may 16

 This morning there was another departure.  Jeannine and Jacinte leaved for Edinburgh.

Louise arrived a little bit passed 11h, with a car fron Blackberry car.  I showed her the house and we chat a little bit before going for lunch.  We went at Baker Bridge, just around the corner of our house.  As we were waiting for Lise and Gloria, Louise took this photo of me.  I dont really like seing me in photo, but I think this one is cool.  I am here, feeling relax in my living room.

 

Lise and Gloria arrived near 15h.  They got lost in the tube, but however found there way after a little mix-up on the Circle Line.

Of course, as it was there first day, we went to the Royal tour.  It was another different Royal Tour, because we didn't really had time to stop that much.  But we were lucky enough to did it under a nice sky, with a mix of sun and clouds, in a warm weather.  As it was rush hour, there was crowds everywhere.

We terminated this day with a supper in the White Horse pub, because everybody wanted to taste the good fish and chips.  It was very animated tonigh.  The terrase was full, however, we were lucky enough to found a table inside.

So that was it for this day.  Everybody went to bed early, and I will follow the group too.  Goodnight!

may 15

Liverpool!!! It was one of my favorite days.

Jeannine and I took the train in the morning for a Magical Mystery tour in Liverpool. First, the weather was on our side. Liverpool shine under fabulous blue skies. It makes it even more beautiful.

A famous songs contest was in Liverpool this year: Eurovision 2023. eurovision  For the occasion , an art piece called The Floating earth, made by Luke jerram was installed temporary in the Albert Dock.  It  will be removed on May 18.

We chose to do the bus tour: Magical Mystery Tour. I had done it before in 2006 and was happy to do it again. The bus is more comfortable and our guide was very interesting. He gave us a lot of information with enthusiasm. It's obvious that he loves his job.  It is touching to sing along with people who shared the same passion.  It was also nice that our guide showed us historic buildings in addition to all the Beatles related places.

 After the tour, we went to visit Beatles Story.   As it was 4 years I haven't visit it, I did the visit with Jeannine.  It change with the years.

Then we went to the Cavern, for a quick stop before heading for the supper.  We found a very cool pizza spot just around the corner of the Lime Street station.  It was annexe of a college so the ambiance was young and cosy.  

We came back late, tired but happy.

may 14

 It was a cool sunday and today the weather was as it had been announced.  I didn't trust the predictions because yesterday, even if it was supposed to be warm, it was pretty chilly.  So this morning I put a jacket  under  my coat, and I didn't go for the London walk on the Thames.  I was afraid it would be to cold, on the river.

After 10h30 the sun came out and it was. finally, a very nice day.  I even had to remove my coat and my jacket.

J and J went to Tate Modern and Borough Market. Jeannine told me what they saw and isn'it odd, even if I was there the week before, I haven't saw the same art works.  It depend what way we took after we entered.

  I decided to wander around Sloane Square.   I love the ambiance of this area.  I had a cappuccino at Partridge where I bought some souvenirs.  There was alot of people on the street.  I wanted to visites the Satchi Gallery, but it was close for deinstallation and reinstallation of a new exhibition.  Oh well, I went to do some shopping instead.  I visited Peter John department store and I terminated my shopping at Mark and Spencer for some grocery.

I came back and had lunch on our cute little courtyard. A nice weather for quiche and rosé with strawberries.

A little bit past 16h, Carole, Catherine's cousin came to pick the present Catherine sent to her.  She was so nice. I invited her to sit a little bit and we started to chat.  The conversation was so interested that I forgot to offer her something to drink.  

For supper tonight we went with the british tradition of the sunday roast.   A succes !!  The Rose is really a nice pub.  It was full of families.  We could feel it is a very local pub.  It was our last supper for the 3 of us.  Tomorrow Jeannine and I will go to Liverpool and they will leave on tuesday morning.

may 13

It was a busy day.

Went for a walk in London to learn more about Notting Hill and Portobello Market. It wasn't my first time in Notting Hill but I learned some new things today. I didn't know there was Notting Hill (for the rich) and Notting Dale (for the poor). Notting Dale is a mainly residential enclave in the west London district of Notting Hill. It has been associated with Irish, Catholic and Gypsy populations. Today, the houses you see there are very expensive, but it used to be a poor area.

I also heard of a very interesting street called Pottery Lane. Pottery Lane is a street in Notting Hill. Today it is part of one of London's most fashionable and expensive areas, but in the mid-19th century it was at the heart of a miserable and notorious slum known as " Potteries and the Piggeries", named after pig keepers and brickmakers. who settled there. It was a place to avoid of course.

Now many artists live in the area.

The walk ends at the Portobello market where there was a crowd like every Saturday.

A funny anecdote. Got lost on the way back and got stuck in a crowd heading to the stadium for the football game. It was a very strange moment. I finally found my way back and was happy to step into the comfort of my home in Fulham. It was chilly today in London.

Jacinte and Jeannine went to the Victoria and Albert Museum in the morning and to a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in the afternoon. It was the gala: Film Music, by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.  The first comment they made went they have been back was:  Everything was beautiful!!  

At the museum, they visited many rooms on different floors.  They were impressed by all the marble everywhere.

Before going to the concert, they took a trip to the Natural History Museum to see the gigantic dinosaur.

The concert was a spectacular sound and light show.  It lasted for more than 2 hours.

Happy girls!

Tonight we went to an Italian restaurant, not to far our home.  It was delicious. For once, we managed to pay with paper money.  Not easy to pay cash in London!

We came back early and are ready to go to sleep very soon.  

may 12

 Today... Today, I was really anxious because it was the day I would have my stiches removed.  I never had stiches before in my life, so didn't know how it would like to had them removed + I didn't know how things works in London hospitals.  The doctor I saw previously told me I didn,t need to made and appointment.  I was sceptic about it.  Anyway, I traveled to Guy's hospital and crossed my fingers to things to go well.  It is a travel of 45 minutes.  I arrived at the hospital at 10h05.  I saw the place where I fell from a certain distance, but didn't need to go back at the exact place.  I entered the hospital by the main entrance.  I had a letter writted by the doctor who made the stiches.  I showed it to the reception and they directed me at the emergency center.  There was only one person there.  I showed again my letter.  Five minutes later they called my name and a nurse took care of me and removed my stiches.  For those who know the sitcom "All in the family" (Lise, you remember?) the nurse look like Edith.  It was kind of strange.  She was very nice tho.  So all in all, I've been not more then 15 minutes in the hospital.

Since it didn't take long, I decided to visit a little bit in the area.  I was just at the base of the Shard.  It was strange to see it from so close.  

I went throught  Hay's Gallery, where there is a mix of boutiques, restaurants and offices.  A beautiful place.

At the other end of the Gallery I reached the south path of the Thames river, from where I had a beautiful view of a part of the city.

I came back in Fulham just in time for the lunch.  I had saw this cute little coffee shop, near Parson Green station, on my first day and I took the opportunity to visited today.  I loved the place.  I discovered that it is more than a restaurant, it is a furniture and decoration store with a coffee shop for brunch and lunch.  It was delicious!

After lunch I went to do some grocery at Waitrose and came back home to rest and do some laundry.  

My friends J and J when to visit Winston Churchill bunker, where they stayed for more then 2h30.  They also visited the National Gallery.  In fact, they visited a fiew rooms of the museum.  Jeannine was impress by the modern toilets in the museum.  

They want to visit Westminster Abbey, but it was closed when they arrived in front.  It would be for another day!

Tonight, we didn,t go out.  We had a nice meal at home with chicken, potatoes and salad.  With a red wine, of course.