Today is my seventy fifth birthday. God has been so good to me. We will be traveling all the live long day today. From Cambridge to London to Seattle to Spokane and then home again, home again, jiggity jig!
It will be good to be home again and to get our bearings.
Here are some birthday photos from the past.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
Thank You, LORD!
Cambridge is a town that affords you many great architectural treats. On our way to the Wren Library which is part of Trinity College we enjoyed many. This day was still Monday March 9th and our first full day in Cambridge.
There is a lot of history in this library and many important documents. If you are interested you can read more here.
A detailed description of the window can be found here.
A.A. Milne attended Trinity college and some original manuscripts from Winnie the Pooh are featured in the Wren Library. Some interesting reading here.
This was a beautiful day in Cambridge and we enjoyed some views at the back of Trinity and other colleges, too.
A view of the Wren from the Backs.
A view of St. John’s college.
They have a claim to fame of C.S. Lewis visiting here during his time in Cambridge.
They also claim to be the oldest pub.
We had our last meal of the day at the Mitre.
Love the signs of spring we are seeing…
So this was Monday and we had 4 more full days in Cambridge. It will take lots of posts to cover everything we have seen and experienced. Today, Thursday the 12th of March, was a very blustery day. The kind of wind that moved you along. We still had sunshine break through. Our weather here has been fabulous with no rain so far. Time will tell if we get rained upon. Thank you, friends, for following along with us.
Frances Crick’s brag in the Eagle. The pub where we habitually ate lunch, that we had indeed discovered that ‘Secret of life, struck me as somewhat immodest, especially in England, where understatement is the way of life. ~James Watson
The Eagle, Cambridge ~ Discovery of DNA~
On this spot on February 23, 1953, Francis Crick and James Watson made the first public announcement of the discovery of DNA with the words “We have discovered the secret of life.” Throughout their early partnership Watson and Crick dined in this room on six days every week.
Greg and I dined in this room on Monday March 9th, 2026.
The other history that is special here is the ceiling covered in graffiti of British and American WWII pilots who burned their names and squadron numbers here using cigarette lighters, candles and lipstick.
Cottage pie and duck hash were our choices for our meal.
From The Eagle we decided to trek over to the Wren Library in Trinity College. It has limited visiting hours and this was a good day to fit it in. That will be another post!
We are walking our feet off here in Cambridge. Thanks for following along on our travels and discoveries.
On Monday March 2nd, we docked and visited Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia situated on the Danube by the border of Austria and Hungary. It has a pedestrian only old town center.
On Tuesday March 3rd, we passed the little village we were going to visit and docked further on. We had a short bus ride back to the village of Durnstein.
We also visited the Melk Abbey on this same day.
On Wednesday March 4th, we chose to travel by bus from the boat to the Czech Republic to visit the picturesque town of Český Krumlov.
Here is a sneak peek of the town surrounded by water.
Thursday March 5th and Friday March 6th we were in Vienna.
Carriage rides and Apple Strudel and a whole lot more.
Saturday we cruised back to Budapest.
Throughout our River cruise we were blessed with very decent weather. That was not a guarantee for this time of the year. Looking forward to putting my thoughts together for each stop of our cruise and to post all my photos. That will have to wait for when we get home. Thanks for traveling along with us!
On Sunday March 8th we disembarked from the AmaMagna and were bused to the airport. We flew to London boarded a bus to Cambridge and checked into our apart/hotel for 6 nights in the college town.
Once checked into our hotel we found a pub close to the apart/hotel for some comfort food before we turned in for the night.
We sailed away from Budapest Sunday evening of March 1st. Last Sunday. I am finally able to upload my photos from the past week!
We arrived in Cambridge on Sunday the 8th and my internet connections are good so I’ll add a postcard from each village/town we visited on our days on the Danube soon. We are going to take it easy on this Monday after a long day of traveling yesterday. We flew from Budapest to London and boarded a bus to Cambridge. After being dropped off at the bus stop we walked to our Apart/Hotel and checked in. We had a meal at the Baron of Beef and will now hopefully have a good nights sleep.
Happy Monday to you all.
It has been difficult to upload all my great photos while we are cruising along the Danube. The internet is slower than mud and stuck in the mud. We will be docked in Vienna later this week and I’m going to make a prediction that the internet might be working better for us there. If not, when we get to Cambridge next week, I’ll try to catch up. Until then…
Missing these two munchkins!
What an amazing city!
More to come once I can plug my computer in on the river cruise which began on March 1st. Since being in Hungary I haven’t been able to plug my computer in at the hotel. The outlets are a little weird and our converters don’t fit. Oye. My computer is below 10% so I’m quickly getting this ready to post on Monday March 2nd. We’ve seen so much and enjoyed some great food.
Hopefully by now my computer is plugged in successfully and charging away.
We’re having great weather, too! Happy March everyone!!
Of the cities listed how many have you seen in person?
I’ve had the privilege to visit Boston, New York and Washington D.C.
Of the cities listed which would you most like to visit this year?
I’d love to visit Charleston S.C. or Williamsburg some day.
Any plans to do so?
Not at the present.
What’s one place in America you think everyone should see?
Washington D.C. because there is so much history documented there and so much to see and enjoy.
If you’re not American what’s one place in the US you’d like to see?
2. Three sounds you love to hear?
I love to hear “hello mom” or “baba!” I love the sound of any music that is honoring to God and lovely in general. I also enjoy pure natural nature sounds like birds and other animals or water flowing, etc.
3. Three sounds you hate to hear?
Loud nonstop cussing. The screeching of brakes. Smoke alarms.
4. February 24th is/was National Tortilla Chip Day.
Are you a fan?
yes
With salsa, guacamole, queso, or just plain please?
Salsa and guacamole, please
Do you like nachos? With what on top?
Nachos are okay but not what I prefer to order or make.
Is there anything (besides nachos) you make that calls for tortilla chips?
Taco salad is good to have with chips.
5. We March into March with next week’s Hodgepodge…what’s one thing on your March calendar that makes you smile?
I cannot choose just one!
The following selfie is from this past Sunday, the 22nd of February.
Two March birthday girls, the oldest and the youngest girls in our family!
We have so much to smile about in March. In March we will visit Budapest and embark on a river cruise with stops in Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, and a bus trip to the Czech Republic, too, and then we will end our international trip in Cambridge U.K.
We travel home from London on my birthday and then our family will gather to celebrate our granddaughter’s birthday which is in March, too. Whew!
And for the record the 14th of March marks my 75th birthday on this earth! We will be at airports and on airplanes for all of my birthday. I will count it all joy!
6. Insert your own random thought here.
I didn’t think I’d be able to participate this week in the Hodgepodge but we’ll be hunkered in a hotel room this evening and I’ll have the time to participate. This won’t be the case for the next two Wednesdays. Cheers!
One more photo from Washington D.C. This is the Washington National Cathedral.
Rise and shine, it’s pancake time!
Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond for our Wednesday Hodgepodge questions.
1. The Hodgepodge lands on Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent. Do you mark this season in some way? Will you be giving something up or adding something to your life in this Lenten season?
This will be an as per usual time during Lent as in… morning devotions, reading through the Bible, Women’s Bible Study, Daily Spurgeon, and Daily Doctrine. Growing in my love and devotion to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is an everyday thing and includes the 40 days of Lent.
From Spurgeon: ‘God, you see me.” “May the Lord be as a well to us, delightful, comforting, unfailing, springing up unto eternal life.”
We have 17 days of travel during Lent this year which is very unusual for us. I will be absent from the Hodgepodge for at least a couple of Wednesdays.
2. Pancakes…are you a fan?
YES! All kinds of pancakes are enjoyed. These are yogurt pancakes. Potato pancakes at the top of this post.
Every time our whole family gets together we enjoy Greg’s Swedish pancakes. It’s a long standing tradition at our house and we always serve them with Little Smokies.
Greg has also made Aebleskivers, Danish spherical pancakes.
Syrup or no syrup?
Yes, please, real maple and fruit syrups.
Plain, blueberries, chocolate chips, bananas, or some other add in?
No to chocolate chips or bananas. Yes to blueberries or strawberries and always sour cream!
Are pancakes on your menu this week?
Yes, in the blintz form, we had them last night for dessert since it was Pancake Tuesday/Shrove Tuesday!
3. Tell us about a time recently when you felt ‘spread too thin’.
I haven’t felt this way recently. I might feel that way after today as we are getting ready for an international trip so I’m getting all our ducks in a row starting now!!
4. What’s your favorite jewel or gemstone?
If I have to pick a favorite, I’ll choose a Ruby.
In terms of your wardrobe would we find more gem tones, pastels, black and white, or primary colors?
My wardrobe isn’t well planned and is a combination of all of these.
5. What responsibility do you think is hardest about being in charge?
Being a mom is a very hard responsibility, one of the hardest. Being a grandmother is so much easier.
6. Insert your own random thought here.
I finally finished this most difficult puzzle just before Valentine’s Day. The pressure was on to get-er-done since we would be using the dining room table for company on the night before Valentine’s day and then again on the 17th of February. This was one of the hardest puzzles I’ve ever completed because of the very random shapes of the pieces.
See you in the middle of March, Hodgepodgers! I will try to post daily postcards of our journey here on my blog.
Seattle July 3, 2007.
I’ve been blogging since March of 2007. There was an interim of time that I was using Photobucket for uploading and storing my photos. At some point in time they wanted to charge me more money than I wanted to spend to keep my photos. At that point many of my older photos vanished from my blog posts. I’ve been able to regain access to many of the photos and from time to time I will be posting some oldies but goodies. It is mind boggling for me at this point to try to go back to old posts and replace the photos. This will be my way of reviving some photos from years gone by.
Camarillo July 30, 2007.
In 2007 we still had our home in Kenmore, Washington but were living in Camarillo, California for Greg’s work. We lived in a small Condo and I had a lot of time on my hands. Blogging became a hobby that kept me busy and engaged in the world around me. Photography was a by product of blogging and it is something I’ve always enjoyed.
This was taken in July of 2007, also. This was one of our regular Mexican Restaurant haunts in Camarillo.
Ha! This was also the beginning as a blogger of taking photos of food. Chuckle with me fellow bloggers!
Alaska Airlines was my transport from Seattle to LAX and from LAX back to SEATAC.
Saturday morning walks on the beaches of Ventura County became our routine. There were many sunrise walks.
That’s enough of reviving for now. Back to the present, nineteen years later! We still love Mexican food! Hope all is well in your corner. We are still in our foggy soggy pattern here in Colville. We are hearing of some snow in the forecast, though. Enjoy your day!
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 