Thurs. Sept 30/2010-Digby-Dartmouth/Halifax

Hello again folks!  Here we go again with today’s blog update, so as usual let’s begin with the map of the territory covered today. As you can see, we covered about 226 Km and it took about 2hrs 41 minutes of driving time.  As usual too, we made good use of Tim Hortons along the route, stopping once for a short break after about 90 minutes.

We wanted to keep pushing ahead with the driving, as we’d arranged to meet Emily, daughter of friends of ours, in Dartmouth.

Cynthia and Emily outside Cora's Restaurant in Dartmouth

Emily now works in Halifax and shares an apartment with a friend she’s made from the Cabot Trail area.  The two young women are getting along famously in the basement apartment they share in Dartmouth.  Emily works in the Dartmouth library system and  her buddy is an accountant when she’s not cutting bait for her Grandad’s fish boat back in the eastern section of this province.

We took Emily for lunch at Cora’s restaurant.   It’s one of Em’s favourites.  What a neat place to go and eat.  What good food, and what an interesting story about Cora and the growth of her little empire.

Cora

Following a very pleasant hour or so with Emily, we took her back to her place.  We said our goodbyes and after not too many tears we headed for the motel in which we’d previously dropped our bags.  It too was in Dartmouth.

Just like everywhere else we’ve been in these three of the Maritime provinces, the staff at the motel (Country Inn and Suites, Dartmouth),was just brilliant.  They helped us sort out the three rooms we’d booked for ourselves and our incoming Welsh friends.  They printed out ready-made instructions for us on how to get to the airport and then how to get back to the motel, once we’d made it to the airport.

Time ticked by towards the time when the Taffies would arrive.  I don’t know about Cynthia, but I was getting excited about seeing them again.  We wanted to go to the airport early to check out motels, hotels in the vicinity to house us when we return to B.C. on the 12th of October.  We visited two in the airport area and noted their rates.  We tried to get to the third, and oh dear, we ended up on the wrong road, going the wrong way, away from the airport and on towards Elgin.  Fog and gathering gloom didn’t help us either.  The time to the Welsh contingents’ plane arrival  was ticking away like a bomb in my head. How could we get off this highway and back on track? Gleefully, we noted an exit sign coming up in the next four kilometres so we breathed a sigh of relief, and knew we’d arrive on time if we didn’t overshoot the turn-off and head back to Halifax.  Yikes!

We made it to the car rental drop-off place.  Cynthia had received yet another of her brilliantly illuminated thoughts from on high.  As the Taffs were also renting a car, maybe we could leave our rental car near their rental company,  and so leave that area together, to avoid missing each other in the darkness.  An obliging young man at Enterprise allowed us to leave our car in one of their parking slots and Cynthia and I were  able to get to the arrivals area to meet our friends.  Eventually they arrived and after hugs all round, we made our way to the rental area to get their car…and ours.

Hugs all round

They received a free upgrade to an upgrade which made them very happy, so once we’d popped all their bags into the vehicle, we had a quick run-down of controls and a reminder to them they would be on the right side of the road while driving.  We left the airport in very tricky driving conditions, for the fog had rolled in to add to the darkness.  We were very glad when we arrived at our motel.  Cynthia, Barrie, Pat and I went out for a meal, but Sandra and Dilwyn Byles crashed.  Tomorrow should be a great day around Halifax.  ’Til then, goodnight and God bless.

Trip to Europe

On Nov. 05.-2009 Cynthia and I returned to Canada from a three week vacation in Europe. We were there with our Welsh friends the Byles and Davies families.
The first week was spent in the north of the island of Mallorca, in a town called Alcudia. The area was very pleasant and the weather good enough for us to wear tee shirts and shorts. On one day we rented a seven passenger vehicle and drove south to Palma, the largest city on the island. In the picture above you can see the other five standing outside the magnificent cathedral of the city. We also enjoyed wandering the many squares and narrow streets, stopping to watch and listen to the street artists in those places.
We returned to Wales via Bristol airport after one week. We had two nights with Barrie and Pat Davies. On one one of those nights we met some friends from our childhood at a neighbouring pub. They drove down from Manchester area to see us. We had not seen each other for over 40 years. That was a good occasion.

From Abergavenny, we were driven north to Rugby by Cynthia’s sister Janet and her husband Alex Frankl. They met us at The Bell Pub in Skenfrith just outside Abergavenny. Barrie and Pat took us there and then left us in the care of the Frankls. Below you see us enjoying coffee on the pub terrace after a fine lunch.
Our four nights with

Janet and Alex were great. they treated us like royalty. One day we went for lunch in Coventry and then on into the city to attend a matinée of a play by a French playwrite. It was called Babylone,at the Belgrade theatre, and was an amazing event to watch as two male characters held us spellbound for 75 minutes.

Eventually Janet and Alex drove us south to Bicester (say Bister) to meet Janet and Michael Raynor, friends of ours for many years. Once the handover was complete, the Frankls went to do some shopping while we and the Raynors had a coffee before heading back to their home in the village of Cuddesdon, which is outside the town of Wheatley, which in turn is outside the city of Oxford. Phew! Still with me? While we were with Janet and Michael, their daughter Caitlin, her partner Michael and their baby Edith came to stay overnight too. Below you see Cynthia with Janet and toddler Edith.

We saw a production of a local play while we were there. We also spent some quality chat time with the Raynors before, after three more nights, they handed us on to our next hosts. The Raynors drove us to London, to Trafalgar Square and guided us in the direction of the National Gallery. In the Sainsbury Gallery, we saw an amazing exhibit called The Sacred Made Real
(If you click on the link, a full explanation of the exhibit can be read on the National Gallery’s website.) They also took us to the Portrait Gallery which was also an eye-opener for us. In the afternoon, the Raynors kindly drove us to our last stop before returning to Canada…the home of our cousins Julia and Roger Hussey who live in Shirley, Surrey, south of the city of London.
The first evening we spent with Julia and Roger was a quiet one, but much appreciated by us. Julia had been working hard, so she enjoyed coming home and spending an evening chatting over a glass or two of wine. Roger was preparing us for the next day, when he would take us up to London in his black hackney cab. That day came and off we went. We went specifically to see the Churchill Exhibit and Cabinet War Rooms

This was a new experience for all three of us as Roger had not been either. It added to his already vast knowledge of the city of London and its history. As Roger had taken us in the cab, by law he was required to leave his meter running. When we got home to his house that afternoon, our fare would have been £210.
One afternoon Roger and a friend Dennis and I, drove over to a local public golf course and had a very pleasant nine holes. None of us played brilliantly, but the weather was gorgeous and the company excellent, so what more could one ask for?

Our last evening with the Husseys was a pub night with them and their friends. We all went out for dinner at The Railway, one of their locals. Below you see our group in the pub. They are a great group and the whole lot have marvellous times together.

Finally we caught the plane back on Nov. 05th and Ben met us at the ferry in Nanaimo. It had been a grand time, but we were also pleased to get our heads down in our own home. Thanks to all who made our trip such an enjoyable one.