24 October 2011

A travel tip that will save your life...

Sometimes...
I kid, but not about your life, my dear...

Seriously,
if you plan to travel great distances
(an what travel isn't great?)
you have to learn to be responsible for yourself.

One of the tidbits I learned 
"on the jumpseat"
in my previous life as a flight attendant,
was that you take care of your legs.

That meant wearing support hose for years before
I even hit the ol' 30 yr mark.

Please don't ask me to explain the 
scientific reasons, (remember, I have a degree in History)
I only know that if you don't take care of your legs,
you will at the very least end up with 
road maps for "gams".

Then if you are super stupid and ignore this advice for
TOO long, you will endanger your life....
because as we age (can you believe I said that?)
our circulatory system becomes....let's just say "tired"
and when you sit in one place for long periods of time
your feet and legs collect all the blood that should
be in your brain helping you to think.....

This brings me to today's tip...
Wear these


I know...
these are men's socks...
(my sweetie just came home from China, so they were handy)
BUT 
most importantly, they are travel socks...
Compression socks to be 
more precise. 
They are like support hose, but are knee socks.
I don't know about you, but I haven't put on a pair of support hose
since I stopped flying for a living. 
But, I will wear travel socks to save my life.


Travel socks help in the prevention of deep vein thrombosis, or DVT.
Blood clots that is.....painful, ugly, even death.
So...
there you have it,
my travel tip of the day... 
smiles...

23 October 2011

More London....

Thanks Georgianna!
I got so wrapped up in my "homeland" stuff
that I forgot about London.

Here's a bit more..


Early in our trip,
while still slightly affected by jet lag,
we were picked up at our hotel
early in the morning.
We boarded a truly beautiful tour bus,
a Mercedes, no less...
drove through the streets of Marylebone,
collecting other travelers along the way.

Then, arriving at Victoria (tour station)
we boarded an equally impressive bus
that would transport us to another 
place and time....


First, the station at 6:45 am.. 


Do not ask me what this means,
I can only imagine...


Other early birds,
on their way to work...


The Tour Guide,
a lovely woman, who I imagined
was the BFF of Twiggy in the 60's.
She was smart,
funny,
a delight!


She informed us that when we saw 
brick architecture,
it would be indicative of "Victorian England",
that is to say the time during the reign of 
Queen Victoria, which lasted forever....
or so it would seem from the sheer abundance of 
her influence in this town.


LOVE
the 
Wrought
Iron
in 
this 
City!


Cities produce dirt....
lots of it...
hard to keep your windows clean,
much less the entire exterior of your home....


More Londoners
on their merry way to work...
This is a very, no VERY pedestrian friendly place...
But you must pay attention to which way the traffic is coming...
(they know us, and are prepared)




Flowers!
love them...



Blue door!
Love that....



Crisp White Paint!
love that, too...



Neighborhood Pride!
it shows...



The very top floors of 
town homes were typically 
where the live-in help 
lived....best view I'd say...





More to come....
Again thank you Georgianna
for reminding me....smiles.