Traveling With Judi . . . .

This is the peaceful back porch area, a lovely space to enjoy the beautiful view!!   I made it to France a couple days ago and oh my goodness - what a beautiful place I will be staying in for the next few months!! The back yard is like a park with beautiful trees providing privacy and birdsong throughout the day, and I can already feel my soul settling in for a good rest!! My cozy room with morning sun streaming through the windows Gotta watch out for the "concussion beams" on the way to the bathroom - especially at night!! I had a wonderful time getting to know the homeowner and her brood (one very sweet and sometimes rambunctious dog and two darling kittens who sleep together in a basket – so cute).  As she was showing me around the property, she showed me two darling guest cottages and said "because of course you may want to have guests come visit you, yes?" What a lovely, generous woman she is! One of two "guest cottages" for any

The other day before leaving London, I decided to take the bus that leaves not far from where I was staying (just to see what sights I might be able to see along the way), then walk “a little bit” from where the bus ended to Buckingham Palace.  I saw a lot of beautiful architecture while riding on the bus and even passed St. Paul’s Cathedral and park – very beautiful and very old!!  After “alighting” from the bus (I love that British word they use on the bus recording – “please alight here for” ….whatever the station or stop is) – anyway after getting off the bus, I headed in the direction of Buckingham Palace and walked…and walked….and WALKED!!! St. James Castle Somehow in the maze that IS the center of London (amidst all the chaos of tourists milling about everywhere!!!), I wandered almost 4 miles – at first looking for Buckingham Palace, then searching for my return bus (which I finally found – next to a Starbucks – whew)!!  It probably would have been helpful to have a map

I can’t believe it’s been over a week since I left Portland – seems like much longer than that (and yet time has passed so quickly), and I’ve hardly written anything other than a few “here’s what I’ve been doing” emails to a few people!  So I thought I’d post a quick update… I had a pretty eventful flight – RUNNING through the airport at JFK to catch my flight (the last one of the evening)!!  Missing it would have really messed up all my scheduled planning so I was feeling pretty stressed on my flight from Minneapolis to New York, but I did my best to just BREATHE and trust that all would happen as it was meant to (and maybe I’d meet someone unexpected or learn some lesson if I missed my flight)!!   Fortunately I made it onto the plane and arrived into London Heathrow in plenty of time to catch my transportation to Worthing, England (on the south coast not far from Brighton).  I had a wonderful week in Worthing –  enjoyed walking along the sea and visiting the pier/shopping area (o