Category Archives: Twists and Turns
Pax Lodge and Bernard Bear
The next day was reserved for a trip to Pax Lodge for a special pinning ceremony. I surprised Ysabela by buying a Bernard Bear from the hotel, so he went with us; the bears were being sold to raise funds for a children’s hospital. People buy a bear, tour London with him and take pictures to share with the hotel staff. The hotel has a wall dedicated to Bernard’s travels.
I stayed around Pax long enough to get some pictures, then I took off for the nearest café! I did take Bernard with me since Bela and the other girls (from various tour groups) were playing games and learning more about the Pax Lodge history.
Bela and Sierra
I learned that the flags on the building represent the home countries of the directors and the volunteers. Any Girl Scout can apply to volunteer at Pax Lodge. The young ladies we met were quite enthusiastic and happy to share their experiences. I was fascinated by the pins on the board. Before I went for coffee, I bought a bird for Ysabela. They were made by a volunteer with scraps of fabric and embellishments. As a quilter, I love that idea.
I walked a few blocks with Bernard tucked in my purse to find coffee and some quiet time. When I travel, I need time to myself to process what I’ve seen and experienced. I met Luz at the café. She spoke Spanish, so it was nice to visit with her. She was very kind. I stayed there long enough to savor my coffee and write in my journal. I made it back to the lodge by eleven, and we headed out on the bus to explore and eat lunch on our own.
London!
One thing that really surprised me in London was hearing many languages being spoken. I had expected to hear a lot of the Queen’s English, but that was simply not the case! I enjoyed the diversity around me, and so did Ysabela. That being said, now back to our adventure….
While Rich dashed off to purchase tickets for Mamma Mia (for 38 pounds each), I took advantage of some shopping time after Bela and I sampled fish (haddock) and chips. Ketsup cost extra, so we did without it. It was much like the batter fried fish we get at Long John Silver. We went to the M&M store and grabbed some neat things along with the chocolate. Bela got chilled from the rain and wind later, so she unwrapped her blanket and used it like a rain coat. We bought two on sale for three pounds each when I paid for Bela’s huge bag of candy.
Bela was so tired by late afternoon, but she wasn’t alone; my feet ached, but we still had to keep moving on and off the metro. The poor kid actually fell asleep while Rich tracked down two of the girls who got misplaced. It took him about an hour to get back with them.
At least Bela’s shopping trip was successful. She was pleased to find a flag and a London iPhone case. I couldn’t find a case for my phone, so I was a bit disappointed. We made it to Hult for supper where we had pizza. It was pretty tasty after such a long day. Some of the older ladies and I were nearly worn down to a nub after so many hours spent walking around London. We made it to the hotel (finally) around seven. (Keep in mind that we flew out Sunday after lunch and it was now Monday night.) I was rooming with Laura, a Girl Scout leader. Laura had emailed me prior to the trip to introduce herself which was kind of her. I was thankful that Laura had a spare adapter so I could charge my phone! Bela was rooming with three girls from the Texas group. They had been discussing anime all day, so they had bonded a bit.
We hit the showers, then I perked up enough to go to the hotel bar for some American coffee. It only cost me a pound. I smoked a couple of cigarettes, then dropped off Bela’s medicines.
On my final smoke break of the night, I met a girl named Charlie Alex. Her boyfriend, George, was caring for his little sister—Marla, two years old, green eyes, red curly hair. Her picture was adorable. Charlie asked me questions about the United States, and I listened to her explain why she was unhappy with the decision to leave the European Union. She opined that it will limit economic opportunities for her generation. Chatting with Charlie was a nice ending to a very hectic day.
10-Day Whirlwind Tour
I have been away on vacation with my teen, Ysabela, for 10 days, but it feels like a lot longer! I’m happy to be home and blogging again. In this series of blogs, I will go over the trip day by day to share the experiences with you all. I kept a journal just for that purpose since I had so many people interested in our travels.
July 10, 2016: We were lucky enough to be transported by friends to the airport, so that saved me a lot of parking fees and stress. We made our flight, but it was a bit sketchy. Dawn, one of the flight attendants, was there, but she wasn’t a bit helpful. The plane shook and made odd noises—enough to alarm Bela. I reassured her, but I was a bit concerned until things evened out. Since our flight took off late, we barely made the connecting flight in Chicago. We were the last ones to board. That part was very stressful, as you can imagine!
After we got settled in on the flight across the pond, Jeffrey Alan made us feel at home. This plane was so much different from the others we have taken! First class was WOW! Bela and I decided that one day, we will travel to Europe in that section! We kept going to the “regular people” seating. Each row was divided as such: 3-4-3. Dinner was a sight! I chose pasta, Bela wanted chicken, so we were both satisfied. Each tray had the main course, a small bottle of water, a roll, salad with pomegranate acai vinaigrette dressing on the side, a small wedge of cheese and crackers. I ate almost everything while I watched Allegiant; Bela tuned in to see a Goose Bumps movie. We had time on the flight for about three movies if we stayed awake for the entire seven-hour flight. We definitely felt spoiled. Supper made us look forward to breakfast!
Flight information showed Chicago to London as 3939 miles which translated into seven hours and 20 minutes. I enjoyed my headphones and blanket. Daddy’s Home was my second movie choice. I did end up sleeping some.
July 11, 2016: We landed in London around nine in the morning (their time, not ours). It took forever to get through the passport check. Once we escaped that, all I wanted was a smoke! I left Bela with an EF Tour lady while I found a smoking area. After so many hours without one, I felt a bit dizzy afterward.
The EF Tour lady took Bela to Richard, our babysitter/guide/go-to guy, and he finished collecting the rest of our group. We dropped off our luggage at the bus while he passed out our Oyster cards. Oyster cards are used for public transportation. We saw a lot of the metro today! We literally walked miles. One lady had a FitBit and said we had already walked almost three miles, but she didn’t have it on all day. We definitely got in way more than 10,000 steps.
We saw buskers in Trafalgar Square and hoofed it over to Covent Garden to view some awesome statues. Our final destination for the day was Premier Inn in the Shoreditch area of town. More pictures and info to come!
Musical Memory
We loved to watch the Mexican “telenovela” (soap opera) Fuego en la Sangre. This is the theme song, of course.
Wordless (Workless) Wednesday!
Onward to D. C.
Somewhere close to lunch on the last teacher workday (LAST TEACHER WORK DAY!!!!), I left to take the dogs to Koko’s Palace, pick up Ysabela and our “personal bags” and head to the airport. When I refer to “personal bags,” what I really want to say is that we each carried a large tote that held our clothes for the weekend. My bag even had room for my purse. That saved me money since there’s a charge for a carry-on or checked bag. Only a personal bag flies with me free—if it fits under the seat. We all know clothes can be mushed, and mush we did. 🙂 We made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare. I was a bit nervous since I had received an email advising me to arrive three hours early for domestic travel due to long security lines.
Bela and I took the red-eye and arrived in Washington, D. C., right before five in the morning. I will admit to sleeping—and most likely snoring—all the way. I am not ashamed. In my defense, I did warn my flight neighbor. He didn’t have a problem with it. Bela later informed me that he and I were doing some duet snore harmony.
I had downloaded the Uber app prior to leaving home, so I thought transport would be easily arranged. HA! Airport Internet could be a bit better. After almost half an hour of “loading” on my cell phone, I was done. My last resort was to call my hostess, Martha. She was already awake (thankfully) and came to pick us up within the hour.
We were welcomed at the apartment building by Martha’s neighbor, Mr. Ali. He’s a delightful person who made me a cup of coffee when I was there last year. Coffee friends are forever friends. Ysabela and I managed to get settled in enough to take a nap. Martha set the clock to make sure we’d be ready to get to the venue by the appointed time.
Didn’t I tell you what we were doing there? Oh, dear! Sorry about the oversight! We were there to present student films for the American History Film Project! I attended last year with one of my students; sadly, none were able to come this year except for my daughter (who also did a film).
This year’s venue was lovely. The curator at Blenheim was so gracious and generous. Ysabela and I even got to take a tour of the place before our presentations began! We were made to feel so welcome that I hated to leave at the end.
It has been so encouraging to see Martha’s dream grow. There were more films presented (and more states represented) this year than last. Our in-person audience also doubled! Local school board members were in attendance, and they took an active part by asking insightful questions after each film. Ysabela did a fine job, as did the other students. Several young film makers joined us via Skype to answer questions. Technology is great!
For more information (and to see the films) head on over to the Facebook page (link below), give it a “like” and do some browsing! Please share it with your friends as well. I’ll blog more about it all in a day or two! Stay tuned!
Happiness
Ysabela is easy to get along with, and I love her. It should be no surprise that I enjoy buying little things for her. About two weeks ago, I ordered her a Harry Potter case for her iPhone. Time passed, and I had nearly forgotten about it. We went to check the mail this morning, and there it was! She loves it!
Piri Piri
We received some piri piri sauce in our most recent Try the World box (as you probably already know). Ysabela had been after me to fix some chicharrones (pork rinds) that our friend, Judith, had given me on my last visit to Mexico. Last night, the planets aligned and I actually fixed the chicharrones so Ysabela could try the piri piri sauce.
I opened the seal on the sauce and barely swiped my tongue on the tab—my tongue immediately started to burn, so that was my only taste! Bela was anxious to try, so she poured a bit onto one of her chicharrones and she noticed the pork rind started making a popping sound. (Is that normal?) The logo on the bottle of sauce has jalapeños in the shape of a cow skull with horns—-I told Ysabela those are actually the horns of Satan since the sauce is—at least to me—horribly hot.
Ysabela said that ghost peppers are hotter than the piri piri sauce, but I don’t want any part of spicy!
Portugal Box!
Today we received our Try the World box featuring Portugal! I am so excited. I know Ysabela will love the apple and cinnamon black tea. I think I will enjoy the Rocha pear and port wine jam. The label says it’s great with blue cheese. There may, however, be a fight over the lemon cookies. I’m not sure either of us will try the piri-piri sauce since there’s a jalapeño on the label. I know I’m not that brave! Bela might surprise me….
Ramblings of a Perforated Mind 