Home Sweet Home

I'm glad to be home finally. Thursday was spent unpacking, picking up and sorting through my mail, and getting a few groceries.  And of course about a 3 hours nap in the afternoon.  Friday morning I went out to see my mom and reassure her that I was in fact finally home, no worse for the wear.  I went in and worked a half day on Friday.  It gave me some time to slowly clean up my email and get ready to face Monday.
Today I did a little more shopping and laundry and have finally figured out how to add pictures to my blog.

I wasn't sure if I should just start adding photos now, but decided to go back and stick them in where they belong in my blog, with additional commentary.  So if you're interested you'll need to look back.  Pictures really start with York day trip.

Cheers!

Home Again, Home Again

Well the title says it all. There was some confusion on Wednesday morning about whether the flight was going to go.  After calling a local number for Delta and spending an hour on hold, they confirmed that the flight was going to go.  I wasn't sure how long the lines would be so I went to Paddington Station about 9:30 to catch the Heathrow Express.  I was amazed how few people were on the train, and even more surprised at how few people were at the airport.  It only took about 10 minutes to check in and get through security.  That's a first.  I then settled in to wait for the gate to be announced.  Flight left on time. 

Atlanta is where things started to go awry.  The flight was half an hour late leaving.  By the time we arrived in Detroit, I got out of the back of the plane, and got my luggage, the last Michigan Flyer bus was gone!!  That was it, I had reached the end of my rope.  I had been up at least 18 hours and was the last person left at the airport.

Finally after having a bit of a breakdown, I found some pay phones (a rarity in these days of cell phone) that I could use my credit card on.  I tried Dennis, but of course his cell was probably turned off.  So I bit the bullet and call Mike and he said he would come down and pick me up.  I can't say thank you enough Mike.  Once again you were the white knight who came to my rescue. 

Got home about 3 am and fell into my nice big bed and slept like a stone.  I was up about 7:45, although I still feel like I'm walking on eggshells.  Will be back at work on Monday.

All in all it was a wonderful trip, but think I will keep future adventures continental.

Will try to finally add some pics to my blog.

Cheers!

April 21

So far the news is good.  Flights are going out.  It is 7 am right now.  Only was able to sleep about 2 hours last night.  That's ok, I can sleep when I get home.  I am fighting running to the airport now, flight isn't until 1:20 pm so will try not to leave before 9:30 for Paddington Station to catch the Heathrow express.  All in all it's been a lovely trip, one last big international adventures.  Think I will find my adventures closer to home from now on.  Hope to see you all soon.  Jackie

April 20

Today should have been the day I flew out.  Have found some flights on expedia so I am going to call Delta this morning to see if I can arrange something.  All depends on the "*~# ash cloud.

UPDATE

Did some checking online this morning at the Delta site and arranged a flight to 4-21 from London Heathrow to Atlanta and then from Atlanta to Detroit.  Won't get into Detroit until 10 pm but atleast I will be on American soil.  Although, I must say most people have been nice.  After all, there isn't really much we can do about the volcano.  Patience is the think most needed.  With my flight confirmed I went over to Hyde Park again today. It was amazing how much the possibility of having a flight arranged can lift your spirits.  I have tried not to spend any more money on shopping or doing things just in case this extends.  Fortunately money isn't the issue for me, like it is for some of the people I've met here.  If the flight is cancelled tomorrow, which is still a possibility, I may go to the British museum.  I had a walking tour there last week and wouldn't mind going back. But for now I am planning on getting up early to check the news to see if the flight is still a go.  Is so I will head to the airport as soon as possible.  The flight isn't until 1:20 pm so we will see.

Dreamed last night that I brought a baby dragon home for Jack, my great nephew.  It was a cross between a cartoon one and a real one.  I guess the anxiety is beginning to play with my mind.  That really isn't too difficult.

And I keep wondering why when I travel over here I always seem to get a twin bed whose legs are longer along the wall than the other side.  At least that is the way it seems.  It always feel like I'm sleeping on a hillside.  Probably just my imagination, looking forward to getting home to my nice big double bed.

Can't imagine what I will owe Sue, the other faculty secretary, when I get back. I have been weeding through my work email daily and hopefully my faculty haven't needed too much help.

Well, time is running out on the computer.  It costs £1 for 30 minutes in the business center, and there is no way to print anything, so if I want to I have to go around the corner to the internet cafe and wait in line there.  But at least there is that possibility.

Cheers!

Not Having Fun Anymore

Well, it's official, I'm not having fun anymore.  Well, not really, but it is getting more stressful. This morning I awoke to the news that flights are now cancelled through 1 am on Tuesday.  My flight is scheduled for 9 am Tuesday.  I got a sweet email from my niece today that cheered me up.  Evidently she and her husband were talking about the volcano and that Aunt Jackie might be stuck on this island.  Jack, 3 years old, right away said that "You need to go rescue Aunt Jackie." How wonderful.  He's the one who evidently made the comment that, men drive trucks, women drive cars and aunt jackie drives a lady truck.  You see I drive a small Colorado pick up with 2 quilts painted on the tailgate.  Guess that qualifies it as a "lady truck".

I am going to have to try to contact Delta and Expedia today and maybe the american embassy as well. I really don't want to go to the trouble of going from the UK to France and then on to Spain to find open air space. Evidently I was just talking to a young american couple here from Colorado.  They checked with the desk about extending their stay and were told they had to call a booking agent to see if they could extend.  I think I will check with the Columbia and Westminster where I have stayed before to see if they have rooms and the cost. I keep telling myself I can deal with this but am not totally convinced.

UPDATE:  I was able to book another night at my current hotel.  But still hoping that my flight goes out tomorrow.  Guess I've done all I can for now.  I'll have to wait until morning to see if they have lifted the ban.  Guess I'll set the alarm for 4 am so I can check and make sure I have enough time to get to the airport if it is a go. Will go rest and relax for a little while before deciding what to go about supper.  Went down to Covent Gardens this morning for a little while to occupy my mind.

Well, wish me luck.

Picture Perfect Sunday in London

I wasn't sure today about my flight on Tuesday, so decided maybe I should do laundry in case I'm stuck here, oh dear!, a couple of extra days.  The laundry was absolutely packed this morning.  Germans, Italians, Americans.  Didn't take too long and then I was on my way.

Sundays are the day that artists from all over set up on Bayswater along Hyde Park and exhibit/sell their work.  After I dropped my laundry at the hotel I headed over to the park.  It was another beautiful day.  My fleece vest and short sleeves were perfect.  After looking at the artwork I walked through the park.

Must admit that I am feeling a little home sick.  All the flowers in bloom reminded me of all the work in my garden that is waiting for me when I get back.  Part of it may also be apprehension over my flight on Tuesday.  I checked Delta tonight and it doesn't say anything about the flight being cancelled.  But I will check again tomorrow.

Dinner tonight at Bella Italia.  The streets are just packed with tons of people enjoying the weather.

Tomorrow I will visit Covent Garden again and maybe go to Greenwich.  Will check my email first thing to see if there is anything from the airline.  Picked up a Magner's on my way back tonight.  Guess I will finish up and go enjoy.

Cheers!

Saturday Second Portobello Road and Tea in Kensington Gardens

Went to Portobello Road for a second and final time today.  The weather seemed chilly but I was sorry after a short distance that I hadn't worn my fleece vest instead of my leather coat.  Today the weather was ideal.  Bright, clear skies, and about 68 degrees.  I walked Portobello road from stem to stern.  From the antique shops and street venders through the fruit and veggie venders and up all the way through the flea market and back again.  Picked up just 2 items.  Took my time so I didn't get back to Bayswater road until almost 1 pm. 

Sorry it's sideways, but this is a rose bush that has taken over a wrought iron fence on the way up Portobello Road.

Tile floor inside one of the antique shops on Portobello, good quilt inspiration.

Instead of a sandwich I decided to go through the Kensington Gardens to the Orangery where they serve tea.  I was a little too hungry for just tea, so ordered grilled portobello mushrooms with mashed potatoes, and green tea.  Decided to walk through the park awhile and then went back to the hotel to switch coats.

I went out again and took the tube down to Marbel Arch and walked from there to Bond street.  The streets and shops are mad crowded so I just decided to come back to the hotel, but came throug Hyde Park.  Everyone was out and rejoicing in the wonderful weather.  Had planned on going to Bella Italia for supper but they took too much time to acknowledge me so I thought I remembered a fish &chip shop about 2 blocks away that I had been to last time on Dennis's recommendation.  Mr. Fish was still there so I had cod and chips.

Stopped at Tesco (grocery store) to pick up more water and then headed back to hotel.  The news that greeted me was that all flights were grounded until Monday am because of the volcano.  My flight is/was scheduled for Tuesday am.  So am still not sure if it will be a go because the volcano keeps erupting.  Sure am glad I took out insurance on this trip.  Probably tomorrow I will get my flight information out and do some checking on the internet.  For now it's Keep Calm and Carry on.

Hope to see the Stars at our meeting Tuesday night.  It is this Tuesday isn't it.  But then maybe not.

Cheers!

National Gallery

Got banking straightened out this am.  Decided to do the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery.  It seems people here are still on Easter holiday so things were packed. It was nice to revisit the National Gallery and spend some time really looking at painting I've enjoyed in the past.  In one gallery I came across a group of people, mainly senior citizens, for whom they had set up little stools in from of a painting and they were all drawing.  Actually noticed quite a few people around drawing.  Reminded my of the time my niece, Denise, spent in the museums in New York when she was in fashion school.

Then went next do to the National Protrait Gallery.  Especially enjoyed the painting of Albert and Victoria and the present generation of royals.

Just picked a street and headed out,  was looking for a place for lunch, but they were packed.  So then I just started keeping an eye out for an underground station.  Next thing I know I turn the corner and there is Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, big as day. 

I headed back, since I hadn't found lunch and thought I would go out for a late supper.  Instead about 3 pm I grabbed a sandwich and went back to the hotel room.  Was think of going out now, but 8 pm is a little late to be eating, so I won't bother.

Tomorrow I think I will do one last slow cruise of Portobello road. And maybe look for somewhere to have proper english tea which I haven't done so far.

Cheers!

Paris

Today was my day trip to Paris.  Since I had a 5 am pickup I set the alarm for 3:30 am. Ugh!  Woke up ok and was down plenty early for side.  Taxi was on time so we proceeded to St. Pancreas station.  I checked in with the tour desk and received my packet.  It was about an hour wait to board the train.  I was surprised, but I don't know why that I had to go through a security search and passport verification.  The train was comfortable.  I set next to a lady from Conneticut and her friend, formerly of New York, now from North Carolina.  When we arrived in Paris after about a 2 hour train trip, we met our guide Fabiana.  I think there were about 15 of us on this trip. 5 from Australia, 5 of us from the US, and another 5 from the UK.  The countryside seen from the train gave me several ideas for quilts.  The french spring is about 2 weeks ahead of the UK.  Many of their trees are already leafed out.  We sent through a lot of potato and wheat growing areas.  It was surprising how flat the land was.

I was surprised just how terrible the Paris traffic was.  We have a driving tour around Paris viewing lots of items.  Our first real stop was the Eiffel Tower.  The package included going up at far as the second level, which was plenty high for me.  It was clear and sunny but the wind was really blowing, which made it really cold.  We were there actually in the tour about 15 minutes.

Train station in Paris.

Then it was down and across the road for a boat tour down the Seine.  The boat was glass enclosed and really warmed up with the sunshine.  The tour was about an hour.  We saw Notre Dame and other sights.

After the boat ride we boarded the bus and were delivered to the Louvre for about 2 hours.  Finally got a chance to grab something to eat here.  Then onto the exhibits. Must admit by now I was really flagging.

We then spent 45 minutes in traffic getting back to the train station, Gard du Nord.  Another wait for the train and then returned to London.  In London we were kept on the train as a passenger had had an argument with a member of staff and the police had been called.  Fortunately it wasn't in my coach, but we were held up about 15 minutes.

Returned to the hotel.  All in all I'm glad I did the Paris trip but was disappointed.  The trip detail read that we would have free time, but we did not.  I didn't get to go to the quilt shop in Paris, and almost wished that I had taken a taxi from the Louvre and gone to the shop.  But I wasn't sure with the traffic as bad as it was that I would have been able to make it there and back before the train.

I think London is still my favorite city.

Well, I'm updating this this am before I go out.  The pantry was bare so I went out to get water and milk and stopped and had a hot breakfast for a change.  Computer room is packed this moring with people trying to rearrange their travel today due to the volcano in Iceland.

Was going to do the Portobello flea this morning but decided to go to the National Gallery instead.

Chow!

Laundry, Mailing, banking

Today was partly catch up day.  I found out early the hotel doesn't offer laundry service but will send items out for a per item price.  Forget that.  I had seen a coin laundry on Queensway so I loaded up and walked down there.  Had my laundry done in about an hour and headed back to the hotel.

I was going to mail back some of the quilting books I have picked.  Stopped after laundry at post office to buy a smaller box as the one I bought yesterday proved to be much too big.  Loaded, sealed and labeled the box and then toted it 4-5 blocks back to the post office.  Only to find that it would cost £78.00 to ship it.  It should cost a lot less to just pay for a heavy bag coming back.  So I toted it back to the hotel.  Now I must admit in the days before menapause by now I would have been having a bad day and probably a good cry.  But I soldiered on. I went over to the bank to withdraw some cash and got a message that I couldn't get any.  Now hang on a minute.  I know I set up a good reserve for my vacation, what was going on.  I decided to check on it further when I came back.

 I was looking for a shop I had found online that sold patchwork cottons.  What a disappointment.  No cottons at all so I walked down Bond Street (the Rodeo Drive of London) to Piccadilly and then onto Piccadilly Circus.  But decided my feet hurt quite enough, shin splints are still terrible and it was time to head back.

When I got back decided to check quick with the credit union about the cash.  Seems they had been taking my withdrawls out of the wrong sub account.  Hopefully I have that straightened out.  It's only about 3:45 pm now so after I give my feet a rest I will head over to the bank again to be sure.

I have a 5 am pickup tomorrow morning for my day trip to Paris.  Fortunately the tour company will pick me up at my hotel, so all I have to do is be up waiting for them at 5 am.  It will be a late day tomorrow and I will not be back until almost 11 pm. So there will be a gap.

Cheers for now.

Kempton Park Antique Market

With my ticket in hand from yesterday I set off before 7 am to catch the train to Sunbury on Thames for an antique market Dennis had told me about.  I had looked it up on the internet so knew that it would be a bit of a walk from the train station.  Imagine my dismay as I approached as saw a sign about the Thursday market.  But I proceeded on anyway hoping that there was a market today as well.  And I was in luck, there was.

The market kind of reminds me of the Ann Arbor market or the old antique shows at the old Civic Center in Lansing 30 years ago.  There were vendors in the betting area, in front of the stands, behind the stands and along the back road.  It was very interesting, lots of people, vendors from France as well as England.  I only found one small items that loosened my purse strings.

Caught the train back at 12:15 and arrived back at my home tube station by 1:45.  Had an early dinner/late lunch, picked up a few items and settled in.

Tomorrow is Bond street and some of the fabric shops.  Thursday is Paris at 4 am, ugh.  Well, must close, have to look up direction to a fabric shop.

Cheers!

Covent Garden Market & Tour of British Museum

Long day today.  I went to Covent Gardens this morning for the antique/flea market.  Found a couple of treasurer's but nothing spectacular. I went round and round as I always do.  Some vendors were still setting up so you never know what else got put out if you don't check back.

Then I had decided to take the 2:15 London Walks walking tour of the British Museum which I had never been too. I had a good amount of time between the Gardens and the walk so I got some lunch, but I was still about an hour early to meet the leader of the walk outside Holborn station.  It was much colder today, low 50's if that and it threatened rain all day, but I lucked out and it never did rain. 

Madeline was the leader of our walk.  She reminded me a lot of my mom only about 20 years younger.  We walked about 6 minutes from the station to the museum. This was just meant to be an overview of the museum's collections and to entice you to revisit often.  We saw the "marbles" from the Parthenon, ancient Persian guardians and egyptian objects.  We quickly moved through several time periods but ended up where I think I and Dennis would spend the most time.  English hoards uncovered over the years.  It was a very good tour.  Of course we finished up about the start of peak rail time.

I was going to go to an antique market tomorrow at Sunbury on the Thames.  Dennis had told me to leave from Victoria Station, and the Rail information people told me King's Cross, another one that escapes my mind and lastly Vauxhall.  So after the museum tour I made my way to King's Cross to check for sure and to see if I could buy my ticket there.  Vauxhall ended up being the one.  So bought my ticket and then struggled back to the hotel. Ten hours on my feet, no nap/rest and I am done in.  Had a sandwich and bought one for tomorrow.  Early to bed tonight.  Maybe I'll have my pear Magner's when I get back upstairs.   That should make for a sound sleep.

If I get back early tomorrow I plan to do up a box of books to ship back ahead of time.  A little something for Jack and Molly and the quilt books I have acquired.  I hope the Stars have a good meeting tomorrow night.  Anyone else working on their mystery?  Well, it's 7:35 pm, time to take these blasted shoes off.

Cheers!

Hyde Park and Liberty of London

Finally a quiet night last night.  Figuring it was Sunday I allowed myself to sleep until 7:30. Left about 8:30 to go and check out the artist along Baywater Street.  Walked back and forth a couple of times before making a selection from a nice gentleman.

Artists set up along Hyde Park/Kensington Gardens

Since I bought some fabrics yesterday at the V&A I wanted a couple more to go along.  Kept walking until I reached John Lewis which I knew from yesterday carried fabric.  Didn't find much there.  So I kept walking and looking.  I came to an area that I thought was pretty close to Liberty of London, so thought I would look for the store.  I found it.  They had quilts displayed in their display windows and inside the store as well.  I found a couple more fabrics to join the others, and then headed out.  It seemed an awful long ways before I finally found a tube station at Tottenham.  I figure I must have walked a couple of miles today. 

Liberty of London

One of the window displays at Liberty. 

An art quilt on display at Liberty.

Quilts on display inside Liberty were also for sale.

I had thought to take a London walk this evening, but after all the walking today, didn't think my feet would be up to it.  So stopped and bought more water, a pear Magner's (which I haven't tried yet) and a sandwich. Had a nice lunch at Garfunkel's today to make up for sandwich tonight.

Tomorrow is the antique market at Covent Gardens and a tour at 2:15 of the British Museum.  Also have to get my ticket for Tuesday to the antique market at Kempton Park.

Covent Gardens

British Museum

Rosetta Stone

Still haven't worked out the bugs with the Wi-fi here.  I may have to try the internet cafe around the corner tomorrow night.

Cheers!

Portobello Road & Victoria & Albert Quilt display

Well the neighbors were at it again last night.  I got to bed relatively early but was woken up in the night.  Oh well.  Went to Portobello Road by 7 am.  Surprisingly I beat many of the vendors.  Very crowded, probably because the weather was nice.  I think it got to 68 today.  Came back to hotel but stopped at Greg's sandwich shop for a tuna crunch sandwich.  very good.  Took a bit of a rest but was back out by 1:30 to head to the Victoria & Albert Museum.

A view of one of Portobello Road shops.

Quilting friends, I finally found where all those antique sewing machines go when our grandmothers upgraded.  It is clothing shops in England called Allsaints Spitalfields.  See what I mean...

They have quite a wonderful exhibit on of quilts from 1700 to 2010.  No photos were allowed so I picked up 2 copies of the show book.  One for myself and one for our guild library.  They also have some fabrics designed for this exhibition that were available in 1 metre, 1/2 meter and fat quarters.  So I picked up just a few.

Wandered through Harrods, in one door, out the other side.  Would rather shop at John Lewis or Selfridges.  Will head up to my room shortly and try to finally download some of my photos using the laptop from work.  Have had supper and a lager.  It's about 6:50 pm now.

Cheers!

Portabello flea

Today was supposed to be the Portabello flea and the quilt exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum, but things didn't quite go as planned.  My neighbors partied until 1 am this morning so I had a very late night.  So I didn't make the 5:30 alarm that I had set.  I was up by 7 though. 

Decided to try to find a tube station near the end of Portabello and make my way back toward the hotel.  After a couple of missteps I fould the Hammersmith line Ladbroke station got me just where I needed to be.  There were a medium amount of vendors today.  Dennis, not sure the banana box vendor was there.  Then walked back up Portobello road to the tube station.  By that time the feet and shins were bothering again.  So I picked up a cheese and tomato sandwich and some crisps and went back to the hotel for a rest.  That rest turned into a 2 hour nap, but this is vacation. 

Portobello Road

But then it was too late to do the V&A because they close at 5:45.  So I took the tube down to Oxford Circus and worked my way back toward Marble Arch.  Forgot it was Friday night, never seen so many people out, but I would get it hit 68-70 degrees today so everyone was enjoying the weather.  Came back to Queensway and had dinner about 7 pm at the italian restaurant, risoto and an italian lager.  It's about 9:05 now. 

Bella Italia is a chain of restaurants in England.  It was a good reliable place for dinner, where the food was always good and the Italian waiters were always friendly.

The full Portabello flea is tomorrow.

Cheers!

Off to York

Today was a lovely sunny morning.  So it was off to York to the quilt museum.  I was a bit shocked to find the train fare was £83. but it was a 2 hour ride each way which was only £40 per leg.  Didn't leave London until 11 am and then was held up because a lady showed up at the last minute, and while she put her luggage on-board, the train started to leave, leaving her 2 young children still on the platform.  After her frantically running through the train and yelling to stop it, someone pulled the emergency stop and she was able to retrieve them.  And we were off- about 20 minutes late.  Arrived in York at 1 pm.

York was wonderful and crowded.  I walked from the train to the city center, enjoying looking in some of the shops and the outdoor market.  The quilt museum proved harder to find than I thought, but finally about 2:30 I figured it out. They had about 25 quilts on display, a mix of antique and contemporary.  I did more walking but was getting terrible shin splints from walking the cobblestone streets.  Had wonderful fish and chips for lunch about 3 pm.  More walking, more looking, decided I wanted to catch the 5:20 train back to London. So had to hot foot it to the station.  Got back to London about 7:20 pm

View of the Roman wall that surrounds York.

View of the Minster Cathedral from the Shambles in York.

 

Another view of the cathedral in York.

Signage outside the quilt museum in York in minimal to say the least.  I think I walked by this at least once before I saw this other sign.

And then a river runs through it...

One last shot, of the train station at York.  I'm always making note of architctural detail that serve as all sorts of inspiration.

Supper was a grilled cheese and tomato pannini from the bar with a pint of Magners. Cheers!

Wasn't able tonight to get photos on blog.  Maybe by tomorrow night the wi-fi will be fixed and I can use my own laptop.

Well time for a couple of Aleve and bed.  Not sure what's on schedule for tomorrow.