely to it. So, I'm paying the price in time in order to have this experience. When it's completed it will be mine forever.
Friday, August 6, 2010
The Urge to Travel
I don't know what percentage of the population feels the need to travel. Perhaps the desire outweighs the actual activity. For myself, I have conflicting push-pull inclinations concerning travel. I feel the urge and at the same time I fret over the many troubles, roadblocks, expenses, and possible horrible things that could happen en route. Astrologically, I'm supposed to love travel, feel freest and most 'authentic' (ha! see yesterday's post) when I'm traveling, and have a good deal of wanderlust. But my chart has influences that also make me want to be a homebody, keep my feet on terra firma and not take chances. I'm not a big risk taker and there is nothing riskier than stepping outside your circle of comfort to take to the wide open road. But, I've read, this is the great value of travel. Pushing your buttons so that your comfort level is jostled, your sleep is disturbed, your tummy is tested, and your senses are hightened. Traveling to the unknown, dealing with new experiences--figuring out how,when, where; trying to make yourself understood, sometimes to no avail; grabbing sometimes dicey food and drink; missing connections, getting stranded, losing your way. These are all ways of stepping outside your comfort zone and seeing just who you really are. The old saying of how to test a potentital husband--watch him untangle a string of Christmas lights, discipline a puppy, and balance a check book could be amended to read: watch to see how he handles the stress of travel. (This test would apply to the female, also)
So the upcoming trip will be a revelation in some ways, of how I (and my hubby) handle the stresses of travel, and how much my comfort zone has been made smaller, narrower, and less flexible with age. It's one thing to lose your way when you are eighteen and feel pretty darn good and very invulnerable--use a rock for a pillow? No problem! It's another thing entirely when you are in your 60's and the body doesn't take well to loss of sleep, digestive upsets and the like. I'm not looking forward to this thrust outside the comfort zone!
But will it be "good for me"? I guess it all depends on my attitude. Life being 90% how you take it...if that's true then keeping an optomistic attitude, expecting good surprises to outnumber the bad, and dealing with people and situations with an open heart is the best insurance that the experience as a whole will be positive, valuable, insightful, and fun. I've been thinking about it a lot lately, and hope that I'm right.
So the upcoming trip will be a revelation in some ways, of how I (and my hubby) handle the stresses of travel, and how much my comfort zone has been made smaller, narrower, and less flexible with age. It's one thing to lose your way when you are eighteen and feel pretty darn good and very invulnerable--use a rock for a pillow? No problem! It's another thing entirely when you are in your 60's and the body doesn't take well to loss of sleep, digestive upsets and the like. I'm not looking forward to this thrust outside the comfort zone!
But will it be "good for me"? I guess it all depends on my attitude. Life being 90% how you take it...if that's true then keeping an optomistic attitude, expecting good surprises to outnumber the bad, and dealing with people and situations with an open heart is the best insurance that the experience as a whole will be positive, valuable, insightful, and fun. I've been thinking about it a lot lately, and hope that I'm right.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Thoughts on the nature of the BLOG
Yesterday, when I contemplated doing a travel blog, mostly to keep my friends up to date on my travel experiences, I was telling myself it was much like keeping a diary that I just typed on my ipad. After thinking about it more, and posting my very first one, I've reconsidered the nature of the blog. Diaries are private, blogs are public. I noticed that I was being much more careful with language, punctuation, etc than if I were just scribbling away in a notebook. Good? Bad? Dunno, but certainly different in feeling, tone, perhaps subject matter. Anyone could read my blog--someone I didn't know. What might they think of me? What impression do I want to leave to posterity OUT THERE in cyberspace? And should I care?
The whole issue has caused me to think more about the various public personas we all use when dealing with the outside world. You have one face at work, one with your friends, one with acquaintances. Which is the real you? Does your best friend, husband, or child know the 'real' you"?" How private a person is in their heart-of-hearts. It all goes back to what makes being an authentic person. I may be nice to the lady at the check-out even when I'm in a bad mood--I may smile and say have a nice day even while I'm thinking that she was slow as molasses and needs to lose about 50 pounds. This is being polite in society to keep the wheels turning. I may tell my husband that his latest effort at sweeping the porch is fine and dandy, even while I plan to come back afterwards and do a little extra. This is keeping the lumps in the relationship smoothed out. We all do it on a daily basis to some degree or another. Does this invalidate who we are? Does it make us out as a liar or prevaricator? Who wants or needs to see my 'authentic self' and in what context? It seems more important that I know inside who I am, that I act from that interior place when it really matters ethically, and that I share my authentic self as much as is realistic at any given moment. My emotional self, my mental self, my spiritual self, and my physical self all have a certain validity, a certain persona, and they are all components of the entire package of me, but they aren't me.
When I'm dead and gone I want people to think well of me and my life, but whether or not they really knew me, or knew any of my myriad personas means nothing. My personality and the face I wear, the color of my skin, the beliefs I hold, the relationships I've forged in this lifetime are gone the minute I'm gone. They exist only as representative of the personality self, not my true spiritual self. To me, the concept of an authentic self--that well-bandied about Dr. Phil psychobabble term is more about the Capital P me - and only my soul knows that self because even my Small P self doesn't fully know that self. Just my little take on it, anyway. Let's close with a Dr. Phil quote:
"Be your authentic self. Your authentic self is who you are when you have no fear of judgment, or before the world starts pushing you around and telling you who you're supposed to be. Your fictional self is who you are when you have a social mask on to please everyone else. Give yourself permission to be your authentic self."
~ Dr. Phil
The whole issue has caused me to think more about the various public personas we all use when dealing with the outside world. You have one face at work, one with your friends, one with acquaintances. Which is the real you? Does your best friend, husband, or child know the 'real' you"?" How private a person is in their heart-of-hearts. It all goes back to what makes being an authentic person. I may be nice to the lady at the check-out even when I'm in a bad mood--I may smile and say have a nice day even while I'm thinking that she was slow as molasses and needs to lose about 50 pounds. This is being polite in society to keep the wheels turning. I may tell my husband that his latest effort at sweeping the porch is fine and dandy, even while I plan to come back afterwards and do a little extra. This is keeping the lumps in the relationship smoothed out. We all do it on a daily basis to some degree or another. Does this invalidate who we are? Does it make us out as a liar or prevaricator? Who wants or needs to see my 'authentic self' and in what context? It seems more important that I know inside who I am, that I act from that interior place when it really matters ethically, and that I share my authentic self as much as is realistic at any given moment. My emotional self, my mental self, my spiritual self, and my physical self all have a certain validity, a certain persona, and they are all components of the entire package of me, but they aren't me.
When I'm dead and gone I want people to think well of me and my life, but whether or not they really knew me, or knew any of my myriad personas means nothing. My personality and the face I wear, the color of my skin, the beliefs I hold, the relationships I've forged in this lifetime are gone the minute I'm gone. They exist only as representative of the personality self, not my true spiritual self. To me, the concept of an authentic self--that well-bandied about Dr. Phil psychobabble term is more about the Capital P me - and only my soul knows that self because even my Small P self doesn't fully know that self. Just my little take on it, anyway. Let's close with a Dr. Phil quote:
"Be your authentic self. Your authentic self is who you are when you have no fear of judgment, or before the world starts pushing you around and telling you who you're supposed to be. Your fictional self is who you are when you have a social mask on to please everyone else. Give yourself permission to be your authentic self."
~ Dr. Phil
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
The Hard Part
They say that getting there is half the fun. I don't know if that's true, but I do think that getting there is hard work, no matter where the destination lies--internal or external, this world or the next. In this particular context, I'm thinking and writing about the elaborate, intricate, detailed planning that has gone toward my upcoming trip to England and the Cotswolds. The internet has been both a godsend and a source of frustration. TMI! Sites, information overload, and keeping track of it all requires organization, printing out much more paper than one might think, and always, always the coordination, cooperation, and agreement from spouse before anything gets finalized. But we are almost there. B&Bs have been booked, train/bus schedules printed out, car rental agreements perused, pubs bookmarked. Five years ago I wouldn't have known how to do all the searching around on the internet, but old dogs can learn new tricks and now I'm a pro at searching. Hopefully, proper prior planning....etc, etc.
The ability to plan ahead is one thing, and both my husband and I are aware that in the case of overseas travel and moving to new accommodations every night, it's absolutely necessary. But in my fantasy of going to England and puttering around, I always imagined the road opening up ahead of me, adventure unfolding like petals of a flower, and serendipity sprinking down like golden rain. I've found that sometimes planning too much leads to expectations that are never quite met, plans going awry, and timetables falling by the wayside to leave the travelers weary, frustrated, and disappointed. On the other hand I've experienced the reverse--no plans leading to spinning wheels, missed connections and missed events ("If you'd just been here yesterday...last week...an hour ago..."). So what's a body to do? Hopefully, this trip will be a combination of planning for beds to sleep in, checking to see that the manor house is indeed open on a Tuesday for example, and then leaving the rest to chance and adventure. We'll see and my daily posts from the road will tell the true story.
I wonder if life in general follows the same rules: some plans--some open-endedness. You can't plan too much because life is messy and intervenes at the most unexpected places. Murphy's Law incorporated. But no plans make for downward spirals into entropy, depression, and doubts. At least for me. As my over-organization and tendency to worry leads to micromanagement, I need to loosen up most of the time. Strike a balance, go for the middle way. Let chance swoop in and take me places I never expected or planned. This tendency to organize gets more entrenched as you age, so keeping open is very much on my list of Things-To-Do-To-Avoid-Becoming-Concrete. Learn new stuff (blogging, for example), follow the trends, accept new ideas, music, technologies.
At any rate, the upcoming trip (exactly one month from today) will be a test for going with the flow, allowing for wiggle-room, and enjoying the process of travel, with all its unknowns and unforeseen happenings.
The ability to plan ahead is one thing, and both my husband and I are aware that in the case of overseas travel and moving to new accommodations every night, it's absolutely necessary. But in my fantasy of going to England and puttering around, I always imagined the road opening up ahead of me, adventure unfolding like petals of a flower, and serendipity sprinking down like golden rain. I've found that sometimes planning too much leads to expectations that are never quite met, plans going awry, and timetables falling by the wayside to leave the travelers weary, frustrated, and disappointed. On the other hand I've experienced the reverse--no plans leading to spinning wheels, missed connections and missed events ("If you'd just been here yesterday...last week...an hour ago..."). So what's a body to do? Hopefully, this trip will be a combination of planning for beds to sleep in, checking to see that the manor house is indeed open on a Tuesday for example, and then leaving the rest to chance and adventure. We'll see and my daily posts from the road will tell the true story.
I wonder if life in general follows the same rules: some plans--some open-endedness. You can't plan too much because life is messy and intervenes at the most unexpected places. Murphy's Law incorporated. But no plans make for downward spirals into entropy, depression, and doubts. At least for me. As my over-organization and tendency to worry leads to micromanagement, I need to loosen up most of the time. Strike a balance, go for the middle way. Let chance swoop in and take me places I never expected or planned. This tendency to organize gets more entrenched as you age, so keeping open is very much on my list of Things-To-Do-To-Avoid-Becoming-Concrete. Learn new stuff (blogging, for example), follow the trends, accept new ideas, music, technologies.
At any rate, the upcoming trip (exactly one month from today) will be a test for going with the flow, allowing for wiggle-room, and enjoying the process of travel, with all its unknowns and unforeseen happenings.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)