Category: Travel

The Trip — 2016: Part 6 — Donnington Grove

Joe AuBuchon

We head down the rather steep hill (Di’s sitting in her wheelie and I’m backing “up” so she doesn’t go rolling down at breakneck speed) and stop for a pot of tea (for Di) at Costa Coffee and then to the newsagent’s for magazine, candy and cigarettes. They didn’t have the cigarettes she wanted, but we got candy and her gossip rag. Then it’s back up the hill a bit to the coffee shop and the remainder of her tea.

About ten to six, I begin to push her up the hill to the bank building and it begins to rain — no, we don’t have any rain gear as we hadn’t anticipated being around so long. The doorway has a small overhang and we didn’t get too wet as the taxi was right on time. In goes Di, in goes her “wheelie” and in goes I. Fifteen or so minutes later we’re “home” again.

Gerry and I go to the local fish and chips shop and get four orders of fish, three of chips and one of “mushy” peas. The food was good although Di didn’t really like Maria’s putting the chips in the oven to crisp them up a bit — they were no longer proper “English chips” but American “French fries.”

Trip - The Donnington Hotel - Our room is in the building on the right.
The Donnington Hotel – Our room is in the building on the right.

On Wednesday it’s time to leave Maria and Gerry and head to Newbury where we will stay a night in a hotel before Heathrow and a plane to Corfu on Thursday. The same driver who brought us to Hopton picked us up about 11 am and the three-hour journey begins. Less traffic, a bit less conversation between the two ladies but a much higher volume on the radio, BBC2. Oh, what a headache.

We arrived at the Donnington Grove Hotel and Country Club. No one’s playing golf because of the rain. Our driver helps with unloading our gear, but we then find out our room is in a separate building, again uphill of the main building and reception. Another major job of moving luggage (grumble, grumble, grumble). I put Di’s scooter back together and she motors up to the room while I schlep our luggage in three or four trips.

Trip - Donnington Grove Hotel Main Entry
Donnington Grove Hotel Main Entry

She has a couple of cigarettes and I make her a pot of tea to keep her company while I take a walk — the first real exercise I’ve had in a week.

“Oh, didn’t you get enough exercise going up and down the stairs at Gerry and Maria’s or dealing with the luggage and Di’s scooter?” No. I don’t call running errands for the wife exercise.

The golf course was rather pretty, had a nice old bridge and ducks and swans aplenty so I took my camera along on the walk. I found a public footpath through the golf course and had an hour and a half walk.

Back at the hotel I enquired after a bite to eat and a drink. The whisky was good but the English make a “Canadian pour” look generous. I also brought a menu back to the room for Charlie to look at.

Oh, yeah, when I charged my drink to our room the bartender said he’d just brought my wife fresh milk and sugar for her tea.

Di’s sister, Tricia, was in the room with Di and they made dinner reservations for six o’clock. Dinner for Di and I as Tricia had to go home and get packed and ready to fly with us the next day.

Trip - Di and the finally chosen wine.
Di and the finally chosen wine.

The dinner was very good. I had a salmon Caesar salad and poached salmon while Di had a small green salad and the poached salmon with boiled new potatoes. The only snags had to do with the waitress thinking I’d ordered the pork and having to wait for my salmon and the wine.

Charlie ordered a half bottle of a sweet dessert wine and when it arrived it turned out to be not what was on the wine list, red and not very sweet or desserty. Eventually, the bartender found an acceptable wine, which Charlie liked (she had a glass or so and I finished off the rest).

Then it was off to bed to wake up at 3:30 am and picked up at 4:45 am for the trip to Heathrow and an 8:50 flight to Corfu.

The Trip — 2016: Part 5

Joe AuBuchon

Saturday — Be that as it may, our weekend was a rather pleasant blend of sun and rain, visiting and wine. Gerry and Maria treated us to dinner at a nearby restaurant called Theobalds (http://www.theobaldsrestaurant.co.uk/index.htm).

The atmosphere was comfy, the people welcoming, the service friendly and efficient and the food . . . well, the food was excellent. We shared their 4 or 5 Course Tasting Menu:

Roast Quail Salad with Toasted Pistachio Nuts and Apple Chutney ✓

—–

Seared Scallops with a spicy Chilli, Ginger & Lemon Butter ✓

—–

Mousseline of Norfolk Lobster served in a Lobster served in a Crisp Pastry Case with a Buttered White Wine Sauce ✓

—–

Noisette of Spring Lamb with a Roast Garlic & Herb Stuffing and a Madeira Sauce

or

Panfried Fillet of Turbot with Steamed Asparagus and a Tomato & Tarragon Sauce✓

—–

Dessert

A Spiced Savarin Sponge with Roast Strawberries

or

Dark Chocolate Panacotta with a White Chocolate Icecream

or

A Selection of East Anglian Cheeses with Wholemeal Biscuits ✓

—–

Including Canapes, selection of bread rolls and seasonal vegetables

Following the meal, I helped Di outside to have her smoke. There we had an interesting conversation with a British couple and discussed a bit of politics, the Brexit and the husband’s desire to travel in the United States (spec. Route 66) on a motorcycle.

Trip -- Joe and Maria at Theobalds
Joe and Maria at Theobalds

Having done so myself years ago, I advised him to do it with a MC club or tour group and wished him luck and a good deal of fun.

Monday — We went to the local post office where Di intended to purchase some Euros for use on Corfu with her Barclays card. Unfortunately, she forgot her PIN and we will have to go to a bank branch Tuesday and straighten things out.

Lunch/Dinner was a lamb and sausage barbecue with Gerry’s brother and his wife joining us — a very enjoyable meal and afternoon — even if I had to spend most of the rest of the daylight hours dealing with the too early beer and wine.

Well, Gerry’s just popped in and turned on the telly to watch the Euro match between England and Iceland — so, that’s all for today. (Iceland beat England in a very poor showing for the English side.)

—–

Di wants to get some money (Euros and Sterling) before we fly to Corfu on Thursday. So on Tuesday Gerry drives us in to Diss to get some money from her Barclays accounts. There’s a bit in one of the accounts but draws little to no interest; it’s just to make it a bit easier when visiting family in England.

Of course, Di doesn’t know what the PIN number is on the card she actually brought over from the States . . . so, she can’t access her account from an ATM. Gerry drops us off at the bank about a bit after two but can’t wait around for the adventure this turns out to be. With complications arising from having residence in the US we are in the bank until about 4:30 pm, but she did get her money. The young banker who has been helping us orders us a cab, but it will not pick us up until six. No, there is no taxi stand and all of the cars from the four companies serving the area were spoken for.

(to be continued)

The Trip — 2016: Part 4

Joe AuBuchon

First to baggage to pick up our suitcases and then to the surface to find our ride. She found us, because of Charlie’s scooter, and we were soon loaded into the car and bound for Hopton to the northeast of London. It was supposed to be a two and a half hour drive that morphed into a three and a half to four hour drive because of Friday traffic and a stalled lorry on a two-lane country highway — with Di and the driver nattering away about either Brexit or Trump for almost the entire journey.Trip - The Cedars

It rained a bit, but we missed the day’s downpours and safely reached The Cedars, the home of Gerry and Maria, Di’s cousins. (In Britain many houses are named and without street number addresses — good luck finding a place without detailed directions and/or local assistance. Their postal service survives with a rather esoteric system of postal codes, but I don’t know how, so I guess we can too.)

Gerry and Maria greeted us warmly, and with Gerry’s help I carried our bags to upstairs to our rooms. Yes, upstairs seventeen steps and then down one step and again down two steps — then the reverse to go downstairs. It’s a bit tough on Di, but she seems, with help, to be managing. She needs both her cane and rollator “wheelie” to successfully navigate the house but does so without complaint.

Trip - The CedarsWe had a nice dinner the first night and slept with no sign of jet lag. Part of this may be due to the excellent company, food, wine and whisky provided by our hosts.

If you think that American television these days spends too much time and effort on the election campaign, you might be surprised to learn that British television, and newspaper coverage, spends at least as much time and effort on Brexit.

If the term “Brexit” means nothing to you, here’s a brief explanation: the United Kingdom last Thursday (June 23, 2016) held a referendum on whether or not to remain in the EU (European Union) or to leave. BRitish EXIT.

To the surprise of many, if not most, UK citizens and politicians, pollsters and bookies the LEAVE side won: 52% to 48%. Some areas, such as metropolitan London and Scotland, voted heavily to remain in the EU and others voted just as heavily to leave.Trip - The Cedars

Even the bookies were wrong in their guesses as to which side would prevail. More money (the richer bettors) was bet on the “Remain” side, but more small bets (the poorer guys) were placed on the “Leave” side of the equation — “Leave” won the election.

The Prime Minister resigned; the financial markets were in turmoil; politicians, pollsters and pundits scrambled to explain the results; many Europeans said the equivalent of “Leave quickly”; and many “Leavers” were quite pleasantly surprised but unsure of what to do next. A number of disappointed (and possibly outraged “Remainers”) began signing an online petition to force another referendum.

A couple of days later the online petition was stripped of many electronic signatures for obvious irregularities such as several thousand signatures coming from British citizens living in Vatican City — with a population of about 800. Hmmm . . .

(to be continued)

The Trip — 2016: Part 3

Joe AuBuchon

One of the stewardesses asked if we wanted water (bottled water was in a storage cubby with our headphones and other flying items), orange juice or champagne. Charlie ended up with another passenger’s mimosa as the stewardess got the orders muddled. My Jack Daniels-on-the-rocks would have to wait until after we were airborne so I sat quietly and worked CWPs and other puzzles until it was time for drinks and dinner.

The take-off was very smooth and Charlie got a kick out of the acceleration down the runway — a bit more than previous experiences.

Eventually, the drinks cart reached our last Business Class row and I got my Jack. I was more than pleasantly surprised when she put the ice in a nice glass tumbler and poured in two of the mini-bottles of whiskey.

Dinner consisted of . . .

Starter: Flaky Tomato Tart with grilled artichoke heart

Salad: Mixed greens with sun-dried tomatoes and shaved Parmesan and a choice of sour cream and herb dressing or balsamic vinaigrette (and assorted breads)

Entrées: Coffee crusted beef filet (Di’s choice); Roasted duck breast; Spinach ravioli or (my choice) Blackened salmon with Creole rice, broccolini and roasted corn relish.

. . . and was quite tasty.

Dessert: Heath Bar Crunch Ice Cream; Raspberry tart or (my choice) Gourmet cheese plate with Smoked Gouda, Jalapeño Jack and sharp cheddar.

I ignored the rather nice wine list and had another Jack-on-the-rocks. After I finished dinner and our plates were cleared away, I enjoyed a glass of Courvoisier V.S.O.P. Fine Champagne Cognac and watched Zootopia on the in-flight entertainment system. I had to ask the stewardess where to plug in the headphone as the jack was hidden in the cubby facing away from the user. During the film, I had another cognac and had to watch the end of the film five times (as I remember) to actually see the end.

Friday — I woke up just in time for breakfast on the other side of the Atlantic having been blissfully asleep for most of the flight. This is unusual for me as I normally stay awake for the entire flight and just segue into the English day when we arrive in London — no jet lag.

For breakfast our choices were a Fresh Fruit Bowl with granola and Greek yogurt and, my choice, a “Traditional American Breakfast” with scrambled eggs (actually a scrambled egg), Canadian bacon, roasted potatoes and herbed tomato. As with dinner the food was good. Although the portions were not the amounts we might be familiar with in a good restaurant or diner, they were adequate to the flight and left one satisfied but not stuffed after sitting for ten+ hours.

Just before breakfast I took the scooter charger out of the overhead bin, plugged it in and connected it to the battery sitting by my feet so it would have a full charge when we left the plane.

Our landing was an easy and light touchdown, an almost unnoticeable transition from flight to roll. We waited until everyone else had gotten off of the plane to avoid holding them all up, or being walked over by them.

The Trip -- Ducks
Uh – oh, Flo, another Yank with a camera.

A wheelchair greeted us at the door of the plane and began whisking us to immigration and baggage — but, what about my wife’s scooter? Oh, “you shouldn’t have gotten in the wheelchair,” said the porter pushing Charlie. Which was a rather stupid statement as both AA and he had directed her to do so.

He brought us back to the security doors from the plane’s gate into the terminal, and without saying anything, he left us there . . . We asked one of the guards to find out what was going on, and she returned to say that AA was bringing up Di’s scooter and a few minutes later we were off to go through immigration and collect our baggage.

The only hassle in Customs/Immigration was my arrival card, on which I had not entered a local address where we could be reached — I had no idea where we were staying other than with Di’s cousins. Charlie had gone through the checkpoint before me and had disappeared. The immigration officer and I looked at each other helplessly and eventually she decided that having my email address in her records would be sufficient, and I was granted entry to the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) on the verge of Brexit.

(to be continued)

The Trip — 2016: Part 2

Joe AuBuchon

The next problem had nothing to do with the government but with American Express.

Charlie made our flight reservations through an American Express (https://travel.americanexpress.com/home) travel agent. She, very explicitly, wanted to fly British Airways (https://www.britishairways.com/travel/home/public/en_us) and was assured by the travel agent that our flight to the UK was on BA. It turned out, however, that the BA flight, operated by American Airlines, was actually an American Airlines (https://www.aa.com/homePage.do) flight.

BOOM! The fecal matter met the rapidly spinning rotary impeller.

She proceeded to spend many, many hours on the phone with BA and AA and AMEX trying to find out how they would handle her battery-powered scooter (http://www.tzora.com/Easy%2DTravel%2DScooter.html) and batteries and whether it would be allowed on the flight at all. Phone tag played with customer service representatives shunting her off to the next company’s customer service representative. And round and round we go unable to get definitive answers to just about any substantive question. Phone Tag Hell.

Eventually, it boiled down to: Yes, she could bring her scooter. No, no spare batteries. No, bring the sealed dry-cell battery and not the longer-range lithium-ion battery. Yes, the plane check-in and departure would be from the Tom Bradley International terminal at LAX. Well, sort of . . .

Trip -- Di on Tzora Scooter
Di on Tzora Scooter

Thursday — We arrived at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport — http://www.lawa.org/welcomeLAX.aspx) about two and a half hours before our scheduled departure and entered the Tom Bradley International terminal. Looking at the displays, we, to my wife’s great displeasure found that our flight’s check-in was not at TB but at the next terminal in line — Terminal #4.

It was the matter of a three-minute walk, for me with our luggage and Charlie on her scooter, to get to Terminal 4 and then a couple of more minutes to find check-in. Five minutes later we were at the front of the short line and spent the next ten or twenty minutes going through the formalities with boarding passes, luggage and scooter and sorting things out.

Then on to the lift, elevator, and through security — less than ten minutes in line. I went through the regular line while Charlie, seated in her scooter, got some individual attention. Following this was a l – o – n – g hike (especially as I was carrying all of our carry-on bags) across the bridge from Terminal 4 to TB and the very last gate to board our plane.

Less than fifteen minutes later we were pre-boarded and ensconced in our Business Class lay-down seats. The only hassles being removing the twenty-pound battery from Charlie’s scooter and folding it up so the attendant could put it in cargo (while I put the battery in my seat storage area on the plane’s floor). I then returned to the front of the plane and helped Charlie through the aisles to our seats at the very back of Business Class (right in front of the toilet so Charlie would not have to walk any distance when she would need the facilities).

As I also had the battery charger with me (no, it was not packed away in our luggage), I was able to re-charge it during the flight. Clothes can be replaced without too many problems if the carrier loses our luggage. Her scooter charger and her medicines would be difficult, if not impossible, to replace if lost on the way to Europe so they were all a part of our carry-on luggage with our electronics and cameras.

The plane was a Boeing 777-300 (https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/experience/planes/boeing-777-300er.jsp) with comfortable seating and an excellent entertainment suite. Charlie took the window seat, and I got the interior seat with no outside view (dirty word, dirty word, dirty word). But that’s how it is when we travel.

Although Business Class is quite expensive compared with Coach, Di’s medical problems do not allow her to travel comfortably in Coach seating. As we do not travel by plane more than a couple of times each decade, we find the expense tolerable and can juggle our budgets sufficiently to afford the expense. I cringe a bit when looking at the actual financial figures, but . . . .

(to be continued)