Today we traveled back to the states, but not without one more trip dragging our luggage thru the subways and trains (and with one last stop by the market to stock up on crumpets to take home). Flight to Philadelphia was uneventful, and Kelly had a whole row to stretch out on and get some sleep. Alas, the flight from Philly to Phoenix was delayed by a couple hours due to the frequent closing/reopening of the airport, so we were a couple hours late getting back to Phoenix. Once we arrived, we found that they had cleverly left one of our bags in Philly and would have to get it to us the next day. We finally arrived back at the house around midnight, a bit tired but very glad to be back in our own bed. Strangely, Lily was a bit wary when she saw us, sniffing us like she didn't recognize us. I think she's a little confused after we left for 3.5 weeks, Kelly's parents came for the interim, then we come back. It'll probably take a few days for her to get used to us again.
All in all, the trip was AWESOME. We loved all the places we went, were healthy nearly the entire trip, and it didn't go nearly as quickly as we had feared it might (don't vacations always seem to go faster than you'd like?), but we are also very glad to be home. Thanks for everyone for all your prayers for safe travels; see the link below for photos of the trip, and we look forward to talking more with all of you soon.
J+K
Flickr photos
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
London, Day 5
Today is our last day in London. This morning we went to Geo F. Trumper's, a barbershop in Mayfair, where John got a straight razor shave. Also stocked up on good shaving stuff here and at Taylor's of Old Bond Street.
Next stops were the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. We didn't have time to go in either of them, but we walked all around the Tower of London and over/back the bridge. Great views from the bridge, including the HMS Belfast.
This afternoon we went to go see Spamalot, a "musical (lovingly) ripped off" from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It was truly hilarious, included all the great sketches from the film (not dead yet, French flatulence, Trojan rabbits, et al). They left out a lot of the fluff from the film and included some original songs as well. Good to see the Pythons still going strong, catch the show if you can, I believe it's showing in NYC and Vegas. Word of warning, you will have "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" stuck in your head for at least two hours following.
Had dinner at an old English Pub, where I was informed that Black & Tan is terribly out of style and straight Guinness is now considered more fashionable. Ah, the sacrifices we make. Had a big plate of five cheeses and some more great fish & chips (I'm going to need a serious diet once we return stateside), but Kelly's hamburger was a bit senile; methinks they may have slipped some giblets into it.
We finished off our last day in London with Phantom of the Opera. Kelly had seen it a long time ago and I'd only seen the movie (for shame!), so it was fresh for both of us. The falling chandelier effect was top notch and all the performances/vocals were awesome. A spectacular way to finish our last night in London.
Next stops were the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. We didn't have time to go in either of them, but we walked all around the Tower of London and over/back the bridge. Great views from the bridge, including the HMS Belfast.
This afternoon we went to go see Spamalot, a "musical (lovingly) ripped off" from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It was truly hilarious, included all the great sketches from the film (not dead yet, French flatulence, Trojan rabbits, et al). They left out a lot of the fluff from the film and included some original songs as well. Good to see the Pythons still going strong, catch the show if you can, I believe it's showing in NYC and Vegas. Word of warning, you will have "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" stuck in your head for at least two hours following.
Had dinner at an old English Pub, where I was informed that Black & Tan is terribly out of style and straight Guinness is now considered more fashionable. Ah, the sacrifices we make. Had a big plate of five cheeses and some more great fish & chips (I'm going to need a serious diet once we return stateside), but Kelly's hamburger was a bit senile; methinks they may have slipped some giblets into it.
We finished off our last day in London with Phantom of the Opera. Kelly had seen it a long time ago and I'd only seen the movie (for shame!), so it was fresh for both of us. The falling chandelier effect was top notch and all the performances/vocals were awesome. A spectacular way to finish our last night in London.
Monday, May 14, 2007
London, Day 4
Busy day today. We walked through Hyde Park (beautiful gardens and lake) and went to Buckingham Palace. It was neat to see the gates and the palace guards (no changing today), but not that much to see at the palace. They do, however, appear serious about keeping people out of the palace property, as they had the most intimidating security fence I've ever seen.
Next we went to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, then on to the London Eye. If you haven't heard of the London Eye, it's basically an enormous Ferris wheel over the river with glass pods that complete one full revolution every half hour. You can see almost the entire city from the top, though it is a bit disconcerting to look straight down thru the capsule and see nothing but some glass and almost 500 feet of air between you and the river. After going up in the Eye, we went to Westminster Abbey, but alas we got there a few minutes after they closed so we didn't get to go inside.
Tonight we saw Les Miserables at the Queen's Theatre. Neither Kelly nor I had seen it before (I don't count the 8th grade production back at Hutch). Very good production, we're both still amazed how well they do stage shows here; the stage transitions and effects are so seamless, music and vocals so crisp, and so many shows you could see two a day for weeks before you saw them all.
Next we went to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, then on to the London Eye. If you haven't heard of the London Eye, it's basically an enormous Ferris wheel over the river with glass pods that complete one full revolution every half hour. You can see almost the entire city from the top, though it is a bit disconcerting to look straight down thru the capsule and see nothing but some glass and almost 500 feet of air between you and the river. After going up in the Eye, we went to Westminster Abbey, but alas we got there a few minutes after they closed so we didn't get to go inside.
Tonight we saw Les Miserables at the Queen's Theatre. Neither Kelly nor I had seen it before (I don't count the 8th grade production back at Hutch). Very good production, we're both still amazed how well they do stage shows here; the stage transitions and effects are so seamless, music and vocals so crisp, and so many shows you could see two a day for weeks before you saw them all.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
London, Day 3
Since the forecast showed rain all day today (in London? Shocking!) and only a couple plays were playing, we decided to visit a couple museums. We started out at the Natural History Museum. We spent about 4 hours there and still didn't see everything. It was fairly crowded with lots of families, probably because it is a Sunday and rainy. They museum is set up very well for children with lots of activities for them to learn hands-on about all kinds of subjects from human biology, earth history, dinosaurs, and the like. We really enjoyed visiting, it was a nice change from all the historical artistic sights.
Next we walked to the adjacent Science Museum which was also very good. We could have spent all day here but only had about 2 1/2 hours. There are 5 full floors of exhibits. We walked through the first floor which takes you through the last 100 years of major inventions/creations such as the first Model T in England, the Apollo 10 Control Module, and the Babbage Difference Engine. We walked through the Flight exhibit which had some really amazing early planes, including a replica of the Wright brothers plane, and several dozen prop and jet engines. We also saw the History of Mathematics and Computing exhibit. Good geeky stuff all around.
After several hours of museums we decided to catch the Tube and head back towards our hotel for dinner. We stopped by The Rock & Sole for dinner again -- you gotta love the British tradition of deep fried everything.
Happy Mother's Day to moms (Carolyn and Linda) We love you both very much!
Next we walked to the adjacent Science Museum which was also very good. We could have spent all day here but only had about 2 1/2 hours. There are 5 full floors of exhibits. We walked through the first floor which takes you through the last 100 years of major inventions/creations such as the first Model T in England, the Apollo 10 Control Module, and the Babbage Difference Engine. We walked through the Flight exhibit which had some really amazing early planes, including a replica of the Wright brothers plane, and several dozen prop and jet engines. We also saw the History of Mathematics and Computing exhibit. Good geeky stuff all around.
After several hours of museums we decided to catch the Tube and head back towards our hotel for dinner. We stopped by The Rock & Sole for dinner again -- you gotta love the British tradition of deep fried everything.
Happy Mother's Day to moms (Carolyn and Linda) We love you both very much!
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