Trains, Towers, Traitors and Troy

Yesterday was a bank holiday here so Abe wasn't working and we decided to go into London again and see a few more things and to say hello to our friend Troy Holmberg who is in town for a conference at Oxford.  

After spending lots of money on train tickets into London last time around we thought we would drive in a bit to where we could just get on the tube and take it the rest of the way in because the kids can all ride the tube for free and we would certainly save money this way.  So we drove to Wimbledon and parked at the train station and took the tube in which took twice as long and actually with the cost of gas and the fact that the van we bought is a major gas guzzler I don't think we saved any money at all and just made the journey longer.  I was glad to see Wimbledon though and hope to get back there to see the Lawn Tennis Museum and of course some matches come the middle of June.

We decided to visit the Tower of London and Tower Bridge.  We spent about three hours touring the towers, traitors gate, and exploring the armory and seeing the crown jewels.  

I was young the last time I was there and I think they have added some things since. When you go into the Jewel House they have video of Queen Elizabeth's coronation and other videos about each of the jewels.  It was really neat and it brought things to life for the kids.  

After our time at the Tower we headed for the British Museum to meet Troy.   After about fifteen minutes in the museum they started turning out lights and shutting things up and said the museum was closing in a few minutes.  We were so sad that we got there so late and that it closed at five o'clock.  So we didn't even get to see the mummies or the "Lindow Bog Man" or any of the fun things for the kids.  The only really good thing we did see in time was the Rosetta Stone and that was cool.  After being kicked out of the Museum and then talking outside with Troy for an hour or so we headed to China Town to find some dinner.  We didn't know which place to pick and opted for the one that had the best looking buffet.  The food however did not taste as good as it looked and we left very disappointed with Mr. Wu's Restaurant- it left us feeling a bit queazy, I'm sorry to say. 

 

Carrow Road

We experienced our first true professional football game Saturday.  Norwich Canaries vs Cholchester (the oldest town in the UK) Eagles and it was an awesome experience! 

We tried to join in with the fans and purchased our green and yellow Canary garb including a very nice jester hat for McKay.  Sadly he had to hand his lovely hat over to Zach before the match because we we were divided into three seats in the home section and three in the away section and Zach took the jester hat and sat with my cousin Ruth's husband Rich and his Dad who are actually from Norwich and avid fans and Abe, McKay and I headed anonymously to the away section.  

The energy in the stadium (Carrow Road) was tangible, especially because of our placement between the away fans and the home fans.  McKay hardly moved the entire first half of the match because he was so overwhelmed.  He did try to join in on one of the chants until I realized what he was saying and informed him that we don't say those words! The only thing the entire crowd actually agreed on was their hatred of "the scum of Ipswich" their common rival.

Norwich is affectionately called the "YO-YO football club" because they keep jumping up and down between the premier league and the championship league but they shined Saturday (along with the sun for a few minutes) with a win of 5-1.  Of course those who are in the know wouldn't say we have attended a proper football game yet but we enjoyed ourselves anyway.  

Modern Architecture

The drive to Stonehenge is really only thirty minutes from our house, but we of course headed down the wrong road and took a detour through Salisbury and Old Sarum passing some pig farms along the way.  When we first saw them we thought the pigs were cows they were so enormous and there were hundreds of them.  

When we finally made it to Stonehenge we were fascinated with the story and history.  I had seen pictures before but never really knew all that went into it.  These stones are not native to England they were brought here from Wales and other areas around 3000 B.C. and all the research is still conflicting as to why exactly.  

We listened to an audio tour and walked around for a bit and took in the beauty of the English countryside.  We decided to purchase an "English Heritage" card that allows entrance into many of the castles and other landmarks around England and Scotland.  

The nice thing about being here in March is that there are very few tourists and we can generally walk into every site we go to.  The down side however and the reason there are no tourists is that it is FREEZING!  This weather is crazy.  It goes from raining to sunny to snow flurries within an hour and the wind chills you to the bone.  We can't wait for it to warm up:)

"Up in Town" and Windsor

First of all the drive to Windsor from our house is beautiful.  It winds through tree canopied streets past the Ascot Downs Racecourse and is breathtaking.  We love everything about this fantastic castle including the views, Waterloo Hall, and the State Apartments.  The kids were hoping to find the queen at home, but her colors were not flying.  They told us she usually spends Easter at Windsor so she'll be there in a couple of weeks.  Sadie enjoyed the gardens most, McKay the guards that marched around and the cannon, Lucy liked the fact that princesses lived there and wondered when she could meet the queen and Zach just like everything about it.  

We needed to take a train ride so we headed to London.  I don't think McKay moved once the whole trip, he was entranced with the whole experience. We arrived at Waterloo station and walked down along the Thames enjoying the street performers and freezing.  It is NOT warm here yet but we are promised it will be beautiful by Easter.   We decide to go up in London Eye (a huge ferris wheel overlooking the city) and loved it!  We could see Parliament and Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and everything else all the way out to Wembley Stadium.  Brilliant! (to use our new favorite word)

Then we head to Westminster Abbey, take a ride on a double-decker bus through the West End and visit Covent Garden.  

You're checking how many bags?

It wasn't exactly easy but we made it across the Atlantic with loads of luggage and several children. 

The kids actually were very good throughout the trip except for a near loss of a toe in a people mover and a melt down by Lucy at the Cincinnati airport that was quickly cured by a toy offered from the Chick-filet clerk. Lucy took to hitching rides on the rolling carry-ons and brought out several smiling looks from passers by. 

The long flight across the ocean was quite empty so we were all able to stretch out over several seats and sleep somewhat comfortably, more so for the kiddies than adults.

Upon arrival at Gatwick we tried to wait patiently through passport control and being sent to get stamps at the Health desk and then back to passport control again. After an half hour or so we made it through to gather our bags onto three trolleys with Zach trying to control one, McKay trying to heave the Golf clubs, and Lucy continuing to hitch rides.  Not our finest hour to say the least!