and for the other half

So obviously I should be blogging more frequently, but I just am not good at it. Random is the best word. Well, better late than never right?

And off to the good stuff...

Tuesday we went to a place called Bath, named so because at some point the Romans lived there and built this big structure for the public baths. It is also a really cool place to visit just for all the architecture. After our tour of that baths came the best part of Tuesday..."afternoon tea." Fancy little sandwiches, scones (with my favorite topping again) and desserts all served on fancy tiered silver trays. The only thing more fun and girly than that? On our walk to the Fashion Museum we noticed a hat shop and decided to stop inside. A shop full of fancy hats loaded with ribbons, feathers and fluff!

Then we come to Wednesday. There had been an original forecast of rain, so we made it a day that we could be mostly inside. We went shopping. Shopping in London is the most crazy thing ever. The most crazy of all was a store called Primark. It's pretty much the cheapest store - like $4 for shirts and stuff like that. It was like going shopping the day after Thanksgiving + the day after Christmas + Disneyland (the lines not the rides). We ended the day by attending Wicked at the West End. And as true for my whole trip - no rain after all!

We planned Thursday to be a rest day from the late night Wednesday - and to prepare us for Friday. So we slept in and took it easy, then headed for a city close by - to visit a Primark that was not in London, therefore not as busy. This time I would say it was maybe just Thanksgiving.

Friday was the big tourist day. Our first stop, the London Eye. This has the idea of a ferris wheel - but instead of seats they were more like glass rooms - I'd say about 15-20 people fitting comfortably. Then it went around really slow, taking about 30 minutes to get around, to allow a most magnificent view of all of London. After we looked at everything from above, we then went by foot - taking in all the sites up close. We walked all over the city. No matter where I went I felt like I could take a picture in any direction and have a beautiful shot.

Bored yet? Well, stay strong - only a couple more days to go!

Saturday was the planned day for Paris - which I was very, very excited about. But as all things can't be perfect - we weren't actually able to go. The day I flew into England there was a fire in the Eurostar tunnel. We had hoped that things would be better if we waited to go towards the end of my visit. Then it came down to the end and the news was still not so good. We read it was several hours between trains, they said they would try to accommodate ticket holders (which sounded like maybe you wouldn't get on a train at all) and travel times once on the train were much longer than normal. They basically said only if you really have to should you take the train. So instead of the train we chose a relaxing day out in a boat on the River Thames -followed by lunch on the river's edge. For dinner my most famous meal of the trip - fish and chips with mushy peas. The fish was excellent - served in a fancy box and eaten with a funny fork (it looked like those wooden spoons you used to get with the little ice cream cups, but with two prongs). The fries were excellent as well. Then there were the peas. Basically they were mashed potatoes made with peas. Green mashed potatoes just weren't very appetizing looking to me, but I gave them a go anyway. I will say this...good fish and chips...

And for the grand finale...Sunday being Sunday wasn't overly eventful, but very fun nonetheless. I attended church with my friend. It also turned out to be the same one as some of her family. It was a good week to come because they had their much heard about "munch 'n mingle". This was started because new church memebers were having a hard time meeting others because everyone would just attend church and go home. So instead of going straight home everyone brings a little snack to share (the munch) and then the chatting begins (the mingle). Then after church my friend Miriam invited over some of her family and made us all what she said is a traditional Sunday dinner - roast chicken with mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, veggies and stuffing. Very yummy.

And then my trip was done. Monday morning I woke up early and got on a plane back to real life. And how lovely it is - crazy kids and all.

So thanks again to Taylor who helped me out with my flight (and helped me out getting the fancy treatment on the plane), thanks to all the grandparents who put up with my crazy monkeys for almost two weeks, and thanks to Miriam - because without her my trip would still be a dream in my head.