Our trip to Spain via London

April, 2003

(Note: These photos were taken with both disposable camera and regular 35 mm camera which meant they had to be scanned on to this site, so the quality is not as it would have been with a digital camera . . . however, you should still be able to enjoy the 'adventure' with us!)

Eb and I originally planned this trip just prior to the September 11th tragedy, so had postponed the trip indefinitely. In February of 2003, after returning from a 'motor home adventure' to the Southwest, we decided that our next trip needed to be the Spain trip in order to deliver the western saddle which belonged to Eb's late wife Elinor (who was a cowgirl in her early years) to Emilio (who was their Spanish exchange student in 1966-67 when their sons were in high school). Eb had kept in touch with Emilio; however, it had been 23 years since being together in person.

It was time . . .

Plans began, tickets with mileage awards purchased, we were all excited about staying in London a few days in order to experience a Daniel O'Donnell concert at the Royal Albert Hall . .. then "the war" began and we were back and forth in our decisions to 'go or not to go' . . . until one day, Eb said, "I'm tired of having one man in Iraq decide whether or not I should travel". With that said, we set a steadfast course and plans fell into place!

We left Sacramento airport on April Fool's Day and returned on Good Friday . . . and the time in between was what 'dreams are made of'! Today I sit and type and attempt to share some of that magic with you!

Having been to England once before I had stayed at a wonderful little Bed and Breakfast near Gatwick Airport called Gable End Guest House and I called and booked us there the first night so we could rest after the long flights and for our last night before the long trip back home. Mary and Joseph, innkeepers (!!!) had bought the guest house a few years after I last visited there. They have kept up the same tradition of picking you up at the airport and delivering you back to it, or to the train station for the next part of your journey.

Having never experienced the delights of staying in a bed and breakfast, Eb was totally enchanted with the whole experience. He especially liked being picked up at the airport, being guided to the nearest pub for refreshment and dinner, and the traditional English breakfast in the morning!

This photo is 'The Mayor of Cheeseville' outside our first English Pub. It is just down the street from the guest house and has been serving the locals for hundreds of years. The food was great (I had fish cakes) and we had a lively chat with two young women at the next table as to whether or not it is proper in a pub to 'tip'. At the same time, one said, 'yes', the other 'no'! As it turned out, the 'yes' lady worked at a restaurant! She later changed her vote to 'no', telling us it would leave us more money for shopping later!

The next morning Joseph drove us to the train station for a trip (still outside London) to Byfleet to visit Abi, Emilio's 22 year old daughter who is living/working/studying English Dressage and Jumping on an English estate owned by "Mrs. M". Eb had never met Abi as she was not yet born when Emilio, Gwenda and their little son Nicholas came to Cheeseville to visit 23 years ago!

We found our way on the train and were picked up at the proper station by Abi and Sara (Mrs. M's daughter) who is Abi's Dressage and Jumping instructor. It was quite a thrill arriving at the estate and meeting all in residence there. Mrs. M gave us a tour of the grounds and gardens (which are being 'brought back' and 'added to' by her son who is a landscape architect), the old millhouse (pictured below) and served us tea at the long table in the wonderful old kitchen. We felt just like part of the 'M' (MacDonald) family!

After tea, we went out to the horse arena and watched Abi have a lesson. What a difference between western riding (which we are used to here in Cheeseville) and dressage.

Then a short drive to Cobham for window shopping, lunch and catching up on life with Abi. This photo of the three of us is outside the old hotel we booked for the night. It was built in the mid 1400's and used as a home and stable. Always amazes me in staying at places with such history.

While walking down the main street of Cobham a man leaned out the car window (after motioning at us to his young son) and yelled: "G'day mate . . . where's your knife"???? The 3 of us laughed hysterically, knowing that he thought Eb was 'Crocodile Dundee' !

The next morning brought another version of the traditional English breakfast (including blood pudding which I will pass on the next time!) and a taxi ride to the train station. We were headed for Victoria Station in downtown London. The nice thing about trains in England (and ones I have ridden in Italy) is that when it says 'the 10:05 train', it means the train departs at 10:05 . . . not sometime later (as we are used to with trains arriving here in Dunsmuir, most times hours late!)

We loved riding the trains and buses. So much new to see and not having to worry which side of the road you should be driving on, or figuring out the 'roundabouts' at intersections.

From Victoria Station we took a taxi to our next B&B, the 'Oakley Hotel' in Chelsea, deposited suitcases, then ventured out by bus to the Imperial War Museum across the river Thames. It was one museum Eb wanted to see, having seen a PBS special about a special exhibit there on War Poets. It was quite interesting, especially with 'another war' going on that in no way resembled the kind of military equipment that was on display here!

We bussed back to the Oakley, rested, then took a taxi to the Royal Albert Hall for the concert.The Royal Albert Hall was conceived by Albert, the Prince Consort, on a 50 acre estate in South Kensington. Since opening in 1871 it has occupied a central position in the cultural life of England. We had arrived early so we could have dinner at the self-service Victoria Room Brasserie which overlooks the Kensington Gardens and the Albert Memorial. It was a delightful dinner and fun to eat among other 'theatre goers' who were excited to be attending a much-loved Irish singer's show!

When I had ordered the tickets over the phone, there were not two seats together (except way up at the top), so we bought single tickets and Eb was to sit in row 4 and I in a box along the side of the theatre. When we arrived to pick up our tickets, I asked if by chance they did have two seats together now and she said, 'Yes'! As it ended up we had our own private box as no one else showed up! The box next to us held about 10 people who appeared to be from India; however, in talking with them, found out that most had lived in London for almost 30 years! That's the amazing thing about London ~ hard to tell who is living there and who is visiting!

The show was fantastic! We had first heard Daniel O'Donnell sing on a PBS special and fell in love with him! I remember thinking a number of times at seeing PBS shows filmed at the Royal Albert Hall . . . "wouldn't that be something to sit up in one of those boxes and enjoy this kind of music" . . . and now we were!

We had heard that Daniel stays after the shows to meet the people, so we decided no matter how long we had to wait, we would wait. The time went by fast as we began talking with a woman who had been to a number of his concerts and special evenings. Before we knew it, there we were . . .

standing right there with him. We had photos taken with both Daniel and Mary Duff, who also sings on the show and they are the kind of people you feel you have known for years! We had to pinch ourselves afterward to be sure it was real! By the time we got a taxi back to the Oakley, it was about 1:30 a.m. and I don't think we slept much of the night as we were still enchanted by the experience . . . imagine . . . 'the Mayor and First Lady of Cheeseville, USA having a photo taken with Daniel O'Donnel at the Royal Albert Hall in London'!!!

The next day was absolutely glorious weather . . . sunshine and in the low 70's! We decided to take the bus across the river Thames to the London Eye, which is sponsored by British Airways and was conceived by two architects (a husband and wife team) to celebrate the Millennium and give both Londoners and visitors a view of the metropolis that had never before been seen. Daringly cantilevered over the Thames, the London Eye is the biggest observation wheel in the world. On a clear day you can see a 25 mile panoramic view! Each capsule holds 25 people and the 'ferris wheel' moves so slowly that you forget you are moving and become awestruck by the views! This was the capsule next to us!

This view was looking south. You can see Westminister Bridge, Big Ben next to the House of Commons and House of Lords, and Westminister Abbey in the background. It was a great way to 'overview' London and decide a few of the places we wanted to walk to and see.

We crossed over the Westminister Bridge and stopped at a little kiosk that sold fresh squeezed orange juice and English pancakes. Of course we had to try them! The pancakes are very thin and large and filled with cheese and ham. Just as they were finished on the griddle, Big Ben struck twelve. An old but seemingly familiar sound!

We looked for a place to deposit the paper cup the pancake had been placed in and didn't see any, so I asked the two bobbies standing near us where the garbage cans were. The one said, "There are none here as people deposit their 'bums' in them." He must have thought me quite odd with the look on my face, as I had always heard the English call their fanny a 'bum' . . . and my mind was mulling over 'why would English people sit in garbage cans'??? I said, "They do what"???? He said, "They deposit their 'bums' in them and then they explode"! Both Eb and I 'got it' at the same time . . bums, bombs! We all had a great laugh!

That afternoon we walked down streets filled with much history, amazed at the 'modern times' being lived in 'olden architecture'. We sat on park benches in the parks surrounding Buckingham Palace and soaked up the delightful sunshine. It seemed everyone was out on that day . . . most with a hand cocked to an ear . . . holding a cell phone! There were as many cell phones there as RV's in Arizona me thinks!

We forgot to look at the flagpole and see if the Queen was 'in' at the Palace or not that day. It didn't matter, we felt like royalty anyway! Later, back at the Oakley, we fixed a light dinner in the kitchen (one of the nice things about staying there ~ kitchen privileges as well as breakfast in the morning and tea/coffee anytime of day or night!)

The next morning (back to cloudy, but no rain), we took the bus to the famous Sunday Jubilee Market in Covent Garden. I ordered a hand-knit cotton 'Gansey' sweater that is dyed with Indigo and fades (as bluejeans do!) This knitwear by artisan Suzanne Chambers was inspired by the photographs taken by Frank Sutcliffe of fishermen and their families. Suzanne created the sweater designs by adapting and updating traditional Gansey patterns, originally worn by fisherman from the north east coast of England.

Back to the Oakley to pick up our luggage, then taxi to Victoria Station, fast train to Gatwick, picked up the saddle in 'Left Luggage' and boarded the plane for Spain!

We arrived about 9:30 pm (Spain time, which is one hour later than England for some reason!) and Gwenda and Emilio were there to pick us up . . . It was a late night as we talked and talked and Emilio opened the duffel bag which held the saddle . . . quite wonderful moments. He was also thrilled with the boots a friend had sent and the old Levi's Eb had brought him . . . Levi brand jeans there are $75 a pair!

This photo is at the stable where Emilio keeps his horse 'Can Can'. . . Nicholas was home in Spain for a few weeks before heading back to Wales. Appears as if the three of them are studying the best way to approach taking off the old saddle and installing the 'new' one!

This image will live with me a long time . . . Emilio's first ride on the 'family' saddle! You couldn't have wiped that smile off his face!

Or the one in Eb's heart that day!

This is a view from the castle in Alicante which is over 2,400 years old! The Mediterranean Sea is at the edge of the city. Imagine . . . walking around and enjoying the views from there, as well as an art exhibit of bronze busts and statues among such history!

More of the castle . . .

Hmmmm. . . wonder if that was my footprint from an earlier time???

Back to 'modern' times . . . the supermarket! Such an array of fresh seafood! A huge store full of everything imaginable.

This photo was at the open-air market in Alicante. Another place full of everything imaginable! This is 'the herb' lady . . . I bought nutmeg.

Eb's favorite place, the 'esplanade' of Alicante along the edge of the Mediterranean. Everything is in tile and marble.

. . . and one of my favorite places . . . I seemed to be able to find the 'Lizarran' cafes no matter what city we were in! I loved going inside and picking out which 'tapas' we would eat (hors d'oeuvres). They all have a toothpick in them and you have to be sure and save the toothpicks as that is the way they total up your bill . . . by counting the size and number of toothpicks!
Eb, Gwenda and I enjoy ourselves as 'tourists'!

While in Spain I wanted to see Spanish dancing, so we drove to Benidorm (about 45 min. north along the coast) which is 'the nightclub capital of Spain' . . . and treated ourselves to dinner, show and dancing.

The costumes and dancing were fantastic . . . I love the sound their shoes make on the wooden floors!

This is Gwenda's dress . . . looks good from the front, but was about 4 inches apart in the back! All Eb needed with that hat was a black robe and we could have called him 'Father' Cheeseville!

A highlight of our trip was experiencing the tradition of Palm Sunday in Alicante. I realized we were returning home on Good Friday, but had not considered what was in store for us in Spain during 'Holy Week' between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday.

We first became aware that something 'big' was in the making when we saw 'palms' being sold in the open-air market a few days before. I bought one as Gwenda had said we would be going to the processional on Palm Sunday in Alicante and people would be there with their palms.

The year before the event, they wrap the palm fronds tight, sealing them from the sun. When they are unwrapped, they are a soft butter colour. And from those, they weave intricate designs within the length of the palm. I bought one about 18" long, but some were many feet long and exquisite! People also carried olive branches.

Each district in town dressed in native costume.

The outfits were exquisite . . . the skirts from a heavy brocade fabric and am sure many passed down from mother to daughter. Some wore a headpiece, some the traditional 'bun' style, all with their palms.

Young and old alike participated. And once the bands and people from each district and the flowered float with the huge statue of Jesus passed by, then anyone could walk in the processional, following them to the huge church, where the float with Jesus was pushed inside and a special Mass said.

The Mayor of Cheeseville seemed appropriately attired (notice the colours!) for this district!

So, with this, the First Lady of Cheeseville bids you many Blessings . . . Hasta Luega!