Homeward Bound

Last night we said goodbye to our little flat in London. Packing is such sweet sorrow. 

I call this one "Taming the Beast".

It was a great little flat. Maggie and I talked about how it is sometimes sad to leave places, but also good to have been there to begin with. 

Since our flight was so early in the morning, we spent last night in a hotel at the Gatwick Airport. It was hilarious, like living in the future. 

Everything was automated. It was also steps away from our gate. 

My check bag got list somewhere between Gatwivk and Dublin. I did not care too much - they will find it eventually. 

We then boarded the epic flight to Atlanta. Maggie used both of our pillows, both blankets, and her dinosaur to make a nest. 

And so here we are in Atlanta waiting for our flight home. 

Tomorrow I will post a bunch of pictures!

Traditions

Yesterday we took the train up to Oxford. Larisa kindly showed us around town. 

Oxford is very beautiful. It also has a lot of traditions. Maggie asks a lot of questions about why things happen and the answer in Oxford is frequently tradition. The consequences of being around for nearly a thousand years. 

We did the Mouse Hunt at the Pitt Rivers museum. It was a bit hit. 

We walked about, had lunch at the Eagle and Child where Tolkien and Lewis used to hang out, and got a tour of the Bodleien Library. Since Larisa works there, we got to see some of the less public nooks and crannies. 

We also had a spot of tea and put Larisa in the stocks. 

Maggie did a lot of running around and drank her tea out of a saucer. She was particularly impressed by the tunnels under the library. Thanks so much to Larisa for showing us around!

Then we headed back for our final night in London. 

Paris all in a day

I am a couple of posts behind, so I am taking time in the airport to play catch up. First up, our one day Paris trip. 

We woke up horribly early to catch the Eurostar. It is a pretty slick deal since it is fast and gets you into the heart of the city. 

Like so many things, Notre Dame tends to look so much less impressive than it truely is when seen through the lens of a camera, though it does not prevent people from trying.

We also stopped to get a picture of the hotel I stayed in last time I was in Paris. 

We also saw a film crew on the river. 

Next up was the Louvre. 

We did a quick visit since it was very hot and crowded. 

The gardens were lovely. 

And then the Eiffel Tower. 

We also did a lot of walking and eating. It was a very full day. 

Most theatrical

I just realized that the blog post from yesterday did not, in fact, post.  So just put that one up and here is today.

We started the day by dashing off to Regents Park for a little Shakespeare. They had a version of 12th Night for ages six and up.

The park is quite beautiful. It was very sunny and we relocated to some seats in the shade.  It was further from the stage but so much nicer.

Next we headed to Trafalger Square to catch a bit of West End Live.  They have numbers from various shows for free over the course of two days.  It is a great idea but a bit of a madhouse.

After catching some food and making a stop at Leicester Square we then headed to the theatre to catch Matilda again.  It is kind of nutty, but it was so good and when there were tickets available we decided that vacation was a good time to be silly.

We also went to have ice cream.

And of course take pictures near iconic London symbols.

And on the tube.

Tomorrow we are off to Paris for the day.

Pictures don't do it justice

We had a busy day today.  First up, we went to Westminster Abbey.  We had quite the line to get in then did the free audio tour.  It was fun.  Of course they do not allow pictures inside.

We then took a stroll including a stop to eat our sandwiches near Buckingham palace.

We also wandered by the horse guards.  The horses seemed a bit irritated.  The guards were stoic as always.

We then passed by Trafalger Square and caught a bit of a protest/rally.

It was quite the parade.  Many different issues represented.

We saw quite a few of the protesters on the tube later with their signs in tow.

Next up was the British Museum.  Now I. Love to take pictures and all, but it really is quite pointless for people to try to get decent pictures of the Rosetta Stone, amazing though it is.  Still, we got some fun shots.  Maggie had a scavenger hunt that she was doing, so we ran about and saw many fine objects.

We also checked out a couple of the highlights.

Could not resist an ancient fist bump (not for real, just a photo op).

Next we went to a playground and Maggie played in the sand.  I was mostly fascinated by the dancers.

Now off to bed before I tip over.

Brought to you by the letter queue

Today we stood in many lines.  

First, after making out way out the door, we went to the Tower of London.  We chose the wrong line to get in because there was a very complicated transactions taking place ahead of us.  Finally we made it through the gates.

We watched a presentation of The Knights Tale in the moat, did a Yeoman Warder tour of the place, and then went to see the Crown Jewels. More lines.  We ended up between two parts of a German tour group.  Behind us was a school group from Spain who all realized that if they tried hard enough they could make loud shoe squeaks in the tower with the Crown Jewels. Very loud.  I thought about saying that I was American and therefore prone to irrational violence, but figured it would be a bad idea to get kicked out of England.  

Today was the day with the special ceremony where the military comes to pay the rents.  I did not pick up the details, but it involves a band and many people marching in uniform carrying a wooden cask.

And the cask.

And more people in uniform.

It was a fun time all arround.  It was also good cardio because every time we got above up the stairs we had to go back down to find a bathroom.  

We also got to spend some time gazing at the Tower Bridge. 

Then off to the London Eye.

It is big.  We stood in two very long lines - on to get tickets and one to get onto the eye.  We also had to muscle past two different take-your-picture-try-to-make-you-buy-it things.  We survived entact and with no bad pictures.

It is quite a view.

We then went to a playground that we found when we were scanning the area from above. 

And a tube ride back to the flat.  There were many fancy people on the tube heading to an event at Wembly.  We were not fancy at all, but had a very fine day indeed.