After completing our last season as managers at the Beaver Island Lodge, we were exactly back where we were 10 years ago when I wrote the story “Wide Open Spaces Ahead of Us”. Our first …
Flying Ryan Air from Stansted, London to Eindhoven, Netherlands is a quick pleasure as long as you stick to their contracted requirements. Have your luggage in properly sized and weighted suitcases and you onboard backpacks …
The train from Southampton dropped us off at Victoria Station in London’s City of Westminster district. We had figured out that a 15 minute walk down Belgrave Rd would bring us to our hotel …
Our transatlantic Princess cruise 2025 intentionally ended in Southampton UK, as it was about a two hour drive from my long awaited dream of visiting Seaton Village in the UK. Caught a taxi to the …
La Coruña was the intended and much anticipated Port of Call in northern Spain’s Galicia region. Because of ongoing bad weather patterns during this cruise we could not make a daylong stop there and everything …
Port of Call Casablanca, Morocco: “Here’s looking at you, Kid” No we didn’t visit Rick’s Café Americain, famous from the 1942 Hollywood movie Casablanca with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Even though the café is …
Storms to the north forced us to change the Portuguese Island of Madeira for Santa Cruz de Tenerife for the much farther south Spanish Canary Islands. Santa Cruz de Tenerife was a good choice, especially …
Our first transatlantic cruise in 2022 was mostly the result of a Covid test gone lopsided, which prevented us from flying to Curaçao in the southern Caribbean. It was meant for a two wee trip …
This offseason had to be scheduled a bit different since TJ needed some facial skin procedures as a result of cancerous spots. Since we did not know the length of the recovery process we decided …
Remembering the good times we had during our first winter on Beaver Island during Covid, and the fact that we have made deep friendships with some other “islanders”, combined again with the fact that it …
After completing our last season as managers at the Beaver Island Lodge, we were exactly back where we were 10 years ago when I wrote the story “Wide Open Spaces Ahead of Us”. Our first trip then was also to Nashville, where Han’s oldest friend in the US had moved to. Sadly Ric passed away a couple of years ago, so now we visited Kay his widow in Brentwood TN, a suburb of Nashville, for almost a month in Dec/Jan of 2026. This is also our last trip south in our trusty Nissan Murano which we purchased exactly 10 years ago. And the end of this trip she goes to another dear friend, while we take a transatlantic cruise over to Europe for an extended stay. But first some travel impressions from this last north-south trip.
There are so many amazing restaurants near her home, that we did not have to venture far to experience something new and delicious.
Flying Ryan Air from Stansted, London to Eindhoven, Netherlands is a quick pleasure as long as you stick to their contracted requirements. Have your luggage in properly sized and weighted suitcases and you onboard backpacks according to your purchased plans and you’re fine. If not, you pay a good amount of extra money. We paid about $29 each for the one way trip.
Our travel plan was simple; land in Eindhoven, take the public bus to the train station and connect via Province of Limburg’s beautiful Roman capital city of Maastricht to the old medieval village of Valkenburg some 15 minutes away and check into the Dormio Wine Hotel directly across from the train station. It all worked out perfectly and we were having our favorite Dutch Indonesian dish of Babi Pangang at 7pm that night.
Valkenburg Train Station
Now Babi Pangang is a Chinese/Indonesian dish of roasted (Pangang) pork (Babi) with some goody Asian veggies thrown in for taste and frankly the only country that knows how to make it to perfection is the Netherlands.
The Dormio Hotel concept is a new one in Europe where private people can invest in a hotel acquisition company that buys condo projects throughout Europe. We were planning to stay a full week and they immediately upgraded us upon arrival to a larger and more luxuriously outfitted room. Very nice.
Valkenburg is a domestic tourism destination for the Netherlands, pretty much in the same way as the Hamptons are for New York or Cornwall for London. The village is loaded with family hotels and restaurant and attractions such as castle ruins, sandstone caves, entertainment parks and much more. But for us it is also located right in the middle of family and friends. Medieval churches, Roman museums, tons of castles on rivers and lakes and the close by availability of the very reliable Dutch rail- and bus systems.
Valkenburg was the first European destination TJ ever stayed, as we did our first travel to Europe in 2016 and we choose Valkenburg for a week’s stay to fight the Jetlag before catching up with Han’s family. During the Christmas Season 2019, we once again visited Valkenburg as it features the magnificent Christmas Markets in the Caves.
Valkenburg aan de Geul
Valkenburg Walking path into town
Valkenburg stations street
Shopping Street Valkenburg
Valkenburg Restaurant Street
Valkenburg river decorations
Valkenburg hilltop castle ruins
Our friend in Jamaican t-shirt
Valkenburg busking musician
Valkenburg sidewalk cafés
Babi Pangang plate
Valkenburg schnitzel
Delicious bitterballen snack in Valkenburg
loempias Indonesian style
Baked loempia full with veggies
Limburgse vlaai delicacy dessert
Fifteen minutes by train west took us to the ancient Roman city of Maastricht, with its city walls, a couple of thousand year old churches, tree shaded squares with bars and pubs, and cobblestoned medieval tiny roads opening up to majestic squares. It was one of Han’s major hangouts while growing up, playing in bands and going to school. It’s a lot like Amsterdam but on an even smaller scale. We walked the streets, shopped some souvenirs in fabulous stores and ate some scrumptious local delicacies on sidewalk cafés. Back on the train, we agreed that the Dormio hotel choice was perfect.
The next day we did the same but this time we took the train east to Heerlen, the former capital of the Dutch Coal mines, where Han was born. The city has modernized a lot since they closed the mines in 1968 says Han. Handsome shopping malls and modern airy stores stand next to old neighborhood bars and restaurants. The city originated as a Roman road intersection (Coriovallum) with resting place and saunas for the exhausted travelers. When accidentally discovering the exact spot of the roman thermal baths in the late 1960 during an excavation for a city flat development, the city stopped the development and built a museum over the thermal baths, which has now become a major attraction for the city.
Heerlen kerkplein
Heerlen Café Brakke
A Selections of Macarons
Maastricht Macarons: a delight
Maastricht and the Maas river
Maastricht old city hall
A protected pedestrian walkway
At the first sign of a sunny day
Onze Lieve Vrouwen Church and the Vrijthof Square
Like old times and friends; a great lunch
Directions to Veuve Clicquot
Yet another day later we took the train east to go and see brother and sister-in-law Jos and Ria, where we stayed a week during our 2019/20 visit. They had sold their Carré Farm – Exhibition several years before and moved back to the small city where she was from and he studied. This time we could only go for an afternoon of catching up and dinner because they were going on vacation to Cyprus that week and we were flying back to the States later that week. Yet we had another great afternoon followed by an exquisite dinner of salmon and white asparagus and left in pure delight in the early evening. Kudos to chef Jos.
Brothers
A Sad Goodbye – Han’s older brother Eef had been severely ill for years, mostly home bound with very limited mobility and chance of improvement. A week before our arrival he had been moved to the general hospital in Heerlen and medical predictions were not good. With family we had agreed to visit him on Sunday afternoon and in line with the Limburg burgundic mentality a small party was organized. He enjoyed it and TJ gave him a little bunny as companion. A couple of days later, he crossed the rainbow in direct view of the Maternity Home (de Vroedvrouwen School) he was born in almost 77 years ago. RIP Eef, yours was a good life.
A Couple of days later we took the train to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and stayed at NH Hotel until our plane would depart for a return to the States. This particular choice was made based on the transportation service that NH Hotels offered and a special rate they offered.. They had a 30 minute bus service from hotel to airport from where we took the train to Amsterdam Central Station, from where it is just a short walk to almost all attractions, museums and markets. In 2016 we ate Poffertjes at the flower market and TJ wanted to get them again if they were still open. They were and we enjoyed them again. A stroll up and down de Kalverstraat, where TJ fell in love with the exclusive Adidas store and added necessities to her favorite clothing collection. Across the Damrak, a short walk led us over the Walletjes and the Canals and our passion for Amsterdam’s particular sense of absolute freedom (XXX) was renewed.
What's there not to love?
Central Station Amsterdam
Amsterdam Canals and Living on the water
Damrak and Vredes Paleis
Amsterdam's Claim to Fame
Damrak, a famous meeting monument during the 60s
Fields of FLowers on the Canals
The Flower Market
Surprise Attack on the Poffertjes
Staring down Kalverstraat
Public Pissoir
Cash and Window Shopping
Amsterdam Brown Café
Make it fit!
Small Spaces, Small Cars
Bicycle Decorations
Ludiek Amsterdam
Forgotten Glories at the Westertoren
Shortcut to another city part
Amsterdam's famous Logo
The next day, our last day in Europe on this trip was a planned visit to the Keukenhof; the Dutch National Flower Park. We had tried visiting 9 years earlier, but the season had already passed then. This time we came in earlier, together with a couple of hundred thousand other visitors. But the park in full bloom is truly amazing. Decades ago it a well designed garden with ponds, canals and a couple of windmills and park section with different types of tulips. Today it’s a full fledged display of several dozens of flower merchants from throughout the region displaying the scientific manifestations of what is possible these days in the creation of colors, shapes and sizes. Now there are many ways to visit, but the easy way is a bus that leaves from Schiphol Airport (Departure passage 233) near the airport entrance. The cost for bus and park entry is Eur 32 p/person and the trip takes about 30 minutes each way. Well worth a visit.
Keukenhof Main Entrance
Fields of Flowers
Inside the Park
Experimenting with colors
Experimenting with designs
Different experimentations
Design experimentations
Late blooming tulips
Park features
Bridges over Ponds
Subtle statues in the grass
Nostalgic Street Organ Music
A working windmill keeps the flowers watered
The next day we had a noon flight back with Delta to Nashville Tennessee, where we picked up our car and began yet another return trip to Beaver Island after a short visit with the kids and grandkids in Holland, Michigan.
We had contracted for one more Summer Season on Beaver Island, Michigan
The train from Southampton dropped us off at Victoria Station in London’s City of Westminster district. We had figured out that a 15 minute walk down Belgrave Rd would bring us to our hotel on Warwick Way. And it did, even with large suitcases down the sidewalk. But before we decided to check in, we needed a coffee and a cigarette. And the sunny outside café the Marquis of Westminster Pub and Restaurant on the corner of Warwick Way and Belgrave was the perfect place to do this: enjoying our favorite pastime of people watching over a drink and a cig. The place was so cool the we decided to have dinner there as well.
The Warwick by Nestor seemed like a nice, affordable little hotel located in the accessible heart of Westminster, but our room however was in the basement, after a climb down a dangerous wooden stair case. Very strange room in layout, but the location made it work for us.
The first full day of our stay we would be walking to world-famous department store Harrod’s on Knightsbridge and maybe have something to drink on Hans Road (?). Well the phenomenon that is Harrod’s distracted us for the better part of several hours, simply because there is nothing like it in the world to our knowledge. Although the old magnificent Harrod’s from the 1960s and 1970s is no more. What was once ONE STORE that had the entire world for sale is now more of an exhibition of the world’s foremost brandnames where you can order incredible luxury items: a 50.000 British pound speaker box or a 125,000 Pound model Ferrari, you can buy it here, choc.
Welcome to Harrod's; step into our Elevator
Have a delight at Hans Crescent
Harrod's Opulence on full display
A Hand-fitted riding saddle
A snake necklace for 165.000 British Pounds
Han in a Mini Cooper model for sale
A 125,000 Pounds Ferrari Testosterossa J Model
A $90,000 Bugatti model
More cars at Harrod's
Chocolates from around the world
A $90,000 home racing simulator
How about a $38,000 football ?
Interested in diamond studded shoes?
Harrod's Beauty and Food Halls
Dior's Corner of Harrod's
Love is a London Thing
After this bedazzling display of capitalistic insanity we set out on a trip to nearby Hyde Park to let it all sink in , followed by a quick walk to Fortnum and Mason past Hyde Park Corner and then via a stroll down Constitution Hill to Buckingham Palace where we watched the Royal Guard’s Band perform Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody in front of maybe 50,000 tourists from all over the world. And this was just early in April!!!
A short walk down the Mall to take some more pictures of important British Aristocratic statues, followed by a visit to the Buckingham Palace Gift Shop and from there a quick stop at famous British retailer Marks & Spencer, we wound our way back via Victoria to the Warwick neighborhood and hotel. Dinner choice was once again provided by the Marquis of Westminster neighborhood bar & restaurant. Our watch indicated an 18,000 plus step day and we were properly proud of ourselves as well as deeply tired to the bone.
The pedestrian crossing from the pub to our hotel
History all around you
A London street scene
Knightsbridge Station
A fullsize Rhino for display
Just a Tuesday on Knightsbridge
Hyde Park Playgrounds
The Duke of Wellington
Entrance to Buckingham Palace
Palace Guard Playing Bohemian Rhapsody
The famous Victoria Memorial
Magnificent, delicious pub food at the Marquis
Our second day in London offered a wider visitor view of the city via a Hop On Hop Off bus tour, which also included a sail on the Thames River for past the Tower Bridge in the north to past the Vauxhall Bridge in the south. Usually we do a Hop On Hop Off Tour on our first day, so we can define which places to visit the next two or three days, but this time we figured the first day was for all attractions in the Westminster area. Of course a city like London has a least 5 or 6 different Hop On Hop Off offerings. Our selection stayed close to the Thames River, as we wanted to see the parts of London that defined the British Empire during its heyday, and that included Houses of Parliament, the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge with the Docks, Fleet Street, the London Stock Exchange, the Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, Waterloo Square and all the institutions that once controlled more than one quart of all the world’s land.
We picked up the Hop On at Victoria Station and were taken immediately across the Westminster Bridge for a closer look at the London Eye. Since it had only been there since the turn of the century, Han had not seen it either. The London Eye, originally the Millennium Wheel, is the world’s tallest cantilevered observation wheel, with more than three million visitors annually. The structure is 135 metres (443 ft) tall and the wheel has a diameter of 120 metres (394 ft). The Eye was the highest public viewing point in London until 2013, when it was surpassed by the 245-meter (804 ft) View from The Shard observation deck. The capsules are designed to move slowly with the wheel, completing one full rotation in about 30 minutes, which allows passengers to board and disembark without the wheel stopping. The 32 capsules not only serve a functional purpose but also symbolically represent each of London’s boroughs, making the ride both an engineering marvel and a cultural icon. There are 32 Capsules but none carries Number 13. Long live superstition. The Millennial Wheel moves in a continuum, traveling at a pace of 0.9km per hour, allowing passengers to board and hop off without the wheel ever needing to come to a complete stop.
On our continuing trip on the Southside of the river, it became clear that most of the important developments in London over the past 50 years have been south of the City of London and the Thames River. As the bus crawls eastward past the London Bridge to the Tower Bridge, we witness the enormous traffic congestion causing frequent long stops. Finally we make it to the Tower Bridge which we take to the Tower of London on the northern river embankment. Behind the Tower hotel are the famous St.Katherine’s Docks where in historic times clipper ships like the Cutty Shark and Thermopylae found their anchorage after completing heated tea races from China in the 1800s.
At the Tower of London stop we get off the bus for a drink and a short walk to the river cruise boats, while London’s music scene awakes on the squares. London has a vibrant busking scene, with talented musicians performing in iconic, high-traffic areas like here near the Tower Bridge Piazza and the Royal Menagerie. while we enjoy the music, we’ll watch the Tower’s Royal Mint entrance with the Traitor’s Gate behind it and reminisce about the bygone eras of Victorian and Elizabethan conquering.
Then it’s time to go aboard the river sightseeing boat and yes, it’s a must do tour to see London from the water. A completely different perspective, one not filled with thousands of tourists. You see the architectural wonders of the Gherkin office building in the financial district that keeps on showing up in pictures and the Shard Building which offers the highest viewing/photo platform in London these days. You learn the history of the many bridges over the Thames, the Monument of the great London Fire and so much more. And then of course you’ll get an unobstructed view of the Houses of Parliament as well. We decided to take both legs of the water sightseeing tour which got us back to the Tower of London area for continuation by Hop On Hop Off bus. we completed the loop which slowly took us down to the Victoria Station by the end of the day.
The sun had been setting on the British Empire for a while now, but it was still impressive to witness what it once was.
Egg or Gherkin, you'll be the judge!
City of London from Tower Bridge south access
The Tower Bridge from the Thames
St.Katherine's Docks
London Tower
Early Spring day in London
London Busking
The Royal Courts of Justice
Big Ben and Houses of Parliament Gardens
Cities like London are always under construction
Westminster Abbey
London Apollo Victoria
London Victoria Palace
London pub interior
A quick walk down the Westminster street scenes took us back to the hotel where we started packing for our next day departure by bus to Stansted Airport 31 miles to the north of the city from where Ryanair would fly us to Eindhoven in the Netherlands for our last 10 days of family visits and a trip to the Tulip Festival at the Keukenhof near Amsterdam.
In two full days of London, we did exactly what we had set out to do: see a number of the historic sites and walk the inner city for some local flavor. London is witness of the British former empire, in statues and a multi national diverse population. This is not so much apparent in places like Devon, Cornwall or the Lake District. But it definitely shows in the big cities. We will be back for more later.
Our transatlantic Princess cruise 2025 intentionally ended in Southampton UK, as it was about a two hour drive from my long awaited dream of visiting Seaton Village in the UK.
Caught a taxi to the airport to pick up our rental car, which I was not on board about but Han really wanted the car. Literally to make a long horrific scary story short, unless you are extremely familiar with driving on the left, dealing with UK traffic, huge roundabouts, teeny tiny country roads or enjoy arguing with your mate…leave the rental car and take any other means of transportation. We visited Seaton for a week and I never got back in, until we had to return the car. It will try the best of relationships.
The staff was very nice and said I was the first “Seaton” that they could remember ever staying there. Close to town, a large grocery store “Tesco” next door, a rocky beach with massive boardwalk was just across the street, unique restaurants within a short walk and charming homes for as far as you could see. The hotel has a restaurant attached, but they were forever running out of multiple menu items.
Totally frowned upon the fact that you have to pay for parking and wifi at the hotel, which was very pricey.
Hotel is nothing fancy, but it met our needs and was fairly quiet. All in all, it was an enjoyable and comfortable stay.
For being off-season there were many stores and restaurants open, but then again the weather was unusually pleasant for the time of year.
We strolled through a few cemeteries because history fascinates me, but I was also hoping to glimpse some Seaton family graves, however we did not locate any. I did purchase my share of “Seaton” tourist goodies however.
The resale stores there are surprisingly easy on the wallet. It has many cute parks for people/dog watching. One feels very at home almost immediately.
Our friends David and Glenda with whom we met in Portugal Jan. of 2020 lived close by. We had a wonderful opportunity to spend more quality time with them. They drove us to neighboring towns of Beer and Sidmouth the day after our arrival. I sat in the back seat and covered my eyes a lot. Just when you think a road cannot get any skinnier, they do.
We had the largest most fantastic breakfast EVER at unassuming Beer Head Bistro. It is located on the Jurassic Coastline and set in a caravan vacation park. We needed nothing else until dinnertime, better yet, we were full.. The inside decor of the restaurant is beyond charming. This was my first experience eating a “full English breakfast” with many more in my future.
Next stop was Sidmouth. I had more energy than the other three, so I set off to do a bit of shopping, beach rock/boardwalk inspections, take photos and revel in the architecture. Sidmouth has a lot of sights to offer and I could have spent at least a week here also. Joined the rest of the crew to have some espresso, people watch and admire all the doggies parading in the sunshine. People in the UK have a lot of dogs and majority of stores welcome them along with their owners.
After a long wait we're almost there...
not much room to play with
Activity overload promised
Seaton - an Ancestry Away?
Glenda in anticipation of English Breakfast
David, English oak at its very best
As you want it interior decorations
Shopping street in town
Walking the waterfront, everyone's favorite pastime
Faulkner Hotel to the left!
Seaton downtown intersection
England's sense of colorful living. You've got to love it.
Seaton has a tramway from the olden days that still runs through the wetlands and stops in some small villages to the north. It was one of the highlights of our stay in Seaton. With it being off season, quite a few places were closed in each village, but still enough open and architecture to enjoy. Had a sweet treat and coffee in a locals restaurant. The vibe was very chill and welcoming, with everyone chatting to each other and a cute dog relaxing underneath one of the tables.
Dogs are also welcome in most restaurants in the UK. They have figured out that dogs are less problematic and cleaner than many humans.
There is so much history and information about the tram, that I suggest youclick on the link to see it all. Wear comfortable walking shoes and use a walking stick or cane if you have trouble traversing hills.
David and Glenda came by again to be our driver and tour guides of beautiful, fascinating Lyme Regis.
So very thankful for their friendship. Also for driving.
Regis, a World Heritage Site, is by far the steepest small town I have experienced. Today on the menu was Swim Restaurant for breakfast. Beautiful location on the water, extremely nice staff, high reviews and so forth, but we were all underwhelmed with the breakfast. I could not help but compare it to my first experience of the English breakfast in Beer (see above picture). Personally it was one and done for me. However, all four of us felt similar about it.
Back to checking out Regis… As Han, David and Glenda decided to relax on the seafront boardwalk having coffee, I had the bright idea of climbing the stairs from the boardwalk to the top of the village. I admit when I am wrong and I was out of my mind wrong about this. I lost count of the stair steps or even how many times I had to catch my breath. At first it is a zig-zag walkable incline, then steps that shoot up into the wild blue yonder. Just when you think you are at the top: nope, you have a very steep zig-zag path to continue the workout. Thanking whoever put random benches to rest before continuing. Once you are at the top, the world feels like it unfurls at your feet and I couldn’t believe I made it without calling for medical assistance. This is no exaggeration either. Then I started my descent to find the rest of the crew. I felt like I had run a marathon by the time I found them relaxing on a bench like smart people.
cemeteries and graveyards; where history becomes heavy
A church hiding among houses
Religeous color schemes
A Typical English Waterfront Look
Some strangely disturbing door ornaments
Any room can serve a great afternoon tea
Spend a day in the book/record store
British humor: tempus fugit amor manet
A scene in Devon on the Water
A great Chinese Restaurant in Seaton Village
All roads lead to Rome?
Life used to be so simple
The horse does not agree with the sign
Life portrays colorful in this part of the world
With the choice to drive back to Southampton on Sunday or Monday, we decided to drive at ease on Sunday, rather than in Monday morning workweek traffic. Why put yourself under pressure? The trip back to Southampton was not as horrifying but we were very glad to turn the car in. Of course that was until they tried to rip us off, and tell us we stole the boot out of the back that covers the luggage area. We were not even aware there was not one originally in the car. They were just trying to find a sucker to blame it on. It didn’t fly and we were not charged. Besides that, we had purchased insurance. Also the car rental airport crew are completely lacking in manners. Not to go into details, but we were not the only ones whose return process started off negatively.
Note: Don’t rent from Avis or Budget, they are in same building with same workers.
La Coruña was the intended and much anticipated Port of Call in northern Spain’s Galicia region. Because of ongoing bad weather patterns during this cruise we could not make a daylong stop there and everything was cut short to a quick stop in the foggy cruise port to offload some passengers and a crew of entertainers and interestingly enough upload a handful of British Immigration officers to check on our new stamps and facilitate an easy ETA Visa entry in the United Kingdom.. Our anticipation had been an access to the popular Camino de Santiago de Compostela, a little bit to the south of La Coruña.
The Camino (pilgrimage) started in the early 9th century after mysticism and legend put Jesus’ apostle St. James’s gravesite in Galicia. The cathedral build in Santiago (which in Spanish means St.James) became the focus point of many different caminos in the 12 centuries since, gaining in popularity in recent years.
Our more in-depth research will probably have to wait until we decide to “settle” in the Northern Portugal area, because this time for us it was on to Southampton, where the cruise ends and our British discovery adventure begins.
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