Sights of London

Some of our pictures from around London...

"The Virgin Mother" by Damien Hirst, a 35 foot statue at the Roayl Academy Of Arts


Fancy a rest? Rent a deck chair for a small fee in Greenpark


St. Bride's Church Tower, the tiered wedding cake was modeled after this tower.


The London Eye with Big Ben in the middle

A pretty Bridge


Tower Bridge, the one that moves

London, London Bridge...

Funny lyrics-I wonder if Fergie knows that it is Tower Bridge that goes down, not London Bridge?

Anyway-We left the kids with Noelle in Cambridge last night so Jason and I could have a night out in London. We took the train in, checked into the hotel, changed clothes and headed out. We had tickets to go see Avenue Q and little time to eat a sit down-so we opted for a quick Asian heat up and a drink at a pub. Going to the pubs on a Friday after work with your mates is a very big deal here in England.

We found a pub across the street from the theatre-most people were standing outside the pub drinking and hanging out-no open container laws here. This weekend is a bank holiday-last one of the summer-so the area was alive and kicking with visitors. There happened to be a rather large group rowdy very drunk men from Hull hanging out as well. Hull is rated the worst place to live in the UK based on crime, education, employment, environment and lifestyle. We had fun watching them chat up the girls and it took about 5 minutes for one to approach me when Jason went to the bar for a 2nd round. Every so often one of them would yell something and they'd all start singing.

After the show-quite funny I must say, we went out to a dance club. Apparently you can reserve a spot ahead of time and then don't have to wait in line. We didn't do that but were early enough it didn't matter. We were also dressed the right way-the door guy took a look at us after we told him we were not on the list and he put us in line, but while we were waiting 2 guys stopped and tried to get in the same way and they were turned away. We stayed until well after 2 am, but my feet were killing me and we were both a bit tired. Most stay out until breakfast.

Jason let me sleep in and he went back to Cambridge to get Noelle and the kids for a day in London. They made it around lunch, so that was the 1st stop. With the kids complaining like always and short time-we felt the best way to see the city was to take an open air bus tour. After spending most the day sightseeing we went to Piccadilly for Noelle to do her last bit of shopping before leaving tomorrow. We sat down for a quick bite to eat before heading home-the only place open was next to a very colorful character.

France, Finale

Time to go home. First things first, breakfast at the only open bar. Griffen opted out of the petite dejeuner (croissant, baguette, juice, coffee and jam) and wanted bacon and bread. The waiter steered us to the English Breakfast for him. Griff was none to happy when his bacon showed up with fried eggs sunny side up on top of his bacon and refused to eat anything other than his hot chocolate. Travel with kids...

After breakfast we thought we would head over to the Rue Clare area for a bit of shopping. We didn't have as much time as we thought-Jason took a wrong turn. Noelle did find a few souvenirs and the kids found some 'farting putty' in a dollar store. Next step-getting out of the city, there is still a tine bit of life left in the Treo.

Armed with the map and Treo-we make our way out of Paris. I tried to video tape the event, but the charge as well as space was about gone. We were doing pretty well, we even made it around the Arc de Triumph (a giant round about with no rules) until we hit the tunnels. I had a general idea of where we needed to drive towards and when I saw a sign without a prompt from the Treo, I told Jason to take the exit. One of the many disadvantages of the Treo-no signal in tunnels. I was wrong and we ended up back in Paris and Jason decided he was not going to listen to me anymore and just drive to where he thought he should go. You know-we have a great marriage and argue about few things, but navigating seems to bring out the irrational woman in me and leads us to grumpy silence most times. After a slight delay we did make it out of the city and onto the motorway.

We didn't have as much time as we would've liked for shopping at the boarder. We decided to split up and meet at the car in 30 minutes. Noelle went in search of presents and lunch, Jason went on a wine mission and I fed the kids at McDonalds. Only in France do you have real art on the walls and beer on the menu at McD's. We all made it back to the car and went to check in for the train crossing-with a few minutes to spare me to run out and grab 2 sandwiches for Jason & I at the last stop before getting in line. Turns out we rushed for nothing-we sat in line waiting for the train for a good 45 minutes.

France, Part 5, Paris

Today's agenda: Pack up the car and drive to Paris for a quick trip and a way to break up the long drive home. The morning was pretty uneventful, by now we knew how to get to the main motorway and once there we just had to follow the signs to Paris. The only issue is that since Jillian got car sick, she won't let Noelle sit in the back with her, so I have to. On a side note-the French motorways are a bit nicer to drive on than the English roads. The smooth roads however come at a price, in the form of tolls, we have probably spent a couple hundred total. France also has more roadside amenities as well...free air pressure checks (with an attendant who will add more air as needed), petrol stations and eateries.

We stopped for lunch at one of these roadside eateries. Quite a few families were stopped as well, returning from their August sojourn, eating fresh baguettes. We got the kids a hot dog meal-which of course they hated and only ate the french fries and ice cream. I admit I tasted it and the texture was just yucky so I can't blame them. After lunch Noelle and I tried to pull a switch on Jillian so that I could better navigate once we got near Paris-no go.

Jason and I have been to Paris twice now, but only by train and taxi. As we approached the city, I located the hotel on the map and tried to guess which road we were entering Paris on (think wagon wheel with lots of spokes) and Jason put the address into the Treo (just a bit of power left). It was actually not too bad-although we had a few rude drivers. We stood out with the steering wheel on the wrong side and the French hate the Brits (who don't they hate?). We found the hotel, found street parking 2 blocks away and still have power left on the Treo! I read on the meter that parking was free for the month of August (everyone is on vacation), but Jason didn't trust my translation abilities and had to check with the hotel to make sure. I was right.

After a quick unpack, we decided to walk over to the Eiffel Tower. There was a bit of a rain shower and we only had 1 umbrella and no raincoats (must learn to pack the right things), luckily the hotel had a few spare. As we approached the Tower, the rain stopped and we saw a rainbow. We let the kids blow off some steam at the park and returned to the hotel area for dinner. We were staying at the same hotel as last time and remembered some Chinese take-away place the kids liked and a grocer for drinks. We had left over milk from camping that we froze the night before and paper plates as well.

After getting everyone ready for bed, we left the kids with Noelle and went out for a bite to eat by ourselves. We ended up at the same place we ate last time--only this time as I struggled to order in French the waiter asked if we spoke English and I breathed a sigh of relief. Since it was a nice night we opted to eat outside under the awnings which was fine until about half way through dinner it started to rain and my wine glass caught a few drips of water.

Big cities amaze me-here it is 10 at night and people are still sitting down to dinner and walking about. After dinner I woke up Noelle to take her to see the Eiffel Tower lit up at night. I didn't have the camera set up correctly, so you will just have to visualize it. The park around the tower was buzzing with tourists and the tower itself was glowing from top to bottom with golden light. My surprise for Noelle however was that on the hour the lights change to twinkle lights for about 10 minutes. It was great to see the excitement in her as the lights changed over. Off to bed.

France, Part 5

Our last day here before we set off to Paris. We can't seem to wake up early and go on the run together we keep saying we will do. Oh well. Jason and the kids run down to the bike hut to rent bikes for the day. We let them putter around a bit while we get ready for the day. As predicted Griffen wipes out and cuts up his knees and arms. Another little girl the kids were playing with came over to see that he was ok and to show him she wiped out the other day and cut up her chin. In fact I see a lot of kids with bandages on their knees.

Today's adventure involves a longer drive, but we promise the kids it will be worth it. We are going to an area referred to as La Venise Verte, The Green Venice. This area of France was a wet marshland that was drained by 12th century monks and 17th century Dutch engineers. It is now a 35,000 hectare labyrinth of tiny rigoles-canals that filled with mossy duckweed and surrounded by poplars and willows that create soft green tunnels of filtered sunlight. Interspersed among the trees are pastures for the grazing cattle.


Our guide book references about a dozen villages along the canals to visit, but states that Coulon is by far the most beautiful-so that is our destination. Much of this village is closed as well-but we manage to find the car park and follow the people walking toward what we hope is the water. Looking around, we see that there are very few GB license plates-so we are among mostly French people. We decided that rather than waste our time trying to figure out how to maneuver the boat, we should hire a boat with a guide. The company we chose had no English speaking people, but we managed to work out that we wanted an hour and 15 minute ride and but a boat is not available for another hour. Off for a snack then.

The only cafes that were open were along the water, so we plopped down at a table and proceeded to order. I started ordered 4 crepes, 2 coffees and 2 ice creams-we only got 3 crepes, our coffees and ice cream. The waiter wasn't friendly at all and once we asked for the bill he proceeded to acknowledge me but smoked a cigarette, had a drink and took another order before he brought it, then he assumed we paid exact and wouldn't come over to give us change.

The boat ride was nice and tranquil, the kids even enjoyed it. Jason had great fun giving Noelle a hard time as the guide put her right in front of him and we even saw a waterside boat-bar.


We ate dinner back at camp-all the left over food in the fridge and it isn't camping unless you have popcorn. We shipped over a case of popcorn when we moved-they barley have the microwave stuff here. The kids invited a couple others over and they sat around the table talking and eating before bed.

France, Part 4

Ahh-vacation. Always prepare for the worst and pack essential items like extra blankies, extra clothes, plastic puke bags. Or not.

We skipped kids club today and went on a longer excursion despite the loud complaints from one 8 year old girl who can never be pleased. We did have a bit of a late start after another sleep in or 'lie in' as the Brits call it. Right before we left, Jason found out a co-worker was from this area of France and she recommended we visit her home-town, Les Sables-d'Olonne, and our guide book made it sound like a worthy visit as well.

Once on the road and 3 round-abouts later Jillian claims she is getting car sick. I do keep a handy stash of car sick pills in the glove box, as Jason is not known for taking round-abouts slowly or smoothly and this is a common complaint from the kids. Just as we round the last round about and get on a larger road I hear the distinct cough that can only mean one thing...quick thinking Noelle grabbed Jillian's blankie and caught most of it as Jason pulled over. Drama queen, Kaitlyn starts gagging as I frantically pull Jillian from the car. Noelle manages to clean herself up but the only items on Jillian not covered are her shoes and top. Blankie and pants go in the plastic bags we keep in the car (but realized too late we had them) and Jillian is stripped down to diaper and top. We do our best to clean up her seat and rejoice that the car carrier is on top of the car to contain the brunt of the odor. Do we head back? No, we carry on, we have things to see.


So-we get to Les Sables-Jason drops us off next to a large open-air market so he can hunt down a parking space. Lucky for us we find a skirt for Jillian at the market. However, this is not the market we came to see-we want the Halles Centrales-a glass and brick building next to the sea. We find in with only a slight amount of zig-zagging and WOW! The top floor is full of local farmers selling their produce-we come away with carrots, raspberries and tomatoes for dinner-but not before spying some sort of bird that was feathered but still had its feet. The ground floor was breathtaking with all its colors and smells...fresh produce, heaps of shellfish, smelly cheese, mounds of fresh butter and the fragrant bunches of fresh herbs. Our eyes landed on the baker-after sampling a few items we decided on some sort of apple tart and a round cake much like pound cake.

On the way out of town we stopped off for lunch-kids had the old stand-by of pizza, Noelle opted for a Croque-monsieur, hot ham and cheese sandwich, while Jason and I
had some sort of cold sandwich with ham, tomatoes and slices of hard boiled egg.

After a quick stop and the grocery store for laundry detergent we head back to camp so the kids can play and I can wash clothes.

Dinner-fresh carrots, salad with beautiful hierloom tomatoes, fresh baguette, bottle of wine and some BBQ pork.

France,Part 3

We had a nice morning sleeping in. After such a long drive yesterday, we decided to take it easy today with the kids. We dropped Kaitlyn and Griffen off at the kid's club, let Noelle have some time to herself and Jason went to buy some groceries at a larger store in one of the neighboring towns. An adult had to stay on site-so Jillian and I went for a walk.

After lunch we took the kids to the pool for a bit. We didn't want to spend our whole time here laying about-so we went off to one of the towns, Apremont, to explore. Of course the kids put up a fight, but Noelle was keen and tried to tell the kids how lucky they are to have parents take them to such cool places.

Apremont is home to a Chateau the main part dates back to probably the 13th century, while the towers are from the 16th century. The towers were built by Phillippe Chabot de Brion, admiral of France and friend of King Francois I. It is also said that King Louis XIII stayed here on 17 April 1622. The network of wooden beams supporting the tower we had access too, were quite impressive. The other intersting bit was the glaciere, a refrigerator Renaissance-style. Winter ice would have been stored to preserve food in hotter months in this half buried space carved into rock.

We have also noticed a trend in these small French villages...it is August and the French go on holiday during August. So pretty much every shop, restaurant, store, you name it has a sign on the door stating that they are closed. Most have dates on them as well-August 7-August 26 or later. The windows of most houses are shuttered as well. Can you imagine whole towns on vacation for 3 weeks? Only the larger grocers are open.

France, Part 2, Vendee

After one looong drive, several stops in search of a charge cord to no avail, and a few heated debates over directions, we arrive at Eurocamp, La Garangeoire-St Julien de Landes around 7pm. Immediately we are practically assaulted by kids on bikes.

The camp area is a bit like a KOA, but only a bit. There are well over 300 'pitches' in the area with 4 companies renting the campers and tents. About 75% of the site was taken over by these companies and about 25% were people who had their own caravans or tents. I's also say about 75% of the guests were Brits, the rest were from Germany, Netherlands, very few French. With all these people, it was surprisingly quiet and clean. Here are some photos of our pitch:


Not roughing it all by our standards, but with 6 people it is by far the most cost effective way to explore an area and the kids had a blast.

After checking in and being escorted to our site by a 'cute guy' (Noelle's words) on a bike, we unpacked and sought a store for food. Lucky for us the on site store was open until 8. We scrounged some bread, wine, and burgers for dinner then went down to the bar for after dinner drinks and ice cream. Did you know the drinking age in France is 16? By 10pm the sites were all quiet for the night-nothing like the equivalent of an American camp site!

France, Part 1, arrival

We are off to France for a new adventure. This time we are taking our car, packed with 2 adults, 3 ungrateful children, and one excited teen, one packed bag each, beach towels to the Eurotunnel. Once at the train station (a 1.5 hour drive)we will drive onto a special car that takes us under the Channel and then we have to drive a mere 6-7 hours to our destination. Sounds like fun.

About 20 minutes into our first driving leg, Jason realizes he forgot the chargers for his Treo, which is also our navigation tool. Do we wing it or do we drive back home and take the risk of running into London traffic and missing the train? We wing it, figuring we can at least pick up a car charger in France.

We actually got to the train station early and are able to get on and earlier train...some photos of the train:



Once off the train in Calais, we spy a shopping center and decide it is time to look for a charger for Jason's Treo. No luck--but we did find the biggest grocery store I have ever seen. It looked like a warehouse from the outside. Once inside we found clothes, food, wine (oh soo much wine!) And get this, an entire aisle of yogurt. Picture a regular dairy aisle like you see in Albertsons or Vons, add a few feet to the length and imagine yogurt, just yogurt on both sides. We are definitely stopping here on the way home.

With no car charger in hand, but croissants and coffee in our stomachs, we start our long drive to the Vendee area of France.

Twelfth Night

Jason and I went out tonight for the Shakespeare Festival in Cambridge. Tonight's show, Twelfth Night was performed in the Fellow's Garden of Trinity College. This part of the College is usually not even open to normal members of the College. Another fun bit...one can never walk on the grass unless you are a fellow and we got to walk on the grass.

The performance started at 7:30 in the natural setting of grass surrounded by trees as the backdrop of the 'stage.' Many members of the audience brought picnics and blankets and enjoyed a meal while watching the performance. I am glad that I decided to grab my jacket at the last minute as summer seems to be over already as the air grew chill with the setting sun.

What a way to watch Shakespeare! As the natural light diminished, several spotlights were turned on, but there were no props other than the trees and grass. We were most impressed with the guys who played Sir Toby Belch and Malvolio. Thank goodness for the hot mulled wine at intermission... as I said I believe summer is already over

Home

Well after a long trip back to the US and a very long wait in the airport...we are back home in the UK. Our flight was supposed to leave at 5:20 but didn't really get in the air until just past 8. Security wasn't all that bad though. With our Upper Class tickets, the line to check in was shorter and since we had a stroller we also got to bypass the long line for security. We all had to take off our shoes and my backpack was chosen for hand inspection. (I think it was the empty sippy cup) We sat in the lounge for a few hours whittling away the time. All passenger's carry on bags was hand checked by the National Guard before boarding the plane, but it went very smoothly.

We are all tired and have just 2 days to prepare for our trip to France. Thank goodness Noelle is here to help!