No More Meandering Abroad

My meandering abroad days have come to an end.  I leave tomorrow and head back to the States.  I'll spend ten days with my wonderful family in Virginia before heading to California to settle back in.
This time in London has been a true blessing for Bob and me.  We have experienced and learned so much, met many new friends and best of all we were able to share those experiences together.

Let me show you some of our favorite things:

This is the Pepperdine House.  It was built in 1875.  Before Pepperdine bought it, the house was owned by a member of Paraliament and then a Count from Austria.

Our home for a few months was 56 Prince's Gate Road.

We loved riding on The Tube and the buses.

Taking a walk along the River Thames  at night is lovely.

Attending church at Holy Trinity Brompton Church was an incredible worship experience.

We never tired of walking through the many parks in London.  This is a flower bed in Kensington Park. 

A favorite little stretch of Kensington Park for Bob and me.  We called it our little walkway.

The garden at Kensington Palace.

It was so fun wandering through the alleyways and finding cute little shops.

Last weekend Bob got up early to see the beginning to the auto ride from Hyde Park to Brighton.  The antique cars were from 1895 to 1910.  Some were electric and steam cars.

We loved the many duck ponds in the parks.

London has fantastic theater and we loved going to many of the productions.

I made a collage of some of the many things we did during our time in London.

It was fantastic to have our friends and family come visit. 

 Robbie and Bob in front of the Wellington Monument.

Robbie and me in St. James Park.

Robbie and Bob loved using the Barclay Bikes.

Susan & Jack Coffee in Trafalgar Square.  

Becky and Denise sipping their hot chocolate and watching the ice skating 

by the Natural History Museum.

All too soon my time in London was over.  

Someday, I hope to return and walk through those streets and parks again.

Cheerio!

T

Hiking Fall Paths In & Out Of London

The temperatures are starting to drop a bit.  The air is cool, moist and crisp.  It's my favorite time of the year!  Fall has arrived in London and I'm loving it!

One delightful aspect of our visit to London this time, that we didn't get to experience the last time we were here with small children, is hiking in and around London.  London is dotted with parks, large and small and well documented trails and hikes for all.  On Friday, our friends Janet and Steve joined Bob and me on a lovely hike in the country.  We took the Tube to the very last stop on the Metropolitan line to the small town of Chesham.  From there we walked through part of the town of Chesham and out, into and through some of the farms beyond the town.

The hike guided us along trails, and roads and frequently through farms.  There were well placed steps to lead us up and over fences, gates, and turn stiles of all designs.  Simple, polite signs reminded us to, "Please close the gates behind you." (Would you find that in The States?)

Denise & Bob

Denise & Janet

Our meandering took us past an ostrich farm. 

Approaching one of the many "kissing gates."

Yesterday, our friend John was in town so we took him on a stroll to Camden Lock, along the canal, and through Regent's Park. 

Some of the many colorful canal boats moored or traveling along the canal.

The fountain in Regent's Park

A gate into Regent's park with fall colors behind it.

It's not only boats that travel on the canal.

Regent's Park

I'm hoping to travel on these paths again before I return to The States.

The Isle of Capri and Sorrento

Lovely Capri

When our time in Rome came to an end, Bob and I took a three day tour group through Viator/Carrani Tours that took us to the ruins of Pompeii,  a two night stay in the cute town of Sorrento and a day trip to the Island of Capri.  It was a lovely, lovely way to end our time in Italy.

The colorful boats and buildings in the harbor of Capri made a nice picture.  We hopped off the ferry and onto a smaller boat that gave us a water tour around part of the Island.

It was a beautiful day.

There were many caves visible from the water.

We traveled up the steep road of the Island to the small towns of Capri and Anacapri.

Clear blue water of the Mediterranean Sea.

View from a terrace in Capri.

From the town of Anacapri we took a chair rail ride to the top to the Island.

We could see the large rocks that we had taken the boat through earlier in the day.

The following day we enjoyed wandering from our hotel, Grand Ambasciatori, through the quaint streets of Sorrento and down to its fishing harbor.

Our hotel was situated right on a cliff.  There were beautiful views from every window.  That is Mt. Vesuvius and Naples in the background.

At this point my camera had died so Bob used his phone to take pictures.  That is why I am in so many of the pictures in Sorrento.

Sorrento was a delightful little town with cute streets, plazas and cafes.  We continued our gelato tastings and it was in Sorrento that we found our favorite gelato. 

Look at the laundry hanging out the windows.  It just adds to the charm.

If I ever come back to Italy, I would love to return to this area again.  It was the PERFECT ending to our time in Italy.     Ciao!