Tenerife summary

So the Canary Island trip is over.  Aside from the passport business, it is certainly an adventure that I would look to repeat or expand upon.  Some of the memorable things:

1.  Hills are your friends -- so my son-in-law says and every cycle trip I had to remind myself of that 'truism'.  Make no mistake, I do not like hills.  The Portugal tour a year ago helped me to tolerate hills -- mountains, but not even that was like Tenerife.  There were no flat stretches of road more than about 200m.  The hardest one for me was the road by the banana plantation.  On the first day, Monday, it nearly killed me and I had to rest at the top to stop my legs from shaking and feeling like I was going to collapse.  Yesterday, I did it twice, along with other ascents and the second time felt better than the first.  I had jokingly said after Monday that if I did that ride every day I would be in shape fairly soon.  Well, I certainly got a good start on that.  I will miss that the bicycle won't be part of every day when I get home.  OK, hills are the kind of friends that (slowly) grow on you.

2.  Dried fruit is a true treat.  For each lunch and supper, there was a lovely selection of prunes, dates, figs, raisins and apricots.  Most of the dates and figs I have encountered were smooshed together or so hard that you could barely get your knife to chop them.  Those were only distant relatives of the beautiful looking and very tasty items offered beside the cheeses.  What a lovely combination.  And sometimes, the fruit was rehydrated in a syrup or sauce to accompany a meat dish or support some fruit compote.  I shall be adding this to my menus.

3.  Bananas are big business.  I have never seen plantations of this fruit under burlap.  Some of the fruit is grown in the blue plastic bags and some is just out in the open.  Plantations are in irrigated terraces surrounded by concrete walls to protect the trees from wind and banana thieves!


4.  Volcanos make amazing islands.  All of the Canaries are volcanic and the last eruption on Tenerife was about a hundred years ago.  Congratulations to the builders on this island for using the natural materials.  Our resort had amazing walls built of the black igneous rock.  The paths were done with patterned concrete to emulate the walls.

5.  Palm trees are fabulous.  About 4 years ago, Kieran became fascinated by palm trees and would watch them excitedly.  Now TovaElise is discovering the fascinating interplay of light and movement of palms swaying in ocean breezes.  There were actually date palms at the resort, but no one seemed anxious to pick and enjoy them.

6.  Time with family tops everything, and going to an all-inclusive resort makes sure that everyone can be pampered.  Thanks RIU BuenaVista for putting us into a great villa.  TovaElise is almost 6 months old and a happy, healthy girl growing astonishingly.  She is strong standing on her legs easily.  Most of the time she sits independently.  Her grip is very strong and you know it when she grabs!  She laughs easily and does not make strange, though when she gets tired, only Mom will do.  A wonderful time!

"Yes, it's here"

That was the sweetest morning salutation in a long time because it meant I had not lost my passport.

I discovered the item missing last evening after Rich, Jennie and TovaElise went to bed and I was packing.  It was not in the safe in my closet where it should have been.  I searched through all the paperwork again.  I went up to the front desk to ask if had been left in the room where I had first checked in.  "No, our cleaning staff always checks the whole room including the safe".  We called the Canadian consulate and since it was a Saturday night we had to call Ottawa direct where they have 24hr emergency answering.  That lady could only suggest that I start the lost passport procedure which would have to go through Madrid on Monday morning.  If she started it last night, it would mean that even if the document was found, it would no longer be valid.  I said no.  I went back to the room to think and realised that I had left the original room in pristine condition and there might be a chance that the passport was still there.  Needless to say, it was a very long, unsettled night and at 6:30 this morning I was camped out by the first room making sure no one left early and I missed them.  Well, a light came on about 7:15 and at 7:30, which I deemed to be a half-way acceptable time, I knocked on the door.

It was a pair of lovely older English ladies who could understand my request and checked immediately.  They had no used the safe at all and then came that wonderful sentence quoted in the title.  A HUGE WAVE OF RELIEF!  I hurried down to our villa and was able to relate to Rich and Jenn that all was well.

So now I am here on Norwegian flying back to Gatwick.  Hope to get another blog (telling of the last part of the stay on Tenerife together with some pictures) done before landing.

It's all up and down

The only complaint I have about the RIU Buenavista is the internet access.  The 'download rigor mortis' commercial certainly applies here as you wait for at least a minute for each connection.  Today we have had enough and bought a week of internet from a local hotspot that we get nicely on the patio of our villa.  So, I am sitting here on the deck, listening to the ocean and looking at the lights of the boats on the sea  -- not a hard life.

We had requested adjoining rooms, but they don't have any.  Instead they offered us a villa -- 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms a big living area and a little kitchen with a lovely deck/patio all around facing the ocean.  In fact, that's where I am now.

Tenerife is the all up and down mentioned in the title.  There is a central volcano peak -- high enough to have snow even now and then numerous smaller peaks all around.  There are a few beaches, but for the most part the shoreline is volcanic rocks jutting into the sea.

I have a cruiser bicycle and it serves me fine.  Mostly I am in the lowest gear grinding up the hills.  The main road is quite narrow without a shoulder and with quite a dropoff so I don't ride there though some cyclists do.  The cars are very considerate but I am just not comfortable enough to have them going by.

If you have mobility issues, this is not the resort for you.  The hotel is on many different levels with ramps and stairs everywhere.  The pools are on different levels and the walkways around are kept open and clean.  I have never seen a zamboni for pool decks before!

The resort is at least 50% Scandanavians -- Norwegians, Swedes, Finns and Danes.  Then there are some Brits and some Germans.  Me, the Canadian, is a novelty.  The grounds are groomed, the palm trees kept beautifully trimmed, the hedges clipped, but the most striking features are the volcanic stone walls -- everywhere, many over 2 m tall.  They are done with minimal mortar to give the impression of dry stone structures.  The same patterning is reflected in the textured concrete walkways which makes for a great deal of gray!

sorry, no pictures yet.

First Impression

Well, this is the slowest internet connection I have EVER seen.  So this will be quick to try and get it to work.

First impressions of Tenerife --WEIRD.  Island looks like somebody took a huge excavator and just dropped bucket loads on the place.  Strange mountain formations!!  The natural vegetation seems to be scrub, but there are amazing plantings of cacti and then there are the banana plantations -- some under burlap it seems.

It will be an interesting week.

Waiting on Richard, Jennie and TovaElise.  We requested adjoining rooms which they do not have so they had us across the courtyard from each other, but have offered us a villa (2 bedrooms and 2 baths, living room and kitchen) and I took them up on it.

Millions of kids here -- kids club happening now -- noisy but fun.  Great place.

sorry no pictures -- internet won't upload from my phone.

Flying Very High

So this is a first.  Here I am at cruising altitude and connected to the internet.  Norwegian charges for coffee and movies but the wifi is free -- strange.

Another first on this flight.  I changed my seat assignment of 23A to get an aisle seat and I like being at the back so I can stand easily (and use the washroom).  30D was available with no one else booked in the trio of seats, so it looked like a good spot.  We boarded from the back of the plane and upon getting to my seat in the second last row, I was greeted by a man across the aisle, one row back at the rear of the aircraft.  He was a little strange and I thought he might be mentally challenged and so was obliging when he asked my name, and asked him his.  Well, he was drunk and started to be vulgar towards the flight attendant.  She warned him, the head steward warned him, and we pulled over to a side parking spot and they asked me and the couple in front of him to please just go forward in the plane and they took him off.  Never seen that before.  Naturally we had already lost time as they tried to subdue him and when he was removed they had to start the paperwork for the flight again, so eventually it was 1.5 hrs later than scheduled that we finally got a spot in the queue and headed off.

This is the second incident of disruptive behaviour that I have encountered on this journey.  At the train station in Tonbridge the other day, the train before mine was delayed for about 15 min while an individual was ejected and then the train was allowed to leave.  I wonder if this kind of thing is on the increase or if I have just never been exposed to it before.

The flight to Tenerife is 4 hours and 15 minutes.  The plane is only about half full and this was the cheapest airfare to that location.  Norwegian must be heavily subsidised by their government.  I read in the magazine that they have just inaugurated direct flights from Oslo and Stockholm to NY, Ft. Lauderdale and LA on Dreamliners.  Who is making money here?

Well, If I can send a picture of myself while in flight, I should be able to find the shuttle to get me to the hotel.  Here's hoping!

Wrapping up England

So today was my last day here and there were lots of things to finish off.

I did the cycle ride to the airport and watched a plane fly right over my head.  I was down in Crawley before I changed direction and came back through Horley in order to head west.  Very soon one leaves town and is on the Surrey cycle path in the most pleasant rolling English countryside.  There are great houses with large estates and high walls and gates and fantastic views of the valleys, and then there are lesser houses in between -- some refurbished cottages from the old days and some newer homes.  It is a lovely variety as one rides along the little country lanes named for some of the great houses and lined on both sides with hedgerows very close to the road.  With the rain and the leaves, I was not anxious to take any paths which were not paved, and even these required very careful riding.  The symbol means "share the path" -- I wish we could get this in our area!

Today I had hills, I had wind, I had sunshine and I had serious rain.  I guess all that was missing was the hail that I had on Tuesday.  I had lunch at a pub which one gentleman recommended to me as 'spot on' -- and it was (steak and mushroom pie with great veggies).  I made several wrong turns because I didn't have my gps out all the time, but still managed to get the bike back to Redhill in mid afternoon which had been my plan.

Redhill has better shopping than Horley so I picked up some stuff -- baking sheets at the pound store and flip-flops at a store that sells trendy name brand pseudo sportswear (Quicksilver, etc).

Trained back to Horley and started to get my departure set up -- wake up call for 4 am and transfer for 4:15.  The flight is at 06:35.  Glad the airport is so close.  There will be a bag left here of the stuff that I will not need in the Canaries, and my weight limit is less for this segment of the vacation than across the Atlantic.  I will have one night here on the way back as I get to Gatwick too late on the Sunday night to get a flight home the same day.

Another good day --sense a theme.

NCN 2

When I think of some of my favourite rides -- Tamaki Drive, Rhine cyclepath, Cozumel Island -- they all have water in common.  So, it should come as no surprise that I chose the shore road along the Channel for today's ride.

It started off with a flat tire -- pumped up enough to get to the train and down to Brighton and then fixed by a nice guy in the Velo Vitality shop.  But once I started heading west (into the wind), it was lovely.  There were serious waves crashing onto the pebbled beaches and sea walls, but that did not stop the wet suit-clad surfers, not the kite sailor/surfers, or the little kids who are on half term vacation this week, who, despite their adults being dressed in hooded parkas, were running into the surf with shorts and bare feet.  I was thankful for my several layers.

NCN 2 is the Shore trail on which I rode from Brighton Pier to Worthing Pier, 20 km away.  It had an incredibly varied path -- along the sea on the sea wall, past hundreds of tiny 'cottages', past a number of amusement areas, through the busy port of Shoreham, over locks in a dock area, past warehouses and fancy summer houses.  It is an area of work and play and has been so for many, many years.  I just finished Pride and Prejudice this evening and had to smile at the talk of Brighton, then as now.

I promised myself fresh fish and the Blue Ocean cafe in Worthing was recommended by several of the people I asked.  They did not disappoint -- the chips may have been so-so, but the cod was fantastic!

The ride back to Brighton had the wind at my back, and was without the rain that had come down while I was lunching.  It is always easier (and faster) to return when one knows where the twists and turns happen.  I must admit that I have been very pleased with my new phone and the map features it has.  I love the little blue dot to show me where I am -- and the location of the train station that I want to reach.  More rain on the ride back, but it was just a short cycle from the Horley station back to the guest house.


Another great day! (Yes, I wore pink tights and everyone noticed me!)

Horley, Surrey

Well, the normal English weather caught up with me and today was rain, mostly rain, a bit of rain, and totally clouded over.  I chose not to ride, so I walked and checked out this town.

Horley is a small town with basically one main street.  It has one regular grocery store, one budget grocery store, an Iceland (all frozen foods), all on this main street, and then there is a huge Tesco extra (think Loblaws superstore) complete with clothes, electronics, toys, household stuff, but no furniture.  That mega store is on the northwest end of town by farmers' fields -- about a 15 minute walk from the Gatwick Belmont.

This guest house is only one of at least 8 on this street.  Many have a small restaurant associated with the accommodation, and several have parking available for when you leave the country for a week.  They are all fairly large houses which have been split into rooms.  I would think that they are all at least 100 years old.  Most of the guests come and stay for one night and then fly.  The guest house delivers people to Gatwick (about 1 mile away) any time of the day or night -- good thing, my flight is at 06:35 on Sunday.  I am known as the lady who is staying a long time with my 5 night reservation.  They do two options for breakfast of which I am doing the continental and have a pub in the evening, which I have not frequented.  I have my bread and cheese and cider up here.

There doesn't seem to be much happening in Horley.  Several of the store fronts are available for lease.  There are at least 4 charity shops.  The largest selection of shoes is at the discount warehouse, and they didn't have a pair of sandals for next week. I have been told that the shopping is much better in Crawley -- about 2 miles down the road.  Strange they use miles, but all their groceries are in metric measurements.

So I poked along the main street, spent several hours at Tesco (came up with a few bargains) and walked the trail to Gatwick Airport.  I had read in a blog that one can cycle through the airport grounds and get views which normal air passengers can't.  I would like to try that on Saturday before I return the bike.  My legs are tired and I walked holes through my socks -- good day.

NCN 21

NCN 21 is route 21 of the National Cycling Network which goes from somewhere in London, down to the Channel at Eastbourne.  I did not cycle all of it, but certainly a picturesque part.

I set off about 09:15.  The first part of the route was on a secondary road heading south, but after Crawley, I turned east and most of the next section was on an old railway section which is an elevated ride through the Medway river valley.  Today it was leaf strewn and, thanks, to the big storm of last weekend, many branches and in some instances, trees across the path.  It meant that most of the ride I was concentrating on the path instead of the fabulous scenery so that twigs didn't end up in my spokes.  The further east I got -- I started in Surrey, cycled through Sussex, and ended up in Kent -- the more rolling was the countryside.  The roads are narrow with no shoulders, but the drivers are amazingly considerate and careful of the cyclist.  There were some wrong turns and I have not cycled this much in quite some time, but after 55 km, I did arrive at Scotney Castle.

I am a puzzle person -- sudoku, crosswords, jumble, and picture puzzles.  About 25 years ago, I had a 4,000 piece picture puzzle which took 3 months to complete.  It was of Scotney Castle.  I had no idea where that was and it took some searching (yes, there was life before google) to find that Scotney Castle was at Royal Tunbridge Wells.  Actually it is just outside of Lamberhurst which is southeast of the other city, but Royal Tunbridge Wells is the closest big city.  And Google maps provided a great route for the ride.  The Castle which I saw in the puzzle was the Old Castle, and there is now a new house up on the hill.  The Old Castle has a moat and the main building is now in ruins.  I arrived about 2 pm and knew I did not have much time for my visit.  It was a walk around for photos, but no visit to the new house, which, I am sure, would be lovely -- maybe someday.  I celebrated my visit with a cream tea at the teahouse and then it was back on the bike.

I knew that I could only ride till just after 4 pm since the sun sets about 4:30 and the road is very sheltered by trees so it darkens quickly.  I managed to ride back to a train station by 4.  I knew I would be able to take the bike on the train, but wasn't sure about the bike since it wasn't a folding one.  First train north to Tonbridge.  Second train west to Redhill, Third train to Horley.  I made it back to the hotel at 7 pm.

What a wonderful day!

England's green and pleasant land

I still have the chicken stickers on my hand which Clara bestowed on me yesterday.  She is exhuberant and generous and I will miss her and her brother, but there is another little grandchild I will have the delight of spending time with next week.  But I get ahead of myself.

Since flying over the Atlantic for just a week in the Canaries is a bit crazy, I added 5 days of (hopefully) cycling in the English countryside.  (I am looking to get back some of those 8 weeks of cycling that I lost in the summer due to the broken foot.) The storm yesterday bought down many leaves and twigs and left the path that I cycled quite muddy in spots.  But the cycling along the hedgerows and through farms was a totally different side of England from the city I saw last month.

And it truly is a green and pleasant land.

Welcome back

My understanding of this phrase is that it is used when someone returns to a place they have been before.  However, this sign at the exit of Hemlingby outdoor recreation area shows the problem with translations.  The sign is meant to mean 'come back soon' or 'hope to see you again', but the translation used, though it is a welcoming statement, is from a different point of view.

But, there was no mistaking the warm welcome I have had all week here in Gavle.  I have a lovely space on the lower level with plenty of room and my own bathroom.  Jennie has loaned me her very nice commuting bicycle and I have explored some new and not-so-new areas of town.  I have been particularly indulged in my love for great dark bread and flavourful cheeses.  We have sampled the offerings of some very tasty restaurants.  I have been introduced to a number of superb new recipes and made some preserves that I have never made before.  It's been a wonderful time.

And I can't forget the best part of the week -- the little miss.  TovaElise is changing so rapidly that there are notable changes just in the 7 days that I have been here.  Her eye-hand coordination has greatly increased and she has found her fingers to lick and chew.  She coos and giggles and smiles and blows bubbles and is a very happy baby.  She snuggles very nicely, but is also quite independent for periods.  Jennie and Richard are terrific parents and the little one is thriving.  What a wonderful family to be a part of -- even if just for a week.

Thanks so much, Rich and Jenn!

Green means go

For those of you not initiated into the European style of lights and signals, this is a traffic light for bicycles.  In most intersections, the bicycle signal and the pedestrian signals are for the same area, though in separate lanes and sometimes working independently.  You activate each by pushing a button and besides the visual information, there is also an audible prompt to go -- the beeping goes though a fast stage (about 3 per second) compared to the usual beep of about 1 per second which means 'wait'.

And go I did today.  This morning it was into town to the market area to be tempted by wonderful sourdough breads, blue cheese, a new creme fraiche topping, and hot smoked salmon.  There was the usual trip to Ahlens for socks (it's tradition) and a check of Clas Olson for canning jars.  Jennie has been making all kinds of preserves and needed some small jars for red pepper jelly.  No luck.

We enjoyed another lunch at the nursery just behind the house and then I cycled most of the afternoon, to and from some grocery stores where I was stocking up on some Swedish items to fill my suitcase.  I have about 4 kg of stuff to replace from my weight coming over, so there is lots of space.

I wasn't the only one on the go -- little miss loves to stand and there will be no stopping her. Already she has a determined low-voice grunt where she tenses her whole body.  What a strong little one she already is!  Watch out world, she is going places!

Happiness is

Even not so keen observation will tell you that today was a sunny day -- not a drop of rain and virtually no clouds.  You will also notice that I was with a bicycle -- yes it is Jennie's town bike which has three gears and shopping basket.  What you can't see is the huge smile on my face as this is the first day in 2 months that I have been on a bike and it was WONDERFUL.  And, before you get worried about my foot, I rode on virtually flat ground and at every incline, I made my left leg do all the work.  No problems, -- happiness!

Also delighted was little Miss TovaElise at her swimming class with her mom.  The lesson is in the therapy pool at the hospital, so it was beautifully warm.  There was movement and singing and the babes went under the water.  Amazing little one who did not complain -- a few blinks and lots of good kicks.  She is a water baby for sure.

We got the chutney into jars and the rhubarb drink into bottles.  Jennie is a happy lady.  (I need to pick up some of that preserving agent that they sell for keeping juice in bottles.  I think that we could make some interesting drinks.) 

One-third year birthday

TovaElise is 4 months old today -- already 1/3 of a year.  She is up to 7.5 kg and 65.5 cm.  She was sitting on Jennie's lap yesterday and I remarked that if she keeps up that growth, she will be as big as her mom at one year.  No, that won't happen, but she will be a big girl.

This morning was Baby music -- a lovely class in a local church where a very energetic but gentle woman leads in singing, clapping, moving with the help of drums, guitar, horn, claves, whistles.  It was all in Swedish, but even I (father's mother) could understand 'Twinkle, twinkle, little star'.  It's a half hour class, and many of the little ones, like TovaElise are totally exhausted at the end -- but there was no crying at all.  I can see why there is a waiting list!

This afternoon was green tomato chutney -- at least the chopping and measuring part.  It has simmered all day and is just now deemed done.  The scent of sugar and spices and vinegar have been enchanting us all day.

Just as yesterday was Jennie's early Christmas, today TovaElise got her Christmas gift.  It is a highchair -- totally low tech, but one of the most remarkable chairs I have ever seen.  It is adjustable for everyone from baby to adult.  In fact, last week Clara was on one in the cafe at the National History Museum.  Yes, one pays more for a clever design, but this could be something she keeps for her own children.

We have some pieces in our home that have come from Ian's parents from when Ian was a child.  Amazing that they have managed to keep it in useable condition.  The one piece that I have kept is the crib which I made when Richard was born.  It got a new coat of paint -- it had been through a number of my nieces and nephews-- and now serves for the grandkids when they come to stay over.  It's that feeling of history, never was important to me before, but now I think about it and posterity too -how we touch on eternity.

Traditions -- old and new

Yesterday was the day of finding the chanterelles, so today was the day of enjoying them.  Jennie did a lovely omelette this evening with goat cheese and the chanterelles.  The mushrooms paired deliciously with the other flavours and with a piece of walnut and raisin limpa bread, it made for a wonderful supper.  Thanks Jennie!

In chanterelle season it is tradition to have them fresh, so we also had chanterelles for lunch.  There is a lovely little nursery and garden shop a five minute walk behind Jenn and Rich's house.  I have certainly been there before, but never for lunch.  They do an interesting salad buffet and today the hot main was slow roasted beef with a chanterelle cream sauce.  Divine!  And if that wasn't enough, they had a fabulous hammock chair on sale which made the perfect early Christmas present for Jennie.  She and TovaElise were so comfortable in it at the shop and now there is one hanging on the back porch.  I love giving gifts that are exactly what the person wanted.

The other tradition is, of course, a visit to Ikea.  The closest one to Gavle is in Valbo, about 10 km away.  I hope to cycle there someday -- there is a wonderful path that goes from here, but today was not the day despite the lovely weather.  My foot is improving, but I think that big a ride for the first time on a bike in 2 months, might be a bit much.  I did, however, walk into town, and although I was not fast, I did make it in 20 minutes.  The forecast for the rest of the week is quite good, so I hope to be able to do some riding before I leave.

There are a number of items from the garden which needed to be processed.  We cut, chopped, and froze chives. The third harvest of rhubarb is being made into a Swedish drink -- it was chopped and is sitting for 2 days with water, cloves and lemons.  Ikea sells juice bottles with resealable lids, so this must be a very common procedure.  The apples are on the stove steaming away and becoming applesauce.  I even picked a small dish of raspberries this afternoon.  Still on the plants are hundreds of cherry tomatoes -- most green, which will be processed into a chutney.  It has been a very good garden year.

If you go down to the woods today

You are certainly in for a big surprise -- and it is NOT a bunch of bears having a picnic, though there were enough goodies for a picnic.  I speak of blueberries and chanterelles.

We drove about a half hour north of Gavle where one of Richard's fellow teachers lives.  Their house backs onto a section of woods where Jennie had an amazing picking experience last weekend, and she was game to share that with me.

First there were blueberries.  I think we are close to the end of the season as it was obvious that many of the bushes had already been harvested.  However, there were still enough for us to get two one-litre containers using our handy berry picking devices.  I have seen them in Canada, but never used one before.  They made gleaning the tasty little blue gems quite easy.  With fingers to caress the berries and a design that catches most of the leaves, it is quite efficient.

The second treasure we for which we searched were chanterelle mushrooms.  I have NEVER gone mushroom hunting before.  Make no mistake, there were many different kinds of fungi in the woods -- most larger and more spectacular looking (and no doubt more poisonous) than the little yellow stemmed ones for which we combed the undergrowth.  There were pockets of them growing in the thick moss which covers the whole of the forest floor.  Little miss had a lovely 2 hour nap in the woods!

Back home we cleaned the berries with the handy dandy berry sieve which keeps the berries on top and drops the leaves through the slots.  (Hurray for the right tools)  The mushrooms got their stems trimmed and gills checked. Great treats for tomorrow's cereal and omelettes for dinner.

Travel-ease

Although Ian hates travel in general and airports in particular, I am always amazed and delighted with the ease of travel.

I was 2.5 years when I came to Canada with my Mom, Dad, and 2 siblings.  The Arosa Kulm left Bremerhaven and 11 days later arrived in Nova Scotia.  For my parents, it was the only true vacation they ever had -- nothing to do for more than a week but to show up for meals that someone else prepared and cleaned up, and play with the kids.  I also know it was a monumental excursion as they were leaving behind one life and coming to something virtually unknown -- although a number of my aunts and uncles had already emigrated, the amount of information which filtered back across the Atlantic, was sparse and without the answers to the myriad of questions they must have had.

And now to my day where I had researched and booked my flight and train tickets all in the comfort of my own home and on my own time over the internet.  I knew which tube station would get me to Heathrow easily.  The self-serve kiosks at the airport no longer intimidate me.  (I even can change seat assignments so that I get the aisle seat.)  I now have my own luggage scale so that I can confidently put the suitcase on the belt.  I can negotiate through Arlanda airport though I know no Swedish (OK, most of it has English translations).  Changing trains in Uppsala (with only about 2 minutes to make the change) went smoothly.  And Richard, on the platform in Gavle, already knew that the train would be late.  How much more relaxing than my parent's journey.

And when something goes so smoothly, one is inclined to do it more often!  Especially when there is such a sweetie waiting.

Old dog, new tricks

Make no mistake, I am not an old dog, but for the sake of the idiom, it does refer to me.

When my own kids were growing up, I was, in many ways, a strict disciplinarian.  I set the limits -- tried to do so using safety and fairness as the guide, and after explaining them to the kids, kept them whenever possible.  It was definitely a 'parent in charge' style of life around the house.  Choices for the kids were at a very simple level.

Joanna and Sham's household is much more kid-oriented in that the children have much more input in what goes on either for themselves or for the adults.  It is certainly not the way I was raised, nor the way our kids were raised, but it works for them.  There ARE many different ways to raise children and while some are obviously not good for the kids in the long (or short) term, the majority of parenting styles which caring and intelligent adults adopt, nurture healthy and happy kids.  Every path has some bumps, but for the most part, it goes along quite smoothly.

But those few bumps.  Kieran is 4 and has definite opinions about things, sometimes at odds with what the adult supervising has in mind.  My fall-back position is to be a strict rules enforcer (Driver) and have that run over people, but that is not the way K has been raised, so something has to change.  I cannot change the situation, but I can change my reaction to it.  I told K that Oma will not yell or argue when he says 'no' or does not want to comply, she will walk away.  The two instances where I have used that in the last 2 days, he has not ended up screaming or crying, but cooperated after a few minutes.  I did not make a big deal about his change, but reinforced that Oma loves him very much.  Admittedly, these were situations where walking out of the room was possible and there will, of course, be times when that is not possible.  How will I deal with those -- don't know yet, but I know it will be with a love for the child foremost in my heart.

Today's photo is from the Museum of Natural History -- awe inspiring!

The (really) Good Life

There was a commercial which claimed that "Happiness is yelling BINGO!"  Well, not for me, but for some of the people I encounter down at the Bingo hall, it must be.  But, knowing what it is that makes you happy, is a very helpful analysis of oneself.  (You got to have a dream, if you don't have a dream, how you gonna have a dream come true?)  There are many ways of expressing the positive outcome of figuring out what you want to do as a vocation, what you are really looking for in a partner, what style of house you want to live in, right down to what treats are the most satisfying.  And for each of us, it is different.

Sham, my handsome son-in-law, has found that the essence of a treat for him is chocolate covered almonds -- he likes cookies and cakes, enjoys fruit and wine, is known to indulge in frozen yogurt, but the one, single item to fulfil his day, is chocolate covered almonds.  (There is a hierarchy of these confections, and he has deemed the ones from Harrod's 'superb'.)

How much more contented we all would be if we figured out what we really liked and then concentrated on that.

I have been enjoying my ultimate dinner this week -- good bread and good cheese.  Beside the stinky blue and the gooey brie, there has been a Irish stout cheddar.  Life is really good!

Race Day!

Well, the weather forecasters in UK have about as much credibility as those in Canada.  The rain that was supposed to stop by 8 am continued in lighter and heavier incarnations all day.  (Try keeping 2 kids dry in a playground when all the surfaces are wet.)

Anyway, Joanna raced this morning and came in the top half of her age category.  Her times were a bit longer than she had hoped, but the transitions were long.  She looked really strong thoughout -- we were on the bike route where she did 3 loops and then the run loop was twice around the Serpentine.

The house is proving to be even better than we figured it would be.  I can't imagine the two kids in a hotel room for this whole time.  Here they can run off their energy, eat far more leisurely then in a restaurant, be separated from the adults to sleep, have more toys around, etc.  It is an excellent way for a family to travel.

Just want to say again,

how incredibly amazed and proud I am by Joanna's accomplishment.  She is WORLD CLASS!!!

London Transport Museum

There are many website which give lots of ideas for what to do with kids in London.  Many of those are for children slightly older than the 4 and 2 that we have.  Just looking at things isn't interesting enough, so we have to search for the interactive on topics which will engage Kieran -- Clara is interested in anything her adults play up.  So, today, it was the London Transport Museum just beside Covent Gardens.

That was the subway stop we took as our destination and the museum did not disappoint.  Models and reconstructions from the 1900s to today were available for kids to drive, ride, climb, watch.  A superb outing!

Joanna took her bicycle to the transition zone this afternoon.  She needs to be there early tomorrow --before the first racers starting at 8:00, to get the rest of the transition stuff ready, though she doesn't race till 9:10.  Here cheering section will be out in their special shirts and with their canadian flags.  Go Joanna, Go!

The first race

Wednesday was the first of Joanna's races -- a warm-up (if you can call the chilly swim 'warm') for the serious race on Friday.

She was off early in order to get her transition area ready for changing from the swim to the run.  The Serpentine is the water part of Hyde Park.  It is fairly extensive right there in the middle of London just behind Buckingham Palace.  It is also the home of hundreds of pigeons, ducks, geese and swans.  (Joanna said we did not want to know the condition of the water.)  The run course was around one section of the Serpentine and she did 2 laps so though we couldn't tell which swim cap was hers, we did see her running in her Canada uniform.  Go Mommy go!  The kids were most vocal in their support of Mommy, but their interest lags quite quickly, so it was a great thing that one of the several playgrounds of Hyde Park was very close.  Also, right there was a practise ring for the police horses and two delighted them with some jumping. The rest of us were delighted with Joanna placing the top Canadian woman in her age group!

Joanna's best friend Menaka flew in Wed. morning and joined us for dinner and then the Opening Ceremonies which took place in Trafalgar Square -- nicknamed Triathlon Square for the next 4 days.  There was big stage with loud music, lots of people milling around, a light rain the whole time, a parade of flags and lots of cheering.  The British team is, of course, the largest.  The other big groups are from USA, Canada and Mexico.  Not exactly a big Olympic production, but a fun time.

Bus, ferry, ship, subway

For those of you who don't know, the reason I am here in London with Joanna and family is that Joanna is a competitor for Canada in her age group at the World Triathlon Championships.  So for her, today was some swimming, running, cycling, and registering for the preliminary swimming race tomorrow.  Sham and I had the kids to ourselves.

We got the one day transit pass and then the kids kept talking about the double decker bus, so we hopped one of those which went through the center of the city and over towards St. Paul's.  It was a short walk to the Tower of London and Tower pier.  Here we caught a ferry and took it across the Thames to the south side where the HMS Belfast is anchored.  She is a WWII cruiser with 12 big guns and more smaller ones.  Being a floating museum, we had opportunity to climb all over from the bridge to the brig to the guns, through the kitchen and to the seaman's quarters.  Both kids loved it but particularly Kieran who is boat obsessed currently.  (He came back to the house and immediately made a Belfast out of lego and explained all the parts to his mom when she got back.)  Clara liked watching the birds and other boats out on the river, so a good time was had by all.

We found our way to London Bridge station and took the tube back to the house.  It is a good public system and for 7.30 pounds for the day pass, a good deal.  (Kids under 5 are completely free).  A little sprinkle did not deter us from heading to the local playground in Hyde Park -- also gave us a chance to scout out the best places to view Joanna's race tomorrow.  And, the ducks and geese are most obliging to gobble the excess bread one has in one's pocket.

Joanna and Sham are out to dinner this evening for their 8th anniversary.  I remember that wedding so well and now 8 years have gone by.  If one didn't see the kids and how they are growing so quickly, it would be almost impossible to believe the time has gone so fast.  Happy Anniversary and may you have many, many more happy years together.

London for residents

We are once again renting a regular house on a normal street in a residential area of a big city.  It gives one much more of an authentic slice of life here, so we look at it from (more of) a resident's view.  (We are not resident enough to get a key to the local private garden, too bad.)

Well, today the view was quite rainy -- not really the 'less than 1 mm' forecast by the weather network, but a light misting giving way to a more serious dribble by early afternoon.  The rain cancelled the parade in front of Buckingham palace, but the kids did get to see some horses, though not to hear the band as they march for the changing of the guard.  We visited the Royal Mews -- carriages and horses, for which there was, thankfully, no line up.  (The queue for visiting the Buckingham Palace staterooms was very long, but who is interested in just some fancy furniture and pictures.  Certainly not a 4 year old and a 2 year old -- if you can't bounce on it.)

Yesterday, the arrival day, was fairly hectic, but all the connections with cab drivers and rental agents went smoothly -- thank you Joanna for your great organization.  No one had managed to get a lot of sleep on the plane, (Clara had a total of 1.5 hrs)  so it was an exhausted group which went to bed shortly after dinner and bath and slept well all night.

The house is well located -- just a few blocks from Hyde Park where most of Joanna's racing will happen later in the week.  We are on a quieter side street so there is very limited late traffic noise.  It has a living room, dining room, kitchen, half bathroom and garage on the ground floor; two bedrooms and a full bath on the second floor and a very large bedroom wih ensuite full bath on the 3rd floor.  Clara has her own room on the second floor with Mommy and Daddy next door.  Kieran and I share the top floor space.  There is TV, internet, washer/dryer, dishwasher, frig and stove with oven.  I cannot guess at the age of the building, but there are many styles of structures in the area from many eras.

We find ourselves close to Sloan street -- every name brand fancy designer has a shop on this street, and just beyond that, Harrod's main store with all that entails.  I don't think there are many bargains to be had.

I am being faithful about wearing shoes inside the house and the boot when I go out.  It does make walking more of a chore, but with a stroller and buggy board on the back, I am not lagging behind.  So far it is the puddles which make for a problem.

And for dessert this evening, we stopped at Harrod's for some ultimate chocolate choices: for Shammie, for Clara and for me!  (Joanna is taking notes for after her race)

Last of Scotland

How to wrap up the Scotland visit?

Did I see all the sites of the area?  Did I try all of the Scottish delicacies?  Did I get the feel of all the different areas?  Did I get all the bargains?

No.  But:  I saw the cities, old and new; the sea coast; and the countryside.  I tried the shortbread, the haggis, the ecklefechan tart, mild and strong cheese, the local cider, fish on the waterfront, the ploughman's lunch, scones, beef and ale pie, and rabbit at Jamie Oliver's Italian restaurant.  I spoke to locals on the bus, listened to a number of guides on the buses, walked through the botanical garden, strolled around the seashore, and spoke to guides at local attractions.  I found a dress for a wedding, scarves, colouring books, socks.

How wonderful that there is still lots of Edinburgh left for me to come and explore should the opportunity present itself.

Today's picture is of Rhonda and me in front of a lion statue in St. Andrew's square.  It is carved out of the red sandstone that is so typical of buildings of the area.  The picture shows that sharing a good experience, makes it truly memorable.

Scottish coastline

This morning we found the Enterprise car rental and set off in our trusty black Corsa.  To Rhonda's surprise, it was a standard, but she found her form very quickly and we were heading north across the Forth bridge and then east to the picturesque coast she had visited about 15 years ago.

The sea coast is wonderful: we picked our way through a rock beach to the tidal pools, we wandered into a little coffee shop where there was a local business development meeting in progress, we visited a few little harbours where the fishing boats were already in for the day and cleaned up, we had fish at the Wee Chippy, recommended to us as the best place on the coast, we walked along the sea wall and smelled the salt air, we delighted in the gardens hung on the hillsides down to the water and we had afternoon coffee on an ocean terrace.  There was a bit of rain while we were driving, but not enough to stop us.

A lovely day -- thanks Rhonda for the great driving and tour!

Scottish history lesson

The second day of our special ticket found us with two attractions left -- Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyrood House.  Thank you, hop on, hop off buses with a guide to tell us about every street and special house.

High on a 350 million year old volcanic rock, sits Edinburgh Castle.  We walked through the castle and took in some of the regimental museums featured there as well as the memorial to the fallen of the first and second world war.  The one significant historic room in the castle was the room where Mary, Queen of Scots gave birth to James.

Lunch was at The Last Drop pub -- no, that doesn't refer to drink being good to the last drop, it is a comment on the public gallows which were in the square next to the pub.

The Palace of Holyrood House is still a Royal residence when the Queen comes to Scotland -- which she will do this week and therefore, after Tuesday, it will be closed to the public to prepare for the annual garden party. The marquis are already being set up for the 8,000 invited guests.  I don't think we are on the list, but we will be gone by then and could not, regrettably, attend.  It is a lovely building with the main rooms done in calm greens -- which is the Queen's favourite colour.

We lucked into mostly dry weather with the heavy rains coming while we were inside.  Another lovely day exploring Scotland.  Here's the palace at Holyrood House.

Hail Britannia

The Royal Edinburgh Ticket gets you discounted entrance to the Castle, Holyrood Palace, and the royal yacht Britannia.  The first two are slated for tomorrow and the last one we did today.

En route to the boat, we also stopped to see the Royal Botanic gardens while the forecast rain was still holding off.  It's a lovely spot with magnificent trees thanks to the maritime climate.  It has 10 glass houses for temperate and tropical plants, but outside is magnificent.  The season for rhododendrons is just past, but a few blossoms still linger, and the blue poppies were spectacular.  Then, it was on to the boat.

After the decommissioning of the yacht in 1997, several cities bid for the right to become the berth place and Edinburgh was chosen.  The boat is moored just opposite the cruise ship dock in Leith at the mouth of the firth of Forth.  It is beside a large mall, in fact, the entrance to the yacht is from the 3rd level of the mall by a glassed walkway.  The tour of the boat is fantastic with each visitor getting a wand to listen to about 30 stations each with their own narration.  One starts at the top of the boat and works down from the bridge, through the crews quarters, through the royal half of the ship and finally down to the engine room.  It is maintained in meticulous condition as the royals left it with many of the queen's articles remaining on board.  Suffice to say, tea on the yacht was a must.  The queen certainly travelled in style!

Royal Highland Show

The arrival in Edinburgh yesterday was right according to plan.  Found the building with the apartment and Rhonda arrived moments later.  We are staying downtown on the third floor of a building on a pedestrian only street.  It is filled with pubs and other shops and the noise of glass bottles clinking together in recycling went on late into the night.  We have two bedrooms, a nice living room, bathroom and an eat-in kitchen with stove, microwave, frig.  All the comforts of home under the roof of this building with skylights that open for ventilation.  It is furnished with lots of old silver plate decorative stuff.  Quite a nice spot.

This weekend is the Royal Highland Show -- the biggest agriculture show in Scotland.  And the display of farm machinery is larger than I have ever seen anywhere.  Big machines, little machines, everything from cattle hauling trailers to the latest little robot grass mower from John Deere.  However, in the homecraft division of sewing, knitting, quilting, our little Rockton fair has it beat hands down.  I don't know if people here are doing less or if it is too difficult for people to bring in entries for judging. There was no lack of shopping under tents or in some of the buildings and bargains to be had!  And, I tried haggis, neeps and tatties for lunch -- not bad.

The very convenient bus system took us out to the show and returned us about 8 hours later (buses running from downtown here every 10 minutes).  We were quite tired and after picking up a few dinner items, climbed back to our apartment and are making an early evening.