When I was writing about my trip to South Africa and being a solo tourist, I was trying to think back to trips I had taken alone. And the more I thought about it, I realised how lucky I have been to nearly always have a travel companion to keep me company and share in the experience.

The only other time I could remember sight seeing on my own was another work related trip (trust me, they aren't always this glamorous!) to Honolulu. I had meetings on Monday & Tuesday, and while I wasn't smart enough to take a vacation day, or take my husband with me, I was at least smart enough to schedule my flight out on Saturday. This left me one full day of sightseeing, plus whatever I could squeeze in after work.

So, with only one day, I decided the best way to see it all was by helicopter tour of the island. Perk of being a solo traveler? I got the best seat in the house next to the captain! The downside of the flight was that there was quite a bit of VOG (volcanic smog) in the area at the time, so the views weren't as breathtaking as they would usually be.

We flew over everything - Pearl Harbour, Dole Plantation, North Shore, and my favourite, Kualoa Ranch. This ranch is famous for being the film location of Jurassic Park and Lost. Despite these, it would still be at the top of my list of things to see in Oahu because of the breathtaking scenery.  The island isn't all that large, so after about an hour, our tour was over.

North Shore

Kualoa Ranch

This left me with the perfect afternoon on the beach, soaking up some much needed winter sun, before heading back to meet up with my co-worker for dinner.

On Tuesday, after my meetings, I had a few hours to kill (and a car), so on the way to the airport, we stopped at one of the most iconic monuments in Oahu - Pearl Harbour. To start of the trip, you get the opportunity to watch a video talking about the day of the bombing and giving more information on the war overall. While I of course had known about the events of the day, it seemed to have a different perspective when you're there, hearing all about it.

The memorial is in the middle of the water, where the USS Arizona sank, so you have to take a boat to get out there. The memorial is built just over the water, so you can see the remains of the ship lying beneath you. It is eery to see parts sticking up everywhere, and oil sitting on top of the water. It almost makes it seem as if it had just happened yesterday.


They also have a huge memorial to those who died, taking up an entire wall of the memorial. While I don't have any personal ties to this, I can imagine this being an important part of a pilgrimmage to honour a fallen family member or friend.


The whole thing was a bit surreal - you're on a gorgeous island, surrounded my beautiful water and the sun shining, yet I guess that's the point of a memorial. Life goes on, but because of this place, we can never quite forget what happened so many years ago.

And with that, I was on my way to the airport and back to Dallas. While Paul and I haven't made it there together yet, I know it will be top of our bucket list once we are back in the US.

One of the best things I have done for myself in London has been to get involved in a lot of different organisations and activities. From the UK Texas Exes to the Junior League of London, these have been fantastic ways for me to get involved in the community and make some friends in the process.

In addition to all the volunteering I get access to through the Junior League, we also have great events on the side to help raise money for our philanthropic activities. We had one of our first fundraisers of the fall a few weekends ago and it was just up my alley! Wine tasting at the Stafford Hotel, with a selection of 5 wines especially selected by their Master Sommelier.

 The wine wasn't the only thing that made it special; the event was held in their amazing wine cellars in the basement of the hotel. The cellars were built more than 350 years ago in the 17th century by a Lord under the basement of his stables.

Since they have been built, the cellars have also served as a hiding space for soldiers during WWII when London was under siege. They have a special section of the cellar dedicated to this history, with memorabilia and trinkets left behind from the soldiers who stayed there.

The cellar is home to more than 6,000 bottles selected by the Master Sommelier, meaning there is something for just about everyone.

After our wine, we popped up to the American Bar at the hotel. The trinkets in the wine cellars are nothing in comparison to the bar. It started with a traveler living a gift of a small totem pole from his travels, and has morphed into just about anything and everything be left as gifts, from sports caps, to toy planes, to undergarments (one of the more recent additions according to our waiter)! The restaurant/bar is cosy, we sat at a small sofa and chairs, and for dinner, they brought us a cushion to eat off our laps. It felt like an old time home, welcoming us with good food, and drinks of course.

After seeing many castles and palaces throughout the UK, we decided a few weekends ago to switch things and check out a different part of British history at the HMS Belfast, the iconic warship that sits in the Thames just across from the Tower of London.

We headed over later in the afternoon, thinking it would be a quick stop before we got back to our winter cleaning at the flat. Little did we know, but the place was enormous! The ship seems to be almost entirely open to the public, and is self-guided, meaning you feel like you have free reign of the place. The museum spans 4 floors of the ship, from the boiler room below to the control room up top.

We started off at the bottom, first checking out things below deck including the boiler room. Warning - there are lots and lots of narrow, steep staircases throughout. They'll warn you if it's a rainy day (like most days in London), but fair warning to anyone who is as clumsy as I am and has trouble putting one foot in front of the other. These rooms were full of gadgets and steering wheels and controls that I had no idea what they were. Luckily, the audio guide gave us some background on what we were seeing in just about every room.

Also lots of good tidbits from these old informational signs from the ship

Next up, where the rooms that the crew used and lived in. From the toilets, to the laundry room (which is famous for an escapade where someone on board tried to smuggle in drugs), to the sick room, to the place they bought rations, it's just about all open to the public. It's also full of these weird, wax looking statues posed about in the randomest places. If you aren't careful, they can give you a fright as you turn your head and catch one 'looking' at you!

Whose real?

From here is where we got to see the real action. This included the turrets where the guns were fired - with two interactive experiences telling you more about the ships war history. The most important of its battles was the Battle of North Cape where it was involved in the sinking of Scharnhorst, a German ship, where only 36 of the nearly 2,000 people aboard the German ship died. Later, the ship also was part of the D-Day landings. All in all, the ship had a relatively short history, 1939 - 1962, when it was retired from service.

The final stop on our journey was the raised decks where the ship was led from. Here you could see where the Captain would look out from his post, sit in his chair and read the log from its battle days. The  operations room included not only games, where we were able to dominate a 6 year old in recovery of a lost plane via video game, but also the communications area where signalling groups still take office and let tourists try their hand at morse code.

After we left the ship to rejoin the rainy London crowds, we walked through a nearby shopping centre, which brought back to mind my first time to visit this part of London in 2005 with my grandparents. I reminisced, let Paul in on my past here, and soaked up a bit of deja vue from way back when.

One of the best parts about living overseas is learning about new customs and cultures. While the English culture is more closely aligned with American culture than Turkey, there are still some differences you stumble upon.

Vernacular (e.g. pants v. trousers, chips v. fries). Holidays (they take them, we don't). Mushy peas, clotted cream & pies (not the sweet kind).

Right now, one of those odd cultural occurrences is taking place. Guy Fawkes Day is widely celebrated throughout the UK on the 5th of November. I didn't know about it last year til the fireworks went off, then read about it and said oh, like V for Vendetta since nearly everything can be related to a movie.

This year, I decided to learn a little bit more about the holiday so I can celebrate it properly!

Its celebration spans all the way back to 1605 and Guy Fawkes gunfire plot. This is where 13 men plotted to kill King James I and blow up Parliament. A lot of the plot was around religion, part of the ongoing battle between Protestants and Catholics that began when Henry VIII originally brought Protestant religion to England (just so he could divorce his wife). Still in James' times, Protestant religion ruled, making these Catholic plotters angry, especially after James persecuted some Catholics in what was seen to be for his political advantage.The whole plot was foiled when the plotters warned their fellow Catholics not to be in Parliament that day, and later Guy Fawkes was found hiding below the building in a room full with gunpowder (hence the name the Gunpowder Plot), and the matches to ignite the whole thing.

Credit

So why is this even celebrated still today? Sure, celebrate at the time, but it seems to me like an odd choice of an going holiday - 'hey, we almost got blown to bits, but didn't, so hooray!'

Following the failed attack, an act of Parliament was passed setting the date as a day of thanksgiving for the "joyful deliverance of James I." This act remained in place for over 250 years, until 1859. So perhaps out of habit, the holiday is still celebrated today and the event is remembered, as Yeomen still search the building upon the opening of Parliament for any modern day Fawkes.

Photo Credit

Today the date is celebrated not with bonfires to burn Guy (at least that I've seen), but with lots and lots of fireworks.  This year, they started the weekend prior, and will probably continue to the following weekend.  And I don't blame them, without the 4th of July to celebrate, everyone needs a good national holiday for fireworks!

Photo Credit

For my first couple of days in Cape Town, I had the company of my co-worker and her family, which was great to give me some built in fellow tourists for the first few days. Other than a day and a half in a similar situation in Hawaii, I have never done solo traveling.

As fate would have it, however, my final day in Cape Town was to be spent alone.

After my morning meeting, the day was mine. I already knew what was in the books for me - the famous wines of South Africa, and more specifically Stellenbosch. I had four hours before I needed to be at the airport, and while not nearly as much time as I would want, it gave me the time I needed to head out that way.

Since I didn't have a car, I hired a driver for the half day. He suggested we make a pit stop on our way out to Stellenbosch, which after hearing his idea I quickly agreed to. Even though I had seen cheetahs on our Kenyan Safari, this was a chance to get upclose and personal at Paardevlei Cheetah Outreach Centre.

In South Africa (and probably a lot of Africa), as farming lands and cities grow, the cheetahs in the wild are being run out of their natural habitat. When these farmlands encroach on the cheetahs homes, their food is taken away, so they tend to find new food sources, like the farmers cows and other animals. To protect their animals, farmers shoot or poison the cheetahs. The point of the outreach centre is to teach farmers how to live with the cheetahs, and inform them of alternative methods of protecting their livestock.

The way they do this is actually through Anatolian sheep dogs (from Turkey!). Cheetahs are not naturally aggressive animals, and therefore if they are challenged, they typically flee versus fight. The outreach centre not only teaches the farmers how to use these dogs, but also breeds them and provides them to the farmers. It has been so successful, there's now a waiting list for farmers wanting to get the dogs!

Back to the cheetahs though. They keep cheetahs at the centre to educate people on their true nature. I know some from our safari trip that they aren't inclined to hurt people, but it was amazing to be so close to one. They do stay with their handlers all the time, so they can keep an eye on their attitude and if they are open to having people around them. I got to visit Joseph and spent several minutes just stroking his fur and chatting with the handler about him. He's 11 years old, so he's an old pro at meeting people at the outreach centre.

After my encounter, it was off to try some wine! While I usually wouldn't drink before a flight, I couldn't pass up the opportunity. First up, we stopped at Bilton Wines for a chocolate and wine tasting. For each class of wine, they had a corresponding chocolate that were paired to bring out the flavours of each. I loved the cab so much that I bought a bottle and the delicious dark espresso choclate that I tasted with it.

Trouble of solo travelling? Finding someone to take your photo.

While I could have headed to the airport now and been there a few minutes early, we decided to squeeze in one last tasting. I figured it would be a good practice to help me to sleep on my long overnight flight back to London. We choose the picturesque Waterford Estate in Stellenbosch. The weather was lovely and I got to enjoy an outdoor seat in the sun, under the shade of the trees in their courtyard. Perfection. I got the chance to try three wines and three more chocolates, all lovely, but no space left in my suitcase to bring back. After the last of my wine, I took a few minutes to wander around the estate, with the lovely nectarine trees out front, lining the drive up to the estate.

And so my time in Cape Town came to an end. We drove back through Stellenbosch to give me some last glances of a place I had fallen in love with in only a few days. I know a trip back will be in my future, and perhaps next time with someone to share all my favourites of the city with!