Tequila tasting 101...

         Joe and I have just had a wonderful vacation in one of my favorite places in the world...Mismaloya Mexico. Joe worked with Don for 30 some years first at Wheelhorse and then at Toro. Don and his wife Kay own a condo in Mismaloya and for the last few years they have very kindly let us use it. It's the one place in the world that Joe can completely relax away from work, although he did take his laptop and work a little.

       This trip we did a couple of different things...we actually went to a tequila factory...we walked in right at the end of a tour and was told we could join them at the tasting table...we joined a group of what appeared to be college age guys...the tour guide was talking about how long they age tequila...on the table there where maybe eight bottles of tequila...the guide gave us little plastic cups and I mean little...they were like medicine cups...the guide went around to all of us giving us as much or as little tequila as we wanted...the first guy took a full cup and swallowed it down right away...that was his first and last taste...he was hungover from the night before...Now you have to know that I drink very little...I think I drink more in two weeks in Mexico then I drink all year at home...so this was quite an experience for me...I took the least possible of the tequila...just a coating in the bottom of my cup...and you know what...it tasted pretty good...so good that I tried all the flavors...

  

      After the tequila tasting the college kids left and we did the tour that we had missed... 

     Across the street from Mama Lucias Tequila Factory there is a restaurant called Juan and Only...it had opened since we were last in Mismaloya...we thought we should eat something after the tequila tasting...so in we went...we were very pleasantly surprised...three fish taco's and a beer for 50 pesos...we talked to the owner Juan...his daughter and father-in-law were running the place...after we had eaten Juan came over with a bottle of tequila and gave us a glass...boy was it smooth.... 

18th September 1982.....

September 1982......

......and now.....

               I have often wondered how I would feel today......29 years ago today on 18th September 1982 I left England to give living in America a try. I was 29 years old so today I have lived in America has long as I lived in England...when I came to America I really wasn't thinking this far ahead, I was coming for six months just to experience a different way of life for a few months...How do I feel...I'm not too sure...honestly it used to be a day that I was dreading...but you know what it's not that bad...most of the time I am happy to be here...29 years and counting....

A Ramble around St Paul.....

     To market to market to buy a fat pig..home again home again dancing a jig....on Sunday 21st August Joe and I went into St Paul...we went to the Farmers Market...we didn't buy a fat pig just lots of fresh vegetables......and beef jerky...

                                                                Joe buying beef jerky

                                                              The Landmark Center

                                                     Angela with Marcie and Woodstock

                                                                Peppermint Patty

                                                    Another view of the Landmark Center

                                                        A paddleboat at Harriet Island

                                                    View across the river to Harriet Island

                                                         First National Bank Building

                                                               The State Capital

                                                                    The State Capital

      After the market we walked around St Paul...here are just a few of the many photos I took....

An evening at the races....

           On Wednesday 17th August Joe, Adam and I went to the Harness Races. Joe and I had been once before but Adam had never been.

           Joe and I don't normally bet against the track but when there are a few of us we all pick a horse and throw down a dollar and if your horse comes in first you win the money...if nobody wins the money rolls over to the next race.

             Here is Adam with some of his winnings. He also bet against the track but lost.

                                                     A race coming to the finish post.

         Here Joe was watching the board...this race was a photo finish between Joe's horse and Adam's horse...Joe won....It was a fun evening....

A ramble around Minneapolis....

Heading into Minneapolis...

Nicollet Island...

Walking across Stone Arch Bridge...

St Anthony Falls...

St Anthony Falls...

The old Pillsbury Flour Mill...

St Anthony Falls...

Looking across the river...

                                                          Across the river...close up...


      On Sunday 14th August Joe and I decided to go to the Irish Fair on Harriet Island in St Paul...we ended up at the Polish Festival on Nicollet Island in Minneapolis...'it's an age thing'...we rambled around Minneapolis and I took a few photos...we really need to get out more and explore where we live...

Day 2 of Family Reunion Weekend...part 2...

........After we had been out to Notre Dame we got together with Joe's sisters and their families. It was his twin sister's Granddaughter's second birthday party. Adam and Aaron had not seen their aunts and cousins for quite a number of years so it was nice for everyone to reconnect...we live so far away that it's not always easy to have close relationships with our family in Indiana but we are trying to visit as often as we can...here are a few photos of the family...there were more family members at the party than I am able to post due to respecting their internet privacy....

                                                                     Pat...Joe...Judy

                                                                     Elaine...Allison

                                   Elaine...Allison...Judy...Mathew...Edwin...Jonathon...Dawn

Mathew...Aaron...Adam...Jonathon

                                                                Aaron...Allison...Adam

.....Unfortunately Aaron had a dental problem all weekend and we decided to leave Sunday evening instead of waiting until Monday morning, we thought if we could get home by Monday morning Aaron could see the dentist before he headed back to North Dakota. We made good time, getting home about 1:30am. Aaron did see the dentist and started a root canal. We are looking forward to visiting again soon... 

Day 2 of Family Reunion Weekend....

       Aaron plays Lacrosse for The University of North Dakota...the other ND. He has been involved with Lacrosse since middle school. He played on the Minnesota Chill team travelling to Colorado with them.    

 Aaron joined the High School Varsity team travelling to Utah with them.

      He is the president of UND Lacrosse club and when he was injured during a Lacrosse game which resulted in surgery he coached the Fighting Sioux team. Last school year he was involved with getting Lacrosse into Grand Forks middle schools and worked with the kids on an after school Lacrosse program. This year he is working with Lacrosse summer camps in Grand Forks. He will be coaching the local high school Lacrosse team in the spring.

       Aaron has always been a follower of Notre Dame sports and on every trip to South Bend we have always visited The University of Notre Dame campus. This year Aaron wanted to see the new Lacrosse facilities so here are just a few of the photos....

  

Cabanaw Family Reunion....July 2011

      Why is it that I cannot keep up with this blog? Maybe my life is a little boring and I don't have much to talk about. I can't always be travelling to somewhere exciting like Nice and Monaco or even to England which is probably exciting for some people but it is home to me.

      Speaking of home, a couple of weeks ago we went home to Indiana. Even Adam and Aaron arranged time of work and school to travel with us, it's not very often they go anywhere with us anymore so this was a treat all four of us spending time together. We spent Friday July 15th driving to Indiana arriving at Pat's late afternoon. Friday evening we went to Hensell's Oaken Bucket for dinner. After dinner Joe, Pat and I walked back to Pat's leaving Adam and Aaron to enjoy a drink without the old folk.



Joe and Adam



Hensell's oaken Bucket

     

      Saturday July 16th was the day of the family reunion/cookout. It was hosted by Dave and Shell at their home in South Bend. There was a good turnout for the cookout. It was a hot and steamy day just like the rest of the summer so far. The pool was open and badminton and volleyball was set up. The younger kids enjoyed the pool....

      The older kids played volleyball....

      The smart ones sat and drank beer....



Joe and Edwin

       The really smart ones joined the kids in the pool....

Shell

      Some of the cousins had not seen each other for years and some of the younger generations had not met and they just live across town from each other. Some family members could not make it because of work or other commitments, but next year we hope to make the gathering even bigger.

                                 GOOD FOOD....GOOD COMPANY....GOOD FUN

Weekend Words....

                             Saturday....
                             Raining
                             Shopping
                             Reading

                             Sunday....
                             Sunny
                             Mowing
                             Gardening
                             Hummingbirds
                             Grilling
                             Sunburn

                             'Productive'                              
            























            
                     
                          

For the birds....

                     When we were in Indiana last week we were watching the Orioles at the nectar feeders at a couple of our cousins. We feed the birds here in Minnesota but had never seen Orioles. On Sunday we went to Fleet Farm and bought an Oriole feeder and a Hummingbird feeder. We have had Hummingbird feeders in the past but the Hummingbirds don't seem to stay around very long. I filled the feeders with the nectar and put them in the backyard. Yesterday after only two days I saw the Orioles at the feeder, I was so excited I even e-mailed Joe at work to tell him.

                     Earlier in the day I saw another bird at the seed feeder that I had not seen around before, I had to get the bird book out and find what it was, it was a Rose Breasted Grosbeak. Now we are waiting to see the Hummingbirds return, it dosen't take too much to excite me, just a few birds using my feeders...
                                                      ....just another little ramble....

               I have just had an awesome week. It started last Friday April 29th with the Royal Wedding. My Mom and I got up at 3am to watch HRH Prince William marry Kate Middleton. We sat there for hours drinking tea and eating English muffins while watching our future King and Queen marry. It made me feel very proud of my British Heritage.


               Last weekend Aaron played in the end of season lacrosse tournament in Lacrosse Wisconsin. The team won their first two games on Saturday which put them through to play on Sunday. Joe and I went back to Lacrosse on Sunday morning to watch some more lacrosse, the first game was a close game and ended in a tie after regular time so it went into sudden death overtime. Unfortunately the other team managed to get a goal before Aaron's team so instead of going to the championship game they went to the 3rd..4th place game. Joe and I were very cold after this first game so we decided to leave and head for Indiana. We drove a few hours and stayed in Rockford Illinois for the night. We heard from Aaron, the team won their game and took the 3rd place trophy. Not too bad for only their second season in this lacrosse league.


               Monday morning we drove the rest of the way to Indiana arriving in South Bend around 11am. Monday afternoon we visited Bill, one of our cousins.. Monday evening we went out to dinner with Joes sisters Judy and Pat. Tuesday we went to visit Judy and Ed, it was good to see that Ed is doing so much better then he was at the begining of the year. We also saw our niece who was home from school not feeling too good. On Tuesday we also went out to the University of Notre Dame campus. It is a regular stop on our trips to South Bend, we bought tee shirts for the boys. On Tuesday evening we went to Ed and Bettys another cousin, she arranged for all the cousins to meet at her house for chilli and hotdogs. It was so good to see everyone and have fun talking over old times and remembering Aunt Agnes. The cousins just about had Aunt Agnes' house sold to us, but we are not quite ready yet to make the move back to Indiana.
    

              When we were leaving Notre Dame earlier in the day Aaron text us and asked us to find the new lacrosse stadium and take some photos of it for him, so Wednesday found us out on campus again. We walked around looking for the lacrosse field, we did find it and I took photos for Aaron. With a bit of luck he will be able to see it for himself in July. We stopped back at Ed and Betty's for a while, we can't get enough of these people when we are back in town.


              Wednesday evening Pat had her family come over for dinner. Dawn and Jeff came over early with their daughter and they took us to see Little Red, a small fire truck that the fire department use to teach children fire safety. Joe worked on Little Red many years ago when he worked at Wheelhorse, he was very surprised to find it still around and in working condition. Tony and his boys came over for dinner then the boys had a teeball game. Edwin and Dawn and their boys stopped over. We had a very good visit with everyone.


            As with all trips they have to come to an end all too soon. On Thursday morning Joe and I left and headed back to Minnesota. We had so much fun on this trip and want to thank everyone that took the time to see us and spend time with us.....we have an awesome family and love you all.... 

Stay positive....

       The end of this winter has really been so depressing, we lost Aunt Agnes, my brother-in-law Ed was in the hospital for a few weeks, happy to say he is doing okay now, brother-in-law Ed lost his brother Harry, my neighbor lost her 42 year old husband after a two and a half year battle with cancer, they have two little boys about 7 and 8 years old. On Friday 18th a co-worker of Joe lost his 23 year old son in a car accident and on Sunday 20th a co-worker friend of mine lost her 90 year old Grandpa.

A teeny tiny bit of Irish...

       It's not very often that I will admit to this but today being March 17th....St Patricks Day...I have to admit that I have a small amount of Irish blood running in my veins. My maternal Great Grandmother Mary Walsh was born in Ireland. I never knew her and my Mom dosen't remember her too well. Just another little ramble....

In Loving memory...Aunt Agnes

      She was the person I had always known about. Her mother and my grandad were brother and sister. My Dad always talked about my Aunt Agnes, her brother my Uncle Walter and their mother my Great Aunt Ginny that went to live in America. She grew up with my Dad in England they were more like brother and sister than cousins.

     After her mother Aunt Ginny died the families in England and the USA lost contact with each other, it was my Grandmother and Aunt Ginny that were the ones that wrote to each other, I believe I still have one of the letters somewhere.

     Back in 1978 or 1979 I wrote to Aunt Agnes' last known address but the letter was returned. So I next wrote to the local newspaper office in the last known town that Aunt Agnes lived in, Mishawaka Indiana. I also sent photos of Aunt Agnes' children, the newspaper ran a story and the next thing I knew I received a letter from Aunt Agnes. I do still have those newspaper articles. Aunt Agnes and I wrote to each other for a year or so then I asked her how she felt about me visiting her. In 1980 I made my first visit to meet Aunt Agnes and her family. In 1981 she and her husband Bill made a trip to England for a reunion with the family she had left behind.

     In 1982 I made my second trip to visit Aunt Agnes and her family. It was on this trip that I mentioned that I would like to give living in the USA a try, right away Aunt Agnes and Bill told me I could live with them if that's what I decided to do. On this trip I also met Aunt Agnes' nephew Joe Cabanaw. I went back to England after my visit and tried to decide what to do, Joe and I wrote to each other and I made the decision to give life in America a try. I gave notice at my job and I gave my engagement ring back to the guy that gave it to me. Nine weeks after I arrived back in England I left again to go live in the USA.

     She opened up her home to me, she taught me about life in the USA, she treated me like one of her daughters. I was married from her home and she gave us our wedding reception. When we came to live in Minnesota she was the one we always stayed with on our visits back to Indiana.

     Yesterday...Friday 18th February we lost our dear Aunt Agnes...we have lots of wonderful memories to help us through this sad time...I am very privileged to have known this wonderful woman...

In Loving Memory......

    .........continued.....Ten years ago today I was in the middle of raising two sons, 12 and 16 years old, everything was going well. A few days earlier my Dad had been diagnosed with angina, he had an appointment set up with a heart specialist for the following week..just after midnight of the morning of 12th February 2001 my Mom called us panicking, my Dad was having chest pains and she could not get him to swallow his medication, Joe immediately got up, got dressed and headed down to my Mom and Dad's house which was just minutes away. I stayed home, the boys were sleeping. By the time Joe got to Mom's house she was on the phone to the emergency services.

     The next I heard Joe was calling me from the emergency room of the local hospital. Joe told me it did not look good. About a hour later Joe called me again to say my Dad was gone...it was 2am...8am in England. I needed to call my sister in England, it was the second hardest thing I had to do that day. I got hold of her husband, my sister had not got home from work she works over nights..I broke the bad news.

                                   Joe brought my Mom home to our house

     The hardest thing I had to do this day was to tell my sons that Grandpa died. Adam was the first one up to get ready to go to High School...I managed to tell him about Grandpa. But when Aaron got up to get ready for Middle School I fell apart, I couldn't do it again, I couldn't tell another child his Grandpa had died, Joe took over and told Aaron about Grandpa.

     My life changed that day ten years ago. I often wonder why the doctor did not send my Dad to the specialist right away, would my Dad still be with us..but I also believe we are here for a planned length of time and it was my Dads time to go.

     My Mom's life changed even more that day..she and my Dad were married almost 50 years and she lost her life partner.

                                                              Treasure your family.

Tuesday 8th February..mindworks..

     My mind will not be still..I just finished reading Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah. It is a book about family and relationships within the family. There is a quote in the book that will not leave my mind..'It is never too late to change the direction of your future' I just don't know what direction I want my future to go.


      I am coming up to a ten year anniversary of a life changing event and I am having a hard time with it. I am doing a lot of thinking about life and death and the direction of peoples lives..I know I am rambling on a little..but I did warn you that my mind will not be still......to be continued...

Friday 28th January..New York to Lakeville, Minnesota

   
      This morning Joe and walked to Central Park. The sidewalks were not as bad as yesterday but there were lots of water standing at every intersection and the only way to cross the street was to go through the water, my feet were soaked before we got very far, it was a little colder this morning so my feet were wet and cold. When we got to the park we were surprised to see that there were still a lot of joggers around even if there were lots snow on the ground. We saw the zoo but it wasn't open, we saw the ice skating rink where there were lots of skaters with their coaches, we watched for a few minutes and then moved on to ramble some more through the park. There were lots of people walking dogs and most of the dogs had little booties on their feet and coats on their backs. It looks like New York puppies are pampered. I took a few photos of the park with the skyline, I hope they turn out okay.
    
   
      We headed back to the hotel walking down Park Avenue, 5th Avenue and Madison Avenue just to name a few. When we got back I had to try to dry my boots with the hairdryer before I could pack them. Our flight was at 3:45pm this afternoon so we had a little time to kill before heading to the airport. I am still feeling sick so I took medication and almost fell asleep. We figured we may as well head to the airport early and get some thing to eat before our flight, we went down to check out and get a cab.

    
     After we had been in the cab a few minutes the driver asked if we were paying by cash, Joe told him no he would be paying with a debit card, the driver was not too happy, he told us he would rather have cash, Joe again told him it would be a debit card, the driver was pretty rude and said 'all you tourists come to town with credit cards' He got us to the airport, Joe paid him and he threw our luggage on the sidewalk.


    Our flight was uneventful, got the right seats and we were on time. Arrived in Minneapolis about 6:00pm this evening. Here we are now back home in Lakeville. This was a great trip and would have been even better if I had not been sick for half of it.

     I don't know if I will keep up this blog, I might not have much to ramble on about, my normal everyday life is not very exciting to be writing about but we will see..........

Thursday 27th January..New York City

     When we got up this morning we found that New York had up to 16 inches of snow last night, just our luck we are here for a day and a half and we are going to be stuck in the hotel room. The news was saying schools were closed and public transportation was limited service. Joe went down to the Starbucks to get us coffees and when he came back he said that it looks like we can get out. We walked to Grand Central Station and found that we could get the underground to Bowling Green and then get a ferry across to see the Statue of Liberty. When we got off the underground we first went to where the Staten Island ferry leaves and got our first glimse of Lady Liberty, it was too far away to get a decent photo but I tried anyway. After talking to a police officer we found we had to go to Battery Park to get the ferry across to Ellis Island and Liberty Island, we walked over there, just minutes away, found that the ferrys were not running, we don't know if it was because of the weather or they just don't run in the winter. We went back and got the Staten Island ferry, Joe figured we could get a better look at the Statue from the ferry, he was right I got some photos, this is the trip that I should have had my 35mm camera with me, I don't use it much anymore, it's too big to carry all day. We rode the ferry to Staten Island and rode the very next one back.

     We could see the Brooklyn Bridge from where we were so decided to walk there next. It wasn't too bad of a walk but trying to find where to get on the bridge was the problem, we eventually found our way, we walked across and back so now we can also say we have been to Brooklyn.

     We didn't eat breakfast, just the coffee so we thought about looking for somewhere for lunch found a place called Albella, we had pizza.

     When we were walking to Brooklyn Bridge we saw Wall Street so we thought we would go check it out, we saw The New York Stock Exchange, it is very heavily guarded. We have both wanted to go to see Ground Zero so that was our next visit. I cannot imagine being there that day or being in one of these other buildings watching the planes hit.

     We started to make our way back towards the hotel by getting the underground, we bought the tickets and then we were not too sure which train to get, we found a map and figured it out. It's funny when you are somewhere unfamilar you lose a little of your confidence, at least I do. We got back to Grand Central Station and walked back to Times Square for another look around.

     My feet were soaked from the slush so we came back to room for a while to warm up and relax before we go out to meet Dennis for a drink, he is someone that used to work at Toro that now lives and works in New York.

     Tomorrow will be our last day of travel. We are going to get out early and walk to Central Park and see whatever else there is to see on the way there. Our flight is around 4:30pm so we have to get out and do some more rambling around this city.

Wednesday 26th January...Nice to New York

     We left the hotel at 5am our flight to Amsterdam was at 6:40am. Got checked in and went to the departure gate. When it was about time to board we were told that the plane had ice on it, ice? this is Nice and they dont have de-icing equipment so the flight was cancelled, we had to go and collect our luggage and go to a desk to be re-routed. We stood in this very slow moving line for two hours, when we were just a few people from the front of the line they told us that the original flight was going to take off in about 40 minutes, that the sun had come up and melted the ice off the plane, so we stood in line for two hours while we could have just waited for two hours at the gate. We originally had a five hour lay over in Amsterdam which was cut down to two with the delay.
      When we got our boarding passes for the New York flight we found that we were seated in different areas of the plane, we were originally seated together, Joe asked at check in Nice if they could be changed, they said they couldn't do it because they are AirFrance and we are flying KLM to New York. We got to Amsterdam and went in the World Club, they couldn't or wouldn't do it there and told us to check at the gate, we got to the gate and there we were told that there was a flight cancelled earlier in the day and they were re-booking people onto our flight and moving people around, we felt we shouldn't have to change seats because of something that was not our fault, they changed our seats and put us together.
 
     We got to New York. Got a cab to the hotel, it was cold and raining. We are staying just a few blocks from Time Square so we decided that we are here for such a short time that we should go out and see something, so off we went to ramble around Times Square. It was fun to see where Good Morning America is taped, I watch it most mornings. It started sleeting and icing so we headed back to the hotel stopping on the way at a Walgreens for some cold medication, I am still struggling with this stinking cold, I cannot remember having a cold this bad. We went down to the bar for a drink, Joe had a beer and I had a sprite, I took cold medicine.

     It was a very long day what with the delay and the time change.

Tuesday 25th January..Monaco and Monte-Carlo

     Joe and I decided to go back and ramble around Monaco and Monte-Carlo some more, we didn't get enough of it on Sunday. We left by bus from Nice airport at 9:45am and was in Monte-Carlo by 10:30am.

     We got off the bus at a tourist information center, went in and picked up a map. We first walked to the world famous Monte-Carlo Casino, wow! what a building, it cost 10 euros just to walk in the door but it didn't open until 2pm. There were signs all over saying no cameras which was a little dissapointing, Joe thought it was to keep the papperatzi away from the rich and famous entering the casino.
    
     We then made our way to the Royal Palace, this time we climbed the steps to the hill top to see the Palace close up. I had always heard it was the pink Palace but it really is not, some of the surrounding buildings are pinkish and there were pink sheer curtains at the windows. We saw the Cathedral were the American actress Grace Kelly married and became Princess Grace and where Princess Caroline was also married, we didn't go in it was closed. We walked around the gardens and also saw Jaques Coustau's oceanography museum that we were trying to find on Sunday. When we got back from walking in the gardens we were just in time to see the changing of the guard at the Palace gates, that was fun to see.

      We walked down to the harbor and found a street side restaurant for lunch, lamb shank was on the menu so we both had that, the desert was so good. The French know how to do food right.
    
     After lunch we walked the Monte-Carlo Grand Prix circuit, Joe was interested to see how sharp those turns are when you actually see them. Went back to the Casino area and saw people taking photos so I sneaked a couple of the casino, when we were there earlier there were a few police officers around so I didn't dare use my camera then, this afternoon the police had moved on, maybe they were expecting someone famous this morning, who knows.
    
     We walked around the harbor again looking at the yachts, I touched one and wondered how many thousands of dollars I had just touched.
   
     Afer walking around and after seeing everything we both wanted to see we got the bus back to the airport. Walked the few minutes back to the hotel. This evening we have packed ready for the start of our trip back home. Went down to the bar for our last beer in France. We leave Nice at 6:40am tomorrow, flying to Amsterdam and on to New York where we will spend a couple of days before we head back to Minnesota on Friday..

Monday 24th January..Nice

     Today we left the Four Season Resort, too bad really it is very nice to be treated the way the staff treated us, I have never experienced anything like the service they give anywhere before, at dinner last night the wait staff noticed I cannot hardly talk and she brought me hot tea with lemon and honey to help my cold, her idea not mine.
    Jace was leaving to go back to the USA this morning so he offered to take us to the hotel we are now staying at until we leave on Wednesday. This hotel is within walking distance to the Nice airport, Joe and I walked there this morning to check out if there is a bus station or train station there also. We found that we can get a bus to Monaco there at the airport, we are thinking we will go back to Monaco tomorrow, we would like to see more of the town.
     Today Joe and I got a bus into Nice, that was an experience in itself, we were told by the hotel staff where to get the bus and what number etc. What they failed to tell us was which side of the street to get the bus, of course we were on the wrong side, luckily we did tell the driver we wanted to go to Nice city center and she told us wrong bus, we needed to cross the street.
     We were in Nice by 11am and started walking, we had no idea where anything was located but we had heard that there is an old town area and we hoped to find it. We hadn't walked very far before we saw signs for the heritage area. It was fabulous, very narrow streets an alleys to explore, we have never seen anything like it. We went through a market place, it was flea market day all kinds of treasures for sale. I wonder if on other days it is a regular market with fruit, vegetables etc. We walked to the ocean and walked along the promanade, it was bright and sunny but just a little cool. After walking along the oceanside for a while we went back into the streets and found a streetside cafe for lunch and yes they take credit cards. We ordered beers and I had pizza and Joe had all you could eat mussels. Joe finished his mussels or so he thought, they brought him another big bowl of them but this time in a cream sauce instead of butter and garlic, I tried them they were very good and I am not a big fan of mussels.
      After lunch we decided to start walking towards the hotel, partly because we had no idea where to get the bus back but mainly because it turned into such a warm day and it felt good being outside in the sun and warmth. We found a drug store and we went in to see if we could get something to help me cope with this cold thing that I have. The person we spoke to knew some English and she helped find something to try, just add it to water she said. We walked and walked and finally made it back to the hotel. It was about three miles walk from Nice.
     Now I wanted to take this medication, I had no idea how much water? cold? hot? so I got on-line and googled it, didn't tell me much, so I figured I would put it in water and hope for the best, as soon as I opened the packet of powder I knew what to do, it was a hot drink mix.
    We were so tired after our day of walking and sightseeing that we haven't moved out of the hotel this evening...tomorrow we are going back to ramble around Monaco some more..

Sunday 23rd January..Monaco...Monte-Carlo...Cannes

          After breakfast we met Jace and the three of us went to visit Monaco and Monte-Carlo. Jace still has his rental car so he drove. It only took about a hour to get to Monaco. We parked up and started walking, we got to the harbor and there were lots of very large yachts moored, boy how the other half live. We were trying to find Jaques Costeau's ocean museum but it seemed we could'nt walk to it from were we where so we walked back to the car stopping to look at The Japanese Gardens on the way.
     We drove around trying to find this museum, Jace programed the GPS but it kept telling us to turn into a street that was a one way street-the wrong way. Afer driving around in a circle three times we gave up and decided to get out of there. Along with the harbor we also saw the Royal Palace on the hill top, the famous Monte-Carlo casino and some very expensive stores that we could'nt even afford to walk into.
     We headed to Cannes, passing Nice on the way. Again we parked up and walked to the ocean. By this time we were looking for somewhere to eat lunch, we got seated at an oceanside cafe but found that they did not take credit cards only cash and between the three of us we didn't have enough euros to pay for lunch so we left. We did find another restaurant that took credit cards. We ordered drinks and our appertizers and didn't get chance to order our main course because the waiter took the menus away. We did notice that they served lunch between 12noon and 2:30pm, it was already 2:20pm when they seated us but they did seat us. When we had finshed our appertizers we were asked if we wanted dessert or coffee, we declined. The waiters were hovering around the tables and as soon as anyone got up and left they prepared the table for the evening meal. Apparently they close from 2:30pm until 7pm. We payed the bill and moved on, what little food we did have was very good, too bad they didn't give us the chance to try more.
     We took a look around the area, Gucchi and Prada come to mind, they were closed, not too many stores open on a Sunday in Europe. I took quite a few photos of our rambles today which I need to work on posting...

Saturday 22nd January..Manchester back to Nice..

          Here I am sitting in Manchester airport. It was strange in the security area, I was the only person around besides the about ten security workers, I even commented on it to one of the guards.
       I said goodbye to Rose, Marie, Olivia and Amelia a little while ago, they all brought me to the airport. It is always hard saying goodbye, I never know when I am going to back in England, I know I will be back but when...Rose and I of course had the customary tears.
     I have about another hour to wait for my flight to Amsterdam. I have wandered around and looked at the shops..WH Smith, Boots Drug store etc. I bought a bottle of Ribena Blackcurrant, thought that the vitamin C might do me good, I have a stinking cold.
     Joe called Rose's house before I left, he will be in Nice waiting for me tonight and probably Jace will drive. Joe said we may go to Monaco tomorrow which is something to look forward to but right now I am very sad.
     Got here in Amsterdam without any problems, well just one, I was in a middle seat, only a hour flight so no big drama. It looks like we are going to be bussed out to the plane. I have eaten my crunchie bar Rose gave me while I have been sitting here. It is very boring traveling by myself, I dont know how Joe does it all the time. Oh! It seems like my flight is going to be leaving thirty minutes late, wont get into Nice until about 11pm now. Going to board now...

Friday 21st January..Meeting an old school friend after 40 plus years

      Today Rose and I went back into Manchester, we got the train again and we were in Manchester by 10:30am. We went back to Primark and I did get the boots I saw a couple of days ago. I also got Adam a Manchester City Football [soccer] jersey. Today we are meeting an old school friend, I haven't seen her for forty some years. I have talked to Rita on-line. We met at 12noon and went to the Printworks center to Papa Gs a Greek restaurant, we all had a Greek Village Salad with Salmon, it was very good. We had a good time catching up with Rita and talking over old times at school. After lunch we were thinking we might ride the Manchester Eye but we ran out of time, Rose had to get back to pick the girls up from school. I had been a little nervous about meeting Rita not knowing how we would get on but it was a good time. Next time I am in town it would be fun to meet up with her again.

    I have developed a sore throat over the last couple of days..I hope I dont have tonsillitus

Thursday 20th January..Ashton under Lyne

    Today Rose and I went to Ashton-U-Lyne. This is a town were we lived and went to school. Last time I was in England Rose and I went to meet Pam an old friend we were at school with, we had not seen her for 40 plus years. We went to meet Pam again and have lunch with her. We went to the Ash Tree Pub which is part of the Wetherspoon chain of pubs. We had a good lunch and a nice time with Pam.
     We headed back towards Rochdale stopping at the Range store, I was looking for Frys Chocolate Cream bars to take back for my Mom, they didn't have any. It was a very cold foggy day. It was good to get back to Roses and get warm inside.

Wednesday 19th January..Manchester

     Both girls went back to school today. Marie took the day off work so that Rose, Marie and myself could have a day of shopping in Manchester. Rose and I met Marie at the train station in Littleborough and got into Manchester about 10:30am. Went shopping at Primark, I saw a pair of boots I might get on Friday when we will be in Manchester again.We then went to Greggs bakery and got a pasty, got coffee at Costa. Shopped in the Arndale center [shopping mall] We headed back to Victoria station for the 3pm train but it had been cancelled, the next train was at 3:20 but that one was 15 minutes late, it was becoming very cold waiting on the platform for this train. We got back to Roses at about 4:30pm.
    This evening we all went to The Temujin Mongolian Restaurant in Sowbey Bridge a small town 45 minutes away. It was excellent, a little bit like the Mongolian Grill in Burnsville Mn.
    A good day of shopping and a good night out.

Tuesday 18th January..Oldham

     Both girls are sick now and are staying home from school. Rose and I went to Oldham a little town about 40 minutes away. Oldham is a town I used to shop at many years ago. We went through the indoor market, there was not an outdoor market today. Went to the store Primark then went to my favorite bakery Greggs for a cheese and onion pasty. Had a coffee and then did some more shopping at Debenhams,WH Smith and Boots. We headed back to Roses, she made Beef Steak puddings for dinner, another one of my things I have to eat while in England.

Monday17th January..around Walsden

     Amelia is going to the doctors this morning. It is a dull and dreay day but it's not raining yet. We dont have any plans today, I might go for a walk around the village.
    Amelia has tonsillitus.
Rose and I went for a walk to Gorden Riggs garden center, I always make a point of looking around the center and also the Mill shop across the street..oh yes they are selling plants and shrubs to put in the ground already.

Sunday 16th January..The City Of York

     We had a great day today although for a while there I thought that we might not go to York, Amelia got up with an earache, she really wanted to go toYork, she didn't want to spoil, the day for everyone and it was the only day of my visit that we could all go off for the day, Marie is working most of the week and the girls have school, so Amelia took some medication and off we went. It took about two hours to drive to York. Last time I was there must be at least 30 years ago.
     We walked around and we saw Cliffords Tower, I need to research this, it looks like it was once part of York Castle. We next got coffee at Costa Coffee Shop. We walked around some more and saw The Shambles which is a small narrow cobbled street of shops. Next we found a Fish and Chip shop and had fish and chips for lunch, I was beginning to think all we were going to do was eat and drink. After lunch we did get down to some serious sightseeing, first of all we went to York Minster Cathedral, it dates from the 1100s. I read a lot of Henry V111 novels and I know that he once visited York Minster. After this we went to the Jorvik Viking Museum, this is a museum about how the Vikings lived, no not the Minnesota Vikings the real Vikings that invaded England. There was a ride that took us through a recreated Viking village with all the scents and sounds of the times..very smelly. We spent a lot of time looking around..very interesting.
     We left York at about 4pm and arrived back to Roses about 6pm. It was a rainy day but not cold..a good time was had by everyone.