Whew! At the beginning of our trip we were so excited that we got to go on 11 airplanes. Now it was mostly a hurdle to jump over to get to our next destination. Thankfully, we got our big break, and got to ride on a train!!!! Who knew trains could ever be better that airplanes? Anyways, we took the Chunnel (an underground train that runs under the English Channel) from Paris to London. Let's say our London hotel wasn't nearly as nice as our Paris one. Finding a dirty Kleenex under the bed was not very pleasant for Mom. But it was better that sleeping on the streets, and we were glad to be in London!
Outside our hotel balcony--not quite as nice as Paris with a view of the Eiffel!
One of the highlights of our sabbatical was seeing the show Wicked in London. It was spectacular. Wicked is a story of the 4 witches of Oz, before the time Dorothy got picked up by the cyclone in Kansas.
They didn't allow cameras while the show was on, so I had to settle with taking a picture of the specially set up stage.
St. Paul's Cathedral at Midday. We had great weather in London, contrary to its rainy reputation.
The famous Big Ben clock.
One day we had a picnic lunch at Trafalgar square, with all of our very nice friends the pigeons. A story we heard somewhere was that all the pigeons in Trafalgar square were slowly disappearing........until they found out that a local Chinese restaurant was secretly capturing them and cooking them!
One of the things we just had to do in London was the changing of the guard. The changing of the guard takes place around 11 o'clock when the old guards take a break and the new ones come in. We had a tour guide that took us around to see the best parts of it. For instance, most people don't know that there is a horse changing of the guard that takes place right before the marching changing of the guard (above).
The beginning of the changing of the guard. You can't imagine how many people were trying to march with them and take pictures at the same time.
One of the new guardsmen. A thing you should know is that the guards are actually in the army and not just for show. They could be called back into service at anytime.
A Queen Victoria statue outside the changing of the guard. Her original nose was knocked off by a ladder, so they had to give her a nose job.
How expensive could really nice cake cost? Well at Harrods, we saw one. Want it? It's only 5000 pounds (about $8000).
At the Tower of London, we got a so called "Beef-eater" as our tour guide.
Outside the Tower of London (I used special effects to only make the flag have color).
It just so happened that Tom Cruise was in London the week that we were there! Or...at least something like him. We went to Madame Tussuad's wax museum on our last full day in London, where Tom Cruise and all other famous figures were expertly made with wax.
Leaving London, we visited Stonhenge. We listened to an Audio Guide while we walked around the great stones.
We wandered the streets of Oxford, but because it was late we couldn't get in to visit any colleges.
Next we went to go stay with Todd and Rebecca Cook who are missionaries in Birmingham (about 2 hours away from London).
Birmingham is the starting place of the chocolate company Cadbury. It's a lot more popular in Europe than in the US.
A free beach located in the middle of Birmingham. Why go to the coast when you can get a tan right in the middle of the city??
At a American-like store in Birmingham, we got for the first time in 10 weeks...... *drum roll* ROOT BEER!!!!! Yes, they usually don't have Root Beer in Europe (people think it tastes like medicine). It was good to get a taste of America.
Biffsnader
We got to go swimming on a beautiful beach on the North Sea the next day. We saw a red jellyfish (the bad ones that can sting you) three feet away from us. You couldn't stay in the water for more than a minute until your feet felt numb, though!
It was what the Norwegians would call a "mild wind" day and what Americans would call a "strong wind". As you can see, my dad was struggling with his papers.
