Pix of stuff and clothing

We found this fabulous store called Pylones. They had the most amazing items, like the colorful toaster. And Alex bought the alligator that helps you take toast out (see below the toaster). Whimsical. Unfortunately, they have no stores in the US, but you can buy from their website. www.pylones.com Very imaginative items. Well worth a look or a visit if you find yourself in France or England.

Every year, Galeries Lafayette has amazing Christmas trees in the middle of their store. So unique and creative!

I had a postcard of this photo one year. Someone saw it and said OH NO! ARE THEY TAKING THE TOWER DOWN?! HA. No, this was taken in the various stages of construction.

I am not good at keeping pictures of myself out of the photo. We were blessed with wonderful rooms. Somehow, they have figured out how to keep the noise out of the rooms...we never heard street traffic or other noises that might keep one awake.

A colorful melange of what we carried with us. 

We had to fill Alex's duffel and buy another bag to carry everything. This, with my wrist in a brace! But Alex did the lion's share of the carrying.

 

This bath made me crazy. There was no lip to keep the water in the appointed area! Most European baths at least had a lip or plastic wall around half the shower.

Not a big fan of these sinks.

Sumptuous bedding. We were happy to have 2 large beds.

And Alex tried to get Domo into everything. He likes to take him on our trips.

I came up with some amazing hairdos. I was due for a cut, so the hair really felt the need to be a sculpture.

The ambulances were right in front of our hotel in London. Hampton by Hilton. Great staff. (See laundry story later.) Luckily we were in no need of an ambo on our trip.

Double decker buses.

Because I have an interest in octopuses, even though not so much live in the water, people, especially my sweetheart, tend to find and report them to me.

Cold weather gear. The hunter's orange hat had warm parts that go down over your ears for added warmth. Which we needed!

We were busy so didn't have time to write to Santa. But this was available should we have needed the opportunity.

My cold weather gear: hat from the Mary Rose gift store, my home knitted scarf, my mittens (with my wrist brace, gloves didn't go over the brace, so mittens were necessary.) You rarely see me in Hawaii with long pants, but again much needed. And my boots: fake fur lined, zip up, and very comfortable. Since my first pair of shoes made my big toes turn black, I left them in a hotel for someone who fit them better.

Here is the hunter orange hat and Columbia shirt. Who knew we were such fashion plates?

Alex and I toured both the Mary Rose ship and the HMS Victory. His friend in California is building a model, so we will have encouraging comments for him. Note to self: NEVER do anything that makes me be arrested to serve on a ship like this. We also saw the Golden Hinde and Cutty Sark, but didn't tour the inside.

Somebody was trying on hats. hahaha.

Henry the 8th character. He had an actor pretending to be him, which we thought was amusing. I was also amused to note the codpiece...I seriously doubt he had the wherewithal for that codpiece. But if one mentioned such a thing in that time, they probably would have been killed.

I tried to make my ballcap viewable, without success. The hat says Warning! Old and grumpy. Which I am, sometimes. Gotta tell the truth.

We had to dry his socks. We never turned on a t.v. the entire time we were gone, so it got use for something.

This is the size of the Mary Rose...really amazing.

Octopus sculpture. Once you start looking, you'll be amazed how many octopuses are lurking out there.

Alex standing on the meridien. At the Royal Conservatory in Greenwich.

Oops. This one caught me with the gift shop bag. We also visited the planetarium and saw a nice show inside. Unsurprisingly, I asked the astonomer if there are any dark spaces for star viewing in London. The answer was a resounding NO! He did tell us a place to go to have better views, but we were leaving the next day, so didn't have the chance.
More tomorrow. 

What we ate and drank

 OK Let's see if I can keep my photos straight. Somehow that seems to be a trauma for me. I can't even blame my camera, but I would like to once again mourn the loss of my "regular" cameras. I'm going to stop mentioning the brand, as I'm not happy with their response to my problems. Let's just say, I won't be buying from them again!

But before we get into food and drink, a small google maps story: once back home in Hawaii, I had to get to a place in the main town of Lihue that has always confused me. I duly got out my phone and opened google maps. Believe it or not, it told me it could not find the location!! I thought that being away from maps for 3 weeks, perhaps I had forgotten how to use it. So I tried again, to no avail. Finally, it occurred to me to check the home location it was using: Lyon, France! No wonder it couldn't find Hawaii from the base of France. Live and Learn.

This was a table number, so the servers would know who to give the food to. Neat, right? And of course, it was my birthday, Dec 16, so it was really appropriate.

Here is the very cute bib I found for my niece. It's made of silicone and has the cute little catchment area for food that tries to get away. HA. She doesn't have it yet, so mum's the word.

And avocado toast! It was very good, with slices of fennel, pomegranate seeds, pistachios and that white bulb was the poached egg: poached the right way, dropping it into whirling water. SO GOOD!

This ham and cheese omelet came with a wonderful salad. Really good. We ate like royals.

I found Ile de Re Cognac. That stuff was so smooth. It lasted the entire trip. Just one of the many wonderful libations we found at L'Epicerie. Fine olives, wines, cognacs, pasta, just about everything you could want. We were forced to finish the bottle of Cognac because we had no room to take it home in our bags....that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

The dreaded meringues. Not sure why Alex hates them, but they were pretty.

It goes without saying that the bakeries are exceptional. Oh my goodness. If I didn't have some health issues, I would have wiped up on some of these cakes, tarts, and croissants.

This fish and chips was great. We tried to find them everywhere, but enjoyed the ones at our hotel the best. I was also fortunate to find a wonderful ginger ale. SO good. Look out Schweppes!

I was not a fan of mushy peas. But the fish went down a treat!

I talked the bartender into doing a Campari Spritz for me. So much better than Aperol spritz. The drink has the main liquor, some Prosecco and soda. Yum. It felt so luxurious in that huge glass.

Luckily, I can tell we had this in the hotel bar, because I recognize the chairs. It was later sadly occupied by a family of four, all of whom stayed on their phones the entire time. Gee, why have family if you don't talk to them?!

We were once again surprised by the various flavors of chips...steak?! Chicken? Oh so many flavors.

And mince pies. These were little bites that we enjoyed. If you haven't tried mincemeat, do so, please! It doesn't contain meat, so you vegetablearians are safe.

We also found the best fruits! Pears being majorly among them, but also wonderful raspberries. At the Tesco! The pears were incredibly juicy and flavorful.

During one of our many train trips, Alex spied a pasty shop. Even though we ate it later and it was a little squashed, the pastry was really good. I think think this one was chicken.

I took this photo because I was so shocked that it came with ice! In France! The French are notorious for not using ice in their drinks (ostensibly because it waters down the beverage), so I was really happy to see this.

My sweetheart in his Columbia shirt. I was getting tired of seeing the orange, but discovered he had 2 of the same shade.

Oh snap! Somebody been drinking my wine!

We did try to remain hydrated. I will mention my favorite hat, from the Mary Rose, later.

And last but not least, we saw this sign. I don't think they were kidding, but we didn't see any foxes. Darn.

New Year, new post from Europe

We got home ok! A few minor setbacks (missed connections, covid) but remain unscathed.

Well, other than completing the post and then totally erasing it somehow. That will make you mad!

So this version might be shorter, but hopefully enlightening.

Since my major emphasis was cathedrals, churches and monasteries, I will start with those. All beautiful in their own way. And I didn't want to disturb the faithful, so I didn't take photos inside. It's a privacy thing for me: I wasn't there as a tourist, but as a believer.

They each had their own idiosyncrasies, and I'm sorry to say that I am trying to get started on my epic journey, so am pushing this out there. I do have notes on where we were, but they are unfortunately not with the photos. Rookie move.

I also tried not to photograph everything, as I think that takes you out of the action.

This is Alex reacting to meringues...he does not like 'em, hence the face.

I took this one because my friend's husband was named Rod. There you go, D!

Sometimes, you catch a photo of a church from a ways away. This one was spotted while we were awaiting our Uber after visiting the Portsmouth Aquarium. They had Axolotls! There may be a photo; they are very cool aquatic animals.

We also saw Southwark Cathedral. Lovely.

There was a very nice man, in suit and tie, who answered my question: Can I enter if I'm not Catholic? He said we welcome everyone, even the Catholics!

More photos to come!

Missing the handheld camera, but fighting through with my phone....

 I will be taking a short sabbatical from my blog. I am really missing my cameras (TG4 turned out not to be all that tough!) and I can't catch meteors with those anyway, so I'll be holding off posting for a while. Please do check back with me in the new year...i am hopeful I'll get the camera biz sorted out.

I will leave you with a recent event: I was on my early morning walk and noted a chicken acting strangely. We have MANY chickens on Kauai and it is unusual for one to keep still when a human approaches. It was soon obvious why the chicken was so still: It had monofilament fishing line wrapped around its feet!

I can only imagine what was going through its bird brain, as it occasionally struggled against its bonds. Fortunately, I had my box cutter in my vest pocket, so with 3 tries at freeing it, I was finally able to get close enough to sever the line that was wrapped around its claws. I think it knew I was helping it, as it didn't move at all, even when I got closer.

Eventually, I was able to get close enough to cut the last of the line and the chicken squealed a relieved yell and ran off. 

And my neighbor said: Why did you do that? It would only have been replaced by a million other chickens! Call me crazy: the thought of that bird struggling against its bonds forever was just too horrible. 

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas. Thank you for faithfully reading.

Aloha!