BEHIND THE BOOKCASE .... attic living in HEIDELBERG

Monday, January 11, 2010

Christmas Vacation, 2009 - Day Two

The second day of our vacation was a travel day. We woke early, made it downstairs to the breakfast offered (french bread, butter, jam, yogurt, coffee, juice). It wasn't what we're accustomed to in our travels, but it was enough to keep a body going.

Rail travel through the Chunnel was a bit delayed, but we made it in fine fashion. Traveling through the EU countries is seamless, but Great Britain is not an European Union country so we met with passport control and had a currency change. BUT, all of us could read the signs, watch english language television, and eavesdrop on nearby conversations.

Because of the delays, we arrived later than planned and needed to truncate our activities. After checking into our hotel, we set out on foot to find a little hole-in-the-wall serving fish-n-chips (not a pub) and added a ride on a double-decker bus for good measure. Success! Joe found a clean little place for dinner and we took our time eating and talking. It was fantastic to just sit around and share old stories and new ones.

On the way back to our hotel we stopped at a 24-hr market and bought a few snack provisions and Tylenol to tide us over. We stayed up way past midnight to keep the conversation going. The weather was rainy.

Writing out postcards before leaving Paris.


Gare de Lyon - This is the international control area for trains going to London.


We had a few minutes and found a nice spot on the floor to relax.


St. Pancras Station, London, England. "Meeting Place"



Jack, Marie, Flower, Joe, John - St. Pancras Station



Waiting to purchase the 'Oyster Card' for public transportation to move about London.



Joe about to Harry Potter himself.


Waiting at the London Bridge underground tube stop for a connecting train.





Fish and Chips fancy style - with beans and a salad.
I still think one of my favorite memories of the trip was when we sat around for hours at this little restaurant in Southwark - eating dinner, catching up, laughing, asking new questions, finding old answers, and the time spent sitting with family.
Traveling to London with my people is totally where it's at.

2 comments:

  1. Wow, I thought we had fun at Christmas but ours was TOTALLY boring compared to yours. How fun!!!! Love these pictures. You guys are the best. Thanks for the post card!

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  2. Wow this vacation looks marvelous! What a fun way to spend the holidays. I love all the pictures! And you do have a good looking family! Mucho love, L

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