Emeryville – San Francisco Today’s objective was delightfully simple: to relocate across the bay to San Francisco and get settled in for the longest and most luxurious hotel stay of
Category: Big Trip Diary Entry
California, Here We Come! (2021): Day 8: An Amtrak Thanksgiving
Los Angeles – Emeryville It was Thanksgiving Day – and our big Amtrak day! It began with a little bit of early-morning stress, but we eventually succeeded in finding a
California, Here We Come! (2021): Day 7: From San Diego to Los Angeles
Morning walk in San Diego Once again, it was the same early-morning start for Bruce. After breakfast and showers, we took a morning walk in glorious sunshine, through downtown and
California, Here We Come! (2021): Day 6: Walking in San Diego
Gaslamp Quarter to Balboa Park Bruce again had his early-starting half-day at work. As previously, he popped out at 9am to pick up some breakfast for both of us, this
California, Here We Come! (2021): Day 5: Day Trip to Carlsbad
Downtown San Diego Bruce was working Boston-time half-days until Thanksgiving, which meant 0530-0900 Pacific – clearly an alarm was essential! At the end of his stint we had a Starbucks
California, Here We Come! (2021): Days 3&4: Our Outbound Flying-Fest
London-Helsinki on Finnair Once again, we followed the recently established pattern of no pre-departure breakfast, due to our proximity to the airport. Catching the Piccadilly Line to the airport, we
California, Here We Come! (2021): Day 2: And now, erm … back to the UK!
Schiphol-Heathrow Today started by following a similar approach to that used on Thursday: we left the hotel without eating, intending to have some form of breakfast in the lounge. In
California, Here We Come! (2021): Day 1: Quick Visit to Amsterdam
Heathrow-Schiphol The trip was now underway in earnest, and you join me as Bruce & I enter the so-called ‘First’ lounge at Heathrow Terminal 5, which in reality is for
California, Here We Come! (2021): Diary Prologue
As the first travelling day of this trip was purely a positioning exercise to London Heathrow, with no sightseeing component at all, I thought of it as ‘Day Zero’ rather
England Grand Tour (2021): Day 20: Going Home
With today being the final day of the trip for me, we decided to go out for a slightly more substantial breakfast than usual. The venue was Boston Tea Party
England Grand Tour (2021): Days 18-19: Return to Bristol & A day in Bath
Day 18: Monday Today was probably the most low-key day of the trip. We drove from Borehamwood back to Bristol Airport, returned the rental car and completed the journey to
England Grand Tour (2021): Day 17: Bletchley Park & St Albans
Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is a country house and estate which is now within the boundaries of Milton Keynes, the largest town in Buckinghamshire. It became the main centre for
England Grand Tour (2021): Day 16: Cambridge and more
Beautiful Cambridge Our first true destination in this second ‘road trip within a trip’ was a new one for Bruce: the beautiful university city of Cambridge. Although I had visited
England Grand Tour (2021): Days 12-15: Based in Bristol & On the Road once more
Day 12: Tuesday The day began with another complimentary Hilton breakfast, and we both reverted to the ‘full English’ option. In due course, we took the Central Line from Holland
England Grand Tour (2021): Day 11: South Bank to East End
Bank Holiday Monday got underway with another complimentary breakfast, thanks to Bruce’s status with Hilton. This time, we both decided on a lighter, more continental approach to the first meal
England Grand Tour (2021): Day 10: A London Sunday ‘Wellcome’
Today began with a well executed and Covid-compliant breakfast at the ‘Hilton Ken’, as we had taken to calling it. Bruce and I both opted for a slimmed-down cooked option.
England Grand Tour (2021): Day 9: And so to London
We hit the jackpot with this morning’s breakfast, which was at The Coffee Shop in tiny Sherfield on Loddon. The venue turned out to be a lovely, welcoming place attached
England Grand Tour (2021): Day 8: When visiting Surrey, best not be in a hurry
Off to Guildford We drove into Hook and had breakfast at an independent coffee shop there, agreeing afterwards that it had been nothing special. After briefly returning to Tylney Hall