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Europe » United Kingdom » England » Greater London March 14th 2024

Hope and Irene from Uganda had the opportunity to attend a leadership training for non profit leaders put on by Girls Not Brides in London this winter. Normally this time of year I would visit them in Uganda to check on our work, but since they were in London I thought I would take the opportunity to meet them there. This was the first time both of them had left Africa. It gave us a chance to reconnect as well as review the status of our current loan recipients. England is quite expensive for them compared to home and my first time there so the three of us explored for the first time together. We started with taking in the sites of London. Then we rented a car and headed into the countryside. We stayed in ... read more
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Europe » United Kingdom » England » Greater London February 16th 2024

Air India to Air Concerns - Piprey Feb 2024 The pleasure is in the journey but those travellers were probably not born in the current age and experienced Air India. Here is to the pleasure of Incredible Indias' premier airlines, Air India which fulfills the promise of transporting passengers across the globe but with quite some interesting derogations. Flight from London Heathrow to Kolkata for Durga pooja Like a swarm of bees, the world descends to Kolkata for Durga pooja, the biggest cultural festival for the Bengali community. Among the thousands, I had carefully booked an Air India flight from London Heathrow to Kolkata via Delhi. Despite being a key metro, Air India does not have any direct flights from London to Kolkata. Outbound flight delay I arrived at London Heathrow airport, well in time only ... read more

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Greater London January 20th 2024

My wife and my son had booked to do some sourdough bread making in London, so I thought I would go in as well for a morning of photography. It was an early start as we needed to be in Borough Market ready for the breadmaking to start at 9.30am, which meant leaving home well too early for a Saturday morning. We were treated to a stunning sunrise, but it was just a shame that the setting was the railway tracks heading off towards London. I left my wife and son at Borough Market, but as soon as they were out of sight, I sneakily diverted to Humble Crumble. It's a favourite of ours, as you can choose your own tailor-made fruit crumble, but even I would admit that it's not really what I should be ... read more
Train Station Sunrise
Breakfast
Not 10 Downing Street

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Greater London November 8th 2023

This morning was my favorite moment of the trip. I woke up in Paris, the Eiffel Tower in view from the window. Showered, then before the crack of dawn, was on the cobble stone streets of Rue Cler, with the locals. Walking to the Boulangerie to get the best croissants in the world. The only other people were the staff of the hotels doing the same thing, getting the croissants and baguettes for the morning breakfast, including the staff of our hotel. “A quick on Jour Deux Croissants si vous plait.” Two fresh croissants handed to you for 2.80 Euros about $3 (would pay 8 in NY). “Merci, au voire.” Walking back in the crisp Paris fall air, I stopped, took a deep breath, and truly savored the moment, I am in Paris, I truly belong ... read more
The Stage
Our View

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Greater London October 14th 2023

Today we got up early, were among the first for breakfast, caught a cab, and were at Victoria Station to meet our tour group by 8 am! We were headed to The Cotswold with Evan Evan tours. Our first stop was Burton on the Water. It is a quaint little village on the River Windrich. It is known for its low bridges and stone houses. There are 5 bridges built between 1654 and 1911, each cut from Cotswold stone. They give Birto on the Water the nickname of Venice of the Cotswolds. During the Middle Agest, the Cotswolds became rich from all trade. Much of the money was dedicated to the building of churches, and many large “wool churches“ remain today. Once wool trade ceased the area attracted wealthy landowners and prominent figures to purchase second ... read more
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Europe » United Kingdom » England » Greater London October 13th 2023

Today we had a reservation for the English Tea bus. This is a bus that has had part of the seats, removed, tables installed, and some innovative ways of keeping your food in place while driving around London. You’re board the bus, are served your tea and ride around London sightseeing and enjoying the city. What fun! The food was delicious and the scenery was great! Whoever outfitted, the bus did an outstanding job. They had a cupholder made out of a strip of wood, which also had a notch for champagne glasses. They had strapped the base of T plate holders onto the wood and the tables so that it wouldn’t move for the bus travel. Then just before we boarded, they put the plates with food on the three tiered plate rack. The food ... read more
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Europe » United Kingdom » England » Greater London October 12th 2023

Today was going to be an easy day, because there was 100% chance of rain here in London. We have been on a dead run ever since we arrived in United Kingdom, so we were looking forward to a day off. I spent the morning, trying to get everything canceled and trying to get some of our money back from our decision to stay away from Paris. The rest of the day we rested. We packed our suitcases and tried to make plans for the extra time we were going to have in London. if you’ve ever planned a big trip, you know it takes a lot of time, so I was grateful to have the time to work on planning. I made a reservation for us to take a tea bus around London, and to ... read more
Fun to look at American products…..
Fun to look at American products…..
Victoria Pub

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Greater London October 11th 2023

Today was supposed to be a rainy day, so we really didn’t plan a lot of activities. We needed to do laundry, and re-pack our suitcases as we are supposed to leave for Paris tomorrow. So it was up early, breakfast, and then back to the room to separate our clothes for laundry. We are fortunate because the laundromat is two blocks away from the hotel. I headed out to the post office, which is about a block away from the hotel, and mailed home some souvenirs. It was a way to get rid of some of the bulk out of my suitcase plus some of the weight. After I check the weather report, and the rain wasn’t going to start until late afternoon, we decided to join a guided tour For the changing of the ... read more
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Europe » United Kingdom » England » Greater London October 11th 2023

Funny to think that it hasn't been that long since the last blog...2023 is going pretty well, and trust me, it's not over! I spent the last few days first in South Africa for some time at home (the permanent one), some solid sharks, nice golf and top wines! Then came a week in Congo DRC first for the Lubumbashi Golf Open. Amazing party and for once I didn't come empty handed. Was the first overall First category Net without a price! Yes, you know, that guy who is just behind the prices. I won't complain as I took the first net on the second day, and it was a pretty nice feeling! Than came the fun trip to Kinshasa. I'm not sure you can actually call a 10 hours door to door a fun experience....bear ... read more
A classic...on a dry and pretty warm day for mid October..
Each time in London, I love to stop for a while at the National Gallery!
The tube, still the best way to go around...

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Greater London September 15th 2023

Slept much better and had another good breakfast checked out the logistics of a venture to Portobello Road Markets for Don to check out antiques we decided to walk up the road as it wasn’t far …. Had a nice walk through the streets , found Portobello Road and the antique part downstairs wasn’t open on a Friday so that was annoying !!! Had a look through the market and reached the end of the street …. We were both a bit hot and bothered and it was only mid day and decided to head back to the hotel …. Caught the tube back and cooled off had a drink then got our bags ready for take off tomorrow… it wasn’t till 3 pm I remembered I was keen to do the Thames river cruise up ... read more
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