I have a wonderful life. My work is wonderful, my family is wonderful, and I live the way I want to live. This strikes me often – but especially today when I have to transition from a true “holiday” back to the world that supports me. I was a bit tearful walking from La Gaffe to the Tube station this morning. I had a nice visit with Lorenzo over breakfast – how I will miss his lattes’ – then it was time to leave. It’s never as much fun ending a vacation as it is to begin one. The logistics of leaving London were easy: Walk from La Gaffe to…

I am not going to lie – I am going to miss London. This is odd – because usually, I HATE large cities. And if I had to do the Tube every day at rush hour, perhaps I’d hate that. But a city with over two thousand years of recorded history – everything you could possibly want to do – architecture that rivals any place in the world – a population as diverse as the planet – and because of that diversity, really good food – it is no wonder that whenever I am away too long I yearn to come back. I leave tomorrow, so I had some specific…

Well… actually that’s the maker of my coat – which I hauled around the Mediterranean for 2 weeks and never used. Today, it earned the space it took up in my carry-on. It is chilly, gray, and drizzling rain. But not foggy. That was just from my Sherlock Holmes imagination. I puttered in my room thinking it would clear, but eventually decided to head out anyway. Shock-of-shocks – I didn’t eat breakfast! The weather makes it a good day fto see a museum. Did I mention that London has 300 museums? I try to visit one or two each time I visit. (I have repeated the British Museum 4 times –…

It’s chilly today. I went downstairs and had breakfast and two latte`s. Then Bernardo and Androulla Stella picked me up and took me walking on the Heath. We went to the West Heath which I didn’t even know was there. My colleague, Pat Coccoma and I had walked the larger East Heath in March which covers acres of land. The West Heath has both paved and landscapes areas and areas of wilderness. There’s a section called the Pergola and Hill Garden which you can see in the pictures below. [slideshow] Bernardo is very knowledgeable about the history of the Heath. He and Androulla have lived here 50 years and he…

The weather is absolutely gorgeous – low 70’s, windy, and sunny. It may turn dicey my remaining days here so I decided to take the train and head to the coast. I first considered Dover, but I’m a little tired of crowds, so I looked for someplace a little less touristy and decided on Eastbourne. There is a train from Victoria Station, and after working around Tube lines closed for repair, got to the station, acquired a ticket and boarded just as the train was leaving. Upon departure, an announcer came on saying that, at some point, cars 1 – 8 would divide and go in one direction, and 9 –…