Christmas Vacation, 2009 - Day Three

Good Morning, London!

Since we weren't on an a moment by monent timeline (we had a schedule, but we allowed for relaxation, etc.), we slept in a wee bit. Took a bus to Waterloo Station and walked across the Thames River. We could see so many wonderful sights up and down the river from the pedestrian bridge that was constructed adjacent to a train tressel.

Our short walk took us to Trafalgar Square with it's statues and fountains. Several art museums, churchs, and embassies ring the square and made for some pretty great pictures.

We decided as a group to hike down to Buckingham Palace from there (1.2 miles). It was terrific to walk and talk and catch-up with each other. St. James Park was simply lovely. The Queen was in residence as evidenced by the Standard flying.

After a hot lunch, we were just a couple blocks away from the Victoria Apollo Theatre. After checking their coats and bags, Jack, Marie, Joe, and Flower enjoyed the London ensemble of "Wicked." We were so happy they could attend!

John and I walked for a bit, then took a taxi to Harrod's Department Store. It was far more than I could ever have expected. There nearly wasn't anything we couldn't buy there - designer fashions, furniture, jewelry, cooked ham, Krispy Kreme, etc. I didn't make any purchases; justing walking through was enough.

After that, we took a train to the London Eye where we met with the kids. It was spectacular all lit up. We believed we had scheduled a flight on the Eye, but their call center wasn't up to speed on the abbreviated Christmas Eve hours of operation - they suggested we return on 26 December, first thing in the morning.

A take-away chicken dinner and some television capped the busy day. It seemed like a long day because of all the walking, at the same time, we had seen and done so much.

Headed to the pedestrian bridge to cross the Thames River.

How many Murphy's can fit in a telephone booth?


These two are so handsome.

Not a thing wrong in being a tourist.

On approach to Buckingham Palace.

Outside Buckingham Palace - cuttin' up and havin' fun.

What's for lunch? Fish and chips, of course.

Joe, Flower, Marie, Jack

THE department store.

Walking and talking with my people is where it's at.

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.

Christmas Vacaction, 2009 - Day One

I don't even know where to start when it comes to blogging about our Christmas vacation. We put the kids in charge of planning events since we weren't willing to spend a truck-load of money on a trip and then hear somebody mutter, "We didn't do one thing I was interested in."

So, we caucaused and weighed time against budget against cool factor. Bottom line, we had some good times and made some great memories.

Traveling 1st class by rail ....

Heidelberg, Germany to Paris, France (1 day)
London, England (4 days)
Brussels, Belgium (1 day)
back home to Heidelberg.

In case you were watching the international news, the Chunnel underneath the English Channel had been shut down just days prior to our trip, but was open for limited service when we were scheduled to travel. Crowded, yes - but we made it through safely.

PARIS ITINERARY

Arrive Gare de L'est

Check into hotel

Ste. Sulpice

Louvre

Lunch on the Left Bank

Notre Dame

Eiffel Tower

Arc de Triomphe

Dinner

Metro back to hotel

Platform leaving Heidelberg for Mannheim.

Platform leaving Mannheim going to Paris

Arrived in Paris

Gare de L'Est, Paris



Yes, it seemed like Paradise.

John standing on the balcony of our hotel room.

Ste. Sulpice (think, DaVinci Code)

Flower, Marie, Me - Love this picture.

Walking from Metro to Louvre

Louvre is closed on Tuesdays (we knew that), but wanted to get some pics.

Notre Dame - free guided tour in English. Suh-weeet.

Eiffel Tower as dusk. Spectacular.

In the lift on the way to the 1st deck of the Tower, of course we took another lift to the summit.

John, Jack, Flower, Joe, Marie

Arc de Triomphe

Paris with all my people at Christmas-time is definately where it's at.

Pictures = 1000 Words

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then I think I'll keep it simple.

Some pearls I've learned along the way:

Families can be simple but not easy.

Parenting is guerilla warfare.

Find the joy and bring your kids along.

Quantity time matters.

John and Jack waiting for Marie at the Frankfurt Airport... it was 5:45am.

Me and Jack - we know the flight has landed, but she's working her way through immigration and baggage claim. Looks like I could use a Diet Coke, eh?

Marie!

John took this great picture from the other direction - with Jack snapping the camera, I guess the other folks were looking to see which rock star was arriving.

Jack, Marie, and me.

John and Marie - don't they look happy?



So glad she had a great semester at the LDS BC - gotta love Christmas break in Germany.

The casually-strolling-back-to-the-parking-garage look.

I added it since because I can still embarass some of my people. ☺

After a quick nap, I drug Marie up to the Heidelberg Int'l School Fall Festival. Flower's grade was in charge of face painting... Marie was such a good sport to get her face painted too.

Joe and Flower - terrific students and a real support to the school. I love these guys.

Marie, Joe, and Flower

Marie, "I look funny without my glasses."

Flower, "Are we done yet?"

Joe, "Last one, then I'm outta here, right?"

FINALLY - all four together!

Joe, Jack, Flower, & Marie.

My people finding their way back to one continent is where it's at.