It’s About Time

 SONG - Time is on My Side by The Rolling Stones

Day 4 - Fri. May 3

After 13 hours - yes 13 much needed hours of sleep - we are ready to explore Bath!  Mr. B found a tiny restaurant nearby that served breakfast, The Courtyard Cafe. The owners were both French of course.  I had scones with clotted cream & jam while Mr. B ordered pancakes.  

First we headed to the Bath Abbey where there has been a place of Christian worship on this site for well over one thousand years.  Three different churches have occupied the site of today’s abbey since 757 AD. First an Anglo-Saxon monastery which was replaced by a Norman Cathedral to the present day abbey, which was the last great Medieval church built in the country.

From the abbey we headed to the Victoria Gallery to see an exhibit that I had read about at home - Toulouse-Lautrec and the Masters of Montmartre.

Mr. B and I saw quite a few of Lautrec’s pieces in his hometown of Albi, France many years ago but it was wonderful to see some in a more intimate setting.

A visit to the Pulteney Bridge and the River Avon and we were off to Sally Lynn’s for lunch - yum!

Headed home for a rest and then out to dinner. Mr. B got us 8 pm reservations at The Elder which is our hotel’s restaurant.  All I can say is Yum - again!

Smoke On The Water

SONG - Smoke On The Water by Deep Purple

Day 3 - Thursday May 2 

We awoke to hotel fire alarm testing at 8 am that continued for hours, we had thunder and lightening throughout the night which woke us up and we were both totally exhausted due to jet lag. But we have arrived and we are so happy to be here!

The hotel that I picked out months ago at home turned out to be perfect for us - it is Hotel Indigo. Its location is excellent, it has a great bar & restaurant- The Elder and friendly staff. 

At breakfast we sat next to four (80 plus year old) ladies who were traveling together and it was fun to listen to their discussion. Husbands that don’t pick up after themselves, kids who rarely visit, how high the price of food has gotten (it’s so bad that one of them doesn’t even look at the prices anymore) and how important it is to have proper high eyebrows to make one look younger. And why does god take hairs from your eyebrows only then to grow them on your chin!

Afterwards we went shopping for a few items for our mini-fridge and the correct international plugs - apparently my French plugs don’t work in the UK….oops!   We spent the rest of the day relaxing and strolling around Bath. 

We dined nearby at the Huntsman and even stayed up late enough for Mr. B to join in Quiz Night with the locals which was hosted by Grace from Bristol. 

By 8:30 they weren’t even close to being done with the quiz but we were toast so off to our hotel to get some sleep!

See you tomorrow!

Leaving On a Jet Plane

SONG - Leaving on a Jet Plane by John Denver & Cass Elliot

Days 1 & 2 - Tuesday April 30 & Wednesday May1

So today I got on a plane with Mr. B and we are heading to London, picking up a car and driving to Bath for 5 nights. But first 10 hours of flying - yikes!  And when we get to Bath it will be Wednesday and raining all week!

 Not sure why I was surprised as Great Britain is known for its damp weather.  I guess we will get a quick induction to England. 

Neither of us slept much on the plane and as soon as we landed we grabbed our luggage, got on a shuttle to the car rental, became familiar with setting up the cars mapping system, jumped on the M4 and headed to our hotel in Bath.  

When asked by the receptionist as to what time she should reserve our breakfast for the next day, I said 9:30? And Mr. B said 10. The receptionist said “Ah, going to have a proper lie down then?” Love both the English accent and phrases!

Once outside, instead of rain we found musicians playing music in the sunshine on the Abbey square with tourists and locals enjoying themselves.

Our itinerary is Bath, Cotswolds, Lake District, Glasgow (where I had relatives), Stirling (where Mr. B had relatives), Edinburgh (where we both had relatives), down to York and finish it off with some time in London.

Hope you will come along with me on this journey  

“Oh! Who can ever be tired of Bath?”

Jane Austen

Sugared Mountains

 Song - Blackbird  by The Beatles

Yesterday Mr. B and I headed over to Yosemite and it was a lovely day and it was a Christmas gift from Mr. B. We could see a little, light dusting of snow on the higher mountains but it was a great temperature in the valley. Above is the view of Half Dome from our room. 

 

 

We took a walk while the weather was nice and we walked over Swinging Bridge to admire the Upper & Lower Falls. There was a tree full of Blackbirds happily singing. 

Can’t you just hear them now?

 

We had dinner in the bar and read for the rest of the evening - no cell service which turned out to be lovely. 

It rained all night and when we woke up on Thursday morning it was raining as well. After a while I didn’t hear the pitter-patter of rain outside so I glance out the window and it was snowing! 

 

What a lovely, peaceful, quiet time.....

Same view out of our window but Half Dome is shrouded in clouds.

It's A New Year

 

I know it's a little late to post about New Year but I have been enjoying 2024 so far and I hope you have too!  Cheers....J

Ring of Fire

 Song - Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash

 

 This morning on October 14th California witnessed a solar eclipse that lasted about an hour. I didn't go outside until the eclipse was underway so this was the first photo of the morning.  The bluish light is where the solar eclipse is happening.  The sun kept going behind clouds which was both a blessing and a curse.  

I had my little pin hole piece of cardboard which I couldn't use because of the cloud cover. But when I zoomed in on my distant photos.....

The good part about the cloud cover was that I was able to get some shots otherwise they would have been overexposed so close to the sun.

 

"Three things cannot be long hidden:

the sun, the moon, and the truth."

 

--Buddha

Perfect Ed

 Song - Perfect by Ed Sheeran

 

 What a Friday night!!!  One of my girlfriends invited me and another of our friends to see Ed Sheeran with her.  He was playing at the beautifully renovated Fox Theater in Oakland. Mr. B graciously offered to drive us and pick us up so we didn't have to drive ourselves and worry about parking. Thank you so much Mr. B!

The music was amazing and the night.....

 

 

...was perfect magic !

"I didn't know whether to become an artist or musician, 

but I realized that I could paint with music. 

All my songs have colours" 

- Ed Sheeran

Can You Just Imagine

 Song - Imagine by John Lennon

I can't imagine what you have been doing for the last 6 months!?

It has been 6 months since my last post and I have been missing putting together songs, text and photos to share with you!  Let's just say that my October 2022 knee replacement didn't rehab very well but I have recently been doing much better.  Oh my I am getting so much done around the house and it feels great!

In April Mr. B and I spent 10 days visiting his bio-family in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana.  Above is a photo of the Texas Bluebonnets blooming along the highway.  We were just there for the tail end of the spring bloom. 

 

A lot of time was strolling around cemeteries looking for Mr. B's family headstones and paying our respects. 

We met wonderful new relatives, got re-acquainted with some relatives we had already met several years ago, went on picnics, out for dinner, to Native American celebrations, on boat rides for dinner....

 

....and ended the trip in Waco, Texas at Magnolia Market and The Silos. The night we arrived there was a tornado warning.  We got inside our hotel and had a wonderful cozy dinner while watching things whip around outside.
 

Above is the view from our hotel room.  Trains ran all night long and while you might think it was noisy it really wasn't as I guess they were very insulated.

 

 One of my favorite treats there were Joanna's biscuits....Mmmmmmmm!

Every year a group of my girlfriends and I take a long weekend together.  This year we went to the little town of Cayucos near San Luis Obispo down the coast of California. This is the sunset from our incredible home we were renting. And below are some otters playing in Morro Bay. Great meals, stories, laughter and love.

Mr. B and I spent several week days in San Francisco doing research on one member of his family tree who was a sea captain and operated a ship building yard in the early 1900's. We did our research at the Maritime museum and treated ourselves to some fun lunches in the city.

This summer Mr. B and I spent a month in my favorite relaxing place - Lake Tahoe at our family cabin which sits at the base of Mount Tallac.

Loads of bear sightings this year as I have heard that because of California's long winter they are coming out of hibernation very hungry!

Our grandson's and their parents came up to join us for a week. Lot's of walks, beach time and loads giggles.

"The highlight of my childhood 

was making my brother laugh so hard 

that food came out his nose."    

Garrison Keillor