It was lovely having time to get ready for Christmas without work getting in the way though the weather did make getting around something of a challenge. We had a lovely couple of weeks in Manchester and it was nice to be home for a bit and enjoy our warm and cosy apartment. John got round to putting the pictures up so everything that came back from Abu Dhabi now has a permanent home in Manchester and I was able to put up the blue Christmas tree which spent last Christmas in its box. My polar bear which came with us back from France had pride of place on the table and I opened my Barclaycard advent calendar every day, kindly donated by Rachel, though John banned me from reading out the Barclaycard facts in each window!
I managed a good run each morning though it was sometimes challenging trying not to fall over and at the weekend dodging groups of young chaps who had clearly been celebrating all night. The ice on the canal never really got melted in the thaw before the cold weather descended again and I bought a new black hat in order to look less comical whilst keeping my head warm – only £1 from the shop on Piccadilly which is quite amazing.
As well as shopping, wrapping, card writing and generally getting involved in the festive season, we also spent a lot of time preparing for our big trip. Finding hotels, planning excursions and reading Trip Advisor, until we had the whole thing planned with military precision. The 2 berth camper van for New Zealand wasn’t available but I did have my heart set on this way of seeing the two islands so we opted for the 4 berth so we’ve a spare bed if anyone fancies joining us! We’ve been reading Lonely Planet and planning the best routes to maximum penguin spotting, whale watching and glacier trips. It’s the only leg of the trip where we haven’t got each night booked and sorted as we fancy the idea of keeping an element of footloose and unplanned travelling. Everything else is pretty much organised and we managed to rearrange our flights to include Argentinean wine country at Mendoza. We’ve found a boutique hotel in Santiago in Chile run by a British and Australian and I’m in email conversation with Will and Pablo to organise day trips to the wine growing valleys there too. All we have to work out now is how little luggage we can get away with (rather harder for me than for John owing to the shoe requirement); well we are combining beaches, cities and outdoor pursuits so it’s quite a challenge! We had our injections without any major difficulties and the Australians issued visas overnight so we must be OK to come in. In Waterstones the guy behind the counter was very jealous of our trip and wanted to know which extreme sports we were planning for NZ. Not sure that he counted food, wine or walking. However, even Debbie, our Trailfinders consultant and her colleagues seem pretty impressed with the imaginative nature of the trip.
Without work we didn’t find ourselves at endless social events and drinks parties but we did enjoy a convivial lunch with John and Pat Garside which also allowed John a taste of Christmas dinner and pudding ahead of the big day. I had chance to have a drink and catch up with Charlotte from Riley and Alan from Manchester which was really nice.
Having made the trip to Leysdown through some fairly tricky traffic we have to make the trip back to Manchester, dropping Isobel at John’s brother’s and then on to Skipton. Hopefully the weather will not be causing Heathrow the current problems on January 6th when we set off on the first leg of our 3 month adventure.
I hope everyone reading has a wonderful Christmas without too many plans disrupted by the weather and all the very best for the new year.
Thursday, 23 December 2010
Monday, 6 December 2010
London in winter
Well the weather took a turn for the worst but we did make it from Leysdown to London, a distance of only 40 miles, not far in comparison to the 600 or so miles across France but a challenge nonetheless. John drove us brilliantly along the snowy, icy roads of the island and then up the uncleared M2 and the snowbound environs of Ebbsfleet station. We abandoned the car in a white out car park in the hope it wouldn’t be completely buried when we got back and struggled across to the station. Miraculously the high speed trains to St Pancras were not only running but on time and we were in central London in less than 20 minutes. Quite amazing when you consider that none of the other trains into and out of Kent were running.
The Centre for Process Systems Engineering had put us up in a small and delightful hotel, The Pelham, in the heart of South Ken and it was very luxurious. After fun and quirky French hotels it was rather a treat to stay in a grand London one where everything worked and there was a bath AND a shower! Though I’d left the travel kettle in Kent to save on luggage and forgot that swanky London hotels expect you to ring for tea at huge expense!
We wandered into Knightsbridge to have a light lunch and stock up on some toiletries not readily available in Moncrabeau and buy a gift for Ollie, Katie and Scott’s new baby in Abu Dhabi, at Harrods. It felt very Christmassy with a sprinkling of snow and all the shops so beautifully decorated. John’s son Matthew came by for a cup of tea and a catch up. He seems to be enjoying his final year though he still has to find a house close to the university rather than in the wilds of south west London. We’d booked dinner at Launceston Place which I’d always wanted to try and it certainly lived up to its reputation. We had a lovely dinner and walked back through the snow.
Next day I went with John to say hello to everyone at the centre before leaving them to their special conference in honour of John’s 60th birthday. I could have stayed but since I didn’t even understand the titles of the seminars I thought it might be a little bit over my head! I went over to Clerkenwell to meet Matt from Wordsearch and deliver Ollie’s present for him to take to Abu Dhabi next time he goes out there. I went back in time for the Roger Sargent lecture which was given by Professor Mike Docherty, who was John’s very first PhD supervision so an appropriate speaker for his birthday event. Process Systems Engineering is totally out of my league but Mike is such a brilliant speaker that I was fascinated throughout. The opening pictures of John and his mum at Cambridge were especially interesting. Sir Roger Sargent (now in his late 80’s and John’s PhD supervisor) was actually able to come along with is wife Shirley which was amazing, especially considering the weather. We had a reception and dinner in the Rector’s house where I was amazed to see actual Sisley’s and Cezanne’s on the walls. It was a really lovely event with so many of John’s former colleagues; it must have felt like coming home for John. Nilay had organized it all beautifully, Stratos and his wife Maria were as dazzling as ever and it was lovely to see David Bogle and his wife Jenny. We thoroughly enjoyed it all, despite John’s embarrassment at being lauded and praised by everyone all the time.
On Friday John went back to do clever things with the centre and I had an enjoyable time wandering about London. I spent an hour at the IOD doing email and web work and then walked up to Piccadilly Circus, Regent St and Oxford St. I love walking around London, even in the extreme cold and at this time of year it is so enjoyable with all the Christmas decorations. After a relaxing day for me and a working one for John we met up with Chantal for a drink and then on to the Oxford and Cambridge Club where we had an extremely enjoyable and convivial evening with Mike Docherty and his super wife Peggy. They showed us round the club, which is their preferred London stopover. Although Mike comes from Manchester they have made their home in Santa Barbara so they had flown in for the event and had fewer travel problems than many others. They were heading off for a conference in Hawaii the next day so they had an interesting combination of luggage! We had a wonderful dinner in the club dining room which was delightfully unstuffy with some excellent wines – a Chateauneuf reminding us of a sunny lunch and a sauternes and some great conversation. John was on top form remembering Cambridge and Imperial with old friends. After such a quiet time just the two of us it was a very sociable three days and we enjoyed the change.
The Centre for Process Systems Engineering had put us up in a small and delightful hotel, The Pelham, in the heart of South Ken and it was very luxurious. After fun and quirky French hotels it was rather a treat to stay in a grand London one where everything worked and there was a bath AND a shower! Though I’d left the travel kettle in Kent to save on luggage and forgot that swanky London hotels expect you to ring for tea at huge expense!
We wandered into Knightsbridge to have a light lunch and stock up on some toiletries not readily available in Moncrabeau and buy a gift for Ollie, Katie and Scott’s new baby in Abu Dhabi, at Harrods. It felt very Christmassy with a sprinkling of snow and all the shops so beautifully decorated. John’s son Matthew came by for a cup of tea and a catch up. He seems to be enjoying his final year though he still has to find a house close to the university rather than in the wilds of south west London. We’d booked dinner at Launceston Place which I’d always wanted to try and it certainly lived up to its reputation. We had a lovely dinner and walked back through the snow.
Next day I went with John to say hello to everyone at the centre before leaving them to their special conference in honour of John’s 60th birthday. I could have stayed but since I didn’t even understand the titles of the seminars I thought it might be a little bit over my head! I went over to Clerkenwell to meet Matt from Wordsearch and deliver Ollie’s present for him to take to Abu Dhabi next time he goes out there. I went back in time for the Roger Sargent lecture which was given by Professor Mike Docherty, who was John’s very first PhD supervision so an appropriate speaker for his birthday event. Process Systems Engineering is totally out of my league but Mike is such a brilliant speaker that I was fascinated throughout. The opening pictures of John and his mum at Cambridge were especially interesting. Sir Roger Sargent (now in his late 80’s and John’s PhD supervisor) was actually able to come along with is wife Shirley which was amazing, especially considering the weather. We had a reception and dinner in the Rector’s house where I was amazed to see actual Sisley’s and Cezanne’s on the walls. It was a really lovely event with so many of John’s former colleagues; it must have felt like coming home for John. Nilay had organized it all beautifully, Stratos and his wife Maria were as dazzling as ever and it was lovely to see David Bogle and his wife Jenny. We thoroughly enjoyed it all, despite John’s embarrassment at being lauded and praised by everyone all the time.
On Friday John went back to do clever things with the centre and I had an enjoyable time wandering about London. I spent an hour at the IOD doing email and web work and then walked up to Piccadilly Circus, Regent St and Oxford St. I love walking around London, even in the extreme cold and at this time of year it is so enjoyable with all the Christmas decorations. After a relaxing day for me and a working one for John we met up with Chantal for a drink and then on to the Oxford and Cambridge Club where we had an extremely enjoyable and convivial evening with Mike Docherty and his super wife Peggy. They showed us round the club, which is their preferred London stopover. Although Mike comes from Manchester they have made their home in Santa Barbara so they had flown in for the event and had fewer travel problems than many others. They were heading off for a conference in Hawaii the next day so they had an interesting combination of luggage! We had a wonderful dinner in the club dining room which was delightfully unstuffy with some excellent wines – a Chateauneuf reminding us of a sunny lunch and a sauternes and some great conversation. John was on top form remembering Cambridge and Imperial with old friends. After such a quiet time just the two of us it was a very sociable three days and we enjoyed the change.
Friday, 3 December 2010
Pictures of Moncrabeau
Some beautiful views of the idyllic spot where we've spent the last month and the house itself at Place du Fort. Plus just how many chemical engineering doctorates do you need to put up a kitchen cupboard!
Gastronomic journey north
So we said our fond farewells to our surrogate home in Moncrabeau and set off (twice) to head north. Our first stop was a small place just outside Bordeaux which was a bit like living in the family home. We were the only guests and were met personally by Dominique and then met her husband and two children. Le Clos du Prince had a lovely pool with a little terrace but it wasn’t pool weather on this visit. The room was beautifully decorated though the tiled floor was rather chilly and there wasn’t a TV. Dominique prepared a delicious meal of scallop salad, magret with endives and field mushrooms followed by a local apple pie – a sort of thin batter filled with apples which was lovely. We ate in solitary splendour in the ‘wine museum’ which had all the machinery for pressing grapes and preparing the wine, punctuated by occasional visits from various members of the family. We had a bottle of red wine from a place close to Cadillac and towards the end of the meal the power went off for a while so we finished by candlelight. Next morning we were off and away early in order to do the rather longer journey from Bordeaux to Normandy via Moncrabeau.
The journey was made more annoying by pretty heavy snow between Tours and Le Mans including one fairly hairy stretch where it hadn’t been cleared. However, as we headed into Normandy the skies cleared and it was a lovely late afternoon. We discovered that our friends at the Villeray were fully functioning, even on a Sunday in late November so it was a real treat to go back there. They had shut up the Moulin for the winter so we stayed in the Chateau this time. I think they gave us the best suite in the place though we’d only booked a standard room and greeted us like long lost friends. We had a dressing room, a four poster bed and a bathroom, complete with a Jacuzzi bath in the turret. We also had a fabulous view across the valley. Sitting in the lounge by a roaring fire, which John hadn’t had to light, sipping the house aperitif of mure, calvados and champagne we relaxed after such a long trip. Dinner was great as usual, pumpkin soup with foie gras, scallops, guinea fowl, venison, their signature cheese trolley and baked pears and figs. It really is a fabulous place and we always feel well looked after.
The next morning we set out for Mr Bumblebees in freezing cold but delightful sunshine. The countryside looked amazing with ice and snow clinging to the trees and not too much snow on the road itself. We arrived at Escalles in good time just as the snow was beginning to fall. By the time we went across the road for dinner there was a good 5 cm on the car and it looked really pretty as they had just put all of their sumptuous Christmas decorations up, including some great coloured twigs which I would have liked to sneak into the car. We were a little anxious about the drive back up the hill in the morning but settled down to another good dinner and a nice burgundy!
Fortunately it hadn’t snowed too heavily overnight and John did a great job of getting the car up some pretty grim roads and to the tunnel terminal. The Eurotunnel was having some problems (don’t know why since it doesn’t snow under the channel) so we had to hang around for a while as one train after another got cancelled but eventually we were on our way. The M20 was not very good but after that it got easier. We arrived in Leysdown and hunkered down for the night hoping that the snow would not get in the way of getting to London the next day.
The journey was made more annoying by pretty heavy snow between Tours and Le Mans including one fairly hairy stretch where it hadn’t been cleared. However, as we headed into Normandy the skies cleared and it was a lovely late afternoon. We discovered that our friends at the Villeray were fully functioning, even on a Sunday in late November so it was a real treat to go back there. They had shut up the Moulin for the winter so we stayed in the Chateau this time. I think they gave us the best suite in the place though we’d only booked a standard room and greeted us like long lost friends. We had a dressing room, a four poster bed and a bathroom, complete with a Jacuzzi bath in the turret. We also had a fabulous view across the valley. Sitting in the lounge by a roaring fire, which John hadn’t had to light, sipping the house aperitif of mure, calvados and champagne we relaxed after such a long trip. Dinner was great as usual, pumpkin soup with foie gras, scallops, guinea fowl, venison, their signature cheese trolley and baked pears and figs. It really is a fabulous place and we always feel well looked after.
The next morning we set out for Mr Bumblebees in freezing cold but delightful sunshine. The countryside looked amazing with ice and snow clinging to the trees and not too much snow on the road itself. We arrived at Escalles in good time just as the snow was beginning to fall. By the time we went across the road for dinner there was a good 5 cm on the car and it looked really pretty as they had just put all of their sumptuous Christmas decorations up, including some great coloured twigs which I would have liked to sneak into the car. We were a little anxious about the drive back up the hill in the morning but settled down to another good dinner and a nice burgundy!
Fortunately it hadn’t snowed too heavily overnight and John did a great job of getting the car up some pretty grim roads and to the tunnel terminal. The Eurotunnel was having some problems (don’t know why since it doesn’t snow under the channel) so we had to hang around for a while as one train after another got cancelled but eventually we were on our way. The M20 was not very good but after that it got easier. We arrived in Leysdown and hunkered down for the night hoping that the snow would not get in the way of getting to London the next day.
Last few days in Moncrabeau
We felt the weight of responsibility on us, having to put the house to bed, knowing that no-one would be visiting till the spring. Keith had left us with a list but then he’d also given us other careful instructions which we’d failed to follow. Like only putting the rubbish bags out on the morning of the dustbin men – I got blasé one time and thought it was pretty late and the bags were well wrapped up. However, in the morning a charming chap was knocking on the door to tell me that the dogs had ripped the bags open so there I was in my gloves with my bucket of eau de javel tidying it up!
I was also on a mission to finish up all the food since I can’t bear to throw anything away so we ended up with hot lunches and dinners every day to be sure that it all got used up. It was very cold indeed but some days the freezing fog lifted and we were able to go out walking in the beautiful countryside – I went running anyway whatever the weather though it’s not as much fun when you can’t see the view for the fog.
We were also struggling to find somewhere to stay on the Sunday night on our journey back. I had two attempts with the chateaux and hotels and the relais du silence web sites, both of which allowed us to make a booking for dinner, bed and breakfast. The first hotel emailed to say they were shut as they had a problem with their heating and the second one couldn’t offer dinner as the restaurant was shut! I got a refund from chateaux and hotels with no problem but relais du silence were trying to charge a cancellation till I pointed out that they needed to rethink! However, we got sorted in the end and completed all of our jobs.
We managed to forget one item on Keith’s list and didn’t turn off the water heater, which we only remembered as we settled down in our pit stop hotel near Bordeaux – 90 miles or so from Moncrabeau. So we had to turn round the next morning and head back – adding over 3 ½ hours to a long day’s driving. Still it meant I could put the towels away which had been left drying. We checked on the mouse poison but it hadn’t been touched – they probably don’t like that flavour but I expect they’ll make themselves scarce once Albi and Charlie are back in residence!
I was also on a mission to finish up all the food since I can’t bear to throw anything away so we ended up with hot lunches and dinners every day to be sure that it all got used up. It was very cold indeed but some days the freezing fog lifted and we were able to go out walking in the beautiful countryside – I went running anyway whatever the weather though it’s not as much fun when you can’t see the view for the fog.
We were also struggling to find somewhere to stay on the Sunday night on our journey back. I had two attempts with the chateaux and hotels and the relais du silence web sites, both of which allowed us to make a booking for dinner, bed and breakfast. The first hotel emailed to say they were shut as they had a problem with their heating and the second one couldn’t offer dinner as the restaurant was shut! I got a refund from chateaux and hotels with no problem but relais du silence were trying to charge a cancellation till I pointed out that they needed to rethink! However, we got sorted in the end and completed all of our jobs.
We managed to forget one item on Keith’s list and didn’t turn off the water heater, which we only remembered as we settled down in our pit stop hotel near Bordeaux – 90 miles or so from Moncrabeau. So we had to turn round the next morning and head back – adding over 3 ½ hours to a long day’s driving. Still it meant I could put the towels away which had been left drying. We checked on the mouse poison but it hadn’t been touched – they probably don’t like that flavour but I expect they’ll make themselves scarce once Albi and Charlie are back in residence!
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