Day 34: Off and flying AGAIN but where?

Trains, planes (large..medium and small) automobiles (with right and left hand drive), taxi cabs, ferries, punts and elephants.... we have done it all in 34 days.

Up and down the continents of Europe, Africa and North America; Ireland, Corfu, Great Britain and Lusaka for islands. By the time we hopefully arrive in Miami tonight the 22,000 air mile estimate will be overshot. All in 34 days..... Wow... when I originally wrote the heading for this blog it sounded a bit outrageous but there you have it. Are you tired yet? Evidently I am not.  In the departure lounge at Heathrow the flights for the adjacent gates are being called.... Flt 645 for Brussels..... Flt 809 for Geneva .... now boarding.....

Thank you all for reading along. I have not finished some of the pages as yet. One of the biggest challenges has been doing all of this and then having time to tell you all about it .... coherently. Please let me know what you liked, what you would have liked more of and what you thought didn't work as we go forward with The Vicarious Traveler.

So, one last time.......

     4:30am and the skies are already bright... Midsummers eve is approaching fast. I pull open the hotel room drapes to see a very large Starbucks sign over the front door of the Sheraton right across the way. I am deculturizing and gearing back up for the U.S. because surprise... we are headed HOME.

Or at least to Washington on the noon United flight. Somehow there is still so much to do. If I get to the airport reasonably early I can pick up the bits and pieces in tax fee shopping and Boots chemists.

 In the mean time I am anxing over whether I will be charged for an extra bag and am setting up the carry on contingencies of imploding into one roll on. Shampoos and bits are being trashed.. amazing what takes up space and weight. Thank heavens for good hotel amenities.

And we are off to the hotel shuttle for Heathrow Terminal 1.      See Ya! 

 

Miami Airport: 9 pm June 18, 2012:  We are back..... on time, on target. Slightly worn around the edges. This last leg from Washington Dulles to Miami was probably the most taxing of any of the flights in this trip.... too small a plane for this length a trip, no food at all on board....no leg room. I wasn't the only one who had transferred from an overseas flight....  but then it took off on time, landed on time and there came both of my bags.... now isn't thAT GREAT.

And now as the trip is finished, I need to tell you that of all the 16 flights that were included in this travelogue not one flight was late taking off or cancelled or late on arrival. Not one piece of baggage was lost or even misplaced. For all of that we must thank; United, South African Airlines, ProZambia Airways, Aegean Airways and Aer Lingus. (Not that they gave me any breaks or discounts ........) For that I bought travel insurance..... and never needed to use it. Perhaps there is some wisdom in preventive planning because I am perfectly happy to have paid for the peace of mind.  Maybe the leprechauns, wood nymphs and travel fairies decided that they would prove me wrong and give me a chaos free travel experience;  well thank you!

 

View Full Size Travel Map at Travellerspoint

Day 33.. .Cambridge without the Duke and Duchess

It's 6:30 this morning... a light rain is persisting but Penny and I are determined; drawn back to Newmarket and the morning gallops. We have been promised the full treatment of the training stables exercising their charges up and over the tracks, the grass and the hills. For our efforts and willingness to stand in the rain at 7:30 am we are greeted warmly by trainers and riders. The horses are a bit disdainful..... Such beautiful animals, watching them gallop across the ridge... two and three year old as well as seasoned racers. It's just an aside that there are millions... millions of dollars worth of horses running around in front of us.

Back in Burwell by 9am and Peter has created a 'fry-up' version of an full English breakfast. Plump lovely sausages, fat thick bacon (American bacon is so wimpy) sliced pan fried potatoes, scrambled eggs, homemade wheat toast, chunky dark orange marmalade, real butter .... (beans and fried tomatoes not included). George is wistfully insulted at not being included.

Walk and eat...walk and eat.

And we are off to Cambridge. We are out of time. This has been left too late! Cambridge needs days not hours to explore. We pop into the Cambridge visitor's information center www.visitcambridge.org for maps and to buy 'discounted' punting tour tickets (11 pds per). We choose to see Cambridge from the water side... Winding our way past The Eagle (we'll come back to this) to Mill Street to the boat landing... we find it full of flat bottom punts www.scudamores.com that hold 12 or 6 people. Polled up and down the river by a punter (and guide) the punt slips through the crowded waterway. We have stern seats and settle in for what is the perfect way to grasp the essence of Cambridge University. 

The Celts wandered here in 1 AD and the Romans in 43 AD, as did William the Conquer. In 1209 Oxford (now Univ.) forced out a group of scholars who found their way northeast to Cambridge and attracted others until in 1284 the first of the Colleges, Peterhouse, was founded. Henry VIII founded Trinity College in 1546. Cambridge's unique feature is the River Cam that winds its way from the Fens through the City and University.

            Cambridge's famous Trinity College, King's College and St John's College are just some of the imposing and often elegant structures that line the River Cam's banks. Stunning gardens, flowering rose arbors... A maze of bridges lace across the river as there are NO footpaths leaving the bridges as the only way to cross the river and only by things that walk, roll (or slither).

 We are brilliantly lucky: the sky clears, the sun shines and ducklings scurry in the wake of a passing punt. Its lucky that we did not all end up in the river....

And of course we head for lunch at the famed Eagle Pub where Issac Newton, Winston Churchill and others since 1745 have 'lifted a few pints'. We settle for grilled salmon cakes, salad and sparkling elderflower juice...... to bring a short 3 hour visit to a halt as we take a double decker bus back to the parking lot, retrieve my bags and cases and load me into the airport coach bus for the 3 hour trip southeast to Heathrow Airport.

Out of the bus, into the terminal and then out again to find the hotel shuttle bus line and a ride to the Marriott. My flight leaves at noon tomorrow with a 9:30 airport call. That's far to early to start out from Cambridge and allow for traffic so I have come down tonight to finish up, for this trip, a last full day in England. Woops, it's tomorrow how did that happen!

Day 32: Off to the Races...... Newmarket Style

(5:30 wakeup call and if we are going to make it to join up with the jockeys and a string of race horses coming out of stables in Newmarket then we need to move.

Newmarket, the home of British Racing since 1757 when Charles II would move his court to Newmarket twice a year so that he could indulge in his love of horse racing. We dash 5 miles across the flat fields of Cambridgeshire into Newmarket, take the second  left at the clock and head up the hill on the Moulton Rd. Pulling over in the large car park we accost friendly Australians who tell us whose horses are running when and where, whose colors belong to which stables and generally everything else we don't know. Below us on the edge of town, off along the rails the first string of horses appear and slowly walk onto the track to race up the field and across the ridge, on the Gallops.






Across the way on the course set with rails, another string of horses sets off racing up the hill. Incredibly strong, beautifully groomed and elegant animals pulsing up the hill at intimidating speeds.

Now I have been known to sit on a horse occasionally and even take a few jumps and canter across a field. However.....

THIS IS NOT ME..... 

We stay for some time chatting with our new racing friends watching horses and then, when we are too cold in this brisk early morning wind, take off around the town of Newmarket to see Tattersalls the historic auction facilities and the race course. Down lanes filled with training stables, some with their tenants looking out of stable doors. Along the way we pass the Multi-Millionaire's Club that sits  alongside the Cooperative Funeral Home. Is there some quirky humor in that?

And back to Burwell. It's a proper Sunday lunch at the Dyke's End 800 some year old pub down the road in the village of Reach. www.dykesend.co.uk

Sunday dinner is the more appropriate term here.

Soused Mackerel with sliced beet root and vinegar.

Roast lamb with Yorkshire Pudding and brown gravy

(Roast Beef Also) 

Lovely baby carrots,  Mint sauce!

Rhubarb Eton Mess

Chocolate Pot Au Creme with fresh raspberries

Rhubarb Eton Mess for those who are curious is freshly baked meringue crushed and mixed with fresh whipped cream,  add stewed spring rhubarb and you have a deliciously balanced sweet and sour. Can also be made with strawberries or any other fruit.

We roll out of Dyke's End and onto the Village Green to admire the aged architecture

and head off back to Burwell because George needs to be walked ......And SO DO WE

Through a grassy meadow where dogs and walkers have beaten down a path, we come across grass and tree covered mounds of castle foundations left behind by layers of Celts, Romans and other invaders and conquerors. This area of England, bordering the North Sea, has been one of the access roads to Britain from the neighboring northern countries. The evidence of Danes, Swedes and Norsemen is all around. Roman roads are the foundation of the straight roads..... The adjacent Church of .......   

hosts an original wall painting  (fresco)  from its origins in the mid 12 hundreds while the churchyard stones are a chronicle of life and death for centuries. It's also a good place to take a break...... George and Peter think that this is an appropriate idea.....while Penny and I scour for interesting tidbits.  But the day is not done yet... It's Fathers Day and so we head (on foot) for children, grandchildren, dogs and a sit in the sun. George gets to wrestle with fellow boxer Harry, Peter gets to pull weeds with his son-in-law and Penny and I play with the grandchildren. It is a truly beautiful early summer afternoon in East Anglia (East England).Warm temperature, slight breeze, sun shining and a garden to sit in with friends. Now who can ask for more...... the sounds of dogs and children's voices can lull one into a nap But NO..... we are off again and stagger home with George in the lead. Harry is still watching wistfully through the gate as we go.  

Day 30: The Cross England Marathon

THE CROSS ENGLAND MARATHON

AND WE ARE OFF.....  11:00 AM IN BRISTOL boarding the train for Paddington Station. We are crossing England today from West to East ... by train,,,stopping in London for a meeting at Crescent Circle, Regents Park and then off again to Norwich up by the North Sea in East Anglia (as the east country of England is called) by 6:30p.m. www. ................ Its a reserved coach seat to London for the morning ride on the First Great Western Railway. Centuries of travel watching from windows. My childhood trains from Bristol to Paddington had compartments seating 6 with an outside door and an than an inside door to the corridor. You could sleep across the seats. If you got a compartment to yourselves it was so safe, so insulated, so important.

ENGLAND FROM THE TRAIN:  Swindon, Didcot, Reading, Slough ... heading to  London. There are no mountains here... some rolling hills. Fields laid down centuries ago... measured in hectares, still called hectors. Separated by hedgerows; those ecological micro environments that are an intrinsic part of the ecology of agriculture. Migrating home to bird species that devour hatching insects. The structural framework for wild flower vines and the rich earthy formulae for the roots of Queen Ann's Lace blossom bouquets..... heaven for bees...the supporting characters for it all. 

And its 12:20 in Paddington Station. It's only a short way to Crescent Circle. The labyrinth to be managed to get there by underground with a heavy suitcase plus is too daunting. I let a taxi take me over to Baker St. Station and then around the back to the edge of Regents Park. Regent's Park is the outlying edge to Royal London. Crescent Circle is an architectural gem of terraced houses designed by John Nash, all of cream colored stone with black iron railings. Now mainly offices and corporate headquarters, they once housed Victorian families with upstairs parlors and downstairs kitchens.
My destination is the home of The Prince of Wales Business Leadership Foundation and the International Tourism Partnership. An long hourish later I am out the back door on foot to Baker St. Station... I need to get to Liverpool Station on the east edge of London and we are in the middle. This suitcase weights 25 kilos plus the laptop bag, all of which requires an escalator or elevator to get me to the underground platform level for which there are two sets of stairs... not to be found at Baker St.. and according to the station attendant not at the Liverpool Station underground either. In case you haven't noticed I travel alone. There is a limit to my ability to schlep without a ramp or help. The options are clear.. to the street and I hail a taxi, New York style.  There goes Saint Pancreas Station, whose trains go in another direction. Wasn't that the setting for Harry Potter's track number 13 to Hogwarts? 

17 British pounds later and a delightful conversation with the cabbie. We talk about how to find the parts of the original London Wall which sparks a conversation about the layers of London that lie below and around us. He is especially knowledgeable about the Huguenots, religious immigrants from Central Europe who were tradesmen and developed London's shipping trade. Too soon we are at Liverpool, in one piece with little strain on my already exhausted body. What's a few pounds (dollars) at this point!

STAGE TWO OF THE CROSS ENGLAND MARATHON

Liverpool Station train to Norwich departing at 4:30. It is Friday afternoon and there is a reserved coach seat on The Great Eastern Railway. We will be in Norwich by 6:22 pm. We pass thru the Olympic Village Station with standing sculpture pieces of shiny eye shaped metals hung to look like leaves or waves. The tracks are quiet this afternoon but will soon be packed with people.  Off northeast to Colchester, Ipswich, Diss and then Norwich. Ipswich gives us a glimpse of the mud flats of the River Orwell which flows into the North Sea.

The fields are larger up here.... the hedgerows dismantled for the large harvesters and other mega agricultural tools that make farming cost effective with labor less efficiency.

 The station for Diss is much as I last remembered it. A country stop between Ipswich and Norwich. I went to kindergarten here , started school here, had a birthday part in the town hall... my father set

the 14th century chimney on fire stuffing the Christmas tree up it.... not my mother's idea!

Arriving.... on time and welcomed warmly we head out of Norwich now north, to the ancient village of Aylsham deep in the countryside of northern East Anglia.  

Charlie is cooking. He is a good cook and an even better baker... we missed the chocolate cake but will catch up with it in the morning. Planning ahead he has made Cottage Pie, already baked in the oven:  a mix called MINCE; ground beef, onions, carrots and beef stock; smothered in a later of mashed new potatoes and baked until crispy. Heaven...with gravy and chopped cabbage. I like Charlie's way of cooking it. He chops 1 large cabbage and puts it into a medium-largish pot.

Put 1 tsp of salt on top of the cabbage and then pour BOILING water over the cabbage to fill 1/2 of the pot. Let the boiling water continue to cook the cabbage to crisp not mushy. Leave the top off, as it cooks quickly and the cabbage will retain its sharp green colors.

Does it ever get dark here? we are even further north and the day stretches out. We watch the football match and ENGLAND WINS, what a goal...  Sweden looses... a historic win and England moves forward in the European championships. I don't move anywhere but to bed. There's a new friend, Rupert. He watches birds......

Day 29: Bristol ....the jumping off point .........

The meeting of the Severn River and the Avon River. At the other side of the (Bristol) Clifton Suspension Bridge (one of the wonders of the mid-19th century)  is WALES.

From the docks of Bristol sailed the 16th and 17th century explorers and privateers that laid the foundation of Britain's commercial and political global expansion and success. From John Cabot's discovery of Newfoundland and by proxy North America, to Sir Walter Raleigh's soiree to the Caribbean and the southern coast of North America which discovered tobacco and created the British tobacco industry headquartered by the Bristol docks.... Bristol has been the center of the South West of England.

But we won't stay in town too long. It's not far outside that we find old walls, country gardens and old wooden gates. And a few stray birds......

Unexpected species.....  I thought that thrush,
blue tits, finches and magpies..... would be flitting, not roaming, about the estate garden.

Bristol has many ancient neighborhoods and we are up on the Downs, the ancient pasture and growing lands of the origins of the current metropolis of Bristol. The village of Henleaze is close ti where I went to school once ... at St Ursula's, on Brecon Road.

And I get a B&B for lodging. An attached house on Henleaze Terrace, right near the Down's and not far from my friend Micky. It is hard to believe that I have known him since I was 7. Today we walked the docks, vistited an old acquaintance in a nursing home, ran about the city and generally had a very nice day with an old friend.

Day 28: Off Again... Can You Guess

Day 28... One Last Surge of Travel here.. and we head off this morning to Cork Airport and Aer Lingus.

As I drive off on the left hand side of the road panicking in small lanes and crowded streets, my passenger side view mirror is sadly blank. The mirror glass broke when I came too close to something last Wednesday, the reflex on the bendy mirror snapped and the mirror glass disappeared.

We are headed east again. This is today's transport..... 2 engine prop. We are out over the Irish Sea, along the length of Wales and here comes England.... just. There are the Severn and Avon Rivers.... and here we are. I was 8 years old here, and it seems such a long time ago.

So where in the world are we?
Trivia Clues for post cards from said location and other goodies for First to post answers to comments... please include your snail mail address for the post card.

1. Sir Walter Raleigh sailed from here for Florida in 1562 and John Cabot sailed from here to discover Newfoundland and by proxy North America

2. The other side of the bridge is Wales

3. They have a crack football (soccer) team

4. There is at least one town in Rhode Island with the same name

See you there!

Day 27: One last day ........in Ireland

Dawn breaks Early


Last Clue:  HARBOUR!

Day 26: Claudia's Kitchen and new potatoes

When lunch looks like this.......

Take one fruit scone ......  cut in half and spread clotted cream (www.glenilen.com/products ) as you would soft butter, THICK on both pieces. Add a THICK layer of raspberry jam (homemade) and eat as 2 separate pieces.

Oh my, my, my, my,  WHERE's THE DOG

Since we are on a farm and this is June in Ireland, one looks around for edible vegetables and other things. Jackpot... we are just in time for new potatoes. Grown in soil at the edge of the sea they promise to be full of flavor.  Just one little hitch.... WE HAVE TO DIG.....

And then we get to cook: Claudia is a wonderful cook and she promises to do things to a few vegetables that they have never thought about. We decide that a simple vegetable dinner will be a nice change. Now in my cook book that means steam or saute, maybe grill and add BUTTER. In Claudia's cookbook this has an entirely different definition.

Summer Garden Dinner: Braised Leeks; Cauliflower w Saffron; Roasted Beets; Spiced Carrots; New Field Potatoes

Leeks: 5 trimmed: Steam for approx. 10-15 minutes until the moisture beads through the skin of the leeks  Then saute in .butter with salt & pepper to taste and a smidge of lemon juice.

Beets: 4 medium size: Steam, leave to cool; peel and quarter, Put in baking pan sprinkle lightly with olive oil, Bake in oven at 325F for 20 minutes.

Carrots: 3 large: Peel, cut in round slices 1/4 inch thick.Slice thinly a large clove of fresh garlic and saute in butter until transparent. Add carrot slices and stir. Add 1/4 tsp curry powder; 1/4 tsp mild chili powder. dash of garlic salt; 1/4 tsp paprika. 3/4 twists of freshly ground pepper; 1 TB (more or less) of flour to thicken. Stir. Ad water barely to cover. Simmer till crisp... do not overcook.

Field Potatoes: As many as you can eat: Dig and then scup clean in fresh water.  STEAM,,,, never boil. Steam until you can pierce with a fork. Do not overcook........ 

Cauliflower: 1 whole head: Break and cut into Fleurette's; Steam adding lemon juice to water to keep cauliflower white. Cook until still al dente.. crisp not soft and squishy! Drain water and return cauliflower of the put. Melt 1 TB butter and add 1 Tb saffron powder. Stir cauliflower into butter mixture. Hold in over to keep warm. Serve and Enjoy.........

Ser

Day 24: Ireland's Big Five

The BIG FIVE of Ireland. It has taken all morning to find Michael and Bernie's herd.......... I have The KEEP in sight and also the sea. Roaring Water Bay is an ever changing kaleidoscope of landscape and color.


Camera man and professional photographer Chris O'Dell captures Roaring Bay as I never could. Check out his work on www.photoimagesireland.comamerman

 Three Shorn Sheep Shearing Grass

We are in farm land deep down on the south coast of Cork almost to Schull and Mizzenhead. Small farms and age old patches of pasture and fields. I am wandering the lanes and cow paths down to the bay looking for Michael and Bernie's cows that have been moved for fresh grass. The only thing I can find at the moment is the rock beach and and old stone landing long unused and covered in mosses    and hedgerows filled with runaway wildflowers.

And then I turn around and there they are, curious as all cows are:

The land is craggy and filled with rocks, bracken, heather and occasional grasses. Hares and rabbits dart about and foxes lie in wait. It took some doing to find a hare willing to pose but there it is. There is even an island named after them in Bantry Bay.. Hare Island,

walk.... and eat. ..     walk and eat..... walk and eat...... walk and eat

Late dinners at 10pm.... Midsummer's Night is June 21st and the days grow longer and longer

It's so hard to sleep when the light is still on......the sun is just setting 11 pm.