10/31/07 Rome Italy

As you could probably imagine, the rain stopped sometime early this morning and it looked like it would be a good day, at least here in Verona. And with the sun came the workmen. It was almost impossible to say goodbye because the noise was deafening.

I had no problems getting back to the train station in plenty of time. The train was packed full as Marta told me some people are taking a long holiday weekend because tomorrow is All Saints Day.

I was not prepared for the pandemonium of Rome, at least at and near the train station. Way too many people! It was an obstacle course of people and cars to find my hotel just a few blocks from the station. And, much to my surprise, my room rate at the Hotel Galli was reduced to 60 euros ($85). A nice room with a TV, small fridge and it's own bathroom. Luxury for this small town boy used to tents and outhouses. [laugh]

The weather was pretty bad, dark with clouds with rain now and again, but at least it wasn't too cold. I decided to relax the rest of the day, so stopped by a nearby tourist office and the store for a few odds and ends (like chocolate). Later, spent the evening working on my TV-remote finger muscles. [big smile]

10/30/07 Verona Italy

Montecchio di Negrar Italy

Well, woke up to a different kind of noise today - rain! I think Marta was disappointed because she had planned to take me to Lake Gauda. She hoped the rain might quit so we would have a chance in the afternoon but it never stopped. I spent the morning running errands with Anatella, driving to some of the other village neighborhoods in the hills surrounding Verona.

At lunch I got to watch the kitchen ballet as Marta, Anatella and their mother handled the noon-time rush. Everything is made fresh and there isn't a microwave anywhere. Homemade pasta is prepared fresh every day, sometimes three of four times during the high season. Meats and polenta are grilled on the open fireplace. Anatella tells me that warm food should be served on a warm plate. Instead of a commercial plate warmer, they heat up the plates in the great cast-iron cauldron filled with boiling water that hangs in the fireplace. You can tell these women grew up in this kitchen. Not a single wasted bit of energy. They almost made it look easy. But they tell me this doesn't compare to the high season between April and September where they might work 12-15 hours a day, 7 days a week. And this is a restaurant far from anything, with no sign even, but word of mouth praising the Tricol's traditional homemade foods keeps new customers coming all the time.

Where it all happens

Homemade pasta

Anatola & Marta

As the rain continued through the afternoon and early evening, I offered to help with anything. Marta had me folding napkins and for Anatella I sorted silverware. Despite the dreadful weather, they had several large groups come to dinner, so I got out of their hair for a bit to let them do their work. Had to call a lot of hotels in Rome before I found one with an opening. At 70 euros ($100) a night, I hope the Hotel Galli is a good one.

Anatola waiting till the next customer comes in

As my last night in Verona wound down, the girls talked a lot about coming to Kansas City for a visit. And of course, I said yes. But while we were talking, one of the regular patrons stopped by. This whole time I thought Marta was the quiet, serious one in the family. But I didn't know was she was telling the man that I was a big-time manager from a company looking to buy property here in Verona . They said it was a good thing I was leaving in the morning because by tomorrow afternoon, everyone would be down here to sell me property.

10/29/07 Verona Italy

Montecchio di Negrar Italy

Ah, 7:30am comes early. I know because that's when the workers came to start on the building. Marta tells me they have about two more weeks of work on the outside of the building and the roof. Then they will upgrade the kitchen to comply with the new EU standards. Most of it makes sense like better electrical wiring and plumbing, but in other ways it is a big change. They have an old wooden table that they have used for decades but now they have to upgrade everything to stainless steel. They can't even keep the wooden table in the kitchen - against the rules. After forty plus years of serving food, not one person has ever gotten sick from their food. But that's progress. I suggested they move it to the dining room because it's such an important part of the life here.

When I sit around listening to the family talk, I am surprised that it sounds so much like Spanish. Marta tells me they are not speaking Italian but a dialect. Just like Swiss-German, it is not written down - it is only a conversational language passed down through the generations. But while unlike the Swiss-German I heard in Switzerland, many people here want to only use Italian and forget the dialect.

This morning Marta took me to Verona where we walked all over the city center visiting churches and seeing the old city walls. The churches are different here. They are light and airy with moderate amounts of painted frescoes. It was a very pleasant effect compared to the Spanish or French churches. But the highlight of the tour was to stop at the famous balcony of Romea & Juliet. They have a statue of the love-torn woman, and Marta tells me tradition states that any man who holds the statues breast will be lucky in love. So, what did I have to loose. [smile]

Frescos on the buildings are typical

This could be Juliet's balcony

Overlooking Verona with Marta

Marta says that the family only eats the noon meal together and rarely has dinner. I can understand because it was a lot of food, so much so that I was stuffed. When her parents found out I didn't own a cell phone, the instantly liked me. With the remodeling going on, it was too noisy to relax after lunch, so Marta took me on a long walk through the hills above the village.

No one came to the restaurant tonight, a traditionally slow night, so Marta, her sister Anatella , their mother and I talked a bit. Anatella was very interested in the differences between America and Europe in everything: politics, religion, relationships, jobs, economics, health, just to name a few. Later we all watched the last part of the Italian version of Tolstoy's "War and Peace."

10/28/07 Verona Italy

Montecchio di Negrar Italy

Again, no matter how much I plan, or how many successful trips I log, I always get nervous traveling. Yeah, I know - silly! But that's the way it is when jumping into the unknown, which modern travel is these days. So, I didn't sleep very soundly. I kept waking up. About 6AM, I just couldn't get back to sleep but laid there as if I didn't get up, all this travel nonsense would go away. Hah!

Both parents have been pleasantly surprised that the children have slept in longer in the mornings since I've been here. Maybe it's due to too much playing in the evening with 'that man' as Alani calls me. But it was even more surprising this morning because it was day-light savings last night when you gain an hour.

After breakfast, we loaded up the kids to make the drive from Wunnewil to the train station in Bern. Although the weather looked pretty bad when we awoke, in Bern the sun was quickly burning off the clouds. Grabbed a few quick souvenirs as we headed for the train.

I will never be able to thank Daniel and Ariane enough for having me as their guest. I was given the Royal treatment. Even this morning, Ariane had made me some sandwiches and snacks to take on the train with me. As I took my set, I looked out at my friends and their beautiful children. Poor Lorin was still a little asleep but he still managed to wave. And Daniel signaled through the glass that Alani was crying a little bit. Even though she never said my name the whole week, I knew she liked me. I was glad we had the glass and a train full of passengers to insulate me from my new Swiss family, otherwise I would have been bawling too.

Saying goodbye to Ariane, Lorin, Alani & Daniel

I took the train from Bern to Brig along some of the curviest railroad track I've ever seen. We snaked our way along the side of valleys so deep with peaks towering overhead that you knew you were in Switzerland, land of the Alps. The train actually was packed with day hikers, most of whom got off before we crossed into Italy to spend the gorgeous day in the mountains.

After I changed trains in Brig, we crossed the Italian-Swiss border somewhere in a 20km long tunnel. the only interesting thing about this train was the police going up and down the aisle with their drug-suffering dogs. We took on more passengers in Milan and left the mountains behind as we continued on to Verona.

I was a little nervous leaving the train. One hears so many stories about pickpockets and thieves associated with train stations, especially in Italy. But I made it through the station with all my valuables, even after stopping at the tobacco shop to by a phone card and a bus ticket.

The instructions I got from Marta was to take the #24 bus to Quinzano. But all the buses had numbers in the 90's, so when I saw one with Quinzano on the side, I jumped on. Marta later told me the numbers change on the weekends. The last part of my instructions were to take the bus to the end of the line and then call.

Marta's house above the family restaurant is another twenty minute climb up into the hills. Even though we've kept in touch, this was the first time I've seen Marta since I met her and her mother on the Camino de Santiago in Spain five years ago.

After dropping off my bags, I ended up in the kitchen. I think my father would have loved it here, in this old-fashioned Italian kitchen. Even though they have an old gas stove, they still prepare some foods in the huge fireplace. Today is a bit slow for the restaurant for several reasons. Marta tells me that even though Sunday afternoon is usually the busy time of the day, not many people have showed up because they have scaffolding outside the building for repairs some people think they are closed.

Luigi, Marta's father, opened the restaurant in 1964 and they have worked hard not to change it too much in all those years. Most of their customers like the homey, relaxed atmosphere. It's a whole family run business. Luigi has gardens which supply the vegetables they cook with and also vineyards for the house wine. Marta and her sister Anatella alongside their mother and her aunt in the kitchen.

I ended up eating homemade pasta with the whole family with Marta translating. There were plenty of questions about politics, the USA, religion along with plenty of wine that kept the conversation fluid. I left the table early to head for bed. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute with the family.

10/27/07 Wunnewil Switzerland

Well, today is my last day in Switzerland with my wonderful hosts, Daniel and Ariane. Oh and I can't forget the kids, Alani and Lorin. I've had so much fun, and everyone has kept me pretty busy. I don't know who is more exhausted every night, me or the kids. [smile]

Today looked kind of overcast but Daniel thought that it would be much better up in the mountains. So, we loaded up the van and headed out again this morning. We drove by the two-room school house where Ariane teaches. She said they are part of a group of five small schools. Last year there were eight, but with costs going up, the smaller schools are being closed. And Daniel was right. We drove right though the cloud-cover to a beautiful sunny day amongst the mountain peaks.

Our destination was Gurnigel which had all sorts of walking trails through out the hills. And because it was Saturday, we were not the only one with the idea to get out of the city and head up into the mountains for some sun and exercise. Actually I was surprised with all the people who drove up for just one reason, to do some walking. Not something I would imagine seeing in America. I was a little taken aback by a sign with a bomb on it. Daniel explained that this used to be a military artillery range so there still might be a few bombs out there.

Guess that means "Watch your step"

We walked up and down, letting the kids dictate the pace. We found a good spot to each a bit of lunch, catching more sun in the crisp mountain air. When we went walking again, the kids discovered some snow. Alani probably doesn't remember last winter, but I reminded her what a snow ball feels like. [laugh] Only, once she remembered, she decided to remind each of us individually what a snow ball feels like. [smile]

What's this white stuff?

Lorin's turn to learn the fine art of snowball making

The Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau

The day was over too quick. And as we drove back down through the clouds to Bern, all I could think about was how lucky I was to be here with my friends. Tomorrow was going to be a sad parting.

The best friends a guy could have

10/26/07 Wunnewil Switzerland

This morning was looking a lot different than yesterday. Kind of an overcast day with a lot of fog in the lower elevations. After breakfast, we loaded up the van along with the kids. On the way back home, we stopped off at "Cholerenschlucht" or "Choleren Gorge". It's a deep canyon creek with lots, I mean lots of waterfalls. And, for tourists like me, there is an extensive network of steps and catwalks to view it all.

The family climbing up behind

While Ariane took the kids back to the car, Daniel and I got to hike a bit of the country-side to a loud waterfall called "Pochtenkessel". Just like France, there are literally thousands of trails criss-crossing the country for anyone to walk, many just walking by farm houses along the way. If it was this loud now, I could just imagine how deafening it would be in the spring with the snow-melt.

Still pretty loud

Ariane and the kids met us at the highway with the van and we headed off again. Another kind of strange attraction I saw is a loooong (153m/501') suspension bridge, one of the longest in Europe. It just goes to the other side where an enterprising farm has set up a self-serve refreshment shack. Business must be good because they were building a new building complete with bathrooms. I've been on suspension bridges before, but never so long. I got a little bit scared in the middle because it seemed that the whole thing could twist out from under you without any trouble.

Didn't seem to bother the kids

Mmm, good mom!

We took the scenic route (as if there is anything but in Switzerland) on the way back to Bern. I asked to stop at Lake Thun where we could see the famous Eiger across the lake. Too bad we didn't have more time to explore the village on the lake front.

Lake Thun with the Eiger in the distance

In the land of cheese, milk cows rule!

Once back home, while Ariane headed off to a teacher's meeting, Daniel and I loaded up the kids in the bike trailer and decided to bike around the country-side near their home. The weather was a bit chilly for our passengers, but for Daniel and I, it was a great day to ride.

Are we there yet dad?

Old farm-house along the way

Every night was a feast at the Ritschards for me. They were always cooking up Swiss specialties. I definitely didn't loose any weight in their care. They cook too good. [smile]

Tonight was a special night for Daniel. I met them both on our respective cross-country bike trips in the USA back in 2001. After they returned, Daniel had given a slide show several times here in Bern to various groups. And he was so excited to show it again for me. Unfortunately for Daniel, his equipment was less than cooperative. I think our 30 minute show ended up taking about two hours and I think Daniel used every piece of electronic equipment in the house to pull it off. But I had so much fun, both seeing their pictures and comparing notes about our travels, and laughing with him when the show didn't go quite as smoothly as he hoped it would. He even tested it before I arrived in Switzerland just to make sure it would work. Next time he says he'll go digital. [smile]

Ariane, Jim & Daniel on July 12, 2001 in Oregon

My 'Show Me America!' trailer
Since I never got to show Daniel my pictures

10/25/07 Adelboden Switzerland

It was an interesting drive up to Daniel and Ariane's chalet. Once we left the main road the winds it's way up the valley floor, the road snaked it's way up the steep slopes of the mountains. I mean the road edge just dropped off. Not a great view out the passenger window, looking at the tiny, tiny houses at the bottom. And the road was barely big enough for one vehicle, so passing another car coming the other way was very, very interesting (involving a lot of backing up to any place wide enough for two cars). But we all made it safe and sound. [smile]

The chalet is built for several families with separate apartments. It's very modern but completely of wood construction, with lots of details you wouldn't find in any cabin back home. The kids have their own room, and while Daniel and Ariane have the loft, I'm sleeping on the fold-out couch downstairs. There is a balcony and lots of windows with a great view of the mountains.

The plan for the day was to go hiking up in the Adelboden Ski area. Even though the valley was covered in fog, we had bright sunshine the whole day as we hiked for hours.

The view early this morning

Alani and Ariane taking a short cut

Lorin playing a little hide-and-seek during a lunch break

Just being here was awesome

The kids get a ride

Alani and Lorin walk mom back down the mountain

Those are cow bells hanging from the eaves...HUGE!

The warm colors of sunset outside the chalet

The musical cows of Switzerland

10/24/07 Adelboden Switzerland

Daniel and Ariane have been so kind to take the whole week off to show me around. But today we thought I'd give them both a break and spend the day with Thomas. He is a high school biology teacher but has the day off so he offered to take me on a tour of Lucerne. One thing I didn't know about Thomas is that he is visually impaired, so he rides the bus and train for free and can take one person also for free to help him, not that he needs it. Daniel and Ariane had thought they could come too but the cost of tickets for the whole family would have been a little too much.

When I got to Thomas's, he was still getting ready. But to speed things up, he asked if I could feed Hannah her bottle. I must be getting better at this 'kid' thing because she was very content to take the bottle while in my arms. We bundled up because it was still pretty cold. Here is where I see differences in our cultures. For Hannah in her stroller, they have down sleeping bags that fit inside the stroller. I doubt if anyone in the US would take a child out in the cold but here it's normal. So, it was a quick bus ride to the train station and we hopped onto the train headed for Lucerne.

"Since the city straddles the Reuss River where it drains into Lake Lucerne, it has a number of bridges. The most famous is the Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke), a 204 m (670 ft) long wooden bridge originally built in 1333, although much of it had to be replaced after a 1993 fire. Partway across, the bridge runs by the octagonal Water Tower (Wasserturm), a fortification from the 13th century (now a gift shop). Inside the bridge are a series of paintings from the 17th century depicting events from Luzern's history. The Bridge with its Tower is the city's most famous landmark." from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia

Chapel Bridge

I just liked the view of the hotels along the waterfront

Thomas, Hannah and I headed up to the tower wall that rose above the city. Like in a lot of places all over Europe (it seems), all the old monuments are being restored. The largest tower had scaffolding surrounding it and it was locked. But we could still go up and walk along the wall fortification. The only problem was the old wooden stairs that were not exactly stroller-friendly. While Hannah and I spent the time looking over the city and lake, Thomas carried the stroller up the steps. We walked along the narrow wall to the clock tower. We left the stroller this time as we climbed up into the clock tower where you could see all the clock mechanism and how it worked. And unfortunately for Thomas, the steps down from the clock tower were even steeper, so while he got the stroller down, I very carefully carried Hannah down the steps.

The view from the clock tower

Hannah isn't so sure about this sight-seeing thing

Even with the chilly temperatures, folks are out
(notice the McDonald's on the right?)

I saw more bikes in Switzerland than anywhere this trip

We spent a lot of the time just walking along the waterfront. It was a peaceful day but still a little cold. I can just imagine how popular this place must be during the warmer summer months. We stopped off for some lunch but Hannah was getting a little tired of all this sight-seeing. So, we headed off for the train station. Thomas has suggested we take a different train back so we could see some different country-side along the way.

Hannah loves riding the train

Daniel, Ariane and the kids were waiting for us at the train station. I had a good time with Thomas and Hannah but it was too bad Rahel had to work today. After saying goodbye, the rest of us loaded up the van and headed out of town, up into the mountains to their chalet near Adelboden.

10/23/07 Bern Switzerland

Wunnewil Switzerland

Well, today Daniel thought he would take to two of the 'must see' things when in Switzerland: visit a chocolate factory and a cheese factory. Sounds good to me, especially if they have samples. [smile] So, we drove to the French-speaking part of Switzerland, to the town of Broc to visit the Cailler-Chocolate factory.

"François-Louis Cailler (1796 – 1852) was the first Swiss producer of chocolate. After he spent four years in Turin Italy learning how to make chocolate, he opened his first Swiss factory 1918. His great innovation was the development of a smooth chocolate that could be formed into bars. In 1875, Daniel Peter, Cailler's son-in-law, had the idea of combining the chocolate with his neighbor Henri Nestlé's condensed milk to make milk chocolate. Cailler was acquired by Nestlé, which had become a manufacturing giant, in 1929." from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The older entrance to the factory.

Most of the tour was a great audiovisual room that had all the sights and sounds of the factory, with a detail only a camera could capture. It was amazing to see it all work, especially the robotic arms that loaded the assorted chocolates in their boxes. And the highlight was the tasting room, which had all the samples you could eat. Mmmm.

As we entered the factory, the sun was poking through the clouds, but as we left, the clouds had reclaimed all the sky above. From Broc, we then drove to the Gruyère Cheese factory, west of Bern.

"Gruyère is a hard yellow cheese made from cow's milk, named after the town of Gruyères. Gruyère is sweet but slightly salty, with a flavor that varies widely with age. It is often described as creamy and nutty when young, becoming with age more assertive, earthy, and complex. When fully aged (five months to a year) it tends to have small holes and cracks which impart a slightly grainy mouth feel. To make an 80 kg (176 lb) round of Gruyère cheese, about 800 liters (211 gallons) of milk is used." from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

They make the cheese rounds every day

With the price of admission, you were given three samples of cheese at various ages. The tour said they get milk from 65 farms from this area of Switzerland. They claim the flavor is unique because of the types of grasses the cows feed on, including the wildflowers that dot the landscape. After that, we headed into the town of Gruyère.

Gruyère, Switzerland

View of the church from the chateau

And from the quiet of the country, we then headed into the 'big city' of Fribourg. With everything built compactly in the bend of the Saane/Sarine river, it seemed larger than it's 33,000 inhabitants. We walked around the historic Old City and stopped in the Gothic Cathedral of Saint Nicholas.

Cathedral of Saint Nicholas

Beautiful stained glass inside

Climb the 368 steps to the top of the 243' high tower

Well, I'm not sure about Daniel, but all this sight seeing had me pretty hungry. The plan for this evening was to meet Ariane and the children at some other friends of mine, Thomas and Rahel that lived in Köniz, which is practically in Bern. I met Thomas and Rahel biking in New Zealand last year. Since then, they have gotten married and now have a little girl, Hannah. I think both couples had a great time. While everyone was getting to know each other, Rahel was teaching me how to melt the cheese to make fondue. Looked pretty good.

Everyone 'Smile'

Yes, Jim ate until he was stuffed

10/22/07 Bern Switzerland

Wunnewil Switzerland

With the children still young, Ariane only works one day a week as a teacher in a two room schoolhouse higher up into the mountains. She says it is one of five that are all considered one school. But last year there were eight with three closing this year to consolidate costs. So, on Monday, while she was teaching, Daneil and I took the kids to Ariane's mother's house.

For us, the day wasn't looking too good. At first I thought it was me, but even Daniel commented how bitterly cold it was. I layered up with everything I had (good thing I thought to pack gloves and a stocking hat before I left KC) and we walked around Bern.

Even with the cold, there were still quite a few people out on the streets. I think what amazed me was the huge quantities of bicycles used here. I mean it seemed like thousands. I guess the Swiss still are hardy people because the cyclists were all ages, but very few scooters were about despite the fact that Bern is not flat.

Bern Switzerland

The cathedral tower is pretty incredible. the style here in Switzerland is a single pointed tower as high as it will go. Didn't really see much because a large part of it is covered for repairs. In fact, a lot of the buildings and streets are covered up for repairs of some sort or other.

The main government building has a fountain in the courtyard that many people play in during the summer. Underneath it somewhere is a huge deposit of the famous Swiss gold. At least that's Daniel's guess.

The Swiss elect representatives, then those elected officials choose seven presidents, who then choose one of their own to lead for a year. An interesting system.

Bern skyline

After that we took a walk to the Bear Pit. The bear is the symbol of Bern, so they've had a mascot bear for a long time. The pit reminded me of an old fashioned zoo cage. Daniel says it's much improved now compared to a few years ago. But now the city is beginning to build a huge bear complex that will greatly increase the room that the bears can wander, in a more natural setting including access to the river.

One of the bears

Last, one of the highlights of the day was one of the cities many clocks, a complicated mechanical wonder. I stood with the other tourists with our necks craned up and cameras a flashing as it went through it's chimes.

clockworks

Back at the Ritchard's, I was feeling very at home. Daniel and Ariane are great hosts. Alani, their three year old, still is a little shy around me. And she only speaks Swiss-German and she is still learning that. Daniel says that sometimes she just chats away in a language only she knows. I wonder if it is from a past life, but I didn't say anything. I figured my best response to her is "ya", "neh" or just shrugging my shoulders. That seems to satisfy her most of the time but she gives me that "grown ups are so stupid"-look sometimes.

10/21/07 Bern Switzerland

Wunnewil Switzerland

Well, I'm just relaxing after a very long day. I'm here at the home of my friends, Daniel and Ariane. I met them on my cross-country bike trip across the USA back in 2001. Finally, after two previous attempts, I'm here for a visit.

I always get a little nervous before traveling, so I was up too late last night at my cousin's in London. Poor Teresa was up early because of a business function she had to work even though it was her day off. I spent a little time packing, but really wanted to get some more pictures of everyone before I left.

Teresa, Fiona, Jeff & Nick

Around 11AM, I said my goodbyes and walked to the underground station. One of my impressions about London is that it is way too expensive. For example, riding the underground costs almost $9 a day. There are discounts if you use it a lot, but it's still pretty expensive. I bought my ticket and rode in the direction of the Heathrow. But as I reached the stop just before the airport, I realized that I somehow had left my camera back at the house. I really had no choice but to jump off at the next stop and catch the next train back to Boston Manor.

Jeff really wasn't expecting me to come a knocking. I grabbed the camera (it had fallen out of my pocket when I was playing with the kids on the couch) and ran back to the station as I was cutting it very close. I needn't have worried because my flight was delayed over an hour. It was so late, I even saw my cousin Jeff at the airport because he had a later flight back to the US for business. Even once we boarded the plane, we waited another hour on the tarmac.

That put me way late into Zurich. I rushed across the street from the airport to the train station to by a ticket to Bern and get a quick call off to Daniel. I made the train with just minutes to spare. I almost spent longer riding the train than flying today.

Good thing I have a guardian angle looking after me. I was walking in the wrong direction in the station when Daniel stopped me. His daughter Alani was in his arms, while Ariane was waiting outside in the car with Lorin, their younger son. It has been six years since I me them on our bike trips across America. I was so happy to see them again.

After getting the kids off to bed, the three adults had a nice quiet dinner. One question I had for Daniel was about the language he was speaking when he was talking with Alani earlier tonight. It was Swiss-German but it sure doesn't sound German in usage. Daniel said it is one of about 80 dialects spoken in various villages in the mountains. It is not a written language, just communication passed down from parent to child.

To me it had a more of an Eastern European sound to it with a Scandinavian accent. Over risotto, we spent hours retelling the special moments from our other trips.

10/20/07 London UK

Ealing

Even though Jeff and his wife Teresa have lived and worked in Europe for about seven years, we haven't coordinated visits before. This time I made a special effort to see them, especially since they have two more additions to the family; Nick is almost three and Fiona is one. The kids are a crack up, and almost accept 'cousin Jim' as part of the household.

Windsor Castle, home of the Queen

We spent some of the weekend driving into the city to visit Windsor Castle and just walk around the area. As all parents already know, our travel plans always followed the whims of the children. So, we didn't get to do the two hour tour of the castle, but that's ok. It was a beautiful day and it was just nice to be out and walking.

Nick & Fiona being entertained (by dad off camera)

Decided I really needed to start running again. At Plum Village, the schedule made it hard to fit in. So, figured while I was here, and the weather was so nice some days, I'd give it a go. But where to find a route? Go to Run.com I actually found a route from this block that showed the paths along the river. What a great idea. And the website even gave me distances and elevation profiles. But like a lot of things, for that first run my eyes were bigger than my body. I ended up running almost 50 minutes (I won't tell you how far [laugh]). And, later that night, my body was in a lot of pain. Too much too soon. You'd think I'd learn by now. [smile] Actually had to pay for that run for a couple of days. But I was able to get a few more runs in while here.

Went for along walk around the neighborhood. There was a website that had a map of the Ealing area with all the locations marked for film sets including Bend It Like Beckham, Love Actually, Harry Potter & The Philosopher's Stoneand Calender Girls. But when I tried to take some pictures, I realized that my camera battery was back at the house getting charged up. No matter, it was a nice walk.

Leigh-on-Sea

Took the underground and train to the other side of London, almost two hours away to visit my friends Syd and Jill. I met them on the Camino de Santiago and we became good friends, so they said whenever I was in London, I should come for a visit. We spent part of the time with there daughter Tiffany and her children, Sonny and Connie (ages 3 and 6 weeks). The weather was sunny but a little chilly but that didn't stop us from walking the boardwalk. It seemed that they knew everyone in town. Lot's of hello's and "this is our friend from America". At a boardwalk cafe, it became apparent that Syd and Jill spend a lot of time here. All the ladies behind the counter wanted to see the grandkids.

Their daughter Tiffany, with Sonny and Syd holding Connie

After we dropped off the children at their mother's, we spent a quiet evening at their flat just catching up. In the morning we headed back to the boardwalk cafe for a morning coffee. Unfortunately, Syd and Jill had to go to a funeral today, so our visit was too short. But I promised that I would be back someday and would plan for more time. I'll miss them.

Jill & Syd

Ealing

Well, seemed kind of stupid for me to be in London and not seeing part of this famous city. So I heading into the city center to be a tourist for a day. Took the Underground to Piccadilly Circus. I felt like I was in New York City with all the cars and people walking all around. Did a long tour along the Thames, first seeing Big Ben, Parliament and Westminster before crossing the river, walking past the London Eye (a giant ferris-wheel), and The Tate Modern Art Museum. My feet where pretty tired when I finally reached the Tower of London Bridge.

Piccadilly Circus



Parliament and Big Ben



The Tower of London Bridge

For my last day in London, Jeff and I took the kids to the Hampton Court Palace while Teresa went to work. Hampton Court was the home of Henry VIII (8th). The place was huge, especially the gardens which seemed to go on forever. Nick wanted to go through the maze they had in the garden. He did pretty good getting us through. While walking the grounds, we came upon the 'hound master' as he was telling how the dogs are used in a typical royal hunt.

But the real excitement in London this weekend is the World Cup of Rugby which is being played in Paris. England is playing in the championship match against South Africa and the whole city was a buzz with anticipation. So, while most of the England is watching the match, I'll be packing as I leave for Switzerland tomorrow to visit my friends Daniel & Ariane, and also Thomas & Rahel in Berne.