Week 11: Farewell to My Fabulous Fifties – The Bathroom Edition

Hello on this beautiful Monday. I am not sure what the weather is doing but it is a beautiful Monday to me because my bathroom is done! There are no painters, plumbers, contractors or workers of any kind. As nice as they all are, it’s great to have our home all to ourselves again! In fact I think I’ll do a celebratory lap in my jammies!

So this edition, week 11, will primarily focus on our bathroom reveal. Our home is 21 years old and the bathroom is original to the house. The before photos don’t show it well, but the tile was cracked in spots and the space was in need of a general update. Our contractor Tony did a great job from start to finish and I would happily recommend him without reservation. He was honest, hardworking and always showed up on time. He was also priced fairly. We really felt lucky! We are delighted with the way it turned out. This bathroom is used as our back-up bathroom when time is tight and we both need to shower and it also serves as a guest bathroom. We had a new steam sauna installed. Our old one had been broken for quite a while, so we are really looking forward to putting that sauna to good use. So here are a few before and after photos.

Surprisingly, we found this vanity at Lowes and it was exactly what we had in mind. It came with the sink and marble vanity top. We decided to eliminate the wall mirrors and just place one individual mirror above the vanity.

I stripped off the wallpaper (not fun) and we opted for wainscoting along the walls with a tile border running around the room. It also serves as a backsplash to the vanity.

We opted for a rain shower and a hand held shower. We had a niche built in for bath products.

Hand-held shower in addition to rain shower and bench for using the steam sauna.

I scoured Instagram for quite a while to collect all the bathroom images I liked and looked for commonalities between the photos to help make decisions. We opted to go from a beige palate to a gray and green palate to coordinate with our recent basement remodel. The green in the photo actually doesn’t translate well. Our paint color was Seasalt from Sherwin Williams with Extra-white for trim and wainscoting. Our tile is a linen-look from Virginia tile with coordinating Agate Bari Pearl with variations for trim and shower floor. Our plumbing fixtures were from Builders Plumbing and Heating Supply and Ferguson Plumbing, both in Ann Arbor. Now that it is complete, I am so happy we undertook the project. It took 3 1/2 weeks from start to finish but that includes a week where nothing was done, the contractor was finished but we were waiting for the painter and shower door. The shower door had to be custom made due to sizing, and was done by Mirror Image. The artwork on the wall adjacent to the vanity was a watercolor we purchased years ago in Saugatuck, which I had re-matted in gray. I found the Bless Our Nest mixed media piece at Bed Bath and Beyond. If you want any names of people or products, don’t hesitate to reach out.

So, that’s a wrap for our bathroom redo! But because owning a house provides a revolving carousel of never-ending projects, our next few undertakings will be having our wood floors refinished and replacing the laundry room countertop. Onward and upward.

In other news, I have found THE wine! Many thanks to Amanda, a member of my husband’s office team, for sending it my way! I have been trying wines from Italy, France, California and Washington, but I should have known that deep down I am a Michigan girl at heart. This 2016 Muscat is from Shady Lane Cellars located in Michigan’s Leelanau Peninsula. It’s described as elegant and fresh with aromas and flavors of orange and apple blossoms, tangerine and a clean vibrant finish. It is not too sweet and strikes just the right crisp note for my palate. I still love me some Grand Traverse Late Harvest Riesling but this will provide a nice alternative when I’m not in the mood for sweet. I enjoyed it with barbecue chicken, fresh corn and a salad made with produce from our local farm-stand (shout out to Budd’s Produce). And as a further bonus, I know I will always remember the name of this wine because my family nickname is Lane. I find it pretty humorous or perhaps poetic justice that its name is Shady Lane. I believe I can confidently check off item # 46 on my list (find a new favorite wine) I also believe I see a road trip up to Shady Lane Cellars in my future!

Chicken was still on the grill while we enjoyed yummy salad and corn from Budd’s Produce in Belleville. Shady Lane Muscat was the perfect accompaniment to this summer meal.

Moving on, my Duolingo streak remains intact at 712 days. French class resumes after summer hiatus on Monday. I’m still meditating using the Headspace app. I’ve even tried a walking meditation which I liked. I’ve done yoga using my Nordic Track and I’ve managed to squeeze in a total of 30 workouts on my way to 50, including a walk along a Hawaiian beach, and a stroll through both Antarctica and Vienna. I am way ahead of schedule. I’ve read a few more books (Unsheltered, Year One, The Education of Dixie Dupree). Very different reads but all were enjoyable. I am currently reading John Grisham’s new book, The Reckoning, which will be book #43. I am 84% of the way to my goal of 50 for the calendar year, and 14 books ahead of schedule. This will give me a cushion when I dive back into the last book in the Poldark Series, which is entails reading 688 pages of very small print and always seems to slow me down!

We are getting close to the debut of our dog Kobe’s new tricks. (yes, I said tricks with an s!) Turns out you CAN teach an old dog a new trick …or two! In looking over my list, there are still quite a few things that can ONLY be done in warmer weather, so I need to keep plugging away at them. We head up north next week where I hope to check a few more items off of my bucket list and take a few photos of the lovely upper peninsula to share with all of you. Make it a great and productive week and like Kobe, why not challenge yourself to try something new this week too? As always, if you want to check out the original bucket list here is a link to the blog post. Make it a great week. Now where’d I leave that wine glass?

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Week 10: Farewell to My Fabulous Fifties

Hello from Boston where I am tackling item #49 on my bucket list, sightseeing in Boston! Well, actually by the time you are reading this I will be back home in Michigan. Mike and I were in Boston for a long weekend so he could attend a conference of some of the nations’ top Invisalign providers. I got the better end of this deal because while he was pow-wowing, I was out exploring Boston. Well, actually I was “in” exploring Boston. Because of unseasonably high temperatures prompting heat advisories, I decided it might be an excellent day to visit the New England Aquarium and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts topped off by a shopping trip to the Prudential Center. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Actually, we rolled into town on Thursday, and due to a flight delay made a bee-line for our dinner reservation at the Top Of The Hub, luggage and all. The restaurant is located in the Prudential Center on the 52nd floor. Thankfully they were more than accommodating in storing our luggage for us. Apparently this must not be too uncommon. We were fortunate enough to have 7:45 dinner reservations and a window seat to Mother Natures’ finest floor show. This was a perfect way to start our trip because we began with a daylight aerial view of the surrounding area and ended by watching the sun fade below the horizon, changing the city into a dazzling array of twinkling lights. I was somewhat concerned that the view may be the big draw, but that was misplaced as we both agreed our meals were spectacular. I enjoyed Lobster ravioli and Mike had a tuna steak. We topped off the meal with Boston Creme Pie of course, which really helped cement my fan status of Boston. Come for the delightful accent of the citizens and stay for the lobster and Boston Creme Pie!

Our night time view of the city. It was memorable watching the sky go from dusk to darkness.

Friday, we had much of the day together and decided to explore the beautiful Public Gardens and Newbury street, which we had noticed on our Uber ride back to the hotel the night before. We stayed in Waltham at the Westin which was about a 25 minute Uber ride to downtown, as that is where the conference was being held. I understand that many people stay in the suburbs and opt to Uber in because of the high prices of the downtown hotels.

Public Garden, adorned with statues and it also boasted a small pond with swan boats (if you like that sort of thing.)

We visited their public library. I love seeing libraries in major cities as it reveals so much about the values and intellect of it’s citizens. This library looked much like a museum. It boasted murals by John Singer Sargent, and was engraved with the names of famous authors throughout history, both on the inside and outside of the building. A library is a bit like my personal church, I approach them with reverence and awe, and this particular library deserved both.

If you look carefully you can make out the names of famous authors engraved on edifice of the building.

What an awesome place to study and read!

We wandered up and down Newbury, stopping for lunch at a little sidewalk cafe, MET Back Bay. I had to have a Lobster roll, because, well, we were in Boston! It was yummy but definitely a bit overpriced for the lobster to roll ratio. ($32). We did enjoy sitting on the sidewalk (well a few steps down from the sidewalk, which seemed to be a thing here in Boston) and people watching while sipping our cocktails, which were the best! Mike had a watermelon margarita, and I had a coconut mojito and both were amazing.We did a little shopping at the Prudential Center then headed back so he could make cocktails and dinner with his colleagues.

Lobster roll, sweet potato fries, watermelon margarita and a coconut mojito, well done Boston!

Saturday, Mike was in conference and I did some exploring. I understand they have an awesome Science Center but I opted to go a different way. Both the New England Aquarium and the Fine Arts Museum are world-class. I highly recommend a visit. I was lucky to stumble on to the Toulouse Latrec exhibit, which I enjoyed. The museum also had a Jackson Pollock installation and an extensive collection of John Singer Sargent, an artist I was only slightly familiar with. I left there a big fan of his work.

I ended up eating at the museum’s dining room as opposed to the aquarium and that was a wise decision. I enjoyed a wonderful vegetable tart. The aquarium had the regular fare you would expect, nothing exceptional. You ordered at a counter and found a seat. The museum however had several different dining options, from family friendly to a little more elegant. I ate at the New American Cafe which had table service and a delightfully unexpected menu, offering both wine and craft beer.

What the aquarium lacked in culinary delights it made up for in an extensive display of both the unusual and the endangered. They did a fabulous job of enlightening their visitors as to the impact of global warming on these animals and what measures we as individuals could take to reduce our carbon footprint (paper straws, reusable water bottles, etc) For instance, penguins feed in cold water, as global warming affects their feeding grounds, the penguins must swim farther out to get food. They feed their young by regurgitating their meal upon their return. With penguins having to swim farther away, many times the meal has already been digested by the time they return, leaving nothing left to feed their chick. This is endangering the penguin population. This is just one of the examples they provided. The aquarium boasts a large center tank which has a ramp going up four stories culminating at the turtle exhibit at the top of the tank. One highpoint was watching as scuba divers entered the center tank and hand fed the fish. The stingrays were pesky fellows, rubbing right up against the divers, basically begging for food like a dog might. It was a remarkable thing to watch! I ended my day with a little shopping at the Prudential Center, which holds not only Top Of The Hub and an observation tower but a mall. Much to my delight Mike decided to skip out of the dinner with his colleagues and joined me for a stroll down Newbury street where we settled on dinner at Joe’s, a blessedly air-conditioned establishment that was able to seat us after a short wait. I enjoyed chicken piccata and Mike had the special, blackened mahi mahi. Both accompanied by the requisite glass of Riesling for me and a cocktail for Mike. Our meals were very good.

The New England Aquarium. Notice the queue for tickets is empty. The line was relocated inside due to heat advisories. It was a good day to be inside!

Sunday, we were up early for breakfast and had the hotel store our luggage. We took an Lyft out to the start of the Freedom Trail, which sounds easier than it was. After a mishap with the Lyft App and a change of driver, we finally made it to our destination. We enjoyed watching history come alive, visiting important historical sites that played vital roles in our American history, such as the old South Meeting House, the site of the tax protest that ended with the uprising known as the Boston Tea Party or the Old State House which held the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence in Boston. What struck me the most was the numerous locations which served as public forums, and the very strong emphasis on freedom of speech, even unpopular speech. The focus was on the right to speak, even if you didn’t care for what is being said. Our founding fathers recognized the importance of that from the start both, for free speech and freedom of the press. In the words of Thomas Jefferson, “Our liberty depends on freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.”

The second stop on the Freedom Trail: The State House. The dome is coated in 23 karat gold. My only question is why 23 karats? Couldn’t they spring for that extra karat. “24 karats? Too much, we can’t do it.”

We also saw the site of the Boston Massacre, Paul Revere’s house and the graves of Paul Revere, Sam Adams and several other well and lesser known Patriots. Seeing these historical figures come alive for me was the best part. They were actual people, not the mythical Gods we revered from the pages of our elementary history books. They were brave people that took risks, and I can’t help but wonder what I would have done. Which side would I have taken, Loyalist or Patriot? I like to think I would have been among the Patriots but of course, who can ever know?

Statue of Paul Revere in the foreground. In the background is the Old North Church. The steeple of this church is the sight where the lanterns were hung from the famous “one if by land and two if by sea.”

We also made a quick pitstop to check out the Harvard Campus, an event we also shared in Mike’s office’s Instagram story.

Harvard’s library is unfortunately not open to the public.

As this post is rather long, I am not going to overly detail my other bucket list items this week. I will mention that I used cilantro from my herb garden to garnish a big batch of white bean chicken chili. The only other accomplishment I wish to share is my 700 day streak in Duolingo. I am waiting until I reach the 2 year mark at 730 days, to celebrate. Finally, if all goes well, I should be ready to share our bathroom remodel before & after next week.

Signing off for now with these wise words from Benjamin Franklin: “Our Constitution only guarantees you the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.”

So get on out there and pursue your own brand of happiness! See you next week.

Week 9: Farewell to My Fabulous Fifties

Monday already? This week has just flown by! The highlight of our week was a long weekend in Mackinac Island. If you are not from Michigan and are unfamiliar with the island, you are missing out! This is a tiny island, with a coast of 8.2 miles, perfect for biking around the perimeter. It covers 3.8 square miles and much of it is preserved as Mackinac Island State Park. No cars are allowed and travel is done exclusively by bicycle or horse and carriage. It is an area rich in history and serves as a popular tourist draw, attracting both day trippers and those visiting for a few days. My extended family has been coming here for years. My parents stay in their boat at the marina and family members either stay with them or at nearby resorts. Once we arrived, I was excitedly looking forward to checking off a long-awaited item on my bucket. As many years as we’ve been coming here, we’ve never eaten at The Woods, which is a lovely restaurant associated with the Grand Hotel (another popular tourist destination). This Bavarian influenced restaurant is tucked away in the woods (hence the name) and requires a 30-45 minute carriage ride to get to it. My husband, myself and our daughters had six o’clock reservations on a Friday evening. After a leisurely carriage ride, we arrived right on time. Our waiter, Michael, was amazing. He has been working there for over 20 years and his experience and warmth made our evening even better. I ordered a grilled New York strip steak, done perfectly. My daughter Sam enjoyed her spinach Florentine ravioli and my older daughter, Jenna had roasted free range half chicken. My husband ordered the crispy maple duck breast. All of our entrees were delicious and even the sides were yummy. I especially liked the red cabbage. We ordered 3 desserts to taste, a mango cheesecake, chocolate hazelnut tart with dark cherry jubilee sauce and vanilla cake donut topped with Mackinac Fudge Ice cream. All were wonderful. It was a bit of a splurge, but the experience was memorable and worth it!

We were on the island from Thursday to Sunday morning, arriving by ferry and staying at The Harbour View Inn. It is possible to fly in, and we’ve done so if we are just staying the day. My husband pilots an older Mooney but the airstrip is even large enough to accommodate a small jet. We’ve stayed at various hotels over the years, but Harbour View Inn seems to be the one we come back to the most. It’s a short walk to the marina and depending on your room, you may get a little view of the harbor. We requested a suite which has 2 beds along with a siting area with a pull out bed, giving us plenty of space if we have an extra guest or two. Breakfast is included. I did manage to bike the island 4 times, in preparation for that ride to Lake Eerie. My husband Mike and daughter Sam actually ran the island, all 8.2 miles, while my daughter Jenna and I biked it as their support team. I was so proud of them both as this is not a typical run for either of them. This trip is always a memorable one and I am so grateful to be able to continue to make these memories with my family. If you ever have the opportunity to go to Mackinac Island, I highly recommend it. Hiking, kayaking, bicycling, shopping and dining, there’s something for everyone!

My family, (minus my sister and her husband). They only visited for one of the days this year.

Just a little bit of the Grand Hotel. Sadie’s is a family favorite for ice cream.

Another flower garden on the grounds of The Grand Hotel.

As for ongoing items, yes, I am still working out on my Nordic Track. I am at work out 22 with a goal of completing 50. I have maintained my 698 day streak on Duolingo. I always manage to get a lesson in, even on vacation. Our Florida home has broken ground and walls are up, so one step closer to decorating. (hurray!) I finished “Summer of 69” by Elin Hildebrand. It was a great light read. I always enjoy reading her books in the summer and this one did not disappoint. I think I particularly enjoyed the setting of 1969 as it was very reminiscent of my childhood. I am now reading “The Education of Dixie Dupree.” This is our book club meet-up book and I am looking forward to sharing insights. That puts me at book #40 out of my goal of 50 by December 31. I am 74% of the way there, 13 books ahead of schedule. I try to have a safety cushion in the summer when there is a little more time to read. Meditating via the Headspace App continues and weekly yoga is a thing, though just via Youtube this week.

Our bathroom is essentially complete, we are just waiting on some paint touch-ups, and some artwork that I’m having re-matted as well as the glass shower door that is currently being made. I will be excited to share the before/after when the project is complete!

And you guys…guess what? It’s happening and I am so excited! I’ve made my skydiving reservation for August 17th. I am doubly excited because my daughter Jenna wants to jump with me! If anyone else is game to give it a try, feel free to join us on the 17th. Absolutely looking forward to it!

That’s it for this week. We head to Boston next weekend so I hope to have some cool things to share. If you’re curious and you want to check out my original bucket list, the link is below. Make it an awesome week! Geronimoooooo!

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Week 8: Farewell to My Fabulous 50’s

Well I am eight weeks in and feeling pretty satisfied with my progress so far. The check marks are flying and the bucket-list items that require ongoing commitment are also doing well. As Mike was off this week, we had a little more time to accomplish some of the things on our summer wish list (and my bucket-list). Fun fact: I thought we were approaching the midway point of summer, so I googled it. And guess what? Summer is not half over until August 7th. We still have a lot of summer left! Doesn’t that make you feel better? So let’s get on with it, shall we?

The bathroom is rounding home plate. Tony, our contractor extraordinaire and jack of all trades came on Saturday to finish up. The last items needed will be a custom glass door, which is scheduled to be measured by Al, someone Tony recommended, on Tuesday. It also needs painting which I’ve lined up for Tuesday. I picked several paint colors and we narrowed it down to the top two contenders. We painted swatches on the wall and have decided to go with Sherwin Williams Seasalt. Did we make the right choice? Let me know what you think! The wainscoting will be Extra-white, also by Sherwin Williams. The last thing we need are all of the accessories, towels, wash cloths, waste baskets, artwork, i.e. the fun stuff! I’ll wait to share bathroom pictures though until the final product.

Unfortunately the true colors didn’t translate well. They are a bit lighter than this appears.

I also used my herb garden to prepare a dish this week, Skinny Teriakyi Pork Chops topped with a few chives from the garden. It’s from a recipe I printed off the internet a few years ago. It was yummy! I wish I could attribute the recipe to someone however, despite an exhaustive internet search, I couldn’t relocate this exact recipe, just variations of it. Here is the recipe:

Skinny Pineapple Teriakyi Pork Chops

20 oz can Pineapple Slices in 100% juice, (reserve 1/2 cup juice)

1/4 cup less sodium soy sauce

2 TBSP brown sugar

2 TBSP rice vinegar

1/4 tsp ground ginger

4 -40z boneless pork chops, trimmed of fat

1 tsp fresh chives, chopped

In a small bowl prepare marinade. Whisk together pineapple juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar and ground ginger.
Place pork chops in a large resealable bag and cover with marinade. Seal bag and place pork chops in the fridge for 3-4 hours or overnight. If possible, turn bag every hour or so to evenly cover pork cops with marinade.
Remove pork chops from bag. DO NOT DISCARD MARINADE.
In a small sauce pan over medium heat, bring marinade to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer sauce for 15-17 minutes until sauce thickens, making sure to stir sauce frequently. After sauce has thickened, remove from heat and place in a small dish. You will use this marinade sauce while grilling pork chops and pineapple.
Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. Lightly coat grill rack with nonstick cooking spray.
Place pork chops on grill and brush often with marinade sauce while cooking. Cook pork chops on each side for 4-5 minutes or until cooked through.
Delicately add pineapple slices to grill and cook for 1-2 minutes on both sides.
Let pork chops rest for 2-4 minus before serving.
To serve, place a grilled pineapple on top of each pork chop and sprinkle with chives.

Serving size is 1 pork chop/1 pineapple slice, 268 calories

Skinny Teriakyi Pork Chops topped with garden chives and a side of my “special” coleslaw.

Yoga lakeside was ah-mazing! (bucket list item #50) Thanks to my sister-in-law Sharon and my niece Ashley, our instructors, for the excellent start to our day. Thanks also to Katherine for sharing her beautiful lake-front with us. Class started at 10:30am and it was H*O*T*. It felt like what I imagine hot yoga must feel like. Sweaty. Despite the heat, it was an amazing class. I know the heat seemed to improve my flexibility, but the best part for me was, as we were resting in savasana, a gentle cleansing rain came and cooled us off. Thank you Mother Nature!

Favorite way to do yoga: Outdoors with friends.

We tried a new restaurant, San Morello (bucket-list item #11). This little gem is located in the new Shinola Hotel in downtown Detroit. We brought Mike’s stepmom, Louise, out to lunch there for her birthday. The atmosphere was lovely and everyone’s meals were delicious. We ordered 2 dips with bread for our starters: Sheep’s milk ricotta with hot honey and garlic and also Italian butter bean wild mushroom sott’aceto. Both were yummy though I especially liked the ricotta dip. Louise ordered a traditional breaded eggplant al forno, (Melanzane for you Italians out there.) I had a classic tomato, mozzarella, basil wood-fired pizza, and Mike ordered Tuna tartare as an entree. Our waitress was very good and I would absolutely go back. We opted to sit inside as it was extremely hot but they do offer patio seating and I’ll bet it’s lovely on a cool summer evening. Here is a link to their website if you want to check it out for yourself. https://www.sanmorello.com

San Morello. You can see the patio dining to the left.

After lunch, we walked around the city a bit and discovered this cute little coffee shop, Madcap Coffee, next to The Brakeman. It had large windows that open in the summer, allowing you to place your order street-side. We ordered their summer blend, which we enjoyed before heading home.

Awaiting our coffee. Bonus: a good place to people-watch.

Newsflash on the wine front: I may have a contender here for new favorite wine. I gave the waitress at San Morello my likes and dislikes and, after conferring with the bartender, she suggested I try a white wine from central Italy, Verdicchio Classico Castelli di Jesi Felici 2017, Marche. It was $12 by the glass, and I was able to find it online from $14-$20 a bottle depending on the vendor. If you, like me, prefer less dry white wines, with crisp fruit notes, you might like this one. Currently, it is my top contender for new favorite wine!

Top contender so far for new favorite wine!

Bucket-list item #43 was a sunrise breakfast on the pontoon. Mission accomplished. We got up early on July 4th before the lake gets busy and had a lovely little sausage/egg/English muffin sandwich with fresh pineapple orange juice, and fruit. I hope we are able to do this a few more times this summer. What an awesome way to start the day!

Breakfast on the boat. Don’t mind if I do!

On Sunday, we had planned to tackle that bike ride to Lake Eerie but we decided to take a raincheck. Literally. Rain would have affected much of our ride and why make it unpleasant when we don’t have to?

As you can see, it was a busy week. Hope you all had a happy and safe July 4th. Until next week, happy trails!

Week 7 Farewell to My Fabulous 50’s Tour

It’s been a busy week and I’m sure you’ve been busy as well, so I’ll keep this short and sweet. We are making progress on our bathroom remodel and hope to wrap up all but the painting by July 4th. So far we’re on track. Our contractor, Tony has been doing a great job and we are delighted with the progress being made! He even worked on Saturday to help ensure he meets the deadline. Have I mentioned he’s awesome?

Making headway in the shower. The wall tiles are in, just need to add accent tiles, the fixtures and grout!

The cabinet and grouting as well as the wainscoting are next up.

My husband, Mike and I invited our friend Dave to come along on a “warm-up” bike ride before we tackle #32 on my list, riding our bikes to Lake Eerie. That ride will be 40 miles. Today’s route up to Flat Rock, was a little over 20. My only mistake was not wearing my cycling pants with the padded seat. I thought the padding Mother Nature so amply provided me with would be enough. Silly girl. I think we might be ready to tackle that longer ride soon but I’m definitely wearing cycling pants for that one!

20mile bike ride + no cycling pants= foolish lady

As far as things that are ongoing, the Duolingo streak of 684 days is intact and my crown level is 879 (for anyone familiar with Duolingo). I did a stretch morning yoga on Sunday via Youtube and I am up to 19 workouts on the Nordic Track. I am currently in the middle of Bora Bora beach bootcamp. I am still enjoying the adventure aspect of the workout and it’s been fun learning trivia about each workout location.

Bucket List Item #18: I am currently at book # 37, and am 72% towards my goal of 50. At this pace, I am 12 books ahead of schedule. My most recent reads were The Island Of Sea Women by Lisa See, The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware and I am currently reading When Life Gives You Lululemons. I very much enjoyed Lisa See’s book. She is a favorite author of mine and I’ve read and enjoyed most all of her books. Ruth Ware’s gothic mystery was good and I finished it quickly but it didn’t have any “ah hah!” moment for me. I’ll keep you posted on When Life Gives You Lululemons.

I am still meditating with the Headspace App and using visualization. The series I am currently on for Headspace is “Balance.” It has become a quiet and necessary part of my day. I have also been continuing work with our dog Kobe. He can play dead pretty well, still working on that tale wag though. I have been trying to get him to jump through a hoop and that is a work in progress. I am looking forward to sharing video of his tricks once we’ve perfected them. If all else fails, there may be some humorous out-takes.

This is Kobe. He is a good boy and a fast learner.

And finally, the jet-ski is in the water. I took it out for a quick spin and am looking forward to touring around the lake a bit more this summer. That’s it for this week. I hope to have more to report next week. Enjoy this beautiful weather we’ve been having, and have a safe and happy July 4th.

Week 6 Of Farewell to My Fabulous 50’s Tour

The weather has finally been beautiful and we’ve been busy with yard work and cleaning the boat. Of course, when your boat is clean it’s mandatory to take it out for a spin, because, why wouldn’t you? In addition to the chores and pleasures that come along with the nice weather, the bathroom renovation continues to occupy much of my time. It is coming along well and our contractor, Tony, has remained true to his word. He shows up and stays all day and does the work. We anticipate being done in about another 1 1/2 weeks. The drywall is repaired and ready for sanding. On Monday, he continues with the plumbing. Excited for each new phase! Here are a few pictures of the work in progress.

Work in progress: mirror removed, all cabinets, plumbing fixtures and tile removed. This is the “yikes” phase.

I am excited to report that one of my herb gardens is thriving. It looks and smells great! The other, I’m afraid will need transplanting. As it happens, this pot has no drainage and the plants were too wet with all the rain we’ve had. The chives, a sad little cilantro and a single spindly twig of dill are the only survivors. I will transplant them but I am trying to decide whether or not to replace the herbs I’ve lost. On a happier note, I did harvest some basil and made a mini caprese salad as a side with our BLTS one evening. You guys, if you haven’t tried Rachel Ray’s Drizzle Reduction with Balsamic Vinegar, you are missing out. So yummy!

Thriving! Parsley, basil, sage, and rosemary.

Lost a couple plants and the survivors don’t appear very healthy. Need to give this guy a transplant and then a little intensive care. (Why do cardiac nurses always seem to revert back to familiar terminology? Or maybe it’s just me.)

Mini caprese salad with fresh basil and balsamic reduction drizzle

I have to admit that the recent sky-diving plane accident in Hawaii has me a little spooked. I’ve not scheduled my jump yet, but have been perusing Youtube watching videos to prepare myself. After a bit of reflection and a good self-pep talk, I have decided I just need to do it! I will be jumping tandem instead of solo and plan to use Skydive Tecumseh. If anyone has any feedback on them, I would appreciate hearing it.

On the language front, my French class is now on hiatus until end of July. C’est la vie. I continue with daily Duolingo and have maintained my streak, currently at 675 days. I hope to meet up with a few of my classmates at least once over this break.

In the search for a new wine, I sampled and loved a Washington Riesling (Chateau Ste. Michelle Harvest Select Sweet Riesling, Columbia Valley, vintage 2017) which was delicious. Almost all of the rieslings I’ve sampled have been very good. And fun fact: I’ve learned that the high sugar content of rieslings make them age well. So despite many white wines “going bad,” sweeter rieslings apparently will still do well if left on the shelf for a while. Good to know but somehow they never end up on the shelf very long around here. I’ve come to the conclusion that I would like to find a different varietal, OTHER than Reisling, which I already know I love. All suggestions are welcome!

A comfy chair, good wine and a good book. #winning

I am in the process of teaching Kobe a new trick (#31 on the bucket list). This resonates with me because it is pretty emblematic of my whole blog, teaching an old dog a new trick. He is a quick study! I’m teaching him to play dead (which he’s almost perfected except for the telltale tail wag). He’s a clever guy! Now we are working on getting him to jump through a hoop, thanks to some tips from my bootcamp coach, Shirley, who is also a dog breeder and trainer extraordinaire! She knows her stuff because we are making progress daily. I will share a video of both tricks once we’ve perfected them.

My Nordic track work-outs continue. I am doing a bootcamp series on the beach in Bora Bora. I have completed 17 work outs of my goal of 50 for the year, which I believe puts me 10 ahead of schedule. My favorite moment so far is when a group of dogs joined the trainer on the beach while she was running. It felt spontaneous and real and made me smile while running, which almost never happens. Have I mentioned I don’t care for running? I also did a simple yoga stretch class at home to fulfill my weekly goal.

Dogs! They were “fishing” in between running along with the trainer.

I am on book # 35 of my 50 book goal for the 2019 calendar year, which is 11 books ahead of schedule. I finished book #11 of the Poldark series and am going to read a few summer reads before tackling the last book of the series. I finished The Right Time by Danielle Steel. (Thanks April) Ms. Steel is not an epic writer, but she is a good story-teller. I am currently reading a book using Overdrive from one of my favorite authors, Lisa See, Island of Sea Women. I just started it last evening. So far, so good. (Thanks Kelley for putting it on my radar.)

So, that’s it for this week. I need to get that skydive on the schedule. I’ll just keep reminding myself that growth won’t occur in my comfort zone. Let’s hope this beautiful weather continues. Make it a great week and I hope you all continue to find new ways to grow and thrive.

Week 5 Of Farewell to My Fabulous 50’s Tour

This week has been a busy one! Most of my time and effort has been directed towards our kitchen and bathroom renovations. I am happy to report we are making great progress! Much of the kitchen has been done. The only things left to do in the kitchen are to paint the shiplap and to accessorize it to suit the new vibe. Our old cottage kitchen pastel accessories just don’t suit the space. I have to go on record as saying our contractor Tony has been awesome so far. He’s on time, on budget and a hard worker. Mike and I are very pleased with the results. In the kitchen, he put in a glass tile backsplash and a new sink and faucet as well as added shiplap to the front of the breakfast bar area. He accomplished all of this in two and a half days. My job was to be on top of purchasing the sink, faucet, tile and grout. I picked out some new cabinet hardware and Mike and I replaced those ourselves. Overall, we are delighted.

Next up is the bathroom space. Can I just say how much I dislike stripping wallpaper! YUCK! What a job. Happy to report that part is finished. After a mishap with a back-ordered tile selection, we finally arrived at our final decision. We are going with a linen look tile and a mosaic accent tile in grays, whites and creams. Mike and I also hauled all 900 pounds (really, 900 pounds!!) of tile down the back steps. He did the bulk of the heavy lifting. I forgot how many little decisions go into a bathroom remodel. I’ve picked out a light fixture and towel bars. Mike and I ended up going to a specialty shop for the shower heads though. We wanted a rain shower and a hand held shower as well as body sprays which we just weren’t finding at the big box stores. Tony returns on Tuesday to start in on the bathroom. Can’t wait for it all to go in and to share the final result with everyone!

Wall paper stripping was not my favorite thing to do. It was hard and I have the blisters and calluses to prove it!

In other bucket-list items, my random act of kindness for this week was letting an elderly gentleman with just a few items in his cart ahead of me. My Duolingo streak continues with day #670 and crown level at # 817. I’ve jumped a level up to Saphire and my new goal is just to stay in the top 10 on the leader board, which has been challenging. I continue with my French class which is coming to a close this week. My teacher, David, is taking a hiatus until the end of July and classes will resume then for me. In the meantime, I will continue listening to Pimsleur French V in my car and plan to review all we’ve learned in class.

I’ve done a couple more Nordic Track work-outs. One was a stroll along the Seine and the other a walk along a beach in Bora Bora. That puts me up to 12 out of a goal of 50. Daily meditation continues, using the Headspace App, as does visualization.Visualization must work because I have been visualizing ourselves in our Florida home and we just got word that they are breaking ground in two weeks instead of August. We are psyched about that! I also did a relaxing yoga flow via Youtube. We had to postpone our lake-side yoga class but looking forward to being able to do it soon!

Strolling along the Seine and later a view of Notre Dame.

With my reading goal, I am still on Poldark series book #11 The Twisted Sword but happy to report I am rounding home base with a book on deck (thanks to April!). My new recipe for this month was again from The Doctor’s Diet, a chicken vegetable stir-fry which Mike really enjoyed. As usual, I’ve altered it a bit to suit our tastes. Recipe to follow.

Chicken Veggie Stir Fry

Olive Oil cooking spray

1 pound chicken cut into bite size pieces

1 yellow pepper cut into 1 inch strips

1 red pepper cut into 1 inch strips

1 cup broccoli florets, chopped

3 celery stalks, chopped

1/2 cup fat-free, reduced sodium beef broth

2 TBSP low-sodium soy sauce

1 TBSP chili paste (more if you like spicy)

Spray skillet with olive oil cooking spray. Over medium high heat, stir fry meat until cooked through. Remove to a plate. Turn off the heat and spray pan with more olive oil spray. Over medium heat stir-fry the veggies and cook until crisp-tender. Combine the broth, soy sauce and chili paste, stir into vegetables, add meat back into the pan and heat for 2-3 minutes. Top with cashews. Make 4 servings.

Adapted from The Doctor’s Diet by Dr. Travis Stork

I’ve reached out to friends and family this week and enjoyed a Fathers’ Day barbecue at my parents. Have I mentioned my mom is amazing and hosts our family almost every single holiday? Now I have!

I am still working on finding that new favorite wine. I tried two. Both sounded promising but neither delivered. The Rosé was in a super cute bottle with a rose on the bottom and a glass stopper but that was where it peaked. Despite the fact that I generally like Rosés, I really didn’t care for this wine. The second wine, San Angelo, an Italian Pinot Grigio, sounded promising in it’s description: fresh fruit-forward bouquet with notes of pear, banana, peach, anise and honey; rich and full-bodied with a long finish. How could I say no to a banana note. I’ve never seen a wine mention banana before, so intriguing! But…uhmmm..no. Not the one. I didn’t taste much in the way of fruit notes, but of course, my palate is not really that developed. I do, however, know what I like! The quest continues.

Rose bottom of the bottle was the best thing about this wine.

Notes of banana? Nope, at least not for me.

Unfortunately the jet-ski is STILL sitting in the drive-way. Of course, whenever we have time to do it, it’s raining! Maybe next week.

I hope everyone had a fantastic Father’s Day! We brought Mike to brunch at Parc, one of our favorite restaurants. It is located in Campus Martius, Detroit and featured some great menu items and an amazing vocalist. I wish I knew her name (think Jewel).

I am anticipating next week focusing primarily on the bathroom remodel but I do hope to squeeze a few more things in. From our family to yours, we hope you all had an amazing Fathers’ Day! Until next week.

Happy Fathers’ Day from our family to yours!

Week 4 of Farewell to My Fabulous Fifties Tour

Just taking a minute at the end of the day to appreciate the sunset. This should have been on my bucket list!

Unfortunately, I’ve no exciting destinations to share with you today so we’ll just get right to it. #4 on my bucket list was home modernization and I am happy to report it is underway. In fact, it has pretty much been the focus of my week. We met with our contractor, Tony, this week and reviewed our plans. We are doing some minor cosmetic updates to our downstairs kitchen and a complete remodel of our lower level bathroom. I did some shopping for plumbing fixtures, ordered faucets for both downstairs bath and kitchen and a sink for the kitchen. I also purchased the glass tile for the kitchen backsplash. Mike and I went tile shopping and have our selection made for the bath. Our bathroom sink/vanity should be delivered today and we will finalize the floor tile once we see it with the vanity. We are hopeful that Tony will start work this week. I’ve already started stripping the wallpaper to prep for his arrival. I will post some before pictures here and share updates as the project moves along.

Kitchen Before (we’ve already replaced the microwave and the refrigerator. We will be replacing the sink and faucet and most likely the cabinet hardware. We’re also adding a glass tile backsplash and shiplap to the front of the bar area.

We will be running shiplap along the front of the bar.

Ongoing items include random acts of kindness. I admit that I’ve been slacking here. Besides holding open doors and letting people in front of me in traffic, I did rifle through my purse to come up with some needed change for the guy in front of me at the vet’s office. They’re small things, but kindness comes in all sizes and sometimes the smallest act can make a big difference to someone. Therefore I plan to be doing kindnesses in every size.

As far as reading: I am on book #34 of my 50 book goal which puts me 66% of the way there and 12 books ahead of schedule. I managed to get a lot of reading done on that long European flight. I finished Howard’s End, and read The Bride Test and Small Fry, the autobiography by Steve Jobs daughter. It was an interesting read and an intimate look at Steve Jobs as a dad. (Sidenote: I don’t think I would have wanted him for my dad, no matter how much money he had.) I am currently 1/3 way through book #11 of the Poldark series, The Twisted Sword. As it’s a 600 page book, unless I suddenly have a bunch a free time, which is unlikely, it may take a while. Happy to report I am using Overdrive and for the most part it’s been great. For those that are unfamiliar, it’s a library app that let’s you borrow digital books. The only downside is there are limited “copies” available, so you if you want a popular read, it may take a while to actually be able to borrow the book. Two of the books I read on the plane were using Overdrive.

We went to a new-to-us restaurant, Granite City Food and Brewery in Northville where I once again tried to find my new favorite wine. I told our waiter my guidelines and asked him to suggest something. He thought Yes Way Rosé would fit the bill. While it had many of the qualities I enjoy in a wine, it still wasn’t “the one.” I had French onion soup and sweet potato fries which I shared with Mike who had a flat bread pizza. The food was good. If either of us were beer drinkers, there would have been plenty of options. The restaurant reminds me of a BJs in appearance. If we are ever out that way again, I would go back. When I envisioned trying a new restaurant every month, I thought they would be in Detroit, but lately we’ve found ourselves running errands out in the suburbs. If you’re a fan (like I am) of the restaurant scene in Detroit, we hope to make it to some new Detroit places in the future.

Yes Way Rosé, reliable pick, but still not “the one.”

As far as language, I have maintained my 662 day Duolingo streak and work to stay in the top 5 in my level which is currently gold. I have been faithfully attending my class at Alliance De Francais and have been working to grasp the differences between COD and COI. Sometimes the vocabulary can be challenging! In the words of Steve Martin, “Boy, those French: they have a different word for everything.”

I am up to ten workouts on my Nordic Track, with a goal of 50. This week, I’ve walked through the Streets of Morocco and the lavender fields of Hawaii and I am still enjoying the process. I also did a Yoga Stretch With Adrienne online class. I am on the look out for online yoga classes without a lot of chaturanga or too many downward dogs as I still struggle with my left shoulder. If anyone has any suggestions send them my way. I am very much looking forward to lakeside yoga class this summer.

I had fun meeting for lunch and shopping with my mom last week and seeing family at my adorable grand niece’s first birthday party. Love spending time with family! We also attended 2 fun graduation parties this weekend. (bucket list item#28)

I meditated and visualized daily. I am laying the groundwork for that kayaking ride. (bucket-list item #39) I hosed down and cleaned the kayaks and put them lakeside (with a little help from Mike). However, in one fail, our jet-ski is STILL sitting on the trailer!

If you would like to revisit the original bucket-list, here’s the link. https://wordpress.com/block-editor/page/farewelltomy50s.home.blog/10

There’s always more to do. Here’s to checking things off and getting things done! I hope you have a happy and productive week.

Week 3 of The Farewell to My Fabulous Fifties Tour: London Edition

London is amazing. I am not sure what I expected it to be but it far surpassed anything that I had imagined. The buildings are gorgeous. Everywhere you turn there is a picturesque little street or a fabulous structure with architectural details that awe and delight! We’ve done a tremendous amount of walking averaging 6-10 miles a day, and Mike even more as he’s run a couple of early mornings through the streets of London. My verdict: London is a bucket-list-worthy destination without a doubt!

This week has truly been memorable. We started Monday by paying a visit to the Museum of Natural History. The structure alone is worth a visit. It is incredibly detailed in carvings which are unique from one another. The building very much represents the natural world which it was intended to showcase. It is a mind-blowing piece of architecture. Richard Owens, the naturalist who founded this museum campaigned for it as a “cathedral to nature,” which it truly is!

Each column has intricate carvings representing various forms of flora and fauna.

The main entry from above showing the Blue Whale skeleton that hangs in the front hall. The skeleton alone weighs 3 tons and is impressive to view from every angle.

This was the moon exhibit. It was a glowing replica of the moon hung in the center of a darkened room. Here is Mike “holding up” the moon (as did almost every visitor to the exhibit) There is so much to see at this museum, but I am going to keep it to these few photos as I’ve still got so much of London to share with you.

We spent several hours at the museum and then our next stop was the iconic Harrods. Harrods department store is huge, but my favorite part is nestled in the middle. There are little food shops for cheese, coffee, teas, chocolate, flowers and other specialties. The smells were amazing. These little shops were the busiest in the store.

After Harrods, we grabbed an Uber to Knotting Hill where we ducked into a pretty authentic neighborhood pub called The Elgin Pub and Dining Room. We split a burger and fries. The locals were loudly enjoying a soccer game (football here in the UK). I was observer rather than participant yet felt lucky to be a part of it all! This place has the distinction of being the only place we came across which showed the way to the bathroom with the word “Loos.” I had rather thought it would be more common to see it. We enjoyed taking a stroll through the streets of Notting Hill where the buildings were cute and colorful, full of character.

This quirky little building had Freddy Mercury, Elton John, John Lennon, David Bowie, Mick Jagger and Lady Gaga all hanging out in their windows.

Tuesday morning we were up early, catching an Uber to make our bus connection for a tour to Stonehenge with pitstops in Bath for the Roman baths and the English county of Berkshire to see Windsor Castle. How extraordinary to see these baths sited on a geothermal spring, built 2 millennia ago. We toured the building and then on to Windsor Castle and Stonehenge.

Windsor Castle was completed in 1528 and is the final resting place of many British Royals including Henry VIII.

Stonehenge was a bucket-list item and it lived up to my expectations. If you’ve visited Stonehenge in the past, the grounds surrounding it have been redone to include a visitor center, and parking has been re-located a bit away from the stones with a shuttle bus or a short walk to reach the site. We had plenty of time to walk around the whole site and really take in. It is speculated to have been built in the Neolithic age. The stones were thought to have been placed 2,000-3,000 BC and though many theories have been floated as to it’s method of construction and even it’s purpose, there is no certainty. The site felt mystical to me but it raises as many questions as it answers.

The following day we went on another excursion, this time by train. Up early, we had breakfast on the train and 2 hours later found ourselves in drizzly, chilly Liverpool. Another bucket-list destination. It couldn’t dampen the spirits of two Beatles geeks though. We started with a visit to the Beatles Museum. We enjoyed the exhibits and learning more about the group we both love. The Beatles, more than any other group, have truly been the soundtrack for our lives. We danced to “Here There and Everywhere” for our wedding dance. Our daughter Jenna danced to “In My Life” as her senior recital song and also for her Daddy-Daughter wedding dance. She had the string version of “Here, There and Everywhere” playing as I was seated at her wedding. So much love for the Beatles. After our Museum visit we met the bus for The Magical Mystery Tour where we visited Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields and we went past each of the Beatles childhood homes. Surprisingly “working-class hero” John Lennon, grew up in the nicest house of the four. But the climax of our day, and arguably our whole trip, was a visit to The Cavern Club, the place where the Beatles got their start. It was really quite a visceral experience. You make your way down more than one flight of winding stairs. There were a series of labyrinth like rooms and in the far back one, there was a young man singing “Blackbird” very much sounding like a young Paul Mccartney. It was just so cool to be there where it all began!

In the winding staircase on the way down.

Our day had started at 6am and after a two hour train ride and dinner on the train, we arrived back at Euston station around 9pm. It really was the trip of dreams for the two of us.

The following day we went to St. Pauls cathedral and climbed up to the Golden Gallery, a staggering 528 steps, not for the faint of heart or the claustrophobic. The staircase is very narrow and winding, and allows a one person width, at times it even requires you to duck a little. But once at the top you are rewarded with some of the most spectacular views of London! The cathedral was built by Sir Christopher Wren on the site of the previous church destroyed by The Great Fire of London starting in 1675 and completed in 1708. It’s an astounding architectural feat which has undergone some refurbishment to ensure it’s continued stability. It was the site of Winston Churchill’s funeral and if you’re as old as I am, you may recognize it as the venue for the wedding of Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles.

That evening we enjoyed cocktails and hors’doeurves in the Red Room of our hotel hosted by Invisalign for all of the attendees and their wives. The following day Mike was in classes all day and I spent the day shopping and sight seeing. That evening we enjoyed dinner with all of the American Delegates on the 28th floor of the Hilton overlooking Hyde park and watching the sunset. It was a memorable experience.

The last day, while Mike was still in class, I did a Hop-on/Hop-off bus tour solo. I chose the top level of a double decker open air bus as the day was sunny and warm. There were several options which offered walking tours or a river tour as well as the bus tour, but I decided just to do the bus so I would be free when Mike got out of class. I wandered over to Hatchards, which is not only the bookstore to the royals but is the oldest bookstore in London, dating back to 1797. They even have the table that Oscar Wilde used to sign his books on, and they use it for book signings even today. When Mike got out of class, we did a little shopping and strolled through Hyde Park. It was perfect summer day and the park was full of picnickers and people enjoying the day.

The table Oscar Wilde used to sign his books on.

Each part of our trip was great. We explored London, which is my new favorite city. We met some wonderful orthodontists and a few wives from around the world. Mike attended an Invisalign symposium with the top 300 Invisalign orthodontists around the world coming from 37 different countries. We had conversations about the differences in the health care delivery system in the presence of England’s socialized medicine and what that means to the practitioner My assessment after these discussions: not good for the practitioner or the patient. But that’s a long and interesting conversation we’ll leave for another day. We learned about the public’s feelings on Brexit (it’s a polarizing subject) and were there on Friday, May 24th, the day the headlines announced Theresa May’s decision to step down on June 7th. England’s feeling about our president seems to be as polarized as our own country’s. In fact Trump was arriving in England on the heels of our departure and protests were being planned. We also met those strongly in favor of his presidency. Surprisingly for me, the question I was asked the most by individuals was why we don’t have gun control. A couple of people even expressed a reluctance to visit the states because they were worried about becoming the victim of gun crime. Sadly, the Virigina Beach mass shooting occurred towards the end of our stay, before we were even asked the question.

We made new friends and enjoyed learning about the wonderful history of London. Despite a valiant effort to find my new favorite wine, sampling vintages from Germany, France and Italy, I failed to do so. But I did managed to tick a few things of the bucket list on this visit: Abby Road, Buckingham Palace, Liverpool and Stonehenge!

The coming week will be back to reality. The next blog post will probably be much shorter as I’ll have no exciting destination to tell you about, but hopefully still a few more things to check off the list.

Thanks for sharing this journey with me.

One of my favorite things about our hotel was fresh flowers everywhere delivered regularly with different arrangements with each delivery!

Week 2 of My Fabulous Fifties Farewell Tour

Cheerio from sunny England. We arrived early Friday morning and have been having a capital time! We’ve managed to squeeze a lot into the last three days and I will share our adventures with you in just a minute. But first let’s review what I accomplished prior to departure.

A GREAT BIG THANK YOU goes out to Shayna for sending me the dill and thyme plants I was looking for to complete my herb garden. That was very kind and very appreciated! I also managed to complete the Grand Canyon workouts which totaled 15 in all and am excited to choose my next Nordic Track destination work-out. The final few work-outs proved challenging with a 15% grade! Full transparency: I had to back the grade down a bit towards the end.

I finished Poldark book #10 and as well as “Everything We Ever Wanted” and am now reading “Howard’s End.” (It’s a long plane ride!) And now… on to London!

We arrived early Friday morning and were very lucky that our hotel room was ready for us. We are staying at the J.W. Marriott Grosvenor House, London. We have a spacious corner room with a nice view. We are in a central location, right across from Hyde Park. The staff have been fabulous and I would highly recommend this hotel if you are considering a trip to London.

After a brief nap, we headed out to Abbey Road. Surprisingly, Abbey road is a fully working street, it’s not blocked off in any way and traffic competes with tourists attempting to recreate their own Abbey Road photo. It’s a bit of a circus, but you do tend to bond with the other crazy pedestrians as you dodge traffic trying to get that elusive photo. After several failed attempts and many pauses for traffic and a honk or two, we finally captured a satisfactory photo, just don’t compare it to the original. Many thanks to my husband, Mike, and his Photoshop magic. We ducked into the Abbey road shop for a minute and peered through the wrought iron gates at the Abbey Road studio which, unfortunately, is not open to the public.

After Abbey road, we headed back to the hotel for high tea. Park Place at our hotel does an excellent job. The menu included tea cakes, finger sandwiches, pastries, scones, clotted cream and an assortment of specialty jams and teas with a champagne option. A piano player provided the finishing touch for a relaxing tea, inviting us to linger rather than rush off.

Palate cleanser topped surprisingly with cotton candy

Looking into Park Room where high tea is in progress

After tea, we decided to walk to Picadilly Square, which has a vibrant evening scene. Mike and I stopped for a cocktail at Caffe Concerto. Despite the fact that this appears to be a chain, it is quite elegant. We chose to sit outside and I ordered a Savignon Blanc, still on the hunt for my next favorite wine. It was ok, fruity with a soft finish, but still not quite what I was hoping for. I am going to be trying a lot of different wines during this trip, so I hope to find my new favorite before week’s end.

Saturday found us up early for breakfast at our hotel, which was a buffet, but actually quite good. Then we headed to the London Eye to make out 10:30 reservation. We ubered there and were simply amazed. I recommend going early and doing Fast-track tickets which allow you to skip the queue. This was amazing! London from above, with a great view of the eclectic skyline! It took about a half an hour to make the circuit. Final Verdict: worth it!

The clock completely obscured by scaffolding is Big Ben.

We strolled past Westminster Abbey but the lines to enter were incredibly long and we decided to enjoy the beauty from the outside instead. We then made our way to the Churchill War Rooms. This is another must-see for anyone interested in WWII. It was fascinating as the basement level of this building was completely repurposed during the war and became Churchill’s command central. These rooms were closed off and were reopened as they were, right down to the sugar cubes a certain officer usually kept at his desk, and if anything was missing, it was reproduced exactly as it would have been. It has certainly made me curious about this fascinating man and I am sure I will be reading more about him in the future. Rather than give you a detailed itinerary of our day, I will post a few more photos and allow them to tell the story.

I loved this building. I believe it was in Trafalgar Square. There was a large common area with a fountain in front, a lively place with a lot of people mingling around.

Buckingham Palace lies at the end of this street!

Bucket list item: Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately, when the Queen is in residence, which is all but a couple of months, the interior is not open to the public. Not quite the castle that I’d imagined, but still pretty amazing.

The grounds of Buckingham Palace, quite lovely.

Of course, you can’t visit London without a proper fish and chips dinner, so we headed to the Mayfair Chippy. Very yummy. I also tried another wine, Casa do Arrabalde Alvarinho blend, 2013 , from Potugal, described as a “real crowd-pleaser.” It was good, but not at the “Favorite Wine” level for me. So you know what that means: more opportunities to try new wines!

A proper fish and chips dinner. Mike had spiced salmon cakes. He preferred my dinner to his though, which was fine because there was plenty to share.

Sunday found us at St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Then we strolled along the Thames past Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.

We strolled over to London Bridge, which is actually a fairly non-descript little bridge.

This is the Tower Bridge, which I’ve always thought was the London Bridge. It is a fascinating piece of engineering. It is actually a draw-bridge and we were able to see it in action. It was a beautiful day and the bridge area was full of families picnicking and young people hangin out. This was a highlight of the trip as you are able to go up into the top walkway of the bridge and the floor has a section made of glass so you can see the traffic below.

Mirrored above so you can see yourself with the glass floor below you. Pretty cool!

Next stop was the Tower of London. We saw the weapons, armor and Crown Jewels. We also met a nice young British couple who were vey helpful to us in navigating the tube for our ride home.

Did you even visit London if you didn’t see a British Royal Guard? He never cracked a smile, but he did wobble a bit.

We made our way back to the hotel to change via the tube and then headed out for our anniversary dinner (37 years, but who’s counting?) at Clos Maggiore, selected as the Most Romantic Restaurant in the World, by Architectural Digest in 2016. It was wonderful, indeed romantic and delicious. I tried 2 more wines, one German Reisling that was entirely too sweet to be my favorite, but lovely as a dessert wine (Markus Moliter from Mosel Germany) and another white, a Gewurztraminer Beblenheim Domaine Trapet 2016 from Alsace France which was good, but again, not my favorite.

We’ve only been here 3 full days and we’ve managed to do so much! While much of this was not on my bucket list, I did manage to check off re-enacting the Abbey Road album cover and seeing Buckingham Palace. I still have at least one more item to check off this week. Thanks for tagging along and hope to see you next week when I’ll post more photos of this really wonderful trip. In the meantime, here are a few more random photos of the beautiful streets of London!