Je suis arrivee et c'est parfait!

Those of you who know me well know I struggle to figure out where I belong. Well, I'm not sure I actually BELONG here all the time but I'm certain I need to be here some of the time!  This is one of the loveliest places I've ever been to!

It was 12' when I left Zurich midday and 50 minutes later we were descending over the azure blue Med to Nice airport.  It was sunny and 23' when we landed. What a difference in that short time!  Shortly after my arrival, I was in a taxi heading for Villeframche sur Mer. Given that I'd been hearing almost nothing but Schwietzer Deutsch and trying to speak German for the last 4 days, I was quite "chuffed" with myself that I managed to chat in French with the driver during the entire 30 minute ride.  He was great and gave me lots of good information.

I visited here during my first trip to Europe in 1979. I returned in 1984 and have come back several times since, including two years ago. There is something magical about this place. Ever since I started planning this trip, I pictured myself wearing a certain outfit, even down to the necklace, having dinner by myself at the water's edge - sort of my own version of Shirley Valentine sans l'homme, of course!  So, after checking in to the Hotel le Provençal (2 stars - okay if not a little "tired" but my room has a view of the sea!), I wandered around "la vieille ville" then went down to the quai for a late lunch. Later, I went back and had a fabulous dinner at L'Oursin Bleu where I spent over 2 1/2 hours enjoying my table only about 1 1/2 metres from the lapping, gentle waters of the Med.  It was perfect and exactly what I'd dreamed of!  Oh yes, I wore the outfit but wasn't important to anyone but me!

Die Kurbis Ausstellung in Seegraben

Who knew that pumpkins and other squashes were popular in Switzerland?  Every year in Seegraben, a village near Lake Pfaffiker in the canton of Zurich, there is a "Kurbis Ausstellung" (squash exposition or exhibition) which is the largest in Switzerland.  I guess there must be others!  Today, for the third time, I went to it with Kathrin and Roger along with their two young children. Now, this isn't just about a few pumpkins, believe me!  There are hundreds and hundreds of them and each year I've been there has been a different theme. All I remember about the first time was that there were bales of hay stacked to make a huge pyramid. The second time had a dinosaur theme and this year it seemed to be legends - Robin Hood, Elvis (yes, a statue of him made from miniature pumpkins), Lancelot, the frog prince and the lion, legendary king of the jungle. There were displays of giant pumpkins, all kinds of squash for sale, tastings, games for children, bales of hay for children (and some adults) to play on, and a beer garden. Like so many festivals at this time of the year, it seemed to be about celebrating the harvest.  So, here are some photos including the Elvis one!

Good times in London

I've spent the last day and a half in London and, while there is a lot about this city I don't like (crowds, noise, traffic congestion), there is much I love, especially spending time with friends and family.
  The first evening I was here, John (who, with his partner, Pedro, has the flat where I'm staying) and I walked to Little Venice, a short distance from where they live.  We ate at The Summer House, a lovely restaurant right on the canal. Later, Pedro and their other houseguest, Denise, joined us.  It was a fabulous evening.

  Yesterday, I'd made arrangements to meet my second cousin, Vivienne, in central London.  Years ago, Paul introduced me to this lovely restaurant right on Piccadilly Circus called The Criterion. If you don't look closely, you might miss it and, believe me, it is not to be missed!  The interior is amazing (Art Nouveau, if I'm not mistaken) and the food is wonderful.  The best thing though is that you step off the frenetic pavements around Piccadilly and Regent Street into this quiet oasis of calm. It is lovely!  Here are photos from my lunch there.

  My afternoon finished with a walk with Pedro to the iconic crosswalk from the Beatles' Abbey Road album.  I'd waited quite a few years to get that photo.

A Quintessential Thatched Village

One of the many charms of Devon is the number of villages containing thatched cottages and pubs. Otterton, Newton Poppleford and Chidmouth, to name just a few, are full of them. For a North American, streets lined with these cottages just don't look real - more like a set for a movie!  Today, we drove to the coastal village of Branscombe situated between Lyme Regis and Salcombe Regis for our lunch.  It has been a year since I've driven on the extremely narrow lanes Devon is famous for (or is that infamous?) and they always provide quite a challenge (meeting a very large Land Rover on a single track was quite a thrill today!).  Anyway, I didn't get to take many pictures on the way there as stopping on these roads isn't easy.  It would have been wonderful to record the flower bedecked cottages and the Devon patchwork fields but . . . well, that will have to wait for another time. We did stop for lunch at the Masons Arms, an adorable partially thatched pub in the village, and had lunch sitting outside on the patio in the warm sunshine. It's tough to beat a homemade chicken liver and wild mushroom terrine served with fig chutney and, as well, have two Beardies (my favourite dog) laying under the table beside you. So, as I didn't get pictures of the quintessential thatched cottages, the photos at the pub will have to do.

The next question, now that I'm back in Budleigh, is do I really need another cream tea?  Perhaps not!

By the Sea, By the Sea . .

Whenever I am away from home, it isn't very long before I start missing the ocean.  I soon find myself gravitating to the closest body of salt water and, if one isn't close by, a lake or river will do. So, yesterday, I was glad to take a train from London south to Devon and get to the coast. As my train from Exeter to Exmouth rounded a curve and the stunning view of the Exe estuary came into view, I felt the frenetic pace of London fade away. The purpose of coming to Budleigh Salterton is to visit my mother's dear cousin and her lovely husband who live here; however, the secondary prize is to see the spectacular coastline.  This part of east Devon along with a lot of Dorset coastline is known as the Jurassic Coast and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.  The first thing I did after finding my B&B was to walk down to the sea front. Even though the weather wasn't as sunny as promised, the smell of the sea, the sight of the waves and beached boats, and the sound of the gulls were restorative. I read the sign about the "Steamer Steps" (see photo below), took some pictures and walked along the beach.

Of course, what's a girl to do after all that bracing sea air?  Well, the answer is simple:  head to a tea shop for a renowned Devon Cream Tea which, for the uninitiated, includes tea with scones, jam and clotted cream!  The Cozy Teapot was just the place. Thankfully, the hike up Sherbrook Hill to Mom's cousin's home later helped burn off all those calories!!!

Of "Peak" Interest

I'm now in Birmingham after spending a couple of days in Derbyshire. This county is in the middle of England and I was staying in Chesterfield, a town famous for its crooked spire.  A lot of northern Derbyshire is known as the Peak District and is very popular with walkers, hikers, climbers and other outdoor enthusiasts.  Apparently, I just missing seeing the heather which was in full bloom up on the moors last week.  Nonetheless, the views across them was lovely.

  Derbyshire is also famous for some elegant country houses like Chatsworth House, Haddon Hall and Hardwick Hall and charming villages such as Tideswell, Eyam, Ashover, and my favourite, Bakewell.  Eyam has a somewhat sad story. In 1665, when the Plague was ravishing the country, a flea-infested bolt of cloth was delivered to the village tailor from London. Within a week, he was dead.  For the next 14 months, the disease killed more than 3/4 of the villagers - church records indicate 273 victims.   The disease did not spread, however, to the surrounding area because the village quarantined itself until the plague had run its course.  Today Eyam has various plague-related places of interest.
  In another village, Tideswell, stands the Church of St. John the Baptist which dates from the 14th century which also known as "The Cathedral of the Peak".  Below is a picture from inside the church.

  Bakewell is a tourist favourite and is often used as a base for walkers and hikers, hence the large number of outdoor-fitter stores selling everything from tweed jackets, walking sticks, sensible boots and fly fishing rods. Bakewell is well known for its market as well as the renowned Bakewell tart. Yum, yum!

A Meeting 125 Years in the Making

My maternal grandmother was born in 1881 and her only brother, Jack, was born in 1888.  No one in Mom's family seemed to know much about Jack - except that he did exist - and here's the picture to prove it (he's the boy in this Moran family photo taken, we think, about 1905):

Fast forward to this year, in February I was contacted by a person named Sid Bishop who, with his wife Marie, was doing genealogy research into his family. He is Jack's grandson and my second cousin.  So, when I decided to visit the UK on this trip, it seemed logical to set up a meeting, hence my visit to Consett in County Durham.  Here is where I learned so much more about my mother's Moran side of the family and 125 years after Jack was born, two grandchildren of Jack and Theresa met!  As I left Consett this morning, we made a commitment to meet up again and strengthen this family connection.  On another note, Sid is an expert on guitars and writes articles on them under the name The Bishop of Denmark Street.  I'll be checking that out for sure.  Below is a picture of Sid and me taken by Marie at dinner last evening.  In the words of Sister Sledge, "We are family . . . !"

A Blip, a Glitch and a Big Uh-Oh!

Well, in spite of all the planning, it didn't take long for the first major hitches to occur on this trip.  I arrived in Vancouver Sunday evening to find that my flight to London was delayed by one hour.  That normally would not have been a problem except that the connection from there to Newcastle was very tight.  Online, however, it showed our arrival would only be delayed by 10 minutes so no problem - I thought!  Everything seemed to be okay as we were circling over London at our scheduled arrival time.  However, heavy air traffic prevented our landing for nearly 3/4 hour so things for me to make the connection were very tight - the first blip.  On arrival the Air Canada ground staff already had the boarding pass for my BA flight to Newcastle BUT (and a big one!), I had to change from Terminal 3 to 5.  That went not badly until I had gone through Passport Control and into Security where my purse was rejected on the initial scan.  At that point my flight was boarding and it was a good 10 minutes until I got through the check.  Who knew that in the UK, iPads have to be removed from your handbag and a small bottle of nail polish is required to be in a plastic bag and not in your cosmetic bag?  Bad Maureen - and the second glitch!  Even so, I got to the gate in time and had my boarding pass and luggage tag scanned and got on the plane.  Our flight was then delayed 1/2 hour because of a missing passenger and, finally, they had to offload that person's luggage.  I had a window seat and, as the trailer with the missing person's luggage pulled away from the plane, I thought I spotted my bag on the trailer as well.  I thought, well, that isn't possible.  Upon arriving in Newcastle, I was proved wrong as no bag of mine arrived.  So, after reporting it missing, filling out the form and meeting Sid and Marie, we set off to Consett with the promise my bag would arrive and be delivered after a few hours when the next flight from London arrived.  The big UH-OH, however, happened when the person at the airport entered the wrong postal code so the bag couldn't be delivered.  AUGH!  Finally today, after a large number of frustrating phone calls - why don't the baggage handling and courier offices answer any calls before 10 a.m.??? - my bag finally arrived.  Hopefully, that is the last "oops" of the trip!!!

On the Road Again!

This morning I am going through my "pre-trip" panic with Willie Nelson's song, On the Road Again, rattling in my brain.  When I try to blank it out, it is quickly replaced by Leaving on a Jet Plane with the thoughts that this trip is really about planes, trains and automobiles.  So, in a few hours, I'm off and, if things go smoothly at Heathrow (and how often does that happen?) by 2:30 GMT tomorrow afternoon, I will be in Newcastle meeting my second cousin for the first time.  More about that in the next blog.

As per usual, I keep stuffing last minute items into my suitcase - ones that I likely two days from now will wonder what they are doing there and worrying why I didn't pack other stuff.   

Anyway, this trip really is about seeing family and friends in the UK and Switzerland before heading to the south of France to relax for a couple of weeks with friends from here.  After that, I spend a week in Alsace with one of my closest friends at my favourite time of the year - the "vendange" or harvest.  I've done all the planning and, hopefully, it will all go smoothly.  I've been to most of the places before and I'm not sure how exciting the posts are going to be but I'm sure there will be some stories to tell.

So, now back to checking that suitcase for the umpteenth time!