I’ve actually been home since Thursday night, but with all the activity in Paris and London I managed to pick up a cold and have been asleep all but a few hours since then.
Our last touring day was Stonehenge and Bath. And it was cold out there with the breeze! Fortunately we planned for that and were bundled up, including hand warmers which worked really well for keeping fingers warm between taking pictures. They don’t let people go up close to the stones during operating hours so we were able to get beautiful pictures:
And later, in Bath, the abbey:
And the Roman Bath itself:
People dressed up as Romans at the bathsThe outside of the bath complex
After viewing the baths, mom, Joanna and I went to afternoon tea at the Pump Room which was delicious and relaxing. And I’m pleased to be able to say it wasn’t really any different from having afternoon tea at the Brown Palace in Denver. It’s always nice to see when a tradition makes it across the pond to the states intact!
The drive back to the hotel took more than three hours because of roadwork being done. There was some sleeping on the bus, and a final picture from the day:
We don’t know why the building was lit up this way, but it was pretty.
And now I’m home, resting and getting over this cold.
I’m less tired this morning than last night, thank goodness. We have just boarded the bus and are headed out to Stonehenge, about two hours outside of London by bus. It’s right around freezing outside and not supposed to get warmer, but we all have our sweaters and hats and scarves so it shouldn’t be much of a problem. I also have hand warmers that I think I’ll put in my gloves instead of my hands. They will then be able to warm up my hands when I put them in my pockets. Wearing gloves while taking pictures on a phone just doesn’t work well for me.
Here is another picture of the tower bridge that I took yesterday:
And one of Queen Anne:
Queen Anne’s statue is outside of St Paul’s. She was unfortunate enough to have 17 children in just over as many years, and none survived into adulthood.
We also went to Harrods yesterday afternoon for a little shopping. Of course most of it fell solidly into the category of window shopping as it was designer everything. I learned that Prada makes china and crystal, but stayed far away from both out of concern over the potential for breaking anything. I didn’t have energy or time to shop anywhere else on the street, so will have to come back for that.
I also didn’t have time to go to Westminster Abbey. Well, technically I did but I don’t think I could have put another scrap of information into my head.
I’m looking forward to tea in Bath today after Stonehenge. I made a reservation in October, so we should be all set. It’s even paid for.
Tonight it’s a farewell dinner and then tomorrow I catch a shuttle to Heathrow at 7:30 am. I expect I’ll be at the airport somewhere between 5 and 6 hours before my flight. Provided I don’t get hung up in security, that should give me some time to do more shopping.
I’m can only laugh at how much I look forward to the shopping parts. Learning things is fun too, but the shopping is what I look forward to most.
Nobody was moving very quickly today in spite of our tour guide’s prompting. After breakfast, we headed out to the Tower of London. On the way I learned that the current theory of why Henry VIII went nuts is from a traumatic brain injury sustained in a fall during a joust. To me this makes a lot more sense than insanity due to syphilis. It explains the rapid mood shifts as well as his increasing size and unpredictability.
I also learned (and this was an ‘oh duh’ moment) that it really isn’t in the monarchy’s best interests to do some dna testing on the remains currently presumed to be the lost princes in the tower. If the bones turn out to not belong to the sons of Edward IV, it calls into question the entire succession and could mean that Charles isn’t king after all.
Here are some pictures from the tower:
A “beefeater”GuardThe main portcullis for one of the iterations of the towerA cool doorThe towerHenry III throne (reproduction, of course)
After the tower we went over to St Paul’s cathedral. Here are some pictures:
Outside the cathedral Mosaic ceiling Primary domeMadonna and child Honoring Florence Nightengale
We left Paris this morning. In spite of a lot of espresso I remained exhausted and was very grateful for a long train ride which allowed me to sleep for a bit.
It snowed overnight in England, so when we exited the chunnel (yes, apparently that’s what you call it when you have a tunnel that runs through the English Channel), everything was white. So beautiful! Of course it was also Monday morning, and that means the same thing on this side of the pond as it does in the states – Monday is an uncooperative day that is frustrating. The snow was not especially welcome, and is in fact a very rare occurrence in London itself.
Once we arrived in London, we were bundled onto a bus and driven around town for a few hours. Here are a few photos:
Train station Pretty treeOutside Buckingham Palace
Our first primary stop was Buckingham Palace and here are some pictures from outside the gates:
We also stopped at Prince Albert Hall where I finally got to have some hot mulled wine! It was delicious, and I’ll be looking for more while I’m here.
Time for sleeping now. Our bus leaves tomorrow at 8:00 so I will have to be down for breakfast relatively early.
And I’m exhausted. Today I went to Musée D’Orsay and saw the Edward Munch exhibition followed by their Impressionist gallery. I hailed a taxi for the very first time and I went to the Eiffel Tower with mom and Joanna.
I learned the I don’t care much for Munch’s work, and that there are many versions of most of his paintings done in different formats. Not just sketches, but fully detailed drawings and experiments in media. It seemed to me that he was overly occupied with death and illness, and he was also a very anxious man. Women freaked him out a bit I think.
From there I wandered into to impressionist’s gallery and realized I could take pictures:
The little black placards say who created what…
And did you know Monet painted more than water lilies?
Water lilies bridge Turkeys!Roman cathedral
And some Degas:
Finally, this afternoon:
And tonight:
Elderberry spritzer Deconstructed lemon pie
Tomorrow we take a train through the chunnel and begin the second half of our adventure.
Day 2 in Paris. Today we had a bus tour of Paris and a trip out to Versailles. Finished it up with good wine and a fruit minestrone that I’m pretty sure I can make at home and will be perfect in the summer.
This morning I finally got to have my pain au chocolat with breakfast of scrambled eggs, yogurt and earl grey tea before hopping onto the bus for our city tour. Our guide, Veronique, took us through the most famous places in the city. Here are a few pictures:
At the Eiffel Tower…The tower itself
After a short break, we headed out to Versailles. To see the whole place would require a stay in the nearby village and at least a week focused on the palace and grounds.
Main gates of Versailles Symbols of Louis XIV – the Sun KingNot even the sculptures were safe from decapitation
Louis XIV apparently didn’t really care for Parisians, so when he was 17 he moved the court from the palace in the city (now the Louvre) to his father’s hunting lodge about two hours by horse outside of the city. It took a bit, but he turned it into the most impressive palace in the world. There were three kings who lived there before the revolution destroyed the monarchy and replaced it with an empire.
The king’s bed. Louis XIV and Louis XV both died in this bed. Unfortunately, Louis XVI lost his head and missed the chance to die in bed at home. The queen’s bed. The queens gave birth in this bed with a lively audience of nobles and their children packed into the room as witnesses.
Finally, we ended the day with a nice dinner at a nearby cafe in Paris. I had fruit minestrone for dessert:
Tomorrow, mom and Joanna are headed to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur and then to the Louvre with the tour group. I’m going to the D’Orsay museum to see the Edward Munch exhibit along with a few impressionists. If I have time before mom gets back from the Louvre, I may also visit L’Orangerie where there is a large Monet exhibit. I’m hoping to acquire some art for the house as well as interesting Christmas gifts for family.
Of course there are many more photos, but it’s time for sleeping now.
I suppose I can start with safely saying that we have identified the rowdy people inside of the tour group. Free alcohol is probably one of the very best ways to go about this task and there was plenty of that tonight.
But enough about the rowdy bunch.
We started the evening with a welcome drink (aperitif) at the hotel while introducing ourselves and learning about the next several days. I won’t spoil the surprises here though.
After the introductions and wine, we went to an authentic French restaurant for good food, good company and some fantastic entertainment provided by two gentlemen who sang while playing the guitar and a squeeze-box.
The restaurant. Joanna, mom, and myself before dinner. Our fabulous entertainers
Of course I have to share what I ate! We started the night with a kir royale, a blend of black currant liqueur and sparkling white wine. Basically another aperitif. it was beautiful and delicious. After that mom and I both had an appetizer of escargot where we got to learn how to scoop the snails out of their shells. Fortunately, there were no “Pretty Woman” issues and all snails stayed where they belonged. Easily the best escargot I’ve ever had, but that’s not a surprise since I am in Paris after all.
Apparently if you order snails in Greece, you may be served a plate of living creatures. These were safely cooked and could not escape.
Next was the main course (and I’m literally rolling my eyes while I type this) where I ordered the same thing I order every Friday night: filet mignon cooked medium rare. I did get mashed potatoes instead of broccoli though.
Nothing against my favorite weekly restaurant, this was just in a completely different category when it came to quality and preparation.
We finished up with dessert, which for me was a pear with ice cream. It was delicious, but by then I’d had something like 3 glasses of wine and forgot to take a picture. The entertainment was flirting with me (and several others) and I may or may not have agreed to meet one of them later at La Moulin Rouge. Since I’m in my room typing this up one letter at a time, you can guess how that ended up.
Finally on the ride back to the hotel, we saw some beautiful Christmas lights
A beautiful evening.
Tomorrow we have our city tour and then out to Versailles to gain an even better perspective regarding the start of the French Revolution.
I’m sitting in the coffee shop attached to our hotel in Paris having my first latte of the trip and of the day.
Unfortunately there was no sleeping on the flight. It wasn’t for lack of trying, but sleep absolutely eluded me. Fortunately, there were cocktails, bubbly, dinner, snacks, more snacks, and finally breakfast of an egg sandwich and orange juice.
Getting through customs was an absolute breeze because they opened up a new line and I got in it. I’m not sure that France has any idea that I’m here though. I didn’t have to scan my passport or anything except hand it to an extremely bored man. I’m not entirely sure he even looked at it before giving it back and waving me through. Baggage claim was equally easy and I was in the arrivals area in nothing flat.
That’s where the adventure begins. My flight was 30 minutes early, but I dutifully looked for a person with a sign that had my name on it. No joy, but I wasn’t surprised because I was super early. So just to be sure, I went to the tourist help desk and asked them if I was in the right place. Yep. The shuttle just wasn’t there yet. This was at about 7:40 am. Flight was supposed to land at 7:55.
So I wait.
And I wait…
And start to get a little concerned around 8:20.
About 8:30 I spotted a man from the shuttle service, but his sign was for someone else. Nevertheless, he got my name and reservation number and called the main office. After a little while and some back and forth, it was determined that because I didn’t fly United, I was not in the correct terminal. The man was intent on taking care of me until the other driver came to pick me up. Grabbed my suitcase (that concerned me) and took me to a chair. Told me to wait 5 minutes and the other driver would be there to collect me. It was now getting closer to 9:00.
He stuck pretty close to me while watching for his passenger, and called the other driver at least 5 times. Eventually, around 9:30 the other driver finally got there! I tipped the first guy because I felt so much better after he started shepherding me around and making sure I got where I needed to go.
Got in the shuttle with 6 other ladies all in the same tour group. And then we saw this:
It took an hour and a half to drive to the hotel because of traffic!
And now I’m hanging out on the couch in the coffee shop waiting for mom and Joanna to get here. Probably will be around 1:00 pm. In the meantime, here is my current view:
I may have to get another coffee while I wait so I don’t fall asleep.
It’s November 16th, just after work. I thought I’d maybe write a little bit before I go into the rest of my evening routine of sitting on the couch trying to decide if I should watch another rerun of West Wing, or read a book, or … well, you get the idea.
I think I may finally be over the suitcase mania that struck me in October. ONE medium-sized suitcase to check that will hold “stuff” on the way home, probably including my dirty laundry, but that’s TBD for obvious reasons. TWO carry-ons. One hard-side that will go in the overhead compartment and will likely hold all my clothing, and one somewhat large purse to go under the seat. Packed in the checked suitcase will be another carry-on that holds more than my purse. For coming home, purse goes into the checked bag (empty), and all that jazz. It’s not really as complicated as it sounds.
I moved on to clothing after that. No bulky sweaters. Seems like the weather is very similar to what I have in Minneapolis, so that helped with decisions. Turns out I actually have 3 sweaters that will be perfect. One is cashmere and the other two are merino wool. Light, breathable, and I can wear each one twice – once in each country. After I stopped agonizing over the sweaters, I calmed down significantly.
So 22 days until take off. Next week is Thanksgiving, so it’s only a 3 day week, which will be nice. We don’t “do” Black Friday anything, so it’ll just be hanging out, napping, and eating leftovers. BUT, what makes this important is not that it is Thanksgiving. It’s the number of working days. When I looked at the calendar, I only have THIRTEEN working days before the trip! AND, I’m only back to work for FOUR days before I take off until 2023.
Why is all that important? Because people do a lot of work between Thanksgiving and Christmas and I won’t be here for it. Which means that I have to have everything that they would normally get from me in that time frame done in approximately 13 days. I actually had to make a list so I didn’t forget anything that needed to be done! I haven’t needed a real list in ages because I typically do not have a lot to do and very little time pressure on what I DO work on. Makes for a lazy person.
What’s left to do? I need to make all the photo copies of documents, I need to print out the information I got from the travel company, I need to check to see if I actually DO have a voltage converter already because I will need it.
Christmas time in Paris and London is sure to be beautiful. This year instead of building a house, I’m tagging along with my mom and her friend Joanna for a whirlwind trip across the pond.
It’s only October. We’re 50 days away from takeoff and I’ve immersed myself is all things travel!
The biggest question I’ve been asking myself is what luggage to take that will accomplish what I need without making me look like some ding-dong that needs her entire wardrobe for what really amounts to about a 6 day trip. It’s the weather + shopping that’s causing this conundrum. December in London has highs of around 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Paris is slightly warmer but not much. So do I pack bulky sweaters? Will it really be THAT cold? Probably not, although I should expect it to be a little damp, so an umbrella isn’t out of the question.
As for shopping, I can anticipate a few things. I know I would like a teapot and maybe a couple of pretty teacups and saucers. Those will require space for packing materials and/or boxes. I also know I would like to bring home some wine from France. I found some wine diapers to keep them from making a huge mess if they somehow break, and also some bottle specific packing I can use. All of this stuff I’m hoping to bring home (let’s not forget the Christmas ornaments and shot glasses either) will require space and could be heavy. Wine bottles are required to go into checked luggage, but the tea service isn’t. And what about gifts? What if I find a perfect piece of art? Do I ship that? (Probably)
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