London

Wednesday June 28th - Have you ever heard the phrase "Getting there was half the fun?" Well, in this case, getting there was not fun at all. Things started out pretty well - we didn't have any trouble finding the routes we needed to get back to London, but once we hit the city, it quickly turned into a nightmare. Traffic was unbelievable and even though we had maps, we couldn't figure out where we were or how to get where we wanted to be. We stopped three times to ask people for help. Everyone was very nice, but it was incredibly difficult and scary. When we finally found the hotel, there was no parking for guests. We could have put the car in a carpark nearby, but we didn't know what that would cost. Originally we had thought we'd drive to Stonehenge and Harrietsham before returning the car, but we quickly abandoned that notion when we found out how difficult it was to get to the hotel the first time.

So instead, we parked long enough at a metered spot to get unloaded and checked in and then we started off to return the car to the Hertz rental place at Heathrow. We had it for two more days, but there was no way we were going to use it so getting rid of it seemed the best option - for a while at least. We asked directions from the concierge on how to get to Heathrow and he showed us on a map. Off we went, and very soon were not sure what street we were on because the landmarks didn't seem to match his description. Someone was watching over us though, because in spite of ourselves, we made it to the M4 which is the motorway (like our freeways) that took us to the M25 that went by Heathrow. We thought we were home free...

But where the h--- were we supposed to get off? The signs on the M25 only mention the terminals for the airport and say nothing about rental returns. The paperwork we had from Hertz didn't seem to say anything so as we kept looking for signs - suddenly we were past all the exits for Heathrow heading towards Gatwick. So we got off that road and attempted to circle back around the outskirts of London to anything that said Heathrow. Eventually we got back to the M25 and this time realized we were looking for exit 14. When we came to it, not a word was mentioned about rentals, but we got off anyway. We headed blindly down this road and suddenly saw one and only one sign that mentioned rental returns. God help you if you missed that! So we proceeded on and after awhile saw Hertz returns mentioned and the sign looked like I had to go way around to the right on the round about. Trouble was, what I needed to do was really a U turn but I didn't realize it so yup - we were lost again - but the Hertz place was there - we just couldn't get there from where we were. Finally one of the buses came out of the lot and I went running over to him to plead for assistance. By his reaction we're not the first and we won't be the last. He told me how to get out of where I was and go to the next left - simple as that - yeah - right...

So we got the car turned in and took the shuttle back to Terminal 1 where the only highlight of our day was the young man, David, who helped us with 7 day passes for the Underground/Buses as well as a couple of tours. And God love him, he spoke slowly and distinctly so we actually knew what he said. He explained to us how to take the underground back to our hotel and we made it - around 7:00 p.m. last night. We left Lincoln at 10:00 a.m. and we had no idea when we left how this day would unfold. If we had - we might have stayed in Lincoln!!!

We got back to our room and collapsed. Then we tried to manuever around each other to unpack and get situated. This room makes our room at Bishop Grosseteste look like a palatial suite. Now we know why this room was "cheap". (London is VERY expensive!) But we have figured out where to put things - more or less and the shower here is better than the college and there's actually a deep tub for Janet to take her long hot baths though she hasn't yet because it is much warmer here than it was in Lincoln. Thus ends our first day in London.

Thursday, June 29th - The day dawned sunny and the morning was cool - a relief to the surprising warmth we experienced when we got here. We signed up for 10 hours at an Internet Cafe down the street because originally we didn't think there was a wi-fi connection in the hotel. Actually there isn't, but we have hitched ourselves onto an unsecured connection and though it is slow and inconsistent, it is working. We go to the cafe when we want to check our mail or print something out and we're uncertain of this other connection. The coffee there is also tons better than the instant the hotel provides.

We wanted to find information on train schedules to Harrietsham where my grandmother (on my father's side) was born. So we went to the cafe so Janet could print out some stuff from the genealogy she had saved. Then we looked up a map of Harrietsham. The street she wanted is no longer there and when we found out the train fares (about $60 each), we decided not to go. Instead, we took the "Tube" to Victoria Station so that we could find out if there were any seats available for the matinee of Billy Elliott the Musical. After waiting in the "queue" for about 20 minutes we found out there were so we purchased two and then went in search of some lunch. Sandwiches and fruit were consumed in a nearby park while we waited. London parks are neat - people sit all over and even stretch out for naps during their lunch hours. Pigeons hang around in great numbers, but the signs warn you not to feed them.

Friday, June 30th - You'll never believe the trouble we got into today! It seems like we just aren't supposed to be in London. We had tickets for a half day bus tour of the city - The Tower of London, the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace and a river boat ride on the Thames where we could get photos of things like Parliament and other historic sites that overlook the river.

We were to be picked up for our tour at a different hotel several blocks away. We were supposed to be there at 7:15 a.m. for a 7:25 pick up. I woke up a little after 4:30 when I heard someone above us moving around through my earplugs. It was getting light out already, so I started playing on my computer. Janet woke up around 5:30 thinking it was 6:30 and wondering why we hadn't gotten our wakeup call (which was scheduled for 6:30). So we made coffee in the room and had peanut butter and jelly from the groceries that we brought from Lincoln. At 6:50 we were ready so we decided to get a good start on a leisurely stroll over to the pickup spot. We were there a few minutes after 7:00. 7:25 came and went with a few more people arriving, but no sign of our bus. We were plenty early enough so we kept waiting and about 15 minutes later it finally arrived. We were taken to the bus terminal where some people switched for other buses but we were going to be on the one that picked us up. About 8:30 we started off for the Tower of London. We arrived before any of the other bus companies and were given a private tour by one of the "Beef Eaters". They are military personnel assigned there and they actually live there too.

They actually have a very "high tech" way of exhibiting the Crown Jewels now. Unfortunately, no photos are allowed. There is a two screen presentation with close up slides of the various items making up the collection so you actually see them in much greater detail then you can through the cases. After the video, you go into the vault (air conditioned - how lovely) and are on a moving sidewalk so they keep the crowds moving on through. Janet said it was nothing like that when she was there before. It's very well done.

We weren't that interested in going inside the Tower. We figured one room of old furniture gets to be like another after awhile, so we were in the courtyard and headed to the giftshop. This is when our trouble for the day began. We had been told to assemble by the giftshop at 11:15 to go to the changing of the guard. Janet looked at her watch and said it was time. I looked at it too and saw the minute hand at 3:00. No one was around where we were to meet. We looked around and suddenly found two other ladies. They were wondering where everyone was too. We went to the bus parking area - no bus.

We were now beginning to panic. I had left the camera case on the seat to hold it. We went pack to the meeting area - no one. We went back to the bus area - no bus. Now it is 11:35 - we've been left behind. So we found the tube and got on the train to go back to the bus terminal. At least we want to make sure to get the camera case back. After about 5 stops of our journey, Janet looked at her watch and it said it was 11:00. She had misread it earlier and so had I! We got off at the next stop, ran over the the eastbound tracks and hopped the next train to go back. We had 20 minutes to get back (because Janet's watch was 7 minutes fast). Incredibly, we made it! What a relief. We were hot and pooped from the exertion, but we were back on the bus, our camera case was safe and the first thing we did as we pulled out was ask the driver to turn on the AC.

The next stop was Buckingham Palace. Our guide said they were going to lead us to an area where the band and the guards march past after the actual changing is over. We got there about five minutes before they started out and just as she had promised, it was a wonderful spot of photos. Then we had an opportunity to get up by the gate for photos as the crowds around the palace were thinning. Based on the standard flying above, the queen was in residence, but she didn't respond to our knock at the gate and my hotel key didn't work. Darn.

Sunday July 2nd - We got picked up for this trip very promptly by a different company. The guide, Neil, was quite comical and when we got to the terminal to get our actual coach for the day, we found out he would be our guide. Things are beginning to look up though it is already very warm.

The ride to Stonehenge took about an hour and a half. The highways here are pretty much all surrounded by high hedgerows or untrimmed bushes so even though you are up in a coach (not a bus I was told - busses are for city routes - coaches are for tours), it is difficult to see the surrounding countryside most of the time. One thing that I didn't notice until it was pointed out - there are no billboards here or other kinds of outdoor advertising and does that make it nice!

When we started down the final hill to Stonehenge, Janet was awestruck. It is impressive to near it - it's out in the open with nothing else near it - the visitor's area is below ground level so it doesn't impede the view. We also found that you can walk near the stones. We had been under the impression all you could do was look out the bus window as you drove by. So we were excited to see it fairly close up!

The last stop of our day was Windsor Castle. A village has built up around the castle to take advantage of the tourist trade and so there is a lot of activity in the area. It was a fairly long walk to get to the castle from the parking area and by not the temperature is about 95 degrees. The queen's standard was flying - so she was there for the weekend. She was at Buckingham when we were there on Thursday. We asked a guide and she said, "The old girl gets around doesn't she?" Turns out she stays at Buckingham during the week - that is the office - and goes to Windsor for the weekend. It is only 45 minutes or so by car and perhaps she has a helicopter. We don't know. Windsor is in the flight path of Heathrow but I suppose you get used to it. Being there with all the tourists is like being in a fish bowl anyway. I guess she can ignore a lot.

We couldn't take photos inside and we weren't interested in examining every piece. It is filled with old arms, armor, paintings and antiques. No question that is it magnificent. but we basically strolled on through so that we could get out of there and find an airconditioned shop of some sort. We found a Burger King and while we were in there, a fire engine went by. An alarm had sounded at the castle and they evacuated the building. No one knew why, but our guide wondered if it was the heat. We saw the chapel, where the fire started in 1992. It has been fully restored now and quite beautifully so. It was reopened to the public exactly 5 years after the fire.

Monday July 3rd - Today we had thought to go to the museum of natural history, but instead we opted for a movie in an air conditioned theatre. We walked to the theater which is in an indoor mall. Some of the stores had air conditioning so we were loving that. We had lunch and then made our way to the theater complex only to find out their AC was broken. So we came back to the hotel. We hung out in the basement for a while - it is a bit cooler there, but eventually came back to the room. It is on the west side and catches the afternoon heat. No AC here. So when the sun gets behind the trees at 8:30 or so, we'll open the drapes and hope to cool it down a bit.

We're been hanging out in the room in our underwear and soaking spare panties in water and throwing them on ourselves to try and keep cool. Sorry, we can't put any pictures of that here.

Tuesday July 4th - Well, it didn't seem quite as bad today so we went to Leicester Square via the tube to go see a movie in an Air Conditioned Theatre. We stopped off at a pub on the way

for another wonderful pub lunch. And of course a glass of lager

to help cool off doesn't hurt a thing.

Movies are quite expensive here! It cost us $35 to see this during the day in off-peak hours (and we didn't get popcorn!) - but it was air-conditioned. When the movie was over and we went back outside, we found it hadn't gotten as hot as the previous day so we wandered a bit in the square and then spotted the National Gallery. We thought a little culture might be in order on our final day - and it was free - and as it turned out - it was air conditioned! Win, win and win!

We saw "the original" Sunflowers by Van Gogh along with countless other works of religious figures and persons from history. We could only stand so much culture, even though it was cool, so after about an hour we headed back to our room for our final night in London. No photos were allowed in the gallery, but we got some of the exterior and the fountains in front of the gallery.

Wednesday July 5 - We're started for home today. We were up bright and early to catch the bus for the airport. We managed to get everything in our suitcases, but they didn't get any lighter, that's for sure. After checking our luggage we had breakfast and then headed for the gate. They do it differently in Heathrow from anywhere else I have flown. There is a general lounge area and you watch the boards there to find out what gate your plane leaves from. It isn't posted until about an hour before the flight. When it finally was, we headed down to the gate and only waited there a few minutes for them to start boarding. It wasn't until I went to sit down on the plane that I realized I had left my Tempurpedic seat cushion where we had breakfast. I sat on it there and never gave it a thought when I got up. It sure made the plane flight to England easier and I kicked myself for leaving it behind, but there was no way to go back for it even if it had still been there. The flight left about an hour late, but the pilot made up the time and we landed in Vancouver right on time. After we got our luggage and checked through customs, we went to the Alaska Airlines counter to get our seats assigned for our flight home the next day. We were taking no chances on being bumped again!

Thursday - July 6 - The bus was over a half an hour late picking us up from the motel, but there weren't that many people checking in at Alaska and we were processed without any problems. The flight from Vancouver wasn't full, but the flight from Seattle was so we were very glad we had our seats. We landed on time, got our luggage and headed right home. And Janet made it home with all of her ancestral dirt!

Our friends, Judy and Carol, were there to greet us and our beloved Buddy barked his head off and jumped all around so we guess he was glad to see us. Miss Tahoe, ever the lady, was happy for additional scratches from us, but didn't bark. We were so lucky to have these good friends come and stay in our home and take care of our dog for almost three weeks. They enjoyed time in the casino and doing other things locally, but to be away from their own homes for three weeks is really something. We are forever grateful and we are especially grateful to Tahoe who helped to teach Buddy about being a dog.

Overall, we had a wonderful trip, met new family members and made them friends, and saw some miraculous sights. It would have been more fun for us if we hadn't run into those awful temperatures in London, but I guess there are always ups and downs to every vacation. We seemed to have our share this time, but we're very glad that we had the opportunity to go.

If you've actually taken the time to read everything on these pages instead of just looking at the photos, then we hope you enjoyed sharing in our trip and that you'll visit our site again and sign the guestbook.