Monthly Archives: June 2023

Bern: culture and flowers

The bell of the Zytglogge: My second and final day in Bern had a bit more of an agenda than my first day, which was more about wandering. I set out at mid-morning for the Kunstmuseum (art), stopping first at the Zytglogge to catch a visual of the clock in action, and then headed toContinue reading “Bern: culture and flowers”

Bern: day one

I love London. I love it for many reasons. But Bern is the perfect antidote to London. Sleepy. Slower, by a huge measure. Tranquil. If London is bustle and hustle, Bern is almost bucolic. Almost. My first of two days in Bern (and I hope there are many more!) began with breakfast in the hotelContinue reading “Bern: day one”

Travel

Good god, how I love to travel! I’m in Bern, Switzerland this morning, at a quite lovely Best Western 4-star property. I’ve made a Nespresso coffee in my room after having a fine breakfast at the buffet in the Volkshaus restaurant. This morning’s shower was steaming hot, so welcome after sleeping in a slight chillContinue reading “Travel”

London: last day

With the majority of the travel group departing for the USA on Monday, I spent my day as a free-for-all tourist, doing exactly what I pleased, when I pleased. Those pleasing things included a stop at the tourist-trap Sherlock Holmes Museum on Baker Street, and a stop at the Wallace Collection, two things I’d neverContinue reading “London: last day”

London: Cambridge day

An early morning call. A two-hour bus journey. Holy Eucharist at King’s College Cambridge. Singing from the Towers at Trinity College Cambridge. Big Sunday meal at The Ivy. Sing with Tim Brown in the Clare College chapel. Shopping time, and cream tea. Evensong at Trinity College Cambridge, on what was Stephen Layton’s last day asContinue reading “London: Cambridge day”

London: more Day 10

Saturday, June 10. Westminster Abbey Evensong. I arrived late enough that I was not going to get a seat in the quire, so rather than stare at backs of heads in the transept, I sat in the nave. Mistake . . . . The tourists in the nave just want to gawk at the AbbeyContinue reading “London: more Day 10”

London: Day 10

Food tour day! I signed up several weeks ago for Food Tours on Foot excursion to East London, scene of immigration and change over the last 200 years. Our guide–we were 20 in all, with USA and Canada and Germany and Switzerland all represented–was Jessica, a Canadian expat expecting her first child in August. JessicaContinue reading “London: Day 10”