FAREWELL PORTLAND, HELLO ZIMBABWE!

As the end of May neared, so did our time in Portland.  The weather remained pretty spectacular right to the end, meaning that I was able to get in a few last strolls through some parks around town.  The spring flowers put on quite a show while we were there – starting with the tulips that were in full glory when we arrived in April, to the dogwoods and lilacs and rhododendrons that flowered in sequence through May.  

A hundred shades of green along the trails in Washington Park.

The Rhododendron Garden in full bloom made a lovely backdrop for a photo of my parents.

In addition to all the outdoor activities, we also enjoyed lots of indoor visits with friends, meals at some of our favorite restaurants, and shopping - lots of shopping - for clothes, pantry items, appliances… everything we thought we could possibly need while we’re in Zimbabwe. 

We had to get a storage locker to hold all the stuff we were shipping out.

We spent our last week in Portland staying at my parents’ house, and they were kind enough to host an open house for us to have a chance to say farewell-for-now to our friends.  See you in two years, Portland!

We took a red eye from Portland to New York, and then New York to London, where we spent a few days.  We had a fairly full itinerary planned, including an overnight trip west of London to Bath, including a visit with Andrew’s stepsister Sophie and her family who live in Bristol. 

A selfie on the streets of Castle Coombe en route to Bath.

Castle Coombe:  the quintessential British village. 

The cathedral in Bath - and blue sky in England!

Bath is such a beautiful town - even if it did try to kill Andrew (keep reading).

The return trip to London was to include a drive through the Cotswolds and then a day of sightseeing in London before seeing the musical Hamilton on our last night in London.  Alas, our itinerary was modified after our day in Bath to include a trip to the emergency room.  Andrew came down with a nasty stomach bug of some sort that drained him (literally) and required meds and rehydration at the hospital in Bristol.  Sophie was a miracle worker – helping me to return the rental car and then driving us back to London.  After some overnight rest, Andrew was much improved but not up for activity, so I left him to rest and did some sightseeing on my own for the day. 

A quick stop at Kensington Palace to say hi to William and Kate...

...then a stroll through Hyde Park...

...and a quick pop in at Buckingham Palace to pat the Queen's corgis.

Look kids - Parliament!  Big Ben!

Can't have a series of London photos without a pic of Tower Bridge.

Thankfully, by that evening, Andrew rallied and we were able to both see Hamilton.  I’d gotten the tickets a couple months back when we found out we’d be in London for a few days.  It was definitely the highlight of my London visit… although, considering stomach flu and an IV drip were the alternatives, I guess that’s not saying all that much.  But I really mean it – the show was AMAZING!

YES!!!

The Victoria Palace Theatre had just been renovated and was in full glory.

And so, with the glitz and glamour of London and emergency rooms behind us, we headed out on another red eye to Johannesburg and then on to Harare.  We arrived mid-day, and a new work colleague of mine met us at the airport.  We loaded up the van with three of our four giant suitcases (the fourth went astray somewhere en route, but we were reunited the next day) and made our way to a hotel that will be our temporary accommodation for a few weeks until our house is ready.  The hotel is lovely with lush grounds and a pool (although with temps getting down to the 40s at night, the pool is only lovely to look at right now), so I think we’ll make due just fine here for awhile.  We don’t have a car just yet, although we’ve bought one from a departing colleague and we’ll have wheels very soon.  In the interim, the embassy’s motor pool is driving me to and from the brand-spanking-new embassy compound every day, and a work colleague took us around town yesterday to start getting the lay of the land.  The variety of shops and the well-stocked grocery stores certainly has us rethinking all that stuff that we had shipped here.  I think we'll get along just fine here with what's on hand.  

The grounds at our hotel. 

Now THIS is a grocery store!

A movie theater!  With six screens!  Wha....????

The shopping mall we visited yesterday has everything we could possibly need.

Our first impression is that we’re very impressed!  Hello Zimbabwe!  We look forward to getting to know you for the next couple years.