it's rather strange. Getting up in the morning is not the problem... staying awake until bed time is. All the other times in my life it was the opposite.

Ok, back from England... as of two nights ago. Didn't do a lot of traveling while in England but did visit Garmisch, Germany for a few days and also drove down to Bruges, Belgium.. neither disappointed.

Best Meal - that's a tough one, I LOVE German food but I'm giving top honors to the Belgium Monk, in Norwich England, for their mussels... which were spectacular. Also.. best beer I ever drank, (I forget the name). 2nd place a little spot in Fussen, Germany for their Bratwurst and Sauerkraut. Best bread, however, goes to "Londis".. a little, very little, store in my son's home town of Feltwell for their fresh baked baguettes... every morning I'd walk to the store and get 2.

Most exciting moments... Church of the Holy Blood in Bruges... I'd go into it but it's 'religious'. The thrill of going thru the Chunnel for the first time WHICH.. is simply sitting in your car in a boxcar and seeing NOTHING whatsoever for 31 miles... BUT... if you have a vivid imagination, like I do, it was great. Also.. watching the movie Dunkirk on a Thursday night then, merely happenstance, driving thru Dunkirk on the way to Bruges. Watching my first Rugby game, which is a GREAT sport... non-stop action. It was youth, my grandson, and it was perhaps the coldest day of my life... and the kids, and some coaches, were in shorts. Youth Rugby conference WITH a bar onsite... I had an alcoholic cider at 10am.... well, I'm lying, I had 2 of them plus a mulled wine. I had no choice, because of the cold... drink alcohol or die.

Loved my afternoon sessions in the local Pub, (while my son's family were at work and school), and meeting the locals. Pete, Dave, Nigel, Chris #1 and Chris #2 and also P-something, I never could understand what he was saying his name was. On my last day there I told them I'd see them again perhaps this summer, (thinking about attending the F1 race in Silverstone, England), to which they sent me off by saying, "no need to threaten us".

Perhaps I'll post a few photos in a followup later. Mostly me drinking beer, and eating, but mostly drinking.

Good to be home. Hard to believe I've been gone since Christmas. - JamesJM

P.S. Met a great guy, by the way, whose son played on my grandson's rugby team and is an EAGLES fan, always wears Eagle gear. GREAT guy, get that part? I never knew there were any Eagle fans that were great humans... so that was my most amazing discovery on my expedition.