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Last day in the U.K.

Friday September 27th 2019 It's Friday morning at time to repack my suitcase and go home.  It's hard to believe I've been here in the U.K. for 4 weeks.  I've seen a lot in my little Hyundai, driving down the coast of Wales (amazing) and through the Cotswalds (beautiful) and down to the coast to include Cornwall, Devon and Essex.  All superbly beautiful and seen at my own pace, lingering where I felt the urge and moving on when ready to explore more. I've sought solitude and peace in the quiet countryside with grazing sheep, cattle and horses and walked miles and miles through  busy  London streets and subways.  This vacation was a good mix of both worlds and as always when it's time to end my getaway....IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO GO HOME.  I stayed last night with Susie's brother and wife, Steve and Ana in their lovely home in Manchester.  I was invited to come here because their home is just 10 minutes from the airport where I am leaving from today ...
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2nd and 3rd day in LONDON

Wednesday Sept. 25th 2019 Yesterday, Tuesday, I decided to get brave and figure out the tube(subway) system.  I bought a ticket that gave me access to the tube and city buses all day.  I walked to the nearest tube station and it was temporarily closed due to signal failure.  So I went to another station almost as close called Queensway.  Once you actually go down into the subway and cram yourself through the door of the train amidst all kinds of people and remember which station you want to get off at, it's not too bad.  I'm sure it's just like any other subway system.  I just don't have too much experience there.  So a trusty map is a must to keep on you. I wanted to take a ride on the London Eye.  It's the really big ferris wheel that on a clear day at the top you can see for 24 miles.  It was very cloudy this day but I took it anyway.  It takes 20 minutes to make one complete revolution.  It moves really slow. Then I went for...
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LONDON

Monday Sept. 23rd 2019 After spending 3 days in Hastings on the coast with a friend I lived with in France 5 years ago, I took the train to London. The weather today was the same as it was when I came for a day last week....rainy and gray.  Everything is gray when the sun isn't out. The hotel I booked in Kensington was more beautiful than anything else on the street.  The outside was full of red, orange and yellow flowers and looked very fancy and regal.  And so did the lobby.  The room was by far the smallest room I have ever stayed in.  It had a twin bed!  And barely enough floor room for my suitcase.  So I went to the bar, had a double Tia Maria and then went out to discover Kensington Gardens across the street.  When I mentioned to people here that I wanted to visit Kensington Gardens they looked at me with an expressionless face with no comment.  I pictured lovely gardens with flowers and GARDENS!  It was merely a large park for...
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JURASSIC COAST

Friday Sept. 20th 2019 When I heard that what I was looking at across the Solvent Bay area from Hurst Castle was the Jurassic Coast, with the white chalk cliffs, I felt I had to try to get there.  So I found a bus trip leaving from Bournemouth for the next day.  There was an opening.  So I got it.  Next challenge: drive into Bournemouth the city I got lost a couple of times due to excessive traffic and GPS misguidance.  But I got into the city with an hour to spare, so I thought.  No parking at the bus station.  Indoor parking at the station only allowed for a maximum 3 hr. stay.  So I parked the car on the street several blocks away with no signs indicating limited stay.  So I took a chance and walked to where I thought I remembered the bus station being.  No signs.  No buses. But I did jot down that this tour bus was leaving from slot "K" which I noticed with 1/2 hr. to spare.  The bus was actually a van holding about 18 pa...
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HURST CASTLE

Wednesday Sept. 18th 2019 Today when the sun came up, 2 hours after I got up, I saw like yesterday a cloudless, blue sky.  With no specific trips planned for today, I spoke to Sue next door to find how I could walk to the Hurst Castle.  After finding out how to get there from here and how simple it was I headed out for a day of walking.  I could have driven down to the marina a couple miles from here and taken a really small boat to the castle.  No challenge there.  So I walked down the street next to the house here, past a corn field and a grazing field with dark brown sheep (2 white) and past hedges of mature blackberries of which I picked and ate several.  I came upon what they call "the shingle spit" which is basically a huge seawall of stone to protect the coastline from further erosion.  I walked on top of this spit down to the castle.  They say it is 1-1/2 miles.  It was a bit tough walking but I had all day and the sun was warm and ...
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LONDON

Monday Sept. 16th 2019 What a whirlwind of a day in London.  Getting off the train at Waterloo Station to a hoard of shoulder-to-shoulder people all going in different directions was a bit of an upheaval.  Where do I go?  Look for exit signs.  Finally got out on the street to find out I had to go back into the station to get a bus ticket that would allow me to "hop on hop off" for 1 day as often as I wanted.  I got the wrong ticket.  It seems there is a big to do with the competition between "hop on hop off" bus companies.  I actually bought an oyster card which allowed me access to any of the city buses which I actually ended up using later.   After walking over 2 hours trying to get to one of the bus stops that takes me around all the sites in Central London, I finally got it straight. I got to see all the main attractions from the top of the 2 story open air bus making note of ones I want to return to next week.  So this run around Lon...
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The Beach

Sunday Sept. 15th 2019 Yesterday was a laid back day.  I did not especially want to get back in the car and drive.  Friday was a bit too much driving in one day.  I don't regret seeing the countryside as I did though.. Postcard beautiful. Yesterday the weather was a 10.  Who knew?  Today is proving to be a 10 as well.  Who knew?  Doves outside hooten and hollerin again.  Love it all. Yesterday I went to the train station in New Milton the next town west of here to possibly get a train ticket to London for Monday.  Travel agencies do not book train or bus tickets for a day; only tours.  The ticket station was closed due to staffing issues.  Internet said they would be open all day.  The ticket machine was not cooperating outside the door and a line of people was forming so I left.  I went back to my studio for yet another attempt at purchasing a ticket online.  Previously I had no luck.  Perseverance and some ...
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