A dash of London!

 A dash of London...with 

Shades of Ireland to follow!

As you might have noticed, we love to travel !  They say there are three stages to retirement - Go Go, Slow Go, and No Go.

We are in our "Go Go Era" and recently returned from a trip to Ireland with a few days in London.

We love London...and since we had been there a few times before we had no real planned itinerary, we just wandered and explored.  I can never pass up a good bookstore, and this one in Trafalgar Square is a treat to explore.

One of our favorite things about London is going to the theater in the West End.  Our first stop when we arrived was the Tickets booth in Leicester Square.  Similar to the TKTS booth in NYC, you can get same day and sometimes next day tickets at a good price, and there are no very long lines like you find in New York.  We found this place years ago when and try to see a show each night in London.

First night in London we saw Oh, Mary - we had friends who saw it on Broadway and loved it - and we did too!  Very funny, very irreverent, and a great show.

And, we had to see Les Mis...One Day More, one more time for us!

We were there just before the big heat wave...a few showers, but mostly great weather.

Covent Garden, St. Martin in the Fields...we enjoyed wandering around the city.

Enjoying fish and chips and finding monuments we never saw before...this one to Edith Clavell - a nurse in WWI who was executed by the Germans for helping prisoners escape.  Back in high school I read a book about her so I was happy to find she was remembered.

Our travel package included a tour of the Tower of London, and though we had been there years ago, we are so glad we did not skip it this time.  Our guide was amazing, and we had a great lunch in the Tower Cafe...with some Pride cake!

One of the things I love about travel is happening on things like this...a young girl in the Underground sketching ( she was good ) and them a woman copying some portraits in the National Gallery.

Happy to find Paddington Bear, then our last night in London was attended Vivaldi's Four Seasons in St. Martin in the Fields.  Perfect ending to our time in London...

And then we got to Heathrow Airport for our flight to Dublin to begin our Shades of Ireland tour.  NOT SO FAST - when checking into our early flight the agent asked if we wanted to take an earlier flight and we declined...because of our timed pick up in Dublin.  BIG mistake...we were barely through security when I got the text our flight was cancelled.  Aer Lingus was consolidating flights due to the cost of fuel ( or so we heard afterwards ) and was giving priority to people with connecting flights.  No matter how many times I tried to explain that while we did not have a flight connection, because the flight they put us on was 9 HOURS LATER we were going to miss the welcome meeting and dinner with our tour group.  No luck - so we spent those hours walking around Heathrow, reading, and trying to be good travelers.  We try to go my the motto " Tourists, complain, Travelers adapt."   

We called our Tour Director and he called our pick up company - and when we finally arrived in Dublin I was sure that our welcome dinner was going to be the banana and granola bars in my backpack - but our driver was amazing.  Said the dinner would not be over, he'd get us there  - waited at the hotel while we dropped our bags and then drove us to the welcome dinner restaurant.  We arrived just after the appetizers ( and we still got an amazing salad ). 

Hooray - we were now ready to start our Shades of Ireland tour!

Thanks for coming along to London...I took way too many photos in Ireland and will cull them down for the next post.

Have you been to London or Ireland ?  Did you ever get stuck in Heathrow ?  Leave a comment below - I really enjoy hearing from you.  Enjoy the rest of July and stay cool!

 

On The Road Again!

Actually, in the air and then on the road.  We leave soon for a trip and I found some items on Amazon that I hope will make our travel a bit easier.

ExploreBliss Travel Pillow, Travel Pillows for Sleeping Airplane, Neck Pillow Airplane, Memory Foam Neck Pillow Set

I ordered a pink one for me and a the grey for my husband...we never had much luck with those blow up neck pillows and I like that these can be rolled up and tucked into our carry on bags.

Sooverki Compression Socks for Women and Men 

I needed some new compression socks and these were a good price and I like that one pair is navy!

EASYFUN Toiletry Bag 2pcs TSA Approved Travel Clear Toiletry Bag for Men and Women Travel Accessories Quart Size Toiletries Cosmetic Pouch Makeup Bags

It seemed my plastic, zip lock bags were always not zipping, so I am hoping these are a nice upgrade.

Miady 2-Pack 5000mAh Mini Portable Charger with Built-in Type C Connector, USB-C Output Charging Small Power Bank

These are nice and small - and a good price, too.  I like having a back up charge...just in case!

LingLingo Travel Jewelry Organizer Case,Small Jewelry Bags Jewelry Storage Book Ring Binder with Clear Zipper Velvet Pouch for Women

Too many necklaces were all tangled on our last trip, so I am trying this jewelry organizer.

Lastly, not a travel item, but I am really enjoying this 

Heated Eyelash Curler – Fast 5s Heat-Up, USB Rechargeable Electric Eyelash Curler, LED Display, Anti-Burn, 24H Long-Lasting Curl

I have been using this for about a week and really like the way it makes my lashes look.  It's not a crimped look that you get with a traditional curler, more natural...and I feel better for my lashes.

Well, back to packing and trying not to pack too much!  I am not a carry on only kind of girl, but I do try to pack things that mix and match so I don't go over the weight limit.

I will post and let you know how these travel items worked for us - until then, thanks so much for stopping by Our New Vista.  Hope you have a great week and a wonderful June!

 

Time in Transylvania

On the last leg of our trip to Eastern Europe.  We had the option of doing an extension in Transylvania or Istanbul - and chose Transylvania!  What an experience!

We left Bucharest and traveled through the Carpathian Mountains to

Bran Castle - the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Yes, we spotted Vlad the Impaler - and learned that he is NOT Dracula, but was a count, a crusader, and fought against the Turk invasion of Translvania.

A climb up to the castle, but worth the trek!

We had a great tour guide...who had the best diabolic laugh, which was perfect for this tour!

We had a great lunch with "Dracula Beer"...they make the most of the Dracula legend.  After lunch we traveled through Transylvania to the city of Brasov...with a beautiful preserved medieval old towne!

Our hotel - a Radisson Blu - was great, and right across from a lovely park and just steps to the historic district.

Our Viking Guide took us on a walking tour so we would be familiar with the area...

The next day we had the option to take an optional tour for Panoramic Transylvania - 8 hours on the bus with stops for visits and lunch.  We felt we were on the bus most of the day before so decided on a late breakfast and wanted to explore on our own.  Then I remembered an app called

FREETOUR

You can read more about this on the link above...we looked at the app and found a tour in Brasov - 2 hour walking tour and we booked it.  We were to look for the orange umbrella at the market square fountain - and we found our guide!

Radu was amazing!  He was born in Brasov, an artist who carves dragons out of wood he finds in the forests ( he had a show in Miami the week before, and was going to be at Burning Man, too) and is a ski instructor in the mountains in the winter.  He just LOVES telling people about Brasov.  There were 6 of us on the tour and we learned SO much!

The city is filled with history - this cathedral was the only gothic one between Istanbul and Bucharest and he showed us where the crusaders sharpened their swords as a blessing on the way to battle.

The little walkways, the history of the Turks/Saxons/Transylvanians over the years, more information about Vlad and the Saxon girl he fell in love with - even though it was forbidden.

And after a full two hours of history he turned around, opened his backpack, and said tip what you wish.

We gave a big tip because this was such an amazing tour. He then walked us back to the town square and gave us restaurant recommendations for lunch and dinner - 

We took his advice and had this delicious potato and sausage soup, with great bread and for me, an Aperol Spritz!

Almost everyone speaks English, which makes it easy to order - students start learning English in first grade!

We wandered around the town...saw this stuffed bear - there are bears in the mountains and yes, they have been coming into the towns!

Sat in front of the fountain and people watched...then strolled back to the hotel for a nap.

The town has a rich German heritage, too - so we tried this place for dinner - 

Wonderful Weiner schnitzel with potato salad...and beer - 

then apple strudel with a warm vanilla sauce - yummy!

The next morning we left to return to Bucharest, but stopped on the way at the summer palace of Romanian royalty.

Located in the resort town of Sinaia - where the air is so clean and fresh.  The resort town is famous for hiking and skiing - and lots of great places for lunch!

Then it was back to Bucharest - and this -

Our luggage had to be out by 4:30 AM the next day, and we were leaving for the airport at 5 AM.  That made us realize we needed to stay in the beautiful Marriot for dinner and get an early bedtime.

What a great decision -

The special dinner that night was parmesan mushroom pasta with truffles - and when I ordered it I never expected the waiter to roll out a wheel of parmesan and prepare the hot pasta in the cheese!  It was AMAZING.  Our waiter was so nice, and when he learned it was our last night he brought us some complimentary after dinner drinks.  Perfect way to end our adventures.

This was our view from our room that last night...the big Orthodox Cathedral that is still under construction.

Well, we made the early wake up, then the flight to Heathrow and on to home.  We were awake almost 24 hours with the time change

 (7 hours ) and the flights.  It took us a few days to feel normal, but we will always remember our wonderful trip to the Capitals of Eastern Europe!

Thanks for following along on our adventures...and Happy June!

Hope the coming summer is full of fun times for you.

Thanks for stopping by Our New Vista!