London - Day Eleven

Well - at last - our final day in London.  BUT - our flight was not until 6 PM so that gave us some time to do a couple more things.  First off I have to say that we lucked out in our hotel.  The price was VERY CHEAP, it was nice, in a new building, close to the subway and INCLUDED a buffet breakfast. Pays to check out those lastminute.com deals!!!!!  And we literally booked it the day that we needed to stay there!!!!!   OK - so that is NOT for everyone.


Anyway - we got back on the underground and we were off to visit TWININGS.  Yes - the tea place.

But NOT before we got held up on the underground.  This sign boasted air conditioning on 103 trains and delays cut by 40%.  Well it was HOT HOT HOT in London and although we were in a station - it was hot on the train which was stopped due to a signal problem.  We got off the train (ours was NOT one of the air conditioned ones) and moved down to a car that was less populated and the temperature dropped significantly.  A slight delay at two stations, but we arrived no problem. 

The TWININGS store - opened in 1706 - SAME STORE.  Very narrow. 

Inside the shop - they also had a small museum at the far end of the store. 

Now unfortunately, they had a PRIVATE tasting going on while we were there and so no public tastings.  That sucked as there were many teas I would have loved to sample. Well as my tea expert daughter says - you just have to sniff them - well sniffing isn't enough - I want to taste them!!!!!

We had an offer in our travel guide book that if we presented the guide - we would get a free box of tea which we did and we got a box of flavoured iced tea - of our choice. After smelling them!!!!!   The box was only worth 1.5 POUNDS - those teas were cheap - the rest were not!!!!   However we did find a few things to titillate our taste buds.

I found a friend on the street!!!!   

Took a couple pictures of the river and the London Eye from a different angle and then back on the underground to get to our other favourite spot for lunch.

Le Pain du Quotien

M in front of our other favourite lunch spot

Who cares about lunch - let's have dessert!!!!!!

We decided to come back for dessert after we had a chance to visit another museum - this time the Natural History Museum.

Natural History Museum

Escalator to HELL!!!!!  

Actually the escalator led to the EARTH exhibit. We would have loved to spend more time there, but it was HOT HOT HOT and very crowded and we had no desire to stay.  We did not go into the exhibits where you had to pay.


Then we went back for our dessert. By this time - it is almost time to get to the airport.


Back to the hotel to get our luggage.  Oh yes - it was quite an ordeal to get everything packed. M - no problem, but M - well it was a problem. Her backpack was so heavy - I think all you had to do was lightly touch her on the face and she would flip back!!!!!   I went with a suitcase partially full - while her stuff was jammed when she left.  I had to put some of her stuff in my luggage and ended up carrying TWO backpacks on the plane.  I HATE HATE HATE that. But no choice.  There was NO ROOM in my suitcase to put my small backpack.

On the underground on the way to Heathrow. 

 There is no question - London has the transit thing figured out.  As best we know - it costs minimum 2.2 POUNDS to ride the transit - it is tap on - tap off system (at least on the underground). Depends on how long you are on the system. And I was certain that it costs 5 pounds to get to the airport as it is far away from the city center.  When we got off - we were charged 1.5 POUND to get to the airport from the city center. Seriously??????    That is NOTHING.  Anyway - we now have about 4.8 pounds left on our Oyster cards. Sounds like a good enough reason to go back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I asked M if she learned any lessons from the trip.   Nope!!!!   Seriously?????   How about PACK LESS on the way out!!!!!

Thank goodness I had an aisle seat on the way home.  Seven hour flight and my leg was killing me.  I was able to get up and down and stretch it in the aisle.  Still hurts like crazy and I am afraid to use the foam roller on it as it hurts without even touching it. Massage is going to be brutal so if you hear a couple of screams today - that is me.

Anyway - I had a great book - Inferno by Dan Brown.  Finished it just before we landed.  Anyone want it????   Otherwise it goes in the give away pile.  Loved it.

We flew over Greenland on the way home.  Pretty cool terrain. and NOT green. 

On that note - I had so much to do today - I had better get started.


Have a great day!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Ciao!!!!!!!!!!

London - Day Ten

No big plans for the day - OK - it was time to find the quilt/fabric shops. What would we do without the internet?   I had done a bit of research at home and more when I arrived.  There appears to be ONE quilt shop in all of London - note to those in Toronto who lament there is only one in that city!!!!!  There are few shops in the entire country of England (yet Europenas seem to be very prolific).  We are very fortunate (or not!!!) in Canada - depends on how you look at it.

Once we had our directions from Google Maps and topped up our Oyster cards - we were off.  It did not take too long via the underground to get to Tikki Patchworks which is near Kew Gardens in Richmond.  As we walked down the street, a local stopped us and said we were going the wrong way.  Nope - we are NOT going to the gardens, but thanks anyway!!!!

We quickly found the store and found prices to be pretty reasonable.  However - there was no reason to purchase loads of fabric - I have loads already.  Nope - so M picked up a few things - OH OH - I may be sharing space when I get home - we are feeling HIGHLY motivated and creative.  I've been making lists of things to experiment with. Got a few neat patterns that I had checked out recently on-line so don't have to order them.

We stopped at a weird little organic place for lunch.  Checked out the real estate prices which would make your socks drop - well over 1 MILLION pounds for a little house.  Yep - prices are crazy!!!!

Back on the underground, past our "home" stop of Earl's Court and off the underground to catch a bus to the next store.  I mean - we are good at getting around.  Everything is very well marked and we had directions.  The traffic was a bit crazy on the bus and it took a bit of time to get to the next shop which was across the Thames.  This was called Fabrics Galore. Technically not a quilt shop, but they had a lot of quilting fabrics and many other types.  All were reasonably priced at 12 pounds or less.  I did get a couple of bicycle fabrics that I do not already have (oh my!) and then M picked up four different fabrics - I know - she has caught the bug?????   We only got .5 meters of each - so not a huge deal.

Oh yes - did I mention that I found the most beautiful Liberty fabric.  I am NOT into florals and this was a stripe - my current festish.  It was at Fabrics Galore - just arrived and part of their new abstract line. Yes - Liberty is now doing NON-florals. The colors are devine and the feel of the fabric - well there is NOTHING softer than a Liberty. They are gorgeous.

A quick trip back on the bus and we took the underground back to the hotel.  I think we hit the maximum (Oyster cards) for the day on our little jaunts.  It is very hot here - actually we have lucked out with the weather.  Other than a smidgen of rain the day we rode the bikes, the weather has been very decent. It is supposed to be even hotter today.

It was mid afternoon by this time, but a night of not sleeping well and a light lunch - we were hungry and tired.  A quick stop at the grocery store - where I picked up a pack of pain killers (less than TWO pounds for 16 - seriously?????)  and some food and we were back in the hotel for a couple of hours. Slept, goofed off on the internet and read - a GREAT book by  Dan Brown - Inferno. Was supposed to be for the flight home?????   May have to pick up another book.


Then we were off on another adventure.  This time totally by bus.  We have been in touch with a girl I used to work with at Hobby Horse (quilt store back home) - Chelsey. She has lived in London for TEN years now.  Incredible how quickly time flies.  Anyway - she happens to live not that far from where we are staying. We arranged to meet and had dinner down by the Thames.  It was so neat to chat with her and M got all kinds of advice from her from the fashion world.  It was super.  Chelsey - thanks for taking time out of your crazy schedule to meet with us.   The traffic was a bear on the bus and it took much longer to get there than we planned, but barely any time at all to get back.

It was late (for us) when we got back to the hotel. Pre-flight check-in (me who has NO flight itinery with me so no booking reference number and could NOT remember my Aeroplan number - ah - but a quick text to DH got me the info and we are set for later today.  I tell you - M and I are NOT planners of our vacations and this is our second trip to Europe and both have been rousing successes.   We just wing it - I know - pretty wild.

Here's a story so you can see the difference - when we arrived, we had three nights booked at a local hostel (that I randomly booked the day before we left). Read the reviews, looked at the prices and booked it. The only other thing booked was a ticket home. The rest was wide open.  We had done a bit of research - M mostly.  On our trip to Stonehenge, when we got seperated at dinner - I chatted with this couple from the US.  Now they were my age or slightly older.  We booked that bus trip TWO days before going on it - this woman had EVERY moment of their trip planned. She booked the same trip - MONTHS before.  She purchased Oyster cards MONTHS before and had them sent to them in the US.  Holy cow - I would go nuts doing all that.   We just went to the machines (Oyster) - very easily figured out how to buy and top up - it is easy and FAST.

I have to say that by being observant - we have learned TONS.  Like the underground.  There are NUMEROUS trains coming on the same platforms.  And the end of the route is on the front of the car. So if you are on the platform - you know that you are supposed to get on this train or maybe wait for the next one. But we had seen people come bounding down the stairs and immediately get on a train.  How did they know that it was the right one????   Well in some cases - different trains do parallel each other for a couple of stops, but yesterday we noticed a sign in the station that had a list of all the end stations that a train could go to from that platform.  Then an arrow appears beside the train that was in the station.  AHA - that is how they know what train to get on.

We have had so much fun - it really has been an awesome trip.  We have had numerous philosophical discussions about life, spirituality, being creative and so much more.  There are times when I could kill my kid, but all in all - she is a keeper. We do make a good travelling team - between us - we figure it out. Honestly - there are times when I know what to do and others when she picks up the lead.  So between us - we are never lost and never NOT know what to do!!!!   Pretty uncanny.  No bickering (although she could be a bit tidier in the room).

While we still have a few hours to go, here is something to think about on vacations -
How does one know when it's been a successful vacation?
Found a quilt store? - check
Found a geocache? - check
Learned something new? - check
Didn't get lost? - check
No injuries or sickness? check
Everyone happy? - check
Did we forget to bring anything? - nope
Since we had NO expectations - we had NO disappointments!!!!!!!



On that note - it is going to be time to pack up the suitcase (which is my case will take about five minutes) - in her case - a LOT longer.  We do no leave until later this afternoon so have time to squeeze in one, possibly two more stops before we head out via the underground to the airport.


Have an AWESOME DAY!!!!!!!!!!


Ciao!!!!!!!

London - Day Nine

An exciting day planned.  We got up  - had a leisurely breakfast and then headed down the street to catch a tour bus.  Now I HATE tour buses.  I hate that you have only so much time to see something and then get herded back on the bus.  But this was our only option so I sucked it up and we boarded the bus.

We had to sit near the back, although there were only 34 people on the bus which was nice. Takes less time to get on and off and less time to keep track of people.  We zipped out of London - OK - so it took a while to get out of London and two hours later we reached our first destination - Bath.

As we left London - we were on a six lane motor way . Saw Heathrow Airport and Windsor Castle as well as the turn off for Lego land which is at the same exit as Windsor Castle.  Hmmm - I wonder if the Queen plays with Lego????   She must - the crown jewels are made of Lego - are they not?

As we approached Bath - we went in the back way. Down a narrow and I mean NARROW little road that the approaching cars barely had room to pass.  Oh boy - thank goodness I wasn't driving.  Then down a very steep grade and we were in Bath.   A LOT of traffic in that city, and we passed a QUILT store on our way in.   Too far from the bus drop off though. DRAT.

Then we were off the bus and the tour guide (Geoff) led us to the Roman Baths.  We took the tour which was very interesting and very difficult to wrap your head around the age of the place.   Pretty amazing.   There were hot rooms, warm rooms, cold pool, a swimming pool - a massage room (could have used that), but of course none of it works anymore except the hot water still comes in at 250,000 liters a day.

Lunch was next on the agenda - we were on our own for lunch, but had to be mindful of the time since we needed to get back to the bus.  Had a sandwich at a small cafe and while we were eating our sandwich  - a seagull came down and took off with the top of the sandwich from the table next to us.  The fellow eating there had stepped away for a moment and although his girl friend was still sitting there - the sea gull popped in anyway.  None of us realized what happened until the seagull was gone.   We kept our eyes on our lunch.

Stopped at a bookstore and had a quick look around. Found two interesting fibre art books for cheap, but did not buy as I think I already have them at home?????   NOTE TO SELF - get that database up and running SOON!!!!!!   Back on the bus and off to the next stop.


Which was a small town owned by the National Treasury?????   (have to check that fact) called Lacock.  Anyway - some pretty interesting architecture in this town - took loads of pictures and will post them at a later date. Geoff took us around this small town so no need to worry about the time.  After a bit of a walk around, we were back on the bus.

Next stop - the town of Amesbury.  Do you know what the town of Amesbury is famous for??????    Well - it is the home of STONEHENGE.  Well - not the town as Stonehenge is in the middle of a field. But it is close.  We had dinner at a pub in Amesbury.   It was all pre arranged, but M and I decided to stop at the bar and get our beer before we went to sit down.  When we went into the dining room - the tables were set for THREE and therefore since we were the last ones in - we had to split up. No worries - she sat with some folks from Argentina and I sat with a couple from the US.

Back on the bus and there it was - STONEHENGE.    You see it in pictures all the time, but never think you will actually see it in person.  We got to the visitors center - which was moved a couple of years ago - really stupid looking place. Then on a small bus to drive the two miles or whatever to the site.

We were VERY fortunate that we had booked a PRIVATE tour of Stonehenge so our group of 34 were the ONLY ONES at the site and were allowed to go INTO the circle.  It is amazing. You wonder how it was ever created, why it was created and why did no one attempt to excavate it or repair the fallen stoens????   SO many questions.   Anyway - we were there for one hour - took tons of pictures.  Not allowed to TOUCH ANYTHING - just look. It was awesome.

Back on the bus and a two hour drive back to London.  I think we got off the bus at 10:30.  The latest we have been up while we have been here!!!!!   Had a beer so I am good to sleep.

However I have had some major issues with my IT BAND (muscle on outside of my thigh).  It is pretty sore and I have NO idea why.  Must be the tourist shuffle?????   It can get tight from too much cycling, but this is crazy. I hobbled up the four flights of stairs to our room tonight.  However I got a cold bottle of beer from the bar fridge and used that to help massage (roll) it out.   I need to do that often in the next couple of days.  Of course - I put the beer back - and no one is the wiser!!!!!


On that note - it is getting late and we must get our beauty sleep.   I seem to have crappy luck with my SD Card in the tablet, but of course M can make it work.  I am a dolt with technology it appears!!!!


Have a great day!!!!!!!!!!!


Ciao!!!!!!!!!!

London - Day Eight

OK - so I think the beer is the trick for a good sleep.  Did NOT have a beer last night and while I did go to sleep no problem, I woke up and was awake for hours.  Needless to say - we are not getting up and about too early, but no problem.  We have all day to do what we want to do.

And the good news - I've already had my beer tonight so should be a good sleep!!!

We headed out with a couple of plans today. Wanted to check out Paddington Station.  Oh my gosh.  When you exit the underground at Paddington, it is a tiny little exit, but then we went around the corner to the station and WOW - the place is HUGE.  Hard to believe that it is one of many train stations in the city. And how did all those lines and tracks get designed and well - it is just amazing. We did find Paddington Bear at the train station. So cute and of course there is a little gift shop there, but we did not buy anything.

Then we were off to King's Cross - another underground/train station. We went there for several reasons. The first was to go to the British Library.  This is a HUGE resource Library. And we went into one of the exhibits and saw some amazings documents.   Original manuscripts by Bethoven, songs written on the back of envelopes by The Beatles and many  ,   many other fine documments.   Amazing as some of theme were centuries old.

Next up was the London University of Arts - Central St. Martins - another location of the fashion school.   Paula had told us that this location was very neat to see so we went to have a look.   Apparently we were supposed to get a pass to get into the building, but we tagged along past the security guard with a group. I was the last through and he asked me if I was with the group. I said YES.  OK -so it was pretty obvious that I was a tourist - I was older, they were all dressed alike. But he let us through.   Then I felt bad and thought we might be tracked down and thrown out!!!!

We had a quick visit to the design studios and then off to the library.  Amazing place  - I have never seen so many books in the 700  part of the library in my life.   Lots of books on embroidery, knitting, texitiles - well I could have stayed all day.  I think M was a   bit nervous because of how we got in so we didn't stay too long. But not before I found a quilting book from 1983 by Helen Rose (published in Canada) all about string quilting.  Hey ladies - none of what we are doing is original.  NONE of it.  Some pretty cool stuff in this book - I did sneak a picture or two. Oh and there was no BACK way out - we had to go through a gate to get out of the building and of course - we had no card so the security guy had to open the gate for us. Ooops.  

Next on the list was lunch.  At our usual spot - PRET A MANGER.      :)                                       There were some interesting things to see in the area. There was a viewing platform so we went up and had a good look at the University.  This location is in a building that used to be called The Granary.  It is old and new at the same time.   Very neat inside.

We just had to go to King's Crossing train station.  And why???   Because we had to see Platform 9 3/4.   And there it was!!!!   So cool to see, but there was a HUGE line to get your picture taken and the picture takers were SLOW.   There was no way we were goingt o wait since we are fans, but not HUGE fans of Harry Potter.  We zipped into the shop Platform 9 3/4 and there was every form of sourvenir thing you could think of, but we didn't buy anything. And the shop was PACKED.  You could NOT move in it.  It was crazy!!!!!

By this time we were getting a bit tired so we headed back to the hotel.  We did just fine on the underground. I think a couple more days and we would be pretty comfortable getting around.  OK - so I am fibbing.

I had a mission that I wanted to accomplish.  But it was going to be mission impossible without a GPS.  I wanted to say that I had found at least ONE geocache here.  But without the GPS - we were at the mercy of the clues/maps and messages for the caches.  I had done some research and came up with four possibilities.  Two of which I had already looked for and had no luck.  We went back to one and still no luck.  OK - let's leave that. We then walked into a BIG park - Holland Park for those that know.  I knew the cache was near the center of the park, near the Koyoto Gardens and on a gate. OH CRUD - there are a LOT of fences and gates in the park.

We got to an intersection and M suggested we go this way. OK - since I had no better clue to give.  We started looking at EVERY gate post. And within ten minutes  M found it!!!!!!!    OH MY GOD - we were so excited.  It was like looking for a needle in a hay stack.  We had no phone, no GPS - just some basic guidelines from the internet.  And she found it!!!!!!   We were pretty excited to say the least.    Who cares about any others - the goal was to get ONE.

By this time - our feet are pretty much dead. We found a nice Italian restaurant for dinner and then back to the hotel to crash for the evening.

I am trying to post my pictures on Facebook, but no luck yet.

Have a great day!!!!!!!!!!


Ciao!!!!!!!!!

London - Day Seven

Well I learned the secret of a good sleep.   BEER!!!!  M and I decided to go out for dinner last night (we saved our grocery store dinner for tonight).  She had wine - I had a beer.   Came back to the hotel and well - it wasn't long before I was asleep and pretty much stayed asleep until morning.  I must say that I did feel better in the morning than I have in a long time.  So maybe there is some truth to this drinking thing after all?????

Today was the day that we promised ourselves that we would ride the bikes. Now if you have ever been to London, the traffic is just CRAZY.  There is no other word for it. There are no straight roads (well most are not straight or so it seems), there are turns everywhere and of course they drive on the OTHER side of the road. And if you are a pedestrian - well one must be careful.  They even have signs painted on the pavement at EVERY intersection - LOOK LEFT or LOOK RIGHT.   Of course there are traffic signals.  And just when you think you are safe - WHAM - traffic comes around the corner out of nowhere!!!!

We did see a FATAL ACCIDENT sign at a major intersection today - I have a feeling they were looking for witnesses. But it happened just a day ago. And the amount of sirens - both police and ambulance - well it never seems to stop. And let's not forget the honking of horns today as some streets were closed and people wanted to get home. Those that are silly enough to drive a car in this town!!!!

Well we walked to the bike station, NOT the nearest bike station, but a bike station that was close to Kensington Gardens.  Hey - we are NOT suicidal and were not willing to attempt riding the bikes in the city traffic. Queen's Gate which run from Gloucestser to Kensington Gardens is pretty wide, VERY straight and leads right to the gardens.  We were going to be safe. It took a bit of figuring out the silly bike system, but then we got two access codes and we were off.    (Two pounds each for 24 hours of riding)

OK - not exactly. I could NOT get the seat figured out on mine and so I had to ride with the seat in the lowest position all the way up this street.  I must have looked like a lunatic. Once we got inside Kensington Gardens, then we swapped the bike, but not before we had another learning curve in how to do that. OK - so now we are off.   We rode all through Kensington Gardens and although we had walked through part of them the other day, it was so nice to ride them on the bike (and way faster). Then we rode along the street that intersected Kensington Gardens from Hyde Park and then we were in Hyde Park.  Our goal was the opposite corner of Hyde Park - near the Marble Arch.  

AHA - there is the Marble Arch - now to find the bike station.   OH - there it is and we thought we were home free.  NO - this was NOT an active bike station and so we had to find another.  No problem because all the stations are indicated on the map attached to the post for the bike station.  OH dear - it is across Park Road which is a BUSY CRAZY STREET.  We attempted to go one way and well that wasn't going to work as we ended up on the end of the curb with major flows of traffic coming towards us from the left and the right. As soon as the left stopped, the right started. Nope - this isn't going to work.  So we backed out of that spot and crossed the street.

No choice now, but to ride down Park with the MANY buses and cars on our tail. Keep to the left - keep to the left.  There wasn't any other option and there it was - a DO NOT ENTER sign (except for cyclists) and there was the bike station. We were home free and had survived our first bike experience in London.

Off to Oxford Street (which is right by The Marble Arch and a major shopping street).   We walked down the street and went into a few shops.  I think M was a bit disappointed.   A LOT of the shops were the same as what we have back home.  One thing of note about the shopping here - we have NOT seen much in the way of magazines.  Really????  Not even Waterfords - the big book store - no magazines.   We finally found a nice display at Selfridges.  A big department store. There are a LOT of department stores here.  And one store we went into (Primark) was a zoo.   Just nuts - we did not stay long.

We stopped at a small restaurant for lunch and then found a small magazine shop that we had searched out on-line.  Nothing compared to what we had already seen at Selfridges. This was right by the London College of Design which is right by Oxford Circus which is where Oxford joins Regent.  So we headed down Regent since it was closed to traffic on Sunday.  I have to say that we do NOT have access to Google Maps while we are here and you know what???   We haven't needed it.  We actually use a MAP - a real paper map or we look at the street maps on the street. Yep - NO Google Maps needed here.

Oh my goodness - what a cool place - Regent Street on a Sunday.   They had out chairs and potted plants to make it look pretty. A bike repair shop set up if you needed something fixed up. Entertainment in the form of belly dancers and a lesson if you wanted. And then the rest of the space was taken up by a food court.  I mean - there was EVERYTHING there.   By the time we arrived the food was just closing down.  Just as well - we would have eaten too much. But it was so neat to walk on the street. And there were TONS of people out.  I really hate trying to walk with all those people.  The tourist shuffle - that is seized hips just waiting to happen.

We ended up walking to Picadilly Circus and then back to Oxford Circus.  I know - about 15,000 steps so far and imagine if we had NOT ridden the bikes. We even ventured onto the double decker buses along Oxford to avoid the crowds.  I did not want to get on the underground as it looked packed from the amount of people heading down.  Then we got back to The Marble Arch and now to find a bike station. We did NOT want to get our bikes from where we had dropped off as that street was insane.

We found the station, but for the life of me - my VISA card (which is how the system keeps track of your proof of payment) would NOT work in that machine.  So we had to walk back across the street to another station.   The card worked in this machine and then we rode on the side walk (I know - big chickens) until we could cross the street as a pedestrian and then we were in the park and no problem.

It is so cool and the park is FULL of everyone.  There was a HUGE concert going on, there were people on bikes, both the BIKE HIRE and their own, people walking with babies in strollers, or young kids or four or five abreast on the road (no cars), there were skateboards, scooters (some kids were barely able to walk - yet they had a scooter), roller skates and roller blades - anything with wheels was in the park. After dodging them all we safely made it back to Queen's Gate. We rode down that long street and parked the bikes at the station at the corner of Queen's Gate and Gloucester (I think that is the street).

Anyway - it was an awesome day - we had loads of fun and so good to get around and now be tired by the time you got to where you wanted to go.

On that note - we are figuring out what to do with our next couple of days.

Have a great day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Ciao!!!!!!!!!!!!!

London - Day Six

Oh my - I think I am all mixed up in the dates. Today is Saturday right??

A couple of days ago, we went to the V&A Museum. As we looked through the brochure to check out the exhibits, M noticed a one day class on Fashion Journalism that the museum was hosting.  After viewing several of the exhibits, we worked our way up to the Learning Center.  Sorry - the class is full. DRAT!!!!   Well, not to be outdone - we asked if there was a wait list?  Nope - BUT - you could just arrive that day in the event someone doesn't show up.  DONE!!!!

We arrived at 10:30 AM to find that someone else had the same idea!  DRAT!!!   Well - we waited anyway.  Finally the girls in the class started to show up and  oh dear - the class might be full????   The administrator was checking the names and then he came out (he knew these two girls were DESPERATE to get in the class).  So we paid and he let M and this other girl into the class. They were told that if the registered people arrived, they would have to give up their computers.  No problem.  Apparently they had access to the computers the entire class.  The instructor was the editor of the on-line British Vogue (I hope I got that right).  Anyway - I went and got M some lunch and then I had the rest of the day to myself. Well until 4 PM.

I came back to the hotel to change because it was HOT out and I needed to get rid of my sweater and put some shorts on. Thank goodness - we are a 20 minute walk from the museum.  I thought I might try my hand at locating a geocache or two, but since I forgot my GPS at home, I wasn't going to be hopeful about that. I checked out two locations and NOPE - even with the clues, the areas are too broad to be covered without the GPS.  DRAT!!!!!!!!   Oh well - just means I have to come back to get England on my list.  Well I haven't done any if a year, so I guess it really isn't on my priority list.

Back to the museum - there were two exhibits that I wanted to see - photography and modern design. Both were very interesting - yes - I was in the museum a long time today.  Oh boy - I had a devil of a time finding the modern exhibit.  I could see it on the map, but with all the floors, stair cases, closed sections - it took me twenty minutes to find the darn place. Thank goodness it was worth the effort.  Some very interesting pieces of furniture and other items.

Now we are back at the hotel - I have no idea what has happened to my sleep pattern.  I can't seem to sleep at night and was awake until at least 3 AM London time.  I know - it is ridiculous and of course - I am tired in the day because of that.  Well hopefully tonight I am tired and will go to sleep better.

I was able to post pictures on Facebook from yesterday and today so you can check them out there.

And I have to say that I am NOT a good person for the boat. Every since we went on that river cruise - several days ago, my equilibrium is off. I feel like I am on the boat still.  Definitely NOT a good candidate for a cruise.  I have had this before, but this seems to be lingering.  ACK - this never happens to me.  Am I getting old??????   Nope!!!!


Oh crude - I just realized my kid went out for a bit and she is NOT good with directions.  I just realized that I did NOT offer her a map.  Oh dear!!!!!!

Have a great day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Ciao!!!!!!!!!!

London - Day Five

Oh crap - I cannot load my pictures onto Facebook tonight - no idea why not.  I will try again later.

Well - I guess I am back in my regular sleep mode - I don't need a lot as I lay in bed a   LONG time before I finally went to sleep.  However it was a peaceful and quiet night so that was good. M and I are pretty much keeping to the same sleep schedule.

Had breakfast at the hotel and then we were off.  We hopped onto the underground or is that the tube? or the subway? or the metro?  No idea - but anyway - we found that we had no problem finding our way to Oxford Circus. Having taken the Hop On Hop Off bus sure helps to orient oneself in a strange city.

We also noticed that in the subway - there are tons of people with luggage - like us - too cheap (or perhaps too frightened to take a cab) and everyone is staring at a map to figure out where to go - that would be the ones with the luggage!!!

We were having a look about the intersection at Oxford Circle when M spotted the London College of Fashion. Well we had to take a look.  It was open and we went upstairs to see an exhibition of Jean Paul Gaultier's invitations to his exhibitions. Pretty weird and some of the outfits - well - even weirder.   We met a nice student (from Calgary) who is studying here. Doing her Masters in Fashion History.  She told us we could wander the building and we spent a LONG time in the library.  I am happy to report that I have a lot of the quilting books that they have!!!!!   Not all - but a few.   There is even a book by Canadian Laurie Swim in their stacks. I was ready to sign up by the time we left.

Next on the stop was the rooftop garden which is pretty funky and gave us a good view of the city.

Back downstairs, a quick good bye to Paula and we were off to our next stop. Liberty's.  We walked in and I had no idea that they also sold EVERYTHING - not just fabric.  We decided it was time for lunch and we would come back.

Our favourite lunch stop was just around the corner. Pret a Porter.   A nice place with everything already prepared - soup, sandwiches, salads, wraps - the whole bit.  A very nice selection, all natural food and relatively inexpensive.  THEN we hit Liberty's.  Wow - what a store.  First the architecture of the building is quite unique and there are five floors.

I had a laugh when we saw the scarf section.  Scarves worth more than 125 pounds were just tossed in a heap in buckets on the tables.  Yikes - they could not display them a bit nicer?????   We headed upstairs to the fabric department.  A LOT of Kaffe Fassett fabric - 17 pounds a meter.  Yikes - with the conversion - that is crazy. Did NOT buy any.   Lots of cross stitch patterns, some yarn, buttons, notions.  I did buy two 1/2 meter pieces of fabric. Both American (I believe), but with British prints on them. And a few buttons. We got out of there relatively unscathed.

Then we started to walk down Regent Street.   OH my - there is the toy store that was mentioned on the bus trip.  We looked at each other and decided to pop in.  Afterall - Lego Lania was in my pocket. The store was INSANE.   The sale people were trying out all the toys to get the people to buy.  Airplanes were flying around our heads, big balloons were swooshing by, bubbles blowing in our faces, and some guy was going around with a transformer that he shoved in your face!!   So many demos - it was a circus!!!!!    But loads of fun.   We found the lego department and well what can I say - AT LAST - there are the CROWN JEWELS.   Oh yes - and the queen - we got to visit with the entire Royal Family.   Wait until you see the pictures.  We had a blast and so did Lego Lania.


We kept wandering down the street and found once again Waterstones which is the big bookstore here.  We spent a bit of time browsing in our respective departments of interest. I found a couple of excellent books, but ended up choosing only one.   Too heavy to carry and I can probably get them back home.

Then we were on our way to a Spiritual book store that M found.  We worked our way through Leicaster Square (the movie part of town) and rather quickly found the book store.   Nothing is hard to find here or we are just lucky??????  And Cecil street where the book shop was located has no traffic on it.  It just seems weird to not have bikes, people, cars, taxis and buses coming at you from all directions.   I mean the traffic circle by Trafalgar Square is CRAZY!!!!!!!    I did get the plaque with the story of the blue rooster on it.  Done in 2013.  I forget the rest of the details, but it is so OUT OF PLACE in that square.

After that stop - we realized that we were very close to Buckingham Palace so we stopped in to visit the Queen.   A beautiful walk down the Mall and there it was - the Palace.   Stopped for a couple of pictures and then walked out the other side of the property.

Found a nice little shop for dinner and then onto the subway to get back home. Once in the station - we had a little discussion in front of the map as to how to get home. We could not find the station on the map, but eventually we just winged it. We were four stops from our destination. Hopped on.  Oh yes - we have the Oyster card - a silly name for a metro card, but anyway.  This morning when I tried to get on, my card wouldn't work.   Ooops - I then realized after two tries that it was my room key to the hotel!!!!!

We stopped at the grocery store again for fresh fruit and back to the room.  I have finally gotten into the book that I brought with me and I know I am going to have to buy another novel. I am cheap so when I found one at Waterstones, I didn't buy it - I said I would wait until the airport.  However I found the same book at the grocery store for 3 pounds less than the bookstore. So 3.99 instead of 7.99 pounds.   Not bad for a saving.

Ah - we are just relaxing now - about 15,000 steps on the day.  Not sure what is up for tomorrow. We are taking it one day at a time - although we do have a list of things yet to   do and hope we have time to do it all while we are here.


On that note - I am off to finish?? my book.

Have a great day!!!!!

Ciao!!!!!!!

Day FOur - London

Oh my - we are getting lazier and lazier!!!   I have a couple of pictures to post today, but we hardly took any.  Why???   We went to a couple of exhibits where photography (and sketching) was NOT allowed.

First - we had to switch our accommodations.  I had booked the hostel for three nights and then we were out.  I have been searching for new accommodations a couple of days ago and had found something that is very close to where the hostel was - walking distance actually.   I booked online and then got an e-mail that the confirmation was declined.  Good grief - so I tried again. Still declined. Let's just say that we are VERY spoiled when one is in your own country with access to phone and internet.

This morning I walked to the hotel however I knew that they could not help me as I was doing the booking through lastminute deals and would have to deal with them directly.  I used the phone at the hotel - got through - everything seemed OK on their end.  I called VISA - everything was OK on their end.  I finally said in exasperation to the hotel clerk - what is the difference in price from their price to the last minute deal.  She did the calculation and came in 100 pounds LESS than lastminute. Seriously??????   Then she called lastminute directly and booked it through them???????   There is something seriously wrong with that.  I am certain that if I had of booked the hotel with them directly, we would be paying a LOT MORE.


I have no idea, but here we are - gone from poverty in a hostel to a four star hotel and not a ton of difference in the price.  A new building - it appears they ripped down row houses and built the hotel.  AW - we are now in the lap of luxury!!!!


That took a LONG time to get fixed up and then we decided to wait for our room to be cleaned before we moved all our stuff.  Did I mention that M has NO CONCEPT of packing.  She did NOT pack to come on vacation.  She packed to come and live. Her stuff weighs a ton.  Me - I have lots of room in my suitcase to bring goodies home.

Anyway - then we walked to the Victorian and Albert Museum and saw two exhibits. The History of Italian Fashion and Wedding Desses.   We both liked the Italian Fashion one -    the Wedding Dress one has TONS of people and you know us and people - HATE IT!!!!  But it was still quite interesting.  No photos allowed and no sketching allowed.  Drat!!!!!   So interesting to see how forward looking these Italian designers were and how they did their first runway shows.   And the ONLY Canadian city involved at that time - guess????   Nope - NOT Toronto - YES - Montreal.   But we all knew that.

I think we will go back as there were a few other free things that we could see but we were exhausted by this time.  Stopped to have a bite to eat and then back to the hotel where we both flacked out.

OK - so it was noisy at the hostel AGAIN last night. Not as bad as the previous nights, but still. (and the noisy group left TODAY)   I can't seem to get caught up on my sleep and I'm hating it. I notice when I was reading in bed this evening that I can hear rowdy neighbours in the room next door.  Good grief - I hope that doesn't last into the night. There is only so much lack of sleep my body will support.

And that was it for today!!!   I know - pretty wimpy day.   But we are trying to find some obscure places to go with less crowds. That is so sad.   OK - note to self: - I like ADVENTURE vacations, like cycling, NOT tourists vacations. Don't get me wrong - we are having fun, but honestly this kind of vacation is way more exhausting than all the cycling that I did last year.

On that note - time to get a few pictures loaded and then off to read before bed.

One thing to note - it is hard to tell what city we are in.  No it is very hard to even imagine that we are in an ENGLISH speaking city. We RARELY hear English spoken.  There are tons of other languages around all the time and MOST of the servers and sales people are not ENGLISH speaking.  I was a tad surprised by that.

And I hope you are all following QUILTsocial.com this week.   What is your version of the journal cover????????   I am anxious to see them.


Have a great day!!!!!

Ciao!!!!!!!!!

Day Three - London

I have no problem staying in a hostel.  They are very cost effective, the people you meet are interesting, breakfasts are cheap.   However I have to say that this hostel - well the hostel itself is OK.  But some of the guests?  It appears that school is still in here in Europe and every school group - is HERE. This morning breakfast was overrun by a bunch of little kids, and at night - there is a group of teens that are driving me crazy.  They keep banging the doors and knocking on doors and yelling until all hours of the night.  I did NOT sleep well last night and then I heard them again at 4:40 AM.  OK - so what is their problem??????

We are back at the hostel tonight and it appears to be a much older clientele tonight?  Let's hope although I am certain that I have see some of the older teens.  I am going to stand outside my door and hollar at them tonight.

Our last night here anyway - then we move down the road. We will see what that is like.

We were ready to leave by about 9 AM - neither of us is speedy these days. We were back on the Hop On Hop Off bus.   We bought a two day ticket which is the perfect amount of time for that bus.  We headed back down to central London to catch the river cruise. We went down the river to The Tower Bridge.  A cool bridge, but makes me laugh at the colours. Who would have thought that the bridge would be painted white, blue and turquoise?????   The blue and white - yes - but where did the turquoise come in?????   Not the tower part - but the swoopy things in between.

It was a great tour. However I do have to say that neither of us make a good tourist. We were not interested in going to see The Tower of London where the Crown Jewels are housed. Nope that would have been a waste of money for us. We walked across the bridge and found a nice quiet little pub for lunch.  Of course M had to have a LARGE glass of wine. I had a hot dog (a sausage) with HOT HOT HOT mustard.  Boy - that cleared out any sinus problem that I may have had.

We were well dressed today - M was probably a bit over dressed, but better to be over dressed than under dressed.  The sun was out for the most part and that made it warm, although it was quite windy.

We walked around central London a bit and hopped on the Hop On Hop Off bus.  The crowds are CRAZY.  I hate crowds.  It is so hard to walk that I just wanted to get away from it all.   AHA - we found a nice grassy spot near Westminster Abbey and OK - we were tired -we had a little nap on the grass. I did feel a whole lot better after that as I was getting a head ache which I don't normally get. We did not go into the Abbey - it was hugely expensive and since neither of us in that much into churches - it would have been a waste. I know - you are thinking that is sad and that I am cheap.  Nope - just don't want to be among the crowds, don't want to spend my money on things that we won't get good value out of. I am trying to justify paying 59 Pounds EACH to go to a Behind the Scenes of Harry Potter.   YIKES!!!!!

Back on the bus to come home and let's face it - we both fell asleep. I guess that is lack of sleep last night and the jet lag kicking in.

But we are getting around London with no problem. Haven't been lost once - mind you we haven't ventured too far out of the norm.


We stopped at the grocery store - Waitrose for dinner.   They have an excllent assortment of prepared items that are very healthy.   It is a great way to have dinner - we can sit in the hostel and get on the computer and eat at the same time.

On that note - I am thinking I need to get a nap in BEFORE those crazies get back tonight (if they do).


Have a great day!!!!!!!!!


Ciao!!!


(Yes - pixtures are posted on FAcebook)

Day One - London

I have uploaded my photos to Facebook - sorry - just too time consuming to do on the blog although we do have free WiFi at the hostel.   I cannot find the software that I used to  resize the photos for the blog.


Wow - bustled around and got all the errands done and just enough time to get to the airport. We decided to take the 6:30 PM flight to London in hopes that we would get some sleep as if that is possible on a 7 hour flight.

Well we had a couple of surprizes when we arrived at the airport.  First we got into the long security line. We had been in the line about 20 minutes when they started to call people on our flight. We still had one hour before the flight left, but I guess they wanted us through so we were able to head to the front of the line.

Then we learned that we were going to be flying on the NEW 787 DreamLiner.  Oh WOW - this is the new plane that Susan's husband is flying, but not to Heathrow.  Apparently this plane has one of the most efficient engines?  Because of some new fan blade technology?? The wings were very weird on the plane. Quite different from the normal airplane wing.  I think this was the third voyage for this plane.  There were a few quirks that I don't think the engineers thought about too well - the button for the light is on the seat rest - ON TOP and my seat mate (not M) kept hitting it.

Oh well - it was a good flight considering that DH booked the tickets and booked me into ECONOMY and booked M into PREMIUM ECONOMY.  Seriously?????   She got a bigger seat, she got wine and better dinner.   Oh yes - we need to have a talk when I get home.  We had no idea until we got on the plane.

I did manage to sleep on the plane thanks to my inflatable pillow. Then we were off the plane and heading to our accommodations.  We are doing a vacation on the cheap so we took the Underground (bought an Oyster card) and got off at our station. Didn't even have to chance lines.  A short walk and we were at the hostel.

We lucked out and were able to check in right away instead of waiting until the afternoon so that was a huge plus. Then we grabbed our map (well not before M changed about four times). Oh yes - there is NO elevator in this hostel and guess where we are????   Oh yes - we are on the FOURTH floor.   Those stairs in the picture - that is all the different stair cases that we have to go up!!!!   That last one is crazy!!!!   Poor M was dead as we had to carry our luggage as well and you know her - her suitcase was heavy.

Then we grabbed our map and started to walk. We went to Kensington Palace and walked through the gardens which are very beautiful.  Of course there are loads of monuments here, but we wanted to see the Diana Memorial Fountain.  The water was frigid, but that did not stop the little kids from laying in the fountain.  I was so tired that I lay down to rest my eyes and had a cat nap.  Felt much better after that.

Off to Brompton Street and shopping. We went to Harvey Nicols - a VERY high end store with all the designers in it.  M was in her glory.  The prices were way out of our price range, but we had fun looking.   Who buys this stuff??????   We stopped at several other stores as well including Harrod's.  Again - very pricey.

Stopped at a little cafe and purchased sandwiches. Our meal times are all mixed up. I don't mind about the meal times - I care more about the sleep thing.

A long long time ago when we went to Disney and M was six, she insisted on wearing flip flops the entire three days that we were there. We walked miles and she never complained. Well she wore some crazy fashionable shoes today and when I asked about them - she said - remember Disney so I said nothing. Well she admitted that perhaps they were not the best shoes to wear. It was a LONG walk back to the hostel.

So we are back at the hostel, trying to figure out what our plans for the next couple of days will be.   We have NOTHING in mind - just get up in the morning and figure something out.  We do want to go to V and A museum - it is 15 minute walk from our hostel. We are for sure doing hop on/hop off bus and then we will go from there.

Let's just say that walking in London is dangerous.  YES - there are WALK signals everywhere, but you look and there doesn't seem to be traffic so you think it is safe to cross.  YIKES - I almost got whacked by a double decker bus THREE times.  Good thing I can run fast.   We had a good laugh about that and I have decided that I shall wait for the lights in future.

On that note - we are planning our day tomorrow and counting the hours/minutes until we are able to crash for the night.


Have a great day!!!!!!!!

Ciao!!!!!!!