The UK in January

Enjoying a babycino on our last afternoon together 

Why go to Europe in January?  Isn't it cold?  Yes, it is and that is why we have avoided going there in the winter.  But now, after a month in the London area, we've come to realize that with the proper clothing, it's a great time to go.  Why?  No crowds!  No lines, or queues as they are called in the UK.  The weather there is similar to what it is in our hometown of Salem, Oregon:  cold, grey, and damp.

sliding into the balls at the indoor 'soft park'

So off we went at the first of the year, not to be full-time tourists, but to spend time with Hazel, our 22-month-old granddaughter and her parents Shanti and Alan.  It’s been a delight, although a very exhausting one, to be around her.  We don’t know how Shanti and Alan—or any other parents for that matter—do it with full time jobs.  Maybe our kids were easier, or we were younger, or maybe we have selective memories, or all of the above.  Hazel had developed exponentially since we last saw her on September 5 and we were privileged to witness more exponential growth this past month.  We marvel at her complete sentences, vocabulary, counting, fine motor skills, running, and sheer wonder of the world.

St. Alban's Cathedral, 3 blocks from our rowhouse

We started off with two weeks in St. Albans, 20 miles from central London, where Shanti and Alan hope to purchase a home.   St. Albans is an upscale town of 254,000 in an area the size of Albany OR, and it is one of the earliest Roman settlements in England.  It has the oldest Catholic cathedral in the UK which was used in “The Crown” for the Westminster Abby marriage scene.  Its Wednesday and Saturday markets were fun.  It also has Britain's oldest pub, Ye Old Fighting Cock, dating back to 793 AD, which unfortunately just filed for bankruptcy this week.

Our home was just past the white VW van

Our Airbnb was a small three-story Victorian era home with a non functional fireplace in every room.  It was only 12 feet wide!  It had two essential ingredients for us:  a well-equipped kitchen and a good bed.  While Shanti and Alan went off daily to a remote workspace, we played with Hazel and took her to the library, swimming pool, shopping, and walks. She loved to sit on the kitchen counter and watch us cook dinner every evening.

Our 2nd stay--modern and very convenient

We moved to London for the second half, staying in a two bedroom apartment (they call them flats there) in the same gigantic apartment complex where Shanti and Alan live.  It was so convenient!  Hazel spent nearly every night with us. Shanti and Alan often came over for dinner and sometimes played pinochle after we got Hazel to bed.  We took her to and from daycare, parks, the trampoline park, and swimming. 

Across the street was a gym.  Just three minutes from our door, we could catch a bus or tube to just about anywhere.  We only made it to four museums, but each was nearly a full day project. It was a delight to walk right in and to not feel crowded around each exhibit.  We hit the Imperial War Museum, the  Science Museum, the Victoria and Albert, and the HMS Belfast battleship on the Thames.

Camden Market. So many fun street food stalls.
We walked back mostly along the canal tow path.

London has some fun boroughs and shopping areas, which we enjoyed walking through. Some days we logged over 9 miles of walking. We loved the ethnic diversity, the food variety (never once ate fish and chips), and all the small independent shops.  Everyone we encountered was friendly, or at least very polite. So why wait until summer to visit London when everyone else does?  Go now and avoid the crowds.  And by the way, our flight home across the pond in a 767 had only 30 passengers.

Here's a link to a few more photos.  It includes a couple of very short videos.  If nothing else, be sure to click on the first two videos, which were our last daycare pick of Hazel last week. The first one is guaranteed to give you a belly laugh.

All's well that ends well

One other note:  Many of our readers and followers on social media know that one of our three checked bags got lost.  This clouded our visit and consumed a lot of mental energy dealing with stupid virtual assistants, buying replacement shoes, etc. Turns out that its barcode tag was separated, so the bag languished in a JFK airport warehouse for 3.5 weeks. 
Finally, someone took the initiative to unbuckle the top flap and see our business card.  She saw Kathy's phone number, which has a dual chip. Mine had only a UK chip, so I never got the call to my US number.  We had a very happy reunion, just as it was about time to start packing to go home. 

And speaking of home, it's so nice to be here.  While we miss Hazel, Shanti, and Alan, we love being in our own kitchen, our own bed, and getting back to our routines.  The weather in both places is the same.

You can also see more by going to our Facebook or Instagram pages.  Enjoy!

Ron & Kathy
(aka, Grandpa and Nanna)

“What We Can, While We Can”

Helping Nana with her needlepoint

Yumm!  Grandpa's egg in a nest

The sheer joy of bubbles!