I'm Back!

Well, not actually back but back doing blogs.  I left Alsace Wednesday afternoon, dropped the rental car off in Offenburg, took a train to Frankfurt Airport where I stayed overnight.  I thought it was curious the way the Germans in both the Offenburg and Frankfurt Flughafen Bahnhofs (train stations) designate the smoking areas - with a yellow line painted on the platform as if the smoke could figure out that barrier!  Further, there was actually a cigarette machine beside the elevator in my hotel last night selling Gauloise cigarettes.  Clearly, smoking is not yet the pariah there it is back home.  There are even Winston-sponsored smoking rooms inside the terminals at Frankfurt airport!

Thursday, I flew to Heathrow and met up with my friend, Nawal.  We picked up a rental car and headed south - it was a bit harrowing getting out of LHR and a challenge remembering to always drive on the "other" side of the road.  Driving the M25 is never fun with those massive lorries on either side of you and the traffic continued to be very heavy even as we headed south.  However, a few hours later, we arrived at the village of Bere Regis in Dorset.  Our B&B is charming and we walked to the village pub for drinks and dinner  Now, I have been in Dorset quite a few times.  The first time was in 1979 on my first foray to Europe.  Back then, my friend and I, as we drove through this area, laughed about the names of some of the villages:  Tolpuddle, Piddlehinton, Puddlehampton and others that seemed to focus on a "je ne c'est quoi"!  So, when I asked the gal at the pub about the names, she told me that more of them were focused on "piddle" than "puddle" before Queen Victoria visited the area and, because of her visit, many of the names were changed so as not to offend her.  So, imagine our surprise this evening when we found out we were just a stone's throw from a village called Shitterton (the sign is now in stone because the wooden signs were stolen so often) and the turnoff for it is just after Butt Lane.  I cannot make this stuff up!  British names are a hoot!

We were totally surprised at the village pub when we found out the couple sitting at the next table to us was from Parksville!  Further, they are staying at the same B&B as us.  What a small world!

Tomorrow, we start our journey west toward Devon with plans to stop at the Isle of Portland and Durdle Door.  Not sure if the weather is going to be cooperative but at least today was sunny and warm.