Almost Ready to Go Again!

Back in 2000, we discovered the now defunct website called Slow Travel. The travel philosophy behind the site was that you select a home base town and stay there for a week or two, taking day trips to places nearby. This type of travel has always appealed to us and it's the way we've traveled in Europe ever since.  Everyone has a different style of travel, and this is ours. However, now that we're older (!), we probably should name it Very Slow Travel. On this trip, we plan to build in half or maybe even full days where we just relax and spend our time sitting in coffee shops or strolling slowly through town. 

This trip was supposed to happen in 2020. We all know how that turned out. So we decided to dust off our notes and give it a go this year. The basic plan is to see as much of Burgundy and Provence as we can... without a car. Yes, we plan to tour the area using public transportation or small group tours. Here's the details:

10/12: Fly into Paris. Train to Dijon.

10/12-23: Stay in Dijon traveling to Beaune and other towns within Burgundy. Hopefully, this will include some hiking and biking as well as wine tasting, visiting markets, and finding the perfect eclair.

10/23-29: Train to L'Isle-Sur-La-Sorgue. Experience their big antique market on Sunday. Also travel to nearby towns to hike and explore.

10/29: Train to Avignon. Only a few days here but we hope to tour some of the area around Avignon as well as explore the city.

11/2: Train to CDG. Stay overnight in a hotel there, and fly home on 11/3.

G is not taking his camera so the quality of the photos may be iffy but I'll do my best. And I'm sure there will be lots of food porn anyway.

Feel free to follow along. 

Another Museum, A Final Food Court Visit, and MJ

It's time to pack up and head home, but we had one last day to explore and enjoy London. We started at Gail's, our almost-daily routine where we get flat whites or hot chocolate and a scone. It's a fun place to people watch and see all the kids on their way to school who stop at Gail's with their parents. And we watch the food delivery guys line up, pick up their orders and zoom off on the motorcycles with their bags of pastries. On this same corner is Parson's Nose, a wonderful butcher shop where we bought several dinners that we fixed at home. So convenient for us.

Our first stop of the day was the Imperial War Museum. We enjoyed it several years ago, and I'd read they had a few new exhibits. We spent time there looking at their WW2 section, and I think after all of the memorials, museums and tours we've taken on this trip, I'm ready to move past WW2 for a while. But it's a wonderful museum and beautifully organized.

Saw this bench on the way to lunch and had to stop for a photo op..... (fyi - not a real dog but sure fooled me!)

Greg had seen a place at Spitafield's Market that sold wonderful looking steak sandwiches so he'd been thinking about it ever since. We gave it a try and it was really very good.

We had matinee tickets to see MJ The Musical. A great way to end a very fun time here! We thoroughly enjoyed the show - the music and the dancing was spectacular. However, we weren't expecting (and we should have been prepared for) the dark side of MJ's life - his father's abuse, the drugs, the money problems. We'd thought it would be a great show for the grandkids but there's no way we'd take them to this. 

This was the sign that was posted on the door of the lady's room stalls. I guess they didn't want me to belt out the songs or do my dancing routines in the aisles during the show??

A quick dinner at Megan's across the street and we're back to packing and getting ready to leave in the morning.

Home tomorrow night!!

  

BBQ, Benchley, and Being Polite

The clock is ticking. We are down to our final days on this trip. Lots of mixed emotions but it will be good to get back to a "normal" life.

Last night we decided to step out of our comfort zone and try a Korean BBQ restaurant. It was close to our flat and received rave reviews. We opted to have the kitchen cook our meat rather than do it at the table. Maybe that was our mistake? Anyway, we were disappointed and felt the ribeye was overpriced. But we loved the udon noodles with chicken.

Today was our trip to Benchley Park, and I am so glad we went. We found the faciity to be absolutely fascinating. The exhibits, the photos, and the videos really do capture the importance of what the codebreakers did during WW2. It was emphasized several times the number of lives that were saved because of their work. The technology that was so advanced for that time! Any future travelers to London, this is something that should not be missed! We were able to tour the manor home which was built for a wealthy family in the 1800's and served as the headquarters during the war.

All of the outbuildings were added during the war to accommodate the workers - up to 9,000 at one point. Most lived away from the facility but were bused in daily. They worked long hours (mostly 8-hour shifts or more when needed) and the majority of them were women. Because of the 80th anniversary of D-Day, there was a special video describing how the codebreakers assisted in the invasion of Normandy. Fascinating. Tonight we are re-watching The Imitation Game!

A litle side note... We have found Londoners to be very warm and welcoming. We've had people speak up when they can tell we aren't sure about a train issue or offer advice at a restaurant. And they are just so darn polite. Here are two signs that basically say No Parking! In the US, there would be the threat of towing or a reference to some ordinance. Not here....

Just so civilized!!

And a small celebration at the end of a great day...

Benjamin Button

We needed a slow morning so stayed in the neighborhood for flat whites and a scone at Gail's Bakery. Great for people watching too

We had tickets for a matinee but first we needed to figure out a lunch spot. So we tubed to Mayfair to check out Mercato Mayfair. It's an old church that they have converted into a food hall from the crypt in the lower level all the way to the rooftop. It's a beautiful building but I just didn't see anything that I thought sounded that good. 

So instead we walked to Paul Rothe & Son, a small deli that specializes in sandwiches and is very popular in the Mayfair area. I tried the coronation chicken and have no idea how it's made but it was great.

We had time to kill before the play so we decided to walk down Oxford Street. Every possible store brand is represented there. Finally found a quiet park and sat in the shade to watch the locals playing ping pong. They spent most of their time chasing the ball.

The play we saw was The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It was a musical and recently has won several awards here in London. It was fabulous and we both loved it. Such talented musicians and singers. So glad we decided to add this to our week's activities. The theaters here are smaller than in the US so it just seems more intimate. Not a bad seat in the house. Here's our view from the cheap seats.

Heading to dinner soon. More later.

 

A Roast and A University

Even though we've been to London several times, we've never had an official British Sunday Roast... until yesterday. We researched the options (and there are tons) ranging from small pubs to fancy restaurants, and we chose a bar in Notting Hill called the Mall Tavern. It was a loud, lively place but the food was great, and I'm glad we had the experience. Even that carrot was good! The sticky pudding for dessert was the best! I'm already searching for recipes online!

Today was our day to go to Oxford. The head of the planning committee did not realize that the trains from London to Oxford are twice the cost if you leave before 9:30. Lesson learned. But we'd booked a 10 AM tour in Oxford so we had no choice.

Oxford is incredibly beautiful. The buildings are just breathtaking, and everywhere you turn is something spectacular. We started in the downtown area and the Blackwell's Book Store. It looks relatively small from the front, but once inside, it is huge. Multiple floors and books on all different levels. I did a walk around the vast room we were in but didn't see any fiction books. Our guide explained that they are on one of the other floors!! I could have spent all day there.

We toured the Bodleian Library and New College. Lots of little alleyways and small gardens along the way. The church in New College has an alter like nothing we've ever seen..... just rows of statues! All from the 1300's!! Beautiful.  Here are just a few random shots from the tour.

After a quick lunch downtown, we walked to Christ Church which is mammoth and so pretty. We tried to tour it but they were having lunch and we couldn't get in for over an hour. We will plan to go back to Oxford and next time spend several hours there. It was hot and we were tired, so we walked back to the train. We had a few Underground snafus when we were back in London, so to reward ourselves for making it home, we stopped at the pub down the street and ordered some new kind of spritz that we loved!