Part TWO

On the London Eye Ferris Wheel


"I think Big Ben is off!"


Two Leos at Trafalgar Square


We made it to the top of St. Paul's Cathedral!


Outside The Tower of London (with the Tower Bridge behind us)


On display at the British Museum


Who should we call?


Merry Christmas!!


New games to play


Hannah & Debbie


Jessica & Hannah


The "local" Ely Cathedral (in the village of Ely)

Chapter II: England for the holidays

We arrived in London right at the heart of... rush hour! We finally found our hotel near South Kensington and headed out to eat. The next morning we got an early start and began our two days of whirlwind sightseeing! We did all the touristy stuff, which is actually great to do in the winter because there are NO CROWDS! Even our audio guide at Westminster Abbey kept saying things like, "it may take you 5-10 minutes to get up the stairs to the next room because of the crowds" Meanwhile we were up the stairs and through the next room!

The city itself was quite crowded though because it was the week of Christmas, everyone was running here and there and all the department stores were a mad house! Especially the big toy store, Hamleys, where we picked up gifts for Gary's nieces, Jessica & Hannah. We also got completely lost (we though we would never get out!) in Harrods, which is the very big department store owned by Mohamed Al Fayed, (father of Dodi Fayed). I wanted to see the shrine dedicated to Princess Dianna and Dodi, and Gary wanted to see the $40,000 TOY Hummer (next to that, the $20,000 TOY Ferrari looked like a steal!) These toys are for KIDS! What's on your Christmas list? :)

So, not that it sounds like we spent the whole time shopping, we also went to the British Library (The room labeled "The Treasures" has the oldest known bible, the Magna Carta, original works of literature, music, original notes from The Beatles and much more!), we saw the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace (Gary thought this was the most boarding thing ever! But it was interesting to see EVERY tourist in London in one place at one time!), we went to Westminster Abbey, saw the House of Parliament & Big Ben, rode the London Eye, saw the longest running play in the world, "Mousetrap" by Agatha Christie, listened to a choir in Trafalgar Square, visited St. Paul's Cathedral, took a cruise down the Thames, toured the Tower of London (& saw the crown jewels), and we finished off our sightseeing at The British Museum, home of the Rosetta Stone (and the world's greatest collection of artifacts from Western Civilization). Whew! All that in two days! And there is so much more to see! We will definitely be back!

So, very tired from our touring marathon, we were thrilled to spend a few days in the English country side visiting Gary's cousin, Erik, his wife Karen, and their two kids, Jessica & Hannah (and Busker the dog). They live in a small village called Burwell which is near Cambridge. We were there for three days, including Christmas and Boxing Day! They took us in, showed us the sights and cooked us some incredible meals!

One of the highlights of the trip was heading out with the family to the pantomime of "Dick Whittington and his Cat". What is a pantomime you ask? (We didn't know either!) It is a British theatrical comedy based on fairy tails or folk legends that is geared toward children (although there is some definite "adult" humor woven in! - i.e. Benny Hill) The primary female role is played by a man and the male roll (Dick in this case) is played by a woman. The key to the performance is audience participation, complete with booing the evil King Rat and screaming "He's behind you!!!" when the characters can't find someone. It was fantastic and hilarious! I don't know why they don't have this kind of theater in the US! Meghan, Matt... this could be a good project for you! :)

We also had fun learning some British Christmas traditions, including Christmas dinner "poppers" with trinkets inside (fireworks at the table!) and Santa gets port (instead of milk) with his cookies! Nice! So, after a wonderful Christmas filled with endless gifts for the girls and scrumptious meals (thanks Karen!) it was time to head back to Switzerland to meet up with Pat & Kevin. We had such a great time and it was so nice to get to know our British side of the family a little better! We look forward to seeing them again soon! Cheers! :)