A Levitating Pillow

Well, we made it to Bray, an easy journey on the train. We couldn't check into the cottage where we're staying, called Dormer Cottage, until 3 p.m., so we didn't even leave London until after lunch. We kicked around the house in the morning, watering plants, packing our single suitcase and doing miscellaneous stuff.

Finally we got on the tube with Olga and took the Elizabeth Line all the way out to Maidenhead. Once here, we once again had a bit of trouble getting a taxi because no one wanted to carry a dog. (Remember that Charlie Brown special where Snoopy kept getting kicked out of places as a deep voice sang, "No dogs allowed..."?) Finally an Uber driver accepted our ride without seeing our note about the dog, and he agreed to see the deal through. Poor Olga.

The photo at top is the bulldog door-knocker on our cottage door, and here's the front of the cottage. As you can see, the doorway is quite low! It doesn't get any better inside, where we have to duck as we go into the kitchen and up and down the stairs, but it is charming and comfortable overall.

Above is the street in front of the cottage. Through those gates is the historic churchyard, where...

...a Scout troop built a bug hotel, "Buglins at Bray," many years ago. I photographed it when it was new. It still exists, and it looks like a lot of bugs have made it their home.

It's taken Olga a while to settle in here -- she kept pacing around nervously, sniffing everything -- but Dave built a fire in the fireplace, which helped her relax.

I went for an afternoon wander around the village, past sights like these...

...and then back to the cottage past chilly, misty meadows as the sun began to set. (It was 4:17 p.m.)

Last night, Dave and I tucked Olga into her pink blanket at the cottage and went to dinner at The Fat Duck, Heston Blumenthal's famous restaurant, one of the chief attractions in Bray. On past visits we'd never been able to get a reservation, but the people we booked the cottage from were able to make it happen. We had the tasting menu, and I got wine pairings, which started with a martini! Heaven. It was a wonderful, clever and eccentric meal, featuring gastronomic surprises like a carrot coated in 24-karat gold leaf (which we ate, or rather, drank). The main entree was venison, but there were also scallops, a prawn mini-sandwich and other delights. Our menu was styled like an advent calendar and we got Christmas crackers containing a traditional paper crown, souvenir coin and a small toy. (Dave got a wooden top; I got a yo-yo.)

That gold leaf seemed so decadent. I told Dave I felt like the grotesque rich people in "The Hunger Games."

"When the revolution starts, we're the ones who are going to be killed," I said.

Here's a good example of the eccentric dishes we experienced. This dessert, a pair of meringues (Dave had already eaten his by the time I made the video), was served on a pillow levitating above a music box playing a lullaby. We were blindfolded while it was brought to the table, so when we uncovered our eyes it was revealed already floating. (Spoiler alert: They do it with magnets.)

We didn't start dinner until 8 p.m. and it was after midnight by the time we stumbled the 20 meters back to the cottage, miraculously not hitting our heads, and fell into bed. Olga was none the worse for wear and seemed to have slept during our absence, as she's doing now.

Quite a Thanksgiving!