Day 11- Before You Leave

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I've posted that I loved traveling, yes, that is true, but the worst part of traveling, whether sighted or blind... is the leaving...


Going "home" is always bittersweet. You look forward to being in the place you belong... but covet the time you have had in that dream world.

Like all good things, the my studies and traveling  had to come to an end. My vision had worsened to the point of needing to be seriously looked at. I was not insured as the British subjects are... I couldn't have taxed their system, well, I could have. It turns out that they are very good in the UK about treating foreigners, the National Health Services are very accessible...Ophthalmologists are very well trained in handling retinal detachment, and possibly finding the cause earlier would have helped some in my case. 

 but, in the case that you need surgery,  you might not be able to fly for a while... and my son needed to go back to the US school system. He needs to be able to graduate with his class... needs to be able to go through the system.... be a good little citizen.... or else I would have never, ever left.
I still pine for distant lands.

Before we had to leave, before my vision got worse than it had been in France, we visited Scotland again, Edinburgh, The Kingdom of Fife... Ecclefechan... and so many, many places. We wandered through libraries, caves, gardens, Abbeys, on beaches, over water, through woods, and ruins.  Over bridges and under. We made the best of the time we had left. Ate the full "Scottish Breakfast" and had fried Haggis. Watched the Pipe Band Competition  and waded in Hermitage Water, we sat on Arthur's seat, had kabobs in Portobello, gazed at the ships making their way into the Firth of Forth. I sat in the graveyards of my ancestors for days, listing their names, mapping their resting places...

Day 10- Traveling Still

How things change in such a short amount of time. 
We were in France, driving through the countryside, having a grand time, not a care in the world... I was enjoying the scenery, enjoying the road, enjoying life! 

We didn't go do the touristy things, but tried to do the kind of thing you would do on a Sunday afternoon if you lived in France. We visited the beach, we visited the cemetery, we visited church... I wanted to soak up as much of France as possible. We ate at local restaurants, we had continental breakfast, we at outside at the little table... we had French cooking, not American that is so abundant all over the world. We had sliced ham and cheese for breakfast. We ate Boudin Noir aux pommes. I mean, you can't get much more French than that. 
We were driving along, near Abbeyville, and I started having problems with my vision. I don't know what happened, if I was overly tired, or if I had been in the sun too long, or if maybe my allergies had started up worse... but I went from being able to see pretty darn well at a distance... to not much . It was of someone held a sheet of wax paper over my eyes... and I was scared. 
We turned around and drove back to Calais, where I had rented the car...I had to have someone else drive the car or leave... My friend, Kev, to the rescue. He was placed on the car rental and graciously drove us around France for the duration of the stay there. My vision never got any better. It seemed that every day it got a bit worse but I wanted to finish up the trip. And finish we did. We visited the WWII museum and walked the cemetery, We swam at Omaha beach, we saw the memorials and statues there, got to meet some of the Wounded Warriors (cycling the coast of Normandy)  that recognized our UT tshirts and knew we were from Texas!

 We went on to Caen right in time for their street festival, the streets were packed and the nights were warm and delicious.

The St Sauveur Church The Abbey aux Dames that was founded by Mathilde around 1060, the church of Trinity is a masterpiece of Norman Romanesque architecture. The sights and sound and smells of the city are amazing. Fresh bread and roasting chicken fill the streets, the perfume of the flowers, the smell of the city... ahhh, magnifique. 

You notice we didn't go to Paris on this trip?
Mais non, we didn't. I was not up to the city... and I couldn't encourage my friend to go either. We discussed it and decided that being in Paris was just a bit too much for me to handle. My son couldn't care if he went or not. He was blissfully happy visiting any museum that had anything remotely to do with weapons, war, guns... war... He is all boy.. through and through. And so the rest of the trip went. 
Churches, cemeteries, museums, cafes and the nicest people. 
I tried out my French, my son, who never speaks... ordered his food. 
We lounged on the beach.
I took picture after picture... sketched one after the other pages. 
We were blissfully aware that it would end too quickly, and that i will not be able to go again, at least not as it was at that point in time. 


The trip back to England was rough. I was exhausted and unable to see. I didn't leave the seating area. for this trip.  I felt queasy. I didn't know if it was the sadness of leaving or if I had sea sickness. The sea was up and the going slower it seemed. I think that is normal on any trip. You are so excited to be there and hesitant to leave. I just can't imagine not returning, yet I can no longer wish to return and not have the same memories of the hillsides and the beaches, and the beautiful architecture.  Is it wrong to want to preserve those memories just as the are?

My son is still practicing his French, waiting for our next visit. He thinks it will be fine if I can't see. He says that he will drive us this next time... he knows the traffic lanes already! lol...Me? I don't want to disappoint him,  so maybe in a couple of years....

The Abbey aux Dames was founded by Mathilde around 1060, the church of Trinity is a masterpiece of Norman Romanesque architecture. - See more at: http://en.infotourisme.net/monument/caen/5683/abbaye-aux-dames#sthash.2oJhESvN.dpuf

Day 9--Traveling

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Willkommen!  Today is the 9th day of the 31 Days of Vision Series, I'm glad you could join me today. We are going to Europe! Not literally, but I'm pulling out pictures from one of our trips to share with you our trials and trivial problems while traveling. Most of them trivial... 
My son is not so much a fan of traveling... he would, like most young boys, be playing outside or on video games.. So when we went overseas, I tried to do things he would enjoy. Castles, beaches, hills to climb... we had a variety interests to choose from, but no video games, thank God!
One of our trips we decided to take the ferry across from Dover to Calais. The sea was calm, thank goodness, and we boarded the ship with no problems. The ship we crossed on has some braille signs, but like most places, they are not everywhere. If you are visually impaired, the company requests that you check in with them and to travel with a sighted person... Well... That isn't very helpful, is it? They ask that you be seated and to stay in on section... I didn't have to,  I found that the signs were large enough that I didn't have a problem finding the way around, and the staff were everywhere just in case. We sat forward  so we could watch the ocean and the numerous seagulls that accompanied our ship.
We wandered around the ship, had refreshments and exchanged some money, I've never been good at figuring rates of money, I try to get it into my head that this amount is close to that amount in American currency... and figure everything around that number!

We got to Calais without any problems. I rented a car at the port. I'm not even going to explain how difficult that was. I hadn't used French for many, many years... They don't really ask you anything about if you have a valid license . Heck, I don't even remember if I had to show her mine... I gave her my passport and my credit card... I found out when we returned back to the States that my license had expired months and months before... sigh... That's another story as well...
The car rented and luggage hauled  we set off, only to find that the car, which was standard transmission, was very touchy, I was not used to a standard, and the streets were laid out oddly. Those three things don't mix well, at least not with me. 
I had such a hard time trying to find signs. I had an even harder time reading them, translating to English what they said and trying to get my bearing enough to drive.. and that clutch... aw, it was horrible. 
Long story short... and I know I am leaving out really good parts... but we got stopped by the police... and escorted out of town. OK, so it isn't as bad as it seems... the nicest gendarm asked politely what I thought I was doing while I was turned the wrong way in the bus lane... don't ask... it is not going to be a short answer....
He told me to follow him and he would help me! 
Now, that sounds easy, right? but that darned clutch....
Anyway, we made it to Dunkerque with enough time to find a hotel and eat dinner.

Beach in Belgium

Now, you might wonder about me driving... well, this was the time in-between having the last cataract/lasik surgery and the first of the surgeries for the scar tissue, and the retina detaching... so at this point, I was seeing farsighted and could drive... but I couldn't see to read. Really, the time was short that I had, not long after we returned to the US did I have to give up driving... so, this was that golden opportunity to travel. Though tomorrow, I'll go into some of the not so trivial problems... and how our trip nearly ended way too soon.

WWI Cemetery at Etaples

St Eloi, Dunquerque

I wanted to visit as many places as I could in a short amount of time to be able to have fun and make memories.  I love old buildings, my son loves the beach... I love cemeteries, my son loves cars and ships and planes...So, we went to the beach in Belgium, we went to the St. Eloi in Dunkirk, We walked the waterfront and visited ships, we went to the beach in Normandy, we went to the WWI Cemetery in Étaples-sur-Mer, the WWII cemetery and museum in Normandy, we walked through the bunkers and craters and marveled at the large gun at Point du Hoc, and we went to market in Insigney sur mer. Everywhere we traveled we enjoyed the scenery, the museums, the cafes, the food, the smells and sounds... Caen was majestic, Pont de Normandie bridge and the Millau Viaduct were both  breath taking.
All in all, we had a wonderful time. All those memories... and my son's favorite is one of the little hotels that we stayed... for one night... and it is his favorite story... it was one of those kind that you stay only for one night!  We were tired and needed a place and didn't care that it was a tiny, tiny place. The bathroom was a tiny closet that you could use the toilet,  brush your teeth in the sink and wash your feet in the shower... all at the same time... like a motor home bathroom, maybe even tinier... but it worked for us!!!

'German Bunker at Point du Hoc