March 27, 2020

We awoke to the news that Boris Johnson, Britain’s Prime Minister, has the Coronavirus. Here in the US the news is dreadful. Today we have more than 93,000 cases, 1384 deaths and 2424 people have officially recovered. Timmy and I are doing well, we are still isolating ourselves and spend most of our days reading and doing puzzles. I continue to walk and practice yoga. I plan on adding a daily meditation to my routine. I follow a really cool guy on social media, Leo Barbuta. He has a website, “Zen Habits”, with lots of free content, including tips on meditating. Check it out and let me know if it helps.
The Boris Johnson news turned my mind to the UK. We’ve visited several times since our retirement. Our first visit was in 2015, after an ocean crossing on Crystal’s Symphony – New York to Dover.

When we disembarked in Dover, we took a train to London, enjoying the scenery including the White Cliffs.
The two hour ride passed quickly.

Arriving early on a Sunday morning, our room at the Artist Residence was not ready. The Artist Residence is a 10 room boutique hotel located in the heart of Pimlico. It’s three blocks from Victoria Station and a short walk to the Tate Modern. The Hotels’ restaurant was closed for renovations, so we deposited our bags with Meg and Liga,  and walked up the street to the Thomas Cubitt Pub. Timmy ordered a scotch egg. His first ever. After our yummy meal, we set out to explore.

When it began to drizzle, we strolled over to the Tate Modern.

A view of the London skyline from the Tate.

Back at the hotel we checked in and discovered the lack of  lift. No worries…we’d sent most of our cruise luggage home via Luggage Concierge when we disembarked. The Artist Residence teems with original modern art and quirky furnishings.

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My favorite poster. Ever.

Here’s Timmy right before he nearly blew the room up. He plugged in and boom! Loud noise, tons of smoke, me screaming “Timmy, what the hell???”  He snapped the circuit breaker in the basement and blew the fuse in his power adapter. Never a dull moment when Traveling with my Timmy.

After a nap, we dined at St. George’s Tavern.

 

Next morning we ate breakfast in the hotel’s lounge. Johnny, the chef, worked magic with just a two burner electric stove. Meg made coffee and served us juice.

The lounge is a gathering place for guests, and is open throughout the day.

All set and ready to explore.

I loved the crest on the trash truck.

Miracle of miracles, the sun was shining, so we jumped on a Hop On Hop Off  bus.

Trafalgar Square.

I saw the sign and said “Hey Tim, your hat matches that building”.

 

After touring the city, we sailed down the Thames

Entry to the Traitors Gate

 

The Tower of London

Buckingham Palace is also a short walk from the Artist Residence.

The grounds are lovely

Bobbies!

No pics of lunch and I’m sure we took a nap.

Hungry we found our way to a wonderful neighborhood restaurant: About Thyme.

I found About Thyme in the Michelin Guide, it features  European cuisine, including Tapas. I remember the Spanish olives were amazing.

Tuesday, June 30, found us up and out early and on our way to Stonehenge, with stops along the way in the Cotswolds and a picnic lunch in Bath.

Outstanding scenery in the Cotswolds

The roof of this house is thatch

 

 

Low beam meets tall person

Once again we enjoyed stunning weather

This my first attempt at a panorama

Bath is a city in Somerset County, it’s named after the Roman built baths.
It is a World Heritage site with many incredible examples of Georgian architecture, hot springs and of course the Roman baths.

You know we love our really old rocks

Leaving the baths, we explored the town

And enjoyed a picnic lunch under a tree in this park

Beautiful views in all directions

Stonehenge.
It’s challenging to explain this magical experience … words like spiritual and transcendent do not quite capture it.

We both felt a mystical pull

A gentle vibration

On our last day, we had another wonderful breakfast

Here’s Johnny the breakfast chef with Timmy

Three eggs?

The view from our tiny balcony

On our way to the British Museum we came upon the Andorran Soccer team practicing in a park. The coach told us that Andorra is a Principality located high in the eastern Pyrenees, between France and Spain.

We have an affinity for Lions.

 

I wish I could remember what these are and why I felt the need to take this pic.

I took this pic because I was delighted to note the tomb of an Egyptian accountant.

We loved riding the Tube -London’s underground train system.

Late afternoon found us enjoying Tea at the Kensington Hotel.

We loved the experience and the hotel so much that we returned for an extended stay two years later.

We wish Boris Johnson well and a speedy recovery as he leads his country while battling the Coronavirus. And we send our love to all the magnificent citizens of the UK. We are all in this together.  I’m afraid that we here in the States are only at the beginning of a long ordeal. The virus is still spreading.  Stay home. Be well. Be kind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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