Wednesday,  we took the high speed train from Paris to Nice. My phone says peak speed was 185mph. 

Thursday we explored the city. For centuries Nice has built towards healthy street life. There are miles of walkways along the Mediterranean and dozens of streets hosting street cafes. The crowd is a bit younger than I expected. The streets are filled with people in there 20s

Somehow I managed to pick up a cold. We are resting on the beach today. I am optimistic the cold will pass soon. 

We’ve lucked out and had wonderful weather for our Paris visit.

… the OG Lady Liberty…

At the Monet Museum. 

 

We saw a couple plays in London. “The Play That Goes Wrong” and “Titanique”. Both are wonderful comedies. My husband cried after watching “The Play That Goes Wrong” he said that he hasn’t laughed that hard in years. It lifted a weight off his shoulders. 

Much goes on in that brain of his that I am not privy too. Thank you to those who made The Play…

This morning we said goodbye to our husband’s cousin and then hopped on the train to Paris. We are here for a couple days before headset off to Nice

We spent the afternoon exploring the city. Notre Dame is open again and looks spectacular. 

And now we are in London England. 

We have stopped by London to see the sights and catch up with my husband’s cousin. After London we are taking the train to France.

London is a wonderful city. Very old. Well kept. 

This European trip was our original retirement trip. We booked it long before our friends and family started suggesting “Now that you are retired, why don’t you travel with us to…” On this trip, in addition to my husband’s cousin, our friend FL has joined from Boston. 

Misadventures in Sailing

My former boss and now friend asked me to help him reposition his sailboat. The boat was to be hauled out of the water at a marina that required it to pass through the Ballard locks.

We set out in the morning for some light sailing. It was a pleasant trip, even if the winds weren’t particularly strong.

By mid-afternoon, we decided to head in and tackle the locks.

It was the first time navigating a lock system for both of us. It was the end of a holiday weekend and there were dozens of other vessels trying to squeeze through. There were massive commercial fishing boats. There were tiny kayaks. On top of the crowd, opening and closing the lock gates created rapidly shifting currents. Sailboats aren't known for being graceful in tight quarters. You have to keep an eye on everything, act fast, and adjust your lines at a moment’s notice.

It didn’t go smoothly, but we made it through with only bruised egos. At one point, the swirling currents spun our boat completely around. Afterward, my friend joked that our maneuvering would probably end up on TikTok.

This is why I don’t want to own a boat.

We’ve had a few causual days. Errands, gym and long walks during the day. Dinner with various friends in the evening. 

Last night was Allen, Evan, + P&S. I don’t know P&S that well though they are close to Evan.

Tonight is dinner with Huff and baby O

Sunday is the big gay bear party at C6 amd QJ’s. Last I checked over one hundred people said they were attending. 

 

My father has a new kitten. Not that a feral kitten really belongs to anyone.

My father regularly feeds a feral cat. Back in July she appeared to be pregnant. Then she vanished for a day and returned thin. For weeks afterward we saw no signs of her kittens, so we assumed they were still born. Then recently my father saw this little furry dude climbing up a screen window with the mother watched from a few feet away. 

Tuesday evening I had dinner with C2 at Spuds Fish and Chips which is in a local beach. Soon the rain will return to Seattle, so we decided to enjoy it one last time. 

C2 is my connection to the more… wild side of our local gay community. He has a few friends who are into ’gear’ I didn’t know what that was. It’s how the muscle builders who take many injectables refer to their habit. 

And because we are all getting older, he caught me up on which gear-heads have passed away, which have cancer and who have other issues. 

First world problems and opportunities. 

My husband is off driving Mehl to the airport. Now I have a rare hour alone. I have a chance to reflect how our life has changing since retirement. 

One of the benefits of my past job was that I had hours of built in quiet time to sit, to reflect, to meditate, to write, to work. I enjoy that quiet and miss it. It's difficult to schedule while we are traveling or hosting guests.

And I do mean quiet time. Not downtime where I turn on the TV or scroll social media on my cell. Hearing voices bursts the quiet time bubble. I immediately fixates on that conversation instead of my chosen activity. I am looking for genuine quiet.

I need to gently discuss this with my husband. He is more of an extrovert than I and is excited by our future travels.

We are on our way home now. I greatly enjoyed Victoria. 

A pic from our morning stroll in China town…

Today we saw the BC Legislature, the Craigdarroch Castle and the Malahat Sky Walk. 

We also spent hours in our condo watching the gulls fly from roof to roof, the boats tooddle around and construction happen. The harbor in Victoria is endlessly busy and interesting. We pour some tea, watch the cruise ships dock and try to decipher how the gulls choose the most interesting place to be. 

This morning we toured the Butchart Gardens. They are 120 years old and becoming more gorgeous with every passing decade.

 

Did I mention how beautiful Victoria is?

Today we took the ferry up to Victoria. We are staying here through the weekend. I forgot how gorgeous Victoria is on fine summer days. 

Tuesday we did tourist things with Mehl. We visited the Museum of Flight in the morning where we walked on a Concord as well as Nixon’s Air Force One. 

Later in the day we dined at Marenki Sushi. There is much history at Marenki. It first opened in 1904. During WW2, its owners were incarcerated. The restaurant and building were ransacked. After the war, Marenki was rebuilt where it stands today. 

The sushi and tempura were delicious. 

Our friend Mehl is up from New Mexico. He greatly appreciates Seattle’s cooler summers.

Mehl’s health has constantly been on the decline and mend. It’s given him a dour look on life. Four years ago he had cancer. If his next test is good, he will get off chemo. Three years ago he broke a leg and a wrist. That mended over months. CHF started a few months ago. They don’t know why. It’s slowly reducing, but during the latest scan they found a tumor on his liver…

There but for the grace of God go I. 

Today we will explore Tacoma. Tomorrow we head up to Victoria. 

The Dahlia’s are still blooming like crazy. Judging from the number of unopened buds, we are half way through the season. 

My husband is down in Sacramento for a couple of days. His stepmother passed away a couple weeks ago. Her celebration of life is today (Saturday.) It looks like he’s having a good time catching up with his stepsister and her side of the family.