Wallingford

The first home I bought in the UK was in the small market town of Wallingford. Located just outside of Oxford it sits right on the river Thames . It is quintessential English market town. Maybe next year we will come stay here for a few months. It was Market day “Easy Peelers”

In 1975 I took my first transatlantic flight. I was 20 years old and heading to Europe for 2 months . I flew from LA to NYC and then from JFK to HEATHROW   I flew TWA and still remember the first time seeing Eero Saarinen’s iconic terminal.  Many times later I flew from this same terminal until TWA was no more and they shuttered the place..  I was thrilled to see that the terminal was now reopening this year after almost 20 years as a hotel . Naturally, this was the perfect place to stay the night before we kicked off are RWT journey 

The terminal had been meticulously restored and looks fantastic.  I love how voluptuous the architecture is and yet how modern.  So glad they preserved it and we got to stay here …twister anyone ?

So my first stop is for thanksgiving and to pick up the other half.  John feels about Philly the way I do about NC. This is his home and mine part time.   It’s a great city. I love walking Philadelphia especially in the fall. You are constantly discovering new things walking here. Secret courtyards, strange street art, fantastic murals and great places to eat or drink. So much history here and its everywhere.  I always feel blessed that I found Philadelphia. It was an accident and yet seems so serendipitous.  

As John was already in Philadelphia it was my job to close down the house for three months- turning appliances off, adjusting thermostats, cleaning out the refrigerator and securing all the gates and outdoor furniture.,arranging for Patrick to watch the house and our world class neighbor Evelyn to have our contact numbers…finally taking the boat to the marina for the off season. It’s all part of the journey. I got it all done and I felt almost disconnected as I docked the boat? I drove away on a classic crisp NC day thinking three months is a long time to be gone and wow three months how fantastic,

A few months ago John and I were discussing Christmas plans and what to do after we visited my sister in Cyprus for the Holidays. You should know that John is an excellent traveler but he hates long flights. While I can easily curl up with a few books and movies and an Ambiem for a 17 hour flight, 6 or 7 hours is really his maximum. He also hates to backtrack. So I thought what could we do that wouldn’t require a long flight and not have us backtrack…..I know we will just keep going east. Thus our East till West journey was born. As we planned the trip I wanted to revisit some places I had been before but also take in some new sites and experiences. Therefore, its a nice mix of old London, Budapest, Cyprus, Bangkok, Siem Reap , Singapore,Hong Kong and new, Cruising the Danube, Dubai, Coastal Cambodia , DaNang, Ho Chi Minh City, and Nha Trang.

So, were off……