If it's Tuesday, this must be Reykjavik? The first installment of a LONG five country report.
Aug 27th, 2005, 04:25 PM
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If it's Tuesday, this must be Reykjavik? The first installment of a LONG five country report.
I am finally getting my act together after arriving home abut 2 1/2 weeks ago. It took almost a week just to get over the jet lag. Then it took another week to decipher my notes and figure out my micro cassette babbling. So here goes. We went to Reykjavik, London, Paris, Brussels, Ghent, Bruges, Ypres, Delft, Den Haag, Alkmaar, and Amsterdam. In a nutshell, we had a perfect time. That is not to say that everything went perfectly, but the little ups and downs are what make it memorable. I am a middle aged mom traveling with my 17 year old son. We get along famously and this trip was no different. We made a pact at the beginning of the trip that we both stuck to. 1. No whining. 2. If you see something you want to go do, speak up. 3. If you don’t like what we are currently doing, tough it out. 4. Be a good sport and climb to the top of every bloody bell tower on the continent. (That one was aimed at me unfortunately.) 5. If you see a souvenir you want, and it’s affordable, buy it. You’ll never find it again. (That one was aimed at my son.)
We left San Francisco on a non-stop Icelandair flight to Reykjavik. We arrived at Reykjavik and waited around for our tour guide to show up to take us to the Blue Lagoon. Our flight was early, so we relaxed and I decided to take some pictures out the terminal window. I pulled my little Kodak digital camera out of my carry on bag and tried to turn it on. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I had another set of rechargeable batteries in my bag. No luck. I had a set of regular batteries. No luck. I had just used the camera a few days prior and the batteries were all freshly charged or new. We messed with it for a half hour. I even put it under my clothes to try to warm it up. Needless to say, we were very depressed. Where are we going to find a camera in Reykjavik in the short amount of time we have here. All of a sudden, it turned on and worked fine. We happily took our pictures but should have realized that this forebode a constant problem and irritant during our entire trip.
We zipped up our rain jackets, pulled up our hoods and boarded the Iceland Excursions bus to the Blue Lagoon. It was a bit chilly and drizzly. Perfect weather for soaking in the hot thermal water. When we arrived we left our luggage on the bus and got in line to get towels. Then we went our separate ways to change and lock our clothes up in provided lockers. I am a bit neurotic so I had a waterproof waist belt that I put our passports, etc. in. It was quite funny because I couldn’t squeeze all the air out so it was floating around my chest and getting in the way the whole time. We paddled around and floated on our backs and had a wonderful time. Posters have advised not to get your hair wet, and they are right. Even after washing it, it felt like straw but that was a small price to pay for the fun. My son is not known for taking short showers. It was amazing that he was in and out of the dressing room in record time. He confided that all the naked men made him uncomfortable. Dang, I missed the naked men. All I saw was naked women!!
Our tour then dropped us right off at our Guesthouse. Very, very convenient. We stayed at the Litli ljoti Andarunginn Guesthouse. (The Ugly Duckling Guesthouse). We banged on the door and no one answered so went next door the restaurant and the guesthouse owner scurried over and opened the door for us. He gave us our key, showed us the bathroom down the hall, explained how the keys worked the front door and disappeared. That was the last we saw of him. We felt a bit abandoned. The room was OK, the bedding gave me the creeps. It wasn’t dirty, just very old and ratty. I will say that the location was tremendous and the price was reasonable at 7500 KR per night but it did not include breakfast.
We got settled in and realized that it was 10:45pm and still daylight outside. We were hungry so we went out to find Baejarins Bestu hot dog stand. We each ordered two and hunkered down at the picnic bench to enjoy our feast. Lets just say they are very interesting. We are glad we tried the lamb hotdogs, but once was enough.
Since it was still daylight and we were still on our first day travel high, we strolled along the harbor and took goofy pictures of each other at the Viking Ship statue. A nice ending to a fun day.
The next morning we had a lovely breakfast of fruit and granola bars in our room. My son was a bit quiet but I just leave him alone thinking he is tired. We were going on a Golden Circle Bus tour so we go outside in front of the guesthouse to wait for our ride. I notice that my son is now green around the gills. He says he has an upset stomach and proceeds to run back inside to use the facilities. I am thinking oh my gosh, he’s sick and we are going on a 9 hour bus tour. To top it off, the bus did not have a restroom on it. He did not want to miss the tour and insisted on coming along. Fortunately, he was better in a few hours and I have to applaud him for being a trooper.
The tour was terrific. We traveled in style in a Mercedes bus that was quite comfortable. We visited the Nesjavellir geothermal plant, Pingvellir National Park, Gullfoss Waterfall, Geysir hot spring area, and the volcanic crater Kerio. The Nesjavellir geothermal plant was just what you would expect it to be........ Pingvellir was beautiful and we hiked around and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.
Gullfoss Waterfall was the highlight of the tour. It was astounding. My son wanted to go out to the tip of land that was getting splashed to take pictures with the other crazy people. My first response, no I don’t want to get wet. He informed me I had to be a good sport. OK, OK, I made up the rules, I guess I have to follow them. Well, it was great and I am so glad I didn’t miss it. Yeah, we got soaking wet, but we dried off in a few hours.
The Geysir hot spring area was quite interesting. The main geysir spooked us because it does not give advance warning it is going off. The place was swarming with Navel military soldiers. We couldn’t figure out where they were from until our guide advised that there was a Russian ship in port and the soldiers were on leave.
The tour was happy to drop us off at the guesthouse but we decided to get off in the shopping district and look for a pair of Puma shoes for my son. Unfortunately, they did not have his size (12 1/2) in any of the stores we went into. We figured what the heck, we can look in London. Little did we know that we would be looking for size 12 1/2 Pumas our entire trip with no success.
Shopping was a bust, so we decided to go have a drink at the Ice Bar. I had seen this on the Amazing Race and decided I wanted to go. It was $22.00 per person but what the heck this is vacation. The bartender gave us warm coats and in we went. It was not what I expected. I thought there would be people in there having a great time. There was the bartender and the two of us. OK, we can have our own party. He told us what the beverage selection was and of course being underage my son ordered a Sprite. I wasn’t too interested in the selection so I had a Sprite also. He served us with a smile, then left. It was hilarious, we are alone in this bar and a bunch of tourists wave at us through the window! We tried to wave them in, but no luck. My son sits on a block of ice and the whole thing started to give way. We quickly made our exit back out to the warmth. The bartender took pity on us. He only charged us $8.00 since we just had Sprite. Now, that made it worth the money!
Dinner was at the Icelandic Fish Buffet which was next to our guesthouse and owned by the same people. I have never seen so many varieties of herring. It was pickled, sour creamed, horse radished and several other ways that I didn’t recognize. It was good. You can eat all you want , so we did.
The next morning we got up early to go walk around town before we had to leave for the airport. Reykjavik does not roll our until 9:00 am so nothing was open yet. We did some window shopping then we went back to the Hallgrimskirkja and bought tickets to go up to the top in the elevator. The view was spectacular.
Back at the guesthouse we needed to find the owner to check out, but as I mentioned, there was no one around. We went to the Icelandic Fish Buffet next door and explained our predicament. The waitress was happy to help us, so we paid, she gave us a guesthouse receipt, and off we went. We wandered down to City Hall to catch the Fly Bus. We had quite a bit of time so we checked out a little church and watched the children feed the birds. We still had quite a bit of time so we went inside the City Hall and found they had a café with free internet. We each had a soda and my son got to email his girlfriend. He was in 7th heaven.
The Fly Bus is very efficient, they picked us up in a small van then took us the bus terminal. We purchased our tickets and transferred to a large bus that zipped us to the airport. We both nodded off, we had already seen miles upon miles of volcanic rubble so we weren’t interested in the view. Our flight was uneventful which is a good thing. Next stop, London for seven days.
I am sorry if this is so long, my college professors used to tease me about being wordy!
We left San Francisco on a non-stop Icelandair flight to Reykjavik. We arrived at Reykjavik and waited around for our tour guide to show up to take us to the Blue Lagoon. Our flight was early, so we relaxed and I decided to take some pictures out the terminal window. I pulled my little Kodak digital camera out of my carry on bag and tried to turn it on. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I had another set of rechargeable batteries in my bag. No luck. I had a set of regular batteries. No luck. I had just used the camera a few days prior and the batteries were all freshly charged or new. We messed with it for a half hour. I even put it under my clothes to try to warm it up. Needless to say, we were very depressed. Where are we going to find a camera in Reykjavik in the short amount of time we have here. All of a sudden, it turned on and worked fine. We happily took our pictures but should have realized that this forebode a constant problem and irritant during our entire trip.
We zipped up our rain jackets, pulled up our hoods and boarded the Iceland Excursions bus to the Blue Lagoon. It was a bit chilly and drizzly. Perfect weather for soaking in the hot thermal water. When we arrived we left our luggage on the bus and got in line to get towels. Then we went our separate ways to change and lock our clothes up in provided lockers. I am a bit neurotic so I had a waterproof waist belt that I put our passports, etc. in. It was quite funny because I couldn’t squeeze all the air out so it was floating around my chest and getting in the way the whole time. We paddled around and floated on our backs and had a wonderful time. Posters have advised not to get your hair wet, and they are right. Even after washing it, it felt like straw but that was a small price to pay for the fun. My son is not known for taking short showers. It was amazing that he was in and out of the dressing room in record time. He confided that all the naked men made him uncomfortable. Dang, I missed the naked men. All I saw was naked women!!
Our tour then dropped us right off at our Guesthouse. Very, very convenient. We stayed at the Litli ljoti Andarunginn Guesthouse. (The Ugly Duckling Guesthouse). We banged on the door and no one answered so went next door the restaurant and the guesthouse owner scurried over and opened the door for us. He gave us our key, showed us the bathroom down the hall, explained how the keys worked the front door and disappeared. That was the last we saw of him. We felt a bit abandoned. The room was OK, the bedding gave me the creeps. It wasn’t dirty, just very old and ratty. I will say that the location was tremendous and the price was reasonable at 7500 KR per night but it did not include breakfast.
We got settled in and realized that it was 10:45pm and still daylight outside. We were hungry so we went out to find Baejarins Bestu hot dog stand. We each ordered two and hunkered down at the picnic bench to enjoy our feast. Lets just say they are very interesting. We are glad we tried the lamb hotdogs, but once was enough.
Since it was still daylight and we were still on our first day travel high, we strolled along the harbor and took goofy pictures of each other at the Viking Ship statue. A nice ending to a fun day.
The next morning we had a lovely breakfast of fruit and granola bars in our room. My son was a bit quiet but I just leave him alone thinking he is tired. We were going on a Golden Circle Bus tour so we go outside in front of the guesthouse to wait for our ride. I notice that my son is now green around the gills. He says he has an upset stomach and proceeds to run back inside to use the facilities. I am thinking oh my gosh, he’s sick and we are going on a 9 hour bus tour. To top it off, the bus did not have a restroom on it. He did not want to miss the tour and insisted on coming along. Fortunately, he was better in a few hours and I have to applaud him for being a trooper.
The tour was terrific. We traveled in style in a Mercedes bus that was quite comfortable. We visited the Nesjavellir geothermal plant, Pingvellir National Park, Gullfoss Waterfall, Geysir hot spring area, and the volcanic crater Kerio. The Nesjavellir geothermal plant was just what you would expect it to be........ Pingvellir was beautiful and we hiked around and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.
Gullfoss Waterfall was the highlight of the tour. It was astounding. My son wanted to go out to the tip of land that was getting splashed to take pictures with the other crazy people. My first response, no I don’t want to get wet. He informed me I had to be a good sport. OK, OK, I made up the rules, I guess I have to follow them. Well, it was great and I am so glad I didn’t miss it. Yeah, we got soaking wet, but we dried off in a few hours.
The Geysir hot spring area was quite interesting. The main geysir spooked us because it does not give advance warning it is going off. The place was swarming with Navel military soldiers. We couldn’t figure out where they were from until our guide advised that there was a Russian ship in port and the soldiers were on leave.
The tour was happy to drop us off at the guesthouse but we decided to get off in the shopping district and look for a pair of Puma shoes for my son. Unfortunately, they did not have his size (12 1/2) in any of the stores we went into. We figured what the heck, we can look in London. Little did we know that we would be looking for size 12 1/2 Pumas our entire trip with no success.
Shopping was a bust, so we decided to go have a drink at the Ice Bar. I had seen this on the Amazing Race and decided I wanted to go. It was $22.00 per person but what the heck this is vacation. The bartender gave us warm coats and in we went. It was not what I expected. I thought there would be people in there having a great time. There was the bartender and the two of us. OK, we can have our own party. He told us what the beverage selection was and of course being underage my son ordered a Sprite. I wasn’t too interested in the selection so I had a Sprite also. He served us with a smile, then left. It was hilarious, we are alone in this bar and a bunch of tourists wave at us through the window! We tried to wave them in, but no luck. My son sits on a block of ice and the whole thing started to give way. We quickly made our exit back out to the warmth. The bartender took pity on us. He only charged us $8.00 since we just had Sprite. Now, that made it worth the money!
Dinner was at the Icelandic Fish Buffet which was next to our guesthouse and owned by the same people. I have never seen so many varieties of herring. It was pickled, sour creamed, horse radished and several other ways that I didn’t recognize. It was good. You can eat all you want , so we did.
The next morning we got up early to go walk around town before we had to leave for the airport. Reykjavik does not roll our until 9:00 am so nothing was open yet. We did some window shopping then we went back to the Hallgrimskirkja and bought tickets to go up to the top in the elevator. The view was spectacular.
Back at the guesthouse we needed to find the owner to check out, but as I mentioned, there was no one around. We went to the Icelandic Fish Buffet next door and explained our predicament. The waitress was happy to help us, so we paid, she gave us a guesthouse receipt, and off we went. We wandered down to City Hall to catch the Fly Bus. We had quite a bit of time so we checked out a little church and watched the children feed the birds. We still had quite a bit of time so we went inside the City Hall and found they had a café with free internet. We each had a soda and my son got to email his girlfriend. He was in 7th heaven.
The Fly Bus is very efficient, they picked us up in a small van then took us the bus terminal. We purchased our tickets and transferred to a large bus that zipped us to the airport. We both nodded off, we had already seen miles upon miles of volcanic rubble so we weren’t interested in the view. Our flight was uneventful which is a good thing. Next stop, London for seven days.
I am sorry if this is so long, my college professors used to tease me about being wordy!
Aug 27th, 2005, 09:55 PM
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Hello BabsB, although I have never been to Reykjavik I have am enthralled with your trip report!! I can hardly wait to hear about the rest of your trip.....travelling with a teen IMO is fantastic, the good and the bad. More please!!
Aug 29th, 2005, 03:09 PM
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If it’s Friday this must be London.
Just a few details to start with about our stay in London. We stayed at the Luna Simone Hotel on Belgrave Road near Victoria Station. We loved every thing about it. Great location, modern, extremely clean, great breakfast, and very helpful staff. Best hotel of our trip hands down! Next, I constantly worried every time we rode the Metro. On our last day, the second bomb threat occurred. Thankfully we were on an all day tour and were not actually in London. Last but not least, everything is expensive. I tried to prepare myself for it but I still underestimated. Finally, I gave up trying to keep track and we just went about our business of having fun. What else can you do?
My son runs long distance track at school, and for fun, so the first thing he did on our first day in London was run around St. James Park. He had previously corresponded with some runners from the Serpentine Running Club so he is going on a run with them tomorrow. While he ran, mom slept in!
Our first official outing together was the Big Bus Hop On Hop Off tour. We enjoyed the live commentary much more than the tape. After about 3 hours of touring around seeing all the sights the traffic got so bad we decided to abandon ship and head out on our own.
We headed over to Westminister Bridge and walked Rick Steves Westminister Walk. It was a good walk but I don’t like the maps in his books. We got confused (notice I did not say lost as map boy insisted we didn’t get lost) several times until we pulled out a real map. A little compass hanging on my bag didn’t hurt either. We saw the usual suspects, Big Ben, Parliament, Statue of Boadicea, Whitehall, Cenotaph, Downing Street, Horse Guards, Banqueting House and ended up at Trafalgar Square.
We stopped at a sidewalk café and I ordered fish & chips. I asked for malt vinegar and they brought salad dressing cruets of oil and vinegar. Don’t they serves malt vinegar in England? Next, over to Leiscester Square to the TKTS booth to pick up half price tickets for Chitty, Chitty Bang, Bang.
Then we headed over to the Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill Museum. Great museum and good audio guides. My son is a history buff and really enjoyed this.
We still were not done, next we went to the British Museum. We were a bit tired so we flagged down a Black Taxi and before we could haul ourselves over to it, another “gentleman” jumped in and off they went. Plan B was taking the bus. The British Museum was amazing, I especially enjoyed the Egyptian mummies and Assyrian Lions with Human Heads. My son thought the Rosetta Stone and Elgin Marbles were the best.
We walked over to Oxford Street to the Palladium Theater to see Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang. Surprise, the Theater was full of kids! We had several who thought it was great to wrestle around us. We decided to smile and bear it. The play was entertaining but I wouldn’t go see it again. I told my son I get to pick the next one. On our way out we grabbed take out Chinese food at a food cart. It was excellent...and cheap.
Just a few details to start with about our stay in London. We stayed at the Luna Simone Hotel on Belgrave Road near Victoria Station. We loved every thing about it. Great location, modern, extremely clean, great breakfast, and very helpful staff. Best hotel of our trip hands down! Next, I constantly worried every time we rode the Metro. On our last day, the second bomb threat occurred. Thankfully we were on an all day tour and were not actually in London. Last but not least, everything is expensive. I tried to prepare myself for it but I still underestimated. Finally, I gave up trying to keep track and we just went about our business of having fun. What else can you do?
My son runs long distance track at school, and for fun, so the first thing he did on our first day in London was run around St. James Park. He had previously corresponded with some runners from the Serpentine Running Club so he is going on a run with them tomorrow. While he ran, mom slept in!
Our first official outing together was the Big Bus Hop On Hop Off tour. We enjoyed the live commentary much more than the tape. After about 3 hours of touring around seeing all the sights the traffic got so bad we decided to abandon ship and head out on our own.
We headed over to Westminister Bridge and walked Rick Steves Westminister Walk. It was a good walk but I don’t like the maps in his books. We got confused (notice I did not say lost as map boy insisted we didn’t get lost) several times until we pulled out a real map. A little compass hanging on my bag didn’t hurt either. We saw the usual suspects, Big Ben, Parliament, Statue of Boadicea, Whitehall, Cenotaph, Downing Street, Horse Guards, Banqueting House and ended up at Trafalgar Square.
We stopped at a sidewalk café and I ordered fish & chips. I asked for malt vinegar and they brought salad dressing cruets of oil and vinegar. Don’t they serves malt vinegar in England? Next, over to Leiscester Square to the TKTS booth to pick up half price tickets for Chitty, Chitty Bang, Bang.
Then we headed over to the Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill Museum. Great museum and good audio guides. My son is a history buff and really enjoyed this.
We still were not done, next we went to the British Museum. We were a bit tired so we flagged down a Black Taxi and before we could haul ourselves over to it, another “gentleman” jumped in and off they went. Plan B was taking the bus. The British Museum was amazing, I especially enjoyed the Egyptian mummies and Assyrian Lions with Human Heads. My son thought the Rosetta Stone and Elgin Marbles were the best.
We walked over to Oxford Street to the Palladium Theater to see Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang. Surprise, the Theater was full of kids! We had several who thought it was great to wrestle around us. We decided to smile and bear it. The play was entertaining but I wouldn’t go see it again. I told my son I get to pick the next one. On our way out we grabbed take out Chinese food at a food cart. It was excellent...and cheap.
Your son is one lucky kid and he sounds like a terrific traveler, so I guess that makes YOU a luck mom. What a great trip.
Sep 4th, 2005, 02:35 PM
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If it’s Saturday, this must be London...still.
My son ran six miles with the London Serpentine Running Club this morning. One of the organizers gave him a mile by mile tour. They even went into some of the very lovely locked gardens as they had a key.
Next on our agenda was Greenwich. We got so lost trying to get there. Some of the lines were closed so we had to make quite a few detours. On top of that I think we were just tired and not paying close enough attention. Once there, we had a very nice lunch at the Trafalgar Tavern, I had fish and chips (excellent) and my son had pasta. He eats lots of pasta to carb load. We viewed the Cutty Sark and Gipsy Moth IV then headed over to the National Maritime Museum. I enjoyed this museum, especially the display of luxury cruise ships. When I was a kid I went on a cruise on the SS Oriana with my folks. They had a display for this ship that brought back lots of memories.
We did a quick walk through of the Old Royal Naval College and began our hike up to the Royal Observatory. It occurred to us halfway up this huge hill that we should probably taken the tram. Oh well, we can both use the exercise!! This place was packed but everyone was good natured and having a great time. We stood on the Prime Meridian and took pictures of each other. I set my watch to the official clock and we toured the museum. The view from up there was great and we had fun taking lots of pictures.
We decided to skip the metro to go home and took a river cruise back to Westminister. It was a relaxing way to view the river and multitude of condo’s/apartments that line the river. At the wharf we flagged down a Black Taxi and he took us to the Royal Drury Lane Theater as we had tickets to see The Producers. It was a very funny play and I enjoyed it a lot. My son was a bit less impressed. We decided to end our day by splurging for dinner. We stopped at the local Subway for deluxe sandwiches, delicious!!
My son ran six miles with the London Serpentine Running Club this morning. One of the organizers gave him a mile by mile tour. They even went into some of the very lovely locked gardens as they had a key.
Next on our agenda was Greenwich. We got so lost trying to get there. Some of the lines were closed so we had to make quite a few detours. On top of that I think we were just tired and not paying close enough attention. Once there, we had a very nice lunch at the Trafalgar Tavern, I had fish and chips (excellent) and my son had pasta. He eats lots of pasta to carb load. We viewed the Cutty Sark and Gipsy Moth IV then headed over to the National Maritime Museum. I enjoyed this museum, especially the display of luxury cruise ships. When I was a kid I went on a cruise on the SS Oriana with my folks. They had a display for this ship that brought back lots of memories.
We did a quick walk through of the Old Royal Naval College and began our hike up to the Royal Observatory. It occurred to us halfway up this huge hill that we should probably taken the tram. Oh well, we can both use the exercise!! This place was packed but everyone was good natured and having a great time. We stood on the Prime Meridian and took pictures of each other. I set my watch to the official clock and we toured the museum. The view from up there was great and we had fun taking lots of pictures.
We decided to skip the metro to go home and took a river cruise back to Westminister. It was a relaxing way to view the river and multitude of condo’s/apartments that line the river. At the wharf we flagged down a Black Taxi and he took us to the Royal Drury Lane Theater as we had tickets to see The Producers. It was a very funny play and I enjoyed it a lot. My son was a bit less impressed. We decided to end our day by splurging for dinner. We stopped at the local Subway for deluxe sandwiches, delicious!!
Sep 5th, 2005, 02:22 AM
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If you want proper fish and chips with malt vigegar, you have to go to a real chippy.
It will have steamed-up windows and a queue. Inside there will be a deep-fat fryer and you may have to wait a bit because you can see the fish and chips being fried in front of you.
In a really good chippy, there will be a machine for converting peeled potatoes into chips.
The version you get in pubs, does not compare.
BTW, in London you travel on the Underground, usually called the Tube.
It's not called the Metro and it certainly is not called the Subway.
I have taken pity on American tourists who have gone down an entrance called Subway and have searched in vain for the trains. A subway is just a way of crossing the road without getting squashed.
It will have steamed-up windows and a queue. Inside there will be a deep-fat fryer and you may have to wait a bit because you can see the fish and chips being fried in front of you.
In a really good chippy, there will be a machine for converting peeled potatoes into chips.
The version you get in pubs, does not compare.
BTW, in London you travel on the Underground, usually called the Tube.
It's not called the Metro and it certainly is not called the Subway.
I have taken pity on American tourists who have gone down an entrance called Subway and have searched in vain for the trains. A subway is just a way of crossing the road without getting squashed.
Sep 5th, 2005, 09:00 AM
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Hi oldie, wish I knew about the fish and chips before we went. And you are correct, it is called the tube, I was having a brain fade. I thought a Subway was a place to get sandwiches. 
Sep 5th, 2005, 09:07 AM
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If its Sunday this must be the Tower of London
We slept in this morning as we are both a bit travel weary. We missed breakfast so we grabbed some pre-made sandwiches from a corner store. Big mistake, they were nasty and ended up in the garbage can. We made do with our OJ.
First stop was the Tower of London. We got in line early so it did not take long to get our tickets. We headed for the Crown jewels first. They are astonishing! We enjoyed the video of the Queens coronation then went on the Beefeater tour. This was very entertaining and informative. We looked at the Ravens, checked out the shops and decided we were tired and hungry. I had heard about the Wagamama restaurant next door to the Tower of London so we ate lunch there. We both enjoyed it a lot. I am now waiting for their cookbook to be available on the internet.
After lunch we decided to go to the Imperial War Museum but it seemed to be such an enormous task just to get there. At this point we were both breaking the rules. We were both whining about the tube and how tired we were. It made us both appreciate how easy we have it back home, we can jump in the car and go anywhere we want, when we want. So we did the next best thing, we caught a taxi.
We walked into the Imperial War Museum and the first thing my son said was “Oh WOW!”. This museum got his attention and kept it for several hours. We finally took a break in the museum café and had a little desert. I have noticed that desert makes my feet feel better.
I guess we finally got our second wind because we decided we needed to go shopping. There was a store called NEXT that my son wanted to check out. We bought him three shirts and then went down to ESPRIT and bought his girlfriend a top. We wandered up and down the shopping area and of course looked for Puma shoes for him. So far no luck. Eventually we discovered that they do not manufacture his size, so we were never going to succeed.
We went back to our hotel to drop off our loot and I asked the desk manager for a restaurant suggestion. He recommended Chimes which was just down the street. I had a curry turkey salad and my son had a beef and mushroom pie. It was all excellent. Another great day under our belts.
We slept in this morning as we are both a bit travel weary. We missed breakfast so we grabbed some pre-made sandwiches from a corner store. Big mistake, they were nasty and ended up in the garbage can. We made do with our OJ.
First stop was the Tower of London. We got in line early so it did not take long to get our tickets. We headed for the Crown jewels first. They are astonishing! We enjoyed the video of the Queens coronation then went on the Beefeater tour. This was very entertaining and informative. We looked at the Ravens, checked out the shops and decided we were tired and hungry. I had heard about the Wagamama restaurant next door to the Tower of London so we ate lunch there. We both enjoyed it a lot. I am now waiting for their cookbook to be available on the internet.
After lunch we decided to go to the Imperial War Museum but it seemed to be such an enormous task just to get there. At this point we were both breaking the rules. We were both whining about the tube and how tired we were. It made us both appreciate how easy we have it back home, we can jump in the car and go anywhere we want, when we want. So we did the next best thing, we caught a taxi.
We walked into the Imperial War Museum and the first thing my son said was “Oh WOW!”. This museum got his attention and kept it for several hours. We finally took a break in the museum café and had a little desert. I have noticed that desert makes my feet feel better.
I guess we finally got our second wind because we decided we needed to go shopping. There was a store called NEXT that my son wanted to check out. We bought him three shirts and then went down to ESPRIT and bought his girlfriend a top. We wandered up and down the shopping area and of course looked for Puma shoes for him. So far no luck. Eventually we discovered that they do not manufacture his size, so we were never going to succeed.
We went back to our hotel to drop off our loot and I asked the desk manager for a restaurant suggestion. He recommended Chimes which was just down the street. I had a curry turkey salad and my son had a beef and mushroom pie. It was all excellent. Another great day under our belts.
Sep 5th, 2005, 10:05 AM
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If its Monday this must be the British Library
We decided to do a bit of laundry this morning. Walked down the street to the local laundry and got the whole thing done in less than an hour. I will hand wash if need be but prefer the machine if possible.
We then headed for the British Library and the Treasurers room. I love it when all the good stuff is located in one central area. We saw the Magna Carta, original Bach and Beethoven music, the King James Bible and so much more. This is our kind of museum, in and out in an hour.
We wandered back to Leicester Square and bought discount tickets to The Woman in White, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. We then went shopping at Covent Garden and bought enough stuff to dramatically affect the weight of our luggage.
We had so much fun shopping that we got to St. Paul’s just as they were closing. Drat, we need to go back again. We double stepped over to the Museum of London and breezed through that at wharp speed.
Dinner was at an Italian Restaurant at Leicester Square. I have lost the name of the place but it was right around the corner from the Vue Cinema where the premier of Fantastic 4 was being held. We didn’t see any celebrities at the premier but the atmosphere was electric and we felt very cool being at the “IN” spot.
The Woman in White was spectacular. We both decided it was the best of the three plays we had seen. They projected the scenery on movable walls and it was fantastic. One scene had a train coming towards you, everyone in the audience was startled it was so real. Go see it, it was great.
We decided to do a bit of laundry this morning. Walked down the street to the local laundry and got the whole thing done in less than an hour. I will hand wash if need be but prefer the machine if possible.
We then headed for the British Library and the Treasurers room. I love it when all the good stuff is located in one central area. We saw the Magna Carta, original Bach and Beethoven music, the King James Bible and so much more. This is our kind of museum, in and out in an hour.
We wandered back to Leicester Square and bought discount tickets to The Woman in White, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. We then went shopping at Covent Garden and bought enough stuff to dramatically affect the weight of our luggage.
We had so much fun shopping that we got to St. Paul’s just as they were closing. Drat, we need to go back again. We double stepped over to the Museum of London and breezed through that at wharp speed.
Dinner was at an Italian Restaurant at Leicester Square. I have lost the name of the place but it was right around the corner from the Vue Cinema where the premier of Fantastic 4 was being held. We didn’t see any celebrities at the premier but the atmosphere was electric and we felt very cool being at the “IN” spot.
The Woman in White was spectacular. We both decided it was the best of the three plays we had seen. They projected the scenery on movable walls and it was fantastic. One scene had a train coming towards you, everyone in the audience was startled it was so real. Go see it, it was great.
Sep 5th, 2005, 10:35 AM
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If its Tuesday this must be Buckingham Palace
We must have been feeling refreshed because we bounced out of bed, ate breakfast and made our way to Buckingham Palace way too early. There was hardly anyone there so we tracked down a little café and had hot chocolate. When we returned it was starting to fill up. We claimed a pretty good spot at the Victoria Monument and settled in to wait. We watched all the pageantry and enjoyed talking with several other tourists. My son ran around with the camera trying to get really good shots, too bad the camera decided to act up again. Just as he had a great view of the Guards, it died. It had good batteries, it was just being a pain in the you know what. We messed with it for quite awhile and voila, it started to work again. I swore I was going to replace it.
We went over to Piccadilly Circus for some more shopping then proceeded to Westminister Abbey. Great church, lots of dead people. It’s an ironic touch that Queen Elizabeth I and Mary I share a tomb though they disliked each other in life. LOL
For lunch we went to Fortnum & Mason’s Patisserie and purchased four different, lovely pastries. They wrapped them up so beautifully it was almost a shame to eat them, but we forced ourselves. We found a spot near a fountain and dug in. We had sugar high the rest of the afternoon.
We had to work off some of those calories so we walked across Westminister Bridge and took a ride on the London Eye. My co-workers had purchased us London Eye vouchers so it was a nice, free treat for us. The line moved along pleasantly fast and the London Eye moved pleasantly slow. A very good combination. We purchased a View 360 guide and had a great time picking out all the locations of interest. We had a beautiful clear day and it was very enjoyable.
I thought we had done enough shopping but my son wanted to go to Harrod’s. We took the Tube over then wandered around rather starstruck at all the stuff. We did manage to show some restraint though and escaped without adding to the weight of our luggage.
We shopped until we dropped. Back to a little Bar-B-Que restaurant just down the street from our hotel. They brought us a huge platter with chicken, ribs, onion rings, fries, and battered vegetable. I could feel my arteries plugging up but it was so good. We got back to hotel about 9:00 and crashed. An early night for us.
We must have been feeling refreshed because we bounced out of bed, ate breakfast and made our way to Buckingham Palace way too early. There was hardly anyone there so we tracked down a little café and had hot chocolate. When we returned it was starting to fill up. We claimed a pretty good spot at the Victoria Monument and settled in to wait. We watched all the pageantry and enjoyed talking with several other tourists. My son ran around with the camera trying to get really good shots, too bad the camera decided to act up again. Just as he had a great view of the Guards, it died. It had good batteries, it was just being a pain in the you know what. We messed with it for quite awhile and voila, it started to work again. I swore I was going to replace it.
We went over to Piccadilly Circus for some more shopping then proceeded to Westminister Abbey. Great church, lots of dead people. It’s an ironic touch that Queen Elizabeth I and Mary I share a tomb though they disliked each other in life. LOL
For lunch we went to Fortnum & Mason’s Patisserie and purchased four different, lovely pastries. They wrapped them up so beautifully it was almost a shame to eat them, but we forced ourselves. We found a spot near a fountain and dug in. We had sugar high the rest of the afternoon.
We had to work off some of those calories so we walked across Westminister Bridge and took a ride on the London Eye. My co-workers had purchased us London Eye vouchers so it was a nice, free treat for us. The line moved along pleasantly fast and the London Eye moved pleasantly slow. A very good combination. We purchased a View 360 guide and had a great time picking out all the locations of interest. We had a beautiful clear day and it was very enjoyable.
I thought we had done enough shopping but my son wanted to go to Harrod’s. We took the Tube over then wandered around rather starstruck at all the stuff. We did manage to show some restraint though and escaped without adding to the weight of our luggage.
We shopped until we dropped. Back to a little Bar-B-Que restaurant just down the street from our hotel. They brought us a huge platter with chicken, ribs, onion rings, fries, and battered vegetable. I could feel my arteries plugging up but it was so good. We got back to hotel about 9:00 and crashed. An early night for us.
Sep 5th, 2005, 11:24 AM
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If its Wednesday this must be Shakespear’s Globe
We started our day with a visit to the National Gallery. We followed Rick Steves’ Tour and spent our allotted 90 minutes and more. I decided that I love Vermeer and Rubens and Monet and Renoir and, and, and.....
We then headed back over to St. Paul’s to try that one again. We walked in and I got in line to purchase tickets. My son was astonished that it would cost 15 pounds to get in. He is not one to mince words, he said he would rather spend the money shopping that to see another church filled with dead people. I acquiesced and spent a few minutes straining my neck to try and see what I could and off we went. I figure it gives me a really good reason to go back to London.
We strolled across the Millennium Bridge and had fun taking pictures up and down the river. We went to Shakespear’s Globe and went on the tour. I asked my son if he wanted to see a play but he had already spent a week at the Shakespear Festival in Ashland Oregon earlier in the summer and was more interested in seeing other things while in London.
Lunch was at the Pizza Express just down the Bankside. It was good and I enjoyed the challenge of eating pizza with a knife and fork. My pizza darn near ended up on my lap.
We strolled down the Bankside and checked out the Clink Prison. The Clink was a bit cheesy but we had a great time taking goofy pictures of each other. My son especially liked Mom putting her head on the chopping block so he could wack at it with a foam ax.
We continued our walk down past the Golden Hinde and Southwark Cathedral catching the tube at London Bridge to go to the Tate Britain.
I enjoyed the Tate beginning with the paintings from the 1500's. As we moved chronologically and eventually hit the 1900's we were done. The modern stuff just doesn’t do it for either of us and we agreed we did not need to tough it out.
Our last event for the day was the Ceremony of the Keys. We headed back over to the Tower of London early because my son wanted to eat at Wagamama. Once again we enjoyed the meal.. The Ceremony was interesting and we liked watching ceremony that has gone on every night for the last 700 years. We did laugh that we got to exit the Tower of London through a small door located in the gates that were just ceremoniously locked up.
We started our day with a visit to the National Gallery. We followed Rick Steves’ Tour and spent our allotted 90 minutes and more. I decided that I love Vermeer and Rubens and Monet and Renoir and, and, and.....
We then headed back over to St. Paul’s to try that one again. We walked in and I got in line to purchase tickets. My son was astonished that it would cost 15 pounds to get in. He is not one to mince words, he said he would rather spend the money shopping that to see another church filled with dead people. I acquiesced and spent a few minutes straining my neck to try and see what I could and off we went. I figure it gives me a really good reason to go back to London.
We strolled across the Millennium Bridge and had fun taking pictures up and down the river. We went to Shakespear’s Globe and went on the tour. I asked my son if he wanted to see a play but he had already spent a week at the Shakespear Festival in Ashland Oregon earlier in the summer and was more interested in seeing other things while in London.
Lunch was at the Pizza Express just down the Bankside. It was good and I enjoyed the challenge of eating pizza with a knife and fork. My pizza darn near ended up on my lap.
We strolled down the Bankside and checked out the Clink Prison. The Clink was a bit cheesy but we had a great time taking goofy pictures of each other. My son especially liked Mom putting her head on the chopping block so he could wack at it with a foam ax.
We continued our walk down past the Golden Hinde and Southwark Cathedral catching the tube at London Bridge to go to the Tate Britain.
I enjoyed the Tate beginning with the paintings from the 1500's. As we moved chronologically and eventually hit the 1900's we were done. The modern stuff just doesn’t do it for either of us and we agreed we did not need to tough it out.
Our last event for the day was the Ceremony of the Keys. We headed back over to the Tower of London early because my son wanted to eat at Wagamama. Once again we enjoyed the meal.. The Ceremony was interesting and we liked watching ceremony that has gone on every night for the last 700 years. We did laugh that we got to exit the Tower of London through a small door located in the gates that were just ceremoniously locked up.
Sep 8th, 2005, 04:21 PM
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If its Thursday it must be Stonehenge, Windsor and Bath
We decided to let someone else plan our day today. We took a Golden Tours trip to Windsor, Bath and Stonehenge. What a day, it was terrific! It was nice not having to arrange anything or try to figure out how and where to go next. I wouldn’t want to go on a lot of tours but this was perfect for our last day in England.
We saw all the highlights of Windsor Castle including the Regimental Band, the State Apartments, and Queen Mary’s Doll House. We had previously watched a video of the terrible fire so it was fascinating to see how beautiful the repairs and renovations were.
Bath was a great little city. We visited the Roman Bath and wished the water was cleaner so we could jump in and enjoy it. We walked around several streets and enjoyed the street performers. A local college was holding their graduation ceremony at the little church on the main square. It was great fun watching the procession and all the happy and proud families with their grads. We enjoyed some delicious fudge and were on our way.
Stonehenge has to be the one of the most awesome places I have ever been. Just being there gave me goose bumps. To think that an ancient civilization built this stone monument is incredible. We walked around it and probably took 100 pictures of every stone and every angle. We were both very happy that there is one stone over by the shop that you are able to touch.
On our way back to London, our tour guide announced that there had been an “incident” in the London Tube. It did not take long to get more details that there had been another bomb threat. Since the Tube was essentially shut down, the tour bus took everyone direct to their hotel instead of back to the station where we would have to continue on the Tube back to our hotels. Everyone was very appreciative as anxiety was high.
Once we got to our hotel, I asked the desk manager to arrange a morning taxi to take us to Waterloo International to catch the Eurostar to Paris. Neither one of us wanted to go back on the Tube and we didn’t know to what extent it would be running in the morning. Better safe than sorry.
We ate dinner just down the street from the hotel at an Indian restaurant. Decent but not noteworthy. We packed up which required a bit of finagling since we had purchased quite a bit of stuff and then had a relaxing evening watching the breaking news on TV.
That was it for London. We ran our tails off and saw as much as we could but we still have lots to come back for. Next stop, next country, Paris , France.
We decided to let someone else plan our day today. We took a Golden Tours trip to Windsor, Bath and Stonehenge. What a day, it was terrific! It was nice not having to arrange anything or try to figure out how and where to go next. I wouldn’t want to go on a lot of tours but this was perfect for our last day in England.
We saw all the highlights of Windsor Castle including the Regimental Band, the State Apartments, and Queen Mary’s Doll House. We had previously watched a video of the terrible fire so it was fascinating to see how beautiful the repairs and renovations were.
Bath was a great little city. We visited the Roman Bath and wished the water was cleaner so we could jump in and enjoy it. We walked around several streets and enjoyed the street performers. A local college was holding their graduation ceremony at the little church on the main square. It was great fun watching the procession and all the happy and proud families with their grads. We enjoyed some delicious fudge and were on our way.
Stonehenge has to be the one of the most awesome places I have ever been. Just being there gave me goose bumps. To think that an ancient civilization built this stone monument is incredible. We walked around it and probably took 100 pictures of every stone and every angle. We were both very happy that there is one stone over by the shop that you are able to touch.
On our way back to London, our tour guide announced that there had been an “incident” in the London Tube. It did not take long to get more details that there had been another bomb threat. Since the Tube was essentially shut down, the tour bus took everyone direct to their hotel instead of back to the station where we would have to continue on the Tube back to our hotels. Everyone was very appreciative as anxiety was high.
Once we got to our hotel, I asked the desk manager to arrange a morning taxi to take us to Waterloo International to catch the Eurostar to Paris. Neither one of us wanted to go back on the Tube and we didn’t know to what extent it would be running in the morning. Better safe than sorry.
We ate dinner just down the street from the hotel at an Indian restaurant. Decent but not noteworthy. We packed up which required a bit of finagling since we had purchased quite a bit of stuff and then had a relaxing evening watching the breaking news on TV.
That was it for London. We ran our tails off and saw as much as we could but we still have lots to come back for. Next stop, next country, Paris , France.
Sep 11th, 2005, 07:07 PM
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Thanks shortattentionspan, I thought this had dropped like a brick never to be seen again. Here is the next installment, we are now in our third country of our trip...Paris, France.
If it’s Friday this must be Paris
Early rising this morning and hurry, scurry as the taxi is already waiting for us. He’s early and we are late. He took us direct to Waterloo International with plenty of time to spare so we bought pastries and coffee. The check in lines for the Eurostar were a bit long but we discovered that since our tickets did not have the magnetic strip on them we got to go into another line that was shorter. The Eurostar was quite comfortable, even in 2nd class. The trip seemed to be over in a blink of an eye as we both snoozed. Once we wrestled our luggage off the train, we found an ATM to get Euro’s and a potty. My son found in interesting that both men and women had to pay to go through the turnstile then went separate ways. We purchased two carnets and found our way to the Metro. Having traveled to the Hotel St. Jacques on two previous trips, it was easy and uneventful.
We were in for a very pleasant surprise when we arrived at the hotel. The hotel had taken over the space downstairs previously occupied by a restaurant on the corner. They had totally renovated the first floor including the reception area, lounge area and breakfast room. It was very lovely and I’m glad we went back though it was a bit pricey for our current budget. Our room was spacious and decorated in blue and peach. We did have to unplug the fan to recharge the camera batteries and my son’s IPOD so it was lucky that the weather was cool and we didn’t need the fan. The bathroom was kind of crowded as is so typical of these older buildings, you could sit on the pot and brush your teeth at the same time, if you were so inclined. Bridgette and all the staff were very friendly and helpful and made our stay even better. Overall, we loved it and would definitely go back for a 4th visit.
We basically dropped our bags and made an about face out the door. My son was on a mission to go to Napoleon’s Tomb and Les Invalides. He loves the coat of arms and was looking forward to this museum. On our previous trip here, he took a bunch of pictures but somehow when we changed the roll of film, we got the old roll back in the camera and double exposed all the pictures we took of Invalides and Napoleon’s tomb. He wanted to replace those pictures that had so disappointed him 5 years earlier.
We were enjoying ourselves in the museum when we were approached by a security guard who informed us that it was necessary for us to remain where we were. Since our French is extremely limited, and his English more so, it took a minute to figure out that there had been a bomb scare and that the museum was locked down until they figured out what was going on. We were far enough away from the café, where the problem occurred, so they did not evacuate us. We waited, and waited, and waited and finally asked if we could exit the building and leave the premises. We wanted to go to Rue Cler instead of just sitting on the staircase. The guard lead us and several other people out a side door and showed us where the gate was to get off the property. Talk about out of the frying pan (London) and into the fire.
Rue Cler was an enjoyable walk. I especially enjoyed taking pictures of all of the store fronts and buying pastries that we enjoyed as we strolled. My son bought his girlfriend a gold Eiffel Tower charm at a little jewelry store. We hope it is at least gold plated and doesn’t turn her skin green.
We headed back towards Invalides and found that everything was open and calm again. We went in and finished our tour. I was very happy to see all the flags of the conquered armies were hanging in the Soldier’s Church. They were removed for renovation at my last visit.
Our day could not be complete but visiting at least one art museum so we walked to over Rodin’s. The actual museum has just closed but we were welcome to enjoy the gardens and grounds. We took our obligatory pictures of the Thinker and inspected the Gates of Hell and contemplated it’s motto “Abandon hope all ye who enter in”. Thank goodness the doors don’t open because my son would have thought it funny to push me through.
For dinner we went to an old favorite of mine, La Criee. It’s just down the street from the hotel and has excellent fish soup. I had the fish soup and a lovely filet of sole. My son had the fish soup also with a chicken curry dish. It lived up to my memory as it was delicious and reasonably priced at 44 Euro.
Back at our room, we settled in for the evening. There was a bit of road noise but that was understandable as it was Friday night. We were so tired, that it didn’t much more than a few minutes.
If it’s Friday this must be Paris
Early rising this morning and hurry, scurry as the taxi is already waiting for us. He’s early and we are late. He took us direct to Waterloo International with plenty of time to spare so we bought pastries and coffee. The check in lines for the Eurostar were a bit long but we discovered that since our tickets did not have the magnetic strip on them we got to go into another line that was shorter. The Eurostar was quite comfortable, even in 2nd class. The trip seemed to be over in a blink of an eye as we both snoozed. Once we wrestled our luggage off the train, we found an ATM to get Euro’s and a potty. My son found in interesting that both men and women had to pay to go through the turnstile then went separate ways. We purchased two carnets and found our way to the Metro. Having traveled to the Hotel St. Jacques on two previous trips, it was easy and uneventful.
We were in for a very pleasant surprise when we arrived at the hotel. The hotel had taken over the space downstairs previously occupied by a restaurant on the corner. They had totally renovated the first floor including the reception area, lounge area and breakfast room. It was very lovely and I’m glad we went back though it was a bit pricey for our current budget. Our room was spacious and decorated in blue and peach. We did have to unplug the fan to recharge the camera batteries and my son’s IPOD so it was lucky that the weather was cool and we didn’t need the fan. The bathroom was kind of crowded as is so typical of these older buildings, you could sit on the pot and brush your teeth at the same time, if you were so inclined. Bridgette and all the staff were very friendly and helpful and made our stay even better. Overall, we loved it and would definitely go back for a 4th visit.
We basically dropped our bags and made an about face out the door. My son was on a mission to go to Napoleon’s Tomb and Les Invalides. He loves the coat of arms and was looking forward to this museum. On our previous trip here, he took a bunch of pictures but somehow when we changed the roll of film, we got the old roll back in the camera and double exposed all the pictures we took of Invalides and Napoleon’s tomb. He wanted to replace those pictures that had so disappointed him 5 years earlier.
We were enjoying ourselves in the museum when we were approached by a security guard who informed us that it was necessary for us to remain where we were. Since our French is extremely limited, and his English more so, it took a minute to figure out that there had been a bomb scare and that the museum was locked down until they figured out what was going on. We were far enough away from the café, where the problem occurred, so they did not evacuate us. We waited, and waited, and waited and finally asked if we could exit the building and leave the premises. We wanted to go to Rue Cler instead of just sitting on the staircase. The guard lead us and several other people out a side door and showed us where the gate was to get off the property. Talk about out of the frying pan (London) and into the fire.
Rue Cler was an enjoyable walk. I especially enjoyed taking pictures of all of the store fronts and buying pastries that we enjoyed as we strolled. My son bought his girlfriend a gold Eiffel Tower charm at a little jewelry store. We hope it is at least gold plated and doesn’t turn her skin green.
We headed back towards Invalides and found that everything was open and calm again. We went in and finished our tour. I was very happy to see all the flags of the conquered armies were hanging in the Soldier’s Church. They were removed for renovation at my last visit.
Our day could not be complete but visiting at least one art museum so we walked to over Rodin’s. The actual museum has just closed but we were welcome to enjoy the gardens and grounds. We took our obligatory pictures of the Thinker and inspected the Gates of Hell and contemplated it’s motto “Abandon hope all ye who enter in”. Thank goodness the doors don’t open because my son would have thought it funny to push me through.
For dinner we went to an old favorite of mine, La Criee. It’s just down the street from the hotel and has excellent fish soup. I had the fish soup and a lovely filet of sole. My son had the fish soup also with a chicken curry dish. It lived up to my memory as it was delicious and reasonably priced at 44 Euro.
Back at our room, we settled in for the evening. There was a bit of road noise but that was understandable as it was Friday night. We were so tired, that it didn’t much more than a few minutes.
