HOME OF THE WOOLY PIG

Tuesday dawned cold, wet and dull. We took our time over the huge breakfasts they do here overlooking the garden, watching the puddles accumulate.

  Some time after 11am we mustered courage to wrap up warmly (ah the down vest). Having consulted the internet on things to do on wet days in Salzburg, we set out on the bus and foot to Old Town. First to Mozart's Residence then Mozart's Birthplace. Both museums whiled away at least an hour each - very interesting, entertaining and warm! 

  We can see the fortress on the hill through the rain. I left both cameras in the hotel, shot off a few pix which will probably get dumped later. We can see this is a charming town, and in good weather nice to browse. But hard to enthuse in steady rain. Even the umbrella gave up!

   Once in the Old Town we went to check on the two restaurants for which I had made reservations  online. The first was so inviting, we sat down and had late lunch/early dinner there at 4pm. Impeccable food and service at the brasserie dining room in the Goldener Herschel Hotel. Roasted pike for me and wooly pig sausage for Ted. Turns out it's a huge wild boar, one of whose mammoth heads hung from the wall. Delicious. And maybe the best apple strudel I've had. 

  Strolling back through town, we found beautiful gardens, still in full bloom although temps are now dropping to 4C overnight, so it won't be for much longer I suspect. At least we had a dry trip back to the hotel after a day of solid rain.

SOGGY SALZBURG

Having seen the forecast, we decide to cut short our time in Salzburg to 3 nights, rebook at another Mercure hotel in Vienna (this one is full Monday) at about twice the price!! And buy ferry tickets to Bratislava for next Tuesday.

  I had booked with an agency OnDayTrip to send a car and driver to take us to Vienna. At 9am sharp the affable. Hugarian driver Peter L arrived at our hotel, stowed all our bags and we were on our way. First fast motorway toll road chewed up the miles, then we took a detour to Melk, famous for its abbey set on the Danube, with the most ornate Baroque church loaded with gilded everything and a 100,000 book ecclesiastic library in 12 rooms. Still an abbey with a school attached, it also had lovely gardens for a quiet stroll.

  Then back in the car first on highway, then along increasingly smaller and smaller roads through beautiful agricultural land to the Alps, and a brief sight of snowy peaks over the alpine lakes. Some of the terrain was reminiscent of Canmore, but the lush green meadows, happy cows and cropped land was altogether different. 

  We made a stop for an hour or so at World Heritage village Hallstatt, home of the salt mine tour straight up a steep mountain. We skipped that. But we enjoyed a stroll around the neat little town, preserved for centuries intact and now especially for the tour buses and many visitors.

  The trip billed as 7 hours took 9 and we were relieved to pull into another Mercure hotel, but sadly a bit far from the centre of Old Town and all the things to visit in Salzburg. E2.60 each for a 5 minute bus ride through dull suburbia, not a pleasant stroll back, or subways like in Vienna.

  Fortunately no rain fell on our journey and we were able to wrap up and walk down the road to a traditional Austrian eatery without an umbrella. Almost full, we were seated at the end of a table of 28 civil engineers, having a  loud and raucous 20 year reunion. Good pub grub and strudel and beers were the order of the day.

PALACES, PALACES, PALACES AND THE VIENNA STATE OPERA

Our time in Vienna is spent enjoying the magnificent edifices for which it is so famous. I had checked out opera, Figaro is on for E120 a ticket on line so we ruled that out. However, on the street there are touts everywhere and discover the booking agency is close by, and snag a couple of tickets at the reasonable cost of E45 each for next day. It's Il Trovatore, which Ted is much keener to attend.

  The weather is sunny and warm at first so we walk around the Imperial Palace grounds one day, The Belvedere the second day, and Schonbrunn the third day. We are surprised to learn that although we had never really heard of Klimt, we both enjoyed his exhibitions. Returning home to write up my travel log, I find my beautiful gold journal design is the Tree of Life by Klimt. Ted is taken by some of his erotic work and the whole exhibition is heavily marketed on "The Kiss"

   In between we find lovely local restaurants with Austrian specialties, but are fast finding they like overcooked meat and no veggies!! Prices are not outlandish til we sample the fruit eat de vie one evening at E7.50 a thimbleful.

  But by now we need to purchase a second umbrella, a good investment as two days later the original bought for a pound in UK falls apart! The white umbrella with Mozart's music all over is much more acceptable in the current environment. Hope it lasts longer.

  Anna Netrebko, the famed Russian soprano, has been singing the role of Leonora at the opera this season. But we hear she had other engagements Sep 8 and 10 and is not singing the night we attend! Sheesh. Her husband is! The opera house is spectacular, our seats not. 

  We are on two high stools at the back (3rd row) of a small box, stuffy and hot with poor sight lines. Two large Austrian women sit in front of us and bob around so Ted can only see about 1/4 of the stage. We fiddle with the seating so he can see more during the second half. We rush to the bar in intermission and grab two champagnes and smoked salmon which all go down well.

  We are above the orchestra so the sound is sublime, the singers are all good, some excellent and the chorus is outstanding. Makes for a fine evening of music and we stop by a cafe on the walk home for sumptuous dessert and wine//beer. A truly romantic evening that we will not soon forget.

VIENNA - CITY OF DREAMS

We are up at 7 Monday morning and Mary drives us in half an hour to Heathrow. There are no lineups either for checkin or much in security either. We grab a bite for breakfast, ham and cheese  and almond croissants and yogurt. And really good coffee. I have started drinking quite a bit of decaf coffee but wonder how available decaf will be on the continent...

  Our BA flight to Vienna is not full so we get 3 seats between us. It's a bumpy ride over Frankfurt and we sit on the tarmac for an hour before we get airborne. The driver sent by the hotel to fetch us did ot check the schedule so is a bit grumpy picking us up.

  We check into the nice Mercure hotel right in the centre of all the action in Vienna. We can walk to everything, I am really happy with the location and we have stayed at this chain before.

  However it is cool and rainy so I am glad packed my down vest and wool hoodie! We stroll down the road to a nice cosy restaurant overlooking a busy pedestrian way for typical Austrian fare, huge schnitzel, goulash and no sign of a vegetable except cabbage.

  One thing that strikes you here in Vienna, it is very smoky. Everyone smokes. All the lovely little outdoor tables are full of smokers, everywhere on the street it trails behind them. 

  The little cafes are probably lovely in good weather but it is depressing and damp so we pick up a creamy cake (Esterhazy torte) at one of the lovely bakeries and head home to our warm room to enjoy it. 

  I thaw out under a hot shower and fall into my cosy bed. Even in a double bed, you have two duvets, one each. We sleep like logs til late.

BIG MALCOLM FAMILY GET TOGETHER IN LONDON

  By Saturday we have managed to cram most of our stuff back into bags but with the case of wine, extra folding chairs and glasses for the party with Soofia and Nick, Liz and I make the one hour drive to. Southgate in 1.5 back seats of the car!
  It is a glorious day in Soffia's glorious garden and we take full advantage of visiting with each of the families who have come to join our celebration. Two of the three teenagers are off to university, Robert to study art in Bristol, Sarah leaving in October to study Bio Chemistry at Oxford. Nell has excelled in her first level of GCEs and still has two years to go at school.
  The little girls, 5 and 4, are stars and play well with their 12 year old cousin, the normally serious Frank. We get many lovely photos of each family with us and finally a photo of Ted and I together! And also finally one of all of us before Hannah drives us back through one traffic jam after another around London to Mary & Ivan's in Chiswick. They are away but we have the key and settle in for a couple of nights, first on our own, then with a house full of other guests too.
  Ted and I are happy to stroll down Strand on the Green for dinner at The City Barge, one of the three good pubs down there. It has been a river festival and kenners are tramping up through the Thames mud with all their gear. One did catch some fish but says they are pretty toxic from that water.
  Mary arrives hmoe Sunday and we all tuck into one of her great suppers washed down by lovely wines. At 10:30 I go off to bed as we have to finally repack and leave by 8:30am tomorrow.

Sep 7: THE BIG 5-0 ANNIVERSARY

The big day dawns and after rain the day before and after, the sun shines for us. Mary & Ivan drive up  from London, Elizabeth & Nigel drive in from nearby Steeple Morden to form the celebrants. Mary & Ivan celebrated their 5th in April so it's double happiness!
  Having found out what a good idea it is, we hire an 8 seater minibus for our lunch at the Black Horse in Ireland. We didn't have to fly there! It’s a village near Cambridge. The Malcolm sisters and their men plus bridesmaid Elizabeth and Nigel spend a happy afternoon reminiscing on what we can remember about the event itself, with great food, wine and camaraderie all round. A magnificent flower arrangement precedes us and we return to Stotfold with the intention of demolishing the beautiful cake and more champers, but can barely manage to put away any more food and drink. 
  To wind up our trip, and with rain forecast so not a good day to wander around Cambridge, we head out to find the local brewpub and enjoy a few pints, and some pub grub nibbles (sausage rolls from the oven, and do a few shopping chores.
  On the way back, Liz takes us on a tour of old old haunts, my first school, our house with Dad's privet hedge still looking good. Back home, we finish leftover chicken pie and gateau as we are all away the next week. We taste Elizabeth's damson gin, listen to the Proms and start repacking our stuff. We have sent a suitcase on with Mary and hope to leave it in London, thus whittling our travel gear down to one suitcase, two carry on bags and Ted's small backpack.

GOING UP TO CAMBRIDGE, WELL, SORT OF

Our brilliant weather abandons us and we get a taste of what England does a lot — rain. Anne & Graeme kindly drive us up from Staines and we all enjoy a hearty Sunday lunch together. Isn’t this what English Sunday dinner is all about?

  In Stotfold, we enjoy lots of RnR an I/we binge on The Crown on Netflix. I need to be able to talk about it - niece Hannah is art director and working on the next series. It’s a harrowing tale of the joys and sorrows of royalty. Poor Queenie, I gather she hasn’t watched it but the young Royals all watch apparently. We can understand why Margaret turned into such a sourpuss.

  We have good weather on the second day for a jaunt to a lovely 16th century pub near Ely, visit the cathedral and just miss a visit to Cromwell’s rustic little house there.With these trencher lunches, you don’t need dinner.

  Ted takes advantage of their membership in the local Wine Society (the largest seller of wines in the country!) to visit with Clive for selecting and tasting and return with a case or so of wine.

  Chris Richardson was my bus buddy at  Hitchin Gramar School for Girls from age 11-14 and the two us have a lovely catchup on the ensuing 50 years at Norton Gardens tea shop - huge slabs of carrot cake. 

INTO LONDON - ‘THE SMOKE’ - & STAINES

 In record breaking weather, we then had lovely 6 days with Anne & Graeme and their children, grandchildren. The two little girls Gracie 6 and Isla 3 were fun and easy to be with. 

  It was here we learned that our 50th anniversary lunch location booked since May had called to tell Liz they were under new management, unsure if they would still be open in a week, but would let us know by the Monday before our Thursday date. Liz got on it pronto, and rebooked us to another lovely location near Cambridge. Into every marriage a little rain must fall! Evenings are easy at Staines - first the ladies swamped the men at cards, later the men took revenge. Keeps the peace I guess.

  Next day rain began and followed us most of the reset of the time in England. The other three wrapped up and went walking in Windsor Great Park, I declined and got on with home housekeeping chores. Called Telus to unlock my phone. Visited EE phone store, bought a SIM card and converted my el cheapo UK phone to a UK number. Free roaming all over Europe so we are set for our visit this side of the Atlantic.

  An evening at the Kingfisher pub with Neil, Jo and the little girls was great. More local ales for Ted to try.

  The increasingly somber news from the US and Korea saber rattling has not affected our joy and pleasure being back here. The more sobering news here is all about Brexit, the pros and cons, both hotly contested!

  Friday we travel to Blenheim Palace for a tour of the house and interesting Churchill exhibit, and picnic in the sun in the gardens. There is a supercar auction this weekend and our boys are agoggle with all this shiny metal and engines. Glitterati in their Jimmy Choos are out in full force exhibiting their wealth, and designer labels. The dining room is set up for a banquet that night, all crystal and flowers. We happily munch our smoked salmon sandwiches!

  On Saturday the piece de resistance, Sarah has booked us into the chefs table at Pennyhill Park hotel and spa for lunch at the Latymer restaurant. It’s an impressive 7course affair and Ted is in his element with the sommelier choosing a different wine for each course! English rose champagne to start!  And ted’s great toasts and descriptions of the wines throughout.  We book an 8 seater van to get us there and back so everyone is happy to indulge. And Ted s given a tour of both the ordinary wine cellar and the special bottles too! We feel truly pampered!

FIRST TO SURREY IN ENGLAND

(Although my photos were in the blog, uploading from word processor to blog, they disappear! I need a 12-year-old....)

  The journey actually begins Aug 22 from Calgary to Heathrow, met by Ted’s brother/wife Dave and Shelagh, a visit to sister/husband  Anne/Graeme then to Dave’s home for 5 days in Bookham Surrey. 

  For 5 days we were entertained with fine dining at home and away, especially our Golden celebratory lunch - first of 6 special occasions! - at Kinghams. The latter a beautiful 15th century restaurant in nearby Shere. Seafood galore, scallops turbot, crab - outstanding desserts later in the garden.  

  Memory invoking as Freda and Jack Kingham and their big ugly bulldog Timber lived next door to us for my 14 years in Baldock. And later we find my sister knows someone who also knew this family 60 years ago. Small world.

  With glorious weather for the first two weeks of our stay, we thoroughly enjoyed many lovely jaunts. With Dave and Shelagh, high tea at House of Fraser and visit to guildhall and castle at Guildford, where Ted’s London office was located back in the Bow Valley days. 

  A day out on the Thames, parked at Houses of Parliament on the first day that Big Ben failed to strike. A sail downriver to Greenwich and the Meridian line where all time originates. Splendid views of London all round. 

  A walk through the Naval colleges and Queen’s house, all new to us. But parking in Central London for the day -L40 about $66!

  Next day niece Sarah picked us up for a leisurely lunch at the ‘it’ place, The Ivy, which has opened a brasserie in nearby Cobham. Tarte tatin with calvados, sublime!

  Jet lag kept raising its ugly head for the best part of a week so it was eagerly bed for us there. But RnR in the beautiful garden pergola solved the soul too. And a bit of Proms music in the evenings to wind the brain down.

  Eating at home, we feasted on veggies almost exclusively from their garden of Eden, fresh crab and skate from British waters. 

  Our last day there, we visit Paineshill Park, where we attended a friend’s daughter’s wedding some 9 years ago. A beautiful restful stroll with their own vineyard.