London day 5

Today started out a little bit earlier than the rest of the days have. We actually had to set an alarm. Our train for Stonehenge left at 8:50am. We picked up some breakfast from the café, caught the bus to the underground, took the underground to where we were going to change to a different underground, but found out it was closed. So we walked from Victoria Station to Waterloo Station. It wasn’t bad, just chilly.

The train ride went by quickly. We arrived in Salisbury at 10:18 and got on a bus to go out to Stonehenge. We toured Old Sarum, where William the Conqueror set up a castle. We also got to hear different myths about Stonehenge.

Stonehenge is very interesting. It dates back to 5000 years ago. Damon and I have decided that they are the beginning of legos. The rocks were actually hooked together so they wouldn’t fall over. They are enormous too. The largest one weighs the same amount as 7 large elephants. I can’t even imagine how much effort it took to get those stones up.

After Stonehenge we went back to Salisbury to have a typical English lunch of fish & chips. Well, I had chicken and chips. The place we ate was so cute and very much an old English building. The food wasn’t bad, but their ketchup tasted more like sweet and sour sauce.

After lunch we walked over to Salisbury Cathedral, which is the tallest church in the United Kingdom. It used to be the tallest church in Europe, but Germany and France have built taller ones now. We’ve seen a lot of cathedrals on this trip. They all have the same basic structure, but our unique in their own way. It had a beautiful courtyard.

The train back was relaxing. We both dosed off for a bit. We got more train tickets for tomorrow and then headed over to Harrod’s, the largest store I have ever seen. We shopped for a bit then started to make our way home. Our journey home was stopped short by 2 miles. Apparently there was a protest going on in the middle of the street in front of Kensington Garden’s. The Palestinians weren’t happy about something. The police were out, the news was out, the helicopters were out and it made me nervous. We made it through the protest and continued to walk the 2 miles home. We stopped by the grocery store to pick up stuff for dinner. We are a little sick of eating out. At the grocery store we found out why the Palestinian’s are in an uproar. I could get into a political sermon, but now’s not the time.

We are tired. Tomorrow is our last day here. We are going out to the London Temple. I hope it will be a peaceful trip.

London day 4

Sunday... a day of rest. Not really, but we did try to make it more restful than the other days. We didn't do to much, but we still had a nice time.


We went to church at Hyde Park. It was a quick bus ride and a short walk. It was a nice day after the rainy one we had before. To our surprise we ran into my cousin at church. I thought she lived in Oxford, but she recently moved down here. We had a little chat and will possibly get together later this week.



After church we came back to the hotel changed, grabbed some paninis from the café and strolled through Kensington Garden’s. It was such a pretty day and lots of people were out with their family or pets. We found some swans and then the Peter Pan Statue that Sir James Barrie, the author of Peter Pan, had erected.

We headed up to St. John’s Wood to see how the other half of London lives. They live very well. I would like to live there too. The houses were nice and the area was quiet. We strolled past London Zoo and then to Reagent’s Park. It’s a pretty place.

We took the bus back to the hotel and then had dinner at the hotel. We walked down High Kensington Street to find something yummy for dessert, but everything was closed by 6pm except the Ben & Jerry’s store. We had ice cream there and then walked home. We spent the rest of the evening in relaxing. It was a nice day.

Tomorrow…Stonehenge!

London day 3

We had another busy day today, but fun. Today started out like any other Saturday... laundry. We found a laundry mat near our hotel and washed our clothes. It wasn't so bad. It's nice when you can wash all your loads at the same time. We also got some breakfast at a nice little cafe two stores down. We met this guy who gave us some helpful tips on where to go. He was part French and part British and has lived in both countries. He told Damon to "buckle up those pockets, this is Europe." He was pretty funny.

After the laundry we headed out to the Tower of London. It was a rainy and windy day in London. It was the first day we had to use our umbrellas. The Tower was cool. So much history took place there. We saw a reenactment of battle preparations. We visited the crown jewels. I would love to know how much a 580 carot diamond weighs. We had lunch there to and got what we thought was chicken soup because it was cold and ended up getting something called Pho, procounced FAH that was discusting. It's some vietnamese dish. I took one bite and almost lost it. I went back and found some French Onion soup for the cold day. We went up to Westminster Abbey after that. We didn't want to pay to get in so we decided to go to Evensong at 5pm. We walked over to Buckingham Palace and just happened to be there for the change of the guard. We also so the Horse Brigade leave on their black horses. Pretty cool. Most of everything they do is out of ceremony and not necessity, but it is neat to see this long lasting tradition.
We went back for Evensong and were able to sing "God Save the Queen" along with the organ. That was incredible, the organ, not our singing. The choir there was great too. I would love to attend a full fledged concert there.

We whipped over to Picadilly Circus and grabbed a quick bite to eat at McDonald's because nothing else around sounded good. We walked on over to the Queen's Theatre and saw Les Miserables. We didn't have the best of seats, but the music was still good. I cried my eyes out at the end. I started crying before the end because I know what's coming.


We came home and crashed after that. Funny story... The other night I was lying in bed looking at the pictures on the laptop and Damon came in later, he had been in the shower, and found me completely asleep with my fingers on the buttons of the computer. I guess I was tired. Even I can wear myself out.

London day 2

We took it easy this morning since we spent the past two days waking up early and going strong. We are on vacation right? We woke up to a beautiful sunny day. Hopefully it will hold for the rest of the trip. We decided to take it easy for a while. We didn’t leave the hotel until after 9am. We didn’t try to cram everything in. We still came back exhausted though.

After some breakfast, we rode on the Big Bus tour around the city. We got a nice overview and the lay of the land. The tour was nice because we didn’t have to walk. On the tour we saw Hyde Park, Baker Street and a statue of Sherlock Holmes. We saw Leicester square, Trafalgar Square, Picadilly Circus and a whole bunch of other things. We got of the buss at Trafalgar Square and went to the National Gallery. We spent some time there looking at paintings we wanted to see and then walked down Downing Steet.

We saw where the Prime Minister lives, Parliament, Big Ben, West Minster Cathedral and the River Thames. We took a river cruise down to the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge, which is amazing. That was hilarious. Our boat driver was so funny. We loved his accent and everything he said.
We got some lunch and then walked to St. Paul’s Cathedral. That was pretty cool. I did sing a couple versus of “Feed the Birds” from Mary Poppins in my head. You can’t help it. We stayed a little longer inside and attended Evensong. The men’s choir singing was amazing They sang under the dome and it resonated so perfectly there. That was a highlight of the day.

We took a bus back to Trafalgar Square and went up to Regent and Oxford Streets and did a little shopping. There are so many people here. It is crazy. I guess we are just used to living in suburbia. Damon got some clothes and a new suitcase. His suitcase has been falling apart since Munich.

The best part of the day was meeting up with a friend from Phoenix who lives here. Actually she was my little sister’s best friend from growing up. We met Vica in Leicester Square and headed for Chinatown. We had some yummy Chinese and some great conversation. It was good to see a familiar face.

We headed back to the hotel and had to walk a few block because the train to our hotel is very infrequent. We are super tired now, but it was a good day.

On the schedule for tomorrow is touring the Tower, Buckingham Palace and a play. We should probably do some Laundry too.

Normandy/Paris/London

Today was an emotional day. Well, my emotions were definitely on the surface. The weather played perfect to the emotions that were so prevalently on the surface. We woke up early this morning and packed up our hotel room in Bayeux. We then headed out to Coleville de Mar where the American Cemetery from D-day is.

I knew it was going to be emotional going to a place that so many Americans lost their lives fighting for world freedom. We got to the memorial a little early. The sky was a dreary grey, but it never rained. We were able to walk down to Omaha Beach. There was a ship out there. We could almost envision the mass of battleships, aircrafts, guns and bombs going off while we were standing there. It was very peaceful with no one there. The birds were chirping and the ocean made its wonderful sound. As we walked back up to the memorial the workers were just putting up the American Flag. That’s when the tears started flowing.



We couldn’t get to the actual graves today since the workers were mowing the lawns and getting everything ready for the D-Day anniversary. The cemetery was absolutely beautiful. The museum was hard to get through as well. I was happy to see that I was not the only one with tears running down my face as we watched one of the videos. There were quotes from some of the military who served during the invasion. It was a hard fought battle, but one that needed to be won. I think they knew that and that made them accept the responsibility.

We are so grateful for the men and woman who fought for our country and freedom back then and now. Words never seem adequate for what they do or have done.

After the cemetery we drove to Caen. I was in a somber mood and I think it has stuck with me for the rest of the day. We dropped off our rental car and Fleur and found the train station. We again cut it pretty close and my stress levels rose(sp) and anxiety kicked in. When we got in the room to have our tickets printed up we ran into 2 missionaries from our church. It was almost reassuring to see them. One was from Utah and the other was from Beaverton, Oregon. We had a nice little chat with them. We got to cut some more people in line so we could make our train.

The stress continued after we made our way back to Paris and then had to navigate through the Paris metro which was really crowded. Then we had to navigate through the Paris Nord station, which is huge and the SNFC is having a strike today so there weren’t as many workers. We finally found which way to go and where to get our tickets and then we waited to board our train.

I stayed relatively calm while going through the chunnel. I really thought I was going to be in more of a panic, but I just tried now to think about it. It went by really quick. We finally got to our London hotel after taking the tube, bus and walking. Something was not working on the train we were supposed to get on so we decided to walk. We are but two weary travelers seeking a bed now. I think the two fast days in Normandy were really exhausting.

Tomorrow will be a new day and we will be rested before we take on London.

Normandy

We had a lot of driving to do today, but it was well worth it.

We left Rennes at about 8:30am this morning. We only got a tadbit lost. I blame Fleur, our French nav system. She had a hard time with the small things. She wasn't quite up to date as Helga.

We arrived at Mont. Saint Michele a little after 10am. I can always tell when Damon is amazed by something. He get very contemplative. I also know when he loves a place because he has to take photos every 5 steps. The only bummer about today was the grey sky. Mont Saint Michele was amazing though. Well worth the drive out to Normandy and the extra two days to the trip. The tour was great. I can't believe how old the building is. It was started in the late 900's. After the tour we strolled down the narrow cobblestone paths, grabbed a panini and went back to the car. We drove to Bayeux next. There were two reasons for coming here. 1-it's near the D-Day beaches, 2-the Bayeux tapestry is here. For those who don't know what that is, may I suggest watching "Robin Hood, Prince of Theives" opening credits. They show it there. In this tapestry, that was made in the late 1000's, a story of the Duke of Normandy is told. William wants to be King of England after his cousin, King Edward dies. The story goes on to tell of William's domination over the Anglo-Saxon army. He eventual killed his competition and became king. The tapestry is amazing. There are so many small details on it. We couldn't take any pictures of it.
We also walked around this medieval town and visited the Cathedrel of Bayeux. It was very beautiful.
We just relaxed the rest of the afternoon. Our hotel was a little weird. Glad it is only for one night. Tomorrow we are going to the American Cemetary and then to Caen to catch the train for London. I am excited to be in the same city for more than 3 days.

Damon said this was his favorite picture of the day. So I put it in.

Remnants of Munich and Rennes

Out last few hours in Munich were spent at the BMW museum and the Olympic Park.

The BMW museum was cool. There were a lot of nice looking cars there. People were also picking up their brand new cars.

We went to the pool area in Olympic park for obvious reasons. It was fun seeing the place were some history occurred in the Olympics.

After that we headed towards the Munich airport and the long day of traveling. It wasn't so long, but stressful. We had a very short connection from the Paris Airport to our train. I knew that going into it, but we seriously cut it close. I also cut about 20 people in line to pick up my train tickets. My heart was pounding and I was sweating. I don't think I could ever be on the Amazing Race. I honestly couldn't handle that stress. We made it down to the proper track with 2 minutes to spare only to find out that we weren't standing in the right section and had to run all the way down to the beginning of the train.

The train ride out to Rennes was 3 hours and I don't think we settled down for the first hour. We were able to pick up our rental car in Rennes and had a late dinner. Our hotel was adequate for the 9 hours we were there.