Tuesday, September 18: Getting There is Half the Fun

Ron and I loved Edinburgh, from our first visit in late 2001.  Ron was of Scottish extraction- his great-great-(multiple) grandfather had left from Dundee as an indentured servant, accused of mismanaging the estate he’d run.  He ended up on a plantation in Georgia but eventually fled to the hills of Tennessee where, Ron said, he married a Cherokee woman “so old and so ugly the Cherokees didn’t want her”.  My ancestry is boring by comparison.

We fell in love with the land, the history and the whisky and made a few return trips, once to visit the Orkneys and once, over a four-day weekend, to catch an exhibit of items from the last of the Romanovs at the Royal Museum of Scotland.  This time I was returning only with a bit of Ron’s ashes and lots of plans and memories.

Being the nervous traveler I am, always worrying about what can go wrong, I’d booked a 6-hour layover in O’Hare.  Weather was clear and sunny, of course and the plane was on time.  No problem- United had just opened their new Polaris Lounge in O’Hare and I figured it would be a nice place to hang out before the flight to Edinburgh. 

I was right.  I’d spent plenty of time at the American Airlines Admiral’s Club lounge in ORD as a Business Class passenger but this was above and beyond the Admiral’s Club, which typically provides a limited selection of munchies for free (others for sale) and coupons for two free alcoholic drinks.  The Polaris lounge was huge, had a wonderful variety of foods in the buffet and had unlimited alcohol (although I had only two glasses of a very good Sauvignon Blanc, knowing there’d be more on the plane).  I nearly followed a nice Asian lady into the bathroom before I realized they were individual unisex rooms, immaculately clean.  Showers and sleep spaces were also available.  It was up to the standards of European lounges and that’s saying a lot.  Six hours (!) passed quickly and comfortably.

The flight was equally comfortable; my first-world complaint was that I had to push all the covers, pillows and other amenities out of the way to make room for my body!

Wednesday, September 19- A Soggy Arrival

The flight to Edinburgh was pleasant- good dinner, greasy breakfast- but I got only a couple of hours of sleep, which is usual for me on transatlantics.  We landed at 7:30 AM and I couldn’t get into my Airbnb apartment till 3 PM.  I took the bus into Waverly Station, dropped off my bags at an Airbnb office nearby and headed for the National Museum.  I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly the time passed.  At about 2:30 I trekked back to the office, picked up my bags and began the hike to my apartment.  It started to rain and I was walking against the wind, but I powered on (I did have a rain jacket) because I was too cheap to get a taxi and exercise is always good.  

Beautiful even in the rain.

I finally reached it- a third-floor walkup, which I knew- and couldn’t get the lock box with the key to open even with the combination they supplied.  I tried to call the office and my phone wouldn’t work locally.  I found a café run by a lovely Frenchwoman who made me a glass of coffee (very European) and loaned me her phone to call the office.  They sent over a nice young man who, instead of trying to yank it open at the top, lifted the front “door” off the box revealing the key.  OK, I felt like an idiot.  He was very nice.  Having already bought provisions on my walk, I gratefully settled in for the evening.  The first day is always the hardest. 

View from the courtyard of my apartment.

A reminder (posted near my apartment) of the impact of Airbnb on the residents.

Thursday, September 20: Missions Accomplished

After 10 hours of sleep, which made a huge difference.  I had two major things I wanted to do in Edinburgh and today I managed them both.  In the morning, after buying a SIM card for my phone, I went to Wm. Cadenhead’s on the Royal Mile.  Ron and I “discovered” them on our first trip in 2001.  They sell, among other things, whiskies that come straight from the casks of major distillers:  single cask, no dilution, no filtering, not even water added.  You can’t buy it in the US.  I bought 3 bottles- over the US Customs limit of one, but have always gone over, declared them when coming home, and have never been charged duty.  I left a little under the influence, having tasted samples of all three only shortly after having my breakfast.

I'm happy to report that all 3 bottles made it home safely and I wasn't charged any duty!

I came home, had lunch and got out the new SIM card.   The devil was in the details; I needed to insert something the thickness of a bent paper clip into a tiny hole in the side of my phone so the SIM card “drawer” would pop out.  It took nearly half an hour of testing various implements (of course there wasn’t a paper clip in sight) until I finally found that a the wire in a small spiral notebook worked after I straightened it out.  My phone was now operating like a local phone and I have 2gb of data usage- for about $13!  (And, as promised, it later worked in France.)

View from the top.

The second important thing:  climb to the top of Arthur’s Seat (elevation 250 meters or about 750 feet) and discreetly leave some of Ron’s ashes there.  It was a good day for the climb; cloudy but no rain forecasted, cool but not too windy.  The climb was about an hour and the paths were full of locals who RUN up to the peak every day (some in shorts) and tourists, mostly German.  It was work, but not overwhelming.  My biggest challenge was keeping my balance in some places. Several times on the way down I choose to descend while sitting rather than risk slipping and falling.  I don’t remember doing that 17 years ago.  Oh, well.

I also stopped at an ancient chapel partway down the mountain, where Ron and I had had lunch on our climb.

You never get the top of the mountain to yourself!

Ron at the top, 2001.

Friday, September 21- Two Museums

I decided to do a morning hike up to Arthur’s Seat again. I try to stay in shape on my travels and this sure filled the bill! It was a little harder this time; there had been a lot of rain the night before and I had to avoid puddles and be careful not to slip. It was sunnier today, though, and the view were ever-changing. I could almost understand why people took up mountain-climbing although I don’t think I’ll go out and buy boots and pitons. 

I’d planned to go back to the apartment, eat lunch and then head to the museums, but got distracted by a display of exquisite jewelry made by a designer in the Orkneys, which Ron and I had visited in 2005. The shop was in the Scottish Parliament Building and I had to go through a metal detector to enter. At the sight of such beautiful, locally-made work, my credit card leapt out of my wallet. There was, conveniently, a café in the building and I had lunch there. I spent the rest of the day in the National Gallery and the National Academy. As usual, I got a little burnt out after seeing so many paintings, but I learned a lot, especially about Rembrandt, whose works were the subject of a special exhibit at the National Academy.

Saturday, September 22: Dundee

I woke up this morning, planning to go to Dunblane, which looked interesting, and then saw Dundee in the next entry in the guidebook.  Dundee’s attractions included the ship Discovery in port, with an associated museum.  The ship had made a 2-year voyage to the Antarctic in 1901.  Sold!  Of course, it helped that Dundee was a place important to Ron’s family history and was just 1.5 hours away by train.

We arrived at Dundee Station and I searched for the usual freebie maps of the city.  There were none.  I left the station and wandered, looking for a store that might sell maps, but the small shops I checked didn’t have them.  I walked into a large department store and found it was part of a giant mall.  Since it was lunchtime, I settled in with a sandwich and coffee and opened my phone to do some research.   The Discovery Museum, I found, was practically next to the train station.  On the way out of the mall I found a Customer Service booth with- freebie maps.  Finally!

A Gay Pride Parade.  I encountered one in Reykjavik last year, too!

The museum was full of exhibits with fascinating details. As the ship left New Zealand, one crew member waving goodbye to the crowds from a high perch on the ship fell into the water and died.  The crew discovered that penguin meat "tasted like shoe leather steeped in turpentine" but that penguin eggs were tasty.  Laundering clothes was a luxury, between the need for water and the need for heat to dry clothes before they froze.  One group including Scott and Shackelton went out on an expedition by sledge and didn't wash their clothes for 95 days.  The ship was not to return to England for three years, and nearly had to be abandoned after multiple failed attempts to free it from the surrounding ice.

Exterior

Provisions. Note the grog barrel emblazoned with "God Save the King, the scotch whisky and the giant tin of Colman's Mustard.

Underwater sea creature collected and preserved by the scientists on board.

Another view of exterior.  The ship is now dwarfed on one side by the new Victoria and Albert Museum, which opened the day I was there. 

We were pretty much free to explore the entire ship.

Shackelton's Quarters

The Foremast, as seen from the lowest deck.

Detail of interior.

When I was in Paris a few days later, I realized how far we’d come in 100 years.  An ad in a magazine for Ponant, a luxury cruise line, offered cruises to Antarctica from Argentina.

Here's the link.
https://us.ponant.com/destinations/antarctica#advanced_search


It starts at about $13,000 per person, double occupancy and excluding airfare to and from Argentina.  Oh, yeah- add about another 75% for the Single Supplement.  The magazine ad showed one couple enjoying a sumptuous meal (including penguin meat?) on board.  The woman was wearing a sleeveless dress.  I’m grateful for my generous travel budget but it’s not THAT generous.  And what would Scott and Shackleford say about that sleeveless dress? 

At the Discovery Museum I was offered a ticket that included Verdant Works, the museum on the site of a former jute mill.  It was a pleasant walk from the waterfront but I was glad to have the map. 

The jute industry in Scotland had an interesting connection with my last major destination: for years, jute was grown in India and sent to Scotland for processing into products such as flour sacks, sand bags and carpet backing.   The panel below describes the terrible working conditions in India.

Gradually, plants in India took over production as well, with cheaper labor, and eventually most of the Scottish jute mills closed.  Our guide told is that they’re still using 150-year old machines, built in Dundee, to process jute in India.

The guide near one of the machines.  These aren't full-size; they were used for training new workers.  They were still extremely noisy, even when only one at a time was running.  Little wonder that many workers in Dundee ended up deaf.

The little bits of jute dust under the machine could also interfere with it running properly, so children as young as 9 were responsible for prying all the lumps out.  They frequently developed "mill fever", a respiratory disease, from getting the dut in their lungs.

I arrived back at Waverly Station at 7 PM; it was a totally different experience from my arrival on Wednesday since the weather was pleasant and I knew where I was going.  It was interesting to see the buildings in the waning daylight and watch the partying begin in the pubs on the Royal Mile.  I took a couple of shortcuts I’d learned, down long, steep staircases, and marveled again at how skillfully the city had been built around all of the steep hills, using stairways, bridges and passageways so people and vehicles could navigate them.

Sunday, September 23: Arthur's Seat and the Surgeons Museum

Yesterday when I was in Dundee I saw a brochure for the Surgeons Museum in Edinburgh- I’d seen a piece on it in "Mysteries at the Museum" and had forgotten about it.  First I climbed Arthur's Seat again- every time is different.  This time I found a different path down and ended up way on the other side of the hill at the bottom, with quite a long walk to my starting point but it was a nicely-paved footpath and a beautiful day, so what did I care?

Another view of the ruins of St. Andrew's Chapel (likely built in the 14th Century).

Ron on the site of the chapel, 2001.  I left a few of his ashes in the spot.

Bridges over the Firth of Forth way off in the distance. 

From there I headed over to the museum.  That was fantastic- on 3 floors, with tons of pathological specimens.  No photos allowed, unfortunately.  Yes, I DO have weird interests.  Just among the bone specimens, I saw bones affected by ankylosis, ricketts, gout, syphilis, arthritis and osteosarcoma as well as all types of trauma.  They had specimens from WW 1 and the Battle of Waterloo.  What really struck me was how much some of those people must have suffered before they died- mastoiditis, dental abscesses that spread to the brain, fractures that were not treated and healed at very odd angles.  The museum included the skeleton of one poor woman, who had lost 5 pregnancies due to conditions from her Vitamin D deficiency; her bones were weak-looking and she was missing several teeth.  The last child survived after a C-section delivery, one of the earliest in Scotland, but the mother died of blood loss.  I was again grateful for my phone; I used it to look up medical terms!

I’d picked up the London Times that morning- I LOVE their Sunday edition.  I was finally able to settle in and enjoy it with my dinner.

Monday, September 24: Edinburgh to Paris

I’d set the alarm for 6 AM since I had a morning flight to Paris.  I didn’t sleep well; already I was worrying about getting back from Paris in time on Wednesday so that I could pack up and make my flight home Thursday.  (Yes, I DO worry too much.) 

I decided to get an Uber car to the airport; my driver was a cheerful Fijian who had spent 12 years in the British Army.  I arrived in plenty of time and was held up at the security checkpoint only because I’d carefully packed my liquids in the requisite baggie- and then forgot to take them out of my computer bag. They were very nice about it.

My Air France flight left a bit late; it was one of those annoying flights where “boarding” meant you were herded into a glass tube out on the edge of the tarmac and had to stand there for 20 minutes before actually getting on the plane.  My bargain (under $200 round trip) airfare entitled me to a seat in the last row, by the lavatory.  

 Then I got to CDG. Ugh. Almost as bad as LHR. Miles of walking. VERY slow Immigration queue. (Couldn't even be bothered to ink the passport stamp sufficiently to make a clear impression.) The RER B line out of CDG had numerous problems in the system and we kept stopping. FINALLY I exited at Notre Dame- 3 hours after landing! I was going to head for the Metro and go straight to my hotel but I just couldn't. It was a beautiful day and I just wanted to walk around and giggle because I couldn't believe I was in Paris.

Unflattering angle,  I really need to get a selfie stick.

 I didn't go into Notre Dame- I'm turning into a bit of an eccentric traveler and if a place has crowds or long lines or costs a lot of money and I've been there before, I skip it- I just like walking. I picked up a couple of large, rich cookies at a Tunisian bakery - couldn't choose just one! I don't know how the Tunisians make their cookies so rich but they probably use pure, natural ingredients- like lard. I don't want to know!

I left some of Ron's ashes in the Seine- off the Quai aux Fleurs. I liked that place name. I was a bit concerned about getting them through in my carry-on and then realized that if they got confiscated at EDI, it would be something that would make Ron laugh- and what are they gonna do with them- incinerate them? I'm glad they're in the Seine instead. I didn't sleep well last night- one of those times Ron would have helped me to calm down, but worried about getting back to EDI on schedule Wednesday so I can get back into the apartment, pack up and leave Thursday. Yes, almost 24 hours later. I went through a litany of stuff: it's Air France, not RyanAir, airlines have to pay pretty hefty compensation to passengers when they delay or cancel flights in the EU, weather is clear, I have travel insurance that would cover additional costs...well, I DID get to sleep. It's very nice to be in a place with a powerful hot shower, adequate lighting and electrical outlets- and wastebaskets!!

Oh, and I needed something to read.

Tuesday, September 25- A Random Walk in Paris

Today I went to a weird exhibit that a US-based friend on FB had posted about months ago- I had thought it was an exhibit of the works of Gustav Klimt but it was something different from just paintings- it was at the Atelier des Lumieres, a former factory, and the idea was to recreate the atmosphere of Vienna at the time using music and projected light graphics.  I got there when an earlier presentation was being shown and nearly left- it was pretty dull- but then the Klimt show started.  Wow.  (I say that a lot here.)  The music included a piece from Beethoven's 9th and a song by Mahler and the graphics were projected on every surface- including the floor and pillars. sometimes making the place look like a palace.  

The space begins to be "outlined".

Note how even the pillars are "decorated".

It did include lots of Klimt's works.  Klimt liked women.  I remember seeing one of his paintings in the MOMA when I was pregnant- and it was of a pregnant woman.  It warmed my heart.

From there I grabbed a sandwich and headed to the Musee du Parfum, housed near the Fragonard store.  I decided to take he tour in French and understood most of it- I even asked a few questions.  Didn't buy any perfume- I know myself. I just wouldn't use it.  I did buy some pretty bars of glycerine soap for Lydia and Angela.

I realized later that I’d enjoyed this whirlwind trip through Paris more than my last trip with Ron.  I missed Ron, of course, but we’d been through the Louvre and the Musee d’Orsay and both had been chaotic- long lines to get in and then jammed with tourists who seemed more interested in taking pictures of the works (and then one of the information panel next to each one) than experiencing the works.  I’m leaning more and more towards avoiding the big attractions, especially if they’re expensive, have long lines or if I’ve been there before.  Instead, I find more obscure attractions that are sometimes equally interesting and spend a lot of time just walking and soaking up the atmosphere.  I’m still working out what travel with Ron looks like and am grateful that I still enjoy it.

Wednesday, September 26- Return to Edinburgh

Today was my 3 PM flight back to Edinburgh.  The night before I’d checked Uber and THOUGHT I saw an estimate for about $15 to get from my hotel to the airport.  I happily went to sleep with that plan.  I had a nice Continental breakfast at the hotel and realized it was silly to use the hotel gym on such a beautiful day.  I checked the map and found a park about a mile down the road, which even had exercise equipment- similar to gym machines, but simplified and with no electronics so they’d withstand the weather.  I used an elliptical trainer for about 15 minutes, watching the morning rush hour, and then ran back to the hotel.  By 11 AM I’d changed clothes and packed everything up.  I stood outside, fired up my Uber app and-  oops- trips to the airport were over US $50.  My only guess is that since Uber’s pricing varies by the amount of demand and the number of cars available, 8 PM last night was far less expensive than prime time in late morning.

Ready to head out.

No problem- plenty of time to go back to Plan A.  Things ran far more smoothly than they did on my trip in, and I was at the airport by 12:15 and landside by 1 PM.  It gave me plenty of time to find my way to the gate and get lunch.  I felt bad for the couple beside me at Passport Control; the wife was asking, “Is there any faster way through Security?  Our flight boards in 10 minutes”.  (I didn’t see them again, so maybe there was.)   The terminal was jammed, with people trying to make their way through navigating narrow openings in the crowds of people lining up for flights.  There were only two places for hundreds of people to get lunch- a newsstand with a boring selection of sandwiches and bags of various chips and sweets, and a Prêt à Manger.  Fortunately the lines at Prêt à Manger moved quickly and the clerks were cheerful and efficient- it came at a price, though.  My lunch cost $15.

Our flight was not on Air France but on its low-cost version, “Hop!”.  The only difference I could see was that we had to board a shuttle to get to the plane and it seemed like several miles.  It was an uneventful flight and we landed on time.  I fished out my return ticket for the Airport Bus from the hundreds of little pieces of paper I’d tucked away and then walked from Waverly Station, enjoying yet another stroll down the Royal Mile.   It’s always an interesting feeling to return from one foreign destination to one where you’ve already settled in and are familiar with the territory.  It was comforting- and I didn’t have to think about how to say things in French!

Thursday, September 27- The Trip Home

I didn’t sleep well Wednesday night- no particular reason why.  I was actually pretty relaxed about the trip home- Edinburgh is a smaller, more civilized airport than CDG or LHR and I was flying Business Class, which is also far more civilized.  I’d set the alarm for 7:30 but when I woke up- again- at 6:30 I got up, had breakfast and finished packing.  With relief, I stowed the key in the lock box outside; I’d been afraid I’d head to the airport with it.

After a brief stay in the airport lounge where I discovered I liked Weetabix (an old respected British brand of breakfast cereal), I headed out of the lounge and boarded the flight.  The flight was pleasant other than the remote for my in-flight entertainment being flaky.  The purser had to re-boot it and I was able to work around it by using the touch screen.  That was a relief- movies are nice on an 8-hour flight.

Pre-flight bubbly.  I do not ALWAYS make healthy choices.

I had a 5-hour layover in O'Hare, but that was my choice.  Our flight landed close to an hour late and, with the need to go through Immigration, retrieve and re-check bags, and then go from the International terminal to Terminal B (which, for some reason, was by bus, not by their usual efficient tram system) and THEN pass through the TSA again... I like to hedge my bets.  Fortunately, I still had plenty of time to enjoy the Polaris Lounge again, this time enjoying a shower, a few glasses of wine and some good food before my short flight home, which even landed pretty much on time.

Another excellent adventure!

India and Nepal- How did I get Here?

In January of last year, my Aunt Mary Beth e-mailed me a link to a tour she was taking with the headline, "Just a Thought..."  I'd been to India at least a half-dozen times on business and had wanted to visit as a tourist, but felt it wasn't a good destination for exploring on my own.  I checked out the tour company's Web site  (Overseas Adventure Travel) and realized it was the exact type of trip I was looking for.  Even better, Mary Beth and I would be traveling together.  Mary Beth had married my mother's youngest brother so there was only a five-year age difference between us.  She'd graciously included me as a bridesmaid in the wedding at my tender age of 16 and the wedding was one of the most glamorous spots in my life up till then.  I knew that we'd have a fun time traveling together, and we really did.

Less than 24 hours later I'd put down a deposit. 

Tuesday, March 6/Wednesday, March 7: Kansas City to London

I’d worked myself into a frenzy of worry over this trip.  Ordinarily I DO worry about all the stuff I can’t control on my trips, which is understandable given the number of times airlines have pulled the rug out from under me- late flights, cancelled flights, diverted flights, missed connections- and just when I think I’ve seen everything they surprise me- and not in a good way.  This time it was complicated:  because I had enough miles to fly only 3 segments in Business and had to go from London to home in Coach, the only way I could book it was in two pieces- the KC-London round trip and the London-Delhi round trip.  This meant that, in theory, the airline had no obligation to get me to London in time to make the flight to Delhi.  What would happen if I got delayed going into London?  I had a 24-hour layover but my last flight to London (also on American) had been cancelled and I’d been sent out on the same flight- the next day.

I needed Xanax and all I had were some crummy anti-malaria pills.  A gym workout, followed by the distraction of a morning Garden Club meeting, helped a little.

I got to the airport 3 hours before flight time and-yes, thank You, God!- was able to get on an earlier flight.  They stuck me in Coach but I had a row to myself and was happy to make that trade-off in order to get into Chicago over an hour earlier.  More time to swill free wine and enjoy the munchies in the airline Club.

The BA flight to London took off pretty much on time after a de-icing.  I was in one of the middle section of “pods” since I didn’t ante up the money to choose my seat, but the flight was mostly in darkness anyway.

Breakfast selection in BA's Arrivals Lounge.  Sorry, I left my statins at home.

They call this "black pudding" to fool the tourists.  It's also known as "blood pudding"- made from cow's blood.   I'd tried it before years ago in Scotland- not thrilled with it- and was already getting into Vegetarian Mode so I passed it up.

Thursday, March 8/Friday, March 9: London to Delhi

I spent the night at a Hilton near Heathrow.  My plan had been to take the Heathrow Express into London but then I found that the hotel was actually reached by a shuttle that ran only every half-hour and cost 9 pounds round trip.  I decided not to backtrack to Heathrow and got in a good workout at the hotel gym and had an enjoyable dinner at the Indian restaurant on the property, before falling into an exhausted sleep, awakening 11 hours later after my alarm went off.

Available for sale at the restaurant (Mr. Todiwala's).  Ummm.. is this veg or non-veg?

Back to Heathrow the next morning.  I enjoyed a couple of hours in the Departure Lounge before boarding my flight to Delhi.  The flight was uneventful and we landed at 1:20 AM.  Unfortunately the car for which I'd pre-paid because I did NOT want to be stuck at Delhi Airport without a working cell phone at 1:20 in the morning didn't show.  I found a taxi service that took credit cards and the trip cost less than the one for which I'd already paid- only about $15. 

Saturday, March 10: A Day with a Friend

After a blissful 10 hours of sleep, interrupted only by an hour of the band in the club on the floor below playing such classical Indian tunes as “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”, “Nights in White Satin”, “Wonderful Tonight” and “Bang Bang”.  The band quit at midnight.  I changed rooms the next day.

I had a wonderful day with my friend Bani.  Between shopping trips (one to buy clothing, one to buy jewelry), we visited Humayun’s Tomb and had coffee, lunch and then tea at the hotel at the end of the day. 

I couldn't make up my mind so I bought all of them, then suggested we leave before I found more items I couldn't live without!

More merchandise for the truly serious shopper.  This is where Indian brides (and Bani and her mother) shop for jewelry.