London – Less Car, More Life

UK to USA.

Definitely one of our favorite views in the UK. The harbor at Tenby, Wales.

When we were both working our vacations were at most three weeks long, and were in search of new places and new experiences. Now that we’re in our fourth year of constant travel we still love new places and experiences but also love to revisit familiar places.

Arriving from Norwich to London, Liverpool Street Station.

And back with our good friends Erik and Hannah in Tenby Wales. One of our happy familiar places.

Headed to lunch in Laugharne which is famous for being Dylan Thomas’s home for the last four years of his life.

The garage of the boat house, where Thomas wrote a lot of his most famous works.

It’s set up as if he walked away for a cup of tea. He died while on tour in New York City, so in a way, he did just walk away.

I requested that the guys look “moody and poetic”. Rich is used to my requests, Erik laughed!

I first visited Laugharne in 1984 or so, it’s nice to see that Dylan Thomas’s popularity is still strong.

Laugharne Castle. Such an imposing site. Such a tough place to find on the map when you’re looking for “Larn”.

Rich packed up and ready to leave Tenby.

After a delightful stay in Tenby we headed off to Bristol, another of our favorite UK cities. This was our third stay in Bristol. It’s always fun to chat to a local and see their sometimes puzzled delight over our love of Bristol. It’s an easy train ride from Tenby, and easy to get back to London from Bristol, thanks to the Great Western Railway which linked London and Bristol in 1841. Engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Yes, we are fans of his work and highly recommend the SS Great Britain museum ship, which he also designed.

Bristol Temple Mead station. Plenty of bikes in Bristol.

A swan and a view over the Floating Harbor, a lock controlled off shoot of the tidal River Avon created in 1809.

The hydraulic equipment at Underfall Yard Visitor Centre, which explores and explains the elegant engineering behind the Floating Harbor, and its importance in the development of Bristol.

Artsy shot out of the historic building.

It wouldn’t be a trip to Bristol without a visit to a Banksy artwork.

The Bag O’Nails pub. My favorite pub. Another must visit place for us.

Pub patrons trying to seem uninterested in the cats.

The cats truly uninterested in the pub patrons.

Just minding my own business by the record player.

Gotcha! Lured in by my wool sweater and scarf and spot near the heater. I failed to look nonchalant when this cat graced me with their presence.

The Left Handed Giant pub, another favorite of ours.

Sometimes it was also a bit cold inside the pubs.

The ceiling of The Cornubia pub. Horse brasses and beer mats. Yes, a lot of pub visits.

It was not cold inside the Cornubia. My favorite pub fire so far. Clean burning coal. Wood fires not allowed in that area, the bartender said, but clean burning coal is ok.

We took the train to Bath to go for a walk in the hills.

Snow hanging on thanks to the cold weather.

We take as many opportunities as we can to meet up with friends, so we shoved off from Bristol towards Hastings, where friends from London had recently moved.

Charing Cross Station, London. On our way to Hastings. Nice digital departure board.

British seaside towns. Love them. They share similarities but are all so different.

The covered promenade with the Hastings pier in the background.

What does this British seaside town have that no other one does? Our friends Joe and Justina!

We had a great walking tour of Hastings. A lovely town well worth visiting.

Where fisherfolk store their equipment and hang their nets to dry. From above the tall narrow black buildings look like toys or monopoly houses.

And no day is complete without a pub stop, this time at The Clown.

And after an easy train ride, back in London for a few days.

The modern skyline in the glorious winter sunshine.

I love the juxtaposition of the Tower of London and the Shard.

It was a super cold and still morning, the reflection of the bridge in the river caught our attention.

Frost on the river walk, and slightly hazy air made the view soft focus and golden.

We were staying right near Spitalfields and the view of City of London with the old buildings in the foreground was captivating.

Modern buildings looming over old buildings.

Museum of the Home, located in a row of old almshouses. Loved the Rooms Through Time exhibit, the evolution of London dwellings from 1630 to present.

Dinner date with young friends who recently moved to London.

When we were in Lyon on our way to Paris we caught an arts update on TV which mentioned the Tim Burton exhibit in London. We quickly booked tickets for our last day in the UK. So glad we did. Our two London museum visits, Museum of the Home and the Tim Burton exhibit couldn’t have been more different. Where one dealt with the practicalities of home, changing styles of furniture and social interaction, the other was the products of one man’s talent and creativity.

Recreated office, the desk blotter doodles were fantastic.

I wasn’t aware what a talented artist he is.

Many of the movie sets and costumes had signs not to photograph them. This Nightmare before Christmas-esque mobil and wallpaper had no such sign.

I’ve been having a hard time with this blog post. We flew from London to Chicago, saw our good friends Michelle and Alan – I have no pictures! – and Rich’s birth mom. From Chicago it was off to Grand Junction Colorado to see my Mom and Sister and Niece, very few pictures. Then Seattle, then San Francisco.

Lori looking out the window on January 20th, 2025.

A lot of Americans will understand the trepidation we were feeling, trepidation that has proved correct. It feels frivolous to do anything but focus on the state of the nation. Watch the news? Keep the news at bay? Focus on family and friends? Yes, that.

Seattle with our favorite Pacific Northwesters. Northwesterns? Cecily and Christine.

41 months. That’s how long we’ve been traveling since selling our place in San Francisco. So many amazing places and wonderful people. Many hotel rooms, wonderful house and pet sits, pensions, apartments. We both realized this winter that we are ready to have a place to call our own. Spring our stuff from storage and move it into our own space. We still intend to travel a lot, but we’ll be able to go home. Cook in our own kitchen. Sleep in our own bed. Host guests! Have parties!

Sutro Tower in San Francisco and the Happy Travelers.

But first we head off to Taipei and then Indonesia. The house hunting can wait until we return to the US in the summer. Stay tuned!

Twisting along the Thames – from London to Windsor by bike.

Headed out from Syon Park on a bright and mild morning.

Arriving in the UK after seven weeks bike touring in Germany, Czechia, Belgium and the Netherlands is a mixture of delight- we can talk to people and have in-depth conversations and understand all the signs and announcements!, and disappointment – the cycling infrastructure in this area of the UK is like most of the US, pretty sad. Not well connected, and nothing that is going to move people away from car trips to bicycle trips. Except, just like in some US cities, in some UK cities where cycling has become a preferred mode, like London, the cycling can be great.

Riding from the Harwich ferry to the Manningtree train station was fine. Quiet morning roads, considerate drivers, but no real bike infrastructure.

Adjusting to staying left is always a challenge at first.

Staying out of the way at a crowded Liverpool Station in London. The next day was to be a scheduled train strike so the trains seemed extra busy.

That is not just a bike lane, that’s a cycle superhighway.

Finding a gap in the tourist flow to snap an usie. Us and Big Ben.

London is a great example of what good infrastructure can do for cycling in a city. This is the second time we’ve come from Holland on a ferry to Harwich, and then a train to London. The first time we were a bit nervous about crossing London on loaded touring bikes, but it was a snap, so this time we were looking forward to it. And London on a busy mid July morning, loaded with tourists, did not disappoint.

St. James’s Park. Blending in with the other cyclists.

Want to feel like part of the attraction of the changing of the Guard?

Hop on your bike and follow them up Birdcage Walk and Spur Road. As long as you stay behind them the busy Constables will not yell at you.

Our route took us past Buckingham Palace, which always gives me a thrill to see, and on to Hyde Park. From Hyde park we rode towards Hammersmith and joined the Thames River. First stop: pub lunch at the Blue Anchor. When we have our loaded touring bikes we make sure to sit outside somewhere we can keep on eye on the bikes. Our new bikes have spoke locks which are super easy to simply click into place, and we joke that it would take an unusual thief to be able to jump on Rich’s huge loaded bike and ride away without immediately crashing, but we are happier when we have the bikes in sight.

Ah, the first British pint in about ten months.

This set up is a bike touring dream. The Blue Anchor on the Thames River.

Always read the info plaque. I appreciate that someone went to the effort to give me a little historical context with my half pint of cider.

We decided to ride along the Thames to our hotel for the night, the Hilton at Syon Park. It would be a perfectly timed bumble to get us there at check in time. Is it the easiest or most efficient way to ride? No. But winding along the Thames Path takes you through some very scenic areas.

So many cute pubs, but we must be moving on.

After our night in Syon Park, which would be worth exploring on a future visit, we decided to ride the Thames Path all the way to our destination just outside Windsor. Again, not a direct route, but certainly a scenic ride. It’s fun to have no idea what to expect from a route. The surprises around bends in the river, the views across the river, the varying surfaces of the Thames Path – everything was new to us.

Isleworth, still in the tidal reach section of the Thames.

Richmond Bridge. Still in the tidal reaches of the Thames. Teddington, just a bit along the river from Richmond, is known as the end of the tidal Thames.

It was surprising to us to find such stretches of nature so close to London.

Signage along the path is quite good in places.

Rich in front of Ham House. The challenge of loaded bikes is actually going inside attractions. We did not.

Crossing the river again at Kingston upon Thames. The Kingston Bridge.

And another attraction, Hampton Court Palace, viewed from the outside.

The river and path really stitches together life. Walkers, folks painting, so many families, it’s a huge attraction, but dispersed crowds.

West Molesy, and me being nosy about boat life. I love seeing the occupied boats and imagining life afloat.

The surface of the Thames Path varies a lot. This stretch was quite wide and fairly smooth. Some parts were choppy old asphalt or quite lumpy with tree roots.

Dismount and walk through the lock area. Stop and watch the lock filling or draining as long as your patient husband can stand.

Did we need to take a little foot and bike ferry across the river?

No, we could have skipped the Shepperton Ferry, but how cute is this little ferry dock?

A one minute ferry ride! Well worth the 6£ for two folks and two bikes. Was it?, says Rich’s expression.

The ferry ride did get us blackberry adjacent though!

Speed picks up as we approach our lunchtime pub stop. Heading into Staines-Upon-Thames.

Another day, another riverside pub. Last Hop in Staines. Beer and cider, waiting for our pizza.

Obligatory pint of cider and river photo.

After lunch we left the flat river route and went through Runnymede.

Our first experience cycling along the Thames River Path left us wanting more river experiences. Thankfully our temporary home for three weeks is allowing us to spend quite a bit of time appreciating the river path by bike and on foot. I would highly recommend exploring the Thames River Path to anyone spending time in or around London. After the crowds of central London it was a peaceful and eye opening experience. Why was I so surprised to see how busy the river was with small boats, narrow boats and stand up paddle boarders? The look and feel of the Thames as it runs though London, with such strong tidal flows, doesn’t prepare you for how bucolic the river quickly becomes.

We’re enjoying being in one place for a while, and have been walking and biking and appreciating our temporary home and kitty cat. Happy summer all, and more on our summer of the Thames River soon.

Good Day Sunshine!

Happy New Year everyone! I think 2022 is going to be great. Why? We woke this New Year’s morning to the rarest of sights- sunlight and shadows; the first real sunshine since we stepped out of a taxi at the Marrakech Airport….20 days ago. (Wait, why did we leave Morocco?)

Apparently December set some sort of record for gloom in the UK; which is saying something. We’ve been leaning into the dark winter, but have a new appreciation for the Northern European lust for sunshine by January…we even started taking Vitamin D last week, and the tanning bed salons looked a little less repulsive to us. A little less.

Soaking up the five minutes of sun in late December!

More New Year’s Day shadows in Regents Park

But New Year’s morning was indeed a glorious London Day and we took full advantage of it by immediately heading up Primrose Hill to take in the beautiful view and then exploring on foot Marylebone down to the heart of the royal parks of St. James, Green, and Hyde Park. And we were just enough ahead of the masses to experience a very peaceful central London.

Cheryl loving the newly improved sidewalks and pedestrian zones of central London.

New Year’s Day Horse Guard preparations. Beautiful horses, but unfortunately no jousting

Easy to get bike shares anywhere in London with a contactless credit card £2/day for unlimited 30 minute trips

We also had some fun conversations with some local youngsters who had been up all night and just about ready to sleep after taking in the sunrise on Primrose Hill. Oh yeah, we’re hip too kids, we just left out the part of going to bed at 10:30!

Warm winter weather means outdoor dining has still been in play.

So thanks to the kindness of some very generous friends, we have spent the past week living a bit like locals in the beautiful North London neighborhood of Primrose Hill.

Great pubs everywhere…this one above Hamstead Heath

It’s been great to explore in all directions by foot, tube, and bike share, as we continue to discover more of the London magic, and the layers of overlapping neighborhoods, pathways, alleys, and mews

Near the highest point in London at Whitestone Pond…easy views through the mostly bare trees.

The atmospheric Hill Garden and Pergola in Golder’s Hill Park

So we had originally planned (and actually had tickets) to go back to France on the train tomorrow, but that’s been postponed at least a few weeks due to non-essential travel border ban from UK imposed due to Omicron.

Modern Hall Park…the southern end of the Northern Line..more typical weather

It’s all quite political as both sides of the channel have massive case loads and spread, so (tested!) travelers are a blip on the trajectory of the pandemic.

These beautiful Egyptian geese were a little too friendly!

We have learned that it’s very important to look at how countries have responded to different phases of the pandemic to understand how new restrictions may be imposed again. (i.e. Morocco!).

I will be Cap’n of a canal boat someday…dreaming at the London Canal Museum

Most of the glorious London Area canals used to be off limits until the 1970s…so hope for all the private canal right of ways in the USA.

So instead we have decided to head to the Lake District for a week to do some nice winter hiking, and exploring…but first with a stopover in Liverpool, which has been reborn and is loaded with great museums and sites, in addition to some famous band apparently being from there.

New Year’s Eve takeout noodles in an Islington Pub beer garden.

Stay tuned, stay safe, and Happy New Year to all!

How to have fun in the UK while staying safe? Stay outside.

The Tower Bridge and the recently boostered travelers.

The Eurostar from Paris to London delivered us to a world where Omicron was causing worry and rising cases. Our first task was our required COVID test, and our next task was to find a place to get our booster shots. A bit of on line searching led us to Guys St. Thomas hospital, some standing in line and some waiting in chairs, and two hours later we were boosted.

The unassuming site of our boosters. There was no charge even for foreigners, so we went on line and donated money to the hospital.

While we wait the seven days for our immune systems to ramp up their responses we stay out in the fresh, healthy, bracing, clean, cold, brisk outside.

Family! So lucky to have these two to spend time with. Walking the Regents Canal.

We visit outdoor beer gardens and order pizza, bundled up.

Order your pizza and meet their bicycle delivery person out front.

Walking on Hampstead Heath, the view from Parliament Hill.

Pint of cider at lunch in another pub garden.

Take out dinner in our hotel room. The glamorous side of travel during COVID. This made me feel for everyone who has quarantined in a hotel room during the time of COVID.

Masked up, windows open, enjoying the top deck of a London bus.

No lie, it freaks us out to see pubs and restaurants full of unmasked people enjoying themselves in London. We watch the COVID numbers rise and retreat even further into our safe behavior. With our Christmas plans shifting and changing we get on the tube and to the train station to head to Edinburgh.