Saturday, September 29, 2012

Every day reality

Vacations are wonderful. Especially a BIG holiday that was in the works for months.  Everyone who knows my hubby knows that he takes vacations seriously and becomes quite morose if there is nothing on the drawing boards.  I never knew him when he was in high career mode, we didn't get married until both of us had reached the decision that we were now just working.  He had taken a package from AT&T and I had reached the point in my career where I wanted more than just the rewards from work.  We both still work,we both still have projects where we fall in love with clients or a challenge and work way to many hours and crazy schedules, but because we are consultants or hired hands, projects end and we go on to new ones.  Now instead of being consumed with work ideas, Mr Vacation amuses himself during long boring conference calls surfing the web for perfect vacation spots, or plotting how to persuade me that three days in Florida is worth the 16 hour round trip drive.

Over the past several years my priorities changed.  Maybe to fit my energy level, I no longer think painting the kitchen is a weekend task!  But I miss my kids and the gran's,  I like spending time with friends.  I have renewed my friendship with my sister and discovered it is true that there is no one else in the world you can laugh at yourself with more than your sister.  And it very helpful that she also can speak in multiple half sentences - it makes explaining something so much easier.  

My daughters and sons and their significant others are all interesting and wonderful people.  I wish I could flit in and out of their lives without it being a "visit". If I won the lottery I would buy a place near enough that they could come by easily, with a theater to lure my little gamers, bedrooms with toys and snugly beds for parents and mostly a big deck or porch looking out on the water.  Guess I should have bought some of those tickets when I was in Ireland, or else stop reading these dumb Low Country Islander books.

The reality of every day is pretty good. I have mostly interesting and agreeable clients, very few stick around too long since I come in at the tail end of most projects.  My biggest tasks are laundry and foraging for provisions and occasionally planning a dinner party to share a recipe or milestone with friends.  My closest friends are very tolerant of my "new recipe" tests, because come on have you ever seen a recipe for two in Southern Living or Williams Sonoma?  

Next week I get to wrap a few family days around a client work session in DC while Bruce is in Nashville at a conference.  Not too bad a life for a sleepy head who starts most work mornings in pj's and tries very hard to explain to clients that. 10am call is much better since it lets them clear up any early morning issues before working with me. (Aren't I thoughtful).

Dublin at its finest

 

As part of our two week journey to London, we added mid-week jaunts away.  First week we went to Paris and the second week we went to Dublin.  While Paris is beautiful and historic and -- well I have already talked about Paris.  Dublin is fun.  We had a fabulous hotel about 1/2 mile from Trinity College on the south side of the river.  In keeping with our challenge to only use public transportation or walk we started with a City tour so we could create a list of what we really wanted to see and as good planners that we are - develop a priority list and schedule.  The truth is we are both good planners but I am not the best implementer.  The first morning the lovely soft snuggly bed kept me trapped under the duvet a little later than planned, but the extra sleep added new energy to my increasingly tired body. 

We had a few historic sites we wanted to see and we wanted to resist restaurants and eat in local pubs for the few days were were in Dublin.  Dublin never let us down.  There is a pub on every corner and frequently mid-block, so the tougher decision was which ones - after all there are only some many meals/beers that can be consumed in three days.  Local beer is really very good.  I am not a beer drinker but there was a local brew that was smooth and light.  I think it is the lack of carbonization that makes the beer much nicer to drink.  I eschewed strange foods - black pudding and questionable sausages and stuck to the safer foods on the menu.  I know, I know -- what a whimp but I decided I would rather have three wonderful full days than a tummy ache. 

Just in case anyone is every wondering - every pub in England, Dublin and the cafe's in Paris have a Coq Monsieur (or some variation) so I am not the only food weenie in the world.  Though I do wish they would server them with applesauce and not fries. 

Back to Dublin.  Our first night was pretty darn chilly and windy so our path from the bus stop was fairly direct to the hotel -but what did we pass, with a warm cheery light in the window beckoning us to stop in for a pint - but the Reilly Pub.  Why is this important you ask?  Because my mom was a Reilly and from a county not too far from Dublin.  Now what could I do - I would have to stop in, it would be wrong to pass it by wouldn't it? 

On the second night at a little wine and cheese gathering at the hotel we met the hotel manager who was also from County Meath - but I unfortunately did not know the town.  It is sort of like saying your family is from Baltimore County but you have no idea where in Baltimore County.  Guess is it a little better than just saying our family was from Ireland! Ireland has a Homecoming 2013 effort going on right now that let's you register as a Daughter or Son of Ireland if you can trace your roots back to a Clan/Family.  Sounds like a good idea to me! 



Sunday, September 16, 2012

Navigating the underground

Paris - wonderful old buildings, lots and lots of charm, vibrant city.  Out hotel was a block from the Louvre with a dash of Americana in the next block in the form of a Starbucks and a McD sandwiched in with a few bistros and cafe's.  Our hotel was very French but thankfully had a working lift and French doors that opened letting in a cool breeze.

We arrived onWednesday after lunch and working on my daughters information went to the Louvre to take advantage of the late night hours to wander through the galleries, exhausted we walked back stopping at a bistro advertising a menu in French and English.  Next morning we mapped out a plan to go to Nottre Dame, the dOrsay, hopefully the Rodin and Champs Élysées for a little shopping.  We also had a river cruise up to the Eiffel Tower on the wish list.  This aggressive schedule relied on a combination of metro, bus and walking.  First metro was at the bottom of the world and the lift was out of order, the hike up multiple levels left us exhausted and concerned we would never make it through multiple stops so we invested in a bus map.

Here I digress and confess my addiction to the Internet.  I have grown lazy and rely on Google.  I am lost, want to know a route I Google it   The other confession is I am cheap.  I just could not bear using cellular minutes to pull up a Paris bus map and try to figure out what the heck it said, and access to hot spots is limited.  Lots of hotspots but they want an account number.  So after some wrong turns and a few back tracks we arrived at Notre Dame and stayed for noon Mass, then off to the dOrsay.  Thank you daughters for the suggestion, wonderful museum.  We stayed for an afternoon nibble to hold us over.  Then off to shopping.   Now the bad news.  After waiting in line at LV to fill a request, the handbag was out of stock.

We wrapped up the whirlwind trip the next day with a walk in the gardens before heading to the Eurostar Station for the trip back to London

Our London hotel treated us like royalty giving us a river facing room with a front row seat for the Saturday crazy rowing competition that started one quay  up river from our hotel.  We spent the afternoon with Ted, Laura and Felix while we begged the use of their washer to refresh our supply of clothes.  English washers take forever, luckily it was a sunny breezy day so we hung everything out on the spin dryer and went to lunch.  I have not hung out laundry on a spin dryer in more than 27 years, but once a clothes pin Queen always a clothes pin Queen.  I had it out and spaced to dry in no time.

Today we drove out to Dover.  Ted rented a Zip car and arranged for a proper Sunday lunch at a Dover tavern before heading over to explore the castle, fort and enbankment. Tomorrow we head out to Dublin.

Just in case you are wondering every bone on my body aches.  I have walked a trillion miles in museums, city streets and between metro levels.  Paris had NO handicapped or less able people because their lifts are all out of order, escalators stopped or non-existent and everything has steps, preferably marble or stone steps guaranteed to be slippery.  Everyone we stopped to ask for directions were very nice and helpful but we were our own worst enemies in being too smug (well at least one of us) about knowing where we were and not studying the maps before we headed out.  London just finished hosting thr Olympics and Para-Olympics so in the center city the signage for lifts and escalators is excellent.  It is still a new skill to leave the hotel walking down a steep (historic) stone driveway to catch the bus to the over or underground trains to head out to our destination.  The hotel has a complimentary ferry across the Thames to the more metro side which is great but the Thames is a tidal river meaning sometimes of day when the tide is out it is like walking down a sliding board to reach the ferry.  All whining aside it has been a wonderful trip.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

London holiday

We arrived on Momday morning at 7 am along with several hundred other non-UK visitors to wind our way slowly along the path to the immigration officer.  Our papers checked out and we cleared to customs.  With nothing to declare we headed out to meet the driver our son Ted had kindly arranged to meet us.   We are lucky we had a knowledgeable driver because it was long drive along narrow roads through boroughs for an hour until we pulled up to their house.   We never could have found it on our own.

Bruce booked all of our rooms and travel online over the past several months.  So I was surprised when we pulled up to a narrow drive leading up to an un impressive building.  On our last visit we stayed up in a nicely posh part of London, within walking distance of Harrod's.  The apartment was shabby chic Laura Ashley with comfy sofa and chairs, bedroom, kitchen.   Well you get the picture.  This time we were staying closer to Ted and Laura's who live in the "diverse, revitaling, urban pioneer southend.   Our hotel which I am growing to like is in the Docklands across the Thames from Canary Row.  It is a renovation of a shipping business.  We are on the sixth floor, former offices, overlooking a docking area for a ship.  By European standards it is a large room with one wall of glass that includes a door and two windows for wonderful breezes.  The breezes are important because the "air conditioning" is a floor fan.  Luckily the weather is quite temperate.  

The hotel has a ferry that crosses the Thames dropping us off at Canary Wharf  with some excellent restaurants, a Metro Tesco (grocery) and it has a Tube,  Overground and light Rail hub.  The first night we had a wonderful dinner at an Argentinian steakhouse.  And as life is we were seated a table away from a couple who had just arrived from Hawaii and who had been to Charlotte on business just recently.  Our hostess was thrilled when we told her where we were from because she had been there several as her parents used to mind an English antiques shop for a friend in South Charlotte.  Our waiter was from Dublin with tips for where to go when we were there next week.

Tomorrow we head to Paris for a few days before coming back and going to Dover on the weekend with Ted and family.  More to come.

Oh and Felix our four month old grandson is ever so cute.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

How to know when to give up

One of my greatest failings is never knowing when to give up.  I often feel like that old Japanese soldier hiding out in some island jungle keeping watch, ready for battle long after the war was over. But other times I feel like the wimp who did not have the courage or energy to persevere. One time after heading out (pre-google and gps) only to feel lost and give up and come home only to discover I was one turn away from my goal, I asked my Dad why I had given up.  At the time his answer made no sense.  He said that I gave up becaiuse I could no longer see the land and feared the open sea.  I thought - huh I was in downtown Baltimore.  Now I think what he was saying was I was so focused on seeing the destination I failed to look around and recognize the clues along the way the landmarks the hint that I really was not lost at sea.
This has been a long summer.  My to- do list has gotten so long I have abandoned it and no new Fall list has appeared.  Usually when school starts and the evenings get cooler my nest feathering energy kicks in and projects start to poke up their heads but so far they haven't.  So here is the question have I given up because I can only see the end product and it looks too far away and I can't see any stopping off points so all I see is the huge expanse of sea between here and there or have I finally gotten smart and realized my limits.  Right now I just feel like I am caught in an eddy waiting for a wave or change in the tide.  Dad I need some advice.

Vanity the ultimate gotcha.

Vanity 1. Heels, shoes. They were my addiction. I loved being able to wear heels, sandals, cute shoes. Even if they were slightly uncomf...