A Wedding - London - Canal Boat Trip

We woke up to no rain, so that is nice. It is a bit overcast but not bad. We did not need the heater at all. After breakfast we set off for our first "turn around" as the canal is collapsed after the point of Odiham Castle. Thankfully, that was smooth and easy. We made our way back to the lift bridge with no delays. There was a mom and little boy there, maybe 8-9, and I asked him if he would like to make the bridge lift. Mom gave her blessing and he was thrilled. Mom was dressed for work with rubber boots to her knees, a wheelbarrow, and heading to a field beyond us with a small pony in it. We saw swans and experienced the tranquil canal along the way under the bridges. We finally saw fish in the water! We've been watching for them as we see fishermen along the way. We made our way back to the general area of the Galleon Marine boatyard. Berries are ripening all around us. Since we don't know if they have been sprayed or not, we wouldn't take the chance of eating...

We spent the morning settling in because we were just too tired last night to get organized. Storage is VERY limited and our suitcases really don't have a place to be. We will keep the big one on our bed during the day and on the top rear step at night. The smaller ones can tuck in one spot in the dining area and one spot just before the "hallway" that is easy enough to get around. This morning our fridge light is flashing so we turned it off for 15 minutes and then back on, it is working again. One must run the motor 5 hours a day so we have turned on the motor for now as the spark on the stove did not work either (we could light it manually). It is raining off and on. We are in no hurry today. We planned to rest today only walking to a nearby pub for lunch. We have decided we will do that and take a late lunch and spend the night here again. There was a bit of a learning curve with the shower but it was fantastic with plenty of hot water. Once the rain let up we w...

We helped as we could packing up for every one and said our good-byes. We  headed up the sloped ramp to get our taxi. It wasn't there, so someone loaned us their phone to call. They were there in ten minutes and we were off to the ferry. Despite the late pick up we were on the ferry exactly at the 10a time. After the quick ferry ride we were on the Plymouth side of the harbor. No taxis were at the stand so we walked over to the only littl e café in the area to sit and try to call. There was a group of about 5 couples sitting inside the café chatting and having coffee. We had the card to call the taxi and asked for help. The help was overwhelming! They called for us, joked with us, and were so friendly. I will say, everywhere we go we are met with lovely and friendly people. No worries with this huge suitcase because one look at us and some young man insists on taking it for us! But I digress… So we arrive at the smaller train station and check our tickets with an agent. All is ...

The BBQ! Everyone staying at the venue had a lie-in this morning! Breakfast was later and we enjoyed that and did a little prep in the kitchen before the caterers arrived. Once they are here, we are shooed from the kitchen and they will again prepare the Pimm's today (which was to be one of my assignments). That's fine. We took a walk around outside, it is brisk and wonderful! Back to our room taking care of a few housekeeping items for ourselves. Time to dress for the BBQ beginning at 2p! People were arriving a little before then so we finished dressing and joined in before 2p. We have especially enjoyed chatting with Barbara and Bill, plus Ginny and Richard. Everyone is around the lawn area for self serve drinks today, which include Pimm's, beer, white wine, and red wine. I thought the BBQ was to be at 4p but actually we were called to the outside tables earlier. That was fine, we were hungry. It was delicious as everything has been. Chicken kabobs, South African Sausag...

The Wedding Day! I didn't mention there is a schedule posted so everyone involved in anything need only glance at their schedule to know where they are supposed to be at any given at what time. Our time was prepping Pimm's at 10a. As we arrived we were turned back by Laila saying it was all done and the schedule was wrong. Oh my, I felt so bad, but we were following the schedule. Since it is too early to dress for the wedding now, we walked around the grounds and then went back to our room. I had time to type the blog for yesterday and start this for today, but unfortunately I cannot seem to get the Wi-Fi to work on my laptop. It does work sporadically on my phone and I have had a couple of messages via What'sApp, but no luck with the laptop. The place is hustling and bustling around us as the caterers are here and things are being set up everywhere around the venue. We are staying out of the way for now! John around the fort The Fort So we relaxed a little wh...

We did have a big day for our travel day. After we were up and ready we took a taxi to Paddington Station. This station has at least 14 platforms, maybe more. We bought ourselves a Chicken, Bacon Club baguette for our lunch and a soda. We enjoyed that on the train. Just minutes from the station we were viewing the lovely, green countryside. Fields of hay, cows grazing, sheep wandering about, and lovely green fields were our views. The train seemed to be full and some people sat in seats that were not assigned to them and then others boarded and wanted the seat. Thankfully, that didn't happen to us. We had a good place to store our luggage and our reserved seat was empty when we got on. 10:03a to 1:06p was our trip, it did arrive a few minutes late but nothing significant. We felt quite welcome to arrive and several people helped with our luggage even when we didn't ask. One man was so friendly and said "Welcome to the home of the Mayflower" - obviously proud of his c...

We needed our day of rest today! Well, maybe we really didn't but with the 101F forecast, we were not terribly enthused to go out and about. In addition, we depart tomorrow for Cornwall and Polhawn Fort so we do need to prepare for that. We now have the last details in place for our trip tomorrow. We have a taxi booked to take us to Paddington Station for our departing train at 10:05a. We travel to Plymouth by train, transfer by taxi to a small ferry, and then we have a taxi booked to pick us up after the short sail for the last leg of our journey from the ferry for the short ride to the Fort.  We did a little hand washing in our sink and packed up. We called for delivery pizza for lunch. We read and watched TV. Dinner was an appetizer we got from the Borough Market yesterday, yum! Our clothes are laid out for morning and we will be off for our next adventure - The Wedding of our friends!

Our only plan for today is a Medieval dinner tonight at 7:30p. So what shall we do for today? Back to Borough Market for a visit with fewer crowds. We were going to stop at a somewhat hidden gem of a park, but we missed it along the way! I guess it is well-hidden! We made our way across London Bridge and on to Borough Market.  By London Bridge We were surprised most things were just opening. We didn't realize this and arrival before 10a probably isn't the best idea. Anyway, we strolled around and shared a little cup of scrumptious Gelato at 3BIS Gelateria . We tried two flavors never tasted before - Panna Cotta and Mascarpone with Figs. Both were outstanding! We really came back to do a little shopping and taste that mushroom risotto that we saw the other day. I found a few things to take home to the kids but the risotto is not ready yet. We are getting hungry so close to 11:30 we opted for empanadas from Portena , with its Argentine food. They were very good. We share...

Something drastic happened with the weather. Our cool temps are gone for now. We are told that Thursday is going to be the hottest day in xxx number of years. I don't recall the number of years as I was to stunned to comprehend. I guess we brought the hot weather from Central CA! It was 93F today with 54% humidity. Not comfortable. We had some bigger plans for today but the heat got to us.  We did have a delicious lunch at Cote Brasserie . We chose this spot because we wanted to eat outside and it was the only shady place. The food was quite good and the atmosphere was relaxing. They have a tasty, early, 2 or 3 course  menu  at a good price. We chose 2 courses as it was plenty for us. The Apple Roquefort salad was so good, I could have made a lunch of just that. The creamiest Roquefort I have ever eaten! We might come back here if there is time.  Time for a nice ice-cold drink! Apple Roquefort Salad  Haddock Fishcake with poached egg Aft...

Today is the day to see the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. We are excited to see such an auspicious event. We fell asleep pretty early so we were also up early. We picked up a few little grocery items since John was not thrilled with the breakfast options yesterday. He was happy to have some instant oats, fruit, and juice in our room. Coffee does it for me.  So we are off to the bus stop and made it to the appointed spot to disembark in plenty of time. We were at least an hour early. To our shock and surprise there are thousands of other people as well! There was absolutely no way we would even get a peek of the Changing of the Guards. We did stand by a roadway and saw the pageantry of the musicians march in, well we saw their backs anyway. I have no idea how early one must arrive to be by the front fence and gate to actually see the event. It would require standing for some hours I suppose and I am not up to that. I guess I will look on YouTube!    T...