A stop in London

Our airport does not have a direct flight to Athens.  Only a handful of U.S. cities do, most being central hubs for the major airlines.  However, Austin does fly direct to London; the flight that we have taken on several other adventures found in these pages, in fact.  Jen and I decided early on that it would be fun to stop over for a couple of days in London before moving on to Athens.  This would break the trip up into two parts, allow us to get over our jet lag early, and of course enable us to visit some favorite places in the city.

I booked the flights and a hotel across the street from the British Museum called "The Montegue on the Gardens", named for the aforementioned street.  This tickled Jen tremendously, as Sherlock Holmes had rooms on Montegue Street when Watson first meets him in A Study in Scarlet.  Have I mentioned how much I love this woman?

The flight itself was uneventful.  I had mistakenly booked it on the wrong day and spent a small fortune correcting this at the last minute.  We also lost our TSA Pre check status on the rebooked tickets, and they were in the economy section, which is not at all comfy on a long flight.  We nevertheless made it, though exhausted by lack of sleep and cramped accommodations.  This would cause us to curtail activities in London while we (mostly I) recuperated.

The hotel was lovely.  I really enjoy small, eclectic hotels with personality, and this one did not disappoint.  I would very much like to book there again for a longer stay at some point.

Forgive this last photo;  I was having difficulty with my camera.  I would only discover at the end of our vacation that the ISO setting had somehow been changed to a very high value (I normally leave it on automatic to let the camera automadjuat it to the stop I select).  So there will be a few shots like this here and there.  I've left them in when I hadn't made other compensatory shots with a better stop, as I figured something was better than nothing.  I've cleaned them up as best I can but sometimes there just isn't enough contrast, as in this case.

Greece and the Yellow Rectangle

I grew up an avid reader of National Geographic magazine.  I spent hours poring through its photography and prose capturing beautiful landscapes, strange and exotic animals, and people so very different than myself.  I've no doubt that this viewport into a world so much more vast and complex than my own little sliver had a role in my lifelong love of travel.

It was National Geographic's Expeditions offering that rekindled my desire to travel to Egypt, and it is with them that we have tried several times to do so.  Through no fault of theirs or ours, those plans have fallen through; this latest due to rising conflict in the region and a warning by the State Department not to travel there.

Jen and I pivoted, initially to Italy, to a trip mostly by train from Venice to the Sicilian coast.  However, it wasn't possible to move our deposit from the Egypt tour to that one (something to do with the different types of trips not being under the same financial roof), and Greece was.  So, Greece.

Makes it sound like a compromise, but it was always near the top of both Jen's and my list of destinations.  An easy decision.

The trip is scheduled for the end of August to mid-September, and will take us from Athens down into the Pelloponaise, then up into Thessaly, before ending where we started.  We'll visit Corinth, Mycenae, Olympia, Delphi, and Meteora, as well as the vacation town of Nafplia.  So many sites, so much history.  It's the trip of a lifetime, Reader, whether you've read your Edith Hamilton or not.

Egypt Once Again

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;

If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;   

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster;

And treat those two impostors just the same.

- Rudyard Kipling, "If"

On the 6th of July, I had cardiac ablation surgery to mitigate the atrial fibrillation I'd been suffering from.  It was a common operation but still required general anesthesia and was not without risk.  It scared me; I'd not done so many of the things I'd promised myself I'd do.  There were still so many places to go and wonderful experiences to have, to share with my wife and soulmate.

Of all those things, visiting Egypt has always been near if not at the top of the list.  I vowed that, if I awoke from surgery, I'd waste no time booking a new trip for us.

Done and done.

We will be heading to Egypt on the 21st of March, 2024, and staying until the 31st.  The tour is 1 day less than its 2022 version, and we have elected not to take the extension to Jordan.  I have mixed feelings on this, as I dearly wish to see the Petra, but I can also understand Jen's concern that we might be suffering from tour fatigue and wouldn't adequately appreciate the experience.  In the end, Jordan represents another opportunity to travel and experience the ancient world, and that too is exciting!

This trip has come to represent so much to us; not just a fulfillment of a lifelong dream, but a symbol of overcoming trials to health and happiness.  We have endured much these past few years, Jen and I, and it makes me resolved to have this experience even more.  It falls just after my 50th birthday, and just before Jen's 51st.  Our age has really begun to show, and the time to enjoy these experiences becomes more precious.  It's past time to have this one.

Mar sin leat tae Auld Reekie

After just over a week, it was time to head back to London.  As is so often the case, it feels like a lot longer.  Edinburgh is such a beautiful city, and there were so many things we got to see and do, and so many more that we did not.  It's understandable how this place can inspire poets and storytellers.

Much of the day would be spent getting back to London, and to Heathrow.

During the trip, I began to feel very run down and achy.  It wasn't until later that I would find I'd contracted Covid.  Fortunately it has been a very minor case, with no symptoms aside from a phlegmy cough and some joint ache.  It did however make me less inclined to take pictures.

A rood less traveled

Our last full day in Edinburgh saw us changing hotels from the Leonardo to the Hotel du Vin;  this was a holdover from the change of plans that would've seen us returning to Edinburgh from Inverness.

We checked in, but the room would not be ready until 3, so we needed to find something to occupy our day.  We hiked out into Old Town, and decided to make our way to Holyroodhouse, the palace of the British monarchy when it resides in Scotland.

The hike out was lovely, and the Palace sits on the edge of town, with beautiful rolling hills surrounding it.

We decided to rest a bit and take refreshme to after the hike.  The Palace Cafe is on the castle grounds just outside the gate.

Once we'd rested our feet and recharged, we were ready for Holyroodhouse.  We purchased our tickets, guidebooks, and audio guides and entered the Palace grounds.

A commemoration of the updates done by Charles II in the Neoclassical style.

The Platinum Jubilee Gallery wasn't as interesting as I'd hoped, and, bizarrely, prohibited photography.

The Grand Stairs leading to the royal apartments.

The Throne Room.  I can honestly say I was not prepared for the apartments to be fully furnished, replete with art I'd recognize from history books.  It's not often we get to feel history come to life like this, the fact that the British monarchy used, and still uses, this place as a residence and for matters of state.

The Evening Room.

The King's Antechamber.

The King's Bedchamber.

The King's Closet.

The Gallery.

The lighting wasn't ideal to shoot these paintings, but I should've shot a few, as they were quite remarkable.  They were all painted by Jacob de Wet at the request of Charles II.  There are 110 portraits in the series, comprising kings and heroes of Britain, both real and mythical.  They were all given features similar to Charles II to emphasize his lineage, particularly his prominent nose.

The Queen's Lobby was given to portraits of the Stuarts, notably James II and VII, his son James Francis Edward Stuart, and grandson Charles Edward Stuart.

Charles Edward Stuart, or "Bonnie Prince Charlie", or "The Young Pretender".  He led the Jacobite Uprising in 1745 to restore the Stuart line to the throne of Scotland. 

Mary, Queen of Scots.

The outer and inner chambers of Mary, Queen of Scots.

I had no idea how revered Mary was and is by Scotland.  She is regarded as a heroine, fiercely independent and an exemplar of her country's ideals.

Finally, we exited the palace proper back onto the grounds.

Sadly, we could not enter the abbey due to work in progress.

The abbey garden was still accessible, so we strolled around it, taking a path that circled the palace.

A plan of the palace and adjoining abbey for reference. 

After exploring the palace and grounds, we returned to the Cafe for lunch.  I had what was called a "Scottish burrito", which appeared to be essentially a haggis chimichanga.  It was delicious. 

Finally it was time to move on.  Rather than head directly back to the hotel, we decided to visit nearby Calton Hill.  Edinburgh is built on seven hills, which is why you are always going uphill if you walk more than a few blocks.

The Burns Monument. 

The Old Riyal High School.

Despite not being at the top of the hill, the view of the city was spectacular. 

The spire of the Nelson Monument further up the hill.

Being a series of hills, Edinburgh was full of switchback style trails to ascend or descend.  This one felt like a secret path.

We descended onto Canongate and made our way back to the Royal Mile. 

And finally back to rhe hotel, where our rooms were ready.

We dined in the hotel's excellent bistro.  I don't think G was too impressed.