Taking the opportunity to celebrate

My latest grandchild, Caleb, reached the six month milestone this week.

My daughter-in-law, Marcele, said the celebrated when he was three months old and wanted to celebrate again so she bought this lovely cake:-

We sang happy half birthday and Dad, Aaron, blew out the candle.

It was good to be here for this milestone in Caleb's life:-

House Sitting

Apart from being with family, part of the reason for our return to London was to fulfill a commitment to do house sitting for people who want to go away but leave their pets with a carer at home.

At the moment we are looking after two rescue cats, Bianca and Sasha.  So nice to have some cats in our lives again.

However, they are missing 'Mum' and spend a lot of time on the window sill watching and waiting:-

This is Sasha in her spot at the window sill.

Back in London Town

Before we came away Linda and I sent a package on ahead for my grand daughter, Anna-Clara.

It contained a quilt, a couple of books and some finger puppets.  As it turned out, the finger puppets were the hit of the day.

Making the most of the English summer

Since leaving New Zealand at the end of June we have been very fortunate to have had very little rain.

We did have a memorable day when we went to see Richard II enacted in London and it rained and rained and rained that day.

This last Wednesday Linda and I left Eccleshall early and our destination was London.  It was a beautiful summer day, and, dare I say, at times it felt too hot.

However, it was lovely for us as we travelled through Staffordshire and south to Stratford Upon Avon.  After a coffe stop we took time out to go and look at Anne Hathaway's Cottage.  Quite a significant spot for lovers of Shakespearean history:-

Set in ten acres, there are lots of lovely garden plots to walk through:-

We continued on down through the Cotswolds, noticing how the cottages changed from the grey of the north to the warm cream of the midlands.  We saw more delightful cottages en route than we could possible record.

Our time on the road was about ten hours but it was worth it as we headed to my son, Aaron's home in Epsom where family were waiting to greet us.

Then the next day it rained again.

Life in Eccleshall

Linda and I have been very privileged to have had the use of a one bedroom bungalow during our time in Staffordshire.

Eccleshall, our local village is a delightful example of an historic English village.

As is the case with many of these villages there is usually a grand old church somewhere in the midst and the Holy Trinity is no exception:-

Home to a number of Bishops of Lichfield, there is even a tomb of one of them, William Overton, near the altar:-

The lighting was not right for me to capture the many beautiful stained glass windows in this building.

Like many of its kind the church has fallen into disrepair and been restored.  

There is a record in the church of the many grave stones and for those researching family history, it could be very useful.

Thatched Cottage

Today we spent a quiet day in Eccleshall.

On one of the quiet roads that leads in/out of Eccleshall was a sign tucked away in the hedge growth:-

Was there really a thatched cottage in the vicinity?

Yes, beyond the hedge a nice neat cottage and an excellent example of a thatched roof:-

The Birmingham Quilt Show

In planning our extended holiday we were fortunate to be able to visit The Sisters Quilt Show in Oregon.

The same happened for us here in England with the biggest quilt show in England being hosted at the National Exhibiton Centre in Birmingham.

We travelled by car to Stafford and then caught the train to Birmingham International Railway Station which is attached to the Exhibiton centre.

The quilt show did not disappoint.  The hall was extra large, light and airy and the quilts were well hung with plenty of room in the aisles for viewing:-

The prize winning quilts were hung separately from the rest and such was the interest it was very hard to take a photo without someone being in the way.  I really loved the prize winning pictorial quilt which was a seascape but others like it too so they have been captured in my image:-

This stunning quilt is made up from miniature log cabin blocks and has 40,000 pieces.  I was not able to capture an image of the whole quilt:-

The quilt of the show got my attention as well.  The machine quilting really set it off. Again a photo of just a section of the quilt:-

All in all a great show.  I was so pleased we were able to take time out to be there.

Something longed for has become reality

Linda and I have often talked about being able to travel around the back roads of England.

For us to be able to take in the scenery, rolling green countryside, stone fences, cottage and country manors hundreds of years old is a real delight.

One country cottage takes our attention and then another and another.  Real picture book country we are living in at the moment in this part of the world:-

A visit to Burano

For our last full day together as a family group in Venice we went to the islands of Murano and Burano.

Lisa loves glass making and so Murano was the place to go to see a glass making demonstration and to take home a souvenir of this beautiful work.

Afterwards we went to Burano which was the highlight of the trip for Linda and me.

The colourful houses made quite a splash and we could only admire all the wonderful creations from Venetian lace.

I couldn't resist taking a picture of this in a side window of one of the shops.  The shop owner spotted me and beckoned me inside where she proceeded to do a hard sell of her many wares but we were there to look not buy.

The following morning we said goodbye to Rick, David, Lisa and Jackson as they were headed for a few days in Rome and we were due to fly out to Birmingham.

Linda and I left the apartment by 7.30am in an attempt to escape the heat.  That was never going to happen until we finally reached Marco Polo airport and air conditioning.  This is where we stayed until our 4.30pm flight to the cooler and welcome climate of England.

Although Venice was very hot

We did try to make the most of our time there.  It was 30 degrees Celsius plus most of the time so no sooner had you showered and dressed you felt like having another shower.

Window shopping in the streets leading to St Marks Square -

Cool refreshments were required as well -

Fresh strawberries with whipped cream.

Time in St Marks Square listening to a musical quartet -

People watching was also a big part of our time there.  Certainly brings you in touch with people from all walks of life and all countries.

All day for a 90 minute plane flight

From the streets of Paris to Venice - how could it be that a 90 minute plane flight would mean a day long trip but that is how it went for us.

Because we flew Ryan Air we had to leave our apartment early for a one hour drive to Beauvais Airport to be there two hours ahead of flight time.  The 90 minute flight went well, but then we had to deal with an extended bus ride from Treviso Airport to down town Venice where we then had to get a water taxi to take us to Celestia where we had an apartment.

When we finally settled into the apartment we found there was no hot running water - all in all it seemed like a very long day for a ninety minute flight. 

A Safe Haven For Us

From London to Paris by train and on to our apartment in Montmartre which was to be our home for the next three nights.

Jackson was keen to be our doorman

A round of sightseeing was required -

People watching in side walk cafes with a Blue Lagoon to help -

Window shopping was very interesting - 

Fabric anklets to make your shoes look like boots.

A special moment for Jackson.  A friend of David's visited with us in Paris and after lunch he played video games with Jackson back at the apartment -

Looking for coffee

Looking for take away coffee before 9am on a Saturday in Montmartre can be a challenge.

Lisa and I set out this morning aided by Mr Google for an uphill climb 300 meters away to the nearest cafe.

300 meters can seem much longer when it is all up hill.  We stayed with the challenge - no people about, just a lonely runner making his way up the hill beside us.

This unusual statue got our attention:-

The challenge for coffee was still ahead and so we continued up the hill.

There did not seem to be any sign of a coffee shop anywhere and then suddenly the hill leveled out and there was our coffee place:-

Success! Purchases were made and down the hill we went again coffees in hand.

Another day in Paris had begun.

A special day with Jackson

One of the most special days so far on this holiday was when Linda and I took my grandson, Jackson, out for a day in London. 

We made an early start and headed for the London Eye:-

Jackson was really impressed with the experience and so were we.

Linda had bought combined tickets to do a river cruise and just as well, as Jackson was very keen to follow through on this.

It certainly was a great way to take in the sights of London from a different perspective.

One of the things that impressed Jackson was Cleopatra's Needle and so, after the river cruise we walked one of the many bridges across the Thames, then along The Embankment until we came to Cleopatra's Needle:-

We stayed there for quite some time.

Jackson was keen to be posing again and again but soon it was time be moving along so we moved towards Westminster and Big Ben.  He was very taken with Big Ben and even bought a souvenir with a working clock in the model.

From Big Ben we progressed towards Trafalgar Square.  We thought Jackson would like to climb on the lions at the base of Nelson's Column but they were closed off for the day.

It was nearly 3pm and none of us had had lunch so we happened upon a pub called The Admiralty and stopped to eat.

A great place to go for the traditional English pie.  Also a good spot for us to sit and talk and review the day together.  After refreshments it was time to pick up a London cab and head for home.

Like I said, one of the highlights of our visit,spending a day out with Jackson.

Those lovely bumbling bees

We love it in the summer when the bumble bees visit in our garden. 

We have never seen them in the numbers we saw at Leeds Castle today. 

A lot of thought seemed to have gone into including plants the bumble bees are attracted by. 

Getting to know Anna-Clara

It has been delightful for our family group to get to know my grand daughter, Anna- Clara, during our time in London. 

She has come to accept our presence so readily and so today we had another short but happy reunion in Trafalgar Square. 

We were all quite taken by the 'living statues' in Trafalgar Square and so was she. 

Flat whites in London

On the 4th December 2012 I was in London and my son, Rick took me to lunch at Granger & Co in Notting Hill, owned by his favourite Australian chef, Bill Granger.

Back then a good flat white in London was hard to find so I really appreciated  the one we had there. 

Yesterday we breakfasted at another of Bill Granger's restaurants in Clerkenwell. 

The flat whites were as good as ever along with the lightest and tastiest 

scrambled eggs you could hope to find. 

Since my last visit flat whites have become more commonplace and so I don't have to feel deprived of a 'down under' part of life. 

More things that make me smile

We went the Broadway Markets in London today and it was great to see the way the marketplace has developed since I lived here in the seventies. 

So many amazing food choices from England and abroad. Broadway Markets are small in comparison to many in London but it was just the right size for us. 

After we had finished wandering it was time for a drink in a corner pub. 

There, under the wine list an encouragement to honour God, and outside the pub a promotion that this was the House of Revelry - a contradiction in terms that made me smile. 

In addition the other morning we went to have breakfast at a local cafe. Four adults and every breakfast platter had at least half a dozen fries as extra. 

David had ordered bacon and egg with toast for his but when it came it had bacon eggs and fries only. 

When David queried her, the waitress said, 'oh the fries are there for decorative purposes only' and very quickly produced some buttered toast. 

Fries for decorative purposes only  has become a bit of a by word amongst us. 

First Encounter

Good bye, Canada, hello England.

After an extended time in a very long Customs queue, Linda and I then had to get from Terminal 2 and had to make it to Terminal 4 to meet up with family.  This seemed to take forever.  Just as well we were able to find a cappuccino to fortify us.  We were a bit foot sore and weary by the time we hopped into a car to go to our apartment which is to be our home for the next eleven days.

My eldest son, Aaron, was waiting for an appropriate moment to bring his daughter, Anna-Clara to visit with us.  At first she was very shy and only wanted to be with Daddy.

Then we got talking and she found a space on the floor and started twirling around in a world of her own.  

 

It didn't seem long until she found a spot to sit between her Uncle Ricky and Great Aunty Linda to settle down and have a chat.

It seems that meeting your overseas relatives for the first time is not so daunting after all.

From Vancouver to Whistler

 Whistler was to be the highlight of our Canadian sojourn but if we hadn't been on top of the situation I don't think our bus driver would have even picked us up.  Even when we did get on the bus we spent the best part of 60 minutes scooting around the city hotels to pick up, swap passengers until we finally had the correct mix of people for our journey.

At last we were on our way, out into the pleasant countryside.

Whistler put me in mind of the Bavarian town of Leavenworth in the Cascade Mountains.  Whistler is nestled between mountains much like Leavenworth, the buildings are built chalet style with limited color schemes to blend in with the mountain scenery. 

We stayed overnight and it was very pleasant but the gold nugget of our visit to Canada was the return journey on the Rocky Mountaineer train. 

The customer service on the train was excellent. 

The views of mountains with snow, sharp cliff faces, deep canyons with rivers at the base, all the picture book stuff we had ever seen about Canada was right there before us.

You may have to pay more for the experience than other places but well worth every mile/kilometer travelled.