Our four months on the road is drawing to an end. We will soon be packing our bags and flying home. We arrive back in Regina on May 10th. The time has gone by much more quickly than we thought it would. We have seen a lot of different people and places and have enjoyed it all.
Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard said “Life is lived forwards, but understood backwards”. It will take some time for us to sort through what we have experienced. But, one thing is clear – we would do it again in a heartbeat! Thanks for reading our blog and sharing this adventure with us. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain We have been enjoying the traditional sites of London but last night we were treated to something very special. The Royal Albert Hall, London’s premiere concert venue, is about a 30 minute walk from our flat. We attended a concert called ‘Night of 1000 Voices’ which was a fundraiser for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research. It involved some of the biggest names from Broadway and London’s West End, a several hundred-voice mass choir, the City of London Philharmonic and the Royal Albert Hall’s impressive pipe organ.
The performers sang the biggest hits from musicals such as Les Misérables, The Lion King, Miss Saigon, Evita, etc. It was amazing to hear these great musicians in such a special venue. Royal Albert Hall was built in 1871 and has been refurbished in recent years. We had a superb view of everything from the nose bleed seats (we were as high as you could go). Today we got together with the son of one of my dad’s cousins. Tony and I had never met so it was nice to be able to connect with part of our family that never left the UK. After lunch we all went to Westminster Abbey and had a good look around. Tony is an avid amateur genealogist and while he hasn’t discovered any wealthy aristocrat ancestors in our family he hasn’t given up the search. I have posted a few pictures from the past few days that you can check out on the United Kingdom page. We left Dublin this morning by ferry and arrived in Holyhead, Wales about three and a half hours later. We then took a train through Wales. After and hour or so we transferred to another train and arrived in London just before 6:00 pm. We have a great flat in Kensington - lots of restaurants nearby as well as grocery stores. The tube station, Earl's Court, is just a short walk away so we have good access to wherever we want to go.
Its hard to believe that after four months we are now down to our final week on the road. I have posted a short video of some of the things we saw in the Republic of Ireland - check it out on the Ireland page. On our first day in the Republic of Ireland we jumped on a bus and headed south to the Wicklow Mountains National Park. This part of Ireland has been the location for a number of Hollywood
movies such as Braveheart, Excalibur and the Count of Monte Cristo and it is not hard to see why. We also spent some time at the ruins of a monastery established over a thousand years ago. We hiked through the woods and later in the day visited the largest Anglo-Norman castle in Ireland, built in the 12th century. Today we visited Dublin’s number one tourist attraction – The Guinness Storehouse. This attraction chronicles the history of Ireland’s national drink in one of the old buildings where the brewery is still located. It was actually very interesting to see how the world’s most famous stout ale is made. In the afternoon we visited Kilmainham Gaol – one of Europe’s most notorious prisons. Built in 1796 it has housed prisoners as young as five. It played an important role in the history of Ireland as many political prisoners were kept here during the struggle for independence and a number of them were executed here as well. It was a sobering experience. Check out some of the photos posted on the Ireland page. “And may the blessings of the rain be on you - the soft sweet rain . . .” (old Irish blessing)4/29/2012
We arrived in Dublin a few hours ago and the soft sweet rain is falling. Sadly, it feels neither soft nor sweet – mostly cold and wet. However, we are blessed to be here and to enjoy this wonderful emerald
isle. The ferry trip to Northern Ireland was great. The ferry is like a mini-cruise ship. We were asked to make use of the executive lounge which is new to the ship. We didn’t feel like we could refuse free food and drink so we were happy to help out. The highlight of our time in Belfast was being able to visit with Char’s Uncle Billy and Aunt Agnes (not her real uncle and aunty but a couple who acted like a second set of parents to Char when all of them were in India at the same time). They are well into their 80s but that didn’t slow them down as they toured us around and fed us and gave us a wonderful day. The following day we visited the Titanic Exhibition and had an opportunity to tour the building where the ship was designed, to stand on the location where the ship was built and to walk through the dry dock where the ship was outfitted. The whole time Celine Dion’s ‘My Heart will Go On’ was running through my mind – made me want to jump into the Irish Sea! Today we took the train from Belfast to Dublin. It took a bit over two hours through the pretty countryside. We will spend the next three days in and around Dublin before returning to London where we will spend our final week before returning home. I have posted a few new pictures from Northern Ireland on the UK page. Sorry, couldn't help quoting from a Beatles song now that we are in Liverpool, home of the Beatles. The quote does describe the weather though. It rained hard and was windy today but that didn't stop us from visiting the Beatles museum. We arrived in Liverpool by train from the Village of Ashbourne where we spent the last couple of days. Charlene had another school friend from India to visit there. Rose and her husband Jonathan invited us to stay with them and were wonderful hosts.
We spent the first morning in Ashbourne exploring the shops, churches and cafes. In the afternoon we visited Chatsworth House, the home of the Duke of Devonshire. The family that has lived there for the last few centuries has been one of the richest and most influential aristocratic families in England. We enjoyed viewing the grounds and the many rooms that are open to the public, including the many priceless paintings and sculptures. Tomorrow we cross the Irish Sea by ferry. We should arrive in Belfast, Northern Ireland, sometime tomorrow evening. Be sure to see the pictures we have posted from our tour of the English countryside on the UK page. Actually, there were no automobiles involved in this leg of the journey. After flying into and staying overnight in London we jumped on a city bus and headed back to the airport. At the airport we took the express tube to Paddington Station which is the place to be if you want to take a train. We boarded a train there and headed to Stroud, our first stop in the English countryside.
In Stroud we were picked up at the station by Heather and Jonathan. Heather and Char were classmates and roomates at a boarding school in India. That was a number of decades ago although I am not permitted to say how many. They haven't seen each other since. We have been treated like royalty here. We have our own suite which is part of Heather and Jonathon's home. They have taken us on great walks through the beautiful countryside. Yesterday we attended a wonderful traditional Anglican service and then headed out to visit Oxford University where Jonathan studied. We have enjoyed Heather's incredible cooking and good conversation late into the evenings. Today we board another train to continue our trek through the countryside. Sadly, we will soon leave Rome for our next stop. We have enjoyed this city. There is so much to see and experience. While shopping has been a main pastime of the residents of some of the cities we have visited, in Rome it seems that the locals are more interested in a great meal, a good cup of espresso or just sitting on a park bench watching the world go by.
We will miss that. Some of it at least – we hunted down our own ‘made in Italy’ espresso maker so we will have the coffee part when we get home! Check out the video on the Rome page. We having spent the last few days doing what Romans do – enjoying life! The food is great and the weather has been spring like – a bit of rain and lots of sunshine. If you enjoy walking you would love Rome. We walked to the Colosseum on Sunday and spent most of the day (along with thousands of others) trying to imagine what life was like in ancient Rome. We were afraid the lineups would be long but we arrived early enough and were inside the stadium within 10 minutes. You can actually book advance tickets and skip the lines but that would require planning ahead!
The next day we wandered in the opposite direction and ended up in the Borghese Gardens – Italy’s ‘Central Park’. We couldn’t resist visiting the zoo while we were there. Today we walked to St. Peter’s Basilica – described as the greatest church in Christendom. We climbed up to the top of the dome (after taking the elevator as far as it would go) and enjoyed the view from the top. After touring the church we headed next door to the Vatican Museum which houses some of the world’s greatest art as well as the Sistine Chapel. It was a bit of a mad house, as far as crowds go, though we didn’t wait at all to get in. I would hate to visit the place when it is really busy. We have also been on some walks and have stopped in at many of the churches in the city – most are open and can be visited during the day. We have enjoyed some great music in these churches as organists, singers and other musicians practiced. We expect to do more walking, eating and visiting ancient sites for the balance of the week. On Friday we head to the UK. Check out the photos posted on the Rome page. We should actually be in Paris – City of Love, since today, April 14th, marks 33 years of marriage for the both of us (to each other!). I had no idea before we began this trip what it would be like to spend 24/7 with one’s spouse for a period of several months in new and strange locations. While I looked forward to it, the experience has exceeded all expectations. Char is the perfect travel companion. Indeed, the perfect partner to travel through life with. Happy Anniversary!
We arrived safely in Rome yesterday. It has pretty much rained steadily since our arrival but we have a decent umbrella so we are set to go. We are planning to meet up for lunch today with some fellow travellers who also hail from Regina assuming we can find our way out of our neighbourhood! |
AuthorIn January, 2012, Curt and Char left their jobs in Canada to spend four months travelling around the world. Archives
May 2012
|