Back to the UK

I was off my last trip to the UK, the doctor had failed to inform me that there could be long lasting and extremely sever residual pain after my hernia operation.  About 4″ south of the incision is where the mesh is attached.  There are some fine nerves in the area that can be damaged during the operation or by scar tissue.  The pain was like a kidney stone.  As high on the pain scale I recall, although not constant.  And the not knowing of why (the doctor had never mentioned the possibility), and since I hadn’t felt this pain previously caused me great distraction and anxiety, a feeling I general don’t experience.  After getting Stateside I learned about the cause of the pain and options, the best of which is “kept calm and carry on” as eventually things will get to the place prior to the hernia eventually.  Knowing now that after 5 months the pain is reduced and the weather here in previously Manchester and now in the neighboring Vernon, Ct is getting seriously (-20c/-5f) cold I decided to begin another adventure.

I say adventure rather than holiday as that is what these wanders are when I get it right.  And besides if one does not work can one take a vacation? To be done correctly there must be enough pre-planning to at least know a rough list of places to see and the routes to get there using only public transport and the occasional seat in a mate’s car. Rick Steves (who is not only a very good travel presenter, he is on the board of NORML which is to me a good thing)  and others on YouTube can give a general sense of a place and often a day or two of things that really should be seen or experienced at that locale.

Public transport is better in Europe than in America is a very general statement made without my having sufficient knowledge of public transport in the US.  That being said, I was entertaining flying  Norwegian Air from Providence RI (PVD) to Dublin, Ireland. There were oneway flights for $99 + 70 (£132 as I write) for checked bag & meal. And once you’re in Ireland, Europe is real close!  But then I found out that if I wanted to get to PVD from Hartford, Ct I’d have to be at the bus terminal before 6AM for an 8PM flight as that was the only bus (no train) before takeoff.

Since the initial goal of this wander is Lizard & Land’s End in Cornwall, England and not Ireland as such at this time, and there are multiple buses Hartford to Boston, I’m flying to London for 4 nights.

I begin my flight searches using  http://www.skyscanner.com

Where I booked London with less than a week’s notice for $289/£225 with checked bag

and I prefer http://Expedia.co.uk for hotel searches with AirB&B occasionally if the stay is 5 or more days.  And speaking of time allotment, I find that 1 night is rarely enough, and tiring and 5 is usually more than plenty for any locale.  If I feel I would have liked to have seen more, I go back.

Like London.  Trying to see too much of London in one trip is a fool’s errand. It is an overwhelming city if you try and conquer it so take pieces  during divers seasons so you can get both sites and flavour, and not just the fish & chips kind.

And since, in my retirement my financial picture is somewhere between skint and nearly skint, I need to remember that if the room is clean, once you are asleep it might as well be a Four Seasons. I spend very little time in my rooms other than to sleep, eat if there’s a kitchenette, TV if I understand the language and update this blog so I demand very little from a room.  Almost all the European rooms I’ve stayed in have a sink and either a shared bath or ensuite.  Most have no lift and none have an ice machine. if there is breakfast included, I take it as it’s usually good and I then can skip lunch unless some local cuisine catches my eye hungry or not.  With that in mind I’ve returned to the Boka Hotel in Earls Court (£180./$232 for 4 nights)  A few hundred steps to the Tube, good pubs & restaurants & a Tesco, handy since the Boka has a kitchenette.  Full English breakfast & a lift! I’ve easily walked to the V&A, British & Science museums  from there and a couple of stops on the tube has you in front of Buckingham Palace, and the neighborhood, despite James Earl Ray the killer of MLK hiding there after the murder, always seems safe.