Vietnam tour has begun with our local 25 year old guide and a nice New Zealand woman who lives near Toronto, Canada. So far, the Vietnam tour is too intimate for my style, But I’ve learned that Vietnam was occupied by China, Japan, French & attempted by America 1965-75. The patriarch of Vietnam (Uncle) Ho Chi Minh heavily influenced Vietnamese people to fight the Americans to seek independence thru solidarity.

Current Vietnam is socialist dominated by single communist party, heavily censored. This year, government pays for public education and by 2030 they aim to replace gas powered scooters with electric. There is an emphasis on beautiful, colorful mosaic walls but infrastructure lacking as water not potable by locals.

Yes, Vietnams economy growing, still a developing country. Up to 12 can live in narrow vertical homes in the old quarter. Outside, exists a chaotic & dangerous tangled wires while on the ground, flooding occurs when it rains. Think the movie Parasite. McDonalds is expensive compared to the cheap street foods in Hanoi. Very few homeless but even they are selling matches or toothpaste.

There is no evidence of police patrolling the streets, instead there is a reported abundance of undercover cops posing as Grab or Uber delivery. Chris and I like to speculate who’s undercover! Walking across the street is INSANE. You just keep a steady pace, knowing buses don’t stop and mopeds move to accommodate the pedestrians. The sidewalks are for street vendors, parked mopeds, men repairing shoes or carving spools, and room and maybe for a pedestrian walking single file.

The highlight of Vietnam was eating bun cha, a delicious soup with grilled pork & noodle, egg roll & beer all for $6 at the same diner President Obama and Anthony Bourdain made history, seen on YouTube. The table & bowls are memorialized behind plastic exactly where they sat.

Not sure why I’m visiting Vietnam, South Korea & Japan. I’ve never had interest in Buddhist temples or Asian artifact and the food is a stretch for my traditional American palate. Still I’m spending 3 weeks touring countries I’ve only heard about growing up. As a young girl, I heard about the Korean War from Dad who entertained troups with Bob Hope. In the 60s, the Vietnam war was well televised and later highlighted with movies like Apocalypse Now, Coming Home. That was my 1st protest.

Arrived Hanoi, Vietnam. Initial impressions: Thriving city full of moped chaos, street vendors and friendly locals. Because of the oppressive heat, life takes place on the street (vs inside): peeling vegetables, mending shoes, making keys. Also because of the heat, night life is as vibrant as daytime. English is not spoken and cash is King!

Tour starts tomorrow but my first day walked 8 miles reflecting on history of the American war aka Vietnam war. Saw the bunker during the war that housed Joan Baez & Jane Fonda at the Metropole hotel where Presidents, monarchs, celebrities stay. Visited Hoa Lo Prison aka Hanoi Hilton built during the French occupation in 1896, the biggest and highest security in IndoChina. Focus on horrible treatment of Vietnamese as POW during French rule with little mention of the atrocities to American POWs. Rather museum rhetoric dilutes their treatment of American POWs and highlights American crimes against the people. For sure, it was a senseless conflict but the Vietnamese were not saints.

On a happier note, Sunday displayed the best of Vietnam fashion including women dressed to the nines and several brides surrounded by photographers. PS Haven’t seen one dog.

A friend asked me why I return to Marylebone. I couldn’t really answer her, but now that I’ve spent some time in Marylebone, I know the answer. First of all it’s a posh neighborhood, that is wide streets, well dressed people, clean and safe. It is also centrally located close to Baker St. and Marylebone stations.

There is some significant musical history too! The Beatles used to live here. Zak Starsky was born on Montagu Place. Jimi Hendrix lived there. John Lennon and Yoko Ono lived there. John Lennon was arrested there on trumped up charges of drugs later a cop was fired for planting drugs on Lennon. I want to hold your hand was written in the basement flat in Marylebone, the first song top hit, heralded in British Invasion.

At Marylebone City Hall, Paul McCartney married Linda Eastman, Ringo Starr married the Bond girl Barbara Bach, (uniting all 3 Beatles) and Paul McCartney married his recent wife Barbara Walters niece on the day of Lennon’s assassination. Apple was started on Baker Street. Guy Richie & Madonna used to have a home here as well.

Grow old with me is the closest you can come to a Beatles reunion: in 2019 Ringo Starr sings and plays the drums, Paul McCartney plays bass and sings on a song that John Lennon wrote.

No Beatles Tour is complete without Visiting Abbey Rd., Studios and the famous crosswalk of the album cover Abbey Road!

The trip went seamless. Travel by rail was dependable and comfortable. Lots of walking from station to hotel to town. We both lost weight! Each hotel was unique from the stable room to corporate hotel to B&B. Day tours were enriching with informative guides. Admittedly there were near misses but never lost anything. My aunt was a trouper, never complained and a good sleeper. Valley Girl had a 2 week backyard holiday & even got groomed. Lucy, my housekeeper raked up leaves in the side yard the day before home. Who could ask for more!

In Liverpool. reference to the Beatles is everywhere: statues atop buildings, bronze statues on the wharf, murals, plaques, & posters. Since the Beatles, Liverpool is all about 60s music but before the Beatles, it was and remains a thriving working harbor. 

Ferry on the River Mersey Tour

From the river Mersey one can imagine the industrial Liverpool. Even today, the River Mersey is a commercial river. At the mouth of the Irish Sea, 700,000 containers of cargo unload. In 1990, longest running dock strike until USA took action against ships using Liverpool and a settlement was accepted. A retired American naval catamaran ferry motors to the Isle of Man and a ferry goes to Dublin. A tunnel under the river from the 1930s accommodates a train and a highway. A crew member who grew up & worked in Liverpool, commutes 45 minutes from north Wales reports the river Mersey has a strong current with two 30′ tides with a strong current and unfortunately, a suicide destination. Liverpool is the port of call on the Titanic, because The White Star Line funded the project….but the ill fated ship was built in Belfast, their last port of call Ireland.

Beatles Bus Tour

As a child, Ringo Starr and his family used to sing along to Les Brown’s Sentimental Journey and later released his album titled Sentimental Journey 1970. 

As a child John Lennon lived with his middle class auntie, with his Mummy visiting regularly until she was run over by a drunk driver. John was 18 years old.

Paul McCartney wrote Let it Be (arranged by Phil Spector) to his Mother Mary who died from a complication from breast cancer when Paul was 14 years old.

The Cavern Club

The original cavern was torn down in 1973. It was a smelly, sweaty swamp; they renovated using the original bricks, & the same footprint. The decor is all posters of bands, signed guitars of musicians that have all played at the cavern since it’s opening till today. Beatles played 274 times in the Cavern between 1961-1963, as well as The Rolling Stones. Oasis, the Kinks, Sir Paul Mc Cartney & more recently, Bruce Springsteen.

This nightclub at the Cavern at 10 Mathew St. holds 700 people & sold out every weekend for the Beatles tribute band!

They were introduced with a film of Churchill declaring war against Germany, moving into American icons: Bridgett Bardo, Les Brown, James Dean and news clippings: Cuban Missile crisis, QE coronation. Music spanned from Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, the blues. Finally to the Beatles in America: LA Hollywood Bowl, (1964), NYC Shea stadium (1965), SF Candlestick (1966) where all venues sold out in hours

The tribute band started 3 sets with I Saw Her Standing There. After the American themed introduction, the backdrop was The Cavern Wall of Fame & Shea stadium.

Liverpool Museum

Besides the Beatles, Rex Harrison, Brian Epstein, Gerry Marsden & the Pacemakers were all from Liverpool. Movies made in Liverpool includes yesterday, filmed at the Lime Street rail station, and Batman on the top of the iconic Royal Liver building.

Central Library

The Central Library is the largest of 22 libraries in Liverpool. When you enter, 100 computers serve the community: people surfing the web, playing solitaire, placing a bet on horse racing, writing emails.

Central Library has the grandest ground floor entrance and the most quiet reading room ever.

World Museum

Not known for its food, but the painted mural relief of goddess Liverpool that adorns the wall above the new cafe is worth the visit.

As contrasted by the Liverpool museum near the harbor this is the original world museum, covering prehistoric, ancient Egypt, planetarium, including an aquarium and updated to include the endangered planet.

Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ

Took only 5 years to build, nicknamed Paddys Wigwam.

Liverpool Cathedral

Cardiff doesn’t define Wales but it’s a city of proud people & a cosmopolitan city hosting Stevie Wonder and Alice Cooper Summer 2025. Arrived at the Parador boutique hotel, exquisitely located close to train station, the Cathedral, the Castle and the river where I get the water taxi to the harbor.

The Castle exhibition and tour brilliant! In 1865 Lord John Butte was the richest person in Britain and third richest in the world. Lord John inherited land, but made his money from exporting coal or black gold using the Cardiff docks. Lord John was a fanatic of all things medieval, he purchased the castle. He situated his bedroom (en suite bathroom) 75 steps high up the spiral staircase.

Lord Bute was not only the richest person in the world but spoke 21 languages, world traveler, a self proclaimed interior decorator and a collector transforming his castle into Welsh Victorian Camelot. He visited Italy adorning his roof garden with mosaics, statues, gardens and aqueducts reminiscent of Pompeii. Despite all the wealth, family members died early: renal disease, victims of war, more recently, cancer.

Before descendants stopped living in the Castle, they provided bomb shelters in the strong outer wall during the Blitz of WWll.

Water taxi to Tiger Bay, man made harbor in Cardiff, Wales. Walked a section of the Wales Coast Path covers entire Wales coastline. Amidst the quay marketplace, the harbor boasts several modern buildings: the Opera house, the Harbormaster and the Welsh Parliament building.

Everts Sjobod in Grebbestade, along the coast of Sweden is an old boathouse from the late 1800s located in a marine protected national park. The family owned business offers a vintage electric wooden boat that takes passengers, offers newly built beach houses, a wood fired hot tub, and a delicious fish soup. There is crab, mackerel and lobster fishing, 90% of Sweden’s oysters grow in this archipelago. It is the most, beautiful, serene setting all of Scandinavia and the highlight of my trip.

Live music at Hostel Gastis bar and restaurant