Thursday, June 28, 2007
Legoland, Windsor, UK
With only one full day to spend in England and Legoland only a mile from our B&B, that's where we headed. I knew that Shannon, who had patiently put up with my endless reminiscing with old friends, would enjoy it. The rain held off and Lois, Nell, Shannon and I had a great time. The rides are geared for kids up to twelve so were about at my level of scariness i.e. thrillling momentarily but not terrifying or sick-producing. An unexpected but pleasant surprise was how yummy the fish and chips were there. Nell also spotted British actress, Emma Thompson, amongst the other visitors. Next-India.
Two friend- filled days in Windsor
En route to India we spent two nights in Windsor in England. It's close to Heathrow and we found a lovely bed and breakfast on line called Park Farm. A word of warning- B&B's are no longer 10 pounds a night as they were in the 70's or the spare room in someone's house. I had contacted all our Irish and UK friends that we would be passing through and was thrilled when so many traveled to Windsor to see us. Jill Stewart-Moore (midwifery training fellow student in the 70's) came all the way from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Lois Parsons (another midwifery school friend) and her daughter Nell made the trip from Somerset and spent the 4th of June with us touring Legoland. (More about that later.) Pete and Janet Banks and Barbara and Tony Crossley and daughter Lydia joined us for dinner in Windsor at the foot of Windsor Castle. The flag was up so the queen was IN. The aforementioned couples are friends from the 60's when I attended school in London. It was especially interesting to hear from Lydia, a nurse at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, the impact of what the British refer to as "7/7", the London bombings a few summers ago, one of which occurred in Tavistock Square where the hospital is located. Flying high over Iraq the following day en route to India felt surreal as I thought about 9/11 and all the events that have transpired since that fateful day. Although we have satellite radio here including BBC News and my beloved NPR I haven't had much time to listen to the news. I am fearful of what I might hear. For now ignorance is bliss.
We're here!!
Bear with me! This is my first attempt at a blog. It seemed the only way to go with so many people wanting to know what we're up to and how we are doing. So if you're curious, log on from time to time and we'll try to keep you updated. I think the photos will be fun to see.
We left sleeping Bradford at 3:30 a.m. Sunday, June 3 for Boston's Logan Airport where we took a morning flight to London. In spite of Ann Peck's advice that almost everything we would need would be available in India, we seemed unable to travel with less than four footlockers and our carry-on luggage. The trouble started in Boston where our carry-ons were deemed to large and we were sent aside to repack. In London we had to store the trunks for two nights at the airport. At Heathrow we exceeded weight limits and were sent to an area with a scale marked "Lagos passsengers" to repack. I guess Nigerians must share our tendency to overpack! In addition, on leaving London we were only allowed one carry-on including a back pack or handbag until we passsed through security. Once through security we could have a purse and suitcase each. Miraculously enough and to the surprise of the British Airways staff person checking us in, the computer said we could check not two, but three bags each which solved the carry-on problem. Nine plus hours later we arrived in Chennai at 4 a.m. once again to hoist the trunks onto a trolley. This was just the beginning in India where we took an overnight train to the base of the mountains where Kodaikanal (Kodai for short), our final destination, is located, a 2 1/2 hour drive up a winding narrow road (the ghat). At the railroad stations the coolies (porters) thought they had struck gold when they saw our luggage. Major haggling was necessary including Ann, our host, saying, "Forget it, we'll do it ourselves!' (all part of the bartering system). So long story short we arrived in Kodai in one piece, the trunks somewhat the worse for wear and I will be shipping all cargo home by sea in the future. As they say," What was I thinking??!!"
We left sleeping Bradford at 3:30 a.m. Sunday, June 3 for Boston's Logan Airport where we took a morning flight to London. In spite of Ann Peck's advice that almost everything we would need would be available in India, we seemed unable to travel with less than four footlockers and our carry-on luggage. The trouble started in Boston where our carry-ons were deemed to large and we were sent aside to repack. In London we had to store the trunks for two nights at the airport. At Heathrow we exceeded weight limits and were sent to an area with a scale marked "Lagos passsengers" to repack. I guess Nigerians must share our tendency to overpack! In addition, on leaving London we were only allowed one carry-on including a back pack or handbag until we passsed through security. Once through security we could have a purse and suitcase each. Miraculously enough and to the surprise of the British Airways staff person checking us in, the computer said we could check not two, but three bags each which solved the carry-on problem. Nine plus hours later we arrived in Chennai at 4 a.m. once again to hoist the trunks onto a trolley. This was just the beginning in India where we took an overnight train to the base of the mountains where Kodaikanal (Kodai for short), our final destination, is located, a 2 1/2 hour drive up a winding narrow road (the ghat). At the railroad stations the coolies (porters) thought they had struck gold when they saw our luggage. Major haggling was necessary including Ann, our host, saying, "Forget it, we'll do it ourselves!' (all part of the bartering system). So long story short we arrived in Kodai in one piece, the trunks somewhat the worse for wear and I will be shipping all cargo home by sea in the future. As they say," What was I thinking??!!"
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