Good to be home

I didn't want to admit it on my blog ... but my last day in London I was feeling a bit weepy. I didn't want to leave. And I didn't want to say goodbye to my brother ... I actually felt like I was going to cry as he got into his car to work. If you know me, you understand that sentimental emotions I keep to myself.

We had a wonderful flight home. I was irrationally worried when the flight attendants could not get the video system to work (to play back the safety video). In my irrational mind, if you cannot get the video system to work, how could the plane possibly be functioning well enough to get us safely to our destination. The flight was probably the most smooth flight I remember being on... only a bit of slight turbulence when we crossed from Canada to the US.

Arrived at 6:15pm and walked straight through immigration check and customs without a hitch. Tom was right about doing only carry-on...we were outside waiting for Tim (Tom's brother) in no time. Luckily I had the sense of mind to look up and see we were under the signs for the obscure airlines (eubonia air, u-betcha air, etc). So, given we didn't have a cell phone (nor would it help because Tim doesn't carry one) we decided to use logic and reason and head down to the sign that said "American Airlines International Arrivals". There was Tim waiting with our car. We piled in, took the 10 minute ride to drop Tim off and headed home.

It was on the ride home that I hit the wall. I couldn't keep my eyes open to save my life. It was about 3:30am London time - I had been up more than 24 hours. Tom was a trooper and got us home by 9:30pm. The kids went right to bed. Tom & I enjoyed some wine and the finale of Top Chef before heading up to bed. I awoke once in the night...needing to find the toilet (ok bathroom), and I was completely confused where I was. Boys woke up at 4am and read until about 5am and then have been up for the day. I hope we survived jet lag -- other than an early wake up, they seem to be off without a hitch.

So the Legaults are over having lunch with the boys. We probably will have our traditional Sunday night BBQ with the Legaults. We are back home and haven't missed a beat.

Ffiona's in London

For our last supper in London, we went to the famed Ffionas. If you haven't been, then what on EARTH are you doing? You must go! The restaurant owner, Fiona, is has the most engaging personality. Imagine giving your order to the owner, while she is seated at your table. You rather feel like a guest in her dining room that a patron in a restaurant. Because my brother has eaten there so many times and because the first Sunday we were there, we walked by Ffiona's and she waved welcomingly at Greg as we passed - I knew we needed to eat there our last night here. Perhaps our most expensive meal of our entire trip (but that is what stock is for), it was entirely enjoyable.

I started with the gazpacho and Tom with with onion tart. Delicious. Tom lamb and I was sold on Ffiona's fab fishcakes - both flawless. Kyle special ordered some chicken, Bryce was coerced (by me) to order the pork loin, and Connor had no trouble ordering the prawns. It was a fantastic meal. We had planned to pick up some dessert at a bakery but Fiona described the desserts and we (ok, I) could not resist. I remember Greg telling me that I needed to try the sticky toffee pudding (and he was right). Connor got the chocolate mousse, Tom got the bread pudding, and Kyle&Bryce each had ice cream with toffee sauce.

Food aside, it was amazing sitting around chatting with Fiona. At times she was at our table - we talked about her upcoming trip to San Francisco and her favorite places in London. It was a lot of fun and we asked for a photo. We took two (posted here).

Do check out http://ffionas.com/ -- you never know who you may see on the photos link.

Amazing Maze

The boys enjoyed traversing the maze at Hampton Court.

Hampton Court

Today we took a lazy & scenic boat ride to Hampton Court. Starting at Westminster Pier aboard the Connaught river boat, we began our meandering 22 mile southwest journey along the River Thames. (The Connaught is a historic boat built by Salter Brothers Oxford in 1911). The trip was very relaxing except when it got too cold and masses joined up down-below.



Only the German tour group was fairly rude - pushing in to sit right up against us and telling Connor "you need to move over" (even though this was an hour into the trip and we were sitting there from the beginning of the trip). But I wasn't going to let that get to me (I have an elbow you know).



The exciting part of the trip was going through the 2 locks - one at Richmond and the next at Teddington. This was the first for us traveling through a lock. Here is a picture of Kyle looking out... you will see the water line when we entered and then again when we ready to leave the lock.



We arrived at Hampton Court (home to King Henry VIII) in the afternoon. The kids wanted to go through the hedge maze, so we paid $20US to do this (after instructing them not to exit right away -- got to get our money's worth!).


Then we wandered through the gardens. The rose gardens were amazing - roses the size of my fist (sorry, not too poetic) and fragrant just strolling pass.

Last full day in London

Whilst drinking my morning coffee (right, sorry it should be tea ... well cheers now, jolly good), I am pouring over London guide books. I'm not ready to go - my short list of things to do is not so short. Let's see if I can bring it down a bit....

(1) Walking Tour of Little Venice (colorful narrowboats and white stucco-clad houses line the basin of the Regent's Canal in an area just north of Paddington known as Little Venice). The only glitch here is that the boys went to a nearby neighborhood yesterday while I went s-h-o-p-p-i-n-g with Kathleen & Marianne.

(2) English Countryside. Great idea but where and how? Maybe close to London but reminiscent of English countryside - Hampstead or Hampton Palace?

(3) Pubs. We've only been to a couple pubs! We definitely need to pop into a pub for fish & chips or bangers & mash. I've only been to 2 pubs - The Churchill Arms and Kings Arms. Tom went out with Greg to the Prince of Wales on our first night.

(4) St. Martin in the Fields. Free concert at 1pm and then a trip over to the London Brass-Rubbing Centre where the kids can make their own souvenirs?

Here are some of Kyle's ideas: (1) "We haven't just stayed in the apartment all day" and (2) "Let's go to as many playgrounds as we can".

Somewhere in there is a compromise ...

Today Kathleen, Marianne, & Michael went on a tour to Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Bath. Greg was "treated" to a late start today - usually been leaving at 7:30am and today he got picked up at 9am. That means he will surely get home late again. Last night we planned to go out to a late dinner to celebrate his birthday but he had to work late. So then we decided to make him dinner but they brought food in ... so then we went with plan C and got a CAKE. This was a delicious cake - filled with fruit and surrounded by curls of white chocolate. It was one of the prettiest cakes I might have ever seen...should have taken a picture of it.

We let the kids sleep late because they are staying up late ... we have 9 people squeezed into this 2 bedroom flat. Their sleeping area is in the common room and although Kyle & Bryce have been impressive by falling asleep amongst the chatter, they are obviously tired.

We return to LA at 6pm on Saturday (leaving London at 3pm - I wish it was only a 3 hour flight).

Lunch at the Lido

We went to the Tower of London while Kathleen, Marianne, & Michael went to see the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace.

Then we met for lunch at the Lido in Hyde park beside the Serpentine. If you remember, we ate here before with Greg last Sunday.

Gin & Beer

These are a pair of wooden half-figures dating from the 17th century. It is believed that they came from the old Royal Palace in Greenwich.

Tower of London

We visited the Tower of London today. Did you know that 35 Yeoman Warders and their families live within the Tower walls? Every night for the last 700 years they have performed the Keys Ceremony - where they lock down the tower at 10pm. We took a tour lead by a Yeoman and he pronounced Tower of London the best place to live ... especially when raising a teenage daughter! Wow - can you imagine being locked inside the walls of the Tower at 10pm every evening?

We looked through the tower at the Crown Jewels and the Crown Jewel gift shop where you can buy replicas for cheap (relatively speaking of course). That was the part of the tower for the ladies.

For the guys - there was the "boys toys" section. This was in the white tower - full of swords, guns, spears, blocks and axe, skul crusher, iron collar, suits of armour, cannons, barrels of gun powder --- everything that a young boy loves!

Kyle's Day in the Park

Kyle finally had his day in the park ... with Uncle Greg.

2B || !NOT 2B

OK so the subject line is for my geek friends. The point is we went to the Old Globe today to see a play. This was fantastic! We had tickets in the "yard" which next to the stage and spent our time leaning on the stage (arms folded, head resting on stage).



It was an exhilarating experience being so up close to the action. True meant we were the equivalent of peasants in the day (not a far stretch for me) and we were able to walk freely around the stage. We took a position we weren't well positioned for some of the play but for 5 pound a piece, whose complaining?! The kids were treated special. An usher came by and invited the boys to stand in a special place designated for kids. She was so very nice... the boys didn't go at first but after about 30 minutes, they were all over there. It was closeby but sometimes when I looked, I couldn't see them (obviously sitting). Then when it got exciting, POP like toast popping up went the boys. There was a scene where Gloucester got his eyes gouged out, Bryce and Connor were looking but Kyle had popped right back down. This was the end of the third act (1 hour 45 minutes into the play). Then we had intermission, but the boys thought it was the end -- I didn't have the heart to tell them there was still an hour more. So out we went and had ice cream with flake...5 people for 12 pound is total highway robbery....but we are paying for the experience. This was my first ice cream experience and I would have to say it was quite good! I have already risen a full clothing size here, so I don't need more....

Portobello Road

Oh, Portobello Road, Portobello Road -- Mirna where art thou Mirna -- haven't seen a comment from you....please write about your experience in the Portobello Markets. (What are you doing for the 4th - if you have no plans come down or we'll come up)

Signs of Notting Hill

Walking toward the famous Portobello Rd, I was greeted by the sign to the left. "Oh I've got a peaceful, easy feeling..." NOT! I guess this makes more sense on Saturdays when the market is packed with merchants. Today (a Wednesday) there was only a meager offering. But it was enough for me to get a flavor of it.

Good deal though - the boys found a "soccer ball" for 1 pound. We took the center line from Notting Hill Gate to Marble Arch to hang out in Hyde Park. The ball was a great distraction (see another post).

Ha ha. ... made you look!

Muffin Man

The Muffin Man, Kensington, just steps from the high street tube station is a favorite.



Bryce, Kyle & Connor love going to Muffin Man for breakfast. They usually order a chocolate muffin (Bryce), a chocolate muffin (Connor) and a blueberry muffin (Kyle). They want hot chocolate but they get tap water instead. Hey, ordering them a hot chocolate at 2.50 pounds ($5) each was a bit too rich for our blood.

Uncle Greg wouldn't hear of it and left them enough money from his per diem (he feels rich now that he has finished paying off his 240pound congestion fine -- see earlier post for details). Thanks Uncle Greg - you spoil the boys (and they love it).

Greenwich

Today we did a London Walking Tour to Greenwich. Not knowing much about Greenwich history, we figured a tour would be ideal.





We took the tube to BlackFriars to check out the Old Globe and buy tickets for tomorrow's matinee. I am soooooo excited about this - I have been wanting to do this since before we left. By the way, the Circle Line is still a problem - today it there were severe delays due to a person being under the train platform. Hmmm... anyway, then we needed to find our way to Tower Hill to join our tour.

From Tower Hill we walked past the Tower of London to catch our boat. After 20 minutes of interesting commentary (including information about the various pubs, and stories of old walloping grounds, and a headnod to a place where Hemingway wrote one of his books) we arrive in Greenwich. It is a nice day - in the end I finish the day with a sunburn (and lose a backpack at the Kings Arms).



It was a fairly interesting tour but we were very distracted just before 1pm. Not so much because of the dropping of the ball - but because of the Royal event guide was occurring directly to our left. So while we wait to see the ball drop, our tour guide was perhaps imparting the most interesting information. But I'm sorry that I was distracted - watching the Royal event and trying to see who was there. Turns out it was the Queen's husband, Prince Philip was there and someone else sighted Prince Andrew.

At 2 minutes before 1pm the ball is at the top and as it begins to drop it is 1pm. Very exciting huh? Well, we also had our picture taking at the prime meridian spanning the east and west hemisphere's simultaneously.

We had lunch at the Kings Arms pub in Greenwich. That is where one of our backpacks got left behind (only lost my very fun and way cute INC jacket and Tom's jacket and 2 waters and the backpack). This was Kyle's backpack and he is very sad about it. We called but the backpack has vanished ... oh well. It could have been worse.

To the right is a picture of the "1st shop in the world" (longitude 00' 00.4W). Too bad it wasn't a clothing store or else I might have purchased something!

Kensington Nights

I quite enjoy our evenings at the flat. On our way back from where ever we were, I grab a copy of the London Lite and/or the London Paper (free rags handed out on the street). I get to read the gossip (utter rubbish?) and other weird headlines. Today there are tips on how to "get in bikini shape", "why Jen's here to be a groupie" and "Wimbeledon opens first tent city".

Then there is the park in the square were we are staying. The boys spend their evenings down there playing chess or boules (a game we saw the locals playing in Champs de Mar Park in Paris). If you look closely, you'll see Connor and Bryce playing chess on the left and Kyle and Tom playing boules on the right. What am I doing? Enjoying a glass of wine (ok 5) and lounging with my gossip rags (and looking forward to a game show on BBC 3 called "Snog, Avoid or Marry" [I looked it up and snog isn't a bad word])

Hey Nice Hat!

Little evidence in this photos that it was going to be complete mayhem in about 5 minutes time.



We could have waited here and elbowed through the crowd to get photos with these guards. But instead, we snap a couple of photos and went. Oh and yes, that is Bryce wearing a French beret.

Back in London

Ah, it is great to be back in London. Perhaps we didn't do Paris "right," or perhaps we do London "better." I was glad to be back in London. The line for the return Eurostar trip was a joke - even if you were there when they said, they wouldn't let anyone through security. This allowed for a mad rush through security, customs and then to find your coach (as luck would have it, we were in the first coach -- so we had to walk a looonnng way and about 1 minute after we boarded, off we went). Walking into the train station in London was like a breath of fresh air. Everything was clean, the air felt good and cool, and everyone was speaking English. Don't get me wrong, we enjoyed our time in Paris - it is probably much different with kids in tow than exploring it sans kids.



So today we decided to do the very touristy thing and watch the changing of the guards. This after stopping for a quick breakfast at the muffin man. We arrived to Buckingham Palace just around 10:30 - the crowd was huge. We decided to find a place by the fountain. I think this was a good choice because we could move freely about and watch the procession from various angles.

One little know fact is that they march in to the song "Tequila" and then do part of the changing ceremony to the theme of "Mission Impossible." That wasn't as surprising as when one of the guards did "the running man" and then followed it a few minutes later with a break dancing move (ok, only 1 of those 4 claims are true - do you know which one?).

Last day in Paris

This is a belated post following our last day in Paris. Waking late (after the previous night's all-night summer solstice celebration) we took the bus out to Gare du Nord so we could walk around Montmartre. This is the arrondissement where the Sacre Coeur and Moulin Rouge are found. Walking through the train station (to confirm our later departure tickets) we were accosted by a bohemian looking man asking if we spoke french and then immediately if we spoke english; replying no to both he was on to us and yelled out "why not set a fine example for the next generation?!" I can't help but wonder what type of enlightenment he would offer (and how much it would have cost). Then we went out to find a cafe to enjoy one last Paris breakfast.





Then we were on our way. We took a pedestrian street up that was lined with shops (see above). Then took the funicular up to Sacre Coeur (see below).



Quite honestly, it was not worth the ticket cost and wait to ride up it. The stairs would have been nice and a good way to spend that pent up energy the boys always seem to be storing.

But while waiting in line we got to witness the friendship bracelet scam up close. The tour books warned us that someone may choose us to demonstrate creating a bracelet around our wrists. The only thing is that it is not a demonstration - they are expected a handout at the end and the bracelet is conveniently too tight to slip off and return.

After enjoying the views, we meandered down the hill through little pedestrian alley ways looking for moulins (windmills).

Walking through the main street of this town on a quiet Sunday morning, many of the shops were closed. It became quite obvious as we were getting close to the Moulin Rouge. Boys with eyes wide at the graphic words on many of the stores (but nothing to see but that one eye catching word). Failing to bring a map was a critical error - the only moulin we found was that on the Moulin Rouge (right). Later we found we had missed out on some great little walks and that we ventured very close to the Cimetiere de Montmartre where many famous artists were buried.


We meandered some more before submerging to the Metro. Part way through we were treated to a puppet show (see previous post).

Puppet Show

On our way back from Montmartre we were treated with a puppet show. This was on the metro as we were heading from Charles de Gaulle Etoile to Bir Hakeim (Tour Eiffel). A little surprising at first, a man put up a black blanket and then turned on music (wooly bully to be exact) and then voila a show started. This was perfectly timed to complete, ask for donations and get off at the next stop.



I will post about our trip to Montmartre when I return to London tonight. Now we are going out to get sandwiches (jamon + cheese - yum!), meet Kathy, Marianne and Michael at the bus stop and get them acquainted with the apartment.

Fete de la Musique

I'm accustomed to Summer solstice slipping in somewhat unnoticed. Wouldn't you know they celebrate it in Paris with city-wide Fete de la Musique - street parties and concerts. Bit o trivia for you: it is the only day that noise laws don't apply. It is 10:30pm, just beginning to get dark and something tells me that they quite haven't even began to party yet. Here's a view of our last night in Paris, taken from our apartment window.



Today we took the RER C train to Versailles. Following Rick Steves instructions precisely, we bought our Le Passporte from the train station - this gave us a VIP pass to Versailles and round trip train tickets. Also following his advice, we took the 8am train out and was at the head of the line to enter the palace. We also got to skip the very long ticket lines. Thank you Rick!!



Our VIP pass also included the audio tour, which is entirely necessary. After touring for about an hour, we were anxious to go outside and enjoy gardens in the great day we were having. At 11am the garden was filled with music and the fountains were flowing.




After wandering through the gardens, we head further out and rented bikes. This was a refreshing change in transportation and gave our aching feet a break.


We had a late lunch in the park.



Today was the warmest day we've had in Europe so far. Thankfully the sun has gone down and it is starting to get cooler.

Tomorrow we hope to tour the Montmartre area and the Sacre' Coeur in the morning. Then we meet Kathy & the kids at the bus station and help them get situated with the apartment. Then we return back to London.