Day 14

This morning I had an awesome breakfast date with Rohan. We had breakfast in the hotel, croissants, cereal, juice, and scrambled eggs. Chocolat croissants with raspberry jam are the bomb!!

The we were off to Musee L'Orangerie to see waterlilies. We then wandered around Le Tulliries and had lunch. Then it was off to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, and Venus Di Millo. We split up after the Louvre and the girls went shopping.

We love the soldes!! (aka SALES). A new suitcase was purchased to get the new purchases home! (Not it). We returned to the Ritz via taxi, driven by someone who did not know where the Ritz was, but we made it!

We changed into warmer clothes, stopped for a drink at Hemingway's Bar and then we were off to the Tour Eiffel. We had tickets to the first level @ 10:30 pm, and once we were there we got tickets to the very top!! When we made it back down to the ground we headed to dinner at Pizza Pino - Sarah's favorite place to eat in Paris. Then we went back to the hotel, gathered up our charges and off to bed. Tomorrow will be here way to early.


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Location:Paris, France

Day 13 Paris

Morning came early today, we needed to be on an 8:30 am train from Lucern to Basel, so we could catch our 10:05 train to Paris! We had a lovely ride through the countryside, but the clouds kept getting darker and darker as we made our way to Paris. When we arrived at Gard de l'Est it was pouring down rain.

We checked in at the Ritz Paris and the bundled up and we were off to the Musee D'Orsey, along with everybody else in Paris. (The Louvre is closed on Tuesdays). We returned to the Ritz and Sarah took one for the team by watching four children, while suffering from a migraine so that the rest of us could go to Hemingway's Bar for drinks, and then out to dinner.

Tomorrow we are sleeping in (meaning, I will be up at six) and then we are off to more museums!!!!


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Location:Paris, France

Day 12 Luzern

We started our day off early today, taking two backpacks and on roll aboard to the laundry. It is great, you drop you clothes off and by the end of the day your clothed are cleaned and folded, at a fraction of the hotel laundry rates!

We then wandered around looking for the pharmacy, ATM, and for a pastry shop for a bite of breakfast, before meeting the rest of the family for a traditional Swiss meal and entertainment.

After lunch we did a little shopping, saw the Sleeping Lion sculpture, explored the glacier museum, stopped for more cake, explored a little more if the city. Then returned to the laundry to pick up our clean clothes.

After a short rest at the hotel we headed back to the Chinese restaurant from yesterday for more noodles and lemongrass chicken.

Now we are packing again - tomorrow we are off to Paris!

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Location:Luzern, Switzerland

Day 11

This morning we got on the Wilhelm Tell express. This is a train ride and paddle boat ride to Luzern, Switzerland. Even though it was a gloomy overcast day the greenness and vibrancy of the Swiss Alps was able to pop.

I have never seen water as blue as Lake Luzern. It was this awesome opulent blue.

When we arrived in Lucern we checked into our hotel, and then seven of us hopped on Taxi's to go to the English language version of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. It was crazy watching the movie with both German and French subtitles. And there was an intermission!

After the movie we went to dinner at a Chinese restaurant close to the hotel, the lemongrass chicken and glass noodles with veggies were very yummy! On our way back to the hotel we stopped by the casino to check it out, but we did not do any gambling.


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Location:Cernobbio & Luzern

Day 10

After breakfast the children where given the option of staying at the kids camp or coming on the ferry to Bellagio. They chose to go to the kids camp. So the adults headed to the 11:15 ferry to Bellagio. We got sidetracked at the shoe store and ended up on the 12:15 ferry to Bellagio. Two hours later we ended up in Bellagio, it was a great leisurely cruise up the lake.

We hiked up into the city and found a little ristorante for lunch, guess what we had? Pasta and pizza! Then we wandered around town a little and tried to find a gelatoria, ended up at an ice cream window, and then headed back to the ferry to Cernobbio.

Our boat back was a paddle boat We sat outside, played cards and watched for George Clooney's Villa on our way back to the village.

We then sat on the patio and had bellini's before heading to an authentic Italian restaurant off the beaten path in Cernobbio. We had one more trip for gelato and then off to bed. Tomorrow we head to Luzern, Switzerland.

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Location:Cernobbio

Day 9 - Cernobbio

We all slept in this morning, a well needed rest. After breakfast I saw the hotel doctor because I had three infected bug bites from Mykonos. After getting a prescription for some antibiotics we explored the grounds of Villa D'Este. What beautiful gardens and fountains, against the lake background. Truly amazing.

We lunched in town on pasta and gelato, did a little window shopping, and then I needed to return to our room and prepare for a job interview. I am hoping that it went well and I might have a job when I return to Seattle.

After my interview I joined the family back at the restaurant we dined at last night for pasta and pizza! It was fabulous, again!

When we were done my goddaughter and I returned to the hotel for some quality time and then it was time for bed. Tomorrow we are going to take the ferry to Bellagio. (And I am not talking about the casino in Vegas!)


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Location:Cernobbio

Day 8

We had an early morning this morning because we wanted to make it to the World Heritage site of Delos. We had a 30 minutes boat ride in choppy seas to get there, but the visit left an impression that is priceless. The realization that civilization goes so far back, and the size of the homes and the sanitation systems in the first and second centuries makes ones mind marvel. What makes this even more impressive is the buildings where dry stacked, meaning there was no cement or glue holding these structures together. Massive underground cisterns to collect rain water, with arches that supported the structure overhead that are still intact in the 21st century. Mind blowing!

We then visited the site where legend says Apollo and Artemis where born. It is guarded by some lovely lion statues. Then it was back to our boat and back to the hotel for breakfast.

All to soon it was time to leave Mykonos and fly to Milan. I can now add another country to the places I've been!

After collecting our bags we hopped in cars and headed to the town of Cernobbio, on Lake Como. We checked into Villa D'Este and then set off to explore the town and find dinner! Pasta and pizza where on the agenda for the evening. After dinner we found a Gelato stand and then walked down to the lake and enjoyed an evening stroll around the fountain and then back to our rooms.

Since it was Bastille day there were fireworks on the lake. It was a magnificent show, lots of color and even some that where shot into the water, before they would shoot into the sky! I will add the six minutes of video when I get home!

Then it was time to go to bed. Tomorrow will be another full day!

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Location:Mykonos & Cernobbio

Day 7

For our last full day in Mykonos we started with homework time, the boys did their work and I wrote postcards! We also sent the laundry out to Ornos so we could have clean clothes for the rest of our trip (A huge savings over having the laundry done at the resort!)

Then we walked into Ornos for lunch before heading to the beach for our last full day in Greece. We swam, we floated, the kids went out on a Jet ski, we built waterworks. A fun time was had by all!

We then headed into Hellos for our last dinner on Mykonos. Tonight the kids suggested street food. We started with roasted corn, then had gyros, sausages, and half a chicken. Then we went for ice cream at our favorite location, did a little more shopping and then headed back to pack!


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Location:Mykonos

Day 6

What a view to wake up too. We started our day with breakfast and then we headed to the beach.

Even with turning over every fifteen minutes, I became a little pink. We then had lunch at the beach restaurant before going back to the beach for naps or quiet time in the sun. Maybe this is when the burning happened. We finished up our afternoon with a little homework time and reading by the pool.

Then it was back into town for dinner and ice cream. Tonight we had fusion Greek food. It was very interesting, bacon wrapped helumi cheese, spinach crepe, and Greek style porkchops.

Yum. Tomorrow is our last full day in Mykonos, it will be hard to say goodbye to such a beautiful location.

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Location:Mykonos

Day 5

We woke up to a beautiful blue sky this morning. The boys started their daily work and then it was off to breakfast. When we returned we were going to do a little more work to finish up, then have some pool time, but our work took longer than expected and we ended up skipping the pool and headed into town for lunch.

After lunch Aarti, Sarah and I headed shopping while the rest of the family headed back for beach time. We found a few trinkets and some clothes. We had a snack - more baked cheese anyone? And then we found a Taxi to take us back to the hotel.

I jumped in the pool for about an hour with the kids, then it was time for a shower and then off to another town for dinner. The sunset as we were leaving our hotel was gorgeous!



When we arrived at dinner we walked into the kitchen area off the restaurant and picked what we wanted for dinner, it was awesome!

I can not wait for our next adventure!


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Day 4 Mykonos

We left the Beau Rivage in Geneva at 4:30 am for a 6:00 am flight to Zurich, where we caught a 7:50 am flight to Mykonos.
The flight was a little bumpy, but the German eye-candy helped a little.

When we arrived (and the passengers clapped for our rough landing, it is a little windy) Jamie, Kalpana and Leela picked us up at the airport. After a short ride, Jamie is learning to drive like the Greeks, we made it to the Santa Marina. It is beautiful here, we have a great view of the cove and the crazy huge yachts is the cove.

We went into town for lunch, I have given up my vegetarian ways for this trip, and I have the lamb with lemon sauce. All I can say is yum. We followed up lunch with a trip to the ice cream stand and a walk through town.

Upon returning to the Santa Marina we went down a kazillion stairs to the beach for an afternoon of swimming, tanning and playing in the sand. We then got to walk back up a kazillion stairs to get ready to go to dinner.

We walked to a great little restaurant close to the hotel. And had an enjoyable meal with great conversation. Then it was back to the hotel where we were going to have a golf cart take us back up the hill, but the boys said we could walk up, so we did, and we ended up in the bar for drinks and ice cream.

It was a long but exciting day. I am falling in love with Greece, do we have to go home?



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Location:Mykonos

Day 3

Today is the final day of the 2011 Kiwanis International Convention. We had a late start this morning, we woke up about 30 minutes before we needed to leave for the Polexpo. We arrived for a luncheon where we were honored to be present as Dr. Gasse shared his passion for the Eliminate project and invigorated the crowd around this project - the Kiwanians are on board and ready to Eliminate MNT by 2015. Jamie Lee Curtis was in attendance and received a Tetanus shot from Dr Gasse.

Then it was off to the closing ceremonies, Jamie Lee Curtis was the Key Note speaker and the entertainment was provided by a duo called Space Violins. Kiwanis International has pledged to raise 110 Million US Dollars for the Eliminate Project. Their goal for the end of the weekend was to raise 2 million, by the time they left Geneva they had raised 4 Million. Please let me know if you would like to donate to the project and I will be more that willing to assist.

We left the Polexpo and headed back to our Hotel, we had been warned that there was a parade scheduled, but it would probably be over before we retuned. It was still going strong when we finally (after a few detours) made it back to our hotel. We changed and went down to have Tea and watch the crowd. It was amazing.

Tomorrow Carrie and the girls head back to Seattle and Aarti and I head on to Mykonos!

Bon Soir


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Location:Geneva, Switzerland

Day 2

We started our day with a lovely breakfast at the Hotel Beau-Rivage before heading over to the Polexpo for a morning of Kiwanis Conferences. Carrie was a guest speaker, telling her story about how she became involved with the EliMiNaTe project and UNICEF.



After her rockstar presentation we headed into old town Geneva where we had a great lunch, per the recommendation of our taxi driver. We then toured the excavation site under Cathedral St Pierre.

Then it was off to a meeting at the UNICEF headquarters to hear about the progress various programs are making and the goals for the future. When we finished at UNICEF we explored the arboretum and walked up to play in the fountain in front of the United Nations. A great way to cool off before we went back to the Polexpo for a reception with the Kiwanis.

Our final event for the evening was a dinner with various UNICEF staff and Dr Francois Gasse, the leading expert in the field of MNT and the immunization of world against Tetanus. (Quick fact it only takes $1.80 to protect a mother and her newborn child from Tetanu, three $0.60 shots over 6 months)

The day was full, but the information learned is invaluable.


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Location:Geneva, Switzerland

Day 1 - Geneva

Yes, my jetlag plan worked like a charm. If only our flights would have been on time we would have made it to Geneva in time for the opening of the Kiwanis International meeting in time to hear Dr. Jane Goodall speak. You win some, you lose some and today we gained four extra hours in the (H)Amsterdam airport. We all made it onto the same flight (I was on stand-by, ask me at a later time about booking tickets to Europe) and made it to Geneva in time for the Kiwanis Gala Dinner. It is now late and we have an early moring, more later!

And we are off again, in 13 hours.

So how do you counter jet lag? My solution is to stay up for at least 24 hours before getting on a 1 pm flight to Europe, especially when I need to be alert and responsive when getting to our final destination. That way I can get on the nine hour flight to Amsterdam and sleep the whole flight. Wish me luck!


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Location:Seattle, WA

Day 8

April 30, 2011

Our last day in London, so sad to be leaving, but already looking forward to my next trip here!

We had our final breakfast at the Aster House this morning. If you are looking for a reasonably priced place to stay in London this is your best bet! Close to the South Kensington Tube Station, around the corner from the Hummingbird Bakery, and absolutely adorable. We were in room 1, and even though it is on the street side of the building it has been remarkable quiet. We checked out today because we need to leave tomorrow morning by 7:00 to get to LHR via the tube in the morning.

Then it was off to Borough Market, we tasted our way through the fresh fruit, pastries, and cheeses, wishing that we could purchase and go somewhere and cook, it was amazing.


Then we headed to the Museum of London, which is home to artifacts from early Londinium to present. It was very interactive, with touch tables and activities to show you how early civilization created what is known today as London.



We lunched at a great little restaurant outside of the museum, London Wall. I had a great lentil, beet and goat cheese salad. We went back to TKTS to see about theater tickets for tonight. When the sales agent asked if we wanted the matinee or evening performance my mind went into overtime trying to decided what else we should see, but Pam said just the evening performance.

Then it was off to the National Portrait Gallery. We visited both special exhibits, Ida Kar and Hoppe. What wonderful early 20th century works by both. We then saw the Tudors, Stuarts, members of parliament and others portraits that hang in the gallery.

Then it was time to go to Fortnum and Masons for tea, but we arrived to late for tea and had dinner instead. It was outstanding!

Before we knew it, the clock told us it was time to head to the theater. We were seeing Dreamboats and Petticoats. It was a cute piece, with not much plot, set in the summer if 1961. The music was entertaining as was the audience participation.

Then back for our final night at the Aster House. Time to pack and sleep before we have a long travel day tomorrow.




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Location:London

Day 7

April 29, 2011

Excitement was in the air this morning! I jumped right up with the alarm ready to attack the day! I was up and ready to go before Pam even cracked an eye! We then had breakfast, stopped at The Hummingbird Bakery for celebratory cupcakes, then Pret for sandwiches to take with us to Hyde Park!

We walked up Brompton Road, past the window displays at Harrods (Video to be posted separately) and into Hyde Park. We followed the crowd carrying Union Jack flags and found a place to sit on the grass. We could see the large video screens that were showing everything going on at Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace. The crowd was amazing. At one point the sound cut out and everybody groaned in unison, but it was quickly restored and the merriment of the occasion resumed! All in all it was a fabulous time, what an experience, bucket list moment, not soon to be forgotten, and all that jazz.



I hope that my DVR did it's job and I can watch it all again when I get home. I would love to see what all the guests were wearing and the commentary that the US press added to it! I am so picking up tomorrow's papers to read all about it!

We left the celebration when the Queen returned to Buckingham Palace, we had more items to cross off our original must do on this trip list! We then walked to the Peter Pan monument, via the Serpentine Gallery in Kensington Gardens, walked along the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Walk, past a few more monuments, back to the Albert Memorial, around the Royal Albert Hall, past the Imperial College of Science and Technology, the Science Museum, and into the Victoria and Albert Museum. Just writing that makes me tired, training walk anybody?

We spent two hours in the V&A then had the cupcakes we purchased earlier as an afternoon pick me up before we headed to Harrods. Can I just tell you my feet felt inadequate in my walking shoes as I was salivating over all the pretty shoes.


I took notes, not to worry I will be purchasing some of these in the future, just not at London prices. Heals, pretty colors, gem encrusted artwork for the feet. It took a lot of to get me out of that department. Then it was off to the book section, and there both Pam and I needed to be mindful of the clock, otherwise we might still be there. A quick run though the antique section, the fine art is to die for, there was one piece I liked, downside it cost as much as our B&B is for the week we are here. This is the problem with being a responsible adult. Then finally a run though the gift/souvenir section and we really needed to head back and drop off our purchases so we could make it to the theater!


Now, we are sitting at Wicked during intermission. This is now one of Pam's favorite productions! One more day, and I think we have a lot to squeeze in to the next 36 hours!

Ok, Wicked is over, and it is most positively Pam's favorite EVER. She can't stop smiling!


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Location:London

Harrods window display

Here is what we walked past this morning on our way to Hyde Park for the royal wedding.

It is a little jumpy, and just over 5 minutes long.



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Day 6

April 28, 2011

Today we took a coach tour to Windsor, Stonehenge, and Bath. There are pros and cons to every coach tour. We could tell from the start that is was going to have some cons. We had not even left Victoria Coach Station before the woman in front of us was getting off the bus to use the facilities. Were we not waiting for 30+ minutes before they called our tour to take care of things!!!

We were then about 20 minutes late in leaving London! But we were off to Windsor! When we arrived the Union Jack was flying over the castle, so we knew that the Queen was not there. She was probably in London for everything that leads up to tomorrow's wedding. I wonder if there is a rehearsal dinner tonight?

We quickly toured the Castle, State Apartments, Queen Mary's Dollhouse and saw the changing of the Guard. Then we had to hurry back to our bus for departure. (Another con you need to speed walk through attractions.)

We only left a few minutes after we were scheduled to, but it was off to our "traditional pub lunch". Fish and chips, with a soda and no dessert because I was not willing to pay an addition 4£ for something I should not eat! What was not clear was that the soda was also an additional charge! We then got to wait while our tour guide had to explain this more than once to everybody so that the pub would be paid so we could leave. (Pam heard this before she came back to the bus so we were not the individuals holding up the group!)


Then it was off to Stonehenge. It was amazing to see this in person! It really is just a bunch of stones up on their edges in the middle of a field, with a road right next it. I was still awed by the experience!


Finally we were off to Bath. Our tour was just to the city, so Pam and I decided to tour the Roman Baths and the Bath Abbey in the hour and forty minutes we had there. The Roman Baths have me yearning for a Spa day! I might just have to go try Banya 5 when I get home!



Then we had just enough time for a quick coffee/ice cream stop before it was back on the bus and back to London. Where the tour bus dropped us off right at the South Kensington tube stop. Our quickest return home yet!

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Location:Windsor, Stonehenge, and Bath

Day 5

April 27, 2011

Dates might be a good thing, as I have used all my international data for this month and am now trying to be REALLY good about using the WiFi!

Morning came really early today, I was ready for a nap when I woke up! We started our day on the London Eye, followed by a stroll along the Embankment on the Thames. When we reached Cleopatras Needle we took a little break to admire it.



Then we had lunch a the Ye Old Cheshire Cheese. What a historic literary location! Traditional pub fare was consumed.

After lunch we made it to our destination for the day St. Paul's Catherdral. What an amazing house of worship. Our entrance fee covered the audio guide, what a beautiful Catherdral. After touring the main area I walked the 253 up to the Whispering Gallery, where if you whisper something the person a crossed the Gallery can here what you said! Then I went up the next set of stairs, 152 this time to see the sights from outside of the Dome!


What a view, by now I was running short on time to meet up with Pam so I headed down. I met up with Pam as she was headed up to the whispering gallery, so we extended our meeting time so we could finish seeing what we wanted to see! Then it was off to the Crypt, I saw Christopher Wren, Wellington, and Nelson's tombs. Churchill's gate and saw the timeline of the Cathedral before I met up with Pam for a tour through the gift store. We then decided to have Afternoon Tea at the Restaurant at St Paul's.

After tea we crossed the Millennium Bridge towards the Tate Modern, where the classic line of the day happened:

P - What time does the Tate close?
M - It's only four, I am sure it does not close until five.
P - It's five oh five.
M - It's only five, I'm sure it doesn't close until six.

Luckily I was right, it does not close until six. We were heading back so I could look for a Postcard of the Sunflower Seeds by Ai WeiWei. There were none, so now I am trying to figure out how to get a poster home.

We then headed down to the New Globe Theater, hoping to tour the museum before our performance, but that museum does close at five! We then found a table in the cafe so we could write in our journals, write postcards, and read a little before seeing Alls Well That Ends Well. It was a great Elizabethan performance!


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Location:London

Day 4

My feet hurt....the end.


Pam says I can't leave it at that. Maybe I can ask the following question.

"Are we there yet?"

Pam says "No rest for the wicked."

--------------------------------------

So as we sit at dinner on Day 4, and I have Pam double check my english and grammar, I am reminded how old I am getting. My feet hurt, my legs hurt, my shoulder is loving me toting my huge daybag around and adding trinkets to it as we go. Who knew 35 was going to be this way. And technically I am not 35 until July!

So again today we were up and out by 9:30am. We said goodbye to the people who are leaving the Aster House today, we are hoping that the people who replace them are just as willing to share their information about the city. Then we headed back to TKTS to get tickets for tonight, we wanted Wicked tickets, but they are not being sold at TKTS. Tonight we picked something called Betty Blue Eyes, it is about a pig and a royal wedding.

Then we were going to walk over to the theater where Wicked was playing to get tickets -

"I interrupt this post to say Pam had received her second wind ... I might kick her, if only my legs would work."

- only to find out that the Apollo Victoria is no where near Leister Square. So we got back on the Tube, headed toward Tower Hill for the London Walks Wednesday tour of the London Tower. So I might admit at this point that I was navigating, and so we checked the schedule again and Pam reminded me that today is Tuesday. Oops!

We headed to the Tower of London anyway and arrived just in time for the Yeoman's tour. As we were entering we were warned that an American television program was recording there this afternoon. It was Hanna Anderson(?) With the CBS Morning Show.

The Yeoman's tour was engaging and entertaining. After seeing the Chapel where Anne Boleyn is entombed we moved on to view the crown jewels! After a visit to the gift store we headed to the River Clipper for a ride to Greenwich. We lunched at the Old Greenwich Brewery, toured the painted room, and chapel at the Old Royal Navel College before heading up the hill to the Greenwich Observatory. Where we stood on the Prime Meridian. Then we headed down the hill for a tour around the Fan Museum. Now it was time to get on the DLR and head back into the city. At this point I was tired and grumpy, and it was about 5pm so the Tube was packed with people heading home, we decided to go to Victoria Station and find the Apollo Victoria to see about getting tickets for Wicked, since it had been on our minds all day. It was our lucky day, we were able to secure pretty good seats for Friday evening. Fighting the crowds again we headed back to Leicester Square (haven't we been here before?!?) to find a quick bite before the Theater.

We decided that we needed to stop at the first place we saw, and ended up at an Italian place called Bella Italia, good food, quick service, and I started to compose this post.

I continued this post as we were walking to the theater, which meant we got a little off course, hence the interruption above, sort of like texting and driving, posting and walking can be a challenge. While we were making our way back to the google maps appropriate walking directions, we found an outdoor store. My dear friend Pam suggested that we stop to see if they had my beloved toe socks, alas they did not, but they did have a blister care kit and smart wool running socks in pink.

Finally we made it to the theater and enjoyed a fabulous production! A must see. This is its first run and I think it will last!

Location:London, Greenwich

Socks

But I digress from the travel updates, day 4 is causing some distress because of my lack of focus.

So I live and die by my toe socks, anybody who has walked on the Susan G. Komen 3 Day for a Cure knows I preach about the toe socks. As I was getting ready to leave yesterday, day 3 of Pam and Meri's 35th Birthday Adventure in London, I went to put on my blue and white striped toe socks only to discover that I brought two left toe socks.



Now since we discovered in the post about Shoes that I did not pack well for this trip, two left socks should not surprise any of the followers of this blog.

So this afternoon as I was leading Pammy down the primrose path of "I know where we are going, so why follow the map" we found an outdoor wear store. Being the resourceful women we are, we went into see if they carried the Injinji brand of toe socks, they do not.

They do carry the smartwool socks, and I am now the proud owner of a pair of pink smartwool running socks. Which claim to have a blister free fit. We will see if this claim is true.



I'll keep you posted.

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Day 3

Up bright and early again today, since we are three days into this adventure I think I can safely say that Pam and I did a great job adjusting to the time change. We had breakfast at the B&B again this morning and had lovely conversations with a couple from Cleveland and another couple from San Francisco. It started with somebody asking which day it had rained and I piped up with Saturday, we remembered it well from our seats on the upper level of an open tour bus. Great conversation ensued, and we traded tips and tricks for traveling around London.

Pam and I then made reservations for our coach tour on Thursday to Windsor, Stonehenge and Bath, before heading down to Westminster to take a London Walks (www.walks.com) tour of Westminster Abbey. This is a great company, no reservations needed, just show up at the designated tube stop and find the people with the fliers!

Westminster is showing signs of the impending nuptials, there are scaffoldings with TV shows already broadcasting from London. We kept seeing cameras and interviews happening on every street corner. There was quite a crowed of tv reporters and video cameras around the Actors who played Will and Kate in the Lifetime movie.



Entering the Abby was quiet in comparison to all the commotion going on outside. It was also extremely full of tourists trying to view the Abbey before it closes for the wedding. When our tour was complete we headed towards White Hall and the Mall. It was a bright and sunny day for a leisurely stroll. We lunched at the Crypt at St Martins in the Field, the went up to TKTS and got tickets to see Momma Mia, Pam had never seen it on the stage.

We then journeyed back to Trafalger Square and to the National Gallery, where we viewed the entire works currently on display. Pam's mother, Penny, was recently in London and provided her insight into the exhibits, so we reviewed her recommendations and now we have some observations and recommendations to share with her. One of my observations Is that you are not allowed to take pictures in the gallery. I did sneak one, can you name the painting this dog is from? It is one of my favorites!


After we closed down the museum we had a pre-theater dinner at Wagamama. Needless to say there was a little sake involved, some really good dumplings and fabulous ramen, and two large bottles of water.

And finally we were off to see Momma Mia!


As we entered we were told that our seats were through the bar, is that an invitation or what!


The performance was fantastic, we sang and danced our way through it, I was amazed that a gentleman one person away from me snored his way through the performance!

Location:London

Shoes

Let me fill you in on the shoe issue, I came to London with three pairs of shoes. My 3day walking shoes, a new pair of Merrell hiking shoes, and a pair of my favorite Vera Wang flats. I wore the Merrell's on the plane and they sort of rubbed my right little toe the wrong way, causing a hot spot, so as soon as we got to our room I changed to my 3day shoes (a new pair of Brooks that I broke in just before leaving home) and we went off on our Day 1 adventures.

It is now Day 2 and I am getting dressed in a dressy casual outfit appropriate for touring around London and then off to dinner. I pull out my flats and head to breakfast, while sitting at breakfast I notice that I have on two DIFFERENT Vera Wang flats. Yes, that is right, same shoe different color and size! One was olive and a size 9.5 and one is iridescent size 10. So, I change back into my 3day shoes.

The important thing when your are training for the 3day is foot care, and letting your feet tell you when they need a break and being able to change shoes when needed. Hence the trip to Harrod's yesterday, where if I get shoes I know I am going to be paying DOUBLE what I would pay at home for a pair of replacement shoes! And to make things worse Harrod's was closed for the holiday.

At the moment I have one pair of shoes to wear around London, and they totally make me look like an American tourist, and I try really hard not to look like an American tourist when I travel! Then as we were getting on the train to Pinner yesterday I didn't notice where I was stepping and stepped in something gross and disgusting, in my only pair of shoes. Needless to say I am sure this is not going to be my last post about shoes this week.

And if you were wondering, yes the hot spot turned into a lovely blister. It popped today, Day 3, as we were out walking....











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Location:London

Day 2

We started the day with a lovely breakfast at our B&B and planned our day, Knightsbridge, Harrod's, the British Museum, and the Easter dinner with the Remick's in Pinner.

We decided that a 3day training walk was in order so we walked to the Brompton Oratory, we arrived just in time for the 10 am family mass and where able to cross two things off our list for the day, seeing the Oratory and making it to Easter mass. After mass we walked down to Harrod's to see if it was open, it was closed for the day. We then jumped on the Original Bus Tour, making use of the tickets from yesterday to the British Museum. We elbowed our way up to see the Rosetta Stone then explored the rest of the museum! We enjoyed lunch in the cafe and then continued in the museum seeing the living and dying exhibit and then the Asia exhibit.



We then got back on the Original Bus Tour bus (when you buy a ticket that is good for 24 hours you want to get you money's worth) and listened to more information about sites in London before we started our two transfer journey out to Pinner! We even got to see an amazing bunny on roller skates parade!

When we arrived in Pinner Tina picked us up at the station and we returned to her lovely house where we talked and eat and drank the night away. It was great to see her and her family. It was a very late evening, Pam hadn't seen Tina since the summer of 1995, and it has been about three years since I had seen her last! We closed down the metro, and ended up in a taxi from Piccadilly Circus back to the Aster House. All in all it was a very full day!


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London 2011 Day 1

Day 1 of the Pam and Meri 35th Birthday Extravaganza in London.

We arrived at Heathrow airport bright and EARLY, it was a bumpy flight, but the bumps allowed us to arrive 45 minutes early that scheduled. We cleared customs in no time, and we were on the Tube headed to South Kensington before we knew it! While on the Tube I looked for my camera to snap a picture and realized that it was still on the plane.

After a quick stop at Starbucks to caffeinate we headed to the Aster House, planning on dropping our bags and coming back later to check in, luck was with us and our room was available so we were able to check in and collect our bearings before we headed out for the day.

We started by exploring Portobello Road, from antiques to fresh fruits and veggies it was a site to see. Then we continued on to the Tate British where we grabbed lunch and then took the tour of the exhibits.

We then jumped on the river clipper to go visit the Tate Modern. We were entertained by the young child who did NOT want to come for the ride, as his father carried him onto the boat he grabbed onto the gangway handles and then the door jam expressing his displeasure about coming aboard, and then we were off. It was a lively cruise down the Thames.

We landed right in front of the Globe theater, and being William Shakespeare's birthday we went in and tried to get tickets to the evening performance of Hamlet, sadly it was sold out. We were able to get tickets for All's Well That Ends Well for Wednesday evening. Then we tried to take a tour of the theater, but there were no tours as they are in rehearsal.

After a quick ice cream stop, the temperature was in the 70's, we headed to the Tate Modern. The exhibit in the Turbine Gallery was by Ai WeiWei, a Chinese Artist, who was arrested by the Chinese government as he was boarding a plane in Hong Kong in April, he has not been heard from since. The exhibit was millions of porcelain sunflower seeds, each one was hand painted lying one the ground. We explored the rest of the museum.


We continued our journey around London by heading to Leicester Square to the TKTS booth to check out what was available, but our tired bodies told us we would not make it through a performance tonight. We decided that a Bus tour would let us rest and keep us awake for the next few hours. We took the Original Tour and bought a 24 Hour pass. We started at Leicester Square, saw Big Ben, Westminster Abby, Parliament, Buckingham
Palace, Green Park, and a variety of other sites before it started to down pour, we took this as a sign to get something to eat and then go to bed. Tomorrow will be another day of exploring!


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Location:London

Planning, planning and more planning!

I decided to start this blog, two years ago with the best of intentions. I have recently remember that I had started it and I have been delinquent about maintaining the blog. With the best of intentions I could say that I've been busy, life got in the way, I've been travelling so much that I have been away from a computer, I haven't been travelling so there was nothing to post, the dog ate my homework, but that would all be a lie or half truth. I have just plain forgotten what my intention was.

To improve this situation I have decided that for Lent this year I will get this up and running, and since I will actually be travelling at the end of Lent it seems like the appropriate time to begin this blog again. So for the next 40 days I will update on past trips and adventures, fill you in on plans for future travels, life goals, my bucket list, and travel tricks and tools that have assisted with my adventures.

I hope you enjoy the them.