What I learned

All traveling leads to growth. It doesn't matter if you travel up the state or around the world. Everyone learns something.

So we have been home a week and I have been pondering all of our experiences. Here is a list of what I learned.

1)All European big cities were built around water and a cathedral

2) Europeans don't like flat sheets. Out of the 5 hotels we stayed in only 1 had the flat sheet as well as the fitted on.

3) It doesn't matter what country you are in, all woman like shoes

4) No matter where you are you can always find a McDonald's

5) In Europe they call drive thru's Mcdrives

6) Owning all 4 walls of your home is a luxury

7) Foreign flight attendants are much nicer than American ones

8) Always greet everyone with a hello in their own language, even if it is the only word you know

9) Italian food is good in France, England, Germany and Austria.

10) public transportation is only sneered at in America


11) Even after being together for 13 years there are still things I learn about my spouse


12) Even after being together for 13 years there are still things I need to learn about how to behave around him, patience being the biggest


13) I really love carbs and Europe only feeds into that love.


14) Every country has something unique to offer the world. One just has to find it.


15) No matter how tough everyone thinks I am, or how tough I tell myself I am, I can still cry at the drop of a hat


16) Just because one brings adapters for the electrical outlets does not mean that all appliances should be plugged in. My flat iron started smoking two seconds after I plugged it in. Luckily it still works in America

17) Typos are pretty common when you blog late at night and are to tired to proof read:)

We had a wonderful trip and are having a hard time adjusting back to normal life. Work just seems that much harder to get done.

Home

We are home now and I think that it was the longest day of my life. We woke up at 5:15am London time, which is 9:15pm the night before in San Diego. We made it to the airport in good time and started the trek west.

The flight was nice. We all had our own little tv's that we could pick our own movies to watch. I slept for a little bit and then watched movies the rest of the time. It certainly made the time fly. It really was an enjoyable flight.
We landed in New York at 10:20am local time. That was the hard part. Our flight didn't leave until 5pm. The original plan was to go to New York City and have a little bit of fun during the 7 hour layover. What we didn't account for was how exhausted we would be. Neither of us felt like leaving so we spent all that time in the airport. We weren't even in a very fun terminal.
Our flight back to San Diego was nice too. I slept for an hour and a half. Damon didn't sleep at all. Probably because I was using him as a pillow. We landed earlier than expected and made it home before the kids were asleep. The excitement that met us at the door reminded us of why we love being home. We couldn't give the kids enough hugs and kisses and they all seem so much bigger.

up next... what we learned

London Day 6

This morning we had to catch and early train. 8:10am. Yuck! I miss the days of not having to set an alarm. We made the train, but not before I literally ran in front of the bus as it pulled out so we could get on it. The bus driver told me I was a very bad girl.

The train ride out to Lingfield station wasn't bad. It was short. There was nothing out at the station, but we were able to call a cab and it took us to the London Temple. It felt like it was in the middle of nowhere. The air smelled very clean out there and it was really quiet. After being in some really big cities it was a nice change.

It was nice being at one of our religious buildings after being at so many cathedrals over the past 2 weeks. The temple is simple, but very nicely decorated.

We rode the train back and then went to Picadilly and had lunch at TGI Fridays. We were in the mood for some BBQ. We then did some shopping and then came back to the hotel. I was hoping to go out again and see London all alight, but Damon isn't feeling good so we are staying in for the rest of the evening. I guess I will have to save that for our next trip.

I have packed and am all ready to start the long trek home tomorrow. I am excited to see the kids and my garden and Nana. Not so excited about working again.

We were actually able to go out for a little bit later. The buildings looked cool all aglow.

Goodbye London! Hopefully we will see you again.

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.