it was beautiful
Last week, Christine and I spent three days in a most magical class with an absolute love of a teacher making paper-mache creatures, replete with tiny knitted hats and crocheted trousers.
There were donekeys with panniers, a house with a clever chimney, a robot with a vacumn and even an exquisitely wrought baby carriage.
pictured above is our teacher, the delightful Julie Arkell
There was so much to enjoy, the food, the setting and the people. A completely different pace to the day and a slightly different cultural approach to a schedule which had an emphasis on leisure and tea breaks and drinks before dinner.
It was all so much more than I could have imagined, all so much more than I can share as I only got in after midnight last night after a long ordeal at Heathrow due to drastic weather* conditions cancelling a day and half worth of flights-- (really, London-- *two inches of snow and your billion dollar empire grounds to a halt? we need to send your team to New Hampshire for training, ahem).
But even a return journey that was anything but fun could not dispel the deep pleasures of the trip.
And that's what it is all about, don't you think?
And, since I'm still processing the last mad dash I made through security, up escalators, hurtling through crowds carrying my overnight bag like an oversized football, racing down stairs, bumping bodies and leaping strollers to get onto the last shuttle that would carry me to my gate where the last flight leaving for Boston was about to depart-- i must ask you, worst travel stories?
Got any to share?
And-- who were the angels that helped you through?
(Because trust me, as much as it was a mess yesterday-- I am forever grateful to two individuals whose help made it possible for me to be here, in my home, with my dogs on this deliciously sunny day typing to you).
I'd love to hear your stories--- oh, and happy Monday!
bisous, e
P.S. if you want more photos and peeks into the workshop and the countryside we saw (as well as a glimpse of London) do visit Christine's site here and here.
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Comments
Gasping with delight at your pictures of the wee paper maché creations -- how lovely they are! Can't wait to hear more about the class.
My worst/most entertaining travel story was returning home from a semester abroad in Dijon, France -- my friend and I took a train from Dijon to Luxumbourg with several changes in order to fly home on the cheap. France had mandatory national military service, and our departure coincided with a day that a ton of young men completed their term and were released. The train, which departed at 5:00 AM, was absolutely jam-packed with hard-partying, hard-drinking young soldiers free for the first time in 2 years or so. There were no seats and Pat and I had all of our meager belongings from the previous 6 months with us -- we ended up sitting on our luggage in the part of the train car near the restroom at the end of the compartment. Because sleeping is my super power, I promptly fell asleep sitting up on my luggage. Poor Pat was left to deal with the drunk soldiers trying to sneak into first class, then being chased out by the conductors, then sneaking back again, then trying to chat her up, then being chased out by the conductors again. By the time we got to Luxumbourg I was reasonably well rested and Pat was ready to murder me. Ah, youth!
I'm not sure my worst one is fit for public sharing. Hmm. It involved long delays--which I was fine with--the unexpected arrival of my period mid flight (back when it was wildly unpredictable) when the seatbelt sign was on (storms the whole way thru), and when we landed I had so little time to make my connection (due to those delays) that I couldn't do anything about it until the next flight was at cruising altitude and *that* seatbelt sign went off. (At which point I begged supplies from the flight attendant.)
And another time? I got where I was, broke up with the boyfriend I was visiting, cried on the phone to the airline and got the soonest flight back I could, called the most reliable friend I had to meet me at the airport...and now? Now I am married to that reliable friend. Boy was I glad to see him at that airport (tho it was six months before we started dating? or maybe a year and six months? it all blends together after a while).
That class looks like so much amazing quirky delightful fun.
I spent most of my adult years on a small island off the coast of Alaska, accessible by a 3.5 day ferry trip from Washington state, often involving transfers, or an extremely expensive and harrowing flight, involving several stops in sub-par weather. You do not want to hear my worst travel experiences. Some involve near-death experiences in small planes over the open ocean, others include boats in high seas off the coast of British Columbia . Makes me happy to stay home, forever.
You are making me homesick. Just weeks after I swore I was NEVER crossing the atlantic again. Ever.
Worst? Maybe time I sat on the tarmac in philly and watched my plane to London take off. Then being told I was going to be re-routed through Frankfurt 14hrs later. An extra flight is HELL to someone who is terrified of flying and regularly throws up. Anyway a thunderstorm appeared and I finally got re-re-routed to london and the luggage went to Dubai or something before I finally got it back 4 days later.
I got a great one about the time BA went on strike after 2 cancelled flights and a lot of stress, we ended up in JFK waiting for a special flight chartered just for abandoned BA passengers but it was actually kind of cool - they got special permission to arrive at Heathrow in the middle of the night so the entire airport was empty and the only people there were waiting for us. It was bizarre and wierd...and FAST.
But nothing beats getting off a 9hr flight. Knowing you are late but following the DIRECT instructions of the flight attendant only to discover you have just been not just through customs but also IMMIGRATION, and you need to go back through immigration and security and are totally in the wrong place and your flight leave in 10 minutes. Oh and you are doing this with two sleepy kids aged 3 and 4. You arrive to find the flight gone and the next one? Yeah the next one isn't for another 10hrs. I sat down and cried. A lot. My kids were surprisingly awesome.
But the honest truth is I'm terrified of flying and I invariably throw up as we are landing (TMI...but true) or when we land if the flight is longer than 4 or 5hrs so my only really good travel stories involve trains :)
I am so jealous ! I love Julie, she's an old friend I met years ago in New York and we traded her art for my jewelry and kept in touch over the years. When she came to the Bay Area to teach a workshop I was one of the first to sign up. It was so fantastic. However, I am extremely partial to England and how magical to be in the splendor of that scenic beauty while engaging in Julie's very unique " British" sensibilities, complete with the proper use of time, tea breaks and all !!! My style all the way !
So glad you made it home safely, I never travel without mad dashes and extreme chaos, so that just seemed par for the course.
Lots of love,
Alix :)
my worst...my family was moving from pennsylvania to hawaii {only temporary...sigh}. my daughter was just shy of 2 years old at the time, my son just shy of 6. we flew from philly to atlanta, then atlanta to honolulu...my husband and i figured an overnite flight would be brilliant. the kids would sleep, right? not so. my son sort of slept. my little girl slept....no kidding...40 minutes (!!!) out of that entire trip...a total of 12 hours on a plane. no lie. she nursed like crazy the whole time. of course i was thankful the nursing soothed her, but i was beside myself with fatigue. our first day in hawaii, i lay on the bed in a dark room with a migraine.
but after that it got much, much better ;)
Welcome home. It looks like a wonderful trip
Xo
Karen d
Deldino
love these photos and love the work that you did with Julie!!
what a wonderful class that must have been!
I am not a huge traveler. Worst travel story-being on a little plane- maybe with 12 passengers hitting rough turbulence and having every single passenger throwing up simultaneously. Horrible!