And So It Ends

Our final day in London/Europe/Vacation was a fairly mellow one.   It began with a run through Hyde Park which is not far from our Hotel on Beaufort Gardens near Harrods.  A trip around the lake in the middle, a view of the Italian Gardens and the Queen's Temple and the enjoyment of many ducks and swans.

We then had breakfast in a traditional English Pub where several guests were enjoying beers with their hashers - we opted for milk and OJ instead.   Then the boys were off to the Science Museum and the girls were off to the museum of shopping.   OK, not really a museum but a trip to Knotting Hill Portobello Street market which is sort of like a high end flea market of sorts.   We wandered the stalls and checked out the merchandise and then took a stroll through the quaint streets of Knotting Hill.  No Hugh Grant or Julia Roberts though.

We returned in time to get our cream tea - one last day of their amazing scones.  We were going to check out "Cider Month" back at the pub.   Cider is much bigger in Europe than it is in the US and many folks drink it in lieu of beer.  But we got lazy and just enjoyed some sticky date pudding instead.

Farewell to Europe - we have had a fabulous time.  We are looking forward to returning to our friends, family and furry pets.   Jack is particularly excited to return to the chickens, see how much they have grown and begin the egg watch.   Hopefully soon!

Cheerio until next time.

Eye on London

On Friday we headed over to the Eye of London to take a ride high above the City.  We had our tickets in advance and got there on the early side so the lines were not bad.   When we finished our ride (it takes about 1/2 hour) the lines were much longer so we were very happy with our timing.   We took the tube to get there changing stations along the way and are feeling like old pros.  It sure is a lot of work to get around this City though - you have to walk to the tube station (which can be a bit far), often take more than one line (and there is quite a bit of walking and stairs in between lines) and then walk once you get to your final station to get to your destination.   I'm happy with all the walking but you can't really get anywhere quickly.   You can take a cab but there is lots of traffic and they are super expensive.  The Eye was a lot of fun and we enjoyed to views along the Thames.

Afterwards we continued on our world tour of Aquariums and saw the London Aquarium.   It is quite nicely done with different sections like the rain forest and the Arctic grouping the sea creatures from each region and decorating the displays accordingly.

Beautiful Brussels

So many beers - so little time!  Of course if you get tired of
beer there is always champagne!

On Thursday we decided we needed to add another country to the list of those we visited on this journey so we hopped the 8 a.m. train to Brussels.  The que for passport control at the train station was disorganized mayhem but we made it through and boarded a comfy Eurostar and sped through the English countryside, through the chunnel to France and ended up in Belgium.  We walked into the main square which is actually quite breath taking.   There are gilded historic buildings every direction you turn.  We are only sad that we won't be there a few weeks from now when they create an enormous carpet the size of the square made out of live begonias.   Apparently 80% of the world's begonias come from Belgium - who knew?

What people do know about Belgium is that it is famous for its chocolate and there were shops every where you turned.  And not just your basic chocolate (Godiva was originally from Belgium) but ever type of chocolate you can imagine.   Of course we were forced to go to the Chocolate museum and it gave us a chance to compare it to the one in Barcelona.  Sadly I have to admit that Barcelona has them beat - bigger, more modern and with WAY WAY more chocolate sculptures.  We did however get a demonstration of how filled chocolates are made which we did not get in Spain.

This is a sewer cover - just had to take a photo!

They start with 5 kilo (over 10 pounds) chocolate blocks!

We then moved on from the chocolate to another famous export of Belgium - beer!  There are not quite as many beer stores as there are chocolate stores but there are quite a few and one boasting over 250 varieties.   We also learned that each brand is supposed to be served in its own unique glass.   Not sure how the bars can stock all of those.  We did our best to try them out (just 4 different types) but my cherry beer was voted the favorite.  We topped it off with Belgium waffles of course!

We then went looking for the Manequin Pis fountain which translates into "Little Boy Pee'ing".   You guessed it - it is a statute of a naked little boy with the water for the fountain coming from you know where.   It is very famous and there were tons of tourists in the tiny street where it is located but it is very small and not particularly impressive.   But now we can say that we saw it!   The funny thing is the chocolate versions and most of the tourist statues of it were almost bigger than the actual fountain!

We then walked around the various buildings and from one park to another ending in Leopold Park of course.   After that we had a cool drink while we waited for the train back to London.   All in all - a good day.

Lovely London

Despite our late arrival in London we had to get up on the early side on Wednesday to meet our guide Deborah for our all day tour of London.   We packed a ton into one day both because she was only available today and also because our time here is short.   Our hotel is in Knightsbridge right around the corner from Harrods.  We took the tube to Westminster Abbey where we received the grand tour.   No photos allowed inside so you'll just have to remember it from watching the royal weddings on TV.   It is quite a lovely church and we saw the coronation thrown, the choir, the gold inlaid altar, many, many tombs of kings and famous folks, the tomb of the unknown soldier (which is the only one on the floor that no one - not even royalty - walks on), the science section where Darwin, Sir Isaac Newton, Lord Kelvin and many others were buried and the literary section where Kipling, Chaucer, Lewis Carroll, James Joyce, Byron and many others were buried.  Then we raced over to watch the changing of the guards.   We saw them practicing near the barracks, watched them march down the street with their own marching band and even saw the mounted guards heading down to take their positions.

We then headed through the park, past the government buildings, 10 Downing Street, the monument to the women who served in the war and the like.   We then jumped back on the tube to find our way to the Tower of London.   We had lunch in a restaurant next to a church after which Deborah mentioned that the restaurant was in the graveyard.   The kids were none too thrilled!   We toured the Tower, made sure to see the instruments of torture for Jack's benefit, the crown jewels, the ravens of the tower and the king's apartments.   We had a fabulous view of the London bridge and the last remaining battleship.  At the tower they are "planting" over 880,000 red ceramic poppies to commemorate all the English soldiers who died in World War I and afterwards they are going to auction them off.   They are still working on the plantings but it is quite incredible to see.

We then walked past the amazing new construction in London - the building called the Gherkin which just went on the market yesterday - anyone interested?   The building that was called the walkie talkie because it is sort of shaped like one but then in the heat of last summer it's concave front focused the heat intensely and actually melted a Jaguar car!  Now they all it the Walkie Scortchie.   Then there is the Cheese Grater which is almost done, the Shard that looks unfinished on the top and the Lloyds of London building that is build with it's "insides on the outside".   I'm not sure I've been to any other city where there are so many unique buildings with bizzare names.   Also there are ancient churches right up against the modern buildings.   Quite cool.

Awesome!  Implements of Torture this way!!

We then took a tour through the Leadenhall Market where the first Harry Potter shot the Diagonalley scenes.  Finally we went through the old stock exchange which is now high end restaurants and shops but there are fabulous murals painted all around the building hidden in a restaurant that most folks probably never see.   We took the tube back to our hotel where we were served "cream tea".   I don't know the difference of that from high tea but we had delicious biscuits and tea.  The girls are excited because the hotel has a free bar from 3 - 11 p.m.!

Tonight we are off to Covent Garden for dinner and entertai

Me thinks the kids have had enough!

Diagon Alley Location

Harrods at Night