"Wanderlust", a strong desire to travel.
I am not sure if I have wanderlust, or if I simply wander. Please don't get me wrong, I don't think I could live like a nomad, as some of my friends do, wandering the country in their motorhomes and such, staying here and there for months at a time. It sounds great- but I am a homebody. I guess I am a contradiction. I love to travel - near or far - but I also love coming back "home". Of course, my gypsy friends would say "our home is always with us"... and I know that's true - it's just not the "permanent life" for me. I could probably do it a few months out of the year... especially if my dogs could come with me... but then I'd want to be "home" surrounded by creature comforts. Who knows, though, I could be totally wrong. There is some appeal about a life totally free of ties to one place and seeing new and different things all the time.
I started this blog more than a decade ago - then let it go away. Back then it was more about politics and such and, honestly, the world has enough of that so, for the most part, I want to revamp it into a travel blog. Someplace to camp my pictures and musings and travel experiences. Maybe no one will read it except my closest friends and family, and that's ok. So, in the days, weeks and months to come, I hope to be better about posting about my travel experiences. Since I love to write AND love photography, my musings will be more in line with "photojournalism" than plain rambling.
I would like to remind everyone that my pictures and my writing are the sole intellectual property of myself, and when I pass, I have willed them to my children so they still do not become open domain. I could write a whole blog about copyright violations, but we will save that for another time.
Last month business took me to London. This was my second trip - the first since CoVid. Ah, the new measure of "time"... Pre CoVid, During CoVid, Post CoVid. I love London. When visiting New England and other historic spots in the US, I used to think "wow, such history.... and then I went to London. It really is an amazing place. The romance of it all. I know everyone says "Paris is the City of Love", and maybe it is - I haven't made it there yet - however, London has a certain amount of romance as well. The royals, the architecture - a mixture of new and old - the accents, the stories. Every single bit of it is amazing! I am not even sure where to start.
I always dread the flight over. It's 9-10 hours of overnight and I can never sleep because I'm not lucky enough to be able to afford the cool business or first class seats - maybe one day. I'm exhausted upon arrival and I'm not young enough to just "tough it out". I do love the Black Cars and always opt to take one from Heathrow to Central London vs. a train, especially when I'm exhausted. Black Car drivers have to take months of classes and tests on the history and culture of London so it's almost like your own personal tour guide.
The first time I was in London, I was a bit trepidatious about taking the Underground - this time I was able to somewhat embrace it. After checking in early and a brief six hour nap, my daughter and I headed to South Kensington (or South Ken for the locals) to meet up with a friend for dinner. London is well known for having some of the best Indian food in the world so we opted for Indian. My friend had spotted a new Indian place just off the main path called Pravaas. The atmosphere was perfect and the owner personally attended to us. It was amazing. We had the tasting menu, which was entirely too much food after we had ordered appetizers (tip - don't get the appetizers if you are doing a tasting menu). The courses were divine from the first to the last. Just the right amount of seasoning. I highly recommend this place for cuisine and atmosphere. Bring your wallet, though, because it's fine dining.
London has so much to do that I could write a book about our trip -but I'll fast forward. We visited Piccadilly Circus, China Town, Harrods, Jack the Ripper Museum, the double decker buses, The Tower and took a serial killer walking tour - that I highly recommend if you are into that true crime stuff like my daughter. We also visited a few Harry Potter spots and several great restaurants. All typical tourist stuff, but it was my adult daughter's first time to London (or really, out of the country).
One thing that was different this trip than my last is the amount of graffiti. I don't remember there being so much graffiti the last time I visited London and this time it was everywhere. No one seemed to have a reason for the increase - maybe they didn't notice because it happened gradually for them. It was on the top of buildings, on bridges - just everywhere. It was sad. I asked a colleague why it wasn't cleaned up and it seemed that the city felt it was the building owners' responsibility to do it. It made me sad. London is such a beautiful city and seeing it defaced like that was surprising. Hopefully someone will come in and help - maybe a non profit??
I'll not bore you with all of the details of our trip, but will include some photos at the end. One thing we did that I will write about is the Chelsea Flower Show. This is the largest flower show in the world and it is breathtaking. The exhibits are amazing. I was especially mesmerized by the South African exhibit of Proteas. I really need to find a way to have a Protea garden in my backyard. I know Proteas grow here - I just need to figure it out. It was very crowded - like 6' of separation was never a thing. Having been to Disney more than a few dozen times in my life, I would say it's worse than any crowded day I was ever at Disney. That being said, if you are into flowers, gardening or just like admiring beauty, you cannot miss a chance to go. We took the Uber boats down the Thames from the Tower Hill pier to Battersea Park Pier. That was a great trip - easy to navigate and inexpensive as well as a great way to see the riverfront. Chelsea is always fun to walk around as well and the whole area does their own flower exhibits to celebrate the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
London is a trip I can do over and over again. Next time, I'll use it to hop to Scotland, Ireland or Paris (or maybe all of them).
