It’s always hard to say goodbyes, but a must in our case, we must say goodbye to Florence. On to Cinque Terre for three nights. But since we have flexible rail passes, we made a long stop in Pisa. We stowed our luggage and went for a quick look about the town. The walk was about a mile, so we got our steps in. We got lucky with beautiful weather and were surprised by the surrounding property. I grew up hearing about the leaning tower of Pisa but thought it was just like one building that had a bad foundation. I would have loved to have spent more time here, but we did make the most out of it and are now off on to Cinque Terre.
I’ve seen photos of Cinque Terre and thought I had a pretty good idea of it. In some ways, my mental concept was spot on, and in others, it was not even close. Yes, it’s very hilly – you have towns on the cliffs. But somewhere in my mind, I had the walks as straightforward, just like walking on a sidewalk. Also, the distance is a little further about than what I had imagined. But the narrow streets and steps were just as tricky as I had thought. Of course, one does need to be in reasonably good shape. If not, you will be by the time you leave.
Our place was in Riomaggiore. The actual house was tiny and had not much room for two people, but it was okay since we only slept there. But our patio made up for the small house. We had a table for six and three lounge chairs to relax and watch the sunsets and the stars. The first night we got two pizza’s to bring back to the patio and had some wine to watch the sunset—a truly relaxing time. Sunset is an event every night in Riomaggiore. It’s like the town comes out to watch fireworks.
Though we were only staying three nights in Cinque Terre, we did a private wine tasting at LVNAE. We thought it would be fun to explore Sarzana before catching a Taxi to the vineyard. We didn’t know that most Sarzana closes from 12:30 – 4 because of a lack of tourists. So we missed out on the fortress and shopping, but enjoyed the lemon trees and had a nice lunch.
Katy and I are seasoned travelers and don’t usually get on the wrong train or miss flights. But in Cinque Terre, we did make a mistake that turned out to be a great find. We purchased a day pass to ride the ferry from Riomaggiore to Monterosso. Unfortunately, we got on the wrong boat and went to Porto Venere. Porto Venere is worth the boat ride if you ever visit Cinque Terre. In Porto Venere, it was easy to fix our mistake, and we were quickly on our way to Monterosso.
Morning in Riomaggiore Enjoying the awesome sunset in Riomaggiore Manarola
One can do years of research on Florence and still not get the whole experience. Whether you have a day or two or if you have a week, the things to see are limitless. Once again, it’s all about being in the moment. We arrived on a Saturday afternoon and left on Thursday morning. It was action-packed, relaxing, tiresome, and a total joy. We had dinner with Kindel and Zack, who got engaged in Venice. We enjoyed some fine Guinness and Jameson at one of the numerous Irish pubs while it poured on Sunday. We enjoyed a horseback ride to a winery, and we even enjoyed climbing about 500 stairs to the top of Duomo. We had a cooking class out in the beautiful country, making pasta from scratch and tiramisu. We enjoyed strolling through the many squares, popping into the incredible museums, and listening to the city. The walk to Michelangelo park was so lovely we did it twice. But the best part was the welcoming people of Florence.
Duomo from Michelangelo park Not perfect, but tons of fun The people are the best!
Spring of 1992 was my first trip off the continent of North America. A big deal from a boy from Posey. Now 30 years later and having been blessed with showing the world to our kids. Katy and I are visiting Italy for the first time. Not sure why we have never been. Maybe it is the fact that one develops a common affection with an area, for us, that is Scotland, which makes sense since we have a lot of Scottish in us.
Traveling to a new country is like golfing on a new golf course. You do your research, read reviews, look at the layout and scorecard, and even talk to folks that have played the course. This research might help you mentally prepare for a particular hole or anticipate how the greens will roll. But once you experience the course, you will look back on your research and maybe agree on some points but have a different perspective on others—no right or wrong answers. You now have your understanding of the course. There may be holes where you laid up, and the next time you will not. There might have been times when you over-thought a shot. But the key is that you play. Same for traveling. It doesn’t matter the size of the country, small or large. You will not experience everything, so be in the moment and enjoy what you are seeing.
For our trip to Italy, the first question is how long and how can we maximize our first-time experience without exhausting ourselves. Our goal was to pick a few spots and give ourselves time to explore. So we went for five nights in Florence, three nights in Cinque Terre, and eight nights in Rome (with one night in Naples). That’s the plan. We know there is much more to see and experience in Italy, but that will be another course for another day.
Traveling is a great way to open yourself to grow and expand your horizons. We have told the kids many things over the years about our travels, and the number one rule is that you have to be 100% present. You can not be thinking about back home or what you will be doing next. So the best way to get the most out of your travel is to be 100% present. To help me to be present, I treat my travels like wine. Never in a rush and mostly intentional. I first open my eyes and process what I’m seeing. Is it busy or quiet, skyscrapers or just small buildings? Are the buildings new, or are they historical? Just let your eyes do the work.
As you swirl the wine around the glass, what do you smell? Diesel or flowers? Take your time; it’s like wine. It will open up. Compare your first impressions vs. after it’s been breathing for a while – how has it changed? Is one part of the area different from another location? It might be soft during the day but bold at night. Or it might be busy during the day and sleepy after dark.
Finally, you take your first sip. Is it dry or sweet? What type of body does it have? How are the tannins and the acidity? Ultimately, is it to your liking? Like the wine, you have to let it breathe and open up. Once it does, did it change your attitude? Again, like wine, it’s not about the price but your experience. One can enjoy a $20 bottle of French Bordeaux as well as a $100 Napa Cab. Again, it’s not the price, but what provides you with enjoyment!
Don’t rush to finish that glass or bottle. Instead, enjoy the company and discussions. Get to know the locals and their stories. Cheers and Happy Travels.
One of the reasons we are going to Italy is the history and beauty. Maybe because all of our children have been there and we have not. Maybe more of that. But as a student of history, how can you not spend time in Italy?
So history will differently shape our visit, but something that we both enjoy is wines. Though nowhere close to being a Sommelier, we do enjoy good wine. So to prepare, I want to do a deeper dive into Italy’s wine history and regions. So that when we go, we can be ready to enjoy the wine to its fullest. So the first region, and a region that we might not get to is Piedmont. Though there are several spellings, I’m using WineTourism.com spelling. So with that, here are two sites that I’m using for my research.
So yesterday we opened two bottles. The plan was for four bottles, but there was no way the two of us could drink four bottles; we decided to do two at a time.
We went with a Langhe Nebbiolo from Osvaldo Viberti vs. a Barolo from Cordero Montezemolo. It was tough to discern the difference between the two bottles. The color, smell, and tastes were very similar. Both bottles were perfect and to our likings. However, the Barolo was more pronounced on the nose and slightly deeper in color, and at the end, I favored the Barolo over the Langhe Nebbiolo. Since Barolo are Nebbiolo grapes, why is one called Barolo and the other Langhe Nebbiolo? The link below helped me to understand the difference – https://www.wine-searcher.com/regions-langhe+nebbiolo. The two bottles that we didn’t open are Barbera D’ Asti and Barbera d’ Alba, same grapes, two different areas – though they are only miles apart. I think tonight we will see if we can find the differences. Next week we will have to explore the other wine regions. So far, it looks like we will spend a week in Rome – using it as our hub and making day trips to the south. And then Florence for a week and using it as a hub. And always open to suggestions.
Traveling is so much fun. I love the experience of a different place, a different country. I love meeting new people and seeing how they do things and how they enjoy life. But, the part of traveling that I fear the most is deciding where, when, and all the details. Ok, the where isn’t that difficult. It’s the when and the elements.
I want the perfect experience and perfect weather. I like the cheapest flight, best values. I want the best pricing on accommodations. And this is where I reach my first set of rapids – using the white water rafting analogy. Then it’s on to what will the weather be like while we are there? Will, it be too hot, cold, wet, dark, etc.? These are my second set of rapids.
And now I’m at the age where I want to experience the different things like going to Ottery of Saint Mary for their 500+ year tradition of Guy Fawkes day. I want to experience events that others don’t get to experience.
Like our last trip to England and Scotland, we have been there many times, and it was easy to navigate the “rapids” because we have been down the river many times. But, now we are starting to plan for our 30th anniversary and thinking about Italy. Katy and I have seen much of this wonderful world, yet neither has been to Italy. So we have a new “river” to navigate and rapids that we have never experienced. And you through on a language issue on top of everything else.
I don’t think there is any magic to figuring out the details. The trick in traveling, at least for me, is to be 100% present in what you are doing. In other words, don’t worry about what you are missing. You will never be able to do everything or see everything on a trip. That is why you go back. But the key to a great trip is being present in what you are doing at every moment. Take it all in and make what you see and experience the best.
So for the 2022 trip to Italy, we would like to go in April or early May. Though our anniversary is March 28th, several things are going on. Plus, the factors are that the weather should be better in April and May than in March. Though summer is the best weather there, so are the crowds—another factor to consider. We have checked airfare, and it’s not bad for the period that we are planning.
So what to see is going to be our biggest hurdle. We love history, and Italy has plenty of history. We love small villages, coasts, and mountains – Italy has all those. We love food and wine. So, where do we start? I’m going to open up a shared file that we can start making a list and what we want to do, and then we can focus and prioritize and then go from there. Happy to hear other ideas and techniques.
As a couple that loves to travel, you almost felt something was coming. Iceland at the end of January 2020 was a great trip. Katy went from there to Japan for a week and Germany for two more weeks for work. She returned at the end of February. My next adventure was the Big 10 Basketball tournament. Byran, Jim, and I had great seats to all of the games and had a room downtown when this thing called COVID hit. That got shut down, and Katy’s and I’s big adversity trip to New Orleans got canceled. The shutdown was on – but for how long? No one knew.
At first, it was two weeks, and then we’ll be back in the office. Then it was April and then July, and then finally 2021 But, since working from home was new to us, we did book a condo on Wrightsville Beach for two weeks – where we worked and enjoyed the downtime. Even though COVID shut down most stores, there was take-out, and grocery stores were open. However, they did have some silly rules, like our outdoor swimming pool was closed so people could not gather. Also, the police were driving the beach, making sure that no one was sitting – you had to be moving or exercising. The drive to Wrightsville Beach is an easy 11-hour drive and a great way to see America. We did take extra precautions about getting gas because not every gas station was open.
We were planning on remodeling our kitchen and lower level. Initially, the schedule was to start in March, but we put it off because we were working from home. After getting noticed that we would be working from home for most of the year, we decided to renovate while we were still working from home. So we got that re-scheduled, and they were finally able to start in October. It was the change that the house needed, and I’m super happy that we did it. But even so, the lockdown was still on – not going out, not going to football games, we got used to it. So I was stunned that Katy got me a trip to the UK for 2.5 weeks as a Christmas gift. It took me a second to figure out that it was a trip because the gift was a sheet of paper with sets of numbers and letters. When you’re not expecting a trip, it’s hard for your brain to process the ticket and confirmation codes. The plan was to go in late April through early May. Excitement was beyond words!
So as the new year rang in, a new wave of COVID began, and more chaos pursued. The UK shut down to foreign visitors and or a ten-day quarantine period. So we decided to push the trip to the end of September through early October. And now we just need to see what happens.
Fall of 2020, once everything went back into shut down mode, we needed another escape, so we booked an Aruba vacation for Feb 2021. The island had a curfew from 11 pm to 5 am (when you are our age, that didn’t affect us). It was one of the most relaxing vacations – morning walks with beautiful scenery, spent the afternoons chilling on the beach, and then walking somewhere for outdoor dining. The best thing was that there weren’t many tourists, so it felt like we owned the place. As you can see from the pictures from the link above, we did a lot. But we also learned that traveling wasn’t that hard. Because we still had leftover dollars on airlines, we booked a trip to Vegas and some hiking at the Grand Canyon for August. Fly into Vegas and then drive 4.5 hours to the south rim of the Canyon. That is a beautiful drive – nothing like the drives in Indiana. Once again, we felt like we owned the Canyon – though there were folks there, the parking lots were mostly empty. We had no problems or lines to wait in to get into the park. Locals told us that there could be up to a four-hour line to get into the park during peak season. We found that interesting because the WSJ had written an article about how people were flooding the national parks, and it was hard to get in. Maybe it was because we went mid-August, and most schools were back in session.
And now life is about to speed up—a lot of activities going on in September. Sarah and Drew wanted only to have one car in Indy for their special weekend. So, Labor day weekend Katy and I went to Madison, WI, to pick up Sarah. Great weekend in Madison with 80,000 footballs fans at the game and around 140,000 in total. Sarah and Drew’s wedding number two happened; They officially married in 2020, but this was their official celebration. It was a great time, and even downtown Indy had gone maskless. It was a great event with around 120 folks. And so far, no word of COVID. You read how everything is shutting down and how vaccinated folks are getting sick and going to the hospital – I guess they call that “Break Through” cases. Anyways – I don’t care what the person’s vaccination status next to me is because I’m vaccinated. I’ve done my part, and I can’t control what everyone else does or doesn’t do. So I’m not letting them control my life. And now we are only a few days away from the trip.
Bruce flew to London Sep 12, 2021to start his next chapter in getting his Masters in Medieval Studies from the University of Exeter. His leaving helped us to figure out all of the unique COVID things that we have to do.
It’s Monday, and we leave Wednesday afternoon. It’s finally hitting that we are getting to go. We are all set for accommodations, rental car, internal flight from London to Islay, Scotch tours scheduled; it’s time to go.
So this morning, we have to get a COVID test so that we can fly on Wednesday. I can’t lie; this is one test that I’m not sure what the outcome will be, even though I feel lovely. So yes, I’m excited about the trip, but what if one of us has a postiive test? Both feel fine, but now it hit me that our whole experience comes down to one medical test (actually two). I guess that I’m a little concerned or worry is that for the past three weeks, it’s been non-stop, Madison, the wedding, the Colts game on Sunday. That’s the most folks that we have been around in the past 18 months.
The plan
So the high-level plan is to fly from Indy to Heathrow (9/22 depart and 9/23 arrival). Pick up the rental car and drive down to Weymouth – the Jurassic Coast area. Make one stopover to see Bruce in Exeter and then spend the week doing day hikes. On the 29th, we return the rental car and fly from Heathrow to Islay. We have a place in Port Ellen until Oct 5th, when we fly back to London and spend the last three nights. I am excited because we have reservations at an excellent restaurant (that I’ve been trying to get to for several years). I hope I didn’t set the bar too high. Also, while in London, we want to meet up with some of Shannon’s college roommates/friends. And then, finally, we head home on Oct 8th.
So that’s the plan – I’ll update the Actuals as we go along.
Actuals
Okay, game on! The COVID test came back negative! Usually a very positive person, I’m okay with being negative.
Day One (Thursday)
Indy to DC was uneventful, except that I saw one of the most incredible rainbows of all time and couldn’t get my phone camera to turn on quick enough. I slept hard on the flight from DC to London and was okay to drive the 3 hours to Exeter (160 miles) to have lunch with Bruce. Then only 1.5 hours from Exeter to Weymouth (61 miles). And then another hour to park after we unloaded at the Airbnb. The hour to park was mostly our vault, but all good in the end. We would make a great team for that traveling show but might have been the last to complete the task of parking.
Weymouth is 100% a beach town with a lot of character. I can see this place packed during the summer – you have the promenade, but you have all the other shops and pubs along the bay as well. But with COVID, I think we were the only American’s here. The people were great, and we had many great conversations. It’s a long day and time to crash hard tonight.
COVID – the lines to get through Custom was at a record low. We were at the bus stand to pick up our rental car in about 15 minutes – and that included the 10-minute walk from the plane to the Customs area and hitting the ATM to gets some pounds. Though our plane was packed (from what I could see), the number of arriving planes was way down. The guy at the rental car said it is picking up, but they usually run about 500 rentals a day but are only at about 100 / day now.
The hardest part about going was the hour it took to upload all of the documentation the night before – COVID test result and passenger location (a long-form) but that way, they can track where you sat if they find someone is positive. So we didn’t have to show anything at Customs even though we printed off our vaccination cards, test results, and passenger location forms. And sort of felt cheated because they didn’t stamp our passports. But our Custom Agent was excited that we were going to Islay – she said that her family is from there.
Driving here isn’t any different than driving at home – except you are on the right side. Just remember, the driver is always in the center of the road. And get an automatic, not a manual. We made that mistake back in 1993 on our second trip over. Also, you now have to focus on the lines on the right. The final nuance is that you need to watch your left side when pulling into parking spaces – twice I freaked out Katy as I was about swipe the parked car on the left. I managed to stop in time to make adjustments, but they did get Katy’s heart flowing.
Saying this, the drive from London to Exeter was pretty easy – M (Interstate) for about the first 40 miles and then a four-lane divided highway for most of the rest and then the last 30 miles two-lane roads. We were surprised that we drove right past Stonehenge. We have been there as a family several years ago and knew that a highway ran close by – I have some of those pictures but wasn’t expecting that we were on that road. The drive from Exeter to Weymouth was easy, but mainly two lanes and going up and down through rolling, beautiful countryside.
Day Two (Friday)
It wasn’t the best night of sleep, but we were up and the sun shining. Since we only had a big picture of what we wanted to do, we headed out for breakfast. We found this fun little breakfast place and got traditional English breakfast – eggs, toast, beans, sausage, hash browns, and Americano black. It was great and not that expensive. Anyways we went through our options and decided that we were going to see the Durdle Door. By car, it’s only a 15-mile drive; to walk, it would have been about 8 miles. So we drove, knowing that we would be hiking about 6 miles anyways. So we went to Lulworth Heritage Center and parked there. Plenty of parking. We weren’t rushing the day, just letting it come to us. It was 11 am by the time we parked and paid for the day.
The first thing that this walk greets you with is a tiny 400 feet elevation hill that wakes you up. Well maintained and very wide for it is prevalent. Take your time and enjoy the view as you head up. From there, the day has started. Again, take your time and enjoy the views. The Durdle Door is special because of the views. You are on the Jurassic Coast, and a “dragon” is coming out of the sea. It takes you back to another time. Though the time said an hour and 32-minutes, it was just over 2 hours because of the stops we took to enjoy God’s wondrous creation.
We had plenty of daylight left, so we decided to take another hike—this time to the right and see the fossil forest. Once again, take your time and enjoy the views. Two servicemen opening the military range greeted us when we got to the top of the hill. The path goes two ways, the first goes along the military range (for when the range is close), and the other goes through the range. Going through the range is a more leisurely hike, so we were happy to see the servicemen opening it up.
The one thing that we talked about is how this area reminded us of so many other places. Not like in general, but different sections. Though this is not the Grand Canyon, the elevation change makes it comparable. You have beautiful cliffs that you can see for miles that are similar to the Cliffs of Mohr. You have giant boulders on the beach like Diamond beach in Iceland – Boulders vs. Ice, but they stand out the same. Tree-covered hiking path like you would find in Indiana. Beach activity like you would find at any small beach community.
So after arriving around, 11 am we were heading back around 4:30 pm. A nice shower and ditching the hiking shoes for lightweight tennis shoes was a welcome change. Even though it was Friday night, after doing over 20,000 steps and climbing 90+ flights of stairs, we were ready for dinner at the Ship Inn and calling it an early night.
Day Three (Saturday)
Sorry that I’m late posting Day three. The night before, Katy and I had a blast wandering from pub to pub and meeting and talking to so many friendly folks. We watched the new episode of Ted Lass when we got back to the Airbnb. Well, Katy did; I fell asleep before it started and never woke up until the morning. So instead of posting day three, I watched Ted Lasso. Great episode, by the way.
So Day Three is about the Two-day Test that we had to do to arrive in the country. We took a COVID test three days before we left and were negative. So once you arrive, you have three days (A two-day test, but the first day is day 0) to test and send it off to the lab. Finding a drop-off box is easy in London, but not so much in Weymouth. The closes drop-box is in Poole, about 20 miles away. Because of this, we planned our day exploring the east end of the Jurassic Coast. In hindsight, this was silly because the test was self-administered, and I’m not sure I did it 100% correctly. Also, instead of doing the test in Weymouth, we could have just done it at the airport and not have the issue of finding a drop-box.
So we headed to Poole to drop of the tests and then off to Corfe Castle. The last time we were at Corfe Castle was in December of 2013 with the kids. But that day, it was too windy to go into the castle. So why not try again. We even had lunch at the same pub that we had with the kids. To many, seeing 1,000-year-old castles isn’t that interesting, but to us, we enjoy the scenery, reading about the history, and most of all, seeing how the community embraces the castle.
Since we were only a few miles away from Swanage, the end of the Jurassic Coast, we decided to make the drive and walk about the town. Though there are plenty of hikes, we decided to give our legs a break. One thing that has surprised me the most is that all of the communities embrace their environment. Meaning that even though it was overcast and officially fall, folks were still at the beach and still swimming in the water. You had lots of folks with these cool little shacks sitting, reading the paper, having coffee (or something enjoyable), and just enjoying life.
Since we were away, we thought about doing one more stop. There is a winery in the area that is changing the game of sparkling wine. So we checked to see if Bride Valley Winery was open, but it closed at 2 pm on Saturday; it was almost 3 pm. So out of luck, we headed back to Weymouth to enjoy the Saturday late afternoon and evening.
We had a blast going to several pubs and meeting lovely folks. What we learned is that Weymouth is a destination for stag parties. And it being Saturday, we ran into several. Also, we ran into a group of friends that meet up each year for a weekend. We found it entertaining that each was wearing some sort of sporting team uniform, mainly rugby, but you had a tennis guy and even a WWF guy. At first, we thought they had just come back from a match, but then we asked, and they told us the story that they have been doing this for 20 years. The night before, they all dressed up as black tie security – including the earpiece.
So after our usual stop at Waterloo and running into our new friends David and Julie, we were heading to “home” to watch Ted Lasso, but I didn’t make it out of the intro.
Day Four (Sunday)
So I started the day off by watching Ted Lasso while Katy got another hour of sleep. Then, we went to breakfast to plan not just the day but the next couple of days. Looking at the radar, it looks like Sunday and Monday will be dry days, but Tuesday is calling for rain all day. Since we have been to the east, we thought Tuesday would be a good day to keep the car parked and take a train to Plymouth, actually in the Cornwall area. Also, that morning, I had emailed Bride Valley Winery to see if it was possible just to stop by and look around.
So after breakfast, we stopped by the train station to confirm what we thought was a good plan for Tuesday. We went ahead and purchased the round-trip tickets. We text Bruce to meet us in Plymouth on Tuesday instead of coming to Weymouth on Monday. So it’s all coming together.
But for the day at hand, the plan is to hike 8+ miles around the island of Portland. What a great find. Though it was 9.25 miles when all was said and done, the views were amazing. Though you have some inclines, it’s not a strenuous hike at all and not like the hikes we had done two days prior.
Safe to say, it was an early night for us. Just a couple of pubs and then back home. But two things did happen. One Bride Valley Winery responded to my message and said that even though they are closed on Monday, they have a vendor tasting and can join them. And two at the Waterloo, we had another great time with our new friends and will meet them Monday night for dinner.
Day Five (Monday)
On Saturday, we wanted to visit Bride Valley Vineyard but couldn’t make it there in time. The next time they would be open, we would be in Scotland. So, I emailed Bride Valley, saying that we are sorry that we missed them, and asked if there was any way to come out and just look around. I sent the email Saturday early evening and got a response early Sunday morning. Saying yes, they have a private vendor tasting and that we could come out around 1:30 – 2 pm on Monday.
Now we need to find something to do in the morning. We were leaning towards staying in Weymouth and maybe kayaking or seeing if we could get on a boat. But what I didn’t share from Sunday was that when we returned from Portland, our flat in the Airbnb didn’t have electricity, so we had to call the owners. They were on it, and they allowed us to shower in another flat. While we were in that process and fixing the electricity issue, our discussion went to what we had done and our plans. They mentioned the Jurassic Coast to the west is the best to find fossils. So instead of staying in Weymouth, we decided the day plan would be to visit Charmouth.
Once again, no hurry in the morning. We were on the road by 10 am. Charmouth was about 30 miles away, an hour’s drive. From there, we were able to visit the Heritage Center and walk along the coast looking for fossils. Knowing that Bride Valley was about 13 miles away, but traffic was getting crazy because of the gas shortage, we decided we needed 45 minutes to get there. Come to find out, Maps re-routed us away from the traffic, and we got there in about 30 minutes. Once we turned off A35 on-to the road to the Vinyard – it was all one lane (though traffic is still two directions) with many pull-off spots. Fortunately for us, we didn’t see anyone else. Katy took some fantastic photos because the road is so traditional English.
Bride Valley Vinyard, all I have to say is “Thank You!” These people are so lovely, beyond words. Since we were a little early, we parked on the street and walked through the stone gate. I would have pulled in, but the width and angle of the turn into the stone gate were a little intimating to me, so I just parked on the road. We walked in, and it’s a beautiful facility. Felt like no one was there, but as we headed to the tasting room, I heard someone behind a door. I knocked and scared the shit out of Mo. She was focused on something at the computer and hadn’t heard us come in. We introduced ourselves. I was surprised that Mo was a woman; I had it that Mo would have been a guy in my simple mind. Mo is one of the most excellent persons you will ever meet. She welcomed us with open arms and took us upstairs. She gave us the history of the vineyard and Steve Spurrier. Though Bruce had told us to watch “Bottle Shock” and maybe even reminded me, I never put Bride Valley Vinyard with the person in the movie. But yes, this is the Steve Spurrier that in 1976 got the french to admit that Napa wines were just as good – universally known as “Judgment of Paris.”
Mo said that there was a restaurant here for a tasting. A method to sell their wines to local restaurants. She said that we could either do our tasting inside or join the folks from the restaurant. Making it easier on Mo and Graham, we decided to join the folks from the restaurant. Come to find out; it’s the only Michelin restaurant in Dorest – the Catch at The Old Fish Market. They were nice enough to allow us to crash their party. The tasting was great, the wines were first class, and Mo and Graham and the folks from the restaurant were world-class. I wanted to purchase a few cases, but I was limited to four, seeing how we are heading to Scotland in a few days. So we are taking those on the train this morning. The Dorset Cremant is for Katy and me to have on the morning train, we are giving the Pinot Noir and the Pinot Noir Rose to Bruce to take back to Exeter, and then we will have the last Pinot Noir on the train back. Before leaving, Mo told us to go to Hive beach and take the coastal road back to town. Once again, great suggestion. I was driving, so you will have to see Katy’s pictures. Some of the best views in the world.
To continue the great day, we meet up with our new friends David and Julie for dinner. The plan was to eat at Parkers, but they were full, so we made the walk to the Esplanade and found a place. We had good food and great conversation. We then walked to Waterloo for one last drink and laughs. David and Julie are heading home on Tuesday.
Day Six (Tuesday)
Looking at the weather since we arrived, Tuesday looked like an all-day rain. So we plan to take a train from Weymouth to Plymouth. Though much quicker to drive, maybe a two or 2.5-hour drive, we decided to take the train, which is 4 hours, but much more relaxing. This plan worked out perfectly because it was an easy train for Bruce to catch from Exeter to Plymouth. Katy and I arrived in Plymouth around 1 pm and Bruce around 2:30. Katy and I spent the time waiting on Bruce at the Ship Inn down by the harbor. We had a good time trying their local beers and talking to Alan, who has never been to the states but has a Chicago Bears tattoo. He explained that was because as a kid he was a fan of William Perry, a.k.a. The Fridge.
When Burce arrived, it was raining cats and dogs, so we met him at the Box. An excellent museum and – wait for it – a great exhibit about the Mayflower. I find it interesting that our kids still love going to museums even though there are hundreds of pubs all around. I know that I never thought about going to a museum at their age.
After the Box, we did stop by a campus pub – the University of Plymouth, for a pint and some pizza before we started the 4-hour trip back to Weymouth.
So, as you can see, a quiet day for our final day in Weymouth. Since it’s early and we are flying up to Islay, a fantastic Scottish Island. I’ll share a picture that Katy captured from our two-hour drive to Heathrow. The image that Katy took
Day Seven (Wednesday)
Another long day of traveling, but once again, get to see some of the incredible beauty that God has to offer. The plan for the day was to drive 2+ hours to London Heathrow, drop the rental car off, and then fly up to Glasgow and then to Islay.
Always sad to say goodbye, but Weymouth was such a great host. Our Airbnb was very friendly, and the owners were very kind. It had rained before we got on the road at seven, so the streets were wet, but it wasn’t raining, just the spray from the road. The traffic wasn’t bad, and we had no issues returning the car. Other than that we didn’t put petrol into it. Because the queues were too long because of the gas shortage (perceived.)
We arrived at Heathrow airport way too early, but we weren’t sure if we needed to do more COVID testing or not, so we errored on having more time than rushing it. We didn’t, and so we chilled for a while. Not a big deal – had breakfast and read.
The flight to Glasglow was non-eventful. So we landed around 2 pm, and as we exited the plane, we noticed that all the gate areas were empty. So we walked to all of the gates, and all of the stores were closed up no vending machines, and most of all, no people. But finally, we saw a security guard and asked him, and he led us to an area away from the gates but had pubs and stores and most of all people.
This trip is becoming a rainbow trip. We saw a few on the Jurassic Coast, but there was one at the Glasglow airport, and this one Katy took from her seat on the flight to Islay. Like I said earlier, God is showing his beauty.
Islay is very small, and it was the quickest time to get our rental car. All I did was show my driver’s license, and I had the keys before the luggage was ready. Our house has a great view and is very spacious. We kept it simple last night and had an excellent diner and then surprisingly met two young kids (well, at least they were born in the ’80s) and had a wonderful time talking about life and having lots of laughs until the pub closed around 11 pm.
Day Eight (Thursday)
Let the fun begin. We started by easing into the day, didn’t leave the house until around 10 am. First, we went out to Ardbeg to schedule a tasting for tomorrow at noon. Then we went to our tasting at Laphroaig. There Katy and I and two others had a fabulous time tasting from three different barrels.
Though I was driving, I got to smell and have a small tasting. Of all three samples we tasted, we got to get 250 ml of our favorite to take home in lovely bottles. Mine was the first; Katy’s was the last. Though I did enjoy the second one, we felt that the second one was closer to what we could get on the shelves back home. If you ever have the opportunity to spend the money for the warehouse tasting, it is worth it. I was amazed that it took about 90 minutes for us to sample the three barrels. These samples are not whiskeys that you’ll see in the store, and the history and conversations – even among the four tasters were very enlightening. Even though I wasn’t consuming like Katy, it was delightful and educational. I have to say that Laphroaig set the bar high for the rest of our tours.
After the tasting, we traveled the ten miles to Bowmore for lunch and a walk around. Once back in Port Ellen, we chilled for a while, a.k.a napped. Before leaving the house, we were trying to plan for the coming days while on the island. The thing that surprised me was that even though there are only 3,000+ folks that live on the island, you have to schedule everything ahead of time. Maybe it is because of COVID, but you have to book a table to get dinner, and it is tough to do on the same day. Even though we have a car, we failed to schedule a taxi for Friday’s tasting because you have to book so far in advance. We thought about walking the three-mile out and three miles back, but since Friday is supposed to be raining and very windy, we agreed to drive.
So with Friday planned out, Katy and I took a little walk around town and were planning on getting takeout for dinner. But we instead went to Islay Hotel’s bar and had a wonderful dinner and drinks. Afterward, we went to #1 Charlotte Street, our last stop for the night pub. Then, while enjoying some fine pints, we planned that Saturday would be a driving day to see the whole island and that Monday would take the ferry to the island south of here.
Day Nine (Friday)
Thursday night, looking at the weather forecast for Friday, Katy and I were trying to figure out the best game plan for Friday. Knowing that we had two tastings back-to-back, the best scenario would have a driver drop us off at first and then pick us and take us the second and then pick us up to take us back to Port Ellen. The most straightforward plan would have to walk the three miles to Argbeg, walk to the second, and then walk back to Port Ellen, but that plan was the least favorite because of the weather forecast of rain and wind. So the final option was to drive, and one not fully participate in the tasting. Because we couldn’t hire a driver, we went with the last option; And it worked out fine.
Like most days, we started the day off just relaxing, reading, writing, and slowly drinking coffee. No rush at all. We only had three things were on our schedule for the day; Argbeg at noon, Lagavulin at three, and dinner at 8:40. So with plenty of time, we walked to our go-to place for a full Scottish breakfast at 10 am. God greeted us at our front door with a fantastic rainbow.
With Laphroaig sitting the bar very high, we were excited to see how Ardbeg and Lagavulin will compare. First up is Ardbeg; Since we drove, Katy decided that I could taste and that she would do the driving – I love that woman! Unlike Laphroaig, Ardbeg doesn’t provide any samples to go. You can only sample on-site. They do this because folks were selling the samples for big dollars, and they didn’t like that. Laphroaig mentioned that some sold theirs for big dollars and embraced it. These tastings are not cheap, and your sort of paying for it anyways. We did not pay for Katy to sample. However, she got to sip on some and experience most of the tasting. Once again, the 90 minutes flew by. We got to experience six different scotch. The fourth sample was from a 33-year-old single sherry cast. Only 415 bottles were produced, distilled in 1975 and bottled in 2008. That is the best alcohol that my lips have ever touched. I like these intimate tastings because you are free to ask questions and even re-sample if necessary. I felt it necessary to try that sample for a second time. As we were walking out, the group thanked me for having to re-sample the 33-year-old scotch.
Lagavulin tasting was much different than the other two because it was in a meeting room, and every sample was ready. Though I wasn’t a fan of their selection, the discussion and education were maybe the best. The good news here is that Katy got a bottle for her samples to take home, and we all got a 250 ml bottle of a single cast 9-year-old. As I mentioned, I wasn’t a fan of their selection for this tasting, but this 9-year-old is very good. It’s smooth and behaves like a 20+-year-old scotch. It’s not that I didn’t like their scotch; Laphroaig and Ardbeg provided samples that you can’t find anywhere else.
We safely made it back to Port Ellen, and though the weather changes every few minutes, we could have done the walk without getting too wet. Changing the topic from scotch to food, I’ve had some incredible scallops in my day, but the scallops on Islay are hands down the best!
Day Ten (Saturday)
The goal of Saturday was to drive around the island. Just a relaxing day of taking in the scenery from the island. No breakfast, just jumping into the car at 10 am and heading north. The first stop was the Information Center in Bowmore to get more information about the ferries. This stop was a huge blessing. Unfortunately, the lady at the Information Center provided heartbreaking news, and it turns out our plan to Campbeltown wasn’t a good plan. Because Campbeltown is part of the mainland, we will have to check with our rental car, and we have to book the ferries in advance. But the wonderful lady didn’t leave us with bad news; she provided additional ideas of what we should do while on Islay, and we are so happy that we stopped by. Before leaving Bowmore, we walked to the Peatzeria to see if we could book a dinner reservation. Success, 6 pm Katy and I will be dining at the Peatzeria.
Leaving Bowmore, we continued the rainy morning on the A846 around Bowmore. The A846 is the main road around the west side of the island. The drive is right along the coast, and even in the rain, it is very remarkable. While driving, we decided to go out to Kilchoman to see if we could schedule a tasting for the time we had left on the island. Unfortunately, they did not, but we did get coffee, and I purchased a tee shirt. The drive to Kilchoman was fun because it’s about 4 miles of one-lane road with pullover areas every so often. You would think that would be a big hassle, but the truth is the pullover areas are very efficient. Plus, the views are priceless.
Back on the A846, we continued west to the A847 and headed to Portnahaven. Though the sky was still gray and spitting a little rain, we parked and walked down to the bay. There were about ten seals just chilling in the water, looking at us like come out for a swim. Had the sun been out, the seals would have been on the rocks just below us. With the joy of seeing wildlife, we continued.
Instead of turning around, we continued on a one-lane road to view the West coast. Once again, the views are breathtaking, and we only saw two cars on the 40 minutes (actually, I’m not sure how long) drive looping back to Port Charlotte. We made a few stops along the way to get photos.
With plenty of the day left (it might have been around noon), we decided to head to the North end of the island. We drove to Port Askaig and parked to have a walkabout. We first checked the ferry to Jura and found that you pay on the ferry, and no booking is necessary. We walked over to the only pub and had a snack. Also, I captured more rainbow photos. I thought Hawaii had a lot of rainbows.
Since we were in the area and had plenty of time, we drove out to Ardnahoe. Once again a single-lane road with breathtaking views. There we got lucky and booked a tour at 4 pm. Then, having just over an hour before the tour, we drove another two miles to Bunnahabhain. I will say that this drive provides some of the best views. It helped because the rain had stopped, and the sun was out and shining on the hills of Jura. Honestly, a blessing to have had the opportunity to see God’s gift. There we were able to book a tasting for Sunday at 10:30 am. It’s a good thing that we stopped by there because their website says that the tasting was full. But Colin said, no worries, they will make room for us.
We returned for our 4 pm tour at Ardnahoe, the newest distillery on the island, and will not have a product to sell until the end of the month. To be a scotch, it has to be in a barrel for three years and one day. The tour was fabulous, very informative, and refreshing. I became a big fan of theirs.
At first, I thought we were going to have hours to kill in Bowmore before dinner. But, as it turns out, we arrived just in time for our reservations. The bartender at Glasgow airport highly recommended the Peatzeria, and it didn’t disappoint.
We did not set the alarm again today, mainly because we didn’t need to. I used to wake up naturally around 5:30 am. But since the pandemic, it’s now around 7:30 am. So on this trip, I’ve been waking up around 6:30 am. And we are usually out of the house around 10 am, but today we had to be on the road around 9:15 am to make the long drive to the north end of the island. We have a warehouse tasting at Bunnahabhain. We stopped in yesterday, and they said that we had to signup online but thought there was space for us. So I’m glad that I tried to book it while we were there because it said it wasn’t an option online because they were full. So they told us just to show up about 10:15, and all would be good.
I’m falling in love with Islay. A small island that is only about 20 miles from top to bottom, and Bowmore, the capital, is 10 miles from anywhere. There are only a few roads, and most are single-lane, yet it’s effortless to get about. So, back to the day; We are taking a shortcut that takes us around Bowmore. Not like an interstate looping around a major city, this is a 9-mile single-lane road that avoids the few shops in Bowmore. Unfortunately, as with most of our days here, it is spitting rain. Not hard, but just enough. A rainbow appeared as we drove along and took in the fantastic views (btw- we only had two cars pass us on the road). At first, you could see just a tiny piece of it, but it was very vivid. We stopped to take a photo. As we continued, it got more prominent and more vivid. Again, we would stop and take a picture. As we were getting closer to Bunnahabhain, the rainbow became grander and even doubled itself. Again, we stopped, and this time I pulled out the Canon. It’s like this rainbow was taking us right to the distillery. We are now getting so close you can see where the pot of gold should be, but it would move and lead us right into the parking lot. Not sure anyone could have started the day off any better.
I’ve been drinking scotch for a long time, but I’m not a details guy, and so I don’t pay much attention to what I’m drinking. So it wasn’t until 2019, when we took the scotch tour in Edinburgh, that I even knew that scotch had different regions. And that was when Islay became a must for me. So I’ve had bottles of Laphroaig, Ardbeg, Lagavulin, and Kilchoman. I knew that Bowmore was scotch but never had it. On our first anniversary, Katy and I did a tour of Glenfiddich distillery, which has been my go-to ever since (almost 30 years.) But recently, I’ve been drawn to Ardbeg and Kilchoman. So when the rainbow led us to the pot of gold at Bunnahabhain, I was excited to see what they had.
As I said the other day, in my opinion, the best way to dive into scotch is by paying for the warehouse tours. I highly recommend the distillery tours, but most distilleries have the same process – just different setups and volumes. The warehouse tour is where you meet the whiskey and get to experience a variety of styles. Besides tasting the whiskey, all tours do a great job of providing history, so they become history lessons. As the rainbow must have known, today’s tasting was a grand slam. The details, the storytelling, the putting you right in the barrel was fantastic. At Bunnahabhain, they mainly use different types of sherry barrels, and we got a detailed lesson in the sherry region of Spain. The other nice thing about the warehouse tours is that they are small and get to know the other folks. We have met several folks multiple times. So you build up a connection, and some we have exchange emails—just a joy to expand the discussion.
Though we have benefited by having a rental car, I would hire a driver for the days we do the warehouse tours on our next visit. Katy became the driver, and so she had her samples in small bottles to drink at home. It’s just not the same as consuming while in the warehouse.
With not much more on our schedule for the day, we had lunch at the Bowmore Hotel. If you have a chance, you must stop in. The display of scotch is awe-inspiring. We were able to grab a late afternoon nap and then hiked most of the Three-distillery hike, where we saw three more rainbows. Finally, we had a small dinner at the Islay Hotel’s bar. The food is so good. No 1 Charlotte Street is where we like to end the night. The tiny little pub is attached to a Bed and Breakfast. The bartender, Ann, is charming and provides good information. I talked to her about the rainbows, and she mentioned she had seen white rainbows.
Today is bitter-sweet. It is our last day of exploring this extraordinary island Islay. No distilleries today, just historical sites and seeing this incredible landscape. Again, we allowed the morning to come to us. Breakfast at the hotel before heading out to the Church on the south end of the island. The cross in the churchyard has been there for 1,300 years. After spending some time there, our next adventure was to head to the American monument. But we decided to head further south and see the coast before heading to the monument. At first, the drive was regular, but then we ran into a traffic jam (sort of). We had some cows in the road that thought we were part of the herd. I can’t blame the cows; they do have a fantastic view.
The American monument was stop number two. For whatever reason, I thought that we would be able to drive right up to it. I wasn’t expecting the two-mile round trip hike. It was a nice walk, and we needed the steps. The views were outstanding, and even the little rain didn’t slow us down.
With the day running down, we headed to the north end of the island to see if we had time to jump over to Jura and possibly see a little of that island. We arrived around 2:45, and the next ferry left at 3:15. We were the first car in line. The guy we gave our money to was surprised that we were not spending the night because the return ferry was running at 3:45, 4:45, and 5:45 – not much time to explore. However, it ended up being the right amount of time. The 20-minute drive around the island to the town was spectacular, and we got there before the distillery closed and Katy even got a pint of beer from the bar before headed back and made the 4:45 ferry. We even had a few minutes to spear. I have to say that the drive was incredible. Katy captured some great photos and even a video, but you’ll have to wait to see that later.
We had dinner at the Islay Hotel again, mainly because it was the only place open because Sea Salt is closed on Monday nights. But that was ok for us because the Islay Hotel’s food is excellent and the people there are even better. Finally, we strolled, knowing that this was our last pint at No 1 Charlotte. However, we didn’t want the night to end. If you are ever in Port Ellen, you must stop by the pub at No 1. Charlotte – Ann is the best!
Day Thirteen (Tuesday)
Always a little sad to leave a new friend. That is the way I think of Islay as a new friend. She opened her doors to Katy and me and showed us all that she had to offer. From the incredibly friendly people – did matter where you were, the people of Isaly are outstanding. To the extraordinary landscape and history. If you have the opportunity to come to Islay, take the time to explore and see what God has done with this island. Take your time; it’s easy to get around, so don’t rush it. Around every hill, every curve, every stop for a question is another treat. Yes, Islay is known for its great scotch, so please experience that as well. But understand there is much more. Maybe it was the season, but I was not ready for all of the vivid rainbows. Even as we were about to board our plane this morning, Islay gave us one last rainbow, sort of its way of saying goodbye.
The good news is that we will be in London around noon. Okay, early afternoon. We did have to take one more COVID test so that we could fly home on Friday. They make that easy by having testing sites at the airport. So we got testest before jumping on the Heathrow Express to London’s Paddington Station. From there, it was a short taxi drive to our hotel. I forget how much I enjoy London. We even got a quick glimpse of Princesses Anne as her motorcade drove past. On our last trip to London in the summer of 2019, Big Ben was covered in scaffolding. I thought I heard that the work on Big Ben was almost complete, but everything but the face is still covered up. Still awe-inspiring and the scene of one of my favorite photos that I ever took.
On this trip, Katy and I have hiked some of the best landscapes on the Jurassic Coast and Islay. But today, we are doing an urban hike for dinner and making a few stops for a pint or two. One of Katy’s all-time favorite restaurants is Dishoom, and because it’s Katy’s favorite, it is one of mine. We had an hour wait, but worth every second.
The thing that brought a smile to my face was how lively London was; traffic, people going places, friends greeting each other, queues for the Theater. If you didn’t know about the pandemic, you would have never known from how London was getting about.
Our first night in a hotel – I slept like a baby but was up before 6 am. These last days are without any real agendas. I can’t believe that we have been gone for so long. Over the decades, you get used to the week-long vacations. And this trip has been like three vacations in one. We spent the first two weeks in areas that we hadn’t been to before, so a lot of exploration was going on. Emotionally, we didn’t know what to expect or what we would see. No guarantees that we would enjoy the day. But, with every step and turn, the day was just as exciting and grand as the previous day. Now we are back in a town that we have been to a dozen times over the past 30 years. So with the views, we can relate to our history. And so, with that in mind, the goal of our final days here is just to wind down and enjoy London.
So with that in mind, we are off to one of our favorite places in the world, Westminster Abby. We both have been there at least a half-dozen times. But every time, it is the same; awe-inspiring of the history and just the size. Normally we would spend around an hour going through the past. However, today it was almost two in half hours because, in 2018, they had opened up a new section, and we had never been. So why didn’t we see that area in 2019 when we were there? But we had a sizable group, the queue to get in was very long, and we had a lot going on (Shannon’s graduation from Royal Holloway). So today, Katy and I got to enjoy the new section. If you are in the Abby, pay the extra 5 pounds to view the new section.
Like the other days, today was no clouds and around 62 degrees; Just gorgeous. So from the Abby, we strolled through St. James park towards the Palace. We were just taking in the people and “wild” life. Lots of birds and squirrels – maybe too many. We got to watch them set up for the Queen’s Baton Relay for Thursday. Our walk continued to the Covent Garden area, where we found a pub for a late lunch, and Katy got her macrons. In total, it was a 4.6-mile “hike.” From there, we headed back to the hotel to chill and get ready for the evening.
I’ve been wanting to dine at St. John’s for years but never could get a reservation, or the timing wasn’t there. So I did reserve a table for two before we left Indiana. St. John’s was fantastic, but it’s not your typical restaurant. I say that not to scare you off, but just to let you know that you will not find “normal” food. But if you like to experience new things, this is the place for you. Everything there is first class but very welcoming to all.
We meet up with Mic, a Royal Holloway friend of Shannon’s, to cap off the wonderful day.
Our last full day in London and of this beautiful excursion. Nothing on our agenda, yet we were out of the hotel earlier than usual. The hotel was in the County Hall building next to the London Eye. In the many trips to London, this was the first time we stayed on the Thames, a river that is always very busy and not a river you would want to wade or swim in. We strolled along and even done a river cruise but never spent this much time around it. I was surprised that it is a tidal river. As we eased into our stroll by getting some coffee, we noticed how low the water was. I’ve never seen the “beaches” on the river. London was overcast, yet the temperature was in the 60’s F. Perfect weather for the trek.
With no goal, we zigged the river, enjoying the walks over the bridges. Finally, we made it down to the Millennium bridge, one of my favorites. It’s a pedestrian bridge with a grand view of St. Paul’s cathedral. Since we were right there, we decided to visit St. Paul’s Cathedral, but it was closed due to filming. So we continued towards Covent Garden, where we had lunch and did some final shopping. With that, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for our last evening.
We could not recall the last time we saw a movie at the theater, but we decided to see the new James Bond movie at the Imax near Waterloo. Not going to give away the ending, but it was cool to see the theater that we were watching the film was in the movie. So after a few pints and a Botanist gin, it was time to close the book on this wondrous journey.
What a journey! It’s always bittersweet for a great vacation to come to an end. However, we are excited to be home. The travel was easy. The flight from London got into Chicago an hour and ten minutes early, which allowed us to get an earlier flight to Indianapolis. This was good because I believe our original flight to Indianapolis got delayed due to storms in Chicago.
Not sure where to start. I’m not going to recap everything, but try to do an overview justice. I was taken aback by the beauty and the intensity of the Jurassic Coast (JC). We had just hiked around the Grand Canyon in August, and I was not ready to compare the Grand Canyon to the JC. The visit to Bride Valley Vineyard was an extraordinary experience from both the Mo and Graham at Bride Valley and the drive along the coast back to Weymouth. Plymouth wasn’t on our trip plan, and we would love to spend more time there. Portland’s hike was a pleasant surprise. I thought we were staying at some sleepy town on the coast and just using it as a base. I wasn’t expecting Weymouth to be a destination. The city was full of life and provided energy. We really couldn’t have picked a better place to start our trip.
We and I mean me, did a horrible job planning our time on Islay. When we debarked on this journey, we didn’t have transportation for Islay. I thought that we would get a taxi from the airport to Port Ellen and walk everywhere. I’m so glad that we got a rental because that opened the door to explore the island like we hadn’t planned. Yes, the Scotch tours were a hit, but even there, we missed out because I only had planned the “big” three – Laphroaig, Laguvline, and Ardbeg. We got lucking on Bunnahabhain and Ardnahoe. While we got to see the shop at Kilchoman, we missed Bowmore and Bruichladdich. And let us not forget Jura. But on the positive side, having the rental car allowed us to drive around the island and see the history and beauty. It’s a small island with a beautiful coast with many historical sites, including standing stones. The hike to the American monument was impressive. Taking the ferry to Jura and driving around Jura was nice. Though Jura is another place that my poor planning hurt us. It would have been nice to spend a day or even a night there. We spent less than 90 minutes, and it blew us away. But maybe the biggest surprises about Islay were how incredible, and fresh the food was and the number of vivid rainbows. By far, the best scallops that I’ve ever had weren’t just from one restaurant, but several.
London never disappoints. For the first time, we stayed on the river with no real plan. Walking around the river and parks was fun, taking in the people and listening to the city. We met up with a friend for a few pints, got to enjoy another great meal at Dishoom, and got to experience the unique St. John’s restaurant. We got to go up to the new exhibit at Westminster Abby. Finally saw the latest James Bond moving at the Imax by Waterloo, which was a pleasant experience. But the one thing that we didn’t do for the first time was that we didn’t ride the tub. Partly because we were staying in the heart of the city and two even though we enjoyed seeing the city come back to life, we did our part of staying away from crowds.
My only comments about COVID are my observations and will avoid the political non-sense of either side. I was pleasantly surprised by how open the JC was towards COVID. I did not see many masks. I liked how they handled restaurants—smaller capacity, but not requiring people to wear masks and lots of sanitizing. People were in pubs, but not shoulder to shoulder. It was enjoyable, and we felt very comfortable. The “Day-Two” test was a little silly because we did it ourselves in our Airbnb. We could have easily cheated, but we did not. Though I’m not sure, I did it 100% correctly. Islay took a different approach, and everyone inside had to wear masks to their tables, and you had to identify for contact tracing. Once again, they operated at a smaller capacity and provided a lot of sanitizers. Some places even took your temperature. But this was fine too, and it wasn’t a burden. London is like the Jurassic Coast, and not seeing a lot of masks and not even requiring them in taxis. The only time we put our masks on was for the flight home. I was surprised that the Imax didn’t require masks, but again we were ok with that. It was great to see busy sidewalks and hear the city alive. However, I enjoy the non-existing line to get into Westminister Abby and not fighting the crowds to see the exhibits. With that said, we also intentionally avoided the tub. If you go, don’t take cash because many places weren’t accepting it; tap-and-go!
What a journey! It’s always bittersweet for a great vacation to come to an end. However, we are excited to be home. The travel was easy. The flight from London got into Chicago an hour and ten minutes early, which allowed us to get an earlier flight to Indianapolis. This was good because I believe our normal flight to Indianapolis got delayed due to storms in Chicago.
Not sure where to start. I’m not going to recap everything, but try to do an overview justice. I was taken aback by the beauty and the intensity of the Jurassic Coast (JC). We had just hiked around the Grand Canyon in August, and I was not ready to compare the Grand Canyon to the JC. The visit to Bride Valley Vineyard was an extraordinary experience from both the Mo and Graham at Bride Valley and the drive along the coast back to Weymouth. Plymouth wasn’t on our trip plan, and we would love to spend more time there. Portland’s hike was a pleasant surprise. I thought that we were staying at some sleepy town on the coast and would be just using it as a base. I wasn’t expecting Weymouth to be a destination. The city was full of life and provided energy. We really couldn’t have picked a better place to start our trip.
We and I mean me, did a horrible job planning our time on Islay. When we debarked on this journey, we didn’t have transportation for Islay. I thought that we would get a taxi from the airport to Port Ellen and walk everywhere. I’m so glad that we got a rental because that opened the door to explore the island like we hadn’t planned. Yes, the Scotch tours were a hit, but even there, we missed out because I only had planned the “big” three – Laphroaig, Laguvline, and Ardbeg. We got lucking on Bunnahabhain and Ardnahoe. While we got to see the shop at Kilchoman, we missed Bowmore and Bruichladdich. And let us not forget Jura. But on the positive side, having the rental car allowed us to drive around the island and see the history and beauty. It’s a small island with a beautiful coast with many historical sites, including standing stones. The hike to the American monument was impressive. Taking the ferry to Jura and driving around Jura was nice. Though Jura is another place that my poor planning hurt us. It would have been nice to spend a day or even a night there. We spent less than 90 minutes, and it blew us away. But maybe the biggest surprises about Islay were how incredible, and fresh the food was and the number of vivid rainbows. By far, the best scallops that I’ve ever had weren’t just from one restaurant, but several.
London never disappoints. For the first time, we stayed on the river with no real plan. Walking around the river and parks was fun, taking in the people and even listening to the city. We met up with a friend for a few pints, got to enjoy another great meal at Dishoom, and got to experience the unique St. John’s restaurant. We got to go up to the new exhibit at Westminster Abby. Finally saw the latest James Bond moving at the Imax by Waterloo, which was a pleasant experience. But the one thing that we didn’t do for the first time was that we didn’t ride the tub. Partly because we were staying in the heart of the city and two even though we enjoyed seeing the city come back to life, we did our part of staying away from crowds.
My only comments about COVID are my observations and will avoid the political non-sense of either side. I was pleasantly surprised by how open the JC was towards COVID. I did not see many masks. I liked how they handled restaurants—smaller capacity, but not requiring people to wear masks and lots of sanitizing. People were in pubs, but not shoulder to shoulder. It was enjoyable, and we felt very comfortable. Islay took a different approach, and everyone inside had to wear masks to their tables, and you had to identify for contact tracing. Once again, they operated at a smaller capacity and provided a lot of sanitizers. Some places even took your temperature. But this was fine too, and it wasn’t a burden. London is like the Jurassic Coast, and not seeing a lot of masks and not even requiring them in taxis. The only time we put our masks on was for the flight home. I was surprised that the Imax didn’t need masks, but again we were ok with that. It was great to see busy sidewalks and hear the city alive. However, I enjoy the none existing line to get into Westminister Abby and not fighting the crowds to see the exhibits. With that said, we also intentionally avoided the tub. If you go, don’t take cash because many places weren’t taking cash; tap-and-go!
Our last full day in London and of this beautiful excursion. Nothing on our agenda, yet we were out of the hotel earlier than usual. The hotel was in the County Hall building next to the London Eye. In the many trips to London, this was the first time we stayed on the Thames, a river that is always very busy and not a river you would want to wade or swim in. We strolled along and even done a river cruise but never spent this much time around it. I was surprised that it is a tidal river. As we eased into our stroll by getting some coffee, we noticed how low the water was. I’ve never seen the “beaches” on the river. London was overcast, yet the temperature was in the 60’s F. Perfect weather for the trek.
With no goal, we zigged the river, enjoying the walks over the bridges. Finally, we made it down to the Millennium bridge, one of my favorites. It’s a pedestrian bridge with a grand view of St. Paul’s cathedral. Since we were right there, we decided to visit St. Paul’s Cathedral, but it was closed due to filming. However, we did notice all of the lighting and film trucks. So we continued towards Covent Garden, where we had lunch and did some final shopping. With that, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for our last evening.
We could not recall the last time we saw a movie at the theater, but we decided to see the new James Bond movie at the Imax near Waterloo. Not going to give away the ending, but it was cool to see the theater that we were watching the film was in the movie. So after a few pints and a Botanist gin, it was time to close the book on this wondrous journey.
Our first night in a hotel – I slept like a baby but was up before 6 am. These last days are without any real agendas. I can’t believe that we have been gone for so long. Over the decades, you get used to the week-long vacations. And this trip has been like three vacations in one. We spent the first two weeks in areas that we hadn’t been to before, so a lot of exploration was going on. Emotionally, we didn’t know what to expect or what we would see. No guarantees that we would enjoy the day. But, with every step and turn, the day was just as exciting and grand as the previous day. Now we are back in a town that we have been to a dozen times over the past 30 years. So with the views, we can relate to our history. And so, with that in mind, the goal of our final days here is just to wind down and enjoy London.
So with that in mind, we are off to one of our favorite places in the world, Westminster Abby. We both have been there at least a half-dozen times. But every time, it is the same; awe-inspiring of the history and just the size. Normally we would spend around an hour going through the past. However, today it was almost two in half hours because, in 2018, they had opened up a new section, and we had never been. So why didn’t we see that area in 2019 when we were there? But we had a sizable group, the queue to get in was very long, and we had a lot going on (Shannon’s graduation from Royal Holloway). So today, Katy and I got to enjoy the new section. If you are in the Abby, pay the extra 5 pounds to view the new section.
Like the other days, today was no clouds and around 62 degrees; Just gorgeous. So from the Abby, we strolled through St. James park towards the Palace. We were just taking in the people and “wild” life. Lots of birds and squirrels – maybe too many. We got to watch them set up for the Queen’s Baton Relay for Thursday. Our walk continued to the Covent Garden area, where we found a pub for a late lunch, and Katy got her macrons. In total, it was a 4.6-mile “hike.” From there, we headed back to the hotel to chill and get ready for the evening.
I’ve been wanting to dine at St. John’s for years but never could get a reservation, or the timing wasn’t there. So I did reserve a table for two before we left Indiana. St. John’s was fantastic, but it’s not your typical restaurant. I say that not scare you off, but just to let you know if you are going there for something that you’ll find and every other restaurant, you will not. But if you like to experience new things, this is the place for you. Everything there is first class but very welcoming to all.
We meet up with Mic, a Royal Holloway friend of Shannon’s, to cap off the wonderful day.
www.tsallenphotos.com 