In Boston

We're in Boston for the weekend, seizing upon the only commitment-free weekend to take advantage of a flight sale. Not only was the flight a little early into Logan airport, but the fact that we treat ourselves to an upgrade meant that we were first off through a totally empty immigration hall, first in the taxi line and, less than an hour after landing, we were in our hotel room feeling ready to roll!

It's cold here, but the fresh air felt good after a day travelling and we enjoyed a quick walk along Boylston St before our favourite dinner at Legal Seafoods. We kept going as late as we could by heading for Barnes and Noble after dinner, browsing magazines and staving off the jet lag. I was surprised at the number of "special editions" of familiar magazines and grabbed an armful to browse through. The preponderance of the same-old stuff in many of them meant that I didn't buy - far too many "mixed media" variations on the old pointy hat photos, the faux-naif and the product-driven project.

But of course, I couldn't come away totally empty handed, could I? I was delighted to find a copy of the Quilting Arts Holiday edition, containing friend Helen's Towers of Snowflakes. I also bought the Interweave Knits Holiday Gift issue, for the one pattern which turned out not to be in there at all! Duh!

Up early this morning, Saturday, and opened the curtains to a clear, bright blue sky. It's going to be chilly out there but the kind of weather which makes it great to be outdoors. After breakfast and a brisk walk, we plan to hit a few shops, including Windsor Button and Paper Source...

More later.

What a day!

I had an exciting day yesterday - I was sent these tickets for the first carbon-neutral Eurostar train a couple of weeks ago and was thrilled (and the envy of Mark) to think I'd be able to experience the new St Pancras Station at first hand.

It was a beautiful morning - clear and sunny, and the restored station was looking magnificent. The front of the station is still work in progress, so we were directed to the side entrance which led to a view of the most wonderfully uplifting architecture imaginable.

The blue sky complemented the stunning ironwork, beautifully restored and looking perfect for this splendid occasion.

Everyone walked with eyes up, gazing at the spectacular framework, painted "Barlow Blue" - a delightful heritage blue following the original colour scheme.

The person often credited with the salvation of this great building was gazing skyward too - I think Sir John Betjeman would have approved of the finished result and like to think he'd feel this was a fitting tribute.

Of course, the media were there in number, recording the events as they unfolded. I'd already watched several interviews on TV before leaving my hotel room - it was strange to walk across the road, enter the station and become part of the scene.

Above all was a feeling that something was about to happen though for the time being, there was simply a lot of milling around, of waiting and of eager anticipation. Our dilemma was, do we hang around until the fun begins, or do we go and check in now? How late dare we leave it?

In stark contrast to the characterful Betjeman figure, the general opinion was that Hallmark had had a hand in this huge bronze - far larger than any of us had imagined and sad to say, I heard not a single word in favour.

It was great to have a chance to take a close look at the details - the standard of finish and the attention to the finer points is most impressive, the more so since these are hardly the eye-catching features but the more mundane parts of the building which could so easily have been overlooked or economised.

A last look around this level before going downstairs to the check in hall, though, to marvel at the fine clock, the great arch and the fantastic ironwork.

Of course, the photographers were there in the departure hall too, going to some extreme lengths to take original and unusual shots of people checking in. Hardly the most flattering angle for anyone, I'd say, heaven knows what it turned out like!

Train side, we snooked out to grab a snatch of the London Philharmonic and the assembled crowds waiting at the end of the platform, before being ushered on board and plied with champagne...

A few glasses later, nous sommes arrives. Clutching our souvenir hessian bags (with complimentary Green and Blacks chocolate bars and Innocent drinks to keep us going) we made our light-headed way to the front of the station!

It was almost as if the Gare du Nord was trying hard to look its best in the sunshine, too.

Eurostar had arranged a fleet of coaches to transport us all to the Seine, from where a bateau-mouche offered a river tour for those who did not want to faire le shopping

because, of course, there were the perturbations dans les transports today.

All too soon, it was time to return, however, and having had a superb day we checked in again for the homeward journey to St Pancras.

But we'll not forget Waterloo - it's simply great to be British!

What a day!

 We have had quite a day! We were up at 6.30am in spite of jetlag that made us want to sleep till lunchtime...but hey, who said being on holiday is easy?!

 

 
After breakfast our guide - let's call her Zoom because I had no idea how to write her Vietnamese name - met us and we drove to Halong Bay, a World Heritage Site which everyone had said was fantastic. It's a 3 hour drive though, which is why we needed the early start.
 
Along the way, we had a "comfort stop" - really a "tourist rip off stop" at the "Serenity, Humanity, Beauty" workshops for disabled youngsters. Serried ranks of young people were working on what looked like pretty mindnumbing tasks. Those in the photo below were putting in single stitches in fine silk into a colour-by-numbers picture - huge areas of flat colour and nothing at all like the Chinese embroidery of similar nature. They were also cutting gemstones, doing lacquer work and dressmaking. All pretty grim as far as we were concerned.

We arrived at Halong Bay around 11.45 to catch our 12 noon boat. So did hundreds of others, so we left Zoom to get on with it and stood and watched the free show! Very entertaining it was too.
 

Not quite as entertaining as our faces, however, when Zoom returned and identified our boat as the one four or five boats away from the pier! We joined much of Europe in jumping up and over the boats in between and shuffled alongside to make our way across to the "Hai Long Dream (12)"
I have no idea how he did it, but our Captain squeezed out from between the others and we were soon on our way to the first stop - the Celestial Cave. Amazing stalagmites and stalagtites in there, no bats in the daytime (thank goodness) and lots of old stories about the rock formations in these caves which were only discovered in 1993. Yes, work that one out for yourself!!

Out and back to our junk, which was waiting for us on the other side of the hill. As you can see, it was getting near afternoon nap time for some!
We settled down to a freshly cooked seafood lunch - yum - and sailed around the bay, in and out of the rock formations, many of which had names to suggest the picture they made. So, we went past the duck, the kissing dogs, the dragon - or two!

We went with several other junks through the fishermans village which will be very familiar if you've got/seen Kaffe Fassetts Colourful Journey Video of his Vietnamese travels. (Can recommend that one and will add a link later)

Time to drive home through the paddy fields, back to Hanoi. Loads of brick kilns in this area, on the horizon as you can see.

Lots of mopeds again as we joined the rush hour of workers going home after their day's work at the Canon factory.

Most intriguing load of the day? A live sow, strapped into the basket at the back of this moped. Wriggle if you dare!!

Going to see more of the city tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll be able to give you a better idea of what Hanoi really looks like!

In a Gloucester Shoe Shop

One of my WI friends just emailed me this photograph which I think is brilliant! Thanks for the giggle, Sue!!

Right outcome?

You Belong in London

You belong in London, but you belong in many cities... Hong Kong, San Francisco, Sydney. You fit in almost anywhere. And London is diverse and international enough to satisfy many of your tastes. From curry to Shakespeare, London (almost) has it all!

What European City Do You Belong In?