Day 5 out of London and into (make sure to roll the r's and turn the -is into -ee) Paris!

Ok, last morning in London and I realized there were some things I forgot to mention along the way.
1) When you are on the Underground, the platforms are various heights, why I'm not sure, but at stations where the platform is not level with the train either creating a crevasse  or a step, the speaker system methodically reminds you to "Mind the gap" repeatedly.  Like 6 times.
2) I'm pretty sure it's for the tourists who visit London, but at crosswalks, often there are signs that depict which direction the cars are coming, and where that means you have to look.  Sometimes it was written on the curb "Look left" or "Look right" with an arrow.

I'm pretty happy to be out of the bed that I had in London, the springs were starting to become a nuisance   I was up at 3am and tossed and turned till 4 when I decided I would ready and then get ready at a leisurely pace.  I was to meet up with the tour group at 6:45.

We got all loaded, and off we went.  Bec, the tour guide, and Fierro the driver, navigated with some history to the Cliffs of Dover then we hopped a ferry to France.  There we drove through the countryside and straight into the heart of the city.  I was actually surprised at how few times we actually saw the Eiffel Tower.  I had read that there was a height limit on buildings so that the structure could be seen from the whole city, but that didn't guarantee a view of it like I had assumed.  For instance, I don't have a view of it from my hotel.

We went on a night tour of Paris, and got oriented with the city for our free day out and about tomorrow!

Tonight.  Tonight we rose high (high!) above the city into the Eiffel tower.  Holy cow. The first elevator takes you on a diagonal to the first and second levels.  Then another will take you straight up from there (I mean up up to the tippy top.  Ok not the absolute top, but there was not much between me and the top of that building!)

And here, is what you are dying to see!  It is so much more massive than my photos are showing.  And being at the tippy top with the wind blowing made her sway, just enough to make you feel uneasy.  The views are 100% worth whatever trepidation I had.

And lastly, the twinkle of the Iron Lady.  In contrast to the woman in the video, this doesn't happen every 15 minutes, but on the hour, every hour, in good weather.  It had been raining most of the evening so we were very lucky for such an amazing visit!

P.S. for those who I know personally, I want to update you that I know have a place to live when I come back home, thanks to Kabri!!  Thanks so much darling for all the hard work you had to put into this!  <3

Day 4

That mysterious time of vacation is occurring where I have no idea what day of the week it is.  I checked, it's Friday.  That would also explain the immense amounts of people in both the museum and transportation today.

Right now I am sitting in a cafe having Afternoon Tea.  It is possibly the best thing I have had yet.  A pot of tea, with a side of two scones, strawberries, clotted cream and strawberry jam.

I don't know what is up with these strawberries, but they taste amazing.  A very intense strawberry flavor, absolutely delicious.
The clotted cream kind of melts on top of the scone and it acts a little like warm frosting.  I waited until after I'd tried it to Google what it is.   Turns out it's just a sibling to butter.

So this morning I went to the Natural History Museum.  I had pinned this on Pinterest as a place that I wanted to go.

Picture from Pinterest *not my photograph

Now below are my photos

This is the outside, the view from my picnic spot. 

And finally my view from the inside.  This photo does not do this building justice.  My camera card reader doesn't seem to want to read my card, so I will keep trying, and in the mean time try to take a few photos with my phone to share.  (I've also made a note to try and align myself with the other side of the camera next time, you know for variety.)

I believe that this museum has just become my number 1 museum of all time.  It wasn't so big as to be unmanageable and each section was done so well (except the marine environment  but when you have the London Aquarium to go to, this seems an acceptable slight.)  I also kept imagining a third Night at the Museum taking place here.

My favorite section was the dinosaurs, there were many full skeletal fossils to look at from ground level or higher up walkway.

I got there right at 10 when they opened, and there was a huge line waiting to get in, mostly school groups and such. It was very busy at first, but the masses seemed to disperse around the whole building making it easier to manage.

Called it an early day out and about, read some, and then met up with the tour for check in and instructions.  Tomorrow at apx 6:45 we will be getting together and departing shortly after that.  It was nice to talk with a few people tonight, already seeing the buddings of a few friendships.  Paris is our end destination tomorrow with a stop in Dover along the way.  I believe tomorrow we are going to scale?  ascend? climb?  the Eiffel Tower tomorrow.  Depending on internet access there may be a delay in postings.  :)

I find it so odd not to be telling these stories over the phone to many of you, that when I see you next in person, you will undoubtedly hear it all again.  I'll apologize in advance now.  :)

Day 3

So I think today I'm going to start with some observations.  Though England has designated English as the national language, there is no guarantee with the number of tourists that I am actually talking to someone who speaks English.  It is a beautiful day in London, in the 60s I'd guess.  I think that it's even somewhat hot in the sunshine, but you would be hard-pressed to guess the temperature because almost everyone is wearing winter coats.  like down coats, and polar fleece.  I'm in a 3/4 sweater and tank top and there are moments I think this is too many clothes. (Update, at about 4pm it started raining... still didn't warrant a heavy coat, but all those prepared Londoners and their umbrellas looked pretty great.)

Today I encountered my first overtly rude person.  buying my ticket for the London Eye, I asked the cashier what VAT was, as it was listed in addition to all the ticket prices.  She kindly asked where I was from, to which I answered the US.  She proceeded to laugh and that's when her kindness stopped.  I looked at her puzzled, and then point blank asked her (nicely) to not poke fun at me.  She shook her head continued laughing and then said, "everyone knows what the VAT is!"  No.  I'm afraid they don't.  She finally told me that it stood for Value Added Tax and then commented that certainly I had tax where I was from.  Again, yes, taxes, but as far as I know it isn't given an acronym.  Ugh, I feel better after saying that.  I remembered today my least favorite part about traveling alone.

Pros

• I get to do whatever I want, whenever I want, and whatever pace I'd like to

Cons

• Sometimes you have to ask someone else to take your photo so it isn't a collection of selfies
• No one to put sunscreen on your back (learned that the hard way in Cancun)
• Harder to find someone to share a conversation with

No matter, tonight is the meet and greet for the tour company, so it's only a matter of hours. (Update, actually not.  One more day.  I showed up today because my stuff says that the tour starts tomorrow.  Turns out if you are from a country far enough away to cross the time divide, then they add an extra day for fun.  Will be meting group tomorrow).

This morning I took the Tube to Hyde park, then walked to Buckingham Palace.  I had to wait a bit, but I was able to watch the Changing of the Guards.  This process was much more elaborate than I had expected.  Three bands, one on horseback arrived one after the other, then there was a little concert.  I wish I knew what songs were played, but they were not what I was expecting.  I hope that I captured some of the songs,, there was some jazz, and at least two songs I know I knew, but can't place.  One of them sounded like a hero type song, like Raiders of the Lost ark theme song kind of sound.

From there I walked to Parliament Square to check out Westminster Abbey, Parliament building, and Big Ben.  Big Ben wasn't as big as I thought it would be.  Don't get me wrong, it's freaking mammoth!  A sit down in Victoria park, then across the Westminister Bridge, and then on to the London Eye. My feet are sore but I made it to London Tower and Tower Bridge.  I tracked my routes today and I walked a just shy of 10 miles, I still have to get dinner, so there's time I'll cross that milestone.

On my way to Tower Bridge! The lift was broken, so that was all stairs that I climbed, haha.

Note: I'm not sure I will ever feel comfortable asking where the Toilet is instead of the bathroom or restroom.  I'm working on it though!  Oh!  The other phrase was "top it off" in reference to putting more money on my Tube card (called an Oyster Card).  

I hadn't planned to do anything tomorrow as I thought the tour started, but I think a visit to King's Cross and then a train ride down to Bath could be in my future!

Also for my older sister and nieces:

Look at the assortment of condiments, including at least two mustards that came with my dinner last night!

Day 1

Well the flight from Seattle to London went better than expected.  I had the doomed middle seat, and it was not nearly as miserable as I had anticipated.  Two lovely women - one a native Londonite, the other a garden tour guide, Marty, who just got her first publishing deal with Random House for Garden mysteries.  Both were excellent conversational partners, and not a screaming baby in ear shot.

  

I made it!

Once in London and through customs, I picked up the Picadilly Underground Line and took a 50+ minute train ride into the city.  Once off the train, the station required you to either climb 15 flights, or squish into a lift.  I was able to make it onto the third one.

Was able to find my hotel easily, and it's right on

Russell Square.  I thought this might be some sort of concrete park, but was pleasantly surprised at the trees and blooming lilacs!

I am pretty tired tonight, so I decided to do just one thing, so I walked two blocks to the British

Museum.  A free museum I might add, as many of them are here in London, kind of amazing.  The trade off is that every exhibit is the So-and-So Exhibit brought to you by some foundation.  The content was varried, but my favorite room was the room of Enlightenment.  A gigantic room filled with books, and sculptures.  It didn't focus on one age of enlightenment, but many so as you walked through the room there was natural history, art, sciences, etc.  A really beautiful room.   There was a hands-on table, where a woman had three artifacts to pick up and hold, touch, rub, smell etc.  One woman even rubbed it on her face.  There was a copper piece that intrigued me and the museum curator told me all about it being part of a pilgrimage box dedicated to a saint, and then showed me complete examples. 

It has been harder than I expected to find wi-fi here, they want you to jump through a million hoops to get it. In Russell Square there is a bench sponsored by Microsoft that is a free wi-fi hotspot.  I sat here and composed this blog post!

Well I'm off to find dinner, somewhere, there's a pub next door and that may be a good option.  There's a small place in the hotel but the menu literally reads Tea and Pastries.   I could also order Crisps, Peanuts, or Olives.

I thought I knew what crisps were, but now I'm not so sure...

Ahh!  Speaking of differences, here are some of my musings for the day:

- There were three guys playing baseball catch in the park, and it seemed out of place, like I thought that Brits had too much swagger to play catch

- I shouldn't just call people Brits, because not only are there tourists, but there is a very diverse litany of people here.  Admittedly I love hearing the accent.  My mother joked about me finding someone in Europe, now I just need to find one that doesn't think American's are stupid...

- Speaking of stupid, I had one of those moments today.  So at many other museums I've been to they make you put your backpack in a locker.  So when the security guard asked me to check my back, I assumed he meant, put away, as in coat check.  I asked him where I could do that and he seemed almost as confused as I was.  The guy behind him was trying not to laugh.  Finally we figured out what was being asked and I opened my bag for him to see.  Ugh *facepalm* I expected my language barriers to be over complicated words and usages, not over a one syllable descriptor that is in my everyday vocabulary.

- Lovely.  I have heard this word more than I thought I would.  I knew I heard it in American versions of UK life, but I thought it was a charicature of it... nope.  Some girl got a seat on the train, "Oh, aren't I the lovely one!"   Another said, "She's lovely."   I feel I will have to be extra careful about the habit I have of saying Lovely in a sarcastic manner.  Who knows, maybe I'll get the hang of it.  

- Surname - I understand what this means, but it took me twice as long to understand what I was supposed to repeat to the Front Desk Receptionist at the hotel.  Ooops

- Dress, I was talking earlier about swagger, but perhaps dapper is a better word, even the advertising is aimed at a more sophisticated audience.

I welcome thoughts, comments, suggestions, etc!

Sara

Day 0

Leaving on a jet plane!

Spokane to Seattle went smoothly, I wish I had just a little bit more time in Pullman before I left.  The trade off is the my suitcase is expertly packed, at least from a traveling standpoint (I'll post a picture once I get there.

For now just playing on the internet in Seattle.