Our London home

So let me tell you of our Airbnb apartment.  A fun mum, Joanne & her great 10-year old kid, Ben who live in a small flat in a centrally-located section of London.  It's in easy walking distance to everything -- the Eye, Big Ben, the British Museum, and some great cafes.  And what isn't in walking distance is reachable because we're also only a 10 minute walk from the nearest Underground station.

The apartment is tiny, but our bed is a nice queen-sized (not as easy to find as I thought on the web site), comfy and warm.  We all get along nicely and it's a fun place to spend a week.  Joanne is a great source of information about London.  Yesterday, she made pancakes from scratch.  They were thin and tasty like crepes and about 8" in diameter.  This morning, we had a variety of English sausages, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes, all sautéed into one delicious dish.  Oh my.

Ben is a great source of information on all things Doctor Who.  When he heard I was a fan, he spent breakfast asking me trivia questions and we talked about our favorite episodes.  He gifted me this: 

 

Yeah, that's right.  A Donna Noble Action Figure.  She will occupy a place of honor on the bookshelf in my room.  Coolest Companion evah, in my humble opinion.  I still haven't forgiven Russell T. Davies for the fate he gave her of forgetting everything she experienced with the Doctor. 

 

But I digress.  Back to Joanne & Ben and the 3rd member of their family.  This is Snuffles:

 

 

He is the 2-year old bunny who spends his time pushing a large ball around his cage and watching the goings-on from his perch (his cage is about 3 1/2 feet off the ground.  Snuffles also gets to run around the house and he's often taken outside for additional exercise.  He's getting used to the company.  One morning, he actually stood up on his back legs and put his front paws on my knee.  This evening, he took up residence under the bed in our room and wouldn't come out until Ben crawled underneath there and forced him out.

 

It's a fine way to start a vacation and really get into the character of the city & the neighborhood. 

Is it only Wednesday?

My goodness, each day is crammed full of adventures.  Today -- or at least this morning -- was Gene-planned.  He is a big prime meridian junkie and has sought out several in Arizona and California.  So this morning was his Mecca:  THE Prime Meridian.  As in 0 degrees longitude (or is it latitude?  I get confused).  And right there in Greenwich.  As in "Greenwich Mean Time" for all you BBC viewers. 

And so we journeyed to the Royal Observatory in Greenwich.  It's not hard on the Tube and in less than an hour, we were on the grounds of the Observatory.  However, to get to the actual Observatory, you have to go up a rather steep hill.  It's not for the faint-hearted, but those of us who bike all around Arizona OR go to the gym, point the treadmill at 17% and the speed at 3.0 mph managed to do it.  I was dreading it, but it wasn't as bad as I thought and it only took the 6 minutes the sign says it will take on the bottom of the hill.

Here are the fruits of our labor.  First, me, straddling the Prime Meridian. 

 And then the two of us, straddling the line and each other.  I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere, but this is a family blog so I'll end my comments there.



(Every time I see a photo of myself, I think:  "am I REALLY that short?")

After an easier walk back down the hill and lunch at a pub that was originally built in the time of QE I and then rebuilt in 1888, it was time for Carol to visit HER Mecca, as you may have seen on Facebook already.  But worth repeating here:

 

 

Here it is:  the store that offers everything -- everything! -- a Dr Who fan could possibly dream of or want.  And stuff they probably didn't ever dream of.  I'm now the proud owner of an alarm clock that goes off to the sound of the TARDIS.  That ought to wake me up on those rare days when I have to get up at a specified hour of the morning.  It's like Toys R Us for adults, although children find something they want as well.  Why hey!  it's a place where parents & children bond! 

 

And of course my journey was not complete without a photo next to a Dalek.  Looking at the photo, however (man, I'm even shorter than a Dalek!), I wonder if the Daleks are always irritable because they're short.  And they want to be tall.  Hey, Dalek, I feel your pain! 



And of course an actual TARDIS, used in a film I believe called "Invasion of the Daleks" or something like that.  It's a pretty cool TARDIS.  And the costume on the cut-out Matt is for sale.  Notice Benedict Cumberbatch over there in the corner.  The only non-Whovian item in the store.  Shows how popular he is.  They can have a "Battle of Sociopath vs the Nerd".  Yeah, that's cool.



Steps walked for Wednesday, June 4:  13,043, although we go out in a little while to seek out some pastries.  Up early tomorrow!  The Stonehenge Tour leaves at 8am!!


Okay, I'm done for the day.  Updated steps walked for Wednesday, June 4;  14,661

Total for the trip so far:  53,098





Officially Tuesday.....

We did a LOT today.  We decided to explore the area around Big Ben & Parliament and Westminster Abby and walk to Buckingham Palace and just soak up the London atmosphere.  London is very cool, but strange because as we all know, they drive on the wrong side of the wrong.  This means that when you're from another country and you're crossing the street, you're probably looking the wrong way to see if cars are coming.  You look to your left, correct?  and if you're in London and look to your left, you think it's all clear because no cars are coming at you.  That's because THEY'RE COMING FROM THE OTHER SIDE!!!!  AAAAAAHHHH!!!!! 

So the Brits, being as accommodating as they are, but not wanting to march in lock stop with the rest of world and change what side of the road they drive on, found the perfect compromise by painting these signs just off the curb to remind you where you should be looking:

Still I can't help but wonder how many tourists died before they decided they'd better do something.

So okay, you know what Big Ben looks like and I know what Big Ben looks like, so here's my artsy fartsy take on it.  I think it's kinda cool.  I may even frame this one when I get home. 

 

Likewise, we all know what Buckingham Palace looks like, so here's a different take on it.  A fellow Douglass graduate told me to check out the locks on the gates at Buckingham, instead of just looking through the gate, like everyone else.  So thanks to her, we did!  First we had to take our comic shot -- inspired by two young tourist guys who did this as we approached the gates. 





But here is a sample handle and a sample lock.  Each one is different, each one is cooler than the one before it:

As we approached Buckingham Palace, the threatening skies opened up and we got caught in some heavy rain.  No biggie.  We're from Phoenix and we LOVE unique experiences, like walking in the rain with umbrellas.  So strange, this experience known as rain.  But that's what vacations are about -- unique experiences.  But pity these poor folk -- obviously high class, invited to an event inside Buckingham Palace.  They get to dress up and go inside!!  Now that's cool.  Except they get totally drenched in the same rain we were experiencing while the guards check their credentials and make sure they're on the up and up. 

The rain didn't last long and we were on our way, none the worse for wear.  But these guys had to look cool at whatever event they were attending, even while they were wet.  oy!

Three years ago, when we visited Spain, we discovered the wonder of good olives and really really good olive oil.  This time around, I have discovered MUSTARD!! 

Walking from Buckingham Palace over to Piccadilly Circus,  we passed this exquisite shop that sells nothing but mustard!  It is called "Maille" and the product has been around since 1747 when the first store opened in Paris.  The maker was the official supplier of Louis XV, Queen Victoria, King William IV of England and many others.

Today, it has 3 stores:  London, Dijon (hmmmm) & Paris.  And they have just gotten the go-ahead to open a store in the US, but alas in New York City and not Phoenix.  Their mustard is to die for good and so I now have a jar of mustard with Chablis & truffles, mustard with pistachio and orange, mustard with fennel & basil and the clerk threw in a free mustard with gingerbread and chestnut honey.  I also got 3 small jars of mustard with apricots, basil & black currants.  Oh my!  I'll have to find room in my suitcase to fit these jars in, but I will even if I have to throw out every stitch of clothing I brought over (okay, all my clothes with the except of one blouse I love).  And then I will have a mustard extravaganza in my kitchen.  I'm not sure what I'll do with them, but I'll do something.

This evening, we attended a performance by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Apparently there are a lot of different Philharmonic what-have-yous:  the orchestra, symphony, the Royal Philharmonic, etc etc.  This orchestra was excellent and had a lot of very young musicians playing.  As we were leaving, we spotted the young oboist (like I don't think he's started to shave yet) who knocked his solo in Bizet's Symphony in C out of the park standing with his friends.  So we went over and congratulated him.  I know how swell it feels after a choir performance to have people tell me they enjoyed it, so I paid it forward.  He was a nice young man.  He's gonna be an even more killer oboist.


Official step count from Fitbit for Tuesday, June 3:  21,966.  Oh let's call it an official 22,000.  At this rate, will I make it to 100,000 before I leave the UK?  I don't know, but I do know that 4 1/2 months of parking in the farthest spot at school and strapping weights to my ankles has paid off.

So here are the photos I took from the Eye of London yesterday. 

That's the London Eye on the left.  A huge Ferris wheel that moves very slowly.  You only go around once and it takes about a half hour.  On a clear day, you can see a great 360 degree view of London and surroundings, such as: 

Big Ben as seen from the top most point of the Eye and....

Buckingham Palace

We were so excited, we tried to do a selfie, except I didn't have my iPhone with me, so there was no way to see how we were positioned in the photo until we were done.  We just had to guess.  Well, we tried.

Whew!  A whirlwind so far, but we arrived safe and sound yesterday (June1) morning, collected luggage, got approved to enter London and caught our ride to the apartment we got through Airbnb.  A lovely woman, her great son and their awesome bunny, Snuffles, as our hosts. 

We didn't waste too much time because the day was so lovely, with only a few clouds (Phoenix people:  the temperature was in the upper 60s!) and clear visibility, so Gene & I walked down to the Thames and took the London Eye -- an enormous ferris wheel that takes about a half hour to circle completely and gives you a smashing view of Big Ben, Parliament houses, Westminster and generally all of the London area in a 306 degree turn.

Last night, we experiences a "pop up" restaurant.  Joanne, our hostess, knows a chef.  He took over the upper floor of a restaurant and offered up a meal to 35 people who signed up.  A three course meal, lots of noise, lots of food and a bottle of wine later, we were done for the day.  Home and collapse by 10pm.  Slept straight through until this morning at 8:45!

Photos later.  We're off to Westminster Abby & environs. 

I'm keeping track via my FitBit of steps taken on this trip:

Monday, June 1:  16,441

Looks like this thing is gonna happen!

It's 3:07pm EDT and we are in Charlotte.  Arrived early even.  This is where we will launch on our journey across the pond!  There's nothing standing in our way as far as a missed flight is concerned.  Ditto weather;  it's nice here in Charlotte.  No rain, wind, what-have-you.

And now, a duty-free shop is calling me.......

45 Years and Counting....

Still recuperating from yesterday's college reunion.  I've only missed one since I graduated; I fly back every 5 years to hang out with the same women I hung out during my 4 years.  This reunion was touched with sadness -- we lost one of the women to cancer earlier in the year and I learned that another woman is with her husband in the hospital 24/7 as he battles a rare, but aggressive form of cancer.  And he was totally healthy and symptom-free in January when I saw him at the funeral.  And still another woman broke her hip in an exercise class since I saw her in January as well (note to self:  perhaps being a couch potato isn't that bad?) and chose to skip the festivities.  So it was a strange reunion I walked into.

But enjoyable, nonetheless, as I met up with other woman I went to high school with and who attended Douglass.  We laughed, took a (long!) walking tour of the campus, chatted with current students, and plotted how we wanted to march into the morning Convocation in 5 years when we became the "Vanguard" class on the occasion of our 50th reunion (winning idea:  tie-dyed t-shirts with peace symbol emblem, bell bottoms and about 10 seconds into our staid marching down the aisle, break out 60's music and start to boogie the rest of the way).
                                                                                    

Our class poses for its reunion photo.  This is how they get all our names right on the final product.

And then the final picture is taken.  The woman in front, 3rd from the right, won the prize for having traveled the farthest -- she flew in from Hawaii just for the reunion! 

Gene and I attend the reunion dinner.  I'm looking through the yearbook to see photos of classmates.  Found many, but never found the answer to this question: 

WHO IS THIS WOMAN?
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