I realize I haven’t written in a bit. I started writing something last month when it would have been Mom’s birthday, but my heart wasn’t into it.
We went on a fantastic trip at the end of July and early August. We spent a week in London and then went on to Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland. I walked about 6 miles every day. Some days more. I haven’t walked like that since I got back because my feet hurt so much. Seriously, bunions are no joke. I’m grateful I had the perfect shoes (thank you Merrell’s) but had to start wearing sandals that don’t go across my foot when I got home to give them a break.
We thankfully got to London a week after it had been 104. I don’t do well with heat at home where I have air conditioning so was a little nervous about it in London where they are not set up for heat. Fortunately it had dropped to the 80s by the time we got there. Complete exhaustion and a fan did wonders at helping me sleep. It dropped further while we were there so that it was bearable.
Having grown up in a very temperate climate, I do much better when temperatures range overall from 50-85 at the highest. The 70s are my ideal with 60s the next. Humidity at higher temperatures is a particular challenge. As I get older, I’m not one of those people who wants to move where it is warm all the time. Florida with it’s humidity and alligators sounds like an utter nightmare. Let alone its politics. I suspect I’m much more suited toward Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts or Rhode Island. Somewhere with a little snow in the winter and a coastal climate. Living in California has become a bit tenable as I get older. The heat, fires, and honestly increasing expense makes me think I may want to look elsewhere.
But back to our trip. We left out of SFO on Saturday July 23rd. The 6:30 PM flight was long but oddly manageable. I haven’t been to Europe in almost 30 years. Steve and I have never travelled outside the US together, unless you count Vancouver, which we don’t. At SFO we experienced facial recognition in its full glory which is both extremely cool and somewhat terrifying. Even Grace passed through with Steve and I on either side. Customs hasn’t changed much. Someone looks at you, glares at your passport, but now you get scanned through. Unless you are travelling with a 13 year old then they want to be sure that she really is your child.
Our flat in London was great. We actually took the Underground from the airport and it was about a half mile walk. The only problem? Lugging our luggage up five flights of stairs when you have major jet lag. We did manage though and once in the apartment were pretty happy. The most important thing was it was quiet at night for sleeping. But first, we were off to dinner.
We went to this place Steve had seen on Stanley Tucci’s show. It is Italian (shocking I know) but the menu is put together by Italian mothers visiting from Italy. It was quite good and a great way to start the trip. That said I was in bed early and slept like a rock. Even with a window open and fan blowing on me, I didn’t stir until the morning.
The next day we were off to the Tower of London and the Super Bloom that is going on for the Queen’s Jubilee. I was worried that after the unusual heat in the last week that all the flowers might have died, but they were still there. Mostly wild flowers, including the California poppy which made an appearance. The bloom was in the moat around the Tower. The moat has been dry for years but it was actually a cool thing. The Brits love to garden and it was fun to observe this. After this we went inside to the Tower and stayed for 4 hours. We didn’t even see everything but we did see the jewels and got some history in. I think Grace enjoyed it too.
That evening we did the Eye. The last time I was in London it didn’t exist. I knew it was a super touristy thing to do but I wanted to. Another long line and soon we were in an enclosed bubble with 20 other strangers unmasked. Mind you throughout this trip we masked on public transit, when we were indoors and especially on the Eye. It was fun but by the time it was done I was tired and just wanted to go back to the flat. Nothing like hiking up 5 flights at the end of the day to really get you ready for bed.
Tuesday we were to do a hop on/hop off bus tour and climb the dome of St. Paul’s cathedral. More to come…