Dickens and London On A Saturday

Hello all! So as I mentioned in my last post, Brit Boy and I headed to London on this past Saturday, despite not going ahead to see “Sister Act”. We had a good time and it was good to have a day out.

We took the train into Paddington Station. Since we were arriving a bit before lunch-ish, we headed for the tube so we could make our way to Sophie’s, which is one of our favorite places to eat nowadays :-) We had a wonderful waiter. We got seated and served very quickly since we beat the rush. We got a prime spot up front and when I looked out of the window over Brit Boy’s shoulder, I caught sight of this blue plaque.


All around London there are these blue plaques which mark different locations of interest where certain well known people lived or worked or where something occurred. This one marks the building that housed the offices of Charles Dickens’ magazine “All The Year Round” and his private apartments from 1859 to 1870. The magazine was a weekly publication and featured essays, poetry, serialized fiction, and other writings. I just happened to notice the plaque after I noticed that there was a coffee house there that was using his name. Who knew? :-)

We’ve eaten at Sophie’s before, but we are usually there after dark when we’ve gone in the past and everything is so busy, so it’s easy to miss things. That’s why I really loved getting a chance to sit there in the daylight and take a look around. So as a lover of literature, I was truly excited to be around where Dickens once walked. By the way, the light bulbs that you see in the photo are inside the restaurant, but I thought it would be fun for you to see the plaque the way I first saw it.

And here’s a better view of the plaque from outside and a view of the building from down the street…



After we had lunch, we took a walk around Covent Garden. I love strolling around the market there and doing some people watching. Here are a few photos of the sights…



Check out the tasty looking cupcakes above, all lined up and ready to be sold. I wanted to taste all of them ;-)

Below is the entryway of a lovely shop called, Benjamin Pollock’s Toyshop. I thought that this display looked so inviting for a child of any age from 5 to 105. To the right of this display there were stairs that led up to the shop. It seemed all beautifully Willy Wonka-esque to me and I loved it! :-)



We walked along to another section of the market and I told Brit Boy that I wanted to check and see if the palm reader was there that I visited a couple of years ago. The palm reader was very intriguing and it was all in fun, but some things that he said did resonated, so who knows??? :-) Sadly though, he wasn’t there anymore. We did see someone else we remembered from before though. There was an artist that we met before and we bought a print from him. It made me happy to see that he was still there using his creativity and doing great work :-)

After our walk around Covent Garden, we decided to head to a museum. We decided upon the Science Museum. I’m usually one more for the art-filled museums, but this was a very interesting place. It was a good change of pace. There were loads and loads of exhibits. There was a lot about NASA and a bit about everything and I mean everything that has ever been created. I came away with one main thought about the whole experience. Humankind has created so much and it boggles my mind to think of what it must’ve been like to create things that had never existed before. It's something special to have the faith to see it through in bringing new things to the world.

There were day to day items and big things to see, but what also stuck with me was that it made me see our place in the passing of time. One day, some of the things that we use in our homes everyday may be in a display case for others to see. And feeling that connection to the thread of history, even as an everyday person, made me feel a bit in awe. What a glorious feeling that was.

It’s hard to really share representative photos since there was so much, but here are a very few.

Above: Ford Model T - 1916



Above: Panhard & Levassor car - 1895. This is an example of the type of car that won the world's first motor race in France in 1895.

Above: a Royal Mail coach

Above: Apollo 10 Command Module - 1969

As our Saturday in London drew to a close, we strolled back along the edge of Hyde Park and the leafy surroundings. The light was beautiful as the sun was retreating. Take a look…





Below are our feet, you have a Dori foot and a couple of Brit Boy feet ;-) This is a photo I took while we were taking a breather and sitting in Hyde Park.


It was a wonderfully varied day and I enjoyed our trip to London as I always do. We made our way back to Paddington Station and caught our train back to Wiltshire. I hope you enjoyed coming along with us! :-)

A Westonbirt Day Out

This week Brit Boy and I have been hanging out together more than usual. Brit Boy had a vacation week, so we’ve been having a fun time. We also had our wedding anniversary this week, so it was celebration all around for us. On our first anniversary, we visited Paris and that was just amazing. I will have to share more memories of that in a future post. Then fast forward to this time around which we spent here around Wiltshire.

Monday and Tuesday of this week, we mostly did errands and took a trip into town. Then on Wednesday, we had beautiful weather, so we took advantage of it and went to Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire. It is a beautifully green and glorious garden and woodland that you can just wander around in and enjoy. You pay a moderate admission, but it’s worth it and the money goes to keep the place going. For the beauty and tranquility it brings, it’s worth every penny.

Westonbirt is one of the first places that I visited on my first trip here about six years ago. On that day back then, it was a windy, cold day in April, but on Wednesday, it was fairly sunny and warm. (smile) Westonbirt is one of my favorite places, so I’ll take it in any weather. I think that the reason why I like it so much there is because it reminds me of back home in Georgia. It reminds me of the woods back home, where I loved to wander and to see nature up close.

It was a nice drive there on Wednesday. When we arrived, we went ahead to have lunch since we hadn’t eaten. They have this food hall which is very nice and organic looking. It’s all wood and glass and reminds me of a renovated barn. You can sit inside to eat or you can go outside. But even if you eat inside, with all the windows it’s like you’re outside anyway. It has a great natural vibe. (smile) We sat inside.

We both had chicken, served with onions and vegetables for lunch. Then for dessert, we shared a piece of strawberry cheesecake…and let’s just say it was DIVINE!!! Here’s a photo that says it all…mmmm…it was so rich and delicious.




After we ate lunch, we ventured out for our walk around the grounds. Here are a few photos of our walk around this gorgeous and peaceful place.











Another thing that I love about Westonbirt is that they have plants and trees and flowers from all over the world. They take such good care of the gardens. They also give lectures there and concerts. There is a wonderful gift shop there too, filled with beautiful things of natural beauty. We decided to buy a little something to remember our visit by, as well as our anniversary. It’s a lovely little dish that we’ll place in its own little spot.



It was a wonderful day out. On the next day, we visited the market town of Devizes, here in Wiltshire. But I’ll leave that story for Brit Boy’s post today. So if you’d like, take a trip on over to his blog and check out the stuff we picked up at the market. Have a great weekend!

Pizza Day

We have had a beautiful weekend. The sun has finally come to shine on us in these last days of September. :-) Yesterday, Brit Boy and I went into town to do some errands. There were a few stalls there that were reminiscent of the continental markets that they have sometimes, but it wasn’t a full blown market. There was a French food stall, a Dutch stall, and one with jewelry and handbags. We didn’t buy anything there, but it all looked great. We did our errands and then headed to the grocery to get a few things so that I could make a pizza later. I have been really wanting to give this a try, so we took a whirl around the grocery store. I already had bell pepper and onions, so I was searching for pepperoni, mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, and a pre-made crust (haven’t figured out the crust from scratch yet). We got everything along with what we thought were dough balls to make crust. So we headed home and later we chopped everything up, readying it for the pizza. Then I realized that we didn’t have dough balls for making dough, we had dough balls for toasting and dipping in sauce. Boneheads we were. (laugh) We were rushing a bit in the store and got the wrong thing. But in the end, they turned out good and were a nice addition. No sweat. :-) We were in an adventurous mood and we would not be deterred, so we headed back to the store and picked up some roll-out pastry that made a GREAT crust. On the ride back home, the sunset was so beautiful. So when I got inside, I snapped this photo of the view out our back door. Back in pizza mode, I layered everything on the pastry crust. I started with a thin layer of mozzarella and mature cheddar and then the sauce with some onion granules and a bit of pepper sprinkled over that. Then I finished it off with layers of the other ingredients and voila! Here is a photo after we had already devoured half of it. There’s a pattern here. I always seem to get the photo after we have been eating. (laugh) We usually just can’t wait. It turned out divine. Today is a gloriously sunny day and it feels like we are getting spring and summer a bit late. But I figure, it is just a beautiful bonus. Here’s a photo I snapped today. It sort of says it all, the beautiful sky is there, and the rosebush has shed and is going to sleep for a while. But it will be back before we know it. :-)

On A Ride to Salisbury

Today I tagged along with Brit Boy to Salisbury again. I always like going down there. It was a rainy day though, but it was still a fun trip out. Here are some pics from our journey.



The photos above are of a lush, green meadow on the way down there and the winding road we traveled down. It was so peaceful. The road is straight down a hill at some points, so it is like a rollercoaster ride.


Today was market day in Salisbury. Here are photos of part of the market and a nice street scene. Salisbury has some neat little shops. Check it out in the photos below.




On the way back home, we passed by Stonehenge. Sometimes when you live in a place, you kind of get used to things and don't see the fantastic things around you. We ride past Stonehenge quite a lot and I catch myself sometimes not looking at it. Then I remind myself and say, "Wait, that was Stonehenge, pay attention." (smile) So whenever we ride past there, it is a opportunity to check in with myself and to not let the experience of life pass me by. Below is a photo of Stonehenge in the distance and another photo rather close up that shows us speeding past, because you can't slow down on that highway. So the image is rather blurred, but you get the idea. (smile)

The Weekend and Scary Fun

This past weekend was beautifully normal and quiet, which was good. It is great to get a breather sometimes. On Saturday, I went into town to have my last acupuncture appointment for a while. My back has been steadily improving, so I am going to stop the appointments for now. I am feeling pretty great. Also we need to cut back on things financially, especially since we are trying to rebound from our addiction to concerts. (laugh) I am doing fine though, so it’s all good.

I realized that it was nearly a year to the day that I first started on my journey with acupuncture. The first day that I walked in there, I was hardly walking at all. Brit Boy and I had a car accident at the end of 2006 and I was increasingly walking slower and slower, with lots of pain. I sought out traditional treatments also, but it took me a while to get in to see someone sadly, so things sort of deteriorated quickly. Thankfully I finally got in to see a physical therapist and I saw a chiropractor for a while. I was in the middle of my waiting around to be seen by someone and just happened to be peering into the window of the acupuncture shop. Karen approached me and I must say, I am grateful that she did. I shuffled into her shop a year ago, with not much hope that I would ever be myself again, and on this past Saturday, I walked out of there with a stronger back, a stronger spirit, a stronger body, and a new friend. I will definitely be dropping by there every time I am in town. As an expat you learn that you have to pull in every opportunity for friendship with open arms. (smile) I told her that I will drop by and pick up some advice from her on taking care of myself, so she will still see my face around there.

Karen didn’t do the actual placing of the needles, because Ta did that, but Karen offered a valuable piece of the healing too. She offered me the kind words that I craved when I was having such bouts of loneliness here, coupled with physical pain, and the only person I knew here was my Brit Boy. We shared stories of what life is like when you are trying to make a life in a new country. And sometimes, she was just a knowledgeable friend who helped me forget my worries. When I left her shop on Saturday, I hugged her. It felt so natural and she hugged me back. It wasn’t a shop owner and a patron hugging, it was simply two friends being friends. (smile)

After I left Karen’s acupuncture shop and found Brit Boy, we did our errands. They were having an Italian Market this weekend. A few months ago, they had a French Market where I sampled the French prawnies, but this time I didn’t get anything. The weather was a lot better for this market in comparison to the French one. During the French Market, it was freezing cold, but during the market on Saturday the weather was okay. I love these markets though, because they bring a bit of the tastes of continental Europe to our neck of the woods and it brings nice variety.

As we traveled home from town later, we came the back way home and it takes us through some of the most beautiful Wiltshire countryside. We could see that there was a storm brewing and it seemed to be following us home to our little village. I looked off into the distance, across the valley and I saw a huge black cloud hanging over town. It was an awesome sight to see the rain coming down back where we had come from, miles away, and we were riding along in partial sunshine. It was one of those beautiful nature moments that I love. The minute that we walked into our house, the rain did eventually find us too. (smile)

One of my favorite things to do on a rainy weekend afternoon, is to watch old movies. I grew up watching these and they still always satisfy. I love modern movies too, but there is just something about a movie from times gone by. Brit Boy was on the computer, so I had movie time to myself. I watched “High Society” with Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly, and Bing Crosby. It was great. Grace Kelly had a fabulous wardrobe in that film…classic. Then I watched “The Last Time I Saw Paris” with Van Johnson, Elizabeth Taylor, and Donna Reed. I loved the fashions in this one too and it was set in Paris, so it definitely satisfied. Elizabeth Taylor was ravishing in this movie. She was at her absolute beauty peak in this movie. She looked beautiful in every outfit, but my favorite was her in this beautiful jet black gown. Her hair was cut short into a pixie cut at this point in the movie and she wore these beautiful diamond earrings. The sparkle of the earrings next to her jet black hair, all together with her gown, just made for a striking image. After all of the talk of fashion, I have to say, the movie was actually a very emotional one, with problems of drinking, marital problems, and jealousy. I really enjoyed both movies. It made for a wonderful afternoon.

On Sunday, I watched “The Bat” which was a great spooky movie starring Vincent Price. He was one of my favorites. I absolutely love spooky movies, so he is “the man” of horror for me and I’m sure many others. (smile) This movie was very campy, but I love a good helping of campiness every once in a while. It makes me think that it was probably a great movie to see during the era of drive-in movies. Love that Vincent Price! (smile) Some of my best Friday night movie nights are all owed to him.