Return Home Too Soon

Saturday, March 15th, 2014

Great Missenden

We were up early in the morning for my return flight to Canada. I had a fantastic time in England with my Ultimate Africa buddy John and his girlfriend Dottie. They were very gracious and generous hosts. They introduced me to each of their moms, Innie, Elaine and John's sister by Skype. On top of enjoying their company I got to see a lot of the things I had wanted to see. So, thank you John and Dottie, I hope to return the favour in the not too distant future.

London Day Tour

Friday, March 14th, 2014

London, the Eye, Westminster and St Paul's

We got up early today and set off from Great Missenden by train to London. I have not been to London since 1979 and John thought it would be good to see some of the sights. So we took the tube to Waterloo Station. Our first stop was to the Eye. This is the huge Ferris wheel built for the millennium. It moves very slowly and continually loads up to 30 people in each pod. It takes about a half hour to go around once before you get off. The view of the city and the Parliament Buildings and Big Ben is spectacular and luckily, we again had a beautiful sunny day. While we were at the top John wanted to get a picture of the two of us with the view, so he handed his camera to a man sitting nearby. As he asked for his assistance, John suddenly realized that the man had a white cane! “I am not much good at taking photos, I'm better at dentistry”! His wife said, “And he's pretty good at face painting.” To which I replied, “If I have my choice I'd prefer face painting!”

After we disembarked we walked across the bridge towards the Parliament Buildings enjoying the river views. We wandered around that area before going to Westminster Abbey. There was a line up and a steep entrance fee, but I wanted to go in as it had been years. The Abbey is filled with all things of English history. It is the tomb of most of the Kings and Queens, poets, composers, politicians, and entertainers (David Frost was a new member). I could have spent hours in there just wandering around reading all the plaques but we had other places to go.

We walked from there through St. James’s Park to Buckingham Palace. The trees were flowering and there were lots of water birds in the ponds including a great blue heron. We had a look around the outside of the palace and the park, before walking along the Mall and the Victoria Embankment to St Paul's. We had lunch somewhere along the way and sat on the grass enjoying the weather. We spent a long time wandering around the main floor before climbing the stairs for a view from the roof.  From there we could see the walking bridge that had to be reinforced because it swayed too much and many of the famous London skyscrapers.

Then it was time to get back to Dottie's for dinner with her mom. We arrived at the tube station and took it back to where we had to catch the train. John regaled me with a story about getting on the wrong train and taking forever to get to Dottie's. We stood and waited for the board to post which platform our train would arrive on. When it announced it we went to the track, boarded and sat there talking for a minute before John realized we were on the wrong train! We had to jump off, run back to the beginning of the track and then three tracks over. It felt a bit like a spy chase in the movies as I was trying to keep up with and not lose sight of him. The train left moments later and we had a pleasant ride back to Dottie's. Dottie had planned a family dinner for me tomorrow, but unfortunately John had misread the dates and I was leaving before the meal. So, happily her mom came to meet me and enjoy a great dinner together.

Salsibury Cathedral and Stonehenge

Thursday, March 13th, 2014

Salisbury, the Cathedral and Stonehenge

Today we are heading to Stonehenge, which I had told John when I said I was coming to England, was the only touristy thing I wanted to visit. We had talked about other castles or cathedrals to see en route and we settled on Salisbury Cathedral as the most interesting and the closest to the route we were taking. The drive through the country was lovely. I love the English countryside with the hedges, fields and hills. When we got to the city of Salisbury, we couldn't find the cathedral (which only as the tallest spire in Europe!), so John stopped by the sidewalk and told me to get out and find it while he went to park! We were a bit pressed for time, as he had pre-booked a tour of Stonehenge at 1:00. I was a bit sceptical of this plan so I rolled down the window and asked a man where the cathedral was. He gave us detailed instructions on where to drive and where to turn. John said no, not by car, by walking and the guy said, “Oh it's right through there,” pointing to an alley across the street. So I walked across the street and followed the lane to the cathedral, while John drove around looking for parking. I took some photos outside and then went in and waited for John. When he came he said that we didn't have much time, but I said I'm sure if we have tickets we can go anytime that day, so we asked the church staff if we could phone Stonehenge and sure enough they said they were not busy and we could come later. Now John said he only paid for a half hour of parking. I said forget it, I'll pay any fine I just want to explore this cathedral. So we went and took a tour with elderly gentlemen who explained the history. The ceiling and the stained glass windows were very impressive. We read about how a family would work on the construction of the cathedral for generations, with son taking the trade of the father and so on.

Eventually we drove from there to Stonehenge. We could see it from the highway just before we got there and had to drive past it to get to the entrance. They have a large history and information building there. We walked the kilometre to the actual site. Everyone has seen pictures of it but it is really impressive to see in person on a beautiful sunny day. They have it roped off now so that you cannot go up and touch or walk around the actual blocks. But, that helps preserve the grass around it and helps to make it a more private viewing by keeping the people out of your photos. The Stonehenge we see today was completed about 2200 BC and restored in the 20th century. There are numerous burial mounds around the site as this location was a spiritual one for the people of the Bronze Age. After wandering around for a couple of hours we drove back to Dottie's house.

Before dinner I went for another walk around part of the path that Dottie showed me the other day, but I returned at dusk so as not to get lost. We had a great dinner and spent the evening relaxing and catching up.

Lime Regis and the Coast

Wednesday, March 12th, 2014

Lyme Regis and Beer

We got up fairly early and headed off to John's mom's house for breakfast. She prepared a delicious meal which we enjoyed before heading off on a driving tour of the south coast of England. This is what they refer to as the Jurassic Coast, as it has many sedimentary cliffs which are full of fossils. We drove to Lyme Regis where we walked along the boardwalk enjoying the sunshine and the beach. The beach was made of small pebbles. We wandered along the beach and over the breakwater before heading back. We stopped and had fish and chips for lunch at a kiosk on the boardwalk. From there we drove east along the coast stopping at a couple more small villages, including Beer, which is a fishing village.

We dropped his mom back at her home and continued back to John's. In the evening we walked to a local pub and had a couple of beers before heading off to bed.

Exeter

Tuesday, March 11th, 2014

Exeter, Cathedral, Mom and Moors

I awoke up to the sounds of John downstairs. When I went down, he was standing in the kitchen with his arms spread and looking exasperated. “Didn't we buy milk last night?” he asked. He found the toilet paper but couldn't find (and never did find) the milk. We checked the car and everywhere we could think of, but a real mystery.

We walked downtown from his house looking at the streets, shops and the old city wall. We arrived at Exeter Cathedral, which has the longest unsupported roof in England (or Europe). We went in and signed up for a tour that included the roof. As we were walking around, we were met by John's Mom who lives nearby. The three of us listened to our guide (he told us about the small hole in the door to the bell tower that was a cat door, allowing the cat the chase the mice and rats), and enjoyed the climb up the bell tower to the roof. The view over the city was amazing. The guide explained that they are excavating the front grounds as they have discovered another Roman bath underground.

When we left John's Mom left us (we are seeing her again tomorrow) and we wandered around downtown. I found a HMV store and went in to have a look. I found and bought the new Elbow and Rifles Cds.

Back in the car to drive to the Moors. They are a pretty barren and hilly region with little habitation and mostly short hedges, shrubs and heather. We drove through them to the Burrator Reservoir that provides water for Plymouth. We took a nice hike through the woods surrounding the reservoir. As we walked around we came upon a young man who was being harassed by two large white geese. His girlfriend had managed to get past but he was clearly intimidated. I asked why and he said that when he was small one bit him on the nose! So John and I hopped a fence and went around them while the man made a mad dash! When we were leaving we drove to Dartmoor and saw the infamous prison. Then we went to a pub in a little town to meet Elaine, a friend of John's. She is setting up an adventure traveling company. We had a great dinner and a couple of pints. When we left I lifted a Jail Ale pint glass. We arrived back in Exeter late and headed off to bed.

Bath

Monday, March 10th, 2014

Bath and Bath Cathedral

John had some internet work to do this morning, so Dottie took me for a walk. She told me it was a route that she used to do regularly with her late dog. We walked through forests and meadows and over hills and through valleys, past some old English country homes and through some gates where you had to kiss each other on the cheek! Wonderful hike and it took us in a circle back to her home.

John finished up shortly after we got back and we left Great Missenden to go to his home in Exeter. We took the route to Bath. John was talking about this city as a midpoint between Exeter and London, where Dottie and he might settle. The city is beautiful and made mostly of marble. We walked around the downtown area and had a tour of Bath Abbey, which is a magnificent old cathedral. From there we went to the baths, not the old Roman ones, which were under restoration, but a new one built next door and using the same thermal waters. This building had three floors and John had prebooked us a package tour. We went into four hot steam rooms, from warm to hot and then a long soak in a large warm pool on the roof with a view over the city while we watched the sunset.  Finally he had booked a dinner at the in-house restaurant. We went to our lockers and I asked John if he was changing for dinner and he said yes, so we dressed and carried our jackets up to the restaurant. When we were seated we laughed because we were the only ones dressed, everyone else was in their white bathrobes. So, we had a romantic dinner for two, fully dressed. We ate a really heavy pork dinner with bread pudding and a beer. As we left we walked past the Abbey which was all lit up.

When we left Bath for Exeter we stopped at a convenience store to buy milk and toilet paper. We arrived at John's late and I had a tour of the place before we sat and talked for a bit before heading off to bed. My room was John's studio where he makes videos for his work. So we had to move all of his equipment and set up a single bed in the corner.

England - Windsor Castle

Sunday, March 9th, 2014

Arrival at Heathrow and Windsor Castle

I flew from Toronto and arrived at Heathrow early in the morning. John picked me up and drove me to Dottie's house. She lives in Great Missenden which is north west of London. On route he related to me that Dottie's house had been burgled while they were in Spain. They stole both of their computers and John's Mercedes! A good friend of his had lent him the Volvo we were driving in. Dottie lives in a beautiful house outside of London in the country. It was great to see both of them! Dottie made us a big late breakfast and we sat and caught up with each other. I should take lessons from Dottie as a housekeeper, her home is immaculate, well-appointed and quite minimalist, especially when you consider she has a seven year old.

After breakfast, they told me they were taking me to Windsor Castle. It was a beautiful warm and sunny day, apparently the first in a long time, as the weather has been cool, wet and miserable until I arrived. We drove to Windsor and had a tour of the castle and the grounds. It is massive and stunning. It was first constructed by William the Conqueror in the eleventh century and has been added on to a number of times during history. It has been the home of 39 monarchs and is one of the official residences of the Queen. We had an inside tour and visited many of the rooms including the section that burned down in 1992.

When we left the castle we walked into the town and sat at a cafe and enjoyed a drink and the warm sun. Back at Dottie's house for dinner where I meet Innie, Dottie's daughter, for the first time. She is a very precocious seven year, with blue eyes and white blond hair. We had a good dinner, relaxed and chatted away the evening.