And, finally, "Le Sud"

Monday, I left the hustle and bustle of London, headed for Heathrow and caught a flight to Nice.  It was a rather bumpy journey but, given what had happened on the Cote d'Azur over the weekend, it was nothing.  Cannes and Antibes and the nearby villages and countryside were hit with a very freak storm causing loss of life and a great deal of destruction.  The area received something like the same amount of rain in 3 hours that it usually gets in a year.  The floods resulted in at least 21 deaths and the area has been called a disaster zone.  Some roads are still closed and some trains are still not running.  So, I was very grateful to arrive to scattered clouds and 22' temperatures.

The apartment I've rented is on the 8th floor of a building just across the street from the seafront.  No hiking up killer hills for me this year!  That was a valuable lesson that I learned last year.  I am going to be on my own here until Thursday and, after the frenetic pace my sister and I set while travelling around the UK and Ireland, this is a very welcome rest.  It is tranquil here and I can hear the waves from the Med lapping the shore.  Okay, there is the occasional moped but that is nothing compared to the crowds on the London Tube or UK motorways.  So, last evening I sat on the balcony sipping a glass of rose and nibbling on a baguette and some French cheese.  I am so committed to coming here every year for the rest of my life.  I cannot explain why it is so special to me but it is!

The apartment living room

The Villefranche Quay
The tall apartment with the beige balconies is the building I am in - on the 8th floor

Today, I am going to rest and, except for doing some more grocery shopping, catching up on emails and blogs and maybe going out for dinner, I will do absolutely nothing!  I probably won't even do 5,000 steps today and I really don't care.  I need a break.

Thursday, John and Pedro are going to join me here and by then I am sure I will have lots of energy to show them why I so love this part of the world.

Sign, sign - everywhere a sign!

One of the things that Kath and I noticed while we were driving around the UK and Ireland was how so many of the signs we saw were so completely different from those you would see at home.  I remember one in Derbyshire which warned "Caution Inverse Camber"!  I would venture a guess that not everyone would understand that one.  There were other road signs that were unusual from our perspective.  And, it wasn't just on the roads; we saw pub signs and shop signs that were unique as well.  For a number of years, I've wanted to collect photos of them and this time I did take some - although I did miss others like the one in Whitby that said "Slow Down for Fox Sake!" or one on Dartmoor that said "Take Moor Care".  Anyway, here are a selection that I hope you find amusing, not all of them road signs, mind you.  The photos and the captions should be sufficient so enough dialogue.


We hoped that no lorry weighing
that would cross when we were on the bridge

We thought this was lovely - and we made sure to drive only on the gravel!



No, this isn't about some camel/zebra hybrid.
Humps are speed bumps and zebras are pedestrian crossings
but you sort of need to know that; otherwise, you'd be watching out for some strange looking animal!

This was a sign in a parish churchyard about fund-raising for a church toilet

This on a washroom door.
I know this doesn't literally mean what is says - but really?

Enough said!

 

This on a pub door in Looe

This wasn't so much as an amusing sign but a curious menu item
- we found out what faggots are and we certainly didn't order them!  Suffice it to say, awful offal!



This on the upper level of an open air tour bus

This at the entrance to a lovely shop in Ambleside

This was over a bar in Mevigessey



This outside a restaurant in Belfast - it might have even been the name of the restaurant



I'm sure you can figure out this has nothing to do with baseball!

This was at the start of the drive up Connor Pass to Dingle. 
From the narrowness of the road I thought it should ban camper vans as well!

You see this sign a lot on roads in both the UK and Ireland -
And, indeed, there sometimes are cars and trucks coming at you!

We know what humps are - and, if you don't, you find out pretty quickly!

 

Kathleen's Cathedrals

It's Friday here now and I've just said good bye to Kath.  She is on her way to Paddington Station to take the Heathrow Express to the airport for her flight home.  We never quite got a second blog together about the other cathedrals she saw so I am going to attempt to list some of the highlights - and I know I will miss a lot of them!  So, please consider some of this heresy and forgive my mistakes.

The "Crooked" Spire of Chesterfield

As you know, we started by visiting the cathedrals in Winchester, Salisbury, Exeter and Wells.  After that, she saw big and small churches throughout the trip.  In Birmingham she got to play the organ briefly after attending a service in the Catholic church not far from where our friends live; Chesterfield, she went into the famous church with the crooked spire; and, all along the way, she popped into smaller villages churches.  We stopped in at York so she could visit the Minster.  There was an abbey in Hexham that we both went into and, after that, there were various little churches in the Lake District including the one which Wordsworth and his family attended.  In Liverpool, we visited the big cathedral but skipped going to the Catholic one - it is nicknamed The Wigwam, by the way, and you can see why from the photo.

York Minister

The Minster's Organ

Liverpool Cathedral - one of the largest churches in the world

Liverpool's Catholic cathedral - nicknamed the Wigwam - easy to see why!

Then, it was on to Ireland where she saw the two big cathedrals in Dublin, surprisingly neither of them Catholic.  We also visited the Book of Kells collection in Trinity College.  In Belfast, we went into a former abbey in the Catholic part of that city and further north, on the Antrim coast, she went to a village church service with the lady who ran the B&B where we were staying.  In Derry, she went into St. Colomb's, the first Protestant church built in the UK back in the 1600s.  On our walking tour there, we learned more about "the Troubles" and the ongoing conflict between the Catholics and Protestants which, while somewhat abated, continues today in some neighbourhoods.

Dublin's St. Patrick's Cathedral

Entrance to the Clonard Abbey, Falls Road, Belfast

One of the cathedral in Belfast

On the west coast of Ireland, I must confess, we went into way more pubs than churches.  In fact, I don't remember any except for the very ancient Gallarus Oratory (dating from around 500 AD) which we visited on our drive around Slea Head on the Dingle peninsula. 

The Gallarus Oratory

Back in London on Sunday, Kathleen went to St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey.  Sometime in there she also went to Westminster Cathedral but I'm not sure when.  I've already written about our day trip to Cambridge and her visit to King's College Chapel.  Yesterday (Thursday) she attended a lunch concert at St. Martin's in the Field.  So, I'm pretty sure I'm safe in saying she was pleased to have been able to see as many famous places of worship that she did.  I sure hope so!

St. Martin's in the Field near Trafalgar Square

So, that part of the trip is over.  I'm heading to visit friends outside of London for the weekend and then, on Monday, my adventures will continue on the continent starting with the south of France.  I am hoping you will continue to follow along.  Thanks to everyone who has sent me feedback about these blogs.  It is lovely to know I am not just a little voice alone in the wilderness, so to speak!  

Up in the Stratosphere

Wednesday was spent checking off things on Kathleen's list of places she wanted to see in London.  She went to Handel's House (not far from the corner of Oxford Street and New Bond Street) while I visited Vodafone (yet again!) and also tried to find somewhere to get a watch battery replaced - no luck on that one.  Then, we took the Tube to Lambeth North on the south side of the Thames to visit the Imperial War Museum.  This museum has been updated a lot since the last time I was there - with lots of touch screens and other kinds of technology added to make the visitor experience more interesting and engaging.  We spent over an hour just in the WWI exhibit.  As we were beginning to run out of time, we opted next to visit the Holocaust exhibition on the upper floors.  I am not sure I learned anything new there - I've been to many museums and memorials about the Holocaust - but, again, I was shocked and dismayed about those events which took place from 1933 - 1945.  And, unfortunately that isn't to say, there isn't still lots of discrimination and hatred that exist today.  Next, we started to go through the WWII exhibit but ran out of time.  The great thing about London is that the public museums here are free so I can always come back another time and spend more time here. 

The entrance to the Imperial War Museum

I thought this information about England and WWI was very interesting.

A stall at the Borough market

 

One thing I had wanted to do while I was in London was to go to the top of the Shard - now the tallest building in Europe.  So, after the museum, we took a bus to Borough Market which is close to the Shard.  I had checked the Shard website before I left home and I knew it would not be cheap.  Regardless, Kathleen was game to go so I was thrilled.  Okay, it did cost 30 pounds per person but given that our very mediocre bus tour cost the same, this was a bargain!  The View, as it has been branded, is probably going to be London's top attraction - if it isn't already.  We were whisked to the 68th floor and stepped out onto a viewing platform that gives a 360' view of London.  On a clear day, you can actually see Windsor Castle to the west.  The weather was perfect and we were treated to an amazing experience - which included a glass of Lanson rose champagne (for 10 pounds and some very delicious flavoured popcorn for another 5!).  Then, we went up four more floors to the open air viewing area where there was a gentle breeze blowing and the views were even better.  Just going to the women's toilet was worth the price of admission!  I cannot imagine what the two penthouses above the 72nd floor cost!  I probably can't comprehend that many zeroes!

View north toward the "Walkie-Talkie" and the "Gherkin"

View east of the Tower Bridge and Canary Wharf in the distance

Champagne with an amazing view!

Yes, this is one of the woman's toilets - each an individual room
with a million dollar (oops, that is pound!) view

72nd floor open air viewing platform

Looking down on the 68th floor and the Thames even further down

Looking up at the Shard and the nearby Cathedral

Later, we made our way to Victoria station and the Victoria Palace theatre where we met John and Pedro for the evening performance of Billy Elliott.  We finished our day by having Chinese food with them in Queensway.  It was all terrific but came nowhere near the thrill of being high in the sky over London.  We walked back to Maida Vale - giving me over 23,000 steps for the day!  

The City of Colleges

Mom left a monetary bequest to her UK cousin, Jean, with whom we stayed many times - in both Wiltshire and Budleigh Salterton.  So, one of our responsibilities here in the UK was to visit Jean who now lives in Harlow and fulfill Mom's request.  As Harlow is not far from Cambridge, we decided to make a day of it and go there too.  Besides, Kath was really interested in seeing the famous chapel at King's College and taking in Evensong.  I'd even committed to attend!  So, we took the Tube to Liverpool St. station and were delighted to find out that the return train fare was only 21 pounds each including a stopover in Harlow - much less than what we thought after checking the National Rail website.  So, after our visit with Jean, we went to Cambridge.  I'd never been there before, not sure why except, from what I'd seen on previous trips to Norfolk and Suffolk, that part of England (the Fens) just didn't interest me.  I was very pleasantly surprised with what we found. We walked into town from the station which is a fair distance (1 1/2 miles) rather than in the centre of the city. Later we learned that was done to prevent students from sneaking off to the "temptations" of London while they were attending school there.  We got a map and walked around the centre. Cambridge contains 31 colleges, many of which are some of the oldest in the country.  I still don't quite get the systems of colleges and how they relate to the university here. What I do know is this is a very serious seat of academia!!



Old coach entrance to The Eagle

Inside The Eagle

 



King's College Chapel

We walked to King's College where, to Kathleen's disappointment, we found out there was no Evensong service.  She did visit the chapel anyway. We resisted the urge to go punting (or be punted) on the River Cam; instead, we chose to have lunch at the city's oldest pub, The Eagle.  After wandering around the market, we took the hop on-hop off bus tour. This one had a prerecorded commentary rather than someone putting their own spin on things. It was very informative and we learned and saw a lot.  I didn't know, for example, that the only American military cemetery in the UK is in Cambridge and, among many of the fallen remembered here are Joseph Kennedy (older brother of JFK) and Glen Miller, the band leader.  We also listened to a list of some of the very many famous people who had their educational roots in this place.  It was beyond impressive and included: Samuel Pepys, John Milton, Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton and, more recently, Alan Turing, Stephen Hawking, Prince Charles, Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson, and John Cleese, to name a few. We also learned that students are not permitted to have cars while studying here which explained the 35,000 bicycles on the streets - many of which we had to dodge while walking around.  It was also a bit of a challenge for the bus driver!



Some of the many bicycles

I've always loved the atmosphere of a college campus and this entire city has that sort of feel to it. It sure would have been fabulous to study here as a young person. 

Back in Jolly Ol'

Saturday night we stayed near Shannon Airport - no Irish music there either just World Cup rugby.  Early Sunday morning, we took an Aer Lingus flight to Heathrow and, shortly thereafter, were at my friends' place in Maida Vale.  Kath hasn't been in London for about 40 years and is looking forward to spending the last five days of her vacation here.  I had some errands to do so we took the Tube to Oxford Circus then went into some stores on Oxford Street.  It took almost no time for me to get very tired of the crowds and having to be up at 6:15 a.m. for our flight didn't help.  So, Kathleen and I went our separate ways - she to St. Paul's for a church service and to Westminster Abbey; me, back to Maida Vale where I had a glass of wine at the tiny restaurant which spans the canal before going back to John and Pedro's (where there was a big birthday party going on so I didn't get much peace there).  Everyone was gone by 6 p.m. and then I had the evening to myself until Kath got back.

Selfridges

LaVille Café at Maida Vale

The last few days have been a whirlwind of activity - everything from the Imperial War Museum to going out to Cambridge.  I can honestly say that I have had absolutely no time to write blogs.  However, today (Thursday) I came back to the flat early so I could get caught up on things.

 

Monday, we decided to do the "Hop on/Hop Off" bus thing as it had been so long since Kath has been in London and it would be a good orientation.  Also, some things have changed since all those years ago!  As you would know, there are several different companies that run those kind of tours.  The last one I took here was the Big Bus one and it was really good.  When we checked the price, however, it was 2 pounds more than "The Original" so we opted for the latter.  Big mistake!  Maybe it was just the guide we had (an Irish gal who thought she was a comedian) but it wasn't very good.  She spent time talking about the Kardashians who stay at the Dorchester rather than mentioning the newish war memorial to animals who have lost their lives in wars directly on the other side of the street.  Maybe it is just me but I thought the latter was more important!  We did, however, get driven around to see most of the important sights and it was a good start to our time here.  Later in the afternoon, we went back to "Little Venice" (near where we are staying) to meet up with a friend of mine whom I met about 20 years ago when he and his buddies were travelling in BC.  Long story but I've stayed good friends with two of them ever since.

 

Dome of St. Paul's

View of the Tower Bridge

The Tower of London and the Shard (more about the latter later)

 

Drinks with Dave at the Waterway in Little Venice

 So, that takes us to Tuesday when we headed off to Cambridge.  Another day, another story.