Europe- Day 2 London

After a pretty good night's sleep, we woke to clearish skies.  We showered and tidied our room and didn't hurry because we couldn't use our travel card until after 9:30.  Here is a view from the window of our room.    I got the recommendation for this hotel from Rick Steves' London book.  He actually recommended a sister hotel that was closer, but his was over 30 pounds a night cheaper for the same room and what's a few stops more down the tube?  (literally two stops on the same line).  We were satisfied with the choice except that because we were high, the room was quite warm and we couldn't open the windows.  

After we were ready to go, we travelled to St. Paul's Cathedral.  When we exited the Underground, we were surrounded by modern buildings, but only after a block, were staring up at a magnificent Cathedral.  I love that London has such a good mix of old + new.

You cannot take pictures of the inside, but it was lovely.  Beautiful gray stone and mahogany wood.  It's a very large structure and the dome is impressive.  The audio guide is fantastic and we learned a lot about the building and decoration.  We decided to climb the dome- over 500 stairs!  Quite the workout.

Were the stairs worth it?  You decide.  We thought so.  (the most strenuous, but $0, way to see views of London)

looking down over the front of the Cathedral, you can see a little of the Thames

looking at the modern skyline

over the Thames, seeing the London Eye, and the Blackfriars? Bridge under construction

We finally snagged someone to take our photo.  Nice audio-guide headphones Dusty!  After some windy moments, we wound our way back to the ground.  I got quite dizzy on the way down and had to go slowly.  Note to self:  when designing an enormous dome, alternate the direction of the stairs every once in awhile.

Our next stop was the National Gallery, just off of Trafalgar Square.  It's a wonderful Museum filled with treasures.  My favorites were the Da Vincis', the Titians, and the Dutch artists.  Dusty liked the Peter Paul Rubens and basically any painting with a war theme.  Mostly it's a dream come true to finally be seeing all the paintings and architecture I studied in my Art classes in college.

After gawking with the rest of the tourists in Trafalgar Square we embarked on foot towards Big Ben and the Parliament buildings on Whitehall Road.  But don't worry, we saw plenty along the way.

What a great sign!  This made me think of my sister and how we had a "proper British breakfast" in January.  We passed lots of pubs, but we weren't there to get sloshed.  :)

Wish I could have taken a photo of the black lacquered Prime Minister's door, but alas, too much security.  This will have to suffice.

Just a block or so after Downing Street is the Churchill War Museum.  It is a fabulous but quite frankly exhaustive museum in two parts:  One section is the rooms where the secret headquarters were located during WWII, and the other is a huge exhibit dedicated to all things Winston.  We learned much about his life and character.  Dusty was enthralled.

We finally arrived to see Big Ben (which is actually the bell inside, not the clock) and we also got to hear him chime.  The Parliament building is a very intimidating building loaded with angles and layers. We both liked it.

Our next stop was supposed to be Westminster Abbey, but we arrived too late in the day.  Remembering that the British Library was open late that night, we tubed to its stop and visited.  The library was amazing.  It was sad how empty it was.  We were the only people there to visit the Magna Carta and ancient medieval bibles.  Such a shame.  

My favorites:  Handel's Messiah Manuscript (tears may have been shed), Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, the Codex Sinaiticus Bible (the oldest complete copy of the New Testament), and other manuscripts.  Dusty loved:  the Beatles exhibit, the maps, and some of the more oriental works, such as moveable type way before 1450.  

Truly a magical place-- if you like dark, mysterious libraries.

I didn't get any pictures (so I'll give you a cool one of Big Ben), but we also visited Covent Garden, which is a hub for people watching and shopping.  We listened to a Brit sing great American music, tipped him, and then were on our way.  We were getting hungry for something more substantial than snacks and opted to eat at an Indian place close to our hotel that was always busy when we passed.  We both had thalis-a choice of meat with lentil soup, potatoes, corn, lots of rice, chutney, curry and garlic naan.  So good.  We were so full afterward.  Good thing we only had to walk a few blocks to our bed.

Food for Thought:

Originally, during planning, I thought that perhaps I had loaded to much into our days, but after this day, and realizing how many hours we had to fill up, I was glad I had so much ready.  Our touring style is busy, with a few more relaxing times mixed in.  But, even so, it seemed we always had time to do something extra.

Europe: Day 1 London

Dusty and I are back from our three week adventure-vacation-whirlwind, whatever you'd like to call it. Europe was completely amazing. We had such a great time together. Each city/country had it's own flavor and we very much enjoyed each one.  We returned exhausted, but full to the brim with stories and inside jokes.

 Our boys were smothered with love by both sets of grandparents (who happen to live twenty minutes from each other) and didn't seemed fazed when we face-timed with them from overseas. We had a hard time parting with them but knowing they were with people who loved them helped so much. 

Disclaimer: these posts are going to be chock full of our travel stories- to satisfy those who have been asking for them. If you are not one of these people, feel free to browse the pictures, but consider yourself warned! :)

 Dusty's parents took our boys home with them the day before we left. We watched them drive away with treats, clothes, and notes on what they liked to eat and what foods Jack cannot have. I had not spent a night away from Jack since his hospital stays and I was already feeling a little traumatized. My sister let us spend the night at her house and then drove us to the airport so she could also car-watch for us.

 Here we are just leaving, with our two backpacks and satchels. That is all we brought. Seriously. But completely the best decision we made. I cannot tell you how many times I watched people struggle with their monster luggage and feel smug that mine was firmly on my back and I was hands-free. I had really researched how to "pack light" before we left and I think we did really well.

We didn't have any troubles with any of our flights to Heathrow Airport in London. We first flew to Houston, TX and then straight to the UK. Our plane overseas was very nice. Loads of movies to choose from, power points with every seat, large screens in the seats. I tried to sleep as much a possible, knowing we would land at 9:30 am UK time. Flying views were marred by clouds almost the entire time except when we just got over England and then the beautiful Rapeseed fields were shining out. So beautiful.

When we landed, it took us about two hours to get off the plane, through Customs, and then get to the ATM for some currency (pounds). Once we had gathered our thoughts we headed through the airport to find the buses. We finally found them at the exit of the arrivals wing (there weren't many signs). I knew which bus we needed to catch to get to Windsor and we waited for it to come. A friendly man helped us know which stop to get off at and was glad we were coming to see the castle. Our bus ride was almost 45 minutes through the suburbs. We noticed lots of really nice cars and zero yards.

Windsor, at least by the castle, is completely a tourist trap, but also completely charming. We had planned to stow our luggage at the train station, but to our utter dismay, they didn't offer it. Too small. So we packed it with us. We had planned to only see the castle, so it would be okay.  I had bought a London Pass and had it shipped to us in advance so we had immediate access to the castle and could waltz to the head of the line.  Saved us at least an hour waiting in the rain.  We discovered we could check our luggage in the castle, so we headed there straight away.

It's funny how you picture things in your mind and then it's totally different. I pictured Windsor Castle still nestled in the moors, but alas, it was surrounded by buildings and streets. :)

We came prepared with slickers and umbrellas and were of the opinion that we had better get rained on in England, or else!  We thought the castle was very interesting.  We opted to see only the State Apartments (and not the Queen's Dollhouse too) because of the difference in the queue. The Apartments were not disappointing.  Very stately.

We caught the Train from Windsor to Slough (rhymes with plow) and then to Paddington Station.  The travels cards that came with the London Pass paid the entire journey.  Then we hopped on the "tube" to King's Cross Station.  We attempted to see the British Library but they were closing early because it was a "banking holiday".  So we left without seeing a single document and found our way to our hotel.  It was a little out of the way, but not terribly so.  We got a little mixed up because we couldn't find any street signs, but after a few minutes found our place.  Easy Hotel- Earl's Court.  Checking in was no trouble.  We climbed up the six flights of steep stairs to our insanely tiny room (which I knew about when I booked).  We chose to think of it as cozy.  

Left with a few hours till bedtime (and needed to keep ourselves awake to stave off jet-lag) we decided to do some exploring.  We got off the tube at Wellington Arch, and admired it.

Nearby was a nice little park that leads to Buckingham Palace.  We strolled in the twilight with all the other couples.  Trees lined the pathway and blocked out a lot of the fading sun.

Buckingham Palace.  A nice place to reside I bet.  You can't go inside except in July or August, so we chose to see it an night- not surrounded by a zillion people trying to also watch the Changing of the Guard.  

A statue on the fountain in front of the Palace.  I loved the wings.  

A picture in front of the gates- hoping not to get snagged by the Bobby.

And then off to "home".  Our feet were tired.  Our brains were tired.  But we were happy to be starting our escapades and to have safely arrived in London.  We got online in the hotel and updated our "statuses".  :)  Well at least Dusty did.  I wrote in my journal and looked over the next day's plans.

What I learned from this day:

How glad I was that I had mapped out in advance what stations and tube stops to take.  It helped to be already familiar with names and routes and where things were.  

Always come over-prepared.  Over research.  Expect that things will have to be left out, but if you are left with extra time, it doesn't go to waste.  

Bring good shoes.  Spend the money and get ones that you can walk in miles and miles.  (please no white tennis shoes!  GAH!)  I tried on many many pairs and found a excellent fit.  

Where in the world are. . . .

jess and dusty going?

In a few short days we are headed HERE!

 Dusty and I are unbelievably excited. This trip has occupied almost every square inch of my brain since we decided we were going in December.  We are visiting Dusty's sister Becky and her family in Germany, but since we are going to be so close. . .  we are also seeing

London, Paris, Amsterdam, Prague, Salzburg, Venice, Florence, and Rome.  And also lots and lots of Germany.

I know.  It's going to be a whirlwind and we are going to be exhausted, but I literally can't wait to see everything.

The only down part of this is leaving my babies behind.  I seriously spontaneously cry if I think about it too much.  But they will be in good hands with their grandparents, who are also excited to spend quality time with them.

No, we aren't going with a tour group.  Unless you count Rick Steves as a tour guide.  For my personality and tripping style, his books have been the greatest.

I don't plan on posting anything until we get home.  So until then, wish us luck!