David and Kris's Blog

Friday, November 2, 2012

Greenwich and More

Grandmother and Kris stayed in today, so it was just Rod, Vic, and me. We took a packed train to London Bridge Station, rode the Jubilee Line to Westminster, then boarded a river boat for Greenwich. The day was cold, but beautiful with virtually no rain, so we dodged the bullet again. We ate some fine fish and chips in the church yard before boarding the Docklands Lightrail to the heart of the Docklands where we had a quick look around. The Jubilee Line delivered us to Bond Street, and a 94 bus took us to Queensway. We had a look around the old neighborhood on our way to the Scotch Shop on Portobello Road to have a peek at a sweater for Rod. Unfortunately, it is only open on Saturday so we headed back to Oxford Street by bus so Vic could see Selfridges. We made our way back to London Bridge in time to catch a train home. Tonight we had a delicious supper of Kim's leftover stew.

R&V headed down the river

The Shard above London Bridge Station

The Tower of London

Tower Bridge frames the Shard

Docklands

Wren's Royal Naval College/Hospital

The Painted Hall

East dome seen through the window of

the Painted Hall

View towards the Docklands

The Queen's House

The Tulip Staircase that played the Department of

Circumlocution in Little Dorit

View of the river from the Queen's House window, preserved

by splitting the original proposed design of a single building into two

It's holly season in England

Greenwich was the Olympic venue for horse jumping

Fish and chips for lunch

I wish someone in the states knew how to make these

Al fresco in St. Alfege churchyard in Greenwich

One Canada Square at Canary Wharf: Europe's
tallest building prior to the Shard

R&V in the Docklands

Magnificent Canary Wharf Station -- I love all the stations

on the Jubilee Line extension

On the rails

The Mormons are coming

Oxford Street

Christmas windows at Selfridges

Tasty as ever

Just a quick look into Kensington Gardens

Queensway

27 Palace Court

Notting Hill Gate

Tomorrows plans are a bit squishy, but we will keep you posted. It is Guy Fawkes Day and Bonfire Night, and Edenbridge made CNN news because they not only burn the "guy," but also a celebrity. They have chosen to burn Lance Armstrong this year!

That's all for now.

OXO

Way Out West Day Two

NB: Day one was posted first, so scroll down to read the posts in order if that sort of thing is important to you. (You must guess that it is to me.)

As most of you know, the great motivation for this terribly long journey in a tiny cramped car was a visit to Port Isaac, the fictional Port Wenn of the Doc Martin series which has captivated most of the family, but most especially our Aunt Vic. We left the Bowood Park Hotel after a magnificent full-English breakfast and headed in what we assumed was the most direct route to Port Isaac. We were equipped with a detailed map of the area printed from Google Maps. It was going to be a slam dunk to go the short 8.4 miles. I was at the wheel with Rod, my trusty navigator, in the jump seat and three ladies in the rear. A journey that was to have taken roughly 18 minutes took the better part of an hour because the roads were less than one lane wide, with high hedge rows and no road markers. We found ourselves going in circles in a complicated maze; we were fortunate to meet only one oncoming car during the entire "wild ride:" shades of Mr. Toad! We finally flagged down some worker boys in small van who were coincidentally headed to Port Isaac. Whew! Good times.

The weather, which had been rainy and windy, was beautiful! (Rod predicted good weather until noon and his prediction came true as we climbed back in our car at 12:10 just as the rain started. The trip home was very LONG, but quite tolerable because the scenery, the entire way, was exquisite: makes you weep or sigh at least.

The view out our hotel window of the golf course

on what was promising to be a beautiful day

The troops at the Bowood Park Hotel

The maze that held us captive

Our pilgrimage destination: Port Isaac

Cornwall is spectacular

Louisa's Street

Louisa's house -- we peeked in and saw the

interior used in the show

Looking across the harbor to the surgery

The school -- presently a hotel and restaurant

Street down to the harbor

Restaurant at the harbor

Grandmother and Kris at Mrs. Tishell's Chemist's Shop

More of the same with the attractive house next door

The harbor

Boats stranded at low tide

Road to the Large Restaurant and the Surgery

Burt and Al Large's Restaurant -- actually
a private home

I do love stone buildings

The surgery

Up the street from the surgery

Rod's best Doc Martin face and Vicki over the moon

Pilot and navigator

View from the surgery toward the school

These ladies have chocolate -- surprised?

Where the stream enters the harbor

R&V in the harbor

A beautiful setting

Steep roads everywhere

Stone wall with lichens and other flora

The wild Cornwall coast

Looking north toward Tintagel

Today looks to be a beautiful day and most of us are headed to Greenwich. So check back for more adventures. That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Way Out West Day One

Wednesday morning we piled in the Note and headed up the M25 to the M3 and headed west. Our first stop was Stourhead, which was glorious even in intermittent rain showers. They were kind to the hobble cobble group and gave us a ride down to the garden. Grandmother and Kris were able to do the tour in a golf cart while Rod, Vic, and I booked it around the circuit. We had a delicious lunch in the cafe before setting off again for Camelford where the Bowood Park Hotel and Golf Club are located. I was nervous because I found the place on Expedia and had no idea how it would be. It turned out to be great. Because it is a destination for golfers, the place felt like a men's club.