Old School

Posted on June 18, 2013 by traveling with words

Another side-trip Mike and I took while visiting London, was a trip to Cambridge, England. Cambridge is about an hour and 20 minutes north of London, and it’s a college town. It’s so collegiate, I bought a college sweatshirt as soon as I got into town (and I love it, by the way). It’s also so collegiate that driving into town isn’t really permitted. There are several “car parks” so you can park and ride, or you can drive a bit further into the city and park and walk. Mike and I chose option number 2.

While we were walking we came upon this church: The Church of Our Lady and the English Martyrs

Our second stop (remember, I bought the sweatshirt first) was to visit the University of Cambridge (the second oldest university in the English speaking world). Continue reading →

Flashback Friday-Istanbul

Posted on June 14, 2013 by traveling with words

In 2010, Mike and I were living in Adana, Turkey. We wanted to start traveling right away, so we decided our first trip would be to Istanbul. And because we were living in Turkey, it was a lot easier for us to get around than if we’d come straight from the U.S. We were however, still becoming accustomed to the pace at which our new country-people were moving. They are fast! So, it was only fitting that our trip was quick, too.

Now, I should preface this all by saying that before moving to Turkey, we spent three years in Okinawa, Japan. The top speed on a regular 2-to-4 lane road was about 34 miles per hour. In Adana and Istanbul, the top speed seemed to be based on the speed of the car in front of the traffic lane, at the time. If you were at a stop light, the people behind you would start blowing their horns before the light changed to green. They were in a hurry.

So, we started our 3-day tour of Istanbul with a free day. We spent the day near the Bosporus Strait (a stretch of water that separates Europe from Asia). The water is a gorgeous deep blue green, and the rocks that separated us from its icy depths proved suitable for seating.

The Bosporus

Continue reading →

Woolly for Lavenham

Posted on June 11, 2013 by traveling with words

During our recent trip to London, we stopped in a few of the nearby towns. One of the villages we decided to visit was a place called Lavenham. Lavenham is a quaint town, about an hour and a half outside of London. It has lots of quaint shops, and quaint houses and quaint people (have I used the word “quaint” enough?). But the town really was sweet.

Our first stop was the Tourist Information Centre (I think every town in England has one, because there’s so much history…everywhere). The lady at the Centre pointed us in the direction of the “crooked house,” and told us that the woman who wrote Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star lived in Lavenham when she wrote the poem (that would later become the song). The woman at the Tourist Centre also suggested we stop at a Tea Room around the corner…for a spot of tea (I Love England). So, that’s exactly what we did.

Here’s the Tea Room

It was cool outside and we were hungry, and it was tea time (I Love England). So this was the perfect time to get some tea. Continue reading →

Flashback Friday-Cappadocia

Posted on June 7, 2013 by traveling with words

I’ve decided to devote some time on this blog to trips of vacations past. And so, Flashback Friday has been born. The first trip I’d like to bring “Back to the Future,” is a trip Mike and I took to Cappadocia, Turkey two years ago. We were living in Adana, Turkey at the time. We were about to move to Germany (our house was all packed up and we were ready to go). So, we decided a short get-a-way, was exactly what we needed.

The trip to Cappadocia, Turkey took place over the Memorial Day weekend (May, 2011). And because they don’t celebrate Memorial Day in Turkey, it was the perfect time to go.

Because Mike had been extremely busy at work that year, we cut back on the amount of traveling we wanted to squeeze in during that time. And because of his busy schedule, and our early departure time from Turkey (we stayed for only one year), we decided we needed a break. So, this trip was all about… relaxing. No set schedule, no tour guides, no plan. Well, we planned to get there, and Mike reserved a room, but beyond that…no plan.

Okay, so our trip started pretty much like we spent the entire weekend…no real plan. We did some stuff around the house, packed our bags and…went to lunch. See, we were not in a hurry. After that, we were on the road. We had never driven any real distance since we arrived in Turkey, so this was our first Turkish road trip. And it had some exciting moments. But once we got back on the right road, we didn’t have any problems getting to Cappadocia.

Trying to read some of the highway signs was sometimes a problem

Cappadocia is a beautiful area (comprised of several cities) that was formed by the eruption of several volcanoes, the erosion of a river and the forces of the blowing wind. That Mother Nature 1-2-3 combination, left behind a magnificent landscape of fairy chimneys and an eroded tuff landscape…that would later become cave dwellings and underground cities.

Fairy Chimneys

A camel shaped rock

Ever since Mike heard that cave hotels existed in the area, he wanted in. Continue reading →

Enough About London Already

Posted on June 3, 2013 by traveling with words

Day three in London:

Okay, this was a pretty good day. It was sunny and warmer (still cool, but beggars can’t be choosers), so we decided to do some more touristy stuff. Now, my husband loves to see cities from on high. So we usually visit very tall buildings. This time we decided to take to the sky via the London Eye. The last time we were in London (yes, 9 years ago), we walked right by the London Eye. We even debated whether or not we should get on it. There was no line, nothing. In the end, we decided against it.

London Eye

Well, this time was not like the last time. It was teeming with people. The line was down the street. But it was moving pretty quickly, so we didn’t complain too much. Continue reading →

London Is Still Calling

Posted on May 30, 2013 by traveling with words

Day two in London:

Because we’ve been to London before, we tried to stay away from most of the things we did before, and seek out those things we missed. But because we only had a few days here (Dang business trip), we still were not be able to get it all in. So, we started the day with a visit to the Tower of London. When we visited London 9 years ago, I just took a few obligatory photos near the Tower, but never walked the grounds.

View of the Tower Bridge from inside the Tower

View of the Tower from inside the Tower

If you are a Tudors fan, I’m sure you would be interested to see the place where Anne Boleyn breathed her last breath and hear about all the other people who were held captive in the Towers. What I didn’t expect was the Disneyland like atmosphere. Continue reading →

London Calling

Posted on May 29, 2013 by traveling with words

Yes, by the title you can tell that I’ve visited London, recently. Well, even if you can’t tell, I have. Mike (it’s what you call him), my husband, had a business trip in a city near London, and I tagged along. So, after four days in some pretty rustic digs, it was nice to spend some time in swankier surroundings. It was so nice to take a shower with warm, normal- pressure water and not scalding, firehose-pressure water. Truly nice.

We’ve been to London before, but it was 9 years ago. And this time we rented a car. Mike believes himself to be an ambidextrous driver: he can drive on the right or left side of the road. We lived in Okinawa, Japan for 3 years, so this is from where his confidence stems. I, on the other hand, never drive on the opposite side of my current country. In other words, if I’m living in Japan and visit the U.S., I do not drive in the U.S.. I’m currently living in Germany, so no to driving in the U.K. But Mr. Ambidextrous took the wheel, so I was spared. 🙂

Mind you, when we reached London, we parked the car and rode the Tube around the city.

Day one was nice. It was a bit cold but we managed to find the Hard Rock Cafe (just where it was 9 years ago) and a place called Poppies. Mike found a site touting it as one of the best places to get Fish and Chips. It was good, but it was crowded. We found a table outside and ate immediately. It wasn’t the best Fish and Chips we’d ever had, but it was good.

Okay, now all that talk about fish and chips has made me hungry. I’ll finish up the London trip over the next few days.

Ciao! (chow…get it? I’m hungry…never mind. If I have to explain it…)

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