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Notting Hill + Family Visitors

Updated: Mar 4



My sister Kathy and her family (Chris and Matteo) were kind enough to fly from Seattle to visit us in England over their February vacation week. That's an 11-hour flight and we really appreciated their long journey to see us!


We love our place in Oxfordshire, but worry it can get a little boring for visitors, especially a young 'un like Matteo (age 15). So, we spent the first three nights in the Notting Hill area of London. (Hopefully dear readers, you have seen the wonderful 1999 movie "Notting Hill" with Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts?) We enjoyed this neighborhood and had a great time showing our guests around. Sadly I didn't get any pictures of the famous Portobello Road open-air market. I walked it a few times with great interest, but it was so rainy (and crowded!) it didn't make for good photography. But here are some photo highlights of our times in Notting Hill (and yes that's our niece Mia who joined us one day):



Lest you think all we did was eat and drink, here are some of the other things we enjoyed in London:



The musical "Just For One Day" about Live Aid was great. So were our two Indian dinners at Dishoom and Trishna. No new photos, but we did not leave out Buckingham Palace, Fortnum & Mason, nor Mr. Fogg's! We enjoyed being able to share some of our favorite London places with the visitors.


After London, we brought them home to Somerton, Oxfordshire, where they stayed in the guest suite and experienced our quiet, rural life! Still, we tried to keep them busy. They played both bridge and pickleball at the local clubs; visited Blenheim Palace; took an evening walk around Oxford University; and strolled through three Costwold towns. During our Cotswold tour we indulged in afternoon tea in Stow-on-the-Wold. Matteo's expression is priceless, don't you agree?



So thank you dear visitors for the opportunity to enjoy England with you! We look forward to future guests and we're keeping notes on all the best places to take them.


Next up: spending Robin's spring break in Wales. But will the rain ever end?


💂‍♀️ 🇬🇧 🫖 ☔️

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Gazing skyward in Finland

Updated: Feb 6

The Aurora Borealis has long fascinated me. I love "otherworldly" landscapes and this one in the sky was something I wanted to see. But unlike, say, the red rock formations of the Southwest or tropical beaches in the Pacific, the Northern Lights may or may not be there when you go looking.


But you have to search anyway, right? I'd read that Scandinavia above the Arctic Circle has the lowest incidence of cloud cover and thus superior odds - you need clear skies to see the Aurora. Since that part of the world is much closer to England than to the US, I suggested to Robin that we include this quest as part of our sabbatical year, and he gladly agreed. We planned the trip for early February (during winter, when the night is long in the Arctic) to coincide with my 62nd birthday (Feb. 4th).


We left the arrangements to the travel agency. By the time I called in early December, they informed us "the solar storm activity is high this year so the Aurora is active and trips are popular. We are almost sold out." Nevertheless they offered us the last available 4-night excursion to Levi, Finland, at a resort specializing in Aurora-watching called Northern Lights Village. We booked it and flew on January 30th to Helsinki, then a connecting flight to Kittilä and a 30-minute van ride to Levi.


The Northern half of Finland is called "Lapland"

This place was wonderful. Their appeal is glass-roofed "igloo" cabins where you can watch for the Aurora all night long, even from your bed. To help keep you busy during the (short) days, they offer excursions by snowmobile, dog sled, and reindeer sleigh! We had fun with all these activities (outfitted in the snowsuits provided); especially the dog sledding where Robin got to "mush!" (But all those dogs want to do is RUN, so "driving" mostly means braking when necessary!) We also enjoyed learning about Lapland culture; plus the fireplace, comfortable lounge chairs, and excellent meals in the main lodge.




Disappointingly, the weather was overcast and snowy during our first 3 nights in Levi. An ill-conceived "heated sleigh" aurora-hunting excursion on Night #3 was futile. The forecast for our final night was "mostly cloudy." The clock turned past midnight on Sunday, Feb. 4th and we were in bed, resigned to the idea that "seeing the Northern Lights is going to take more than one attempt." Then, we started to see stars appear in our sky windows. Quite a few stars! Awake with hope, we continued to watch.


As the sky began to glimmer with sheets of light, we realized we had gotten lucky after all. We joined the other guests coming out of their cabins to gaze upward and enjoy the show. I loved standing there and taking it in. I had decided not to attempt photography of the lights (best done with a "real" camera and tripod) but just to enjoy the views.

Fortunately, a fellow guest shared his photos with us, and there were some nice ones!



I will tell you that the Aurora looks quite different to the naked eye than it does in pictures. In real life, I didn't perceive those bright colors. To my eyes, the lights appeared mostly white, with the faintest tinge of green at the edges. Harder to capture in photos is the movement - those lights do shimmer and dance! I could not have been happier or filled with greater wonder observing them.


So yes - bucket list item checked off and THANK YOU Mother Nature for the most awesome of birthday gifts! But is it over, or will I find an opportunity to see the Aurora again, perhaps for a more prolonged and colorful display? The journey continues.....


PS -- Happy Birthday to our niece Mia and grandson Sam, with whom I share the same birth date, 40 and 60 years apart 🎂.

Northern Lights (excerpt)

BY J. WEAVER JR.


The moon has gone to her bed tonight,

And all over the sky

She has hung out her garments of light

To dry.

And now each shimmering veil--

Sea-greens and sapphires

Jeweled with orange fires--

Floats from the star she has pinned it to...





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2024 - you'll get better, right?

Dearest Readers,


Belated Happy New Year's wishes to you! I hope your year is off to a better start than mine, although in the grand scheme I can't complain too much. So what if a case of Covid derailed my January bridge trip to beautiful Northern California? I didn't cry TOO much over missing the tournament with a favorite partner and teammates. I watched 7 Hugh Grant movies in my English living room to make up for it, didn't I?


Ah well, these things happen. I blame the French, as I like to do. Our son CJ came to England for Christmas, but he doesn't stay in one place for long! He wanted to see Paris, so we took the train from London for a 48-hour visit. We were blessed with a gorgeous central apartment loaned to us by friends, and a whirlwind tour of the City's most famous sites. I had forgotten how charming and beautiful Paris is. Since we've been there in years past, Paris has not been at the top our travel list for our sabbatical, but now we are thinking we should return for a more leisurely visit (though well before the Summer Olympics get underway!)




So I undoubtedly got Covid in France and California didn't happen, but my illness was mild and I got some work done. Once recovered, Robin and I took a road trip to visit our sister-in-law Leni in the southeast for a long weekend. After a night of crazy winds, our final day was beautiful and we got to walk with the dogs along the beautiful ocean cliffs of Margate.


Another day brought a Sunday excursion to the Hook Norton Brewery, a 30-minute drive to the edge of the Cotswolds. The two-hour tour of the historic but still productive brewery was actually pretty interesting, and the generous tasting session afterwards revealed new favorite beers for both Robin and me. Yes, we left with a full assortment from the gift shop. At last some English beer I will enjoy! (Not warm, flat, and bitter as most of the pub beers are.) Robin loves those, but not me! 🤪 However an ice cold bottle of "Hooky Gold" really hits the spot.




As January concludes, I'm wrapping up a brief trip to the US to see my Mom in Maine. She turned 90 in December and my sisters were there to celebrate with her - they pulled out all the stops! Mom was not impressed with my belated birthday efforts, but we still had a nice visit. She's a beautiful 90-year-old, don't you agree?


In early February we embark on a quest for my top bucket list item. I will report back soon! Meanwhile I hope all my readers are enjoying a healthy and happy beginning to 2024.


🇬🇧💂‍♀️🍺

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