Mon 31 July - Billesdon

The weather forecast was for rain today, so I popped out early to take some piccies of the perfect little village of Billesdon.  Quite a few of the houses have thatched roofs, one even has a thatched dog on it's thatched roof!  

The Queens Head - about a 2 minute walk from Chris's house.

Although I just called it little, the area of the parish of Billesdon is over 2000 acres and it has a population of around 1000 people. 

Escape to the country at its best

A bit later in the day we took a trip to the town of Oakham to sort out bank accounts for both Dad and I.  Dad's was ok, but much to my horror, in the process of enquiring about my previous accounts the bank manager let me know that our account had been closed with a debt, that I had a negative credit rating and that I'd never be able to have an account with HSBC again.  I felt like a crim, it was awful.  I offered to pay it back but he said that wouldn't clear the negative rating and advised against it.  Crawled out of there feeling so low.  Plus I can't get my damn phone to work either, nor can I pay for anything online because visa keep sending verification codes to my Australian number that I can't access because stupid iinet don't offer data roaming.  😠  Boy oh boy have I learned some lessons these last few days.

And a not so happy part of this blog post.  I love England, have done since I first came as a child. It’s a small beautiful country full of millions of people, but it’s missing one. For me right now England is about the absence of Mum and it hurts. We’re catching up with people who knew and loved Mum and I wasn’t prepared for what this would bring up. I thought my grief was fading but it’s hit me all over again. The last few days have been tricky - I’m a careful planner and highly organised - but things on the technology and banking front haven’t gone well. It’s been costly and stressful and it’s made me wish more than ever I had Mum to talk to. My beautiful Mum who taught me everything except how to live without her.

Miss you so so so much Mum.

So - I've temporarily lost both my happy thought and my mojo, and to be honest I'm sort of at rock bottom on the emotional front right now. The only good thing about that is the only way is up. I've been here before and I know I'll be right, just need to dig deep.  

Sun 30 July - Billesdon

Pretty impressed with myself - started the day at 5:17am with an 8km run that looked like this little worm....

It was through gentle rolling hills (a bit too many hills) and en route I saw 3 rabbits, 1 hare, 1 squirrel, a bunch of fat pigeons and 1 car!

Feeling virtuous and totally knackered we had breakfast and I nipped out to take a few pictures of Chris' lovely house and nearby houses and pub - and I mean nearby - the pub is about 50 metres from the front door.  Settle down Steve!😜

Chris's house has the green door to the left.  

It is on the market square right in the centre of town and literally a (long) stone's throw from the New Greyhound pub. 

And then we set off to Potton in Bedfordshire to have lunch with Chris' daughter Celia and her family - husband Simon and daughters Maddie and Izzy. It was a lovely lunch - great food and hospitality - thanks so much for having us. 

Sat 29 July - San Francisco - London - Billesdon

This 24 hour period was about travel and it was about disappointingly frustrating banking and technology.  The plane flight was good!  Meal, flat bed, sleep!  Reckon I punched out  💤💤 for about 8 hours.

On landing it was a loooong walk through the airport and a seemless exit through customs.  And now the fun and games began!  The car hire place was not at Heathrow and the instructions were to simply jump on the Hotel Hoppa bus to get there.  This involved a major wrestle with a very stupid lift, a sniff of dismay that the wait for the Hoppa was 20 minutes, that it cost £6.80 each and they didn't accept cash and that it went to 6 different hotels before ours.

And now came the really revolting bit.  I had reservations about the car hire arrangement - it involved a third party booking entity as well as the Italian-based car hire company Drivalia.  I read everything I could about the hire conditions - they were very particular in their requirements but I got everything ready and all was good UNTIL my credit card transaction was declined.  From there everything rapidly went south.  It's too soon for me to re-live the hideous 3 hours that followed, but suffice to say I was not a happy camper and Dad was considerably out of pocket by the time we drove off.

Looks can be deceiving.

Total crappy intro to the UK, but surprisingly not through the fault of the car hire place, nope - it was my Australian ING bank that let me down - we have since had words 😠

Anyway - once we finally got the car (which by the way is a gutless vauxhall corsa that Dad can barely get into and that has the weirdest, most insipid gears I've ever come across) it was smooth sailing up to Billesdon in Leicestershire to stay 5 nights with Mum and Dad's friend Chris.

Fri 28 Jul - San Francisco - London

Up, breakfast, pack and then back to the pier to join about 200 other people on the short 1.5 mile ferry trip to Alcatraz.  

I googled to find out a bit more about the small, rocky island that was home to such famous prisoners as Al Capone....

The Founding Of Alcatraz Island

• Juan Manuel de Ayala was the first man to sail into San Francisco Bay and lay eyes upon what is now Alcatraz Island.
• When the Spanish explorer mapped the bay in 1775, he named the tiny island Alcatraces. At this time, this word meant ‘Gannet’ in relation to the North Atlantic seabird.
• But over time, the original name Alcatraces was anglicized to Alcatraz.

Use As A Military Fort

• Following the Gold Rush and booming of San Francisco in the 1850’s, the US military built a fortress at the top of Alcatraz to protect the bay from naval invasion.
• On June 1st, 1854, the Alcatraz Light became the first lighthouse built on the West Coast of America. By the late 1850’s, Alcatraz had received its first military prisoners.
• No shots were ever fired from the enormous cannon at Alcatraz fortress and its requirements as a defensive installation become obsolete.
• The US army demolished Alcatraz fortress in 1909 and military prisoners at the time built what would become ‘the Rock.’

Punishment To Fit The Crime

• Following rampant crime in the 1920’s and 1930’s, Alcatraz was the perfect symbol for the Department of Justice to show its citizens they were taking crime seriously.
• The prison was categorized as maximum security as well as minimum privilege and opened in 1933.
• Alcatraz would be the new home for those who were incapable of reform or who had gained culture repute.

(Credit)

Our tour included an audio guided trip through the main prison block with narration from both the prisoner and guard perspectives.  It was stark and cold and the cells small and basic.  

Despite the maximum security there were 36 men involved in 14 separate escape attempts. Of these 23 were caught, 6 were shot and killed, 2 drowned and 5 listed as missing, presumed drowned.

After the tour it was back to the airport where I re-discovered the joys of Cointreau and Grapefruit juice before boarding the plane at 8:50pm for dinner and a snooze. 😀

Thur 27 July - San Francisco

Day 2 in San Francisco and we were up and at 'em at a respectable 9am.  Not bad given the busyness of yesterday.  I seem to have managed to avoid jet lag altogether, but Dad wasn't as successful at snoozing on the plane and is feeling it a bit, plus he's 86 so I guess it all makes sense.

Anyway - after a teensy breakfast we were off on a custom-made tour of the SF sights courtesy of young Eric (who by the way has a Tesla, quiet as a mouse with a lot of get up and go, although San Fran has a stop sign about every 100m so there's a bit more whoa than go!)

First was a cruise through the SF equivalent of New York's Central Park.  A pretty fine chunk of real estate that has managed to avoid being built out despite several attempts by developers.  There's a golf course and a bunch of excellent looking museums within the park precinct - that'll be for next visit!

Did I mention San Francisco is not warm!  It was about 19C when we were there, but the wind was nippy, so it wasn't surprising that the vast Ocean Beach was deserted. 

We saw the bridge from the other side of the harbour, a ritzy suburb called Sea Cliff (reminded me of Vaucluse) and The Painted Ladies - a row of houses featured in numerous movies including Bicentennial Man.  Robin Williams grew up in the San Francisco area and when he died the tunnel connecting the city and Sausalito was renamed The Robin Williams Tunnel in his honour.

Interesting too is the fog, and here's what Google has to say about it...

Why is San Francisco foggy in the summer?
San Francisco is a climate anomaly. In the summer, when most of the Northern Hemisphere, particularly California, is baking, the average July high for San Francisco is 67 degrees Fahrenheit, with evening temperatures dipping into the 50s. (July is one of the foggiest months). Locals routinely refer to the fog as "Karl" — a reference to Tim Burton 2003 film "Big Fish". In the film, Karl was the misunderstood giant. Everyone was afraid of him and thought he would eat them or kill them, but in fact he was just hungry and lonely.

We saw the Golden Gate on several occasions when we were here and it was 'Karled' the whole time. 😀

Top shot was earlier and taken with Eric, bottom one was about 3 hours later with a bit less
fog but way more tourists.

In the afternoon we headed out on a pre-booked tour to Muir Woods, the home of Coastal Redwoods averaging between 600 - 800 years old and up to 80 metres tall (that's roughly the height of a 20 storey building).  It was warm and peaceful and good for the soul.  

On the way back to the city we stopped at the coastal town of Sausalito and nearly missed the bus as we may have got distracted doing a bit of wine tasting! 😝

And the reason we were wine tasting is so that we'd have something to take to Eric's house for dinner!  Eric, Liza and son Aidan (and for the moment cousin Simon too) live about 30 minutes out of the city in Orinda. Their house sits on around 3/4 of an acre on the top of a hill and it is beautiful.  We had the most delicious dinner, sitting in a wonderful outdoor space, complete with a fireplace.  

I think I ate too much and definitely drank too much Napa Valley wine! We stayed until 11pm and the time just flew by! Thanks so much for your generous hospitality Eric and Liza - now pop Australia on the travel list so we can spoil you right back!

Wed 26 July - Canberra - San Francisco - Part 3!

Like I said - this going back in time is messing with my head and I can't believe we crammed so much into one blog day (which, of course, is actually 41 hours) that it requires 3 blog posts!

And apart from my meticulous planning most of reason why we were able to cram so much in can be summed up in one word - Eric!

Now Eric is the son of our family friends - Dave and Lois and he happens to be born 4 days after me.  In my books this makes me ever so slightly older but significantly more wise - something I've been telling him since I was about 10, which now that I think about it has probably been pretty annoying.  Anyway, Eric must be forgiving of annoying little family friends because he has been spoiling Dad and I rotten!!

Here's what Eric sent me on the morning we arrived...

And we did it all EXCEPT the swim - Eric - what were you thinking? 😂😅😂😁

So - here we are checking out Fisherman's Wharf before heading into Nick's Lighthouse for lunch

Dad and I sitting under the quintessential Fisherman's Wharf sign, then yummo lunch of
Dungeness Crab salad (yep - the same crabs they ate on Alone Series 3!), Eric and his much
wiser friend Penny and Clam Chowder in a sourdough roll.  Heaven!

And all fuelled up we were up for more strolling, this time along Pier 39.

Dad bought cherries at the fruit shop - huge, juicy and delicious.

More strolling ....

And a nice close up of the Golden Gate Bridge...noting that the fog is almost a constant and it's not called fog!  Its Carl which doesn't quite right when said with an Aussie accent.

And then back to the hotel for a rest before indulging in one of, if not the, most delicious meal I've ever had. The place was North Beach Restaurant and from the moment we went in we were indulged in excellently attentive (although slightly Mafia-ish) service from a plethora of waiters. We started with a cocktail, Cosmopolitan for me and Martini's for Dad and Eric before launching in to entre and here's where the gastronomic delights began....

I don't think the photo does this delight justice.  Everything on that plate was off the charts
delicious, from the charred bread to the soft and creamy Burrata cheese and rocket salad to the
perfectly cooked and utterly divine lobster tails.  Each bite was sheer perfection.

And for mains Dad and Eric shared an enormous and very rare T-bone steak, and I had the Tagliatelle Pescatora and once again we were in heaven.  

Dessert was an exquisite tiramisu and everything was washed down with an excellent full bodied yet soft on the palette Napa Valley Merlot, perfectly selected by Dad. As I said - the gorgeous old building, the fabulous and at times funny wait staff, the sumptuous food coupled with the company of the beautiful and kind Eric (your toast to Mum completely undid Dad and I) made this meal so wonderfully special.  Thank you Eric - the evening was just perfection!

Wed 26 July - Canberra - San Francisco - Part 2

We've arrived!!  And there is much to tell and there will be a part 3!  

But first - here's a look at our lovely old hotel room, and even more lovely is that we're actually in it! 9:15am check-in.  Phewee!  Otherwise we'd be perched in a cafe somewhere killing time as opposed to sprawled on these very high beds for a bit of a snooze (Dad that is.  Me - I'm busy blogging despite it being 2:42am our time 😉)

So, resuming where I left off, after the lounge it was boarding time and on to my first ever Business Class flight.  Here's what the BC section of the plane and my seat looked like.....

It was exciting even in spite of Dad's immediate announcement that United Airlines Business Class was not a patch on his previous experiences!  

The 15 hour flight went a bit like this

• 20 minutes of fluffing and fiddling with blankets, pillows, slippers, earphones and a TV remote
• 90 minutes of movie - "What's love got to do with it?" while eating a three course meal and drinking Sauvignon Blanc with multiple refills 
• 11 - YES 11 hours of FLAT BED snoozing! 🛌  🥱  😴 💤💤💤
• Yawn, stretch, comfort stop
• Breakfast and a re-run of the Breaking Bad pilot

And then POOF we landed! 

Immediate hook-up to the airport wi-fi, a breeze through customs and pre-booked uber ride into the city and now it's 10am on Wednesday the 26th and we're here in our hotel 20 minutes before we set off from Sydney! 

It's messing with my mind and also my Wordle!

Wed 26 July - Canberra - San Francisco - Part 1

Alrighty then.  Right now I'm sitting in the Star Alliance Club lounge.  I've finished my breakfast and coffee and am now on to a champagne.  Disgraceful really seeing as it's only 8:35am in the morning, but hey - when in Rome.  

BTW - here's what I'm up to - 8 weeks of Chauffeuring and Chaperoning!  Dad decided some time ago that he'd like to take a trip "home".  

Dad's 86, has a pacemaker and gets befuddled.  

I said "Whoa there Dad - not sure you're up to that by yourself old fella - you need a chaperone and I'm the one!". 

Dad puffed himself up - "No I don't"

And we left it like that for all of about 6 days after which Dad (no doubt having reflected on being 86, having a pacemaker and getting befuddled) called to request chaperone assistance.   And so it began.  Dad has sorted out just about all of the accommodation and I secured some excellent airfares and wangled a stop over in San Francisco using just two words - Clam Chowder!  Dad was in like Flynn!

And so we're here - at Sydney airport at the start of an 8 week adventure, mainly in the UK but with a brief and meticulously planned 2 day stop over in San Fran.  The only thing not factored in is jet lag, but if I keep scoffing the champagnes I reckon I'll manage to punch out some zzz's.  Just like Dad is doing next to me right now!😀

Oh yeah - nearly forgot - we're also dropping in to LA for 5 nights on the way back - as you do! 😎