"England Swings Like a Pendulum Do..."

 I didn't see any Bobbies on bicycles two-by-two. But I did see Westminster Abby and the Tower of Big Ben. And the rosy red cheeks of the little children. (song lyrics)

Big Ben is a LOT bigger than I thought it was going to be! 

You gotta love the architecture in the area around Big Ben and Westminster Abby. They don't make buildings like this anymore. It's like time travel to be on the ground around these marvels.

Trafalgar Square picture taken at the National Gallery Art Museum.

On December 1st, I arrived in London from Victoria, B.C. via Vancouver and Calgary. I had a few hours of layover in Calgary, so met up with my son, Solomon and his son, Kevin for dinner. It was our family Christmas dinner, so we had some wine with our meal. 

I had reserved a room at a B&B just outside of Heathrow, so I had to find the shuttle to get there. I thought it was going to be an easy walk off the plane onto a shuttle. I was wrong. 

Going through customs was easy as pie. All you have to do is go into a little booth, put your passport into a slot and the door opens to let you into England. No questions asked. Not even the electronic scanner. However, even though your passport doesn't get stamped and there's no visible visa, you're on record. You get three months and no more. And it's not just three months for the UK, that includes all of Europe. Times have changed. And it's going to get even tighter in March, 2025. We have to leave the entire European community after three months and stay out for three months before returning. 

To find the shuttle, I had to go on a shuttle to Terminal 5, then another shuttle, then up an elevator, through Arrivals and into a long, long walkway to the bus that would take me to the B&B. Since I didn't have an oyster card (the plastic card used to board local transport) I asked if I could use cash. The driver told me I needed to have exact change (6 pounds!) but all I had was a ten and he happily took it without giving me any change. 

Six pounds doesn't sound like a lot but what I got for the Canadian dollar was TWO TO ONE. Plus! That's right folks, the Canadian dollars is in the sh*tter compared to the rest of the world's currency. Who can we thank for that? Don't get me started.

Here's some more of London's gorgeous architecture. 

At the National Gallery, I waited for 20 minutes in a long line of people in the drizzling rain at Trafalgar Square where protestors were shouting and whistling in a huge crowd, waving Palestinian flags and setting off fireworks while Police surrounded them and then sirens went off as ambulances roared away from the crowd in the square. 

The Gallery was well worth the wait. We were gobsmacked by the amazing art pieces.

Notice the person on the right. This will give you an idea of the enormous size of the painting.

This is the Apostle John, presumably writing Revelation. I have to mention the inaccuracy of the cherubim. Cherubim are huge, powerful angels. And angels do NOT have sex organs.  

Thomas putting his finger into Jesus's wound after His resurrection. Did you know that Jesus walked on the earth for 40 days after He rose from the dead? 

MY TRIP TO VANCOUVER AND WHITE ROCK

My son, Solomon, invited me to visit him in Vancouver where he was on a working trip, staying at the Holiday Inn in Surrey. I accepted the invitation, worked out the bus schedules, threw a few items in a shopping bag and set off for an excursion. 

I had to take one bus to Duncan, another to Nanaimo and yet another to the Departure Bay Ferry Terminal.

Here's a picture taken at Departure Bay

The one hour, twenty minute trip is well worth $21 Canadian because every inch of the way, the scenery is amazing. White-capped peaks are visible in the background and there are several different colors of green in the landscape. Of course, if you have a more professional camera, you can go nuts.

                    Here's a little island we passed by out in the middle of the Strait of Georgia.

           Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

If you already live in Vancouver, you really should get out to the island just to see the sights. It's springtime on Vancouver Island and the colors of the blossoms on the trees and in the gardens are out of this world. Or, at least, they are heaven on earth. They're gorgeous.

The trip across the strait is FREE FOR SENIORS but only IF you can prove that you are a BC resident. And you have to prove it. (Since I haven't got the BC ID, I was charged full price. But, what the heck; it's worth it.)

Arriving in Vancouver at Horseshoe Bay, I took the Express Bus to the skytrain and then got off at the Water Front to meet my son. We ate dinner outside in a lovely court yard and walked around down at the waterfront where there was a cruise ship docked at the pier. 

This ship was called the Sapphire Princess.

 

Goodbye Courtenay, Hello Mill Bay!

 I moved to Mill Bay on the first of May. But before leaving Courtenay, I took a few pictures. The spring blooms are too much to overlook. Anywhere you point your camera, you can capture big, beautiful blossoms.

Of course, spring isn't restricted to Courtenay and blossoms are proliferous most everywhere on the Island these days. I'm not sure about up further north but we here in the southern part of Vancouver Island are enjoying a wealth of colour overhead and under foot.

The roses are out and tulips have also started opening but that's just the tip of the iceberg. Everything is springing to life to welcome warm, sunny days.

Rustic Mill Bay has some great walking trails. One of them is called the Bunny Trail which is where we went this morning. I caught a few pictures of the trail and the little river passing alongside of it.

If you want to see some of the most adorable dogs on the planet, go for a morning walk on the Bunny Trail. 

Everything is getting greener. The trees are sky-scraper tall and a lot of the bark is red. This is our Canadian rain forest.

The official flower of Ontario, Canada is the white Trillium. As it ages, the white Trillium turns pink.

Here's a picture of the Trillium after it turns pink. 

Nothing like a nature walk to bring you down to earth, help you forget about all your problems and breathe the salt sea air blown in from the Pacific Ocean. Top it off with a Tim Horton's coffee and what more could you want? 

GLOBE-TROTTER PRIORITIES

https://mybareway.com?sca_ref=6070610.IhLNwGBqrC 

I have found that one of my biggest expenses is shoes. It's not that I spend a huge amount on shoes. It's just that I rarely spend money on myself unnecessarily and when I do, I get the cheapest, most practical stuff I can find. I'm bad that way.

Traveling has been my life since 1972. I usually stay six months at a time in any given country. I don't own a car and I don't have a license, so I do a LOT of walking.

I used to be bound to wearing sandals in countries like Thailand or Malaysia where it seemed ridiculous to put on an extra layer like a layer of socks on one's feet. However, over the years of living in tropical countries, I started to wear lightweight running shoes with cotton socks. Of course, whenever you enter someone's house or church, one must remove all footwear and go BAREFOOT.

Going barefoot in public or even with family is a little humbling. I started painting my toe nails because I felt a bit self-conscious about people looking at my imperfect toes. And it doesn't hurt to get a nice tan on one's feet for these occasions.

But what if you could FEEL like you're going barefoot WHILE WEARING SHOES? What if someone invented a pair of shoes SO COMFORTABLE you felt like you were wearing nothing on your feet? 

Bareway has come out with some shoes I think you should try out. You can check them out below. I'm unabashedly promoting them and I hope you click on the link and BUY A PAIR for the great walking weather that we are approaching now! (Be sure to check out the measurement chart so you get a good fit. The sizes are a bit different.)

https://mybareway.com?sca_ref=6070610.IhLNwGBqrC

Courtenay

 Spring has sprung in Courtenay, British Columbia on Vancouver Island.  

My neighbors are really into their gardens. And most everyone has at least one blossoming tree in their yard.

                          It may be spring in the valley, but there's still snow on the mountains.

                                                                     Elephant grass

                                                  A cute little farm owned by the Amish in Comox

                                                                 The Courtenay River 

(Picture taken from the bike trail that follows along the river and the estuary to the Pacific Ocean)

There's a little bit different weather system up here compared to that of Victoria in the south. We seem to get more snow and the temperatures here are generally a little lower, of course. Still, in all, there were probably only two weeks when snow was on the ground. If that. It hardly matters at all. Unless you use a bike for transportation.