Happy Anniversary

May 26th is the anniversary of the day my husband Jackson and I got married in 1980.  It's hard to believe it has been that long.  On the other hand it seems like it was just yesterday that we began our life together.  I'm so very lucky to have found such a wonderful man to spend my life with. Here's to another 32 years together!  Cheers!

In Paris 2010

Let Hong Kong Whisk You Away

Hong Kong is one of my favorite places in the world to visit.  Since my husband, Jackson, is from there I have been three times.  My first visit was in 1980, the year we got married, then back again in 1996.  That time we also went to China (the Great Wall was the highlight of that trip) on a tour.  Then for our 25th anniversary, we went again and stayed in a five-star hotel called The Kowloon Shangri-La. Here's their website -
http://www.shangri-la.com/en/property/hongkong/kowloonshangrila

I don't have any of our photos from these trips loaded on this computer yet or I would post some.  Here is a good recent article about Hong Kong -

http://www.imakenews.com/bmwnorthwest/e_article001938350.cfm?x=bhTdm2W,bgvtDlQK

Hong Kong reminds me of London in many ways.  But it is truly unique and a one of a kind destination!

A British Christmas

I was just thinking about our trip to London and wishing we could be there for Christmas.  Wouldn't that be a fun place to spend the holidays?  I hear they have a ton of snow right now though. 

Westminster Abbey

It's exciting that there will be a royal wedding next year when Prince William gets married at Westminster Abbey.  We spent quite a bit of time looking around there and it's just as beautiful as you would imagine. 

Book talk

I'm reading two books right now and they are both good.  I'm glad since I didn't enjoy the last book I read at all.  The first one is called Case Histories by Kate Atkinson.  It's one in a series of books with a private investigator called Jackson Brodie.  This is the first in the series and I have already read the third one.  It's called When Will There be Good News.  I actually read it last year and really liked it.  When I bought Case Histories I thought the Jackson Brodie character sounded familiar but I didn't make the connection until someone at Goodreads mentioned that it was one of a series.  One Good Turn is the second book in the series and I plan to read it as well.  Anyway, Case Histories is set in Cambridge and there are three mystery cases from the past that Jackson Brodie is hired to investigate.  I'm about halfway through the book and it's very well written.

The other book I'm reading is called Lunch in Paris: A Love Story, with Recipes written by Elizabeth Bard.  It's a memoir of her experiences living in Paris.  She had gone to Paris for a weekend visit and met a Frenchman who she ended up marrying and then moved to Paris to live with him.  There are recipes at the end of each chapter as she falls in love with French cuisine.  It reminds me of all the good food we had during our visit to Paris.  The croissants there are so delicious and much flakier and better than any you can find here.  I usually enjoy memoirs and this one is no exception.

When I started to read Lunch in Paris I used the bookmark I bought in the famous Paris bookstore called Shakespeare and Company.  This was a place on my list of must-visit attractions while in Paris.  Shakespeare and Company was opened in 1951 and is located on the Left Bank opposite Notre-Dame Cathedral in the Latin Quarter.  It's not a big store but is crowded with books and has hardwood floors and lots of charm.  On the bookmark it says they have a reading every week, a festival every two years and the bookshop is open all year round.  It has a neat website - http://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/index.php where you can sign up for a newsletter and see which authors will be appearing for book signings.  On the website it says "Be Not Inhospitable to Strangers Lest they be Angels in Disguise."

I spent quite a lot of time browsing in the store (they have new and used books) but I didn't buy anything.  I was looking for a copy of the classic book The Bell Jar by Sylvia Path but they told me they were out of it at the time.  It's a book that's been on my list for a long time.  I'm sure I can get it from the library.

Amsterdam canals and bridges

Here are some photos of the Amsterdam canals and bridges.  Jackson liked to stop and watch them.

Rumpole of the Bailey

You may have heard of the British TV series Rumpole of the Bailey starring Leo McKern.  It's about a British barrister from London who defends all manner of clients and never pleads guilty.  Rumpole is such a fun and interesting character that a series of books followed the show which was created by John Mortimer, who was an actual barrister.  I haven't read any of the books yet but we did enjoy the first season of the TV series which takes place from 1978 and 1992.  Leo McKern is a great actor and Horace Rumpole is a fun character. He refers to himself as "the Old Bailey hack."  In the show Rumpole always refers to his wife as "She Who Must be Obeyed"!

The Old Bailey is the name of the the Central Criminal Court of England which is located in London.  It's called the Old Bailey because of the street on which it stands.  The public is allowed in to observe the trials which can be major criminal cases.  The judges still wear those powered wigs as shown in the Rumpole series. 

When we were in London we thought we would go to the Old Bailey to see if there were any interesting trials going on.  It took us awhile to find the place and when we arrived it was almost time for lunch so they said we should come back.  We didn't have a chance to do that but I did have my picture taken in front of the Old Bailey.

The Old Bailey

Visit to Versailles

We took a day trip to the palace of Versailles by train.  The town of Versailles is a half hour southwest of Paris.  Rick Steves' guidebook had the warning, "Assume pickpockets are working the tourist crowds."  Of course we did not expect to have personal experience with this but we did.  After we got off the train, we had to go through the turnstiles.  I guess we thought we needed to put the ticket in to get through but we had some trouble.  Soon a couple of people tried to help us.  While they were distracting me, one of them had managed to unzip my bag that Jackson was holding.  He felt some tugging and saw that the bag was unzipped but they did not have the chance to actually remove anything.  At first we thought they got our camera but everything was still there.  It was a shocking thing to have happened but it could have been worse.  Needless to say, I was careful with the way I held my bag for the rest of the trip. 

We had to stand in line for quite awhile before we got into the palace.  There was a guy behind us who read a guidebook to his friend in Italian the whole time.  It was a nice sunny day though.  It is quite a beautiful palace and the gardens are just gorgeous.  I have already posted quite a few pictures but here are some more.

Paris Museums

One of the best museums we visited in Paris was the Musee d'Orsay (Museum d'Orsay).  This museum is in a beautiful former train station in the heart of Paris along the Seine.  The museum itself is a work of art.  The museum houses the largest collection of Impressionist art in Europe, featuring artists such as Monet, Manet, Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh and Cezanne.  I love Impressionist art.  You will also see works from such artists as Gauguin, Seurat and Toulouse-Lautrec.  The famous painting Portrait of the Artist's Mother (Whistler's Mother) is also at the d'Orsay but I don't remember seeing it.

Another favorite museum in Paris is the Musee de l'Orangerie which houses Monet's Water Lilies on eight hugh curved panels in four rooms.  The water lilies are in the pond at Monet's famous garden in Giverney.

Random trip memories

Here are some memories of our European vacation that I don't think I've mentioned (excuse me if I have!)

Hotels generally don't look as good in person as they do on their websites.  Although our hotel in London came close.  It's called The Park City Hotel and is located in the royal Kensington and Chelsea district of London.  Here's their website:
http://www.theparkcity.com/

Our hotel in Paris was recommended in Rick Steves' guidebook but it failed to impress.  The room was so small it barely contained a bed and little table.  But the good thing about it was that we could see the top half of the Eiffel Tower from the bathroom!  The elevator was really tiny too.  It was only big enough for the two of us and after riding in it once, I opted to take the stairs.  They did have a laptop in the lobby that was free.

Our hotel in Bruges was good.  It's called The Walwyck Hotel Brugge.  They had a huge bell you could ring at the front desk (one of those bells a teacher has on her desk).  We forgot to take a picture of it but they gave us a postcard of the bell.  The innkeepers were very friendly and gave us good restaurant recommendations.  They had a flat screen TV in the room that we watched Enemy of the State on and enjoyed the commercials.  The floors were quite squeaky though. 

We stayed at a nice B&B in Amsterdam called Tulips.  The owners, Karen and Paul, were very nice.  I had told them it was our 30th anniversary so they had a small bottle of champagne in a silver bucket and a napkin with champagne glasses on it.  They included a note that said Many Congratulations! From Paul and Karen.  They also had a bottle of cherry liqueur on the table with 2 little glasses and they put chocolates on our pillows at night.  We had great bagels at a place called Bagels and Beans.

Here is a photo of me outside the B&B -

The museums were great in every city but the ones in London were excellent and free except for special shows like the Grace Kelly one I wrote about earlier.  The Louvre was beautiful but it was extremely overcrowded, hot and noisy.  It was hard to see the Mona Lisa with the huge crowd in the room and the painting is behind glass.

Lots of people ride motorcycles in Paris.  Nobody wore helmets while riding their bikes in Amsterdam.  The tram system is great in Amsterdam.  We saw some guys break dancing in Amsterdam which drew a big crowd.

Well, I have to stop for now.  I'll write more memories later.  Oh, while I'm thinking of it, actor Jeremy Irons does the narration on the headphones for the Westminster Abbey tour and he says, "God bless you," at the end in that deep wonderful voice of his!

Doors to the Westminster Abbey

Anne Frank House

The Anne Frank House was a must-see destination for us in Amsterdam.  This is the place where Anne Frank and her family went into hiding in occupied Holland.  She wrote her world-famous diary there (which is on my list to read) in 1942. 

The museum has been open since 1960 and you can see how Anne decorated the walls of her room with movie posters.  It was most moving to see the tiny bit of sky that was visible through the attic window. 

We went at a good time since the line was short.  It felt somewhat claustrophobic in there though but it didn't seem to bother Jackson.  They took great care to preserve the house and it's belongings. 

There was a movie made of Anne's life called The Diary of Anne Frank.  Shelley Winters won an Oscar for her role in the film.  I haven't seen it yet but we did see a really good Masterpiece Theater production of the story before we went there.  It helped to bring the story alive so the house was somewhat familiar when we saw it.

Evidently, Shelley Winters told Anne Frank's father that if she won the Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, she would donate it to Mr. Frank.  It is there on exhibit so we saw 2 Oscars on this trip - hers and Grace Kelley's.

I highly recommend a visit to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.  I will post a review of the her book once I read it.  I have a huge list of books on my "to read" list!

Red Lights

When we were in Amsterdam we had to stop at the famous (or infamous) Red Light District.  It's considered a must see in Rick Steve's guidebook.  According to his book, the neighborhood has hosted the world's oldest profession since 1200.  Oscar nominated director Quentin Tarantino reportedly wrote the script for Pulp Fiction while staying in a hotel there. 

We came across the Condomerie  (a veritable condom museum) first where they sell all manner of condoms.  While in the S&M sex shop we heard a man ordering some kind of gear.  We also had a tour of the Sex Museum to view sex down through the ages!  They even had a huge ceramic part of the male anatomy that people posed under to have their pictures taken.  I declined! 

We walked down the alleys where the hookers pose in the doorways of their little rooms.  If the light above their rooms are lit up then they are available for business.  They are not nude but what they are wearing leaves little to the imagination.  They are not all thin and gorgeous.  One prostitute had her door open and was looking at me.  So I said to her, "Nice shoes!"  She replied, "You just like the shoes?  What about me?"  Jackson and I regretted that we didn't engage her in more conversation as it would make a better story!  They all wear those ridiculously high-heeled hooker shoes. 

We witnessed an underage guy receiving a talking to by the police.  One of the cops said he looked like he was 15!  I'm not sure if he got arrested or just received a stern warning.  Can't blame a guy for trying I guess!  Since prostitution is legal (since the 1980's) the women don't consider themselves to be exploited.  We walked by a sex nightclub called the Banana Bar but I had no interest in going in!  The Red Light District was sure something to see!

Mind the Gap!

We took the subway (or the Tube as they call it) all over London.  We bought Oyster cards so we could just swipe them and not have to hunt for change each time.  It was very convenient and fun.  Jackson was good at finding the right route to the places we wanted to go.  Our hotel was close to the underground station.  We never took any other type of transportation during our stay.  The announcer would always call out "mind the gap" when the subway doors closed. 

Jackson waiting for the subway

Bon Voyage

I decided to go back and write about the beginning of our big trip.  We booked our tickets on Air France since we assumed it would be more fun than taking an American airline.  It actually was more fun with some perks I didn't expect. Our seats were closer to the front of the plane than we expected which was nice. They provided eye shades and earplugs for sleeping.  Besides movies to watch I was able to see episodes of The Sopranos, Mad Men and the Sex and the City.  What more could I ask for?  The meals were better than the usual airplane fare.  I had pasta with a roll and rice pudding for dessert.

The flight was smooth (no turbulence) and we arrived on time in Paris.  We went through customs with nothing to declare.  We then took the short flight from Paris to London.  We went through immigration in London.  The agent asked for the purpose of our trip and Jackson told her we were on holiday, as the Brits say!  Our passports were stamped and we were on our way. 

Our first stop was Bath which was recommended in Rick Steves' guidebook.  Bath is a charming tourist town like Bruges.  Bath is the home of author Jane Austen and the setting for her books Northanger Abbey and Persuasion.  There is a Jane Austen Centre but we didn't have a chance to go there. 

We stayed in a nice B & B called Three Abbey Green.  The bed was comfy and they had a flat screen TV (but I don't think we watched anything) and a computer with internet access downstairs.  Unfortunately, the heated towel racks couldn't be turned off and the bathroom window couldn't be opened so it was too hot in our room.  For breakfast the first day, I had poached eggs on toast with tea and Jackson had the traditional English breakfast which included baked beans!   Jackson loves British tea.

First on the agenda was a two hour walking tour of Bath.  We had a great informative guide provided by the Mayor's corporation of honorary guides.  Our guide was fun and he actually said "by jove" at one point!  I do love to hear a British accent! 

We also had afternoon tea at the Pump Room our first day in town.  I posted a picture of myself in the Pump Room which can be seen on this blog.  On our second day we took a 45 minute guided tour of the main tourist attraction which are the Roman Baths and museum.  We also took quite a few photos there.  Here are a few -

This was one was from the museum -

For more information on the Roman Baths, you can check out their website -

http://www.romanbaths.co.uk/