Flora Mounts, Part Two

Our plans changed a bit yesterday - we ended up flying earlier to Amsterdam and not going into central London. S decided he could not see all he wanted to see in a few hours. So, we'll have to come back when we have more time and check it out. So, we're in Amsterdam for a few hours, and then this afternoon travel to Leiden, Holland and then drive to Bielefeld, Germany. (Google the Bielefeld Conspiracy - I'll let you know soon!)

The computer time in Amsterdam is rather pricey, so I don't have the wallet to upload photos from Europe for you today. But, lucky you, before I left, I did a few blog posts "on the fly" and saved them to post here when I couldn't do anything else. Following is one of those posts - it is the last post I have of photos from that botanical garden in West Palm Beach, Florida. I hope you enjoy it. So far I have found no botanical gardens to photograph in Europe, for which I am sure some of you are eternally grateful.

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So, today I want to share a few more photos from the myriad shots I got at the Mounts Botanical garden. I promise, though, for those of you "gardened out", this is the last one.

From this garden. ;)

I think this is a hydrangea variety - it was in a pot.

Is this also a bromeliad?

Another flowering bush.

A trumpet vine, I think.

So pretty in orange.

This photo and the following are all of one sort or the other of gazania.
I thought they were wonderful.

(photo is wierdly washed out)

And, if you couldn't tell before, after all those shots, I'm sure you believe now that I really liked those little flowers.

This delicate flowering vine was growing on the front gate.
The light wasn't too good there.

A flowering-rose bromeliad!
Not really, of course.

Some multi-colored Lantana was nice.
I have the yellow variety in my yard - again, in the dead of summer in Dallas.

So, that's finally it. For this garden. For now. I so enjoyed my two.five hours in this garden. What a treat it was!

We're in the UK, and we found a computer!

Hello everyone, dear blog readers. My dear 12 - TWELVE - TWELVE - 12 blog readers. (and HELLO mystery blog reader - S says hello!) S and I made it to the UK, and so did our luggage.

Here's a update so far: (and if there are strange long spaces in this post - it's the computer I was on. If there are no strange long spaces, great.)

The express train at Heathrow.

- we took a train to the airport hotel to check it out for work, then took a bus to get a rental car.

- so far, in said rental car, S has only tried to go back to the right side of the road once. Good for him. Left side driving is going OK.

S checking out Oxford.

This one looks very "Oxford", no?

- after picking up the car, we took our jet-lagged selves up the road toward Birmingham, the first stop on my business tour of hotels and venues (if you don't count the airport). On the way, we stopped in Oxford for lunch. Above are two examples of some photos from Oxford. There are many more, but we're on limited computer time here, folks, so more later. Like when we're back on the other side of the pond!

We passed this BBC Birmingham outlet when going for some dinner.

- made it (barely) to Birmingham, got lost, had to call the hotel concierge to drive us in, visited two hotels and a concert hall and THANK GOD went to sleep at around 7pm UK time. We were pooped.

One of the libraries in Manchester.

- feeling like new people, had a lovely English breakfast at the hotel, got the car and drove on the left side of the road to Manchester. Checked out two hotels and a concert hall. Then, had a little time to go to a shopping mall - a HUGE shopping mall - to find some shoes for me. Somehow, inside my luggage, one of my shoes ripped in two. A leather shoe - how that happens, we don't know. But, they were my dress shoes I need to wear for work appointments, so I needed to find a replacement. We found some. They are just penny loafer-looking shoes, but the style is called, "Gangsta", which of course made them even more appealing. Who wouldn't want GANGSTA shoes? Funny.

- headed to Leeds on Sunday for a concert hall visit, and then a LONG drive back to near London for two more hotel visits.

Today, Monday, (I have to remind myself what day it is) a concert hall visit then we have about four free hours in London before flying to Amsterdam. We'll be enjoying those hours when you read this! S has never been to London, so we're going to hop a cab and do a whirlwind drive-by. I'll take photos. I'll post them here one day.

Hope to post more later in the week for you, depending on Internet access! Thanks for stopping by!

Mmmmm...STRAWBERRIES

As you read this, we are hopefully in London with all of our luggage and on our way to complete the harrowing schedule of the pre-tour advance. Before I left, I got this here post ready for you so you would have something to read on Friday morning. I'm always thinking of you, my NINE blog readers. And those anonymous others who read this regularly - religiously even - but won't sign in and be seen as a follower. Who I love anyway. Maybe someday they'll at least comment.

Again, hopefully next week, I'll be able to post some from the road. So, today's post, prepared lovingly in advance for you, is more about last weekend in Florida.

Another stop we made during my 24 hours with the family in Florida was here. Parkesdale Farms in Plant City, Florida.

There was a line.

But, you can only get it four months out of the year!

Dad and Torchy took me here when I visited last year, and I demanded to go again. I'm a strawberry nut. (And, was a strawberry queen here last year!) So, we went.

They sell citrus and all sorts of fruits and vegetables in addition to strawberries.

They proudly displayed that both presidential candidates had stopped here.

This is where you order.

And this is what you get! Strawberries, shortcake, ice cream and whipped cream.
How could this be bad, people?

After we ate, we crowned some new strawberry royalty.

I'm likin' Steve's wand, there.

I see a Christmas card in the making...

The king was not amused.

Happy Friday - Happy Weekend. See you here next week, I hope with something new and different.

First Stop - Disney

All week I've been mentioning what I was up to last weekend. Here is some of it, finally. Later today, S and I will leave on a jet plane for London. Hope to post updates here! But now, on to what I did last weekend. And, today, there are 10 10! 10! followers reading this post! Wowza. Thank you. I am totally amazed and humbled by 10 readers. Thank you. Thank you!

If you're in Florida and you happen to have children with you, the first stop, of course, is Disney. Once I safely carted my last passengers to the airport and did my last bit of business last Saturday, I spent about 24 hours with my dad and his wife, my uncle and his wife, and also my brother and sister-in-law and their three children you know so intimately here on Ate Up Amateur. We met up with them at Disney, where they spent the morning. Here are the highlights:

We met up at the Rainforest Cafe for some late lunch.
Uncle Ray and Carol also joined us here.

It had the desired "wow" effect...

...until the "storm" began.
Then, they weren't so sure.

Veda liked these animal-themed bar stools, though!

Deacon didn't even like the fake snake in the gift shop...

...but Cora had no issue with it.

He did, however, like the alligator straw.

Here, the kids were checking out the animatronic alligator.
And grandpa watched on.

We passed the Disney version of the "dollar store."

At one point, Deacon went with Grandma and Grandpa to pick out a birthday present.
So, the girls posed for me a few times.

We walked around with Terri to see what we could see.

Steve was...well, Steve.

Here, Cora was totally wrapping her daddy around her finger a little tighter.

Cora and the princess.

Veda is showing off the headband she bought with her own money.

Awww...(That's a Lego-ness Monster behind them.)

Finally, Deacon decided on a present and met back up with us.
It's a Treasure Island "gun."

A good time was had by all and we headed back to dad's place.