I Spy Friday featuring The Spring Plop

Can I just point out that it is 46° F in London today? 

And it's the 24th of May.

 

I promised myself I would never become obsessed with British weather

and jump on the bandwagon of speaking about it all day, every day.  But, seriously?

This is just ridiculous and I'm now driving the bandwagon (due South).

I just want to be warm.  Is that too much to ask?

All right.  Enough of that.

Instead, let's talk about how much I value and appreciate you, my readers.

You may have noticed in the Sidebar over there, I have a new badge.

That's because you lot (don't I sound British) actually took the time to 

vote in the BritMums Brilliance in Blogging Awards!

And this blog is now one of the six finalist in the Travel Category!  I'm so totally thrilled.

I go back every day to check the list to see if I'm actually still there.

Here are the other five.  You must go check them out. 

A Bavarian Sojourn 

Family Adventure Project 

Mums do Travel 

Mums gone to 

The Mum Blog

Thanks so much!  The winning blog will be announced June 21st.
And I'm being completely sincere that just to be a finalist is enough.

 

In an attempt to forget about the awful/rubbish weather,

today I'll share with you a London Sunday Photo Walk from a few weeks ago.

I think the temperature crept up into the 70's for about a half a second.

Everyone teased that that was Spring, come and gone.  I'm starting to wonder.

(I blame this weather on the new obsession with Game of Thrones and all their talk of Winter.)

We took the tube over to Green Park, relaxed in the park for a bit 
and then walked over to Buckingham Palace.

As you can see it was a lovely Spring day.

Even the brilliant tulips were enjoying the sun as they strained themselves towards the sky.

I'm hoping we'll see some more of that soon.

(If not, my next post will be from Texas.)

I'm sorry I've not written for a week.

I was at a travel bloggers conference in Rotterdam.

I returned on Wednesday, my brain full of inspiration and information.

I'll tell you all about it next week.

I hope you have a great weekend with an abundance of sunshine.

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Bolton Abbey in the Yorkshire Dales

Swinging on a porch in the Smokey Mountains. 

Floating down the Guadalupe River on a hot,Texas day.

Walking through a field of bluebonnets. 

Wiggling your toes in the white sand and crystal, clear water of Caribbean beach.  

There are just certain places where you feel more connected and "clicked in" to the world around you.

This island is full of places like that.  The colors, sounds and smells are like a big cuddle with nature.  I've mentioned before it's like a big green and blue fluffy quilt that I just want to wrap around me.  I can't get enough.  

Our last stop in Yorkshire was the grand, old ruins of Bolton Abbey

and this is another one of those places. 

 

 

Acres of green, a babbling river, miles of footpaths, majestic ruins of the priory all in the "heart of the Yorkshire Dales."   We spent a few hours just exploring and taking pictures.

We will definitely be going back to Yorkshire for some more exploration.

What place would you like to wrap around you like a blanket?

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Skipton Castle in Yorkshire

 

 

 

 

  

 

I will never pass up a chance to explore a castle.

I want to see every one in Europe.  (It could happen.)

When we found out that we were close to one in our drive through Yorkshire, we decided to stop.

Skipton is an adorable little town.  There was a market and we had lunch at a local pub.  

The castle is the centerpiece of the town.  According to their website,

"Over 900 years old, Skipton Castle is one of the most complete and best preserved medieval castles in England and is well worth a visit at any season of the year."

I'm so glad we stopped.  It was fascinating to walk through all of the rooms.  

In the center is a beautiful courtyard with a great tree standing guard.

Skipton Castle is privately owned and there are no audio tours or guided tours,

but we were provided with a free tour sheet to guide us through.

Admission was £7 each and it was a great way to spend a few hours.  

Add it to your list if you are in Yorkshire.  

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The NHS and a Hotel Recommendation

You know when you have everything mapped out perfectly and things don't go as planned?

I really hate that.  (Yes, I have control issues.)

I had planned to use the two weeks between the end of the job and our trip to get on a nice little schedule with blogging, running, housekeeping (seriously), exploring and such, 

only to be struck down by the plague (or as some might call it... the flu).

So then we get back from our trip and I was thrilled to move forward with that plan.

But, no.  Once again my plans were waylaid.  

This time by the alien trying to makes its way out of abdomen yesterday.

Excruciating pain and all the other stuff that goes with a stomach virus, food poisoning,

deadly Moroccan almonds, alien or whatever it was.

I had my first experience with the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK.

I really was in some serious pain and I had a similar experience about 18 months ago that resulted in a short hospital stay and no clear diagnosis.  The pain was becoming unbearable, so Matt called 111.

According to their website...

NHS 111 is the new three-digit telephone service that's being introduced to improve access to NHS urgent care services. Patients can use this number when they need medical help or advice and it's not urgent enough to call 999. NHS 111 operates 24/7, 365 days per year and is free to use from a landline and a mobile.

They were extremely helpful and compassionate. They asked questions about the various symptoms and because my pain level was so high advised that we see a doctor asap.  Our General Practitioner (GP) couldn't see me so they sent us to the the local Accident & Emergency department (A&E) which we call the ER.

The staff was extremely professional and kind. I didn't have to fill out a 10 page form or sign anything.  I was seen to relatively fast and given some medicine to destroy the alien ease the cramping.

They did some tests, ruled out anything serious and sent me on my way.

And we left without having to pay a penny (other than what we've already paid via our taxes).

I must say I was impressed.

And let me tell you, you can meet some really interesting characters at a central London A&E.

Police escorts and handcuffs were plentiful and this was 10am on a Tuesday.

The staff there must be remarkable and well-trained to deal with some really tough situations.

After about 12 hours of sleep, I'm feeling much better today.  Just some sore muscles.

And since I'm so happy to not need another overnight at the hospital, 

I'm going to share with you a wonderful hotel that I highly recommend if you do want an overnight in Yorkshire!

And that, my friends, has to be The Worst Segue EVER! But, I don't have any pictures related to the stomach bug (your welcome) and I need to get my York stuff posted so that I can post the Champagne District and Morocco trips.  And this place really is fantastic!

 

 

 The Wheatley Arms is in Ben Rhyyding, which is close to Ilkley, which is close to Leeds, which is in Yorkshire.  It's one of those places that you luck upon and you know that you will return to again and again.  

It's an adorable combination of traditional English and modern quirk.  The ground floor has various rooms, nooks, crannies and cozy fireplaces.  In one of those nooks, we spent about 5 hours chatting, laughing and having a wonderful dinner with Becky and her husband (from As a Yank in Yorkshire).  It felt like we were in one of our own living rooms just hanging out.  We never felt rushed to give up our table for the next seating.  And the food was wonderful!  Don't you love when you can get a really exceptional meal in a gorgeous, relaxed setting without any pretense?

Our room was adorable, pristine and roomy with all of the little touches that really make a place like this special.  They also have a fun schedule of activities, movie nights, classes, luncheons and more. AND they had American Pancakes with maple syrup and bacon for breakfast!!!  I so wish we lived closer. 

The Wheatley Arms is run by a company called Individual Inns and they have four other inns in the UK.  If they are anything like The Wheatley Arms, I'm sure they are worth a stay.

We booked the inn online and paid regular price and were not comped for the recommendation.

I thought I might send them a link and then figured they probably wouldn't 

appreciate being mentioned in a post that started off with a stomach virus.

(And I wonder why I rarely get PR requests.)

 

I hope you are all having a wonderful week!

 Have you had an experience with healthcare in another country?

What is your experience with the NHS?

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