Alice and the Orient Express

It is almost my birthday again, which always reminds me of previous birthdays.  Today I'm thinking about my 50th birthday back in 2005, a dozen years ago now. For that particular birthday I received a "once in a lifetime" type of gift that included an overnight ride on the Orient Express.

Yes.  The REAL ORIGINAL Orient Express train in Europe.  No.  I didn't have to murder anyone during the trip.  -grin-

The Orient Express ride part of the trip went from Paris, France to Venice, Italy, overnight, through the Alps and the wine country.  It was as wonderful as you imagine it would be or maybe even better.

These photos were taken in the train station in Paris as we were about to leave.

Dinner on the Orient Express was formal and delicious.  Men in tuxedos and women in formal wear.  It was held in the dining car with cocktails in the piano bar car afterwards.  Just wonderful.  The service on that train was the best I have ever experienced.  It was like they only hired psychic servers because they anticipated your needs and took care of you almost always without you having to ask.

I'm with the man I dated from 1998 until 2008.  This trip was my birthday gift from him.

I met a lot of interesting people. The gentleman beside me with dark hair was traveling with his wife.  She was taking the photo.  They were from Australia. 

It was fascinating to experience how the 1% get to live everyday. I'm thinking I could get used to living this way.

I am truly blessed and I know it and I am truly thankful.

Here are some more photos for you.  Enjoy!

Our Cabin on the train.

The Alps

Our personal servant.

Employees on the train who served us.

Our "Water Closet"

Sharing 101 Things to Do in Asheville, NC from localadventurer.com

I've been a little under the weather the past few days.  Okay.  I admit it.  I've been more than a little under the weather.  

My poor sable Border Collie girl, Dolly, is also sick, so I haven't had much time for writing.  I'm hoping to feel much better soon.

In the meantime I've been daydreaming about the Asheville/Hendersonville area where I plan to move next year when I retire.  I happened across this website today:

http://localadventurer.com/things-to-do-in-asheville-nc-bucket-list/

and thought I would share.  It is a great list of things to do in the Asheville/Hendersonville, NC area.  I hope to do all of them after I retire and move there!

Click the link and enjoy!

Pullman, Illinois: A True Story

Some of you know that I love Chicago and have visited there many times over the years.  When I go, I'm usually working, but if time permits, on the last day before my plane leaves for home, I like to take a Greeter Tour.

Greeter Tours are FREE and awesome!  For more information about Chicago's Greeter Tours, click HERE.

On one such Greeter Tour I visited historic Pullman, IL, and found the history absolutely fascinating!  I took a lot of photos while I was there.  If you would like to see all the photos from my Pullman, IL tour, please click HERE. 

Pullman, IL today is an historic site.  Go HERE for more information or to plan your own visit.

I had no idea this town even existed!  Fascinating.

Now, let's talk a minute about the history of Pullman, Illinois.  Pullman was built to be similar to a southern "mill town" in that the town was owned and operated by the industry that was located there, which was a factory that built the luxurious Pullman railroad cars. 

The factory, the houses, well, basically everything in Pullman was built and owned and operated by the CEO and man in charge,  George M. Pullman.  

Everyone thought it was GREAT!  Until it wasn't.

Trying to exert too much control over your workers never ends well, and it didn't end well for Pullman either.

Oh...the town "looked" prosperous and healthy, but the unrest grew and grew as Mr. Pullman tightened his grip and tried to squeeze more and more work for less and less pay from his employees.  Never never never a good combination

Today though, Pullman looks lovely and quaint.

This is a mural on a wall near the town museum in Pullman, IL.

Photo in the Pullman Museum.
The Pullman Free School basically educated the worker's children in skills they would need to work in the Pullman factory.

Photos in the Pullman Museum. 
Pictured left: The Pullman Free School.  Pictured right: George Pullman

Left: Me!  Right: My Chicago Greeter Tour Guide

The Hotel Florence, Pullman, IL

Lake Vista and Illinois Central Railroad Depot as it was near the turn of the 20th Century

Hotel Florence, Pullman, IL

Yes.  There is a LOT to look at in Pullman.

Hotel Florence, pictured above, was named for George Pullman's favorite daughter. It first opened in November 1881 and still sits today an easy walk from the tree lined streets of neat brick homes.

Pullman was originally comprised of 1000 beautiful brick homes built by Pullman's employees in just less than four years time from 1881 to 1884.  The town was touted as an urban utopia, and, on the surface, it sure looked like that was true.  The homes were large and beautiful with both front and back yards, water and gas, and  access to sanitary facilities. The community spaces in town had parks and other green spaces to enjoy.  The town even picked the garbage  up once a day.  The rent for your home was taken out of your salary before you received your pay, so everything worked well at first.

At first.

But it only took ten years for that urban utopia cream to sour, and today Pullman, Illinois is best remembered for the Pullman Strike of 1894.  You want to watch this video:


Still curious?  Me too.  That's why I'm including this video for you as well.  Enjoy and feel free to share!

Newgrange and Ancestors

When I had the good fortune to visit Ireland in the summer of 2005, one of the most remarkable places I saw was Newgrange.

Here is a snapshot I took when I was there:

Newgrange is located in County Meath, Ireland in the Boyne Valley.  They believe it was built by Stone Age farmers c. 3200 BC, and is a Stone Age "passage tomb."

On the Winter Solstice, the light of the rising sun enters the roofbox at Newgrange and shines down the passageway and onto the floor of the inner chamber for about 17 minutes.

The Newgrange tour takes you down into the innermost chamber of the tomb.  You want to do this tour.

Newgrange is simply a remarkable structure. It is older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Giza, and made of huge boulders that are not native to the area. No one knows exactly how the ancient farmers moved the stones to this location.  It is just a marvel to see.  Amazing. 

But that is not really what I want to talk about today.  

Today I want to tell you about my emotional reaction when I found myself in this lovely countryside.  At one point I remember looking around and breathing the fresh air and thinking to myself, "This is just like home (meaning the hill country of South Carolina on the North Carolina line)."

That is when I literally broke down and cried.  I couldn't help myself.  The weight of what I was witnessing hit me square in the heart.

My ancestors moved to America and settled the country around Whitaker's Mountain, Crowder's Mountain, King's Mountain, McKown's Mountain, etc. back home because they were homesick.  My Irish ancestors had been forced out of Ireland for whatever reason (famine, religion, etc.), but they missed the rolling hills, the smell of good earth, the cool breeze of their Irish home.  When they found the rolling Carolina hill country, they felt at home...or as close to home as their new country would allow. 

My heart went out to them.  All those souls standing behind me with all their stories unwritten, untold and unremembered.  I felt them that day.  Their spirit still lives in those hills of County Meath, and I cried for them.  

I hope they know that at least one of their offspring returned to their home and understood what they had lost.  May God bless each of those whose lives led to mine.  May God bless and keep them forevermore.

Remembering My Brother, Howard

My brother, Howard, passed away a few days ago, July 11, 2016.  He will forever be missed. 

Howard has been on my mind so very much these past few days that I have decided to share a glimpse of some happy times we had together.

For this post I think I'll tell you about the time I visited him in his home in Derry, Northern Ireland. 

In 1968 Howard married a lovely Northern Irish girl named Juliette.  They were happily married for 48 years.  They lived in the US for a good number of those years, but moved back to Derry, N. Ireland in the late 1990s.

Back in 2005 I was given a gift of a lifetime for my 50th birthday, nearly a month exploring Dublin, the Irish countryside, Derry, London, Paris, Venice, and Edinburgh all expenses paid.  I even got to take an overnight trip on the original Orient Express train from Paris to Venice. 

I truly am blessed and I know it and I'm very extraordinarily thankful every single day.

The very BEST part of that wonderful trip was I got to visit my brother, Howard, and his wife, Juliette, in their home in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, and I was able to meet and spend time with Juliette's family who all lived nearby.

Howard and Juliette's lovely home is in the city, but we visited many places while we were there. 

It was so hard to leave him that trip.  At the time Howard was on a list for a heart transplant.  When I left, I wasn't sure I'd ever see him again.  It hurt my heart to think about it at the time, but Howard did get his heart transplant in England in September of 2005.  He lived almost eleven more years after that.  He even got to come home to the USA to visit me in October 2011. 

I am honored and privileged to have known my brother, Howard. A better man never lived.  He will be missed.  He will be missed. Forever and a day. Until we meet again.

Howard R. Batchelor(1942-2016)

Howard

Howard, Alice, and Juliette

Alice, Howard, and Juliette

Howard and Alice

Alice and Howard

Alice and Howard

Howard and Alice

Alice and Howard

Alice and Howard

Alice and Howard

Howard

Howard and Alice

Howard and his lovely wife, Juliette

Howard and Alice

Dunluce Castle, Northern Ireland. Late Middle Ages Ruins

The Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland

Juliette's nephew, Juliette, and Howard

A Londonderry, Northern Ireland street near Howard and Juliette's home.

Grianan of Aileach atop a 244 metres hill in Inishowen in County Donegal, Ireland.

Howard, Alice and Juliette

If I could save time in a bottle....