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So, the title of this post is punnier (maybe?) if you know that the name of the town is pronounced Eye-zell-worth rather than I’ll-worth.  Anyhoo, here’s the latest from Pecklandia.

First, you should meet our newest pets — Zoe, a Jack Russell and Queen of the house, Charlie (our 2nd Charlie), a chocolate Labrador and all-around Mr. Nice Guy and tail-wagger, and Tino, the puuurrr machine who knows that orange is the new black!

We are located in the parish of Isleworth in West London.  It is located along the Thames and has a lot of schools and parks.  There are children everywhere.  The younger ones are often on push scooters with their parents on their way to or from school.  We are generally dodging the older ones who are walking while texting or otherwise involved with their phones.  In less mundane matters, we are learning a bit about the history and royal ties of the local area.

The very cute nearby town of Richmond is part of the borough of Richmond-upon-Thames which straddles the Thames River. It has a large number of parks and conservation areas.  It has been home to royalty and is currently home (so we are told) to rock royalty including Mick Jagger. 

We have enjoyed walking and running along the paths that follow the Thames but have been surprised by flooding on them on more than one occasion.  One day I ran out on the path only to have part of it be under water when I ran back.  With London being so far inland we were sure it couldn’t be tidal, but we have learned we were wrong.  The Thames has one of the most powerful tidal flows of any river in England.  It is a tidal river for 55 miles from the outer estuary between the Essex and Kent coasts to just past Richmond.  The difference between high and low tide at Tower Pier can be up to 26 feet and it takes about 5 hours for the tide to come in and more than 7 to go back out.(londonsriver.com)

We spent a lovely afternoon at Wimbeldon touring the grounds, visiting the museum, and wishing we could come back some July to watch the games.  The most amazing part of the tour (since Rafael Nadal wasn’t around) was learning about all the work that goes into the seeding and maintaining of the grass. The grass has to be sufficiently dry before it is cut and then they only cut 1 mm at a time!  The ideal height for the grass is 8 mm.

 

We have made it into London a few times as well.  We have the best of both worlds. We are living in a lovely residential area but close enough to pop into the big city.  Our first trip into London was to the Kensington area to find a big head sculpture that we had seen in a brochure.  All we knew was that it was suppose to be near the High Street Kensington tube stop.  We checked in the station, outside of the station, in a couple of nearby parks, and at City Hall and the library without luck. We even asked a few passers by, but they didn’t know either.  Bob finally asked in the library, and they suggested we check the School of Design a few blocks away.  So you can thank a London librarian for the photo below.

We also spent a good part of a day visiting the Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament) and walking through some of London’s lovely parks.  We sat in on part of a session of the House of Commons and heard them debate a government proposal to address youth homelessness and heard another member propose that the nation hold celebrations later this year to mark the Queen’s Sapphire Anniversary on the throne.

We spent a couple of mostly wet days in Derby (pronounced more like Dawby) between house sits.  Derby is a city of about 230,000 located on the River Derwent.  It is home to the world’s second largest aero-engine manufacturer, Rolls Royce, but also for its lovely ceramics.

It also has a great, new mall called Intu Derby which houses one of the best cinemas we have seen.  We took in a late matinee, with wine and beer, to catch the (almost) Oscar-winning film, La La Land.  

The following is a quick pictorial overview of our stay.





Bob and I completed our Cardiff house sit with the Very Lovable Rita on Saturday evening February 25.  We left for Derby, England the next day and have now begun our London-area house sit, but more about all of that later.

Along with learning a couple of Welsh words, and watching our homeowners perform (on tv) in a Welsh- language soap opera, we also tried a few traditional Welsh dishes.  The first two dishes below we had at a lovely local pub.  The third we tried a sample of at a local market before buying some at the grocery.  Due to its name (laverbread), we initially had a bit of trouble finding it.  We assumed that it was in bread so we were looking for it in bakeries. It can be (sort of — see below).  But It is sold in its “raw” form in the seafood section.

We spent much of our last full day in Cardiff touring Cardiff Castle in central Cardiff.  We had stopped here on our last visit but hadn’t toured the grounds.  This time we toured the grounds as well as the house.  The grounds were originally the site of a Roman fort built around 50 AD.  Some of the Roman walls still remain.  It was later used by the Normans as a fort as well.  The property passed through the hands of many noble families before being inherited by the 2nd Marquess of Bute, a Scott, who renovated much of the facilities, including turning the home into his view of a Medieval Castle.  He and his family lived here only 6 weeks per year, but he is fondly regarded in Cardiff as he turned the city into one of the world’s leading coal exporters. Bob and I kept thinking that the name sounded familiar and through the power of Google we were able to confirm that he is the same gentleman who also had the castle in Thornhill, Scotland that we toured last year!



Bob and I are having a mild (temperature wise) but wet and windy time in Cardiff at our latest house sit while our homeowners (parents and children) are having a ski vacation in Austria with two other families.  It is “half-term” here, so the boys are out of school.  Today, Atlantic Storm Doris is to bring winds of up to 80 mph for some parts of Wales.  We will see — so far it is windy but not that WINDY.

We have one very cute and active 2-year old dog that we are watching.  Her name is Rita, and she is quite charming.  She is a proficient ball retriever both inside and at the nearby parks.  She is also quite social and loves small children and other dogs.

 

Our first venture out was to St Fagans Castle and National History Museum in the nearby community of St. Fagans.  The castle is not really a castle but rather an Elizabetean mansion built on the site of an old Norman castle. The castle is undergoing renovations, so we were unable to go inside (downside of traveling during the off season), but we were able to enjoy the beautiful gardens and grounds which include over 50 original historic buildings that have been moved to the site to preserve them.  No admission charge for this impressive heritage site that also includes craft demonstrations, tea rooms, and gift shops.

 

We have also ventured into central Cardiff and have seen a few of the sights that we saw during our brief visit here last May while seeing some new sights as well.  One of the new sites we visited was the National Cardiff Museum.  The National Cardiff Museum (also free admission!) contains both the National Museum of Art and the National Museum of Natural History.  Bob and I focused on the Art Museum and spent most of our time in the Impressionist & Modern art sections as well as the Welsh Ceramics.  The have a lovely collection of art that has been donated and/or purchased.  We enjoyed seeing the paintings and sculptures from some artists with whom we are familiar (Cezanne, Picasso, Rodin) as well as new (to us) artists and learning about the history of ceramic-making in Wales while viewing some lovely pieces.

While out getting the battery replaced in Bob’s cell phone, he decided to buy some chips to support a local businesses’ fund-raising attempt.  We were too late for the chip-wrapping world record attempt, though they did break the record with a speed of over 48 seconds (not sure how many chips), but all proceeds for the day we’re going to Cancer Research Wales.  There is a bit of irony in a chip shop supporting cancer research, but there you are life is nothing if not ironical.

Yesterday we had a very, very wet walkabout to see the Landaff Cathedral and walk some of the Taff Trail.  We were only partially rewarded for our ambulatory persistence.



Just wanted to share this that we thought was interesting, although it may be that we have too much time to read signs.

Bob and I began our UK adventure Part II with two days in the beautiful seaside town of Bournemouth.  Bournemouth is a resort community of over 180,000 on the southern coast of England.  It is known for its 7 miles of beaches, but it also has some lovely gardens, a great art gallery, and a pretty vibrant retail and restaurant area.   It is apparently a popular destination for hen (bachelorette) parties.  We were impressed by the cleanliness of the area, the people we met, and the amount of visitors even in the off season.  We arrived late on Tuesday night, the 14th, and left by train for Cardiff for our current house sit about noon on Friday.

This house sit went way too fast!  We started the Brooklyn house sit last Wednesday and just completed it this (Monday) pm.  We head back to the UK tonight on an 11:40 pm flight to London via Lisbon.

Here are some highlights from our brief time in the big city.

First, one last glance at our gorgeous Brooklyn cats.

Last Wednesday, after getting settled into our Brooklyn home, we headed out to take advantage of the gorgeous winter day — 60 degrees!  We headed for Prospect Park, but discovered that the nearby Botanical Gardens was having a free-entry day, so we decided to explore that instead.  It was good that we got out Wednesday, as the City basically shut down Thursday due to a fast-moving snowstorm that dumped about 8 inches in the area.



Thursday we spent mostly inside due to the weather, so we were eager to get out on Friday even in the chilly weather (highs in low 30s with a crisp wind).  We decided to take the subway into Manhatten to visit the 911 Museum and Memorial and then walk back into Brooklyn.

It was a brisk walk over the Brooklyn Bridge, and we have done it before, but the views never get old.  We also enjoyed watching the tourists (somehow we don’t consider ourselves tourists when we house sit) taking their selfies on the bridge.

On Saturday, we ran some errands and then headed to the New York Transit Museum which is housed in a former subway station.  The museum provided a great overview of the building of the lines (both on land and underwater), the efforts needed to keep the system running ( or get it back in operation) after both man-made and natural disasters, and showed the history of turnstiles, payment methods, and train cars.

After the transit museum , we walked along the East River to King’s County Distillery for a tour and tasting.

The following is a quick blog to catch you up on out travels.  Since we left Vancouver, we have had a lovely East Coast tour.  First, we had a great time with Bob’s brother and his family and girlfriend in Alexandria, Virginia, before doing a quick 1.5 day tour of Newark, New Jersey to get our 44th state visited.  We are now in Brooklyn to start a quick 5 day house sit for two cats before heading back across the pond.

Below are some photo highlights of our travels.  

District of Columbia

Bob’s brother Eric’s girlfriend Kym works for the Library of Congress and gave us a great private tour of this gorgeous building after we went through the exhibit on presidential inaugurations.  The exhibit presented some of the Library’s items from past inaugurations, including photos, clothing and jewelry, as well as agendas and menus.  Best of all staff were on hand to answer questions and provide additional information.

 

Alexandria

Bob’s brother Eric lives in Alexandria.  we explored a bit of the area while we were there, and I took advantage of one of the many hiking/biking paths in the area to get some runs in.

Fairfax, VA

Our nephew, Nathan, is currently a freshman at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA.  He gave Bob and I a tour of the campus while we were there.  Usually abbreviated to “Mason,” it is the largest public research university in Virginia.



Newark, NJ

Bob and I had a quick trip to NJ to earn our 44th US state.  That will mean more to some than others, but I’ll spare the rest of you the TMI.

Brooklyn, NY

We are now at our house sit in Brooklyn looking after two cats below and a lovely apartment/condo in a town home building.  More on the house sit later.  Both cats are larger than the 2 dogs we just sat for in Vancouver!



I am finishing this in the midst of a winter storm that is to bring 8-12″ of snow — after having reached a high of 61 yesterday!

Tonight Bob and I leave Vancouver with an ultimate destination of DC.  However to get there as cheaply as possible, we will stop and change planes in Seattle and then catch a red-eye to Chicago before heading onto DC.  Here are some final photos from our time in Vancouver —



A helpful sign to remind us all, that wherever you go, there you are.

Since our last post, Bob and I moved across theBurrard Inlet from North and West Vancouver to East Vancouver before settling again for a bit in Vancouver (are we inclusive or what?). During this time, we have mourned a US transition, celebrated women and dignity for all humans, made our own happy transition to our next house sit, started exploring Vancouver, and been walking and caring for our smallest dogs ever.  

Whew!  While it is nothing compared to what you are doing to keep the world going, it feels like too much for one blog, but here’s a start.

North Vancouver Public Art 

Bob and I ended our lovely interlude in North Vancouver with one last public art walk.  Some favorites are highlighted below.  My apologies to the artists as I don’t have my (actually our Airbnb host’s) guide to the names of the installations and the artists.



Women’s March in Vancouver 

The Vancouver Women’s March was held in collaboration with the other marches being held in the US and around the world, the Vancouver March started with some speeches at Jack Poole Plaza and then marched to the new Trump Tower in downtown Vancouver.

New House Sit

While we had a walk through with our homeowners on Friday evening, we didn’t officially begin our Vancouver house sit until 2:30 pm on Saturday shortly before they left for the airport.  They live in a 1 bedroom condo on the 18th floor of a 30 floor high rise in the Gastown section of Vancouver, so we couldn’t move in until they were leaving.  While our homeowners are having a break in Cuba, we are caring for their 2 adorable dogs — the playful Milo and the cuddly Bugsley.

 

Scenes from the edges of Vancouver

We have spent a few days walking parts of the incredible trail system that runs along much of the south, west, and north coasts of Vancouver, including through Stanley Park.  It’s an amazing trail with some pretty lovely views.

Yesterday we walked back to West Vancouver (still on the North Shore but west of North Vancouver.  Deep Cove and Seymour, referenced in prior post are east of North Vancouver and also on the North Shore.). We do not plan to cross the harbor until Thursday.  

We headed out of North Vancouver via one of the many trails through local parks.  We were headed for the West Vancouver shopping mall (Park Royal) where we had changed buses on the first day, as it was suppose to rain all afternoon and we thought we could poke around inside if the weather got too bad.  However, the rain held off until today, so we got to have a lovely walk along the seaway and look at Stanley Park in downtown Vancouver from across the harbor.

West Vancouver Walk

Signs of the Times

We have taken a number of photos of signs that have caught our eye but have been derelict in including them in the blogs.  I’m sure it’s been keeping you up, so here are a few from the past couple of weeks —