Last Day ... Best of All!

We've had an amazing time with two of our good friends who went with us to London, Dennis and Elaine Owen. We've known them for years! Dennis and Lynn have worked together for years at various engineering firms. They do a little side business together and that's how we're paying for this marvelous trip. They have been wonderful traveling companions. We make a great team! Dennis and Lynn look like they could be brothers. I have to be careful when we travel with them because sometimes I almost put my arms around Dennis because I mistake him for Lynn!I would have to say that today has been the best day of all. We took the underground to Waterloo Station and bought train tickets to Hampton Court. It was without a doubt, the most amazing experience. When we first got off the train and walked across the Thames River we got our first glimpse of the castle. It was by far larger than I had ever imagined!

We first toured the king's kitchens. The inside of the castle was stone walls and floors with extremely high ceilings and fireplaces that were larger than several people put together. It took 200 kitchen staff to cook for 600 people, twice a day!



Just a typical room in Mary's quarters. Hampton Court is where Anne Boleyn and Katherine Parr lived as well as Mary and I think Elizabeth lived. And of course Henry the 8th lived here some of the time. His other wives may have lived here too. William the third had quarters here too. The living accomodations for the elite were beyond words!

Queen Mary's bed chamber.

I acutally took this picture through a glass windowpane from the King's quarters. Aren't the gardens amazing!

Here's the four of us in front of the palace.

I was REALLY scared when I saw Henry the Eighth roaming the halls of the palace. I ran to get in front of him to take his picture. He said, "Have a very good day, Ma'am." I did a little dipsy do and couldn't even eak out a hello. I was afraid he would say, "Off with your head ... for taking my picture!" He actually looks a lot more handsome than the pictures painted of the real Henry the Eighth!


This is the back of the palace which faces the most amazing grounds I've ever seen!






There's that word I HATE ... only I can't figure out why in the heck I'd want to use a disabled toilet???



It was a beautiful sunny day and towards late afternoon the clouds started rolling in. But we never got rain. This is walking along the Thames to catch the train. What a beautiful ending to a beautiful day!

We have a long day tomorrow. Catch our ride to the airport at 8:00 a.m. and then our flight leaves for Houston and it's over 10 hours! Horrors ... and then another 3 1/2 to home. We're gonna' be tired, but happy from the most amazing trip we've ever had!

Hope we can come back again to see all of the amazing things we didn't get to see. Thanks for all of your suggestions for our site seeing. They really helped us decide what to see and do.

A Glorius Two Days!

I was too tired to post last night so now I have two days worth of activities to tell you about.

We left for Bath Spa on the train Friday morning. It took us just a little under two hours to get there. It was a smooth and wonderful ride traveling through the country side of England. It was just what I have always imagined ... rolling, green hills, grazing sheep and cattle, lucious green grass and trees everywhere. It reminded us a lot of Oregon, except for the cottage homes with the thatched roofs. Yes ... we saw a few of them.

Here are the Roman baths that have been excavated ... very interesting. Look at the green mineral water which is unsafe for consumption or even placing your hands into it. (I did! It was nice and warm.)

The Bath Abbey is behind us. We were allowed to tour the abbey which was built in the 900's. I still can't believe there are building still standing that are that old!

We were just in time to see a wonderful procession marching from the abbey. This was a memoriam to the soldiers who gave their lives on "D" Day, which was yesterday!

For all of you Jane Austin fans, this is the building she lived in while living in Bath. She mentions Bath in a couple of her novels. She loved living in the country more than in Bath. She lived in number 4. The bus was going too fast for me to be able to get a picture of her door, but it looks just like this and is in the same building ... close enough!

A view of the River Avon in Bath. Isn't this gorgeous?




This is where we're staying ... right across the street from the Queen's Royal Mews ...where her horses, carriages, and cars are kept. We toured this this morning. We really enjoyed it! We tried to figure out how to get to a chapel for our church services in Hyde Park, but the web said all of the meetings started at 9:00 a.m. and we were too late, so we toured the Queen's stables, instead. :)
This is for you, Sarah. There were only four horses that we saw. Most of the Queen's horses are kept at Windsor Castle where there is land for them to run and play. The horses were beautiful and were kept in gorgeous, titled stables. The queen loves her horses and dogs and has quite a few.

The glass carriage ... the one that carried Princess Diana and Prince Charles when they got married! The queen has several state carriages and we were able to view all of them. She even had air conditioning installed in one of them and lights. They're very elegant, but look quite small and uncomfortable to ride in.


The gold carriage which was made for Queen Victoria .... amazing!

This is for you ... D.J. ... a 1951 Bentley. It was absolutely beautiful which white leather interior. The Queen still uses it. It's painted the royal color, purple.

After the Royal Mews we rode the underground tube all over the 'flippin' place. We had a blast, but if I have to walk down or up one more flight of stairs, I'm going to be crawling on my hands and knees. By the way ... what's with no benches anywhere ... at least hardly any. And trash cans are few and far between. I can say though ... that the subways are much cleaner here than in New York City!

We ate at the first Hard Rock cafe, which is here in London. They even have a vault in the downstairs of their store where we saw scads of memorabilia ... guitars, records, costumes, and etc. of famous rock stars. Sorry, Jaron ... I never saw a bear to buy in their store!

This is for you, Nat ...John Bonham's drum set ... drummer for Led Zepplin.

O.K. another thing ... bathrooms are few and far between and there's no signage pointing to them. At least we couldn't figure it out. The guys would make me ask where the restrooms were because you don't say bathroom or restrooms. It's toilet or W.C., or lavatories. Of course they told me to say 'toilet' and didn't tell me that I could use those other two words. I was so embarrased to ask where the 'toilet' was. I HATE saying that word. I would almost whisper the word 'toilet' when asking where it was and always the person I was asking would say, "WHAT DID YOU SAY?" I would have to repeat the word 'toilet' again. However, the last time I had to ask where they were, the cutest artist said that he would show me the way, and he did! Isn't that the sweetest thing?

While viewing the Royal Mews, which is part of Buckingham Palace, we had the opportunity of sitting on the Royal Throne. Here we are ... in all our glory! Here's our friend Elayne pointing the way.

Aaahh ... sweet mystery of life!


Well, it was a long wonderful two days. We're planning on going to visit Windsor Castle out in the country tomorrow. We'll ride the train out there. I wanted to go to Bosham to visit my ancestor's home, but it wouldn't be very fun for the rest of the group, and nothing to do when we got there. Oh well... maybe next time. I can't wait to come back. This is an amazing place. However, London city has tons and tons of people, lots of traffic, and lots of tourists like me!

See you tomorrow!

Pics from London!

The Tower Bridge, not London Bridge!

Cruisin' down the Thames! Pic of Parliament House and Big Ben.

It's sooo amazing here. Imagine ... we're seeing buildings that were built in the 1200's. That's older than any building in the United States. The architecture is amazing, mixed with the old and the new. I just assumed that everything would be old, but there are some amazing, modern buildings here too.

The traffic is horrific! I'm sooo glad I didn't let your dad drive here, or Dennis for that matter! You'll be going along in one lane and all of a sudden it ends ... no warning ... it just ends. When you're riding in the top of a double decker bus it looks like you are going to hit the vehicle in front of you when coming to a stop. There were a few audible sighs heard on the bus when we thought we had a few close calls! No worries. We hear that phrase a lot. It's cute!

There's a LOT of people too. It reminds me a lot of walking the streets in Manhattan, New York. Only you're hearing a LOT of different languagues. This sounds like the melting pot of the world. Rarely do I hear a true British accent, and I long to hear their lovely lilt.

We're gettin' on a train tomorrow and riding to Bath, about a 90 minute ride. We're meeting some friends of Dennis and he's going to show us the sites in and around Bath. We should have some lovely pictures to share with you tomorrow.

Everyone is sooo nice and helpful. We are loving it here. You really need to save your money and come visit England. You'll love it!

Cheerio!

What a Day!

Oh what fun we had today. We can barely waddle back to our hotel!



The luggage came last night. Everything arrived in the suitcases, including my good ring! I really shouldn't carry my good jewelery in my checked luggage now, should I? Strange thing ... when I putting away my clothes I found two items that were wet and they were in the middle of the suitcase. Isn't that odd? I didn't have any liquids in the suitcase but it was raining really hard in Newark. I wonder if the suitcases sat out in the rain for a while in Newark. It was just odd that the middle things were wet. And Lynn's shirt, in his suitcase, had mouthwash all over it. Ha ha ha ha ... his little bottle of mouthwash leaked all over his shirt and smelled like Listerine.



My camera battery ran out last night and I went to get my charger and found I had brought the wrong one. So ... first thing this morning I had to find a camera store and buy a new charger for 40 pounds. That's about $60!!! Let me just say one thing ... it's not cheap to travel over here. But oh what fun! We used Elayne's camera and I haven't downloaded her pictures from her camera yet.



We had a tour bus pass, good for 24 hours, that was included in our trip package. What a way to go. We're staying in a very, nice part of London ... right next to Victoria Station and Buckingham Palace. Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Elton John, Madonna, and Joan Collins all have homes just a few blocks from our hotel. We got to see where they live on our tour. The bus was a hop on and hop off ... so you could hop off at the various drop off points, see your sight, and then jump back on the bus and continue on. We walked to the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben ... which is NOT the clock, but actually the bell inside the tower, and walked around Westminster Abbey. Then we went to the Tower of London. You could spend a day seeing everything there. It's actually a fortress with several buildings inside. We visited the Crown Jewels first. They were amazing! We saw the coronation robe of Queen Elizabeth and then all of the crowns are on exhibit there along with the septres encrusted with some of the largest diamonds in the world. There were also rubies and emeralds. To keep the people moving past the crowns you actually stepped onto a people mover which was going very slow.



The Tower of London was where some of the queens were beheaded, Katherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn. We saw the Bloody Tower and went into some of them and toured the White Castle where all of the armory was kept.

Then we boarded a boat which took us on a tour of the Thames. That was one of my favorite things to do. We rode up top. The weather was a little rainy on and off, but didn't keep us from enjoying the sights.

Did you know that the London Bridge is really in Lake Havasu, Arizona? A wealthy guy from the US thought he was buying the Tower Bridge but in reality bought the London Bridge and had it moved to Arizona. The Tower Bridge is the famous bridge you see in most of the pictures of London with the two towers, one on each end and a drawbridge in between. The suspension cables to the bridge are painted Tempting Turquoise because that was Queen Victoria's favorite color.

We toured the National Gallery where there are tons of famous paintings. The guys were pretty beat so Elayne and I hobbled up the stairs and with our maps in hand found the Reuben, Picasso, and Rembrandt paintings. Why are most of the paintings of naked men and women? And why are the women not very attractive in the paintings? In all honesty, there wasn't one painting I saw that I would like to hang on the walls of my home. There was one giant painting depicting a dragon eating two naked people. The head of the one body was laying on the ground and the dragon's claws were digging into the other body. It was horrid and frightening. Must mean something that I can't figure out!

O.K. ... so I told you about our tiny bathroom. Let me tell you about our strange tub. It's long and skinny and you have to climb over a high wall to get into the tub to take your shower. There's no shower curtain. Only a strange piece of glass with a hinge on it, which is only about 18" wide. It doesn't stop the water from hitting the toilet when you're showering, and you can't shut the glass because your body is in the way. I was just looking at the amenities that they re-stocked in our bathroom. Hmmmm ... I used body wash on my hair this morning. I thought it was shampoo! I thought it smelled awfully good for shampoo.

Kids, I forgot to give you a phone number at the hotel where we can be reached in case of an emergency. Our cell phones don't work here and we haven't found an international calling card yet. Please call Grandma and Grandpa to let them know we're doing great! Angie, how's Dieter boy? We're staying at the Rubens on Buckingham Palace Road and the phone is 020 7834 6600.

Oooh ... we ate downstairs in the Crypt of St Martins of the Fields ... and old chapel in Trafalgar Sqaure. I had the most amazing apple crumb pudding with a warm custard sauce on top. It was divine!

Well ... we're off to find something to eat tonight. Think we'll go down to Victoria area to find something good ... like Fish and Chips. Yum, yum.

Cheers! I'll post pics when I can download them.

Pussy Cat ... Pussy Cat ... Where Have You Been?

I've been to London to visit the queen!

We arrived safe and bright eyed and bushy tailed. Actually, we were sorta draggin' when we got here. Our flight from Salt Lake to Newark NJ was hot and crowded and I had to sit in a middle seat. Let me tell you .... a middle seat for a fat girl is pretty miserable. Oh blessed surgery ... can't wait to fly again when I don't need a seat belt extender!

Our flight from Newark to London was marvelous. We sat on the back row with 41 teenagers from Georgia who were going on a three week European vacation. They had a lot of energy but were good kids during the flight. We had the middle three seats to ourselves so we could stretch out and enjoy the ride. Each person had their own entertainment system in the back of the seat in front of them. We had over 300 movies we could choose from and they didn't even cost! Even though we were tired we both stayed up during the entire flight watching movies. I watched Bride Wars and Benjamin Button. I really liked Benjamin Button but it seemed like a really, long movie! Bride Wars was cute, but glad that I didn't pay to see it.

A little rummy after being up all night. Actually, they fed us dinner on the plane, turned off the lights for about two hours, turned on the lights and fed us breakfast to make us believe that we really had a full night. Everyone says to stay on London time when we arrive, so we did, sorta!

Notice we have no luggage! Everyone told us to pack light, so we did. All we had when we arrived was my backpack and Lynn's computer! Both of our suitcases were unaccounted for. Can you believe it ... both of them ... matching bags! Ooooh, my good ring was in one of them. Boy I'd better get it back!

Checked in at a very nice hotel right across the street from the Royal Mews. That's the queen's stables where the royal carriages and horses are kept. We arrived here around 9:00 a.m. but it was too early to check into our rooms so we decided to walk around and visit the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.

It was really a neat sight ... not very many visitors and a great time to take pictures. We were told to come back at 11:00 to see the changing of the guards at 11:30 a.m. Now ... I'm going to say something, but I don't mean to offend my British friends because we really loved the ceremony. But really ... does it take 1 1/2 hours to change 4 guards with a lot of tromping and stomping and walking back and forth? By this time there was a massive crowd in front of the entire palace. I was wedged, and I do mean wedged between a pillar and the woman in front of me. Then I had someone ... couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman balancing his/her camera on my head to take pictures. Someone kept brushing up against my backpack and I was sure I was being robbed!

The best part of the ceremony was the bag pipes! I have to admit ... I shed some tears hearing them play. I thought of Carrie Cudney and how she plays the bagpipes. Carrie, I want you to play the bagpipes at my Funeral .... Amazing Grace, please!

Did I endure the entire ceremony? Yes ... there was no way for me to turn around to get out of my corner. I was stuck! Am I glad I saw the changing of the guards? Yes! Would I want to see it again? Perhaps if I were sitting on a chair from the balcony of the palace.

Something interesting about the changing of the guards. The guards wearing the furry black hats and red jackets were changed with some military personnel not wearing the traditional garb. We walked back to the palace tonight after 9:00 and saw the 4 lonely military men still standing guard in the dark, standing as still as can be. Around 10:00 p.m. we started back to the hotel and noticed no guards standing at their posts. They were gone ... silently in the night ... no pomp and circumstance ... no bag pipes and marching military band ... just gone. It was kinda sad.

Oh ... the queen was there because her flag was flying on the palace. I must call her tomorrow to see if we can take tea together!

This is the lift (elevator) to our room. We could squeeze 4 (max) in the lift ... no luggage or personal items. The hallway to our room is narrow and the floors squeak and they're slanted. It's a really, really old hotel, but very royal. Our bed looks like it's made for the King ... valance over the top with a royal crest inlaid into the headboard. Neat ... I feel like royalty! The bathroom is so small I have to turn sideways to get into the door ... seriously .. and the door knob has bruised me a few times in my hip! Oh blessed surgery ... please hurry!

Tah, tah ... it's almost midnight, London time. We're going to our royal sweet for some sweet dreams. See you tomorrow!

Calling All Recipes!

Yes, Julie M., please send your recipes to sumatragal@gmail.com in a word document, if you have word on your computer. Please save it as a compatible word file because I don't have the newest version of Word. I also need a small bio about yourself and a photo.

Gettin' ready for London! Tah Tah and Cheerio ... will post during my trip!

Big Announcement!

O.K. ... I'm going to let you in on a really, big, private, personal announcement. Eeeeek ... I just don't know how to say this, so I'll just say it. I'm scheduled to have gastric by-pass surgery on June 24th! I'm soooo excited and scared at the same time. I've been wanting this surgery for years. I've checked into the complications and logistics of the surgery and feel really good about having it done. The main reason I haven't had it done before now, is that my health insurance didn't cover it. We switched insurances to my husbands at the first of the year and his covers the surgery 100%. The surgeon just called a few minutes ago with the news and the date of surgery.

I've been over-weight for years and have struggled with my yo-yo dieting. In order to maintain my weight I have to diet. And if I don't diet, I gain. If I'd just stay the same weight, heavy, I wouldn't be so concerned. But I continually add more weight and my health is being jeopardized. So, I'm going to be taking you on a personal in-site journey of my battle of the bulge. I'll post before pictures, during pictures, and after pictures along my journey. I know that it's not an easy road and I'm sure I'll have some sick days, but I'm willing to take the road to change my life-style. So ... wish me luck, and pray for me. I'll need your prayers!

I spent 4 hours at the ball park Saturday watching my oldest grandson play ball. I'm not braggin' but he REALLY is the best player on the team. He's only in 8th grade. I'm hopin' he'll be a professional player someday and support his old retired granny! I don't know too much about the game, but I sure had a good time visiting my girls!

The recipe book is coming along nicely. I still need more recipes, so calling all recipes ... let your friends know and get those recipes to me so I can get them in the book. I've received some stellar ones that I can't wait to try! I'll have to try them before my surgery because I understand I won't be eating much afterwards! Hey ... one nice thing about the surgery ... my food bill should go down and I shouldn't have to spend as much time cooking!

Got to stop and get to work on finishing my London itinerary. We leave for England on Wednesday. I'm sooo excited for the trip. I can't wait. We're taking the laptop so I should be able to post pics and updates about our trip.

Happy Monday!