On Your Guard

Trying to make the guard smile

The new guard marching in

The gate in front of Buckingham Palace

The band leading the old Guard out

Watching the pagentry of the changing of the guard in front of Buckingham Palace completed our trip to the UK. It was made more complete by having a retired guard who had served in the First Scottish Battalion explain the ceremony. Funny guy. He was from St. Andrew's, but hated golf.

Mounted Cavalry

Buckingham Palace

A Little More London

St. Paul's Cathedral from the Millennium Bridge

Due to a subway delay, we missed the last tour up to the top of St. Paul's Cathedral by about 15 minutes.

We took a look around the inside and I snapped a few pictures of the outside. I am glad that I did, because when we tried to return the next morning, there was some sort of summit and the whole grounds were closed. Bummer.

We continued our walk over the Millennium Bridge and past Shakespeare's Globe Theater. I would love to return and see one of the plays that are performed there in the afternoons.

We finished off our trip by returning to a pub we had visited earlier in the week, The Bear and Staff. We ate at a lot of pubs so that we could have a couple of pints. I thought Chris was addicted to Fish and Chips after a while. As a side note, Georgia would like to know why chips are french fries and real potato chips are called crisps. Anyway, Chris just had to have the Toad in the Hole that he passed up on. It is sausages and mashed potatoes (aka Bangers and Mash) with veggies in a gigantic Yorkshire Pudding. Super yum and even better the second time around. We all know who the adventurous one is right?

Tower Bridge, not London Bridge

Apparently that beautiful Gothic-style bridge is Tower Bridge, not London Bridge. And it has never fallen down for that matter.
We took a tour across the car deck, up one tower, back across both enclosed bridges at the top, and down the other tower to the engineering system that raises and lowers the arms. We now know all about bascule bridges, counterbalancing, and hydraulic steam accumulators. That's what you get when you take an engineer on vacation.

Off With Their Heads

The Tower of London was truly interesting. The history of the place is both fascinating and morbid. It is also odd to see something from the 11th century nestled among glass skyscrapers and modern buildings. The tour given by the Yeoman Guard, or Beefeaters as they are affectionately known is a must. Brody got a little bored, but it was cool to have a quick-witted tour guide give you bits of historical information that is entertaining and in that British trademark dry humor.

We climbed all the towers, kept our distance when viewing the resident carnivorous ravens and were dazzled by the Crown Jewels. Georgia had her eye on a 530 carat diamond and was really studying the crowns--designing one in her head for herself, I am sure. All of us examined the chain mail, held a crossbow and tried on a helmet that was a least five pounds or more.

Up in the tower where prisoners were kept, there were quite a few examples of stone carvings by the condemned whiling away their time. There was also a Henry VIII exhibition that really captivated our attention. The kids tried out string bows, saw how armor worked and checked out all sorts of hand weapons and cannons.

Toys Every Child Should Have

It really makes you wonder why the kids in the US are playing with Elmo and Barbie, when they could be utilizing one of these. With about eight pounds and a few minutes of assembly, your child could have a working torture rack or executioner's chopping block. The set up in the store allowed you to push a button to work each one. And Brody gave them a workout for sure. The poor fellow on the rack had drawn on blood when his limbs pop out and his face contorts in obvious pain. The man on the block loses his head in the basket and the stump has the look of meat. Nice. Those Brits are so funny.

I really wanted one, but couldn't decide between the two. They were cheap and would pack flat in my suitcase. I finally gave up because I figured it was kind of weird and if I assembled it Brody would play with it. Probably not the best parental move. Fast forward 10 years...No Your Honor I don't know where he got the idea to make a guillotine.

I am Henry the Eighth I am

We spent the next day traveling by train, bus, and train again to Hampton Court Palace. Apparently the London Transit System likes to do "engineering works" or construction maintenance on the weekends, so we had ourselves a little adventure to go about 15 miles. Once there, the grounds were massive. Hampton Court Palace was treated as a "country house" by many monarchs, but most famously by Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. This made it that much more alluring for Georgia, especially since they had actors in period costumes reenacting the wedding day of King Henry to Katherine Parr, his sixth wife.

The kids tackled the hedge maze, finding the center in about six minutes. I guess they had good practice in Vancouver. We spent the afternoon wandering around the apartments of various kings and queens, touring the massive palace kitchens, and admiring the ornamental gardens
that also contained the world's oldest and largest grapevine that was planted in 1786.
There was even a huge astronomical clock with the sun orbiting the earth.

A Little Texas in France

This is one of those Texan things you just find lying around in France. The inscription acknowledges France recognizing the independence of the Republic of Texas in 1839. They were the first European country to do so.

Ooh La La! It's Paris (vol. 3)

South Rose Window

Next up on the tour was the Notre Dame Cathedral. The stained glass windows and architecture were amazing. So hard to believe the craftsmanship that went on with handheld tools.

I made a wish on the Pointe Zero, which is basically a medallion in the middle of Paris for which all distances are measured for signs.

We ended our day with some time alone at the Paris Opera House or Palais Garnier.

The kids were cold so we did a bit of window shopping in an out of a few stores. We turned a corner and they amazingly became hungry upon seeing McDonald's. They both delighted in having a familiar Happy Meal. They taste the same, but the box is all in French. And being Pulp Fiction fans, Chris and I had to know if the Quarter Pounder was known by another name. We can happily report that there is a Royal with Cheese.

Ooh La La! It's Paris (vol. 2)

Chris and Georgia

After taking in the panoramic views, we headed towards the riverbank to take a boat ride down the Seine. We stopped at a small bistro to pick up something to eat and I was sure glad that I had memorized some French, because no one working there "a parle l'anglais." You can get away with a lot by knowing numbers and french cooking terms. You just have to keep the Spanish from creeping into your head, which was hard. Its trois not tres, dummy. Lunch consisted of some ham and cheese sandwiches (sandwichs a jambon et gruyere) and pretty little macaroons and tarts.

I got tripped up when the person waiting on us wanted to know if I wanted the dessert boxed or bagged, but thankfully a woman in front of me took pity on me and translated.

See, the French aren't all rude.

Georgia passing under Le Ponte Alexandre III

We went under eleven bridges on the Seine and even learned that there are inhabited islands in the middle. After our boat ride, we spent some time at the Musee du Louvre

where we entered through the glass pyramid and rushed through to see the

Mona Lisa,


Venus de Milo

and the Winged Victory of Samothrace (you know, Nike).

The Louvre is massive and like the Smithsonian, would take you weeks to see everything. We did get to see a lot of Italianate paintings and were so surprised at how vivid the colors were for art that was so old.

Ooh La La! It's Paris! (vol. 1)

La Tower Eiffel

View of the Seine River from the Eiffel Tower

We could not be so close and not go to Paris. A guided tour seemed the way to go since we just had a day and wanted to see as much as possible. We had a few snags with the subway and ran like mad to meet our reported 6:30am train. Of course another tour agent lets us know that our tour doesn't actually leave until 7:15am. I guess they employ the mind game on tourists I use on Chris to ensure that we aren't late to any event. Tell them you have to be there thirty minutes sooner than you do. So we made it to the station with plenty of time to spare and settled in to our seats for the two hour ride on the Eurostar train that goes through the Chunnel to Paris. We explained that it is a train that goes in a tunnel underneath the English Channel, but the kids were kind of bummed that it was not a submarine train and we would not see fish out of the windows.

Paris was a little chilly, but so beautiful. Withing an hour of being there, Chris and I had already said to each other that we need to come back and stay a while. The architecture and all of the bridges are so intricate. I can't even begin to think of how gorgeous it would be in mid-April when everything is in bloom.

Driving up the Avenue de Champs-Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe

Upon making the circle around the Arc de Triomphe, we realized that there is no way we would ever drive. The cars drive on the right side of the road, but it is just chaos in that area--almost like a cattle drive. Cars and buses were everywhere, darting in and out in front of each other. Lots of honking, animated waving and gesturing, and yelling. I did pick up a bad French word or two from a Belgium foreign exchange student in high school, but you could get the idea without speaking the language.

Kacee, Georgia and Brody on the Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower or la Tower Eiffel as the French call it, was just as iconic a symbol of France as you would think it would be. We went up to the second level and the views were spectacular. The city seemed to go on forever.

Saint-Louis des Invalides Church with the Notre Dame in the background

Basilique du Sacre-Coer (Sacred Heart) on top of the Montmatre, which is the highest point in the city

Mind The Gap

Here are a few shots of the very London red phone booths and the saying that the kids were driving us crazy with whenever we went on the Subway...."Mind the Gap." Sometimes you didn't really need to mind the gap, but at some stations the gap was about twelve inches from the platform to the subway car, so you had better mind it or risk falling in.

We told Georgia that when we went to D.C., she used to grab the support poles from her stroller and mimic the train drivers with "doors closing, hold on."

Of course we traveled to 222 Baker Street to see that famous detective.

Brody and Kacee as Mr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes

Subway tiles that had many little Holmes to make a big one