Drop in and say HI Thread

[TanyaRC 0]

cool ... thanks ... that gives me lots of things to look at!!

[Bee1 0]

hehe I just looked at the picture of the bus I posted and it's the number I sometimes take to work if underground is not running

[Bee1 0]

there are lots and lots of pages on google you can be reading through till the cows come home.

It will be easier to do this about February next year as you will know what's being planned

[TanyaRC 0]

hehe ... that is funny

How is the underground? I know that at times you talk about the reliablity of public transportation?

[TanyaRC 0]

googling is good, but sometimes there is too much information. you need a local to point you in the right direction.

[Bee1 0]

it's least reliable in morning rush hour

it has not been that bad recently but they tend to do repair work at the weekend - it's always announced well in advance and you would have bus replacement service.

Overall public transport is a good and cheap way to get around and we are lucky to even have night buses to get home - they don't run as much as regular buses but still cover large part of London.

[Bee1 0]

TanyaRC wrote:

googling is good, but sometimes there is too much information. you need a local to point you in the right direction.

that's true - sometimes the volume of information you get there can be overwhelming

[TanyaRC 0]

I wish that we had a better public transportation system here. but then again I live in the country and only 5 minutes from work ...

When you think about what you do here, If you leave through Washington DC, you might want to consider a day there to see the sights.

We will have to wait till you know how much time you have to spend in the US and them figure out an itennerary ...( That can't be spelled right.. :o) )

[Bee1 0]

That's what I was thinking but the girl in travel agent was not sure if the ticket would allow it.

As I said - I'm planning up to 3 weeks but not less than 2. I guess it will all depend on how I'm going to be getting around but I'm counting 2 days for travelling in and out of country.

I will not be able to afford any other time off work so I might as well use most of my annual leave for this trip

[Bee1 0]

the only downside is that I have to wait till August before I can get correct flight prices for the two long flights as they are not yet available

[TanyaRC 0]

I am sure that it can be worked out.

We have an amtrack station in Jacksonville. I just checked. it is $93 to go from here to Washington DC. .. that is not bad . And you get out in the heart of Washington at Union Station. It is very pretty...

[Bee1 0]

they was I was thinking about it (but it's subject to change) was

London - LA
LA- Seatte
Seattle - Ohio
Ohio - Chicago (frannie said she would drive me there and show me around)
Chicago - Jacksonville
Jacksonville - Wahsington
Washington - London

now I need to fit Savannah in there somewhere and also most flights from Seattle to Ohio are via Chicago so do I change that (and save Frannie the drive?)

[TanyaRC 0]

right not they have a $64 airfare to BWI whickh is one of the washington area airports. I would have to think about which would be better. I wuld probably go with the train ride, because of the location ..

[Bee1 0]

TanyaRC wrote:

I am sure that it can be worked out.

We have an amtrack station in Jacksonville. I just checked. it is $93 to go from here to Washington DC. .. that is not bad . And you get out in the heart of Washington at Union Station. It is very pretty...

is that a train company?

[TanyaRC 0]

Bee wrote:

they was I was thinking about it (but it's subject to change) was

London - LA
LA- Seatte
Seattle - Ohio
Ohio - Chicago (frannie said she would drive me there and show me around)
Chicago - Jacksonville
Jacksonville - Wahsington
Washington - London

now I need to fit Savannah in there somewhere and also most flights from Seattle to Ohio are via Chicago so do I change that (and save Frannie the drive?)

hmmm ... Maybe Frannie could meet you in Chicago, and then drive you to Columbus? I know that she is looking forward to spending some time with you.

As far as fitting Savannah in, Kijo and I are interchangable ... You could fly to JAX, and then go to Kijo, and catch a train to DC..

She and I know the way to each other's houses and have no problem taking you back and forth.

[TanyaRC 0]

yes, Amtrak is our passenger train service.

[Bee1 0]

I have been talking about it with Mr B and he also said might be better to take train some of the journeys than greyhound coaches as he said you can walk and buy food.

He also suggested to work out internal flights as and when needed once I'm on a country.

He said to fly home from Miami as you can get flights from £299 but not sure if that's one way and inclusive of taxes.

I got quoted about £600 inclusive of taxes for London - LAX and Jacksonville (via Washington) to London.

I most likely won't book it through travel agent as I'm sure I can organise the flights myself for less (I presume there is some commission charge somewhere from travel agents).

[Bee1 0]

TanyaRC wrote:

hmmm ... Maybe Frannie could meet you in Chicago, and then drive you to Columbus? I know that she is looking forward to spending some time with you.

As far as fitting Savannah in, Kijo and I are interchangable ... You could fly to JAX, and then go to Kijo, and catch a train to DC..

She and I know the way to each other's houses and have no problem taking you back and forth.

Well Frannie offerd to meet me in Chicago in order to keep my costs down and not having to fly to Ohio but I too want to spend few days with her and I will be busy with Lenka when in Chicago - so I still want to go to Ohio.

Thank goodness we have another 10 months to work this out

Kijo suggested for me to go to hers first and then she would drive with me to yours but I guess that might depend on which day I would get there as she's busy during the week.

[TanyaRC 0]

having been through the Miami airport, I can not reccommend it for a lady traveling alone.

which airprot will you be flying in and out of there?

[Bee1 0]

TanyaRC wrote:

yes, Amtrak is our passenger train service.

at least you only have one company - there are to many different ones here in UK and it's much smaller country than yours

[Bee1 0]

TanyaRC wrote:

having been through the Miami airport, I can not reccommend it for a lady traveling alone.

which airprot will you be flying in and out of there?

most likely London Heathrow but I imagine it could also be London Gatwick - these are the only two that I know do longhaul flights (yes there are 3 more airports in London).

I don't think he's ever been to Miami but I know he's been in US before (NY I know for sure) - he was looking at cost only but if I do Miami then I won't get a chance to do Washington DC (which now I want to do!)

[TanyaRC 0]

are you going to be around for a while?

I need to take the cat to the dr.. I will be back in about an hour ..

depending on how long that I have to wait ..

[Bee1 0]

well it's 15.10 right now and I'm here till 17.15

I will be lurking in background if you want
hope nothing serious!

[TanyaRC 0]

no, just a checkup from where he got shot. he is doing well, but needs to have his leg x-rayed to see how it is healing..

[Bee1 0]

of course! good news that he's doing so well

[TanyaRC 0]

I'm back ...........

[Bee1 0]

good news?

[Bee1 0]

sorry but I will be leaving in 10 minutes as boss is sending me to post office but I will be at home in about 2 hours if you still be around

I have a good news - my ESTA has been approved so I'm another step closer.
There was talk that they should start charging $10 for it from September

[TanyaRC 0]

good news sort of .. he is healing, but still needs to stay insde a bit longer. He may never be outside again.


Glad you got that approved.

I will be in and out .. still have to do some house cleaning from last week ....

[Bee1 0]

I hope that will not be the case and he will make full recovery.

Sorry that I'm deserting you but I will check here in couple of hours.
Hope you enjoy rest of you day in case I don't speak to you again

[TanyaRC 0]

bye Bee!! See you later!! Have a safe jpurney home!

[Bee1 0]

I'm baaaack in case anyone's around
it's still so hot and sticky so I'm lazying in my bedroom by open window

[Bee1 0]

I guess I will go and atempt some cooking.
I shall be trying to make Jolloff rice - in a nutshell it's rice cooked in tomatoes and stock with some chilli peppers. We used to have it all the time when I was working as nanny for nigerian familly years ago.
I will have it for lunch tomorrow with some salad and raast chicken (if I mess it up then it's just salad and roast chicken

[mindyjoy 0]

Just checking in on my lunch hour so can't stay long (as I have to eat, too!)

Bee, I saw back about your post about Universal Studios and Vegas.

Universal should not be a problem, it's about a 10 minute drive from my house and should not take up an entire day ... they are always running promotions, such as right now you can get a ticket for $15 US dollars if you bring in an empty can of Coke as well .... LOL. Plus my boyfriend used to work on the lot and has a parking pass, so free parking. BUt also, we could go and walk around Citywalk, which is an outdoor mall of sorts, with fun restaurants and stores, and that's free. Same with Disney - if Disney is too expensive we can go walk around Downtown Disney, which has restaurants and shops as well.

As far as Vegas, it's a bit of a drive from LA - about 4-5 hours without stopping, you would need to tack on a couple extra days to your trip plus hotel fees ... in my opinion there is just so much to see and do it can be a bit overwhelming, especially if traveling alone. If you would rather see Vegas instead of LA I would certainly be happy to meet up with you there, but I wouldn't recommend doing both if you are on a time and budget crunch. Besides, you need to save something to do for your next trip to the States, LOL!

[Bee1 0]

Hello Mindy and enjoy your lunch - it's dinner time here LOL

I'm personally not that bothered about Vegas (as you said need to leave some stuff for next time) so it will be just LA.

I guess someof the "indoor" activities will be determined by ticket prices but I'm sure there it loads other stuff to see that is free

(blond moment) is Disney in LA?
don't worry Mindy once I finally kick my backside into reading up on LA I will come up with loads fo things (I bet) to see

[Bee1 0]

Just a quick update if anyone read it - Jollof rice was success and now I'm off to bed (yes I know it's only 21.35 but I'm tired)

[mindyjoy 0]

Congrats on your rice!!!!

You have plenty of time to read up and decide ... and there's no pressure; I'll take you to whatever you want to see!!

Disney is about a 45 minute drive south of LA .... but it is the priciest of all the local theme parks. I think tickets are somewhere in the $92 range (not sure, as I always buy the annual pass). It definitely would take up a full day.

[TanyaRC 0]

Hi guys .... sorry that I did not catch you. I took a nap .... :0)

Bee ... so glad that your rice turned out good. We will have lots of time to talk about your trip. Your time at my house will be cheap ... no theme parks close by, and lots of kitty cats to play with!!

Mindy ... isn't it great having a season's pass to Disney!! too bad they won't work at the different parks.

[Zoonie 0]

Good Morning, after a couple of weeks of either going out and having a 'staycation' or, rushing around, am having 2 days working at home before a day out on Friday.

Anyone around?

[TanyaRC 0]

Hi Gill .... I am here for a change

I am so sorry to hear about IMOM's trouble. I know that is very hard on you .

[Zoonie 0]

Over the past 10 days or so, apart from doing some really long (for us) walks from our front door (whatever the weather) - which we thought would be good for both body and soul, we've been using our annual National Trust membership, which we'd been neglecting to use the past few years.

We've been to Scotney Castle and Gardens; Ightham Mote, Chartwell (former home of Primeminister Winston Churchill) Emmett's Gardens; Knole; Bateman's; Sissinghurst Castle Gardens (former home of Vita Sackville-West, lover of Virginia Woolfe) and Wakehurst Place, where the Millennium Seedbank is located.

Phew!


(walled garden at Wakehurst Place)


All those venues are on the NATIONAL TRUST Website

[Zoonie 0]

Thanks Tanya, we're both still really shocked and angry, but what can you do? it seems dog eat dog these days.
We're planning to start up on our own, hopefully we can earn enough to get by and at least we can trust each other.

Thanks for your kind words.

How are you doing these days? it's been ages!

[TanyaRC 0]

wow .... that sounds like a lot of fun!! I love to do things like that..

[TanyaRC 0]

It has been too long. I thought with my training detail that it would give me a more consistent schedule and more time. what it did give me was more nap time ... That is mostly over now.

I think starting your own business sounds good. I know many people who have done that and are much happier that way.

[Zoonie 0]

We had been to most of them, not all - but not for years, and some of them have opened up new rooms or done more restoration etc.
We're very luck where we live, so many in a short distance.

Let me get you the link for Ightham Mote Tanya, it's incredible!

- and we've been lucky enough to have some lovely weather too, so we thought our first break in over 5 years would clear our heads a bit.

[TanyaRC 0]

would love to see it!! Might even get to see it in person ... OH and I may be coming over there next year...

The weather here has been typical summer ... hot and humid .. with a chance of showers...

[Zoonie 0]

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-ighthammote/w-ighthammote-photo_gallery.htm


Because over the centuries this home had been owned by well to do, but not stinking rich families, it stayed pretty much the same, no one had the money to knock down and rebuild.
After WWII an American bachelor businessman was on a cycling holiday and saw it, and loved it - years later, back in London, he saw it for sale in a magazine (it'd been purchased by a consortium of local businessmen to save it from being knocked down and the land developed)

On the way back home he changed his mind about the offer he'd made for it, as it was too big a commitment, but his family persuaded him to go for it if he wanted.

(that's the very brief story)

The National Trust have just finished a £10million renovation project there.

[TanyaRC 0]

wow .... what a cool story!!

that is a beautiful place. and this is near you?

[Zoonie 0]

Oh wow if you're visiting, I'm lobbyist for the local tourism - the south east has SO much to offer.
We must liaise if you decide to come over.

I must make some time to read back and see all the details of your recent get together, it sounds like everyone had a fantastic time together?

[TanyaRC 0]

I haven't posted much here. There are lots of pictures floating around. We had a wonderful time.