We are having a wonderful holiday in the UK -- so busy, in fact, that I've not found the time to write in this journal for the last few days.
But let me try to catch up a bit . . .
On Thursday, our last day in London,
we sort of "took it easy", just wandering around to visit a few sites and get some necessary shopping done. We walked down to Covent Garden in the morning to look at some boots for me, and we were lucky to find a young shoe expert at an outdoor sports store.In a short time, he helped us find an excellent pair of boots for me, and we walked out with smiles and fine new boots. In the afternoon, we took a walk around the famous Bloomsbury neighborhood, using a booklet of famous people in London. It was a great adventure for both of us, especially since it took us through two small, beautiful parks. In one, there was a statue of Mohandas Ghandhi (around which an old Indian fellow was carefully sweeping leaves and tidying up)
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| and a huge stone with a plaque honoring all the conscientious objectors who "refused to kill fellow human beings". |
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| Plaque honoring conscientious objectors |
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On Friday, we spent most of the day in the car, driving north and west into Somerset, where we arrived at the HF house in Selworthy
in the late afternoon. We checked in, had some delicious scones and tea, met some of our fellow walkers, and capped off the day with a delicious three-course meal in the dining room.
Yesterday, Saturday, our first full day in Somerset, we took a long and (for me) very tiring walk across stunningly beautiful countryside -- from rolling moors to serene old forests to the banks of foaming white rivers. It was so good to be back among this magnificent scenery. The climbs were sometimes steep and the pace felt too fast for me (both because it wore me out and because I kept wanting to stop for pictures and reflections), but it was a totally enjoyable day for me. I rested well last night after such a happily exhausting day.
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