England 2017:Altitude

Altitude



I usually begin planning these journeys months before I actually go. I had dreamt of seeing the white cliffs of Dover and taking a day trip by train to see them. But then I remembered that there was somewhere else. Due to time and expense, I had to choose between two different experiences for that day. I needed Emma's help to make the decision. Per her request, we rode a different train that afternoon to side of London I had not yet been but had known of.

   We had already been on a nature walk through an oasis within the city, now we will visit another oasis more majestic. Where I will feel the wind blow on a terrace as I view my lovely city. Somewhere where I would be surrounded by lush tree ferns and fig trees as the sun stared back and glowed against them through the windows of a giant atrium. I had already seen the white cliffs of Dover from the plane when we flew over them. And since you can't see them anyway when you are standing on them, I was fine with that.

  They say that some folks are beach people while others prefer the mountains. Though I like both, London is a little bit of everything in between. From my view I could see everything from Tudor style architecture and ornate cathedrals to 21st century high rise office buildings on the next block. I looked down at my city where people were boarding trains traveling for work or pleasure, some were taking riverboat rides or walking down the many cobblestone streets shooting photographs at monuments, palaces and street vendors. There's a little something for everyone here and every visit for me has been distinct in it's own way. Though there are so many other places I want to visit, this view reminded me why there are many reason I just keep coming back here. 

   Our lunch would be an elegant fine dining experience.
(Which is why we did not see Dover as our budget would not allow us to do both). The door was opened for us as though we were expected. Our napkins were placed in our laps by the server as we were seated. The menu featured items such Anjou pigeon, heritage beetroots, golden raisins and pomegranateas and for dessert, white peach, honey parfait, mascarpone and rosemary all prepared by the worlds finest Italian chefs.

   My lunch included Cannelloni of morel mushrooms, smoked beef consommé and broad beans with sparkling water. Though I was hungry, my days of heavy travel had reduced my appetite somewhat. The portion size was just right. The Cannelloni was very tender with a smokey  flavor. It was artfully garnished with fresh radishes and edemame. It was very colorful and I was fulfilled.










 Place visited: 35 stories above the ground at the top of a building shaped like a walkie -talkie, three stories of beautiful landscaping of many varieties of picturesque florals and foliage create
Sky Garden, London UK

Eats: Fenchurch Restaurant
Date visited: June 15th, 2017



      We also visited a few of the places we saw from our amazing view from the ground level.

Tower Bridge is one of the most well known icons visible in London's skyline. The two Gothic style towers operate a draw bridge to channel traffic in and out of port facilities in the Pool of London.

The Shard is the tallest building in the UK at 95 stories and construction was completed  just in time for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

The Tower of London is located
along the north bank of the Thames river. It is a historical landmark built in 1078 and was used mostly as a prison through the centuries.

Pigeons. Do not feed or things will go terribly wrong making the citizens of Britain very unhappy. Better to not learn that lesson the hard way!

 

England 2017-Oasis

Oasis




Throughout our time together, I found saying no to Emma difficult. She had her fair share of ice cream that week and we paid 5 pounds for a Fidget Spinner when she could get one in the states or even online for as little a dollar.

   It was also her idea to have lunch in a trendy modern day pub against idea of getting fresh prepackaged sandwiches from the grocery store in order to save money. Since it was her vacation and our special time together, I caved a lot.

Savory Meat Pie and Mash

   It has been my experience from previous visits that a rainstorm can happen at any time in the city of London. Since we forgot our umbrellas, we were fortunate that the weather was optimal every day that we were there. And since Earl's Court was close to everything, we had planned to do a lot of walking. There's a place in Kensington for the would-be scientist.
  I knew that Emma was well ready to travel with me at a young age as she has always had a sense of adventure. We walked down Cromwell Street in South Kensington until a facade of  Romanesque architecture stood in our view. We walked in and we were overwhelmed with the beauty of this enormous place and I instantly felt as though I was walking through the history in which it stood. We would enjoy many other similar buildings some of which date as far back as 1078! We also marveled at the workmanship and the many decorative tiles of different facets of nature.

    Though the building alone was enough to see, we toured displays of bear specimen, dinosaur fossils and a blue whale skeleton. Though fascinated with our surroundings, we also would enjoy any demonstrations and anything we could find that was hands-on.

    A young man who was on staff offered an informative and very educational interactive presentation on how to determine the age of a tree. His array of trunk samples, diagrams and time lines were engaging and captivating for Emma. I really think he just needed someone to talk to. There wasn't anyone else around at the time and he seemed happy that we were there to listen as he continued on and on.

   Just outside the building, we were lucky to find a place referred to as the "oasis in the midst of urbana". The sun lit the afternoon as we strolled down the path where cowslips and bluebells could be seen. The noise from the outermost city grew faint. The path led us to a small pond graced with lilly pads as the dragonflies flew near. An exhibitioner anxiously awaited us ready to present his demo. He had his sample tray full of algae, leeches, snails and larvae and challenged us to identify each of them. Never did I know that dragonflies came from larvae found within the waters of lakes and ponds!
   
   Emma wanted to go to one more exhibit. It was not free unfortunately, so it was once again time for me to cave. Who said there would be any regrets?

Sensational Butterflies



There was an exhibit.
We spent about an hour with them.

Place visited: Natural History Museum, London UK

Date visited: June 14th, 2017
Eats: Garfunkles, London UK


Grenfell 

Though we may have been in an oasis of Bluebells and butterflies that day, the city outside of us was raging. The sky was perfectly blue that morning but it was also filled with the smoke and helicopters   as horror was in the air less than two miles away. I watched the news in the breakfast room as it was all happening while Emma slept.

   I left the television off in the hotel room as I thought it would be best to keep this information from her.

   When London hurts, I hurt. I prayed and secretly wept while with my butterflies.

England 2017: Borders

Emma's souvenir.

Paris

Okay, okay. I know it's just a layover but we did not care.We got to hang in Paris! I didn't necessarily need a stamp to my passport (though I looked into the process but we were only there three hours and that is about how long the process to actually cross the border would take.) All I cared about was that I could say that I had been there

No matter what anyone says, my layovers DO count!

   Even though it was only a layover, we could still see the Eiffle Tower from the plane and we decided to take advantage of the cafes that were there as well as the shopping. Keeping in mind the fact that I can make a memorable experience out of simple pleasures such as a cup of coffee.

 I stopped into a place called Buy Paris Duty Free. Not the most exotic name for a French boutique shop but I was able to find an assortment of fine chocolates to bring back my husband who was ever so kind about me traveling, leaving work early and  battling traffic the day before  to get us to the airport on time.

 Heathrow International

   I'm not one of these folks whose afraid to look out the window of a plane at an altitude of 10,000 feet. It was a clear day as we could see one side of the English Channel to the other between France and England. We could see mile after mile of English countryside until the flight path eventually led us to where the London Eye, the rings of Wembly Stadium and the Thames river were all in our view.

    In the times I have been through Heathrow International, it has never really ever been a nightmare for me. The flow of traffic was smooth, the signage is clear, and I was always able to find my luggage quickly. As we arrived, we swiftly made our way through the jet portal and the terminal. We walked and rode the conveyors. Just as routine as I remembered. As we passed one sign for Baggage Claim after another, in the midst of my excitement, I had hoped that our luggage was not lost and waiting for us when we arrived to the area. However, that concern dissipated as my plan came to an abrupt halt. A very crowded room and a slow moving line stood in our way. Though I knew this was not impossible, I began to worry about Emma. We had just arrived and we were about to experience everything we had talked about for the last two years. Though I knew Emma was ready for a first adventure abroad, the long day, the hour-long wait at the border, a thirty minute ride on the tube train and jet lag to come would make a weary traveler of her.



 Earl's Court
 
  We walked through what seemed to be a maze of  many stairways in different directions leading to many rooms through very short corridors. Architecture somewhat different from endless hallways we have to walk through in our hotels here in the US. Our room was small and with a bit of trendy decor located outside of this old English building. There was a garden. It was green, quiet and the morning glories were still in bloom. I didn't need a fancy resort with chandeliers, a monogrammed bath robe or an ice bucket filled with campaign. There may not have been much of our day left as we settled into our cozy little place that afternoon in Earl's Court but we knew we would own the days to come.

I was ready to cue the music. This is the beginning of my song.

 Pret A Manger is a popular deli chain in the UK
with a few locations in the US. It is always the first place I go once I get off the trains

   Though my 11-year-old was sacked out,  I was hungry. It all began with  a rich prosciutto sub on a very coarse whole grain roll. The Vino Cabernet I had with it added to the experience making the take away sandwich seem very gourmet. I reminded myself that I wasn't here to worry about bills, schedules, or home repairs. I was going to demand
 my freedom from all of that for few days
and do this jet lag right.

England 2017-Domino

                 
I was a nervous wreck all day. In my past travels, I had had flight cancellations at the last minute, near missed flight connections and the ever feared possiblility of not being in the system.

  I had to work that morning for a few short hours trying to stay focused and not be distracted of what all needed to be done that afternoon before I would leave that evening.
I cashed in three years worth of loose change adding up to
$344 from the coinstar machine at my local grocery store. The machine backed up a few times and I had to find an attendant to help me. I would have forgone the commision I had to pay for the use of the machine and cashed it all in at the bank for free. I tried this initially before going to the grocery store but I was informed by the banker that the coins had to be rolled. I'll have to make a note of that for the future.

  Once everything was crossed off the check list, my husband texted me saying he would be able to get off work early that day to get us to the airport sooner. It was 4:30 and though I dreaded it and GPS had proven the inevitabity, there would most certainly be traffic.

  Never was there a jam so long and so slow and I sweated bullets through the whole thing eventhough I still had three hours. Then three hours became two hours and fifty five minutes and I fought to not panic. All I needed was to make it through that initial first step of arriving on time and checking in with time left over and I would be fine. I checked my bag 3 times during that ride to be sure the passports were still there.

 Traffic left us with two hours and 35 minutes to spare before take off. The most painful step in the process was over. Me and my sweet Emma were checked in and laughing while on our way to our gate.

  Air France flight number 689 was on schedule and waiting for us on the tarmac. The sun was setting
as we made our way to the entrance. The flight attendants greeted us.


Bon Soir!


~Lets do this!~

                                                                              








 .....and I had wine with dinner on the plane.



                                                                        Jessie J-Domino
                                      ( The song that happened to be on my mind at the time...)