A Snapshot of New York in March

A Quick Trip to the U.S.

Husband had a work trip in New York, so I decided to tag along. I knew it had been snowing (even more than usual) so chose my clothes carefully: no thick sweaters because all rooms, restaurants and taxis would have heating on full, very thick coat because outside would be freezing, walking boots because paths would be wet and salty. This all worked well except that I had not thought about the journey. As we walked through the exec lounge and sat in first class on the plane, everyone else was wearing suits and smart shoes. I pretended I was part of Bear Gryll’s production team and dirty walking boots were completely normal footwear. Think everyone was fooled. (Except for husband, who banned the woolly hat until we had left the airport.)

Stayed in the Chatwal Hotel on 44th Street btwn 6th & 7th Ave. Very nice place to stay, comfortable and clean with excellent facilities and art deco furnishings.

When we first arrived, I wanted to go and see the flower display that Rebecca Law had done in the Viacom building in Times Square.

I had seen it on the internet, so was interested to see it myself.

There are three different art displays, one in each entrance and one at the top of the escalators, before you go through the security barriers.

I liked them a lot, especially the upstairs one as it was in a smaller area and you could smell the flowers as they dried.

It was interesting to notice that people leaving the building all tended to look up at the display as they passed.Most art displays become ‘invisible’ after a while, where as this was clearly still being looked at.

We spoke to a man who worked there and had been involved with assembling the display. He said it was quite hard work. I think he enjoyed talking about it more than he had enjoyed actually doing it.

Strolled around. There were piles of snow heaped in the gutters and all the paths were very wet. I liked looking up, seeing all the different levels of rooflines. Lots of huge billboards flashing brightly lit adverts. The streets smell of roasted chestnuts and hotdogs as you pass the vendors. It was so cold, any exposed face actually hurt.

Went to Duane Reade – useful if you travel with someone who snores (earplugs), are feeling unwell (medicines), or have lost your luggage (make up and toiletries.) They also have food for when you wake at 4am wide awake because the time zone is different.

Passed the New York Public Library, which I have seen many times but never actually been into, so decided to go inside. It has a beautiful entrance, you walk up marble steps into a marble lobby with many staircases.
I walked upstairs and came to a hallway with a beautifully painted ceiling and lovely carved door frames. Went into a room, where people were working at long tables and portraits lined the walls. There were no books. I had seen the library in a film where they had burned books to keep warm, so I was pretty sure there should be books. Unless they had burned them in real life?
Explored a bit further. Still did not see any books. There were lots of doors, which were locked. Found more paintings and a book in a glass case. Began to find this amusing. Were there books in this library? I wondered if the architect had got carried away with making it all look lovely and had then decided he did not want it spoiled with lots of books. Maybe the initial brief had been unclear. Guessed this may have caused some arguments, especially as the word ‘library’ had been carved above the entrance.
Asked a guard if there were any books. He directed me into a room of map books. Not really what I had hoped for. Saw lots of people studying microfiche, but no books.
Decided to go back to the entrance and ask at the ‘information’ desk. Felt a little surreal to ask “Are there any books in the library?” However, found a very helpful little man who looked like he should have been selling magic wands. He explained that actually this was a research library. He told me that most books – novels etc – are kept in the library opposite. He then clearly decided that as I was foreign, I may not understand what a library was, so went on to explain that residents could obtain a library card and could both read books or even borrow them and take them home for a week or two. Managed to keep my expression interested and surprised. Thanked him and left. I still have a feeling that I somehow managed to miss a huge room full of books, but I never found it. Beautiful building though.

Went to bed about 5pm. Woke about 3:30 am. At 4am, gave up on sleep and got up. Decided to try and find a deli or diner for some breakfast. It was snowing quite heavily, so very happy to have my sturdy walking boots and big coat. Did not expect to meet anyone, so pulled on jeans and coat over pyjamas. Felt rather adventurous to stand in Times Square wearing pyjamas!

New York at 4am is very nice. It is still brightly lit and feels very safe (I wouldn’t go down any small alleyways but main streets were fine.)

Lots of people were around – mainly shift workers and homeless people I guess.

Found a deli and had bagels and coffee. Nowhere in the world does bagels and coffee like New York. Perfect.

Walked past the ABC studios. They have a window into the studio, so you can watch them filming the breakfast show.

We were joined by a lady who became very excited to see Mary Mary about to perform. Apparently they are famous gospel singers. We joined her in waving excitedly and they looked pleased and waved back.

Luckily they didn’t know we had absolutely no idea at all who they were!

At 8:30 NY time, we went into the hotel restaurant and had pancakes and more coffee. (I was showered and dressed by now, in case you were wondering.) Had a stack of pancakes and maple syrup. Another New York essential. I figured this counted as lunch if I stay on BST.

In the afternoon we met some friends. Got a taxi (they allowed us to fit 4 people) to Central Park. It was so pretty with all the snow.

Ate in Tavern on the Green. This is a lovely restaurant right in the park, inside had lots of art deco furnishings, outside twinkling lights reflecting on the snow. It had comfy seats (makes a big difference to a meal!) and an open kitchen so you could watch the chefs. When we had eaten there previously (1999) it had a smart dress code but now it is casual, so jeans were okay.
Food was nice but my body thought it was 2am and could not cope with eating much. They packed up the remains of my dinner ‘to go’, which all restaurants in US seem happy to do and it takes the guilt out of having a small appetite.
A lovely evening in a beautiful venue.

Didn’t go shopping, but there is every opportunity if that’s what you enjoy.

It would at least be warm.

Another, colder, option is to visit the Intrepid Aircraft Carrier museum on the Hudson.

You could then eat in a typical American diner.

I ate in the Market Diner on 11th Ave and W34 street.

Had pie and coffee and pretended I was Jack Reacher.

A slightly more luxurious alternative with a much better view is dessert for $12 at The Mandarin Oriental on Columbus Circle. Afternoon tea is $48 (or $80 with a glass of champagne.) If you want a window table (which you will) then be sure to book it when you make your reservation.

Another fun thing to do is to walk along The High Line. This is a disused elevated freight railway, which has now been turned into a park/walkway. In March, with all the plants under snow and in freezing wind, is probably not the best time to see it. However, even in arctic conditions it is interesting. You can see lots of old industrial buildings, there is random artwork along the route and best of all you can walk for nearly two miles without constantly stopping for road junctions. (Walking in New York is mostly slow and disjointed unless you are in Central Park.)

Being in New York is always fun, always easy and there is always something to do. Even a short trip is worth the jet lag.
(And if you happen to know where the books are in the public library, please do tell me in the comments below!)

If you enjoyed this, you will love my new book: The Sarcastic Mother’s Holiday Diary.
I have always written a diary on holiday, so last Christmas, I decided to find all my old diaries and blogs, and make a book for my children. However, several other people also asked for a copy, so I have written a public version – it’s available on Amazon and has been described as “The Durrells meet Bill Bryson”!

Why not buy a copy today? I think it will make you laugh.

The US link is here:US link

https://www.amazon.com/Sarcastic-Mothers-Holiday-Diary-ebook/dp/B07N95281F/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1549015525&sr=8-1&keywords=the+sarcastic+mothers+holiday+diary

The India link is here: India link

https://www.amazon.in/Sarcastic-Mothers-Holiday-Diary-ebook/dp/B07N95281F/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1549015429&sr=8-1&keywords=the+sarcastic+mothers+holiday+diary

The UK link is here: UK Link Here!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sarcastic-Mothers-Holiday-Diary-ebook/dp/B07N95281F/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1549014970&sr=8-2&keywords=the+sarcastic+mothers+holiday+diary

Thank you for reading
anneethompson.com
Why not sign up to follow my blog?

Look on your device for this icon (it’s probably right at the bottom of the screen if you scroll down). Follow the link to follow my blog!

***********

Milan, Italy

Posted by anneethompson

Milan, Italy

Family Diary August 2009

Day 1: Train from Verona to Milan, 1½ hours. Rather hot because the air conditioning broke.
Checked in to Hotel De La Ville, booked through Citalia.
Nice hotel with good facilities. Looked at pool (small), bar (pleasant) and fitness room (looked okay.)

Walked around Milan looking for somewhere suitable for a family to eat that did not involve taking out a mortgage. Found a pub, which had a free buffet (which was not especially nice) with drinks plus you could order food. We had lasagna and pizzas.

Wandered around the cathedral, which was very pretty.
There is a nice big square outside where the whole world hangs out.
The outside of the cathedral is covered with some pretty cool gargoyles.
Very gothic.
It took over 600 years to build – which seems excessive until you see it. I expect it caused a few arguments at the time.

Strolled around some posh shops trying on perfumes.

Day 2: Buffet breakfast. We were quite late in eating and it looked like it had been there for a while, though the selection was good. The best bit was a little news sheet that you could pick up as you went in (in various languages.)

Walked around Milan.

Found a ferrari shop.
Bought a ferrari bag.
Also bought a ferrari hat for a friend’s new baby (my family felt he would have sufficient teddy bears and cute clothes.)

Saw a few pretty squares and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Which sounds like another church but is actually a four storey arcade of shops. I am not much interested by shops but the arcade was worth a visit.

I sat in the cathedral square and drank espresso while the family continued shopping. It was the most expensive coffee I have ever sipped, but I told myself I was paying for the atmosphere, not the coffee (or the dirty table.) Watched the world go by.

Bought some Dolce & Gabbana perfume (not sure how my daughter managed to persuade me into that one) and wandered around with the D & G bag pretending to be rich.
Sandwich/burger from a food hall.
Boys swam in pool on hotel roof (were not impressed by how shallow it was.)

We went to an art gallery. Saw some fantastic art (and some really bad art.) We had wanted to see ‘The Last Supper’ at Santa Maria delle Grazie, however tickets need to be prebooked a couple of months in advance, which we hadn’t realised.

Went to hotel gym with boys. They went in the jacuzzi (which was broken). We used a few machines but all the best ones were broken or had pieces missing. Shame.

Ate in McDonalds. By far the poshest McDonalds I have ever been in!

Walked down to Sforza Castle. This is a fifteenth century castle and at night it is floodlit. There is a big fountain in front and it is very pretty. Had ice creams.

David and I had drinks in the hotel bar. Pleasant.

Day 3: I went to Mass in the cathedral (Duomo). People were queuing to go inside but if you are attending Mass you can go straight in. You need to be appropriately dressed (covered shoulders and knees.) I found it hard to follow the Italian, though there were some discernible words. I just liked being there.

Walked back to the castle. It was way too hot and felt a lot further during daytime. Drank lemonade in the gardens.

The kids stood in the fountains (other people were too, so I figured they wouldn’t get shot.) A man approached David with some English passports he had ‘found’. He wanted David to go with him to a phone box to phone the owners. David said he would use his mobile at which point the man became very aggressive and snatched them back. I took photos of him which I later showed some police who were in the cathedral square but they were completely disinterested.

Dinner in a restaurant at the top of La Rinascente which is a shopping mall selling designer stuff (pretty boring unless you like that sort of thing) but has a very interesting food hall at the top and a restaurant on the roof. It was lovely, we sat in the balmy evening air over looking the gargoyles on the Duomo. Very atmospheric.

Had drinks (and hot chocolates) in the hotel bar and played cards.

Day 4: Collected hire car and drove to Lake Como.

Puglia, Italy

Posted by anneethompson

Puglia, Italy

Family Diary 2012

Monday: Drove from Sorrento to Puglia.
Mammoth journey, took forever. Loads of traffic – most of it on the wrong side of the road whilst over taking at least one car and two scooters on a blind bend.
Also had a detour due to a forest fire.
Nice lunch at a service area – freshly cooked burgers and nice sandwiches.
Arrived in Torre Canne about 4:30.
Spent a long time looking for Hotel del Levante. (We booked this holiday through Citalia but I think they no longer use this hotel as it isn’t on their website. I don’t know why – it wasn’t the prettiest hotel we have stayed at but we liked it.)
We unpacked and looked around.
It all felt very foreign after the Sorrento Hotel Bristol and was much less luxurious. However, it was clean and the pool and beach were excellent.
Dinner was okay.
Slept well even though it was quite noisy.
The rest of the family stayed up.
There was a shared computer in the foyer which James had a dispute over with another guest (who felt that he was more important so told James to let him use it. Man was now on Mike and Mark’s hit list.)

Tuesday: Got up and walked along the beach to the lighthouse.
There were lots of men setting up stalls on the beach selling beachwear and toys. Hotels were setting up their chairs on the beach, ready for guests.

Breakfast.
Big discussion about that evening. The hotel was holding a Gala Night which involved paying an extra €15 per person to ‘cover drinks’ (we had already paid for dinner in our ‘half board’ rate). Which was quite a lot for six of us and we had to pay even for those who wouldn’t drink.
Coffee at breakfast was nasty, but the hot chocolate was good.
There was a buffet breakfast with a good range of fruit, cakes, cheese, eggs etc.
Some people took food from breakfast to eat later (which I am not sure was ethical.)

Swam. We were invited to play volleyball. We lost, but not too embarrassingly.
Went in sea until David told me there might be jellyfish. (We did not see any jellyfish the entire holiday, so he may have been lying because he was bored with me swimming.)
Pizza lunch from pizzeria next door.

Went to Gala night.
It was brilliant so I am very pleased that we did!
They had set up a fountain in the pool, there were lights in the trees, ice sculptures, flowers and candles.
All very beautiful.
We sat at tables around the pool, listening to the sea.
There was a huge buffet, which we thought was the main meal but then they served dinner! Lots of food, lots of wine.
There was a band with a singer, then fireworks, then dancing.
They brought out a massive chinese lantern which they lit using a blow torch and set off to float above the sea (we were a little nervous at this point in case it set fire to the guests, but luckily no one got burned – would have rather spoiled event…)
Lots of people came onto the beach to watch the dancing – I am assuming they walked up from the town. Mark did one of his frenetic dances and they all cheered (proud mummy moment.)
Was great fun.

Wednesday: Very sleepy.
Late breakfast at 9.
I went back to bed, family went on beach.

Went into town just as everywhere was shutting. David bought a ball. Mike didn’t buy a tee-shirt. Becky didn’t buy a jumper (yes, a jumper. Why? It’s boiling hot!) Everyone hot and grumpy.

Drove back to hotel. David only went wrong once, family very restrained in their feedback.
Hotel man looked very depressed when we gave him another car to fit into his over crowded car park (maybe he drank too much last night too.)

Spent the afternoon in the sea and pool.
Boys took inflatable boat into sea. Didn’t float to Corsica (lucky, would have been inconvenient.)
Becky was presented with shells – was not especially keen on the crab claws or the bits that were still alive.
I swam with David for a while and did not get stung or eaten.
Read and had an ice cream and an espresso next to the pool. Felt very contented.

Dinner was slightly dysfunctional (the staff must have been tired from the previous night.)
The house next to the hotel had a party. Extremely loud music for much of the night. Not much sleep again.

Thursday: After breakfast went to Alberobello.

Saw lots of trullo.

These are little round white houses.

They were first built in the fourteenth century. The Count, who owned the land, told all his workers to build them because they could be quickly dismantled when the land was inspected and he could avoid paying taxes.

They were pretty, but it was too hot for them to be interesting for long.

I bought a cushion cover for my collection (more expensive than ones bought in Asia or the rest of Europe or US!)

Mike didn’t buy a tee-shirt. Becky didn’t buy a bikkini (but at least she was now looking at weather appropriate clothing.)

Friday: Breakfast at 9.
Every morning, David woke the boys by phoning their room with an annoying poem or song. Every morning James answered and put down the phone. It was a little ritual. Do hope he never phoned the wrong room.

Did nothing. Nice.
Last night, the boys watched a horror film where the main spectre was called Natasha. Today, when they were swimming, a small girl joined them. They asked her name. She said ,“Natasha.” They then both roared, “Na-ta-sha” back at her. Luckily she seemed completely unalarmed by this and continued to play pool volleyball with them. Must have had older brothers.

Saturday: I walked along the beach before breakfast.

I really liked that beach.

It was packed with whole families, mostly Italian, from grannies to babies.

Sellers walked up and down with swimwear and beach toys.

Everyone was relaxed and enjoying themselves.

After breakfast we drove to a zoo but it looked a bit naff and over priced.
Drove on to some caves.
I wandered around gift shops and had a coffee in the shade and read.
The family went into the caves and said they were excellent.
Had lunch there (not overly efficient service.)

Drove back to hotel. Got petrol – always an adventure in small town europe if you don’t speak the language. This time we had to pay in advance. Worked it out eventually.

Sunday: Day by sea and pool.
Boys played volleyball against various teams, including ‘marathon girl’ (who was a very pretty teenager who was also rather good at volleyball!)
The hotel staff wandered around, inviting people to join in various games. It was ideal for a family.

I stopped worrying about people ‘stealing’ from breakfast. Everyone seemed to do it and were very open about it. One old lady even took foil with her to cover her plateful!

Enjoyed the sea. Had big waves.
Nice dinner (they were sometimes a bit random.)

Chatted, then James took his holiday photos. All of them, for the entire holiday. In his room. Not going to be an artist I feel.

Monday: We packed.
We asked to keep one room until we left in the afternoon. Everyone moved their stuff in.
We swam and played on the beach.
Made sand animals on the beach and lots of people stopped to look at them. Clearly the Italian word for “Dragon” is “Crocodee” Showered, pizza, played Catan.
Flew home. Good holiday.

anneethompson.com

Taormina, Sicily

Posted by anneethompson

Taormina, Sicily

Family Diary, August 2007

Saturday: Arrived and picked up hire car at airport.
Drove to Hotel Excelsior Palace, which we booked through Citalia.
It was hard to find the car park, all got a bit stressy. Narrow roads, pedestrian walk ways and lack of sign posts did not help.

Our room had a view of Mount Etna. I wondered how far away it was compared to Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius.

Sunday: Swam, walked in town, swam.

The best bit of the hotel is the pool. It is set in the gardens, so you walk down through orange and almond trees,along flower lined pathways, to the pool area.

The pool overlooks the coast on one side and the cliff continues behind the hotel, so you can look up at the mountain tops on the other. It is beautiful.

Not entirely sure that two young boys and a large inflatable crocodile add very much to the atmosphere.

Monday: Swam Lunch in a pizzeria. Walked through the town with David. If you like very crowded walkways and lots of designer shops, you will love Taormina.

Unfortunately, I hate shopping, especially for clothes, so it was rather wasted on me.

Plus I got blisters from wearing pretty but uncomfortable shoes.

Tuesday: Swam. Bought lunch in a supermarket and ate it in the garden.
Dinner in hotel (nice.)

Jazz concert in a Greek theatre.

This was excellent. We sat on chairs, listening to some really good jazz while watching the sun go down behind the Greek stage.

It was very romantic (well, it would have been had we not had three quite vocal children with us!)

Wednesday: We decided to drive to Mount Etna. I was very excited, having never been close to a volcano before and having rather a passion for bonfires and burning things in general.
However, the hire car gears jammed up on one of the many extremely steep roads.
We waited in a very hot town (which had no public toilets) for a pick up truck and then a taxi to rescue us.
It was hot and boring and uncomfortable.

Swam.
Walked through town with David (it was still just a lot of shops and well designed women trotting around.)
Had coffee in a square, which was nice.

Evening meal was by the pool. The hotel had set up tables with lots of candles and flowers. It was so pretty.

Thursday: We got the hotel mini bus down to the beach.
This was a mistake. The hotel was up a cliff, so we couldn’t walk back. We were deposited at the beach and told the mini bus would return in five hours. The beach was full of beautiful people tanning themselves. The chairs were laid out practically next to each other, each with a small sunshade. Five hours is a long time. Even the sea was crowded!
No way you could go for a run, build a sand castle or even swim properly. You just had to lie there, trying to read and sweating away while beautiful people strolled up and down elegantly between the loungers.

Returned to Taormina and bought ice creams.
The new hire car was delivered.
Walked through the town again.

Friday: The boys slept through breakfast so David smuggled them hot chocolates.
David announced he was going to only eat fruit for the rest of the holiday (probably due to seeing all those beautiful people on the beach!)
Swam. David was seen eating bread rolls.

Drove to Etna. Lunch in a Deli in Gliaglosse. David ate a lot more than just fruit (that did not last very long at all!)

Etna was brilliant. We walked over a recent eruption (that May.) It was like being on the moon. There was total silence, no birds or insects, nothing growing. Brilliant.
Rebecca complained it was just a lot of black rock.
We saw some geologists with all their equipment.

Drove back early so we didn’t miss the car park. Parking was a pain. The hotel used the main car park in Taormina. There was often a queue to get in and it could be hard to find spaces.
I wonder if it is possible to just hire a car for occasional days when actually in Taormina and not to bother actually having one for the whole holiday. It seemed more hassle than it was worth.

Swam.
Drank peach champagne cocktails and played cards in the bar.

Saturday, Sunday, Monday: Days by the pool and strolling around town.

Tuesday: Went on an excursion, booked through the hotel, to Stromboli.
We were picked up and taken to a little port by coach.
We then were taken by boat to a small island. The children swam and we wandered around for a while. Had some lunch.

The boat then took us to Stromboli, which is an active volcano. About every twenty minutes, a plume of smoke could be seen coming from the top and flowing down the side, then steam as it hit the sea. We stopped on the island and could walk around the town.
Had a drink and looked at the church.

Then the boat took us around the island. We were given a simple pasta dinner. As it got dark, you could see sparks and fire in the smoke as the volcano erupted. Excellent!

Wednesday to Friday: More time swimming and relaxing.

David and I did another visit to Etna (Rebacca told us she had seen enough black rocks, but the boys came with us.)
We talked to a photographer who had been there at the last eruption. He said he had been climbing up while everyone else was rushing down! He said you could easily see the lava pathways, so it didn’t feel dangerous and he took some really amazing photographs. I bought a couple (one is included at the end. I cannot read his name – he signed them all- I think it is David Sav.)
We wandered around and found the roof of a building that had been completely engulfed by lava. It was so interesting.
There was a clear line, one side everything was dead and covered in black lava, the other side, all was living vibrant forest. Fascinating.
It must be so exciting to actually be there when it erupts, so much power and energy completely unrestrained. So much bigger than anything people do. I like things that remind me of how small I am.

I would have spent more days at Etna, but even David declared he was at saturation point for black rocks.

A brilliant holiday if you like either expensive shops or volcanoes. I realised I should have been a geologist. Bit late now.

Verona, Italy

Posted by anneethompson

Verona, Italy

Family Diary, August 2009

Flew Gatwick to Verona. Taxi to Romeo and Guillietta Hotel, booked through Citalia.
Hotel was small, but a great location as it is in an alley right next to the opera arena. Our room was okay but tiny, there was not even room to open the suitcase! However, the air conditioning was good and the shower was excellent. (It should perhaps be noted that in 2014, when we wanted to return to Verona to see an opera, we decided to stay here again. For position and price it is fabulous.)

Lunch in an outside pizza place, Canteena del Arena. Pleasant.
Walked around. Had coffee and ice cream and a spritz (which cost €19 each. Hmm.)
Found a supermarket.

Had dinner in the main square, right next to the Roman amphitheatre (which is where they stage the opera.) It looks better preserved than the one in Rome but is smaller.

Spent the evening walking through pretty squares which the children complained were spooky.

Wednesday: A brilliant day!
I woke 6am and made David get up. The boys joined us and we borrowed bikes from the hotel and cycled round Verona. It was perfect. Lovely cool air, very few people or cars. We saw lots of pretty squares and ancient buildings.

Back to hotel for breakfast.
Walked to Dante’s square and had coffee and ice cream.
Looked around a market. Some nice ‘touristy’ stuff.
Saw the balcony from ‘Romeo and Juliet’.

At 8pm, we went to the opera (we had pre booked our tickets when in England.) We were shown up to the stone steps, where everyone sat (apart from a few people who had paid extra for chairs in the main arena. I think our view was better, though probably not so comfortable. When we returned in 2014, we took garden chair cushions to sit on!)

They herded more and more people in and we kept squashing up until it was completely full. I liked it. It made you realise what it must have been like in Roman times, they sat on the same steps, looking at the same stage.
The two girls next to James (who we didn’t know) had a picnic. Somehow he managed to be invited to share it. He will go far in life.
The opera was brilliant. We had told the children that they had to stay at least until the first Act (it was Aida.) The boys left during the first interval and because the hotel was so near they could safely walk there on their own. A good first introduction to opera for boys.
Rebecca and David both stayed until the end. The Triumphant Entry scene was fantastic – there were 300 people on stage, including four white horses. (After that scene, everyone clapped and cheered and some people thought it was the end and left!)
It was probably not as good musically as The Royal Opera House in London, but without a doubt was the most impressive staging I have ever seen and was a brilliant introduction to opera for anyone who has never seen one. We sat on ancient stone steps and watched the moon rise in the warm sky while listening to the music. It was magical.

It finished about 12:45. We collected the boys and had a pizza and red wine supper. Everywhere was open, it was as busy as daytime. Went to bed 2am. Great day.

Thursday: Got up 8:30.
Breakfast in hotel (it is an okay breakfast, pleasant buffet and good coffee.)

Walked to a Roman theatre next to the river.
Woman giving out guide books at the entrance asked our nationality and David said, “German.” Why? We were then given all the information in German, which none of us can read.

Went back to hotel via market square and had iced drinks.

After dinner had hot chocolate in the square. It was very thick and dark, reminded me of blancmange, which my Mum used to make when I was young.

Went to bed early but had a bad night. Thin walls and the man in the next room had stomach upset. Most unpleasant.

Friday: Walked to cathedral. Rebecca had to wear a ghastly blue hooded cape over her shorts.
Drank lemonade on a terrace next to the river.
Lunch in square. Boys had buckets (literally) of lemonade.

Taxi to station, caught 4:30 to Milan. We discussed how noisy the Verona hotel had been. We all thought the sound proofing was very bad. Except for the boys. They said they had not heard a thing. But the lady next door had been very rude and kept banging on their wall. Oh dear.

Garda, Italy

Posted by anneethompson

Lake Garda, Italy

Excerpts from a family diary August 2014

Wednesday: We arrived at Hotel du Lac du Parc, booked through Citalia. I had recently had surgery, so David and I drove there via France, Luxembourg, Germany and Austria. It was a lovely drive, really interesting and the traffic was okay.

Met the family there (they flew.)
I walked around the hotel grounds. Very pretty gardens with lots of little ponds with bridges and ducks. There are chalets in the grounds where you could stay (seemed to suit people with young children who prefer to self cater.)

There are also two swimming pools, one which seems more suited to young families. Both have plenty of sun loungers next to them and a nice mix of shade and sun. We liked the one next to the bar, where you could buy drinks and ice creams and take them back to the loungers.

I was feeling ill so had dinner in my room. The family ate in the hotel restaurant then played cards in the bar.

Hotel is nice.

Bathroom light seems to be permanently on, which is a little odd.

Thursday: All had breakfast on the terrace.
Very nice food.
Nasty coffee and juice from a machine. Then realised that other people were ordering drinks from the waiters. We copied and then had very nice coffee and fresh juice.

Mark said he did not want to see the opera in Verona, which we have already bought tickets for. David said that was fine, but he had to then pay the €120 for the ticket.
Mark then asked, “Why would you pay so much for me to not enjoy something?”
I decided not to join discussion.

There are dogs here which is nice. Someone has allowed their dog to wee in the lift, which is not nice.

Went to pizza place opposite hotel for lunch. Villa Aranci. Very nice, rustic setting, not too expensive Boys had tankards of beer, I had some nice wine.

I slept. Everyone else swam.The hotel provides blue swimming towels, which is good (some hotels do not allow you to remove towels from the rooms.)

Becky sunbathed. Boys then played “How near to Rebecca can we throw the ball and not hit her.” They do not improve with age.

Nice dinner in restaurant. Family went to watch a jazz concert in town, I went to bed.

Friday: Pouring with rain, which was disappointing.
Breakfast.
Relaxed day doing very little.
Lunch at pizzeria again.

Nice dinner then had hot chocolate in the bar and played games. Everyone discussed the bathroom lights, which are always on in all our rooms.

Saturday: Raining again.
Family went to hotel gym or read/slept.
Went to Co-op near hotel and bought food for lunch.
Ate on balcony (each room has a balcony overlooking the garden.) Mark chose beer, nutella and crisps. Great diet….

Family played Catan then swam.
I walked into town with Nina (Riva del Garda, a five minute walk from the hotel.)Saw a band.

Sunday: Not raining. Excellent.
Breakfast, then family swam. An Austrian boy joined them at the pool.

Walked into town and looked around. Some nice shops selling touristy things.

Pizza in restaurant next to lake. Bottled water which arrived open and tasted of ‘tap’.

I slept, family went to pool and played volley ball.
Were joined by a group of Germans. Mark said he managed to use all three of the German words he knows. One is a swear word. Super.

Found a switch under the mirror in the bathroom. This operates the bathroom light. Informed family.

Nice dinner. The restaurant staff are really friendly. They have noticed that James eats the most, so always give him a huge portion.
David always orders three bottles of wine: a nice one for us (and anyone else who wants it), a sweet white (usually Becky and Nina drink that) and a red (for just Mark. Hmmmm)

Monday: Another cloudy day.
Gave up on pool when it started to rain.
Walked into town (5 minutes) and got a ferry to Limone. It was very windy on the ferry, wished I had worn something warmer.

Limone was a pretty town. Had some nice little shops for buying trinkets.
Had coffee and ice creams, then got the ferry back.

James told us that going to reception to say that you have lost your key card for the fourth time is embarrassing.
Rebecca told us that she is going to make an “I am 22” badge. (She gets a lot of attention from boys in the 12 -15 age bracket!)

Tuesday: Rebecca did the ‘ice bucket challenge’. The concierge (male) seemed delighted to throw a bucket of iced water over her.

Drove to Verona.
Stayed at Romeo and Guilietta hotel (booked through Citalia).
We had been told that parking was provided. They showed us on a map where we would probably find a parking space (which is not what we were expecting) and gave us a permit.
I was ill, so slept in room. Family walked around the city and had ice creams.

Watched Madam Butterfly in the arena. Is such a magical setting. This time we took cushions to sit on and bottles of drink. They confiscated the bottles, though we were allowed to pour the drink into plastic cups. (They said it was due to the health risk from glass bottles. However, there were people wandering throughout the arena selling glass bottles of drinks, so was somewhat inconsistent!)

Wednesday: Returned to Garda.
I was ill so stayed in room.
David, Nina and James took big inflatables to the lake and floated around on the waves.
I was too ill to go into dinner. The staff were very accommodating and let David order from the restaurant menu and then bring it to me on a tray. So much nicer than having to pay for room service.
They also started to ask if David had murdered me, as they had not seen me for some time!
During the meal, the room started to shake. I texted to ask if we were having an earthquake.The family all rushed upstairs thinking I was having a funny turn! They assured me I was imagining things, should stay in bed and went back to finish their meal.

Thursday: Another sunny day so family relaxed at pool.
News reports were all discussing the earthquake tremors from the previous day (Ha.)

Saturday: I finally felt well enough to go into dinner.
It was fun but clearly the family had become rather out of control in my absence: Mark received a menu with additional comments, such as, “okay but sauce no good” scribbled next to each dish. The head waiter was adding his own recommendations! David produced a list of Italian phrases copied from google translate, which he proceeded to read while the waiter waved his arms in exasperation. James confided that he has now lost his room key six times, so has ‘borrowed’ the cleaner’s one.

Sunday: Mark has been to keen to try the little “make your own tart” things at the buffet breakfast. Unfortunately, the pastry case (which in fairness, does look remarkably like a small ice cream cone) turned out to be cardboard. It is for collecting jam in, not eating. He realised on his first bite.

Breakfasts were nice. There was an extensive buffet and in one corner was the ‘egg lady’ where you could line up and ask her to cook eggs, omelets or pancakes.

David and Mark, James and Nina decided to take two man canoes out onto the lake. There was a cabin in the hotel garden where you could hire canoes and life jackets.
They went out and I took photos.
Such beautiful scenery.
Rebecca then switched places with Nina and the two boys went together.
They managed to tip up and lost James’ tee shirt, which he had been using as a back rest.
Also, at some point, each male decided to stand up. Individually. For no reason. Why would you feel the need to stand up on a canoe? It is like climbing towers and throwing socks in random places: one more thing about men that I cannot understand even a little bit.

Monday: During breakfast, James’ room key fell out of his pocket. (I have lost count now.) A nice lady pointed it out.

The family drove up into the mountains around Garda. They said it was cold! They took some great photos of the views.

Mark locked one of James’ shoes in the safe. He then lost the code. The only option was to ask the security man to come and open the safe. There was some discussion as to who should do this. I have absolutely no idea how they explained that it contained only a flip flop.

At dinner time, there is a miniature orchid on each table. Very pretty. Nina caused ours to have a slight mishap. May try and switch it. Or glue it?

The hotel is full of German people. I guess they drive down, presumably with their dogs. I have had to instigate a ban on mentioning the war or speaking loudly in a fake German accent. (Do other mothers have these problems?)

We left for our long drive home.

This was such a lovely hotel, with friendly staff. Even being ill here was nice because they had such a relaxed manner. It was clean and pretty with lovely meals and lots of activities, most of which we didn’t manage to try. I definitely hope to stay here again. Next time I will hire bikes, and get the ferry to all the little towns around the lake and maybe walk up a mountain or two. Will also be ideal if I ever decide to bring my ducks on holiday….

Palma del Rio, Spain

Posted by anneethompson

Palma del Rio,Spain

Family Holiday 2008.

A learning experience……

Saturday 2nd August (Please note the month. It matters…)

Flew to Malaga.
Waited over an hour for Hertz hire car to be ready.
Drove to Palma del Rio.
The instructions, map and actual road numbers all completely different. Felt somewhat stressed. Spent about an hour in Palma del Rio trying to find villa.
In the end we phoned the owner and forced Rebecca to use her GCSE spanish and get us directions. (She actually did rather well.)
Met Pepe.

Villa very pretty, lots of dark wood and comfortable furniture. Rather smelly (of poo.)

Extremely hot.

(This villa can still be booked through: holidaylettings.co.uk I notice that it now has air conditioning. If your husband ever tells you that ceiling fans are just as good as air conditioning, do not believe him.)

Went to Supermarket in Palma del Rio. Hard to find stuff without speaking spanish.
Bought food and cleaning materials.

Family swam, I cleaned villa (it wasn’t dirty, I just could not work out where the smell was coming from and felt better knowing that I had thoroughly cleaned everything myself.)

So hot. At 9pm it was 40º.

Sunday: Fuse blew at 6am and everyone woke because the fans stopped working.

Late breakfast then swam, read, relaxed.

Evening, had dinner in Rio del Palma. Most restaurants have shut for August (because it is so hot that everyone who lives here goes somewhere else! This area is known as ‘The Frying Pan’ and I know why now…)

Walked through a park and had an ice cream and some nice sangria.

Monday: Shopped, had pizza lunch then swam.

Went into Palma but did not manage to find the Tourist Information Office.

Ate dinner in a restaurant that used to be a monastery. Menu was all in spanish. When we used the dictionary we translated it as ‘road kill’, ‘chatty aubergine’ and ‘gizzard’. Meals pretty awful when they arrived (so maybe those were the correct translations after all.)
Puddings were very nice, so was the sangria.

Way too hot.

Tuesday: We found the Tourist Info but they didn’t speak any English.

Did very little, too hot.

Wednesday: Had a very nice coffee in town and strolled around.

Drove to Cordoba. Saw mosque turned cathedral, lots of arches. I found it more interesting than the boys did.

Cordoba very pretty, lots of narrow streets selling silver. I bought a silver necklace.

Had hot chocolate and churos.

Walked around a park.

Found a nice tapas cafe.

Walked some more. My feet hurt (probably swelled up in the heat) so bought some leather sandals. Then got a whole new lot of blisters in different places.

Walked to a horrid square. Ate horrid ice creams.

Drove back to Palma. Passed a castle on a hill which was lit up so it looked exactly like it was floating in the sky. Magical.

Thursday. Did nothing, too hot.

Dinner in Ecija, in a museum restaurant (was better than it sounds.)
We were always the only customers in all the restaurants.

Friday: Swam and lazed.

Saturday: Went into town and managed to buy postage stamps without Rebecca helping! Had lemonade and coffee.

Drove to the castle and had a beer. I got locked in the toilet. For ages. Family didn’t notice.

Sunday: Rebecca traumatised as there was a lizard in her room. Mark not overly sympathetic. I tried to catch it and chased it behind the wardrobe, which didn’t seem to reassure her.

Went into town for a coffee. It’s nice coffee but I swear the price went up a little every day. David tried to order coke instead and the man asked if he wanted milk in it, so gave up and had coffee too.

Went back to villa to find a mouse swimming in the pool.

Went to chinese restaurant in Palma. Nice, lots of food, really tasty.

Drove to Cordoba. Found Salon de Te. Very interesting. Had drinks and tapas.

Drove home via a really cool square – Plaza Cappuchino – full of low lights and candles.

Monday: Drove to Seville.
Followed walk in guide book for a while but extremely hot and children complaining.
Gave up and went back to Palma for dinner.

Tuesday: Lazed around.
Started planning another trip to Seville tomorrow, will be better prepared this time.
I did some washing in the children’s bathroom and noticed sewage bubbling up into the shower tray. This explains the unfortunate smells.

Wednesday: Men came and emptied the septic tank. Stinks.

Drove to Seville.
Left the children at an amusement park with a telephone and lots of instructions about staying together.
We got a taxi into town. I had worn comfortable shoes.
Wandered around Seville, very pretty (though still hot.)
Had coffee.
Had a horse and carriage ride around the city and park – much the best way to see the city without dying of heat exhaustion.

Tried to buy a tea pot but all the shops were shut..
Collected the children. They had all had fun except for James who was slightly hysterical due to a scary roller coaster that Rebecca had insisted he went on because they weren’t allowed to separate.

Drove back to stinky house.

David made cocktails then gambled with the children. (Sometimes not convinced we would get any parenting prizes.)

Thursday: Coffee in town.
Tried to order a bread and tomato dish that we have seen other people eating. Failed. (Stupid waitress.)
Tried to buy a tea pot. Failed. (Stupid town.)
Read swam, played cards.
Went for a drive (in search of tea pots. Failed.
Dinner in Palma, then watched a Jude Law film in Spanish. Was not great.

Friday: Had coffee at the ice cream parlour in Palma. Nice. David had crushed tomatoes, olives and bread with oil and salt. He was happy.
Drove around, swam and lazed.
Dinner at a nice hotel in Ecija.
Packed. David appeared to be trying to pack the drawers but he assured us he was mending them.

Saturday: Home. Felt cold.

Two Days in Dubai

Posted by anneethompson

Two Days in Dubai

November 2012

We caught a Virgin flight from London Heathrow to Dubai International Airport. A taxi then took us to the Sheraton Hotel in Dubai Creek.

The Sheraton was lovely, with a beautiful foyer and our room had great views across the creek to the city. When it was clear we could see all the main sky scrapers. When it was hazy we could watch the boats lined up in the creek.

Day One: David was working, so I decided to try and find the Gold Souk. I don’t speak any Arabic, so was nervous about using public transport on my own, so I wanted to visit somewhere I could walk to.

This was also my first visit to a muslim country, so I was unsure of what was appropriate. I asked the concierge, who assured me that I did not need to cover my head unless I planned to visit a mosque and my dress (long sleeves, high neck line, long skirt) was sufficiently modest. She said I was safe to walk around on my own but it was very hot so most women didn’t walk.

I set off, armed with a map and an iphone which I didn’t know how to use. The hotel was right next to the creek so for a while I was distracted by all the boats unloading. It was hugely interesting to watched relatively small boats which were stacked high with everything from plastic chairs to washing machines. It was amazing that some of them had made it across the sea, they seemed much too heavily laden.

There were also lots of men. While I was staring at the cargoes, they were staring at me. It felt uncomfortable so I moved on.

I found a shopping area on a main road. Stopped to look at small supermarkets and shops selling plastic shoes and cheap handbags. All the other women were wearing black abayas (long cloaks that cover other clothes) and despite the heat, I was tempted to do the same, as I found all the men stared at me and I didn’t like it.

Found a cheap clothes shop and bought a long black tunic and hijab (black headscarf.) The tunic was fine but I didn’t know how to tie the hijab and my attempts looked silly (I looked more like a washer woman from a child’s story book!) I would have asked a random woman in the shop but no one seemed to speak English. Decided to wear it anyway. If I had found a full burqa I would have bought one. I love the thought of being able to hide. Would have been great for the school run when the children were young or for nipping to the shops in pyjamas.

Lots of the shops had interesting textiles and fancy shaped coffee pots. There were also lots of mosques. Whatever your religion, you cannot deny that mosques are pretty. I once read that the castle in Disneyland is based on a mosque, and I can see why.

I found the area where my map showed the gold souk should be, but I couldn’t see it anywhere. Tried to find someone who spoke English. Failed. Then spotted a small shop where they took in sewing, run by Chinese people. I went in and asked if they spoke mandarin, which they did. Excellent (Note, if, like me, you are not very good at learning languages, learn mandarin. It is the only one you need. There are Chinese people in every country I have ever visited.) They said I was actually right next to the gold souk but at the back. They pointed out how to find the entrance.

I looked around the souk. Window displays full of gold. Also, a lot of dodgy looking men suggesting I might like to follow them to buy a fake watch or designer handbag. I didn’t. The whole souk seemed to have only men in it. Some wore European style clothing, some wore traditional white thobes (Arabic dress.) I saw very few women and they seemed to all be wearing full burqas and escorted by men.

Left the souk and tried to find my way back to the hotel. Got thoroughly lost. Found a tiny spice souk. A very friendly man (who spoke excellent English) showed me round. It smelt wonderful and was very interesting. I thought about buying some frankincense (just because I had never seen it before.) Didn’t. Then spent the rest of the trip wishing I had and also knowing I would never be able to find my way back again.

Continued to be lost for some time. There were lots of people, so I wasn’t worried, it felt safe. Found a main road. It was busy, full of cars and also a man pushing a hand cart. Found the waterfront. It was beginning to get dark.

There was a call to prayer. It drifted across the water, a lovely sound I thought. All the men stopped their activities and knelt on little prayer mats to pray. I didn’t see any women praying and wondered why.

I realised I was at the wrong waterfront, this was not the creek where my hotel was. Felt slightly concerned that maybe women are not supposed to walk around after dark on their own. Managed to find someone in a shop who spoke English and got directions. Returned to the hotel unscathed.

David finished work. We had dinner in the hotel, then got a taxi to the main part of the city. Saw the sky scrapers (but I think you had a better view from our hotel.) Went to a shopping street and I bought a cushion cover for my collection. Also bought some gifts and a weirdly shaped tea pot. I bought a white throbe and a ghutra (checkered headscarf) and egal (black rope you tie scarf with) for the dressing up box at home.

Day Two: David didn’t have to work so we got a taxi to Royal Mirage Hotel for breakfast. It was beautiful.

We walked around a bit. It was very pretty, very clean (and very ‘fake’.) There was even a souk, but a rather sanitised version of the ones I had visited (and a lot more expensive.)

We had an extremely nice breakfast sitting on an air conditioned balcony.

We left via the main reception area, which had the darkest black men I have ever seen, dressed in costume opening car doors as they arrived. I asked if I could have my photograph taken and they were very friendly. I wonder if they mind that their job is just opening doors for rich people and being looked at as a novelty. Maybe they are just happy for the money or are students doing it temporarily. I hope so.

Went back to our hotel. Drove via a beach which we went to look at. Not allowed to take photographs because of modesty laws.

We had arranged a trip through the hotel with Arabian Adventures (arabian-adventures.com ) and were going to see the desert. We were advised to wear sturdy boots for walking on the sand and trousers for when riding on camels. Very exciting!

We were collected from the hotel by a silver 4×4. We then drove to two other hotels and collected other tourists, before driving off to the Dubai Conservation Desert. We then met up with several other Landrovers, all identical. They stopped and changed the tyre pressure, then we set off.

First we were driven to a small camp where we watched a falcon display. Then we were taken for a short camel ride. Great fun.The key advice would be, lean back hard when they stand up. Camels really stink. They also had mouth guards, so I am guessing that they bite. My children will be pleased to learn that I do not wish to ever own a camel.

Then we went ‘wadi bashing’, which basically involved driving very fast across the dunes. It was not unlike being on a roller coaster. I was grateful for the seat belts and roll bars, not that we needed the latter. One man felt car sick, which added a little tension to the trip.

We stopped to take photographs of the sunset. I think it is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. The whole desert seemed to change colour as the sun dipped.

We then drove to a camp. It was lovely, all set up in the style of a beduin camp. We sat on cushions around long low tables and watched belly dancers in the candle light. We were then given a shisha supper, which was delicious. Although we didn’t know anyone else, there was a lovely atmosphere and people chatted and were very relaxed (perhaps it was sharing the common bond of not being sicked on by the poor travel sick man!)

Finally, we were all returned to our hotels.

An excellent day from start to finish.

Why not buy a copy today? I think it will make you laugh.

The US link is here:

https://www.amazon.com/Sarcastic-Mothers-Holiday-Diary-ebook/dp/B07N95281F/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1549015525&sr=8-1&keywords=the+sarcastic+mothers+holiday+diary

The India link is here:

https://www.amazon.in/Sarcastic-Mothers-Holiday-Diary-ebook/dp/B07N95281F/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1549015429&sr=8-1&keywords=the+sarcastic+mothers+holiday+diary

The UK link is here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sarcastic-Mothers-Holiday-Diary-ebook/dp/B07N95281F/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1549014970&sr=8-2&keywords=the+sarcastic+mothers+holiday+diary

St Croix, U.S. Virgin Island

Posted by anneethompson

St Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

1999 Family Diary (While we were living in New Jersey.)

Sunday March 28th: I made pancakes for tea. After their baths, the children went to bed in their travelling clothes. They were so excited!

Monday: Woke 3:30, left house at 4:00 am.
Drove to Newark and parked in long term parking.
Monorail to airport. Checked in 5:30.
Boarded plane, all going well. Taxied to runway, then returned to gate because pilot felt sick!
Delayed 3 hours. Phoned and sorted out connecting flight.
Finally flew to San Juan.Airport felt dirty and I was worried about eating anything there.

Got a tiny plane to St Croix. No bags. David left me and children in a nearby Pizza Hut while he went to find our cases. Was suddenly aware that I was on my own, in a strange country, with three small children, no money (left purse in car) or phone and a food bill. Hoped David hadn’t done a runner!

David returned and we drove to Colony Cove (800-828-0746) Our condo nice. It had tiled floors (good for sweeping up sand), a three bedrooms and two bathrooms , a sitting area and a little kitchen. You opened the curtains and there was the beach, right there. Breath taking.

Tuesday: Shopped in local town and had breakfast.
Walked along beach, found a huge conch shell.
Swam in pool and played on beach.

In the afternoon, David smashed up the coconut so the children could see inside. It was old and dry and we had another one which wasn’t ripe, so we couldn’t eat them but it was interesting. Rubbed the milk on our skin (was sure I’d read somewhere it was good for you.)

We drove along the south coast. Very barren, no palm trees, lots of cactus and rocks. Went to the eastern most tip of the US. Walked down to the beach and played in the sand.

Thank you for reading this extract. The rest of the blog is included in my new book:

The Sarcastic Mother’s Holiday Diary.

If you enjoyed this, you will love The Sarcastic Mother’s Holiday Diary.
I have always written a diary on holiday, so last Christmas, I decided to find all my old diaries and blogs, and make a book for my children. However, several other people also asked for a copy, so I have written a public version – it’s available on Amazon and has been described as “The Durrells meet Bill Bryson”!

Why not buy a copy today? I think it will make you laugh.

The US link is here:

https://www.amazon.com/Sarcastic-Mothers-Holiday-Diary-ebook/dp/B07N95281F/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1549015525&sr=8-1&keywords=the+sarcastic+mothers+holiday+diary

The India link is here:

https://www.amazon.in/Sarcastic-Mothers-Holiday-Diary-ebook/dp/B07N95281F/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1549015429&sr=8-1&keywords=the+sarcastic+mothers+holiday+diary

The UK link is here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sarcastic-Mothers-Holiday-Diary-ebook/dp/B07N95281F/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1549014970&sr=8-2&keywords=the+sarcastic+mothers+holiday+diary

China

Posted by anneethompson

China

A Trip to Shanghai, Beijing and Xi’An

Excerpts from a diary, September 2013

Before leaving the UK we had to get visas to visit China. This takes much longer if your trip includes going to Tibet. You can apply for the visa online. In the space where it asks who has invited you, it is acceptable to put the name and address of hotels where you will be staying. We went to the embassy in London to collect the visas.

Friday: Taxi arrived at 11 (David still packing) and drove us to Heathrow.
Virgin flight to Shanghai. Sat opposite a boy who I swear is an actor but who claimed heworked for Ebay.
Shangai airport was very efficient. We had to give ‘customer feedback’ at immigration by ticking smiley faces.

Taxi to Le Meridian Hotel (艾美酒店) on Nanjing Dong Lu. Note: Taxi drivers do not speak English nor read the English version of hotel names. If you do not speak mandarin, there is a man at the taxi rank who will translate for you but you will need to queue. It is much faster if you go online before leaving home and print off the Chinese name from the website.
Driver was friendly and found my bad Chinese very amusing. Chatted a bit.

Le Meridian Hotel was lovely (we have stayed there on previous trips.) The lobby is dark with pools of water and orchids. I thought they were glass disks – nearly got a wet foot! It also smells lovely, a jasmine perfume. Our room had great views down towards the Bund.

Had tea at the hotel, then walked down Nanjing Dong Lu. This is a main shopping street and whilst the shops are fairly ubiquitous, the signs are all in Chinese script and there are street sellers selling unusual fruits and trying to entice you to buy fake designer goods (which is illegal, so best not to!) Walked through the ‘Peace’ (Fairmont) Hotel. They were having a tea dance. One day I want to stay there, it looks like a lovely old colonial hotel.

Walked along the Bund. This is the water front to the Huangpu River. Across the water you can see the amazing skyline of Pudong (the financial district.) Along the Bund are all the old colonial buildings from Victorian times, it is like stepping back in time. It is lovely at night to walk along beside the river, seeing the lights and watching the city wake up for the evening.

We walked back to the hotel via the lanes (I would not want to do this at night, though it might be safe.) There were lots of interesting shops, street hawkers and food stalls. One food seller was very insistent that I taste some fruit she was selling, she kept just telling me to taste it. So I did! How stupid. I cannot believe I did that. Worried I would be ill for rest of the trip.

We ate dinner in the hotel buffet. This was a mistake. The food was lukewarm, not especially nice and cost a fortune. Next time we will eat in the lounge, which is included on David’s card (I am beginning to like him doing business trips. I can manage to not see him for a few days every so often if he gets nice treats on his travel cards!)

The hotel lounge has drinks and hot snacks whenever we want them and also has a full breakfast and evening cocktails. It has big comfy sofas with great views towards the river.

Went to bed exhausted. A really really long day (actually, two days rolled into one.) However, I didn’t sleep until about 4am. Not good.

Sunday: Breakfast in the lounge. I had a pastry. David had everything, including pork dumplings! Great coffee.

Went up to the hotel bar and took photos of Shanghai. It’s a good view and lots of non guests go there just to take photos.

Walked along Bund, then old part of the city. Weather is great, very comfortable for walking. Found some alleyways. Tiny shops, stalls selling swatches of lace, fruits, stalls full of eggs, fish swimming in large plastic containers, meat, hens and ducks (alive) with their feet tied or in wooden crates (no water to drink, poor things). If you bought one, they took it to the back of the shop and killed and plucked it. One even had a ‘plucking machine’ which looked like a big metal barrel. The meat was not refrigerated, but was incredibly fresh. (I know my chinese friends in England do not like that the meat they buy in UK is several days old. They like to buy meat the day, if not the hour, that it is killed.)

It was all hugely interesting as long as you didn’t ‘think’ or ‘feel’ too much. I think it is essential to remember that China is a different country with a whole different culture and history. It would be wrong to make value judgements I think when visiting as a tourist.

We bought cans of lemonade. Before coming I had bought a box of wrapped straws online. I always carried a few in my bag, so it was possible to drink from a can without actually putting any potential germs into our mouths.
Saw several street sellers selling plain paged books. Bought one for 10RMB (£1) Why didn’t I buy more? Great for scribbling notes in.
Went to hotel gym and pool. China now has a law that you must wear hats in public pools. Bought a couple (£3 each.) Took me a while to work out locker system (I failed to notice there was a number on the key they gave me!)

Decided to be brave and go out for dinner to a restaurant we had seen down a side street. It was very Chinese. There was a choice of starters: chickens feet, turtle heads or gristle. We picked a few safe dishes and had a lovely meal, loads of food and all for only £15.
I do not know however, how you would manage if you didn’t speak any mandarin. It would be completely fine in larger hotels, where everyone seems to speak excellent english. People here are very good at understanding very bad Chinese, but in shops and restaurants they speak absolutely no English at all and in smaller restaurants they may not even have a menu in English script.

Monday: Very little sleep again, finding the time difference difficult to adapt to. I tried a traditional breakfast of fried dough sticks. They involved more oil than I was hoping for and weren’t great. (I had hoped they would be a variation on a fresh donut. They weren’t!)

We walked around the People’s Park (人民公园）。 Interesting to see old men playing mah jong, people practicing tai qi and children catching huge coy carp from the pond. (I am pretty sure they were not meant to catch the fish!)
Found a book shop. Stocked up on chinese books (they were so cheap. Will blast the weight limit on flight home!)
In the evening, walked to see the fountains outside the museum. They are floodlit but look much better from above through the hotel window. The park was rather foreboding at night, I am not entirely sure how safe it was to walk there.
We saw a man in the street lying on a trolley. He was very disabled and was begging. I find the beggars here upsetting. I have no idea what charity is available for them, if they need to beg to survive or if it is a huge scam and they are ‘organised’ by criminals (which is what I understood was the case in Mumbai with children begging.)

Bed. No sleep. Really, no sleep. And not for a good reason. Could never be an international business traveller.

Tuesday: Posh hotel car drove us to Rainbow Bridge (虹桥）Railway Station to catch train to Beijing. Scrum (literally) to go through security at entrance to station.
Used station toilet. You have to take your own toilet paper but it was fairly clean. Found out which platform we needed and waited for gate to open.
Assumed there was going to be another scrum to enter platform so didn’t bother to queue. A mistake. Joined back of queue. Was a bit concerned as we had red tickets and most people had blue ones. Checked we were in the right place. We were. Train was nice. The seat was big, with plenty of leg room. We put our cases in the luggage rack at the end of the carriage. If travelling by train, try to avoid sitting at the front of a carriage as you only get half a window.
Do not sit next to the toilet. |
There was a tap that dispensed hot water and lots of people came to refill their drinking flasks. (Chinese people drink a lot of hot water. When my friends come for ‘coffee’ in England they usually just want boiled water.)

Arrived Beijing. Got a taxi. Here, no one spoke or read any english, so essential to have hotel chinese name.
A half hour ride was only £5.

Staying at St Regis Hotel. Beautiful.
Went for a stroll. David looked at Arsenal shirts.
Had a drink in the hotel’s press bar. Very nice, lots of dark wood, textures, leather seats, candles and books.
Ate (English food) in hotel restaurant.
Watched a film then went to bed. Slept for 2 hours. Oh dear.

Wednesday: Had a coffee but no breakfast (David rather perturbed by this. I hadn’t realised before how much he likes regular meals.)

Got underground train to Tian an Men Square. Underground was really easy, clean and safe. Only cost 20p for a ticket. All bags go through an X ray machine when you enter the station. The trains have an underground map next to the door and a light shows which station you are at, so it’s really easy to track your route.

Tian an Men square is big. Really big. With no shade. There are pretty buildings (the old city gates) where the old walls used to be (before they bulldozed them.)

In the evening, went to Wangfujin Road. Found a really cool market. Really crowded. Fresh (still moving) scorpions on sticks waiting to be deep fried. All kinds of snacks, ranging from bird foetuses to insects and sea creatures.

We weren’t tempted to taste any but was really interesting. So much noise and colour and people packed together. Lots of people (Chinese people) were taking photos of the snacks, so we felt very comfortable taking pictures.

Thursday: Went to DimSum restaurant in hotel (very nice and very good price.)
My stomach was bad, so I just had some congee (米粥）which was perfect, very plain – like a porridge made from rice.

Went to The Forbidden City (故宫).

Bought the wrong tickets in the wrong place and ended up in the garden next door.
Found a back entrance into city but still had to queue up for the correct tickets.
Finally made it. It’s big and initially interesting but goes on for longer than you want it to.
It is all in individual courtyard sections, so it is hard to get a sense of the size of the whole thing. The front few courtyards were well preserved, repainted and clean. The back courtyards were faded, dusty with grass growing in the roof gutters. (I think I preferred the later courtyards.)
It was all very elaborate and impressive.
It was not too crowded or too hot (lots of seats in shade if you needed to rest.) |
It was very interesting (though in my opinion, not as interesting as the alleyways. Not much beats seeing people eating scorpions!)

Went to Haagandas shop for ice cream. Perfect.

After dinner, drank hot chocolate and watched a big storm.

Tried to find a launderette on internet as we need to do some washing (hotel laundry prices really high. Would be cheaper to buy new clothes!)

Friday: Am finally sleeping for most of the night.
Pollution very bad today, you can hardly see beyond 200 yards. The air feels heavy when you breathe, I expect it causes problems if you have asthma.

We tried and failed to find a launderette. Asked a few people. It seems you either take your clothes to an expensive chinese laundry/dry cleaners or travel a long way to a launderette (there is one at the university) but they do not have dryers. Decided to hand wash stuff.

Walked around Qian Men Da Jie (前门大街) It was slightly ‘plastic, touristy, rebuilt’ but was colourful.

Found some interesting alleys which were more real.

It was a beautiful clear day (I think not worth going if the pollution is bad.) We could see Beijing on the horizon. The mountains were beautiful, green folds that went on forever.

Went back on the underground to JingShan Park (景山).

It is directly behind the Forbidden City and has a hill that overlooks the city. In many ways I preferred this to the city itself because you get a real sense of the size of it.
Some people were singing folk music so we had an ice cream and listened. Not a pleasant noise.
Then an extremely strangely dressed man walked past and the park attendants face was a picture! You have never seen such a look of complete distain! It made me giggle.

Another main attraction of the park was a tree where an emperor had hung himself. Pleasant setting I guess.

Monday: Got a taxi to Summer Palace (颐和园).

It was quite a long taxi ride but still only cost £7. Saw some interesting parts of the city from the taxi window.

The Summer palace was brilliant, my favourite place in Beijing.

We hired a pedal boat and went on the lake. Then we walked around the edge (which takes a long time, it is massive.) We went up and down lots of steps looking at temples and pavillions, all beautiful and all very oriental. There were lots of traditional chinese bridges and willow trees draped across the water.

We then took an uncomfortably hot and crowded underground back to the hotel. Definitely worth avoiding subway during rush hour.

Tuesday: It rained and we did very little.

Went for a walk to try and find a station which is on the front of one of my books.

Saw some bits of the original city wall and some rather naff parks.

Went to ‘The Friendship Shop’ which was in the guide book and which was awful! Worth avoiding. Very tacky and over priced.

Wednesday: Decided to visit an animal market that was in the guidebook.

Got a taxi to Shi Li Dong Tian Bridge (十里洞天桥).

Market was brilliant, amazingly Chinese. As you walked in there were shops selling huge coy carp and other fish. In the actual market, there were little wicker baskets containing crickets, which you could hear chirruping as you walked around.

There were traditional bird cages with birds, kittens, terrapins, squirrels, mice – just about everything. There were also lots of walnut stalls, some in the green fruit, some polished and some strung onto bracelets. There were tables of carved wood, polished stones, pipes, shoes, cages, plants.

Thursday: Up at 7:30 and got a taxi to the north railway station.

Catching the train was much less worrying than last time.

Caught a train to Xi’an. Journey uneventful.

I didn’t much like the look of Xi’an as we went in a taxi to the Hilton. It looked much poorer than either Shanghai or Beijing.

The Hilton hotel was in the old part of the city, within the old city wall (which is still standing.) It is not near the terracotta warrior museum but I think it is a good place to stay if you want to see a glimpse of real Xi’an.

We arrived at the hotel at the same time as a coach full of american tourists. the receptionist was somewhat stressed and complaining (in mandarin). When she showed us to our rooms, I thanked her in mandarin and she was suitably embarrassed and asked if I had understood her comments (which I had.) We got very good service after that….

Our room overlooked an apartment block. It was shabby but very interesting.

Friday: Breakfast buffet in hotel. They have an open kitchen so you can watch the chefs at work while you eat, which was rather fun. David had noodles (I think just because he saw them being prepared!)

Went shopping. Shops much the same as anywhere else in the world. Except in large department stores, you have to take what you want to buy to an assistant who gives you an invoice, which you take to another til to pay, and then return to the first place to collect what you are buying. It was a bit confusing but they were very helpful and friendly.

Bought some warm clothes (Xi’an was much colder than Beijing) and some sturdy boots for wading through debris.

We went on the city wall. It cost £5 to go up and at the top you could hire tandems or bikes. It was very wide, as wide as a major road, and fully walled, so it felt completely safe. We hired a tandem.

It took us an hour and a half to cycle around the whole wall. It was brilliant. Some excellent views of the city and lovely to be able to exercise outside.

Saturday: We got a taxi to see the Terracotta Warriors.

Walked through a plaza to buy tickets, trying to dodge the very persistent tour guides. They kept telling us that we needed a guide to show us the way and explain things or we would miss interesting things. In the end we gave up and accepted one. Then she would NOT stop talking! It was like walking with a bossy radio and no ‘off’ button. I did not need to be told where to stand to take a photograph, or where to look. I had read the guide book before coming and she was just irritating.

I ate a moon cake and we walked to the exit, which was through another market. It was rather crappy but did have lots of fox fur and bear skins, which at least was different.

Our taxi had waited. We drove back to the hotel.

The museum is in a very different part of Xi’an. There were mountains in the distance, trees, fountains, lots of orchards and fruit sellers. It was pretty, but I think I preferred our rather scruffy, real life area.

Sunday: Breakfast. I tend to eat boring english stuff (bacon and eggs.) David tends to eat everything (bacon, eggs, noodles, fish, bread, pastries…)

We got a taxi to a church we found on the internet. The first taxi refused to take us there (said the road was too narrow and drove off.) There was an old lady at the gate. She welcomed us and bowed. The church building was quite big but it wasn’t very full. It was all in chinese. The hymns were on a big screen, which made it easier to join in (David sang the ‘Amen’ at the end of each one!) The sermon (exactly one hour) was quite difficult for me to understand, I could only really understand the main gist of what she was saying. It was very formal. The congregation was mainly women, most were taking notes. There were several people coming and going during the service. At the end, a girl came and hugged me, clearly excited at having visitors. It was rather touching. We looked at their bookshop but they only had about six. I bought a jade cross for my mum.

Lots of round doorways and pretty roofs. There was a street market with some interesting textiles (bought a cushion cover for my collection.) There was street food and a lot of walnuts.

Monday: Breakfast. David didn’t hold back again. Chatted to a couple from Hong Kong who are stranded due to a big typhoon.

We got a taxi to Big Goose Pagoda.
There was a fountain show but we had missed it.
There was a lady in traditional costume being photographed. She asked if David would be in the photo with her. Then she couldn’t stop laughing, neither could the photographer or her husband, who was watching. David seems very tall and very blond here. It was one of those random happy moments that seem to happen frequently here.

We walked around the garden, which had excellent statues.

The pagoda was basically just a lot of stairs. I was unclear why it was necessary to go up them. Is a boy thing (like church towers in Norfolk. I have never understood the need to go up those either.)

We spotted another Starwood hotel (Westin) so went inside for lunch. It was clean and peaceful and safe. I love seeing China, but it is lovely to have breaks from all the new culture every so often.

Paid to go into a park. It was not very nice. It felt fake and slightly broken and smelled of sewage. It had been advertised as the Xi’an equivalent of the Summer Palace. It wasn’t.

Tuesday: Caught a flight back to Shaghai. Stayed at Royal Meridian again.

Wednesday: Caught flight back to England. An amazing holiday.

Thank you for reading this extract from my holiday diary.

Why not buy a copy today? I think it will make you laugh.

The US link is here:

https://www.amazon.com/Sarcastic-Mothers-Holiday-Diary-ebook/dp/B07N95281F/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1549015525&sr=8-1&keywords=the+sarcastic+mothers+holiday+diary

The India link is here:

https://www.amazon.in/Sarcastic-Mothers-Holiday-Diary-ebook/dp/B07N95281F/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1549015429&sr=8-1&keywords=the+sarcastic+mothers+holiday+diary

The UK link is here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sarcastic-Mothers-Holiday-Diary-ebook/dp/B07N95281F/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1549014970&sr=8-2&keywords=the+sarcastic+mothers+holiday+diary

Anne E Thompson

Author

travel

A Snapshot of New York in March

A Snapshot of New York in March

A Quick Trip to the U.S.

Milan, Italy

Puglia, Italy

Taormina, Sicily

Verona, Italy

Garda, Italy

Palma del Rio, Spain

Two Days in Dubai

St Croix, U.S. Virgin Island

China

A Snapshot of New York in March

A Quick Trip to the U.S.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: