England, Day One~ Arrival
Saturday, July 21st, 2012
Facebook Post~ Sunday, July 22nd, 2012
Kaylie and I arrived in London last night, very late. We're already missing Russia, we had such an amazing time! We definitely made many new friends and have been invited to visit people all over the world. We also have a few new young Russian friends, Kaylie especially.
If you are thinking about a Russian River Cruise, I don't think you can go wrong. Even our "Motel 6- Paper Plate" cruise was so incredible. There were a few nit picky things, but you'll find those on high end vacations. The included tours were amazing and the optional tours (we did most of them) were spectactular and still price our cruise significantly below the high end ones for the same cruise. I/we have memories to last a lifetime, and no regrets. We will miss Russia- and won't hesitate to revisit should circumstances allow the privilege of returning.
However I won't miss the airport, and neither will Kaylie (the abused one)- but that is a looooong story for another post. We thought Schipol Airport in Amsterdam was bad (and it was). Russia wins for worst airports. Schipol is 2nd (but Holland itself was lovely beyond words).
I was able to rent a laptop at the B&B here in London. Our host, Phil is great. He made us a great home-[made breakfast this morning. Fabulous! In a few minutes we're off to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe, ride on the London Eye and do our Jack the Ripper Ghost tour tonight (it's about 1:30 now). Tonight I'll give you all the scoop! It's good to be connected!
Eek! I just read Marilyns post about needles found in the turkey sandwhiches on the delta flights from amsterdam. Well, guess what we had on our flight from amsterdam last night? It was a delicious sandwhich too! I hope I'm not dying as I type this!
Our driver, Dilip (driove us here in the black cab) told us that the Olympic crowds anticipated, have not arrived in London. The news is replorting that the high prices have scared people away. I guess we'll know shortly!
Time go see this place!
If you are thinking about a Russian River Cruise, I don't think you can go wrong. Even our "Motel 6- Paper Plate" cruise was so incredible. There were a few nit picky things, but you'll find those on high end vacations. The included tours were amazing and the optional tours (we did most of them) were spectactular and still price our cruise significantly below the high end ones for the same cruise. I/we have memories to last a lifetime, and no regrets. We will miss Russia- and won't hesitate to revisit should circumstances allow the privilege of returning.
However I won't miss the airport, and neither will Kaylie (the abused one)- but that is a looooong story for another post. We thought Schipol Airport in Amsterdam was bad (and it was). Russia wins for worst airports. Schipol is 2nd (but Holland itself was lovely beyond words).
I was able to rent a laptop at the B&B here in London. Our host, Phil is great. He made us a great home-[made breakfast this morning. Fabulous! In a few minutes we're off to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe, ride on the London Eye and do our Jack the Ripper Ghost tour tonight (it's about 1:30 now). Tonight I'll give you all the scoop! It's good to be connected!
Eek! I just read Marilyns post about needles found in the turkey sandwhiches on the delta flights from amsterdam. Well, guess what we had on our flight from amsterdam last night? It was a delicious sandwhich too! I hope I'm not dying as I type this!
Our driver, Dilip (driove us here in the black cab) told us that the Olympic crowds anticipated, have not arrived in London. The news is replorting that the high prices have scared people away. I guess we'll know shortly!
Time go see this place!
England, Day Two~ Exploring London & Jack the Ripper
Sunday, July 22nd, 2012
Facebook Post~ Still Sunday, July 22nd, 2012
There still is no way to post pictures. This is torture!
I'm exhausted. It's 12:30AM here and we have to get up in about 3 hours to take the tube to our next tour- the sunrise tour of Stonehenge! Hope my bleary eyes will even see it!
We had a crazy time learning the tube (underground subway system). Kaylie figured it out first. We made it into the city with no problems. The people here have been very nice and willing to give directions. We made our way down to the London Eye. There is a huge park there at the pier- a definite party atmosphere. The first thing on our list was the cruise on the River Thames (pronounce it Tims). It wasn't nearly as pleasant as our canal cruises in Amsterdam and St Pete's, but it was nice and informative and a great way to enjoy a beautiful London day. London was unseasonably warm, temps in the high 70's. Locals were complaining of roasting in the sun. Maybe they need to go to NE, where Tom said it's week two of triple digits! The fun thing on the Thames cruise was remembering a week or so before we left NE, watching the Queen's Jubilee Celebration on the BBC with Tom. I'll never forget all of the decorated boats parading down the Thames in celebration. Today, I was on the Thames. Bloody AWESOME!
Next was the London Eye. After so much anticipation, it was a bit of a letdown. We waited in line for quite a while. Then we were herded on like cattle at a show. Once inside, everybody scrambled for seats and spots at the front of the capsule for the best views. It was a bit claustrophobic. Once we settled in, it was nice. It's a great way to see Big Ben and the houses of parliment and other iconic places.
The neatest thing was probablty the 4D movie we saw before going on the Eye. It's just a short movie, 5 minutes or so, but the best 3D effects I'd ever seen, and enhanced by the 4D action, which has smells and even touch, such as wind blowing and rain falling. neat-O.
We did a lot of people watching at the pier. It's full of street performers, busking for coinage, people in costumes to take pictures with, gymnasts, guitarists, and even an illusionist! I'm still trying to figure out the Indian dude sitting cross legged on the pavement with another Indian dude levitating cross legged on a skinny pole about 2 feet above his head! I truly walked all around them, taking pictures and trying to guess the secret.
We walked across one of the many bridges across the Thames to find the Strand Palace Hotel to meet up for our Jack the Ripper Tour. Even on the lengthy bridge, you can buy snacks and souvenirs along the way.
I couldn't help myself. One of the persons on the bridge was painting scenes of London on mini canvases. I thought about the little watercolor I'd bought in Moscow from a local artist. All I could think was, now it won't be lonely- and I wish I'd bought some local art in Holland to round out the wall display in my mind. I asked the artist how much. His original quote had me smile and start to walk away. He quickly stopped me with a doable price. Kaylie helped me choose a lovely scene done in black and white, of the area near Big Ben, but with a lovely red phone booth adding a splash of color. I love it.
We got lost as we looked for the Strand Hotel. Sometimes getting lost is a good thing. We found ourselves near Buckingham Palace. We didn't see the palace, but we were on Royal turf with crowns and gold plating everywhere. I finally stopped two gents on the street to ask for directions and ended up striking up a really fun and lively conversation with them (which led to a photo op- is anyvbody surprised?).
Finally we found the hotel and joined the other folks on the big red tour bus headed for Whitechapel, one of the oldest parts of London. Now the most interesting part of the tour was hearing the story, the real story, not the Hollywood enhanced version of the story. I could have lived without all the walking in White Chapel. Our guide admitted several times that he;d never seen it so wild on one of his tours before. The warm weather had people out in droves. Back in the day, Whitechapel was the worst part of the city. It was rough. It was the ghetto of ghettos. It's not that much improved. Most of the places directly involved with the murders are gone, although there are enough original buildings from the 1800s to give you a feel for things. The drunken crowds getting rowdy tonight also added to the ambiance. Our guide said he used to take people into the car park which stands on the ground of one of the murders, but a couple of years ago, one of his tourists, a woman from the US did a serious faceplant on the concrete. He thought she'd fainted. She got up and her face was a mess. She said someone had pushed her down hard- but nobody was standing by her, she'd actually been standing close to the tour guide and he didn't touch her. Later, a Jack the Ripper reaseacher told him the car park was haunted. Take from that story what you will. He said it was his last time in the car park. We stood outside of it.
That tour ended at 10PM. From there it was back on the tube to the ritzy side of London for a late supper at the Hard Rock Cafe. We were so tired and hungry! It was a madhouse at HRC and took a while to get our food, but boy was it good when we got it! Like most HRC's there was plenty to see and feast your eyes and ears upon before filling your gullet. Our rocker host talked with us a while, asking where we were from. When he heard Nebraska, he went off into a lengthy diatribe about a recent killer Bruce Springsteen concert in Hyde Park. I love meeting people!
After supper we asked our waitress for directions back to Golders Green, where our B&B is. We knew that the tube stopped at 11:30 on Sundays. It was already 11:10, so figured we'd have to take the "Night Bus". She thought if we hurried, we could still make the tube, which would be easiest. She jotted down directions for us.
Boy howdy did we hoof it! Olympians beware! It couldn't have been pretty, but we made it. We dashed about 5 blocks to the station. The gates were closed. As I lamented, a man sitting and waiting for the bus pointed and said, "Across the street. Go across."
This is where I should mention that in London, the cars always have the right of way. Seriously. If a car strikes you because you didn't wait for the pedestrian light. YOU will be ticketed- once you get out of the hospital. In America, the pedestrian usually has the right of way. In Amsterdam it's the bikes. In Russia it's every man and woman for themselves. In London- beware the cars. Doubly beware because we're looking for them in the wrong places- the other side of the road!
We finally made it across the street, only to find that gate closed too. Just as I was ready to find my towel and throw it in, I spied (with my hazel eyes) another staircase leading down, and it was open.
Somehow, we made all of the trains- 3 connections total, and found out way to Golders Green. From that station we had a 6 block walk to our house. We got here around midnight thirty, just in time for Kaylie to have a cow about getting up to leave here by 4:30AM. We;ll have 3 more connections to meet our tour for Bath (pronounced Both) to see the Roman Baths (pronounced baths ;-) ) and then our private viewing of the Henge.
Wish us successful consciousness and timely connections.
Cheerio from jolly London, mates!
I'm exhausted. It's 12:30AM here and we have to get up in about 3 hours to take the tube to our next tour- the sunrise tour of Stonehenge! Hope my bleary eyes will even see it!
We had a crazy time learning the tube (underground subway system). Kaylie figured it out first. We made it into the city with no problems. The people here have been very nice and willing to give directions. We made our way down to the London Eye. There is a huge park there at the pier- a definite party atmosphere. The first thing on our list was the cruise on the River Thames (pronounce it Tims). It wasn't nearly as pleasant as our canal cruises in Amsterdam and St Pete's, but it was nice and informative and a great way to enjoy a beautiful London day. London was unseasonably warm, temps in the high 70's. Locals were complaining of roasting in the sun. Maybe they need to go to NE, where Tom said it's week two of triple digits! The fun thing on the Thames cruise was remembering a week or so before we left NE, watching the Queen's Jubilee Celebration on the BBC with Tom. I'll never forget all of the decorated boats parading down the Thames in celebration. Today, I was on the Thames. Bloody AWESOME!
Next was the London Eye. After so much anticipation, it was a bit of a letdown. We waited in line for quite a while. Then we were herded on like cattle at a show. Once inside, everybody scrambled for seats and spots at the front of the capsule for the best views. It was a bit claustrophobic. Once we settled in, it was nice. It's a great way to see Big Ben and the houses of parliment and other iconic places.
The neatest thing was probablty the 4D movie we saw before going on the Eye. It's just a short movie, 5 minutes or so, but the best 3D effects I'd ever seen, and enhanced by the 4D action, which has smells and even touch, such as wind blowing and rain falling. neat-O.
We did a lot of people watching at the pier. It's full of street performers, busking for coinage, people in costumes to take pictures with, gymnasts, guitarists, and even an illusionist! I'm still trying to figure out the Indian dude sitting cross legged on the pavement with another Indian dude levitating cross legged on a skinny pole about 2 feet above his head! I truly walked all around them, taking pictures and trying to guess the secret.
We walked across one of the many bridges across the Thames to find the Strand Palace Hotel to meet up for our Jack the Ripper Tour. Even on the lengthy bridge, you can buy snacks and souvenirs along the way.
I couldn't help myself. One of the persons on the bridge was painting scenes of London on mini canvases. I thought about the little watercolor I'd bought in Moscow from a local artist. All I could think was, now it won't be lonely- and I wish I'd bought some local art in Holland to round out the wall display in my mind. I asked the artist how much. His original quote had me smile and start to walk away. He quickly stopped me with a doable price. Kaylie helped me choose a lovely scene done in black and white, of the area near Big Ben, but with a lovely red phone booth adding a splash of color. I love it.
We got lost as we looked for the Strand Hotel. Sometimes getting lost is a good thing. We found ourselves near Buckingham Palace. We didn't see the palace, but we were on Royal turf with crowns and gold plating everywhere. I finally stopped two gents on the street to ask for directions and ended up striking up a really fun and lively conversation with them (which led to a photo op- is anyvbody surprised?).
Finally we found the hotel and joined the other folks on the big red tour bus headed for Whitechapel, one of the oldest parts of London. Now the most interesting part of the tour was hearing the story, the real story, not the Hollywood enhanced version of the story. I could have lived without all the walking in White Chapel. Our guide admitted several times that he;d never seen it so wild on one of his tours before. The warm weather had people out in droves. Back in the day, Whitechapel was the worst part of the city. It was rough. It was the ghetto of ghettos. It's not that much improved. Most of the places directly involved with the murders are gone, although there are enough original buildings from the 1800s to give you a feel for things. The drunken crowds getting rowdy tonight also added to the ambiance. Our guide said he used to take people into the car park which stands on the ground of one of the murders, but a couple of years ago, one of his tourists, a woman from the US did a serious faceplant on the concrete. He thought she'd fainted. She got up and her face was a mess. She said someone had pushed her down hard- but nobody was standing by her, she'd actually been standing close to the tour guide and he didn't touch her. Later, a Jack the Ripper reaseacher told him the car park was haunted. Take from that story what you will. He said it was his last time in the car park. We stood outside of it.
That tour ended at 10PM. From there it was back on the tube to the ritzy side of London for a late supper at the Hard Rock Cafe. We were so tired and hungry! It was a madhouse at HRC and took a while to get our food, but boy was it good when we got it! Like most HRC's there was plenty to see and feast your eyes and ears upon before filling your gullet. Our rocker host talked with us a while, asking where we were from. When he heard Nebraska, he went off into a lengthy diatribe about a recent killer Bruce Springsteen concert in Hyde Park. I love meeting people!
After supper we asked our waitress for directions back to Golders Green, where our B&B is. We knew that the tube stopped at 11:30 on Sundays. It was already 11:10, so figured we'd have to take the "Night Bus". She thought if we hurried, we could still make the tube, which would be easiest. She jotted down directions for us.
Boy howdy did we hoof it! Olympians beware! It couldn't have been pretty, but we made it. We dashed about 5 blocks to the station. The gates were closed. As I lamented, a man sitting and waiting for the bus pointed and said, "Across the street. Go across."
This is where I should mention that in London, the cars always have the right of way. Seriously. If a car strikes you because you didn't wait for the pedestrian light. YOU will be ticketed- once you get out of the hospital. In America, the pedestrian usually has the right of way. In Amsterdam it's the bikes. In Russia it's every man and woman for themselves. In London- beware the cars. Doubly beware because we're looking for them in the wrong places- the other side of the road!
We finally made it across the street, only to find that gate closed too. Just as I was ready to find my towel and throw it in, I spied (with my hazel eyes) another staircase leading down, and it was open.
Somehow, we made all of the trains- 3 connections total, and found out way to Golders Green. From that station we had a 6 block walk to our house. We got here around midnight thirty, just in time for Kaylie to have a cow about getting up to leave here by 4:30AM. We;ll have 3 more connections to meet our tour for Bath (pronounced Both) to see the Roman Baths (pronounced baths ;-) ) and then our private viewing of the Henge.
Wish us successful consciousness and timely connections.
Cheerio from jolly London, mates!
England, Day Three~ Stonehenge, Lacock & Bath
Monday, July 23rd, 2012
Facebook Post~ Monday, July 23rd, 2012
Lets try this again! There's nothing like a lengthy post and then having your computer locking up! Of course this is a British computer, so everything is on the wrong side, lol. It's not easy to type!
I got about 20 minutes of sleep last night. We had to get up at 3AM to walk to the bus stop and take several transfers through interesting parts of town (at least in the middle of the night) before arriving in Central London at the Strand Palace Hotel for our 6:45AM meeting time.
Our tour began at Stonehenge (cue eerie space music). Adding to the mystique was the appropriate thick English fog. We drove for about an hour, passing contented livestock and lovely green patchwork hillsides shrouded in Jack the Ripper mist.
The first sight of the stones from the bus was magical. We were itching to get close and explore. Then we were there. Kaylie looked at me and said in quiet awe, "Mom, we're walking around Stonehenge." I could only nod.
Admittedly, my knowledge of Stonehenge is pretty limited. I spoke to our guide and I also spoke to the guard, who has worked for years at the Henge. Both leaned towards the stones being an ancient religious site having to do with the dead. What I didn;'t know, was that there are mounds of hills surrounding the stones, but about a mile away. The mounds are burial sites. Stonehenge is also one of several stone rings throughout Europe, though the Henge is the most impressive of the rings. There is also another set of rings called Woodhenge. All of these sites are surrounded by burial mounds.
We were given close to an hour to wander about the stones at will. The only rule was that we not touch or climb on the stones- but there were no restrictions in scattering about. The low chains that keep most tourists restricted to 20 feet distance from the outer ring did not apply to us. We were told that these special tours might not be possible too much longer. Of course I took a boatload of pictures and some video. During the time we were there the fog slowing lifted and the sun rose to shine gloriously around us. I took some great photos of the sun peaking through the stones. At least they look great on the camera. We'll see about big sized!
After our time at Stonehenge (and the gift shop), we were back on the bus for a lengthy ride through the English countryside to the town of Lacock (pronounced LAY kok). Lacock is a village of about 200 people that never left the 19th century. The lovely stone cottages have nary a powerline or telephone wire in sight. Much of the village makes their living by catering to tourists and/or collecting royalties for the use of their homes in television or movies- such as Pride and Prejudice, The Other Boylen Girl and most notoriously, the Harry Potter movies. The old church abbey doubles as part of Hogwarts Academy. Harry's childhood home is there, as is the home of the Weasleys.
We had a lengthy walking tour of the town. We also stopped at the Old George Inn, which dates to 1361. It has tiny little claustrophobic rooms, a giant fireplace and an original dog wheel. In those days some people had specially bred small dogs that were locked into this wheel built into the wall (like a hamster wheel). The dogs would run- for hours at a time) and the wheel would
turn the spit over the fire to slowly and evenly roast the meat.
Hope the dog got some of that meat! (and a big bone)
At the George we were served a traditional English fry breakfast, which consists of some kind of fat sausage, a sliver of ham steak, beans (pork and beans), potato chunks, a huge pile of fried mushrooms and stems and scrambled eggs with mushroom bits.
Anybody got a spare bowl of Special K?
From Lacock we drove further to the town of Bath (Both like sloth). Bath is one of the former homes of authoress Jane Austen (who thought the town was pretentious). There we visited the ancient Roman Baths (bath like bath- I can;t help myself!).
Fatigue was catching up to us. I spent much of the ride there with K's head bobbing on my shoulder and her mascara melting into my sleeve. At least she didn't drool! ;-) The baths are surrounded by a very user friendly museum. They give you an audio device to hang around your neck and use like a cell phone (mobile to the Brits). At each display you press in a number, press start, and get a mini lecture on what you're looking at- in the language of your choice. I was too tired to fight the crowds and listen to pre-programmed lectures. K and I did the Reader's Digest version of the tour and then headed to the baths.
The baths are quite stunning. The Romans built the baths over England's only hot springs. To aide in preservation and the waters restorative cures, the bath beds were lined with tons of lead slabs. Needless to say, we are warned to not touch the waters- even though they are a lovely shade of slime green. Signs are everywhere, but I did see one dumb grandma dipping her feet in as her dumb daughter took pictures of the poisoning. Another dumb guy(bloody idiot) stuck his hands in.
Kaylie and I sat by the waters pretending to be Roman statues as we took silly pictures.
The computer is threatening to lock up again, so I'm gonna stop here.
I got about 20 minutes of sleep last night. We had to get up at 3AM to walk to the bus stop and take several transfers through interesting parts of town (at least in the middle of the night) before arriving in Central London at the Strand Palace Hotel for our 6:45AM meeting time.
Our tour began at Stonehenge (cue eerie space music). Adding to the mystique was the appropriate thick English fog. We drove for about an hour, passing contented livestock and lovely green patchwork hillsides shrouded in Jack the Ripper mist.
The first sight of the stones from the bus was magical. We were itching to get close and explore. Then we were there. Kaylie looked at me and said in quiet awe, "Mom, we're walking around Stonehenge." I could only nod.
Admittedly, my knowledge of Stonehenge is pretty limited. I spoke to our guide and I also spoke to the guard, who has worked for years at the Henge. Both leaned towards the stones being an ancient religious site having to do with the dead. What I didn;'t know, was that there are mounds of hills surrounding the stones, but about a mile away. The mounds are burial sites. Stonehenge is also one of several stone rings throughout Europe, though the Henge is the most impressive of the rings. There is also another set of rings called Woodhenge. All of these sites are surrounded by burial mounds.
We were given close to an hour to wander about the stones at will. The only rule was that we not touch or climb on the stones- but there were no restrictions in scattering about. The low chains that keep most tourists restricted to 20 feet distance from the outer ring did not apply to us. We were told that these special tours might not be possible too much longer. Of course I took a boatload of pictures and some video. During the time we were there the fog slowing lifted and the sun rose to shine gloriously around us. I took some great photos of the sun peaking through the stones. At least they look great on the camera. We'll see about big sized!
After our time at Stonehenge (and the gift shop), we were back on the bus for a lengthy ride through the English countryside to the town of Lacock (pronounced LAY kok). Lacock is a village of about 200 people that never left the 19th century. The lovely stone cottages have nary a powerline or telephone wire in sight. Much of the village makes their living by catering to tourists and/or collecting royalties for the use of their homes in television or movies- such as Pride and Prejudice, The Other Boylen Girl and most notoriously, the Harry Potter movies. The old church abbey doubles as part of Hogwarts Academy. Harry's childhood home is there, as is the home of the Weasleys.
We had a lengthy walking tour of the town. We also stopped at the Old George Inn, which dates to 1361. It has tiny little claustrophobic rooms, a giant fireplace and an original dog wheel. In those days some people had specially bred small dogs that were locked into this wheel built into the wall (like a hamster wheel). The dogs would run- for hours at a time) and the wheel would
turn the spit over the fire to slowly and evenly roast the meat.
Hope the dog got some of that meat! (and a big bone)
At the George we were served a traditional English fry breakfast, which consists of some kind of fat sausage, a sliver of ham steak, beans (pork and beans), potato chunks, a huge pile of fried mushrooms and stems and scrambled eggs with mushroom bits.
Anybody got a spare bowl of Special K?
From Lacock we drove further to the town of Bath (Both like sloth). Bath is one of the former homes of authoress Jane Austen (who thought the town was pretentious). There we visited the ancient Roman Baths (bath like bath- I can;t help myself!).
Fatigue was catching up to us. I spent much of the ride there with K's head bobbing on my shoulder and her mascara melting into my sleeve. At least she didn't drool! ;-) The baths are surrounded by a very user friendly museum. They give you an audio device to hang around your neck and use like a cell phone (mobile to the Brits). At each display you press in a number, press start, and get a mini lecture on what you're looking at- in the language of your choice. I was too tired to fight the crowds and listen to pre-programmed lectures. K and I did the Reader's Digest version of the tour and then headed to the baths.
The baths are quite stunning. The Romans built the baths over England's only hot springs. To aide in preservation and the waters restorative cures, the bath beds were lined with tons of lead slabs. Needless to say, we are warned to not touch the waters- even though they are a lovely shade of slime green. Signs are everywhere, but I did see one dumb grandma dipping her feet in as her dumb daughter took pictures of the poisoning. Another dumb guy(bloody idiot) stuck his hands in.
Kaylie and I sat by the waters pretending to be Roman statues as we took silly pictures.
The computer is threatening to lock up again, so I'm gonna stop here.
England, Day Four~ Buckingham Palace & The 39 Steps
Tuesday, July 24th, 2012
Good morning! It's 9:30 in the AM and we just finished a lovely breakfast courtesy of Phil, our B&B owner. In a few minutes I'll speak with him about making transportation arrangements for tomorrow and Thursday. Tomorrow, we take the train to Paris. We have to be in Central London to catch our train by 5:30AM, which means we'll be getting up around 3AM (again). But we look forward to a lovely day in Paris and hope they're having the weather that London in- gorgeous!
Today, we're spending a leisurely morning here in Golders Green. Then we'll spend the afternoon exploring London- we've GOT to see the Palace! (Buckingham that is). We're much to late for the changing of the guards, but might make it to the horse parade at 4. Tonight, we're off to the theatah, to see the play, "The 39 Steps", based on the Hitchcock thriller, only this is comedic take-off of it, with a cast of 6 (I believe) playing over 100 roles- many of them simultaneously. If you're ever participated in high school Forensics, then you know how this is done. (very carefully so you don't snap a tendon in your neck)
I can't believe we'll be home in 2 days. I'm ready. I love this adventure, but it's hard being away from Tom and the boys for so long. I think they would all enjoy London. It would be a great place to re-visit with them later, years from now- when this trip is finally paid off!
The talk at breakfast was the Olympic crowds- or lack of them. London has made lots of preparations for the crowds, special lanes of traffic for Olympic travellers, special fines for Londoners who dare drive in the city during the games- outside of work. The advertisements and Olympic rings hang everywhere. But the people aren't here. Don't get me wrong, the city is bustling- it IS London after all. But it's not bursting at the seams, as it should be, with visitors from around the world. Phil and other diners in his breakfast room, talked about the lack of crowds. Phil said his B&B is always packed in June and July, even without the Olympics. This year, he still has spare rooms. There is no overflow of people in London. Exorbitant prices, and perhaps worries about security- or worries about the expected crowds, have kept people at home.
A pleasant day, friends! We'll catch ya on the flip side. (That means later)
Cheers!
Today, we're spending a leisurely morning here in Golders Green. Then we'll spend the afternoon exploring London- we've GOT to see the Palace! (Buckingham that is). We're much to late for the changing of the guards, but might make it to the horse parade at 4. Tonight, we're off to the theatah, to see the play, "The 39 Steps", based on the Hitchcock thriller, only this is comedic take-off of it, with a cast of 6 (I believe) playing over 100 roles- many of them simultaneously. If you're ever participated in high school Forensics, then you know how this is done. (very carefully so you don't snap a tendon in your neck)
I can't believe we'll be home in 2 days. I'm ready. I love this adventure, but it's hard being away from Tom and the boys for so long. I think they would all enjoy London. It would be a great place to re-visit with them later, years from now- when this trip is finally paid off!
The talk at breakfast was the Olympic crowds- or lack of them. London has made lots of preparations for the crowds, special lanes of traffic for Olympic travellers, special fines for Londoners who dare drive in the city during the games- outside of work. The advertisements and Olympic rings hang everywhere. But the people aren't here. Don't get me wrong, the city is bustling- it IS London after all. But it's not bursting at the seams, as it should be, with visitors from around the world. Phil and other diners in his breakfast room, talked about the lack of crowds. Phil said his B&B is always packed in June and July, even without the Olympics. This year, he still has spare rooms. There is no overflow of people in London. Exorbitant prices, and perhaps worries about security- or worries about the expected crowds, have kept people at home.
A pleasant day, friends! We'll catch ya on the flip side. (That means later)
Cheers!
Day Five~ A Day in Paris
Facebook Post~ Wednesday, July 25th, 2012
Today was the last official day of our trip. It was also our Paris day. (Couldn't post yesterday cuz of computer problems). Paris did not impress either of us. In fact, it was probably the worst day of our trip. It started out badly and didn't improve. We were halfway to the train station when I realized I had forgotten our passports. I asked our cabbie if we needed them for a Paris day trip. He said he didn't know, but called into his manager to ask. The manager said he didn't think so, but he didn't know for sure. Not confident in his answer, I asked the cabbie to go back to the B&B. Of course this threw off his fare, as I had pre-paid with a CC the day before to hang onto what little precious cash I had left. I had to get back on the phone with his boss, who said the rest would have to be paid in cash. He then told me it would be 22pounds on top of the original fare. I argued with his, since the original fare was 15pounds! He then put me on hold while he discussed it with somebody. He came back and said we're almost there so it would be another 15pounds cash. I didn't have time to keep arguing as our driver had pulled over while finances were discussed abd we were losing precious minutes!
Fast forward a bit and we're on the train. The first thing we had to do at the station was show the passports- so I was right to go back, otherwise, we wouldn't have made our train. It's intimidating to have to show passpoprts and fill out papers and go through security whereever we go. It's good to have it, on the one hand, but for those not used to such procedures, it's strange.
We napped most of the way to France. We knew we were on a tight schedule to meet our Catacombs tour guide at 10 sharp. So when the Eurostar Train arrived at 9:20, we hoofed it to catch the local underground train to the proper station.
Let me pause here to praise London's underground system. Once you've done it, you've got it. It's an easy system to learn. And for a system that sees so many people during the course of the day, it's user friendly and pretty clean. Paris... not so much. The subway is filthy, smelly, difficult to navigate for first timers- not clear at all. Somehow we managed to get to our pre-arranged spot by 9:56AM for the tour- even with the metro ticket meter eating Kaylie's ticket and us having to have someone dig it out. Only nobody is there. We're right across the street from the Catacombs entrance, but we see no tour groups. We wait until 10:05 and I start to panic. I was told 10AM prompt. There is not a person in sight at the designated spot. K and I rush across the street, taking our lives into our hands. The Catacombs opened at 10AM and I'm thinking if the tour left early, we can still catch up to them. The regular line into the tunnels is already 3 hours long by 10. They only let so many into the tunnels at a time, and a new group doesn't go in without another group coming out first. They allow so many tour groups in in the mornings- to beat the line. Then those who wait in line are organzied into groups and escorted into the tunnels- since it's easy to get lost in them.
The attendants at the Catacombs had no pity on our situation. At first they told me to go back and wait for my tour guide, as he hadn't been in yet. So K and I keep our eyes fixed for anybody across the street. Nothing. The attendants tell us to wait until 10:30, our group would be here then. Nope. Then they point to a group organizing itself off to the side and tell us that's our group. Nope. This is a group from another company. Our attendants tell us to see if we can join their group. Nope. The attendants have us wait another half an hour. Then they tell us they can't help us. If we want to see the catacombs, we will have to get in the back of the 3 hour waiting line- in spite of the fact that we have pre=paid skip the line tickets. Our only other option is to call the company's US number and argue it out with them at nearly $2 a minute.
I wanted to cry. K wanted to hit somebody. We found a McDonalds instead and had fresh croissants for late breakfast.
We deccided to take on sightseeing. We had a map with all of the major sights on it. Yet somehow, this map did not jive with where things were actually located! We found Luxembourg Park, a lovely place full of flowers and statues. It was the first peaceful moment of the day. Then we walked to the Parthenon. We shopped for souvenirs and then decided it seemed just a short walk to Notre Dame Cathedral and the the Lourve.
Long story short, it took us two hours to get to Notre Dame on foot. It is NOT where the map portrays it to be (I'm a good map
reader!). We'd then ask people for directions and get sent on wild goose chases. Finally we found it. It's along a canal and just beauitiful. I would have loved to stay longer and enjoy it, but by then we were behind schedule and exhausted. Paris was having unseasonable heat and sun, the first this year. Itr didn't take long for me to feel the effcts of the heat and sun.
One good thing was finding a lovely oil painting by a local artist for a good price. After paying cash for the cab I was down to 20 bucks. I got it for about 15. It'll look perfect with my oil from London and the watercolor from Moscow. They're all about paperback book sized. Small and wonderful. Now I'm really bummed I didn't think to get a small painting in Holland. I thought about it, but then I thought I'd have more time. No such luck.
Next on our list was the Lourve. I swear we hiked another 5 miles to get there. The blisters on the bottoms of my feet, nearly healed, reappeared in Paris. But walking was better than the smelly, filthy subway.
The Lourve was so crowded, it was hard to enjoy. we didn't stay long.
Let me pause here to say that the French people, generally speaking, had earned bad reputations on our Russian river cruise. You could always tell where they were because they were so terribly rude. They often smelled. Even the russian guides were known to echo: "Oh, the French." Because they seemed to think nothing of interrupting lectures or classes in progress, by bursting in and talking loudly to their counterparts, deciding the classes or lecture weren't there thing and then walking out without an apology or even a look of humility. They were also known to mob the front desk at group events (when we had to turn in our keys) and shove there way in front of anybody and everybody.
I'm not a person who's fond of stereotypes. SO I was more than ready to enjoy Paris and put those stereotypes behind me. This was difficult when they were determined to live up to that stereotype! One on one, when we talked to people, they were very friendly and helpful- or tried to be. In groups, they were awful. It's like some kind of cultural mob mentality or something. I don't know. This was in full force at the Lourve. We were hot and exhausted and not with the patience to deal with being jostled about like packing peanuts in a box. After we saw the Mona Lisa, we left. we got back on the subway to head to the Hard Rock Cafe. Thats when we witnessed a pickpocketing. I had just got on the train, when a couple of girls behind me started shoving really hard against the people and then stood in the doors of the car, preventing anybody else from entering. They had shoved their way in front of Kaylie. I had these terrible fears of the doors closing and leaving her behind. I yelled at the girls and grabbed Kaylie by the hand, trying to haul her past them without much luck. Then as quickly as they started shoving, they turned and left.
I don't know if I was a potential target. I have the Fort Knox of backpacks. If course that is in and of itself a sign I might have something good inside. But unless they mug me and rip it from my body, they aren't getting inside of it. I've tried to be hyper-vigilant about it. The couple in front of me weren;'t so lucky. They were easily marked as tourists. A local on the train picked up the guys empty wallet from the floor. The tourist hadn't even known he was being pickpocketed until after. He was lucky to get his drivers license back and to have only lost about $20.
We enjoyed our meal at the Hard Rock cafe, though it was hot inside. People over here don't have airconditioning, because it's usually mild enough that it's not needed. On days like today, it would be nice.
We tackled the subway again to find the Eiffel Tower. This was the best part of Paris. We were so tired and exhausted... but what a sight! We sat down in the grass near the base and just basked in the views for about an hour- before tackling the trains again back to London.
Kaylie wants an I Hate Paris t-shirt. She would have rather had an extra day in London. I won't go so far as to say hate. But I've seen it, I know there are charming things there, but today I wasn't feeling it. If I don't go back, I won't cry about it. When we were at the Eiffel, I told K to remember that moment- when she thought about Paris. Remember the statues and fountains and flowers. Remember the people relaxing at the park. Remember being at such an iconic place on a lovely summers day.
Our adventure is basically over but for the travel home. It's all airports and planes tomorrow. Our taxi gets us at 9:30 for our 12:30 flight to Minneapolis. We have a 6 1/2 layover in MN before arriving in Lincoln around 11:20PM. We're ready for home.
Holland, Russia and England get a big thumbs up from K and L. We'd love to come back should opportunities arise. France gets a big raspberry. You can't win em all! ;-)
I'll start posting pictures and stories ASAP. I can't wait to see these pictures (and videos) myself. It's been torture not to be able to post.
Please keep us in your prayers for safe travel tomorrow. I don't like flying any better after this trip. It's a necessary evil to world travel I guess.
Signing off from jolly ole London!
Lisa and Kaylie
Fast forward a bit and we're on the train. The first thing we had to do at the station was show the passports- so I was right to go back, otherwise, we wouldn't have made our train. It's intimidating to have to show passpoprts and fill out papers and go through security whereever we go. It's good to have it, on the one hand, but for those not used to such procedures, it's strange.
We napped most of the way to France. We knew we were on a tight schedule to meet our Catacombs tour guide at 10 sharp. So when the Eurostar Train arrived at 9:20, we hoofed it to catch the local underground train to the proper station.
Let me pause here to praise London's underground system. Once you've done it, you've got it. It's an easy system to learn. And for a system that sees so many people during the course of the day, it's user friendly and pretty clean. Paris... not so much. The subway is filthy, smelly, difficult to navigate for first timers- not clear at all. Somehow we managed to get to our pre-arranged spot by 9:56AM for the tour- even with the metro ticket meter eating Kaylie's ticket and us having to have someone dig it out. Only nobody is there. We're right across the street from the Catacombs entrance, but we see no tour groups. We wait until 10:05 and I start to panic. I was told 10AM prompt. There is not a person in sight at the designated spot. K and I rush across the street, taking our lives into our hands. The Catacombs opened at 10AM and I'm thinking if the tour left early, we can still catch up to them. The regular line into the tunnels is already 3 hours long by 10. They only let so many into the tunnels at a time, and a new group doesn't go in without another group coming out first. They allow so many tour groups in in the mornings- to beat the line. Then those who wait in line are organzied into groups and escorted into the tunnels- since it's easy to get lost in them.
The attendants at the Catacombs had no pity on our situation. At first they told me to go back and wait for my tour guide, as he hadn't been in yet. So K and I keep our eyes fixed for anybody across the street. Nothing. The attendants tell us to wait until 10:30, our group would be here then. Nope. Then they point to a group organizing itself off to the side and tell us that's our group. Nope. This is a group from another company. Our attendants tell us to see if we can join their group. Nope. The attendants have us wait another half an hour. Then they tell us they can't help us. If we want to see the catacombs, we will have to get in the back of the 3 hour waiting line- in spite of the fact that we have pre=paid skip the line tickets. Our only other option is to call the company's US number and argue it out with them at nearly $2 a minute.
I wanted to cry. K wanted to hit somebody. We found a McDonalds instead and had fresh croissants for late breakfast.
We deccided to take on sightseeing. We had a map with all of the major sights on it. Yet somehow, this map did not jive with where things were actually located! We found Luxembourg Park, a lovely place full of flowers and statues. It was the first peaceful moment of the day. Then we walked to the Parthenon. We shopped for souvenirs and then decided it seemed just a short walk to Notre Dame Cathedral and the the Lourve.
Long story short, it took us two hours to get to Notre Dame on foot. It is NOT where the map portrays it to be (I'm a good map
reader!). We'd then ask people for directions and get sent on wild goose chases. Finally we found it. It's along a canal and just beauitiful. I would have loved to stay longer and enjoy it, but by then we were behind schedule and exhausted. Paris was having unseasonable heat and sun, the first this year. Itr didn't take long for me to feel the effcts of the heat and sun.
One good thing was finding a lovely oil painting by a local artist for a good price. After paying cash for the cab I was down to 20 bucks. I got it for about 15. It'll look perfect with my oil from London and the watercolor from Moscow. They're all about paperback book sized. Small and wonderful. Now I'm really bummed I didn't think to get a small painting in Holland. I thought about it, but then I thought I'd have more time. No such luck.
Next on our list was the Lourve. I swear we hiked another 5 miles to get there. The blisters on the bottoms of my feet, nearly healed, reappeared in Paris. But walking was better than the smelly, filthy subway.
The Lourve was so crowded, it was hard to enjoy. we didn't stay long.
Let me pause here to say that the French people, generally speaking, had earned bad reputations on our Russian river cruise. You could always tell where they were because they were so terribly rude. They often smelled. Even the russian guides were known to echo: "Oh, the French." Because they seemed to think nothing of interrupting lectures or classes in progress, by bursting in and talking loudly to their counterparts, deciding the classes or lecture weren't there thing and then walking out without an apology or even a look of humility. They were also known to mob the front desk at group events (when we had to turn in our keys) and shove there way in front of anybody and everybody.
I'm not a person who's fond of stereotypes. SO I was more than ready to enjoy Paris and put those stereotypes behind me. This was difficult when they were determined to live up to that stereotype! One on one, when we talked to people, they were very friendly and helpful- or tried to be. In groups, they were awful. It's like some kind of cultural mob mentality or something. I don't know. This was in full force at the Lourve. We were hot and exhausted and not with the patience to deal with being jostled about like packing peanuts in a box. After we saw the Mona Lisa, we left. we got back on the subway to head to the Hard Rock Cafe. Thats when we witnessed a pickpocketing. I had just got on the train, when a couple of girls behind me started shoving really hard against the people and then stood in the doors of the car, preventing anybody else from entering. They had shoved their way in front of Kaylie. I had these terrible fears of the doors closing and leaving her behind. I yelled at the girls and grabbed Kaylie by the hand, trying to haul her past them without much luck. Then as quickly as they started shoving, they turned and left.
I don't know if I was a potential target. I have the Fort Knox of backpacks. If course that is in and of itself a sign I might have something good inside. But unless they mug me and rip it from my body, they aren't getting inside of it. I've tried to be hyper-vigilant about it. The couple in front of me weren;'t so lucky. They were easily marked as tourists. A local on the train picked up the guys empty wallet from the floor. The tourist hadn't even known he was being pickpocketed until after. He was lucky to get his drivers license back and to have only lost about $20.
We enjoyed our meal at the Hard Rock cafe, though it was hot inside. People over here don't have airconditioning, because it's usually mild enough that it's not needed. On days like today, it would be nice.
We tackled the subway again to find the Eiffel Tower. This was the best part of Paris. We were so tired and exhausted... but what a sight! We sat down in the grass near the base and just basked in the views for about an hour- before tackling the trains again back to London.
Kaylie wants an I Hate Paris t-shirt. She would have rather had an extra day in London. I won't go so far as to say hate. But I've seen it, I know there are charming things there, but today I wasn't feeling it. If I don't go back, I won't cry about it. When we were at the Eiffel, I told K to remember that moment- when she thought about Paris. Remember the statues and fountains and flowers. Remember the people relaxing at the park. Remember being at such an iconic place on a lovely summers day.
Our adventure is basically over but for the travel home. It's all airports and planes tomorrow. Our taxi gets us at 9:30 for our 12:30 flight to Minneapolis. We have a 6 1/2 layover in MN before arriving in Lincoln around 11:20PM. We're ready for home.
Holland, Russia and England get a big thumbs up from K and L. We'd love to come back should opportunities arise. France gets a big raspberry. You can't win em all! ;-)
I'll start posting pictures and stories ASAP. I can't wait to see these pictures (and videos) myself. It's been torture not to be able to post.
Please keep us in your prayers for safe travel tomorrow. I don't like flying any better after this trip. It's a necessary evil to world travel I guess.
Signing off from jolly ole London!
Lisa and Kaylie
Day 6~ The Incredible Journey Ends~ There's no place like home
Facebook Post~ Thursday, July 26th, 2012
Safely home and exhausted.
~ Post Trip Ponderings...
Most memorable was Kaylie falling asleep. Jet lag hit her hard on the trip. Of course she'd only slept a few hours on Tuesday night (me not at all). Wednesday, July 4th was spent in the air moving forward in time 8 hours. We landed at 6:30AM on Thursday without having a Wednesday night. We hit the ground running in Amsterdam.
The canal ride was lovely. We got to see the lovely city and learn interesting and unusual facts. We learned to look up at the canal houses to see the hooks. All of the houses have hooks at their peaks. It's the only way to get furniture into the houses- thru the windows. The stairs are much too steep and narrow for furniture. Kaylie slept thru most of the canal ride. She was peppy- as long as we were moving. As soon as we would sit, she'd be nodding off.
The Anne Frank house was moving. I've read so much about her and her family. I also have a DVD of interviews with her father and her childhood friends, as well as Miep, one of the people who helped them in hiding. I expected to have strong feelings there. I did, but not in the way I expected to. The house itself is devoid of furniture. Anne's father didn't want the house to be some "recreated" home. They lost everything there, and he wanted it to reflect that. Instead, there are pictures on the walls of what the house looked like when they lived there. Exerpts from Anne's diary line the walls. Videos play with interviews (the same as in my DVD). The house is tall and extremely narrow, with staircases so steep and skinny that you don't dare to fall. Certain spaces are roped off. It was so crowded that it made me cringe. How to do expect to "feel" a place when you're being shoved around from hither to yon.
A "Lisa" moment. There was a bathroom- their bathroom. It had this amazingly beautiful Delft pottery blue and white toilet. I finally understood how the term "throne" can be applied to such an apparatus. I wanted to giggle and then felt guilty.
My moment came upstairs in the kitchen. At that time it was relatively empty. It was just this little room with a countertop at the far end, and a large sink with a big pot faucet. It was something available to be touched. It wasn't roped off or crawling with people. I ran my fingertips along the cool surface. I remembered her diary entries, talking about peeling potatoes and arguing with her mother, or Mrs. Van Pels (Van Daan). This was the place... Here was where this beautiful, so very average- and yet not, young girl lived. This was where she hid. She contemplated life and death at this sink while doing something as mundane as cleaning dishes. I ran my hand along the faucet stem. She drank her water here. She was an average girl in evil circumstances. What must it be to have to hide to live? And why? Because a man decided your race was "impure"?
Yeah, I had a moment. A strong moment of melancholy and stark reality. It was more impactful than looking at fake diaries and notebooks under glass.
The canal ride was lovely. We got to see the lovely city and learn interesting and unusual facts. We learned to look up at the canal houses to see the hooks. All of the houses have hooks at their peaks. It's the only way to get furniture into the houses- thru the windows. The stairs are much too steep and narrow for furniture. Kaylie slept thru most of the canal ride. She was peppy- as long as we were moving. As soon as we would sit, she'd be nodding off.
The Anne Frank house was moving. I've read so much about her and her family. I also have a DVD of interviews with her father and her childhood friends, as well as Miep, one of the people who helped them in hiding. I expected to have strong feelings there. I did, but not in the way I expected to. The house itself is devoid of furniture. Anne's father didn't want the house to be some "recreated" home. They lost everything there, and he wanted it to reflect that. Instead, there are pictures on the walls of what the house looked like when they lived there. Exerpts from Anne's diary line the walls. Videos play with interviews (the same as in my DVD). The house is tall and extremely narrow, with staircases so steep and skinny that you don't dare to fall. Certain spaces are roped off. It was so crowded that it made me cringe. How to do expect to "feel" a place when you're being shoved around from hither to yon.
A "Lisa" moment. There was a bathroom- their bathroom. It had this amazingly beautiful Delft pottery blue and white toilet. I finally understood how the term "throne" can be applied to such an apparatus. I wanted to giggle and then felt guilty.
My moment came upstairs in the kitchen. At that time it was relatively empty. It was just this little room with a countertop at the far end, and a large sink with a big pot faucet. It was something available to be touched. It wasn't roped off or crawling with people. I ran my fingertips along the cool surface. I remembered her diary entries, talking about peeling potatoes and arguing with her mother, or Mrs. Van Pels (Van Daan). This was the place... Here was where this beautiful, so very average- and yet not, young girl lived. This was where she hid. She contemplated life and death at this sink while doing something as mundane as cleaning dishes. I ran my hand along the faucet stem. She drank her water here. She was an average girl in evil circumstances. What must it be to have to hide to live? And why? Because a man decided your race was "impure"?
Yeah, I had a moment. A strong moment of melancholy and stark reality. It was more impactful than looking at fake diaries and notebooks under glass.
As you look thru the pictures of Moscow, you see Red Square and the Kremlin. What are they really? Red Square does not refer to color. It comes from the word krasnaya, meaning red/beautiful. It originally refered to the beautiful St Basil's cathedral and later transferred itself to the square. In the States, old towns and even now in small towns, there is usually a town square, where government buildings are located and the town itself wraps around it and spreads out. Europe does this too, only their squares are empty lots where people and merchants could set up market, and people could gather for public displays and events. The town goes up around the square.
So think of Red Square as Beautiful Square.
The word Kremlin means fortress.
The fortress walls border Red Square and seperate it from the governmental buildings and palaces within the kremlin walls. Many of the Russian towns have their own Kremlins, or historical fortresses where the important government buildings are, such as the Presidents official residence and the palaces and royal places of worship for the former Czars.
So think of Red Square as Beautiful Square.
The word Kremlin means fortress.
The fortress walls border Red Square and seperate it from the governmental buildings and palaces within the kremlin walls. Many of the Russian towns have their own Kremlins, or historical fortresses where the important government buildings are, such as the Presidents official residence and the palaces and royal places of worship for the former Czars.