Pictures for now, text for later.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Day 2
Hola mis amigos! Buenos noches. Day two has been great! This morning we woke up and headed down for breakfast. The variety of food was almost overwhelming and it tasted great too. One thing I found particularly interesting was the variety of fruit juices. So far the pineapple mixture that Eric referenced above is still my favorite, but we sampled some unique blends. We tried a coconut juice with milk (it reminded us of bananas actually), orange juice mixed with melon (cantaloupe maybe?), watermelon, orange juice mixed with celery (perhaps the strangest), and at least one other without a name, only a picture (it looked like grape juice by tasted like nondescript watered-down juice). They make the best fruity drinks here. In the pools they have swim-up bars that offer drinks of all kinds – even slushy drinks for kids. My favorite so far is the San Francisco, a sin alcohol cocktail (without alcohol). It is a blend of pineapple, orange, cranberry, papaya and grenadine. After breakfast (in between all that juice sampling we ate, I promise) we decided to walk around a bit and explore, take photos and then head down to the beach. While exploring we saw two huge iguanas on the grounds! They were neat to see so close and I was quick to snap a few pictures. Next we checked out our towels (you have to turn in a card to check out your towel and then you must return a towel or card or get charged $30 USD – yikes!) and found a place on the beach. The beach here is gorgeous. After being there for a few minutes we had to come back to our room for a quick shoe change. The beaches here have rocks, so before wave jumping we changed into our sandals. While rougher beaches with rocks scattered around can prove to be a bit dangerous with crashing waves, it adds a great deal of beauty and character. We jumped in the waves for about 20 minutes and escaped with a minor scratch on my leg and a small but deep cut on Eric’s finger. We rinsed off and hit one of the many pools for the first time. The water was refreshing and the pools weren’t crowded at all. Eric and I were talking today about the level of occupancy. Our guess would be that the hotel is operating at 50-55%, so we haven’t encountered crowds or lines for anything really.
Next we came back to our room and showered, put on fresh clothes (and new swim wear) and headed down for lunch. We did the buffet again (the other restaurants are only available for dinner). I was a bit disappointed that they didn’t have the spread of fruit they had for breakfast (you name it they had it – starfruit, papaya, grapefruit, apples – both green and red, pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe, etc.), but they had a great salad bar, a grill for steak, fish or chicken, plenty of bread and sides. When we left for lunch we headed over to put in our reservation for dinner tonight. Unfortunately the restaurants we either full or closed when we spoke with the lady for reservations. We didn’t have too much time to be disappointed as we had to hit the road for our dolphin adventure.
Eric did a fantastic job finding a great deal for swimming with dolphins. We went through Dolphin Discovery and they ran a special on their website for half-off a certain number of tickets. At first I was a bit hesitant about the experience when I read a few negative reviews about the place nickel and diming tourists at every turn and one person was bit by a sea lion on a different tour (they’ve since stopped offering sea lions encounters). I was also concerned about the way the dolphins were treated. I was really impressed with our experience today though. We walked the half-mile over to Dolphin Discovery’s center. It was a bit hard to find from the street, but we happened upon it and a staff member pointed us in the right direction. We checked in, were shown to our lockers where we deposited our belongings, put on our life-jackets and then waited. We waited almost long enough to get fussy, but were able to watch some of the trainers swim with the dolphins in the meantime to pass the time. Then Marlon introduced himself and sorted us all out by the experience we had chosen. The bracelets assigned at check-in were marked with stars, stripes or squares which correlated to each experience. We signed up for the Royal Swim, which is the longest and most in depth of the experiences they offer. We were taken to a small center where we watched a video about the positions and gestures we would need to make for the tricks and rides. It also covered general information about the dolphins. During our walk into the center the guide told us that the two babies (calves) with their Moms in one area were 5 days and 2 weeks and 3 days old. We were also told that they had 35 dolphins total. The calves were adorable and never left their Mom’s sides.
Our trainer (I’m not sure of his name) went over the positions with us one more time before asking us to join him in the water. The short staircase led to a platform where you could comfortably stand while experiencing most of the tricks. Eric and I were at the end which meant we were the first to swim out for the rides. We did two rides each – a dorsal ride and a toe-push. For the dorsal ride you float (you have your life jacket on) with your arms out to your side (like a capital “T”). The dolphins come from behind and slide under your hands and you gently, but firmly grab ahold of their dorsal fin. Then they pull you across the pool area. The toe-push requires that you float on your stomach with your legs spread shoulders width apart and locked out, making sure your toes are pointed down. The dolphins come up behind you and nose around until they plant their nose firmly into the center of your foot. You have to be careful not to bend your knees or move your legs or feet. They’ll push you across the pool, causing the top half of your body to rise up out of the water, so you look like you are gliding across the water in a standing position. Eric did the toe-push first and I did the dorsal ride and then later we switched. The entire time they are video-taping and taking photos. My first thought was that the force of the dolphins pushing me had caused my bathing suit bottoms to come down to a point where I was going to be exposed on film. I didn’t dare put my hands down because they told us not to, but I was really worried. After the next girl went (there was one other couple from Wisconsin and then four family members from Colorado) she said the same thing. The last girl that went actually grabbed herself and then bailed off the dolphin’s noses because she said hers came way down. Afterwards they have you watch the video and we were all making jokes and laughing about what it might show. Fortunately for all of us it didn’t expose anything at all. In fact my toe-push turned out to be one of the best. I credit the success to my experiences with cheerleading (locking out my legs and staying stiff)… and maybe just following directions. In addition to the rides we did the dolphin kiss (where you kiss the dolphin and guide his mouth to your cheek, so that it looks like he is kissing you); the smile pose (where the dolphin lays in one arm and then you place your other hand on his belly and you both “smile” for the camera; the hug (where the dolphin swims across both of your arms, to lay for a minute sideways for your “hug”; and then the free time. For our free time they had us swim out in a line and we did gestures or signs to the dolphin for what we wanted them to do. For instance, we floated on our backs and kicked our legs and they splashed us with their tail fins. When we held our hands up in the air and wiggled our fingers they made noises through their blow-hole. Then at the end they gave each of us a fish to throw to our dolphin. It was a really neat experience. The dolphins seemed happy and well cared for. The trainers and staff were all very helpful and courteous. After coming out of the water we went back to watch our video. It was dramatic; with slow-motion dolphin jumps and the opening read “Starring” and had each of our names. They charge $50 USD for each DVD and it wasn’t that well-made. We went back and looked at our photos and while they all turned out good we chose one each (they were $15 USD apiece). We had taken a disposable waterproof camera with us but were told early on that we couldn’t take photos. Afterward I used the camera to take a few pictures of the dolphins swimming in the area before we headed back to our hotel.
When we came back we swam for about 45 minutes and just relaxed. Then we returned to our room to rinse off again since we smelled like fish and stinky water. We decided to dress up a bit for dinner (well as dressed up as you really get for vacation). Before dinner we decided to walk along the beach for a bit. We discovered a beautiful area just north of our hotel area. There is was a protected lagoon area for kayaking and a small rocky island with rock steps jutting out from the beach. I really wanted to get out to the island, but there was a gap where one or two steps would have been to reach the island. We decided instead of returning for our sandals tonight that we would wake up and try to experience the sunrise from the island tomorrow morning. It is such a beautiful area!
After leaving the beach we walked around the grounds again (there is so much to explore!). We found a few of the restaurants, the suites, the tennis courts (on top of the resort), and the theater. During our exploration we found several more beautiful flowering plants/bushes and a couple of speedy lizards. After our walking (it was after 8:00pm) we had worked up quite an appetite. Time to return to the trusty buffet! We tried several new things again and had dessert for the first time (we’ve always been too full before). During dinner we noticed out away from the hotel that in the same area we had walked before that was a lit up path with a tent. We thought there might be a wedding and decided to walk out and investigate from an appropriate distance. Turns out it was a romantic dinner. We proceeded to walk along the beach with the tide a bit higher. We stood in the waves for a while and enjoyed the sound of the waves and the moon reflecting off the water. It is sad that we will be leaving here tomorrow… but I know we’ll stay at some other beautiful places.
Once we returned to our room we discovered that we couldn’t get in. For some reason our key wasn’t working, which meant a trek back to the front desk to retrieve a new key or figure out the situation. The clerk ran our key again and we successfully gained entrance to our room this time.
Now we are off to bed so we can wake up early for that sunrise. We’ll let you know next time how it all turned out! Love you all! Buenos noches!
Next we came back to our room and showered, put on fresh clothes (and new swim wear) and headed down for lunch. We did the buffet again (the other restaurants are only available for dinner). I was a bit disappointed that they didn’t have the spread of fruit they had for breakfast (you name it they had it – starfruit, papaya, grapefruit, apples – both green and red, pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe, etc.), but they had a great salad bar, a grill for steak, fish or chicken, plenty of bread and sides. When we left for lunch we headed over to put in our reservation for dinner tonight. Unfortunately the restaurants we either full or closed when we spoke with the lady for reservations. We didn’t have too much time to be disappointed as we had to hit the road for our dolphin adventure.
Eric did a fantastic job finding a great deal for swimming with dolphins. We went through Dolphin Discovery and they ran a special on their website for half-off a certain number of tickets. At first I was a bit hesitant about the experience when I read a few negative reviews about the place nickel and diming tourists at every turn and one person was bit by a sea lion on a different tour (they’ve since stopped offering sea lions encounters). I was also concerned about the way the dolphins were treated. I was really impressed with our experience today though. We walked the half-mile over to Dolphin Discovery’s center. It was a bit hard to find from the street, but we happened upon it and a staff member pointed us in the right direction. We checked in, were shown to our lockers where we deposited our belongings, put on our life-jackets and then waited. We waited almost long enough to get fussy, but were able to watch some of the trainers swim with the dolphins in the meantime to pass the time. Then Marlon introduced himself and sorted us all out by the experience we had chosen. The bracelets assigned at check-in were marked with stars, stripes or squares which correlated to each experience. We signed up for the Royal Swim, which is the longest and most in depth of the experiences they offer. We were taken to a small center where we watched a video about the positions and gestures we would need to make for the tricks and rides. It also covered general information about the dolphins. During our walk into the center the guide told us that the two babies (calves) with their Moms in one area were 5 days and 2 weeks and 3 days old. We were also told that they had 35 dolphins total. The calves were adorable and never left their Mom’s sides.
Our trainer (I’m not sure of his name) went over the positions with us one more time before asking us to join him in the water. The short staircase led to a platform where you could comfortably stand while experiencing most of the tricks. Eric and I were at the end which meant we were the first to swim out for the rides. We did two rides each – a dorsal ride and a toe-push. For the dorsal ride you float (you have your life jacket on) with your arms out to your side (like a capital “T”). The dolphins come from behind and slide under your hands and you gently, but firmly grab ahold of their dorsal fin. Then they pull you across the pool area. The toe-push requires that you float on your stomach with your legs spread shoulders width apart and locked out, making sure your toes are pointed down. The dolphins come up behind you and nose around until they plant their nose firmly into the center of your foot. You have to be careful not to bend your knees or move your legs or feet. They’ll push you across the pool, causing the top half of your body to rise up out of the water, so you look like you are gliding across the water in a standing position. Eric did the toe-push first and I did the dorsal ride and then later we switched. The entire time they are video-taping and taking photos. My first thought was that the force of the dolphins pushing me had caused my bathing suit bottoms to come down to a point where I was going to be exposed on film. I didn’t dare put my hands down because they told us not to, but I was really worried. After the next girl went (there was one other couple from Wisconsin and then four family members from Colorado) she said the same thing. The last girl that went actually grabbed herself and then bailed off the dolphin’s noses because she said hers came way down. Afterwards they have you watch the video and we were all making jokes and laughing about what it might show. Fortunately for all of us it didn’t expose anything at all. In fact my toe-push turned out to be one of the best. I credit the success to my experiences with cheerleading (locking out my legs and staying stiff)… and maybe just following directions. In addition to the rides we did the dolphin kiss (where you kiss the dolphin and guide his mouth to your cheek, so that it looks like he is kissing you); the smile pose (where the dolphin lays in one arm and then you place your other hand on his belly and you both “smile” for the camera; the hug (where the dolphin swims across both of your arms, to lay for a minute sideways for your “hug”; and then the free time. For our free time they had us swim out in a line and we did gestures or signs to the dolphin for what we wanted them to do. For instance, we floated on our backs and kicked our legs and they splashed us with their tail fins. When we held our hands up in the air and wiggled our fingers they made noises through their blow-hole. Then at the end they gave each of us a fish to throw to our dolphin. It was a really neat experience. The dolphins seemed happy and well cared for. The trainers and staff were all very helpful and courteous. After coming out of the water we went back to watch our video. It was dramatic; with slow-motion dolphin jumps and the opening read “Starring” and had each of our names. They charge $50 USD for each DVD and it wasn’t that well-made. We went back and looked at our photos and while they all turned out good we chose one each (they were $15 USD apiece). We had taken a disposable waterproof camera with us but were told early on that we couldn’t take photos. Afterward I used the camera to take a few pictures of the dolphins swimming in the area before we headed back to our hotel.
When we came back we swam for about 45 minutes and just relaxed. Then we returned to our room to rinse off again since we smelled like fish and stinky water. We decided to dress up a bit for dinner (well as dressed up as you really get for vacation). Before dinner we decided to walk along the beach for a bit. We discovered a beautiful area just north of our hotel area. There is was a protected lagoon area for kayaking and a small rocky island with rock steps jutting out from the beach. I really wanted to get out to the island, but there was a gap where one or two steps would have been to reach the island. We decided instead of returning for our sandals tonight that we would wake up and try to experience the sunrise from the island tomorrow morning. It is such a beautiful area!
After leaving the beach we walked around the grounds again (there is so much to explore!). We found a few of the restaurants, the suites, the tennis courts (on top of the resort), and the theater. During our exploration we found several more beautiful flowering plants/bushes and a couple of speedy lizards. After our walking (it was after 8:00pm) we had worked up quite an appetite. Time to return to the trusty buffet! We tried several new things again and had dessert for the first time (we’ve always been too full before). During dinner we noticed out away from the hotel that in the same area we had walked before that was a lit up path with a tent. We thought there might be a wedding and decided to walk out and investigate from an appropriate distance. Turns out it was a romantic dinner. We proceeded to walk along the beach with the tide a bit higher. We stood in the waves for a while and enjoyed the sound of the waves and the moon reflecting off the water. It is sad that we will be leaving here tomorrow… but I know we’ll stay at some other beautiful places.
Once we returned to our room we discovered that we couldn’t get in. For some reason our key wasn’t working, which meant a trek back to the front desk to retrieve a new key or figure out the situation. The clerk ran our key again and we successfully gained entrance to our room this time.
Now we are off to bed so we can wake up early for that sunrise. We’ll let you know next time how it all turned out! Love you all! Buenos noches!
Day 1 pt 2
Alright, I’ve slept I’m on a different computer. So after we got the car last night, we were plunged into a very new experience of Mexican driving. I had a blast, Amy… not so much. Amy did some reading about getting pulled over by cops, which I think freaked her out. Needless to say we went the speed limit (which, by the way, no one else did). The road felt at times like a regular four lane highway where we could go 80 to 100km/hr (50-62ish mpg), but other times it slowed down to 40km/hr (30ish) for a few hundred yards or so before speeding back up. The speed bumps here are wild, they call them topes and they consist of about 50 concrete knobs sticking about 5-6 inches above the pavement in a staggered pattern. My non-powered-steering auto, has difficulty staying straight when passing over them. So between the dozen or so topes and speed zones, we didn’t make very good time to the Hotel. Plus I got turned around once and totally missed Puerto Aventuras (which I’ll get to later) but managed to find a sister hotel, also called the Catalonia. It ended up taking us about two hours from the car rental to getting in our room.
Now, about Puerto Aventuras… I’m not sure how I feel about it. We took a right-hand turn at the Puerto Aventuras exit and found ourselves in what I call the REAL Puerto Aventuras, which was a fairly typical Mexican town. Once we regained our bearings and took a left turn (which BTW was obscured by the Highway which was raised about 30 feet from ground level) we were able to enter this huge security entrance into the “gated community” of Puerto Aventuras. I’ll try to get a picture of that today. We got lost in here too… but after about 10 minutes, we managed to find our bearings, get checked in, Amy found a pineapple juice drink that she loves and we had a Buffet (which was pretty good). We went to bed at 10:45. I’ll try to find out about internet today. We ended up cancelling our ruin plans for today in lieu of our exhaustion and to spend a bit more time exploring this place.
All for now.
Now, about Puerto Aventuras… I’m not sure how I feel about it. We took a right-hand turn at the Puerto Aventuras exit and found ourselves in what I call the REAL Puerto Aventuras, which was a fairly typical Mexican town. Once we regained our bearings and took a left turn (which BTW was obscured by the Highway which was raised about 30 feet from ground level) we were able to enter this huge security entrance into the “gated community” of Puerto Aventuras. I’ll try to get a picture of that today. We got lost in here too… but after about 10 minutes, we managed to find our bearings, get checked in, Amy found a pineapple juice drink that she loves and we had a Buffet (which was pretty good). We went to bed at 10:45. I’ll try to find out about internet today. We ended up cancelling our ruin plans for today in lieu of our exhaustion and to spend a bit more time exploring this place.
All for now.
Day 1
Day 1, well... half-day really. Today started out pretty smooth, our flight from XNA wasn't until 12:02, so we figured that we needed to leave Joplin no later than 9:40. We ended up leaving at 9:50 and I wasn't able to run by the post office. I was able to get to the bank though, which was a plus. McDonalds breakfast on the way out of town and we were running late, but I went 79ish on the highway and made great time. We were on the walkway to the front entrance of XNA and Amy got the call from Orbitz that our flight was delayed 15 minutes or so, which wouldn't normally be that big of a deal except we only had 34 minutes to connect in IAH, Houston. The check-in guy assured us that he would put our names in for a backup flight 1:45 later.
The flight was a bit rough, Amy was nervous and it seemed a bit bumpy. We were both worried about catching our connecting flight. As it turns out, IAH is one of those airports that builds on terminals as the need arises, leaving weird and abnormally long routes from terminal to terminal. The good news was that were weren't landing in terminal A, where we would have to bus to terminal B. The bad news is that we were in terminal B, which was two train rides and 14 minutes of walk time away from terminal E, where our 2:10 flight was out of. When we touched down, the stewardess kindly informed all passengers to Cancun that they would need to see the attendant outside the gate, where she was waiting with new tickets in hand. She told us that we could try to make it, but if we didn't then the next flight was at the same terminal. We decided to try to make it. So we ran. We were three seconds short of making the train. We took the next one a few minutes later. We ran the rest of the way (in flip flops). We arrived at the gate at 2:05 (departed at 2:10) and the attendant dude had just closed the door. If we had made the first train, we would have made it. But, we did make what should have been a 17 minute walk in about 7 minutes. It would have been nice to make the earlier flight, but we made do. We called the rental car agency and notified them of our delay (continental let us use their courtesy phones). Then we got some Wendys and Mexican Pesos at travelex.
We were the first to board after the first classers, the plane was only half-full so we got a row to ourselves. I read our frommers Cancun book and Amy clutched my hand tight for pretty much he entire trip. About 45 minutes before landing we went over a big Island that I am wondering about, since we were surely in the middle of the gulf at that point. We also went through a fair bit of turbulence and I saw a bit of lightning outside as well, of course I didn't tell Amy this until we were on solid ground. We were handed a piece of paper that asked us about Swine Flu symptoms, to which we checked NO on everything. Customs/Migration went well, they have x-rays coming in to the country. The airport seems to be partly airconditioned. I was asked how much cash I had when I accidentally flashed my wad of $1's showing the officer my travel "pouch." Everything else was smooth. Baggage claim took no time, we walked up and our bag was there. We walked out of the airport, there were tons of tour salesmen and taxi drivers vying for our business, one guy (may have been a taxi hailer) asked what we were looking for once we got outside, I told him Carribean rent a car, and he pointed us to the kid who was supposed to be waiting with a sign with our name on it. He escorted us to a spot where we waited about 5 minutes for a shuttle to take us to the rental agency.
Dodge Atos. That's Spanish for basic transportation. $200 for a week, including full coverage insurance to cover theft, loss, etc. It's a standard, but it has cold air conditioning. The process was mostly standard fare, except for the fact that one of the tires had a bent rim, lol. The workers didn't seem to think it was a big deal, but I know that if I were to take that rim/tire to a stateside repair shop, they probably wouldn't replace the tire. So, my 30 seconds of silence and thinking sounds prompted the car-check guy to bring it up to the manager guy who called for the "other" Atos. We looked over it and the second Atos looked roadworthy. After a somewhat hurried check (hope that doesn't come back to bite us later) we were off, 18 minutes before sundown. One thing that I've noticed is that they have a lot of man power for the jobs, there were half a dozen guys at the car renal agency, when there could have been 2 or 3. I've also seen a lot of gas pumpers where there weren't any cars... maybe a useless observation, we'll see.
The flight was a bit rough, Amy was nervous and it seemed a bit bumpy. We were both worried about catching our connecting flight. As it turns out, IAH is one of those airports that builds on terminals as the need arises, leaving weird and abnormally long routes from terminal to terminal. The good news was that were weren't landing in terminal A, where we would have to bus to terminal B. The bad news is that we were in terminal B, which was two train rides and 14 minutes of walk time away from terminal E, where our 2:10 flight was out of. When we touched down, the stewardess kindly informed all passengers to Cancun that they would need to see the attendant outside the gate, where she was waiting with new tickets in hand. She told us that we could try to make it, but if we didn't then the next flight was at the same terminal. We decided to try to make it. So we ran. We were three seconds short of making the train. We took the next one a few minutes later. We ran the rest of the way (in flip flops). We arrived at the gate at 2:05 (departed at 2:10) and the attendant dude had just closed the door. If we had made the first train, we would have made it. But, we did make what should have been a 17 minute walk in about 7 minutes. It would have been nice to make the earlier flight, but we made do. We called the rental car agency and notified them of our delay (continental let us use their courtesy phones). Then we got some Wendys and Mexican Pesos at travelex.
We were the first to board after the first classers, the plane was only half-full so we got a row to ourselves. I read our frommers Cancun book and Amy clutched my hand tight for pretty much he entire trip. About 45 minutes before landing we went over a big Island that I am wondering about, since we were surely in the middle of the gulf at that point. We also went through a fair bit of turbulence and I saw a bit of lightning outside as well, of course I didn't tell Amy this until we were on solid ground. We were handed a piece of paper that asked us about Swine Flu symptoms, to which we checked NO on everything. Customs/Migration went well, they have x-rays coming in to the country. The airport seems to be partly airconditioned. I was asked how much cash I had when I accidentally flashed my wad of $1's showing the officer my travel "pouch." Everything else was smooth. Baggage claim took no time, we walked up and our bag was there. We walked out of the airport, there were tons of tour salesmen and taxi drivers vying for our business, one guy (may have been a taxi hailer) asked what we were looking for once we got outside, I told him Carribean rent a car, and he pointed us to the kid who was supposed to be waiting with a sign with our name on it. He escorted us to a spot where we waited about 5 minutes for a shuttle to take us to the rental agency.
Dodge Atos. That's Spanish for basic transportation. $200 for a week, including full coverage insurance to cover theft, loss, etc. It's a standard, but it has cold air conditioning. The process was mostly standard fare, except for the fact that one of the tires had a bent rim, lol. The workers didn't seem to think it was a big deal, but I know that if I were to take that rim/tire to a stateside repair shop, they probably wouldn't replace the tire. So, my 30 seconds of silence and thinking sounds prompted the car-check guy to bring it up to the manager guy who called for the "other" Atos. We looked over it and the second Atos looked roadworthy. After a somewhat hurried check (hope that doesn't come back to bite us later) we were off, 18 minutes before sundown. One thing that I've noticed is that they have a lot of man power for the jobs, there were half a dozen guys at the car renal agency, when there could have been 2 or 3. I've also seen a lot of gas pumpers where there weren't any cars... maybe a useless observation, we'll see.
Ugh, I'm not going to use this EEE for blogging anymore, my wrists are killing me.
-Eric
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
January 6th
We kept striking out this morning!
After getting in late last night we slept in a bit. When we got up and around we decided to walk to the Tour Eiffel. It is afterall only supposed to be a 2-5 minute walk (depending). We actually walked an extra block, but there it was in plain view - the Eiffel Tower! When we arrived we dodged all the vendors that stand around shaking keychains at you. We started snapping pictures and were making our way toward the ticket booth when we saw the sign that said Tower closed. Due to the ice and the freezing temperatures all levels were closed on the tower. By this point we were very cold (it doesn't take long) and Eric suggested that today would be a good day to see the Louvre instead. I thought this was a very good idea, so we made our way to the metro station to try again.
This time we purchased a 3 day pass (even though we won't be here for a full three days from this morning). We've already saved money by purchasing these. The metro was much better today compared to last night. It was much busier, but well-lit and there were more attendants around. We had no trouble getting to the current station for the Louvre. The metro is actually attached to a small shopping mall and food court, which are all attached to the Louvre. We decided to grab a bite to eat first since we slept past breakfast and hadn't had a proper meal the night before. The food court was a nice spot with a variety of foods. We played it safe by ordering a bacon cheeseburger and fries from one place and then getting some Indian food from another place. We shared the meals and then decided to head down to get tickets for the Louvre. The office was selling Museum passes, which are the best value for seeing the attractions we had planned. However, they were out of 2 day passes. We decided to just purchase the tickets without the pass. We then found out that the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays! So we decided to walk around the shopping area a bit. We walked through some interesting stores before deciding to head to the Notre-Dame Cathedral. We were determined not to let our first day be a bust!
We had no troubles finding the Cathedral and there was no line. We went straight in and started enjoying the beautiful stained-glass windows. It was beautiful! By this point, believe it or not, the sun was already setting, so the colors cast across the walls were gorgeous. Eric took some video of this on our camera. After enjoying the cathedral we decided to head for the Pantheon. We encountered some begars (including a really mean girl) and two interesting Egyptian "statues" who would bow everytime someone placed a coin at their feet. I thought they must have been really cold!
Back on the metro and then off again to find the Pantheon. We came out across from the Jardin de Luxembourg (typically a beautiful green park that houses a museum, among other things). It was beautifully covered in white from the snow. We took some beautiful photos and enjoyed walking for as long as we could stand the cold. Then it was back on the road to the Pantheon. On the way there we did see a Gap and stopped in. I was hoping to find a pair of tights (I only packed one pair and have worn them nearly every day) to layer under my pants. Unable to find any, I settled for a turtleneck to layer and off we went. We reached the Pantheon and began exploring. Eric also took some video there that turned out really well. We can't wait to show everyone back home! We stopped by a street vendor on the way back to the metro and got a chocolate crepe. It was warm and gooey and really good and messy!
From the Pantheon we decided to head back to our hotel to warm up before we had dinner. On our way back we decided to stop by the grocery store just down the block to pick up some fresh fruit. We got some bananas, "petit carrottes", and yogurt for some healthy snacks. We came back to the room and used the internet and researched some places for dinner. In the end we decided to try the Italian restaurant next door (we have several cafes around us). You never know if a place nearby will be good or not, but this time we were really pleased. We ordered a pizza and pasta to share. The pizza was a 3 ham (ham, chorizo, and some sort of shoulder ham), and the pasta was penne with tomato sauce and basil. Both were very good. The pizza certainly didn't last long! The staff were very friendly and spoke to us in English and were really kind. Eric has had some really good steaks on the trip so far, but to me, this was one of the best meals I've had here. The pizza was really fantastic!
From here we bundled up again and headed to the Eiffel Tower again to see it lit up at night. It really is a gorgeous sight! The first level was open this time, so we decided to go up. There was very little wait and up we went. It is all exposed to the air though, so we walked around for some time and then went into the cafe. We shared a hot chocolate and enjoyed the views and the informative displays and pictures from inside. We went back out just in time to catch the lift back down and take a few more pictures before heading back to our hotel for the night.
Two notes: We are hoping that the cold won't continue preventing us from seeing so many beautiful sights. For instance, in both the Pantheon and the Notre-Dame Cathedral, there are usually towers and areas you can go up in to see panoramic views of the city. Both were closed today due to the weather. At the Eiffel Tower the gentleman in front of us asked the clerk if she knew when the top would be open again and she said she hoped perhaps tomorrow. It will all depend on the weather.
Second note: The French people have all been really nice to us. From other trips we have had first-hand bad experiences with French tourists and we have heard bad stories, as you may have too. People have been really helpful though and generally speak to us in English if we ask. We always try to make an effort speaking in French or showing them what we want. Tonight we had a problem with Eric's ticket for the metro going through. He actually had to hop the entrance once because his three-day ticket was showing up invalid. We arrived at an occupied ticket booth on our way back and the lady was very helpful. We've really been blessed with great service so far. On the same note we wish we could return the favor. Several people have come up to me to ask for help or directions. The problem is that I have no clue what they are saying. I have to just tell them that I don't speak French. Tonight there was a man with his family (including 2 little ones) asking for directions and we just directed them back to the clerk at the window because we didn't speak French.
Alright, well its time for bed again. We have a busy day planned for tomorrow. We love you all!
After getting in late last night we slept in a bit. When we got up and around we decided to walk to the Tour Eiffel. It is afterall only supposed to be a 2-5 minute walk (depending). We actually walked an extra block, but there it was in plain view - the Eiffel Tower! When we arrived we dodged all the vendors that stand around shaking keychains at you. We started snapping pictures and were making our way toward the ticket booth when we saw the sign that said Tower closed. Due to the ice and the freezing temperatures all levels were closed on the tower. By this point we were very cold (it doesn't take long) and Eric suggested that today would be a good day to see the Louvre instead. I thought this was a very good idea, so we made our way to the metro station to try again.
This time we purchased a 3 day pass (even though we won't be here for a full three days from this morning). We've already saved money by purchasing these. The metro was much better today compared to last night. It was much busier, but well-lit and there were more attendants around. We had no trouble getting to the current station for the Louvre. The metro is actually attached to a small shopping mall and food court, which are all attached to the Louvre. We decided to grab a bite to eat first since we slept past breakfast and hadn't had a proper meal the night before. The food court was a nice spot with a variety of foods. We played it safe by ordering a bacon cheeseburger and fries from one place and then getting some Indian food from another place. We shared the meals and then decided to head down to get tickets for the Louvre. The office was selling Museum passes, which are the best value for seeing the attractions we had planned. However, they were out of 2 day passes. We decided to just purchase the tickets without the pass. We then found out that the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays! So we decided to walk around the shopping area a bit. We walked through some interesting stores before deciding to head to the Notre-Dame Cathedral. We were determined not to let our first day be a bust!
We had no troubles finding the Cathedral and there was no line. We went straight in and started enjoying the beautiful stained-glass windows. It was beautiful! By this point, believe it or not, the sun was already setting, so the colors cast across the walls were gorgeous. Eric took some video of this on our camera. After enjoying the cathedral we decided to head for the Pantheon. We encountered some begars (including a really mean girl) and two interesting Egyptian "statues" who would bow everytime someone placed a coin at their feet. I thought they must have been really cold!
Back on the metro and then off again to find the Pantheon. We came out across from the Jardin de Luxembourg (typically a beautiful green park that houses a museum, among other things). It was beautifully covered in white from the snow. We took some beautiful photos and enjoyed walking for as long as we could stand the cold. Then it was back on the road to the Pantheon. On the way there we did see a Gap and stopped in. I was hoping to find a pair of tights (I only packed one pair and have worn them nearly every day) to layer under my pants. Unable to find any, I settled for a turtleneck to layer and off we went. We reached the Pantheon and began exploring. Eric also took some video there that turned out really well. We can't wait to show everyone back home! We stopped by a street vendor on the way back to the metro and got a chocolate crepe. It was warm and gooey and really good and messy!
From the Pantheon we decided to head back to our hotel to warm up before we had dinner. On our way back we decided to stop by the grocery store just down the block to pick up some fresh fruit. We got some bananas, "petit carrottes", and yogurt for some healthy snacks. We came back to the room and used the internet and researched some places for dinner. In the end we decided to try the Italian restaurant next door (we have several cafes around us). You never know if a place nearby will be good or not, but this time we were really pleased. We ordered a pizza and pasta to share. The pizza was a 3 ham (ham, chorizo, and some sort of shoulder ham), and the pasta was penne with tomato sauce and basil. Both were very good. The pizza certainly didn't last long! The staff were very friendly and spoke to us in English and were really kind. Eric has had some really good steaks on the trip so far, but to me, this was one of the best meals I've had here. The pizza was really fantastic!
From here we bundled up again and headed to the Eiffel Tower again to see it lit up at night. It really is a gorgeous sight! The first level was open this time, so we decided to go up. There was very little wait and up we went. It is all exposed to the air though, so we walked around for some time and then went into the cafe. We shared a hot chocolate and enjoyed the views and the informative displays and pictures from inside. We went back out just in time to catch the lift back down and take a few more pictures before heading back to our hotel for the night.
Two notes: We are hoping that the cold won't continue preventing us from seeing so many beautiful sights. For instance, in both the Pantheon and the Notre-Dame Cathedral, there are usually towers and areas you can go up in to see panoramic views of the city. Both were closed today due to the weather. At the Eiffel Tower the gentleman in front of us asked the clerk if she knew when the top would be open again and she said she hoped perhaps tomorrow. It will all depend on the weather.
Second note: The French people have all been really nice to us. From other trips we have had first-hand bad experiences with French tourists and we have heard bad stories, as you may have too. People have been really helpful though and generally speak to us in English if we ask. We always try to make an effort speaking in French or showing them what we want. Tonight we had a problem with Eric's ticket for the metro going through. He actually had to hop the entrance once because his three-day ticket was showing up invalid. We arrived at an occupied ticket booth on our way back and the lady was very helpful. We've really been blessed with great service so far. On the same note we wish we could return the favor. Several people have come up to me to ask for help or directions. The problem is that I have no clue what they are saying. I have to just tell them that I don't speak French. Tonight there was a man with his family (including 2 little ones) asking for directions and we just directed them back to the clerk at the window because we didn't speak French.
Alright, well its time for bed again. We have a busy day planned for tomorrow. We love you all!
January 5th
On the morning of the 5th we took our time getting around, knowing we would be packing up and leaving. The front desk of our hotel was very accommodating when we asked if we could leave our luggage there and come back for it later in the day. We packed up our things, got dressed up and checked out to make our way to our reservation at the Ritz for tea. This was something I had looked forward to for a long time and it did not disappoint! Upon arrival we were directed to the cloakroom (I accidentally went down into the ladies room, which was opulent and extravagant and beautiful) to drop off our things. We then were seated facing a beautiful fountain on a two-person settee. We were greeted very quickly and asked if we wanted regular tea or anything else. Our tea arrived quickly along with tea sandwiches and small pastries or desserts. We were told our scones would arrive soon. The table was beautifully set with jam and clotted cream, tea cups and saucers, an afternoon tea menu and of course the silver teapot. We enjoyed visiting and trying the various snacks in front of us, snuck a few pictures that we'll share later, and listened to the pianist play various songs, some of which we recognized. The staff were very kind and offered seconds of anything we wished, and replenished our tea and hot water. It was a delightful experience. After some time (several others who were seated at the same time were starting to leave) we asked for our check and I asked if I could keep the afternoon tea menu as a souvenir. We made a quick stop at the reservation desk where they keep gift items and I got a small book on afternoon tea that includes recipes of things we had. I enjoyed it all so much!
Next we were on our way to see St. Paul's Cathedral, but made a wrong exit and came out at South Kensington instead. Across the street from the tube station there was a beautiful flower shop with flowers displayed along the street. We went across and took pictures of the flowers and then went inside to pick some out. Eric got me a small bouquet to carry around with me. They were beautiful roses, in our wedding colors. After that we went back down the tube and headed off to St. Paul's Cathedral. By this point I was feeling very spoiled. :)
We arrived at St. Paul's with no trouble. It was snowing lightly again when we made our way in. It was not a great day to be dressed up. The inside was gorgeous, however we weren't allowed to take photos. We were able to climb the 257 steps to the galleries which circled the center of the dome. It was beautiful from above. From there we climbed another 119 stairs to reach the Stone gallery, which offered beautiful views of the city. It was very windy from the top, but we managed to snap a few photos before we made the decent. This of course would be the only day I had heels on from our tea reservation. It was great nonetheless.
On our way back to the tube we stopped to have a snack at a little cafe. We split a panini sandwich and a coke and then headed back to the tube. From here we travelled back to our hotel, where our luggage was being stowed. We had set aside clothing to change into before we departed for France. We changed quickly and then made our way to St. Pancras station to catch the Eurostar to Paris. The station was very big and a bit confusing but we made it with a little time to spare. The Eurostar train was very nice and comfortable. Unfortunately we couldn't see anything out our windows because it was so dark. The little bit we could see revealed snow and the occassional light. We didn't really end up having dinner. We snacked on crackers, beef jerky, pringles and water.
We arrived in Paris around 9:45pm local time. The station, usually portrayed beautifully in pictures, was eerie and creepy. It was very dark and there were very few people around. Those who were there were clustered around glowing heaters they had set out near arrival. We made our way to a ticket (billet) machine to get the tickets we would need into town to our hotel. The machines would not read our credit cards and we did not have euros at this point. After some time of trying different machines and different cards we found an exchange counter to exchange money into euros. I'm glad they were there because many of the ticket counters were empty. This allowed us to buy tickets from the machine with euro coins and venture into our leg of the station. After one leg we had to switch lines. When we found where we were supposed to be and tried to go through our tickets were invalid. Apparently they only worked for one use. We made our way back up several flights of stairs and down others and found a lady at a ticket booth who helped us. We made the necessary purchase and got on the correct train. We were very cold, tired and ready to be at our hotel by this point. When we submerged from our last metro station we were happy to see our hotel right across the street. Just a quick note about the metro. If it had not been for seeing the metro in day-light today I would not have gotten back on after our first experience. The stations were very poorly lit, dirty, with both litter and mud and water and the scent of urine around. There was a great deal of graffitti on everything. Not just on the outside of the vehicles either. At one point we saw a police officer taking a muzzled police dog somewhere. It all made me a little uneasy. One neat thing that I saw when we were changing lines was a priest kneeling with a homeless man, giving him food and talking with him.
We checked in and the front desk clerk was very helpful and spoke English well. He asked for our passports to make copies, which I found odd since that has never happened to us before. He asked us to sit down while he did so. He returned them and then gave us a map of the city. He circled an area and told us not to go there after 6:00pm. He said go anywhere else 24 hours a day, but not there. I'm not crazy about being out when it becomes dark anyway, so that was fine with me. After that we made our way up to our room in the photo-booth sized lift.
Our room is very small but the bed is comfortable and the bathroom is generously sized compared to the rest of the room. We have a window that opens into a center courtyard. Mostly you see the outer walls of other hotels. There is an odor of mildew though. When taking photos of the room (we'll later report everything on TripAdvisor for other travellers), I discovered some mildew around the window. It looks as if someone left the window open and it rained inside or something. Our shower pressure is great and we had plenty of hot water this morning, which was a great way to start off the day. We also have a mini-frig that we did not have at our last hotel, which is a welcome addition. We also have free wi-fi, which is great!
Well I think that is a good run-down of yesterday. We'll post about today later. Love you all!
P.S. This is my best french phrase: Je ne parle pas francais. Parlez vous Anglais? (I don't speak french. Do you speak English?). That and I use please and thank you in french as generously as I can!
Next we were on our way to see St. Paul's Cathedral, but made a wrong exit and came out at South Kensington instead. Across the street from the tube station there was a beautiful flower shop with flowers displayed along the street. We went across and took pictures of the flowers and then went inside to pick some out. Eric got me a small bouquet to carry around with me. They were beautiful roses, in our wedding colors. After that we went back down the tube and headed off to St. Paul's Cathedral. By this point I was feeling very spoiled. :)
We arrived at St. Paul's with no trouble. It was snowing lightly again when we made our way in. It was not a great day to be dressed up. The inside was gorgeous, however we weren't allowed to take photos. We were able to climb the 257 steps to the galleries which circled the center of the dome. It was beautiful from above. From there we climbed another 119 stairs to reach the Stone gallery, which offered beautiful views of the city. It was very windy from the top, but we managed to snap a few photos before we made the decent. This of course would be the only day I had heels on from our tea reservation. It was great nonetheless.
On our way back to the tube we stopped to have a snack at a little cafe. We split a panini sandwich and a coke and then headed back to the tube. From here we travelled back to our hotel, where our luggage was being stowed. We had set aside clothing to change into before we departed for France. We changed quickly and then made our way to St. Pancras station to catch the Eurostar to Paris. The station was very big and a bit confusing but we made it with a little time to spare. The Eurostar train was very nice and comfortable. Unfortunately we couldn't see anything out our windows because it was so dark. The little bit we could see revealed snow and the occassional light. We didn't really end up having dinner. We snacked on crackers, beef jerky, pringles and water.
We arrived in Paris around 9:45pm local time. The station, usually portrayed beautifully in pictures, was eerie and creepy. It was very dark and there were very few people around. Those who were there were clustered around glowing heaters they had set out near arrival. We made our way to a ticket (billet) machine to get the tickets we would need into town to our hotel. The machines would not read our credit cards and we did not have euros at this point. After some time of trying different machines and different cards we found an exchange counter to exchange money into euros. I'm glad they were there because many of the ticket counters were empty. This allowed us to buy tickets from the machine with euro coins and venture into our leg of the station. After one leg we had to switch lines. When we found where we were supposed to be and tried to go through our tickets were invalid. Apparently they only worked for one use. We made our way back up several flights of stairs and down others and found a lady at a ticket booth who helped us. We made the necessary purchase and got on the correct train. We were very cold, tired and ready to be at our hotel by this point. When we submerged from our last metro station we were happy to see our hotel right across the street. Just a quick note about the metro. If it had not been for seeing the metro in day-light today I would not have gotten back on after our first experience. The stations were very poorly lit, dirty, with both litter and mud and water and the scent of urine around. There was a great deal of graffitti on everything. Not just on the outside of the vehicles either. At one point we saw a police officer taking a muzzled police dog somewhere. It all made me a little uneasy. One neat thing that I saw when we were changing lines was a priest kneeling with a homeless man, giving him food and talking with him.
We checked in and the front desk clerk was very helpful and spoke English well. He asked for our passports to make copies, which I found odd since that has never happened to us before. He asked us to sit down while he did so. He returned them and then gave us a map of the city. He circled an area and told us not to go there after 6:00pm. He said go anywhere else 24 hours a day, but not there. I'm not crazy about being out when it becomes dark anyway, so that was fine with me. After that we made our way up to our room in the photo-booth sized lift.
Our room is very small but the bed is comfortable and the bathroom is generously sized compared to the rest of the room. We have a window that opens into a center courtyard. Mostly you see the outer walls of other hotels. There is an odor of mildew though. When taking photos of the room (we'll later report everything on TripAdvisor for other travellers), I discovered some mildew around the window. It looks as if someone left the window open and it rained inside or something. Our shower pressure is great and we had plenty of hot water this morning, which was a great way to start off the day. We also have a mini-frig that we did not have at our last hotel, which is a welcome addition. We also have free wi-fi, which is great!
Well I think that is a good run-down of yesterday. We'll post about today later. Love you all!
P.S. This is my best french phrase: Je ne parle pas francais. Parlez vous Anglais? (I don't speak french. Do you speak English?). That and I use please and thank you in french as generously as I can!
Stardate 1-04
Well, it's actually been two days since my last post so I'm just going to cover the rest of 1-04. We started the day off by sleeping in, it had been a long day previous and we needed some rest. We cut Stonehenge for a number of reasons, the primary being that we were pooped and the train ride was going to be 2:45 (plus bus and metro time) instead of 1:45 because of "Maintenance" so it would have taken our whole day. Instead, we visited some of our missed attractions and the National Maritime Museum. First, we stopped by McDonalds, which was interesting. Amy had a cheeseburger and a half with no onions, the ketchup tasted different, but everything else was the same, she was really happy about the foutain-coke. I had a big and tasty, which is nothing like the U.S. version, it was REALLY BIG! and it was 835 calories, which is actually good since we've been eating 2.5 meals a day and walking a good two miles and trying to keep warm. After brunch we headed to the London Eye, which we missed on our arrival because of our plane snafu, unfortunately we couldn't get a refund for our initial ride but fortunately we didn't mind paying double, because the view was spectacular and the module was heated. By the way, apparently London is having the worst cold-snap in a decade (and Paris is colder). After the London Eye we took the tube to connect with the Docklands Light Rail line (both of which work with the Oyster card, but more about that later). The DLR was good, there were no steps to/from the trains which is good, but trains only come every 10 minutes. We got off of the DLR at Greenwich (Greenich) where we found the National Maritime Museum. The museum grounds also held the Royal Observatory, and the Queens House. We visited everything and it was amazing! Amy was taking pictures like crazy until she realized that we weren't supposed to. Ahh well. We got several pictures on the prime-meridian and bought shirts at the gift-shop. It was freezing cold. Amy also took some pictures of the famous Tulip Stairs. You could spend a whole day here, easily, but we only spent 2 hours or so, it was freezing cold.
Afterward, when we finally got back into town, we were cold, tired, and hungry. We got some information at the Somerset House about ice-skating and then went next door to Walkabouts, an Australian pub chain. I ordered the mixed grill, which came with chips, coconus prawns, grilled chicken, and an 8oz ribeye. The steak was crap. I give it a 3 out of 10 on the steak-o-meter. It was chewy, overcooked, grissely, gross. The prawns were spectacular. I had never had prawns, but they are everywhere over here. They are like shrimp as far as I can tell, except a little less vesselly/chewy. The chicken was good also. Amy ordered fried chicken w/bbq beans, salad, and fries. She liked it. After dinner we headed over to Somerset House to go ice-skating, but we were a few minutes late to get into the 6:00 skate. Some lady was scalping her tickets because she was pregnant (weird huh?) but it seemed fishy so we didn't bite. We took pictures and bought some drinks and a two-fifty pound cup-cake that was the color of tiffany & co. We headed back "home" afterward to a hot bath and some british TV. We turned in aroud 7:30 p.m.
I'll let Amy post about the next couple days and I'll fill in any blanks in my next post. Au revoir!
Afterward, when we finally got back into town, we were cold, tired, and hungry. We got some information at the Somerset House about ice-skating and then went next door to Walkabouts, an Australian pub chain. I ordered the mixed grill, which came with chips, coconus prawns, grilled chicken, and an 8oz ribeye. The steak was crap. I give it a 3 out of 10 on the steak-o-meter. It was chewy, overcooked, grissely, gross. The prawns were spectacular. I had never had prawns, but they are everywhere over here. They are like shrimp as far as I can tell, except a little less vesselly/chewy. The chicken was good also. Amy ordered fried chicken w/bbq beans, salad, and fries. She liked it. After dinner we headed over to Somerset House to go ice-skating, but we were a few minutes late to get into the 6:00 skate. Some lady was scalping her tickets because she was pregnant (weird huh?) but it seemed fishy so we didn't bite. We took pictures and bought some drinks and a two-fifty pound cup-cake that was the color of tiffany & co. We headed back "home" afterward to a hot bath and some british TV. We turned in aroud 7:30 p.m.
I'll let Amy post about the next couple days and I'll fill in any blanks in my next post. Au revoir!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Day: Yesterday
So yesterday was cool, we got a lot done but fell short of our itinerary. We slept past the alarm which put us at a two hour deficit from the get-go. Our first stop was Hammersmith station for some breakfast. We ordered "breakfast baguettes," I think that I ordered two bacon egg cheese, but we got bacon sausage egg, which was good because the sausage was great! I'm going to order another one today. The london tube website said that our section of the tube was down. I hope it's back up by the time we get there. Apparently weekends are prime-time for tube outtages because of "maintenance." We've been seeing LOTS of tourists here, of all nationalities. It has really caught us offguard, we were expecting "off-season" traffic, if I get some extra time, I'll post pictures of Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square.
After breakfast, we went back to Buckingham Palace to get some pics without tons of people... well, we got pictures, but there were still tons of people. We just happened to get there at about the same time as the day before when the changing of the guard was taking place, apparently everyone thought that it was taking place yesterday as well. Luckily, today they will be back and we won't be there. After buckingham palace, we went to "Tower Bridge" which is sometimes confused with London Bridge. It was beautiful and spectacular. We did the tour for six pounds a piece and got to go up in the tower. The view was very good. Afterward, we took a tour of the Tower of London, which was MUCH bigger than I expected. The downside of things being much bigger than you expect, is that you don't spend nearly enough time there. The Tower seemed to be like some sort of "london disneyland," with some great stuff, even though it's tailored for tourists. We did get to see the Ravens which was what I was most excited about, and I'll tell you this; they are the biggest ravens I've ever seen. I'm sure Dad and D. Kiger would have a great time shooting at them. I think Amy read that they feed them a pound of raw-meat and blood every day.
After the tower we tried to get to the Borough Market, I say "tried" not because we didn't make it, but because it was difficult to get to. The tube map shows two stations connected to each other, but they are actually a good half-mile away. Needless to say, we walked a LOT yesterday. Once we got to the bourough market, we had a few snacks and bought some candies, it was extremely cool. There were several "beware of pick-pocketing" signs. I don't think I got pick-pocketed, which is good. We were tired, hungry, and sore after the market... we hopped back on the tube and at this point, we missed lunch. We went immediately for the National Gallery and luckily the National Gallery Cafe was spectacular! I ordered a steak for 15 pounds (not a bad price), and it was GOOD. I ordered it medium-well, and told Amy to remind me from then on to just order medium because my last steak at the Napa restraunt at our hotel over-cooked my steak. It came medium, and I was happy. It came with a great blue-cheese cream sauce and yummy fried potato slices, Amy liked her hamburger and fries too. After dinner we only had 30 minutes to see the National Gallery (not nearly enough time). But we made the most of it, we saw some great Degas and VanGough pieces. This place was simply beautiful. Outside the Gallery was Trafalgar square, which was full of trash and protestors before we went in, after we came out, everything was cleaned up! The city workers here are amazing, they keep everything clean. We headed back lastnight, completely worn out. We went to sleep early and slept in a bit. Today we are recouperating and not travelling out to Stonehenge, we are going to try to hit it on the 8th.
After breakfast, we went back to Buckingham Palace to get some pics without tons of people... well, we got pictures, but there were still tons of people. We just happened to get there at about the same time as the day before when the changing of the guard was taking place, apparently everyone thought that it was taking place yesterday as well. Luckily, today they will be back and we won't be there. After buckingham palace, we went to "Tower Bridge" which is sometimes confused with London Bridge. It was beautiful and spectacular. We did the tour for six pounds a piece and got to go up in the tower. The view was very good. Afterward, we took a tour of the Tower of London, which was MUCH bigger than I expected. The downside of things being much bigger than you expect, is that you don't spend nearly enough time there. The Tower seemed to be like some sort of "london disneyland," with some great stuff, even though it's tailored for tourists. We did get to see the Ravens which was what I was most excited about, and I'll tell you this; they are the biggest ravens I've ever seen. I'm sure Dad and D. Kiger would have a great time shooting at them. I think Amy read that they feed them a pound of raw-meat and blood every day.
After the tower we tried to get to the Borough Market, I say "tried" not because we didn't make it, but because it was difficult to get to. The tube map shows two stations connected to each other, but they are actually a good half-mile away. Needless to say, we walked a LOT yesterday. Once we got to the bourough market, we had a few snacks and bought some candies, it was extremely cool. There were several "beware of pick-pocketing" signs. I don't think I got pick-pocketed, which is good. We were tired, hungry, and sore after the market... we hopped back on the tube and at this point, we missed lunch. We went immediately for the National Gallery and luckily the National Gallery Cafe was spectacular! I ordered a steak for 15 pounds (not a bad price), and it was GOOD. I ordered it medium-well, and told Amy to remind me from then on to just order medium because my last steak at the Napa restraunt at our hotel over-cooked my steak. It came medium, and I was happy. It came with a great blue-cheese cream sauce and yummy fried potato slices, Amy liked her hamburger and fries too. After dinner we only had 30 minutes to see the National Gallery (not nearly enough time). But we made the most of it, we saw some great Degas and VanGough pieces. This place was simply beautiful. Outside the Gallery was Trafalgar square, which was full of trash and protestors before we went in, after we came out, everything was cleaned up! The city workers here are amazing, they keep everything clean. We headed back lastnight, completely worn out. We went to sleep early and slept in a bit. Today we are recouperating and not travelling out to Stonehenge, we are going to try to hit it on the 8th.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Our first full day in London
Hello blog-readers!
This morning, after a bit of a slow start, we made our way out to visit the city. Before we left our hotel we had a full Irish breakfast, which we both enjoyed very much. In true London spirit we even had morning tea. It was just what we needed to start our day off right. After breakfast we headed to our tube station to travel to our first stop: Buckingham Palace to see the changing on the guard. We were surprised when we showed up that thousands of other tourists had the same idea we did. We assumed that with it being the off-season and the changing of the guard being rather touristy that we wouldn't have much of a crowd to deal with. The parts we saw were really neat. At various points the guards break off and march over to different parts of the gates. We managed (after some visitors lost interest) to snag a spot by the fence so we could see more of what was going on. A couple different times two guards marched over and we were able to take some really neat pictures. They visited with the crowd and laughed. What we found most amusing was the music selections. The band played a variety of songs. Imagine our surprise when we heard the theme song to Star-Wars, Thriller and the Rocky theme song. It was funny to hear visitors around us speaking in rapid French and then say thriller and hum the song. I kept laughing at the people behind us. It was really neat. We hope to go back when it isn't so crowded to get pictures of the Palace and the surrounding sights.
Afterwards we made our way back to the tube and got off at the Westminster station. We saw the Houses of Parliament in day-light, as well as Big Ben. We were off to Westminster Abbey. It wasn't hard to find. We did have to wait about 35 minutes, but it was worth the wait. Once inside photos weren't allowed, but it was beautiful. We got postcards with pictures of some of our favorite parts. At first I thought that people were on their cell phones and I was about to say something to Eric about it, but then I realized it was the audio tours that are handed out. You could pick the number that corresponded with an area on the map and listen to information about it. The audio guide was good and even threw in extras like map video on the screen, or listening to the choir boys sing.
Next we made our way back to the tube to travel to the British Museum. Our plan was to eat inside the museum. However, when we arrived we were told that there were no tables available. Eric and I both thought this was weird afterward because in America they will usually tell you there is a wait because they want your business. Instead, the lady just told us there were no tables now and sent us away. We tried popping into another cafe across from the Museum but it was full, so we back-tracked a little more until we found a cozy little cafe that had sandwiches and pub-grub. Eric had fish and chips and I had a hamburger and chips (french-fries). My food was okay and Eric really enjoyed his fish and chips. I wasn't full afterward so I ordered apple pie with vanilla ice cream. It was very good. One thing I'll add here is that Coke never seems to taste the same outside the US. We noticed it in Ireland and the same is the case here. At lunch our "Cokes" tasted more like mystery cola. Overall the food was pretty good and the atmosphere was nice. We headed back to the Museum recharged and ready to explore.
You enter the Great Court after the crowded entry-way. It is beautiful! We had the opportunity to take pictures of the ceiling in the day-light and when it became dark. It was really beautiful both times. We saw so many amazing things! I'm not sure even where to begin. I was most excited about seeing one of the Easter Island statues that the museum took from Easter Island, Chile. I hope to see on in person there one day. We also saw the Rosetta Stone, parts of the Greek Parthenon, Egyptian artifacts and mummies, and tons of neat Assyrian pieces. You could have spent much more time there, but we got tired quick and had to take breaks periodically to rest our feet and legs. We had afterall, been on our feet the better part of the day at this point. We tried to see some of the Chinese artifacts (mainly the Chinese terra-cota statues) and the Japanese Samuri armor, but both of these areas were closed off. After a quick stop at the gift shop to pick up some post-cards and a half-priced book about the museum we headed back for the night. Photos were allowed throughout the museum except on an exhibit here or there, so we have some really great photos of the treasures we saw!
We hopped back on the tube... may I just say here that the tube is a fantastic way to travel. We purchased Oyster cards, which allow you to put an amount on and travel until that amount wears off. After you spend a certain amount on travel in one day the amount is capped, so as not to charge you after a certain point. Eric is great with navigating too. I can remember how things look, but can easily get turned around from east to west. He has been great at figuring out which line to take, where to get off, and how to get us back. All of this has to be done pretty quickly, because it all moves pretty fast. Anyway... we came back to the hotel. It was about 7:30 by this point. Eric went down to use the free wireless internet in the lobby (we think its free in the lobby?) and I stayed in the room. I dozed off and was dreaming in no time. When he came back he woke me up and we went down to have dinner in the hotel restaurant. Eric had a steak and I had a chicken breast. My chicken was great, but it was smaller than I expected. Both were served with chips (french-fries), which seemed odd for such a nice meal. Eric enjoyed his steak. He had to order the steak sauce separately, as it came as herb and garlic butter sauce or something else, not the traditional A-1. We swapped a couple bites and his was good. After debating about dessert we decided to save it for another night and came back to our room.
We were able to set up Skype on our laptop, which was really fun to use. It is easy and there was no delay or anything.
Alright, well we have a big day tomorrow, so I better get some sleep! We love you guys and hope all is well back home.
This morning, after a bit of a slow start, we made our way out to visit the city. Before we left our hotel we had a full Irish breakfast, which we both enjoyed very much. In true London spirit we even had morning tea. It was just what we needed to start our day off right. After breakfast we headed to our tube station to travel to our first stop: Buckingham Palace to see the changing on the guard. We were surprised when we showed up that thousands of other tourists had the same idea we did. We assumed that with it being the off-season and the changing of the guard being rather touristy that we wouldn't have much of a crowd to deal with. The parts we saw were really neat. At various points the guards break off and march over to different parts of the gates. We managed (after some visitors lost interest) to snag a spot by the fence so we could see more of what was going on. A couple different times two guards marched over and we were able to take some really neat pictures. They visited with the crowd and laughed. What we found most amusing was the music selections. The band played a variety of songs. Imagine our surprise when we heard the theme song to Star-Wars, Thriller and the Rocky theme song. It was funny to hear visitors around us speaking in rapid French and then say thriller and hum the song. I kept laughing at the people behind us. It was really neat. We hope to go back when it isn't so crowded to get pictures of the Palace and the surrounding sights.
Afterwards we made our way back to the tube and got off at the Westminster station. We saw the Houses of Parliament in day-light, as well as Big Ben. We were off to Westminster Abbey. It wasn't hard to find. We did have to wait about 35 minutes, but it was worth the wait. Once inside photos weren't allowed, but it was beautiful. We got postcards with pictures of some of our favorite parts. At first I thought that people were on their cell phones and I was about to say something to Eric about it, but then I realized it was the audio tours that are handed out. You could pick the number that corresponded with an area on the map and listen to information about it. The audio guide was good and even threw in extras like map video on the screen, or listening to the choir boys sing.
Next we made our way back to the tube to travel to the British Museum. Our plan was to eat inside the museum. However, when we arrived we were told that there were no tables available. Eric and I both thought this was weird afterward because in America they will usually tell you there is a wait because they want your business. Instead, the lady just told us there were no tables now and sent us away. We tried popping into another cafe across from the Museum but it was full, so we back-tracked a little more until we found a cozy little cafe that had sandwiches and pub-grub. Eric had fish and chips and I had a hamburger and chips (french-fries). My food was okay and Eric really enjoyed his fish and chips. I wasn't full afterward so I ordered apple pie with vanilla ice cream. It was very good. One thing I'll add here is that Coke never seems to taste the same outside the US. We noticed it in Ireland and the same is the case here. At lunch our "Cokes" tasted more like mystery cola. Overall the food was pretty good and the atmosphere was nice. We headed back to the Museum recharged and ready to explore.
You enter the Great Court after the crowded entry-way. It is beautiful! We had the opportunity to take pictures of the ceiling in the day-light and when it became dark. It was really beautiful both times. We saw so many amazing things! I'm not sure even where to begin. I was most excited about seeing one of the Easter Island statues that the museum took from Easter Island, Chile. I hope to see on in person there one day. We also saw the Rosetta Stone, parts of the Greek Parthenon, Egyptian artifacts and mummies, and tons of neat Assyrian pieces. You could have spent much more time there, but we got tired quick and had to take breaks periodically to rest our feet and legs. We had afterall, been on our feet the better part of the day at this point. We tried to see some of the Chinese artifacts (mainly the Chinese terra-cota statues) and the Japanese Samuri armor, but both of these areas were closed off. After a quick stop at the gift shop to pick up some post-cards and a half-priced book about the museum we headed back for the night. Photos were allowed throughout the museum except on an exhibit here or there, so we have some really great photos of the treasures we saw!
We hopped back on the tube... may I just say here that the tube is a fantastic way to travel. We purchased Oyster cards, which allow you to put an amount on and travel until that amount wears off. After you spend a certain amount on travel in one day the amount is capped, so as not to charge you after a certain point. Eric is great with navigating too. I can remember how things look, but can easily get turned around from east to west. He has been great at figuring out which line to take, where to get off, and how to get us back. All of this has to be done pretty quickly, because it all moves pretty fast. Anyway... we came back to the hotel. It was about 7:30 by this point. Eric went down to use the free wireless internet in the lobby (we think its free in the lobby?) and I stayed in the room. I dozed off and was dreaming in no time. When he came back he woke me up and we went down to have dinner in the hotel restaurant. Eric had a steak and I had a chicken breast. My chicken was great, but it was smaller than I expected. Both were served with chips (french-fries), which seemed odd for such a nice meal. Eric enjoyed his steak. He had to order the steak sauce separately, as it came as herb and garlic butter sauce or something else, not the traditional A-1. We swapped a couple bites and his was good. After debating about dessert we decided to save it for another night and came back to our room.
We were able to set up Skype on our laptop, which was really fun to use. It is easy and there was no delay or anything.
Alright, well we have a big day tomorrow, so I better get some sleep! We love you guys and hope all is well back home.
Day 3
Today is the third day of our trip. I am looking out into a dreary cityscape of rooftops and highways. I'm a little hungry and I have a cough drop in my mouth (I haven't kicked the cold yet, lol). So let me give you a recap of the past day-and-a-half. When I left off, we were in the Toronto Airport and our flight had just been delayed, we were just about to move to a different terminal where they were going to bring a plane from the hanger to take us to London. Shortly after that, an announcement was made that we were going to fly on the original plane after all (which made both of us a little bit nervous). New-years came and went without so much as an aknowldgement from the pre-recorded television network in the airport, not a peep from anyone really. I did manage to snag a kiss from Amy at 2 after on our way to board the plane. We spent new-years eve, quite literally, in the Toronto Airport... not as cool as over the Atlantic I assure you. Both planes we were on offered free drinks for the new-year. I'm not sure if they normally offer this or not, but I am sure that Alcoholic drinks typically cost. We did take some time in the airport to explore a natural sound amplification system, which was this huge "room" with two walls folded in around us, we were here when the clock struck 12, local time. It was really cool, we took a few pictures.
Boarding our flight was interesting, when we got on, I saw two airline workers plugged into the plane's network, it looked like they were un-tarring something to do a flash-update or something. I tried to take a picture, but the orange light from our camera made me instantly aware of prying eyes. It would have been funny to know that our "maintenance problems" were mothing more than a problem with the windows-networking system of the airplane. I did get a picture of our personal-entertainmnt-systems which looked like diagnostic mode. We got settled in the plane and we took off around 1:00 a.m. When Amy and I passed by the first-class "modules" we were a little jealous at all the creature comforts $2000 + a ticket can bring. Ahwell, we'll take th $600 ticket and the kid behind you screaming and kicking your seat. Seriously, we had a kid behind us screaming and kicking our seat. Luckily the mother could control him a bit, and managed to cut the screaming and kicking time down to just a couple hours. It reminded us of our Ireland trip, except that trip, the mother didn't do anything about it. I told Amy that she is picking seats next time. The entertainment-system was cool! It was windows-based, but the seats had plug-ins for charging laptops and usb-plug-ins for charging i-pods or other USB devices. I plugged in my USB mouse, and it worked, lol. The movie selection was great, but I only got to watch half of x-files before "dinner" came at 2:00 a.m. Toronto time. It looked like Amy caught a few winks before "dinner," which was a little dissapointing. I ordered the Beef, amy ordered the Chicken. Mine came with beef slices, carrots, potatoes and mushrooms, and some weird red sauce... a mix between bbq and marinara. It also had cold beet squares, a good blue-berry spice-cake, and a chocolate bar. After dinner, we slept, my body couldn't go any longer without sleep. I think we got about three hours before I woke up and they were passing out breakfast, which consisted of peach yogurt, orange juice, and a muffin. We ate a bit of yogurt and saved our muffins and orange-juice.
The arrival at LHR was a bit dissapointing, nothing like the Ireland arrival where the green island appeared out of nowhere. We simply circled around a thick wall of clouds for twenty minutes and descended into a dreary London day. I felt pretty rested, better than Amy I think. We proceeded to the immigration line, where apparantly people think it's "OK" to spit their gum out on the carpet?... Our immigration officer was probably my age, very nice, and passed us in no-time. At this point Amy told me she was shakey and needed food/restroom. But she wanted to get to a "stopping-point" before she stopped. We followed the signs for the underground, it took us a good 10 minutes to get there, walking through underground passages. We arrived to a lot of Chaos and confusion, but I hopped on an automated ticket machine and bought 2 1-6 zone day-passes for 7 pounds a piece. We proceeded to bumble through to get down to the loading deck and our train arrived promptly. Luckily, I jogged to the back a bit so we got a less-crowded car and we both had seats. We had to make a switch at "hammersmith" station, which we did, and then we realized that we were going to be late for our "London Eye" reservation. We weren't too worried about it, we were just happy to be in London.
We arrived at our Hotel and were a bit dissapointed in the location and the fact that we had to wait almost a half-hour for our room, even though it was past check-in time. I will let Amy give you a run-down of the hotel room. One thing I just noticed in the bathroom, before I forget, the drain doesn't drain and the shower isn't very warm. Luckily the bath is super-hot.
So we checked in, got a great room with a view and decided to hit the town. We took the tube to westminster station and arrived at Big-Ben and Parliament. We walked down the Thames, took a few pictures of the London Eye and County Hall and then stopped at Charring Cross for some food. We ate at a place called "Little Italy" for our first meal in Britain, funny huh? It wasn't bad, but wasn't exceptional either. I ordered the Halibut, it came with tons of cheese and a lemon, which was interesting. It was just okay, I liked Amy's lasagna better, which was very "beefy" and good.
After dinner, we were pooped. We realized that our "Walk Along the Thames" was largely unnecessary because food was just a tube-stop away. We returned to our room, waited a while and then reluctantly paid 15 pounds for 24/hrs of internet. The rest is hazy for me, because I fell asleep. Amy may be able to fill you in better.
Boarding our flight was interesting, when we got on, I saw two airline workers plugged into the plane's network, it looked like they were un-tarring something to do a flash-update or something. I tried to take a picture, but the orange light from our camera made me instantly aware of prying eyes. It would have been funny to know that our "maintenance problems" were mothing more than a problem with the windows-networking system of the airplane. I did get a picture of our personal-entertainmnt-systems which looked like diagnostic mode. We got settled in the plane and we took off around 1:00 a.m. When Amy and I passed by the first-class "modules" we were a little jealous at all the creature comforts $2000 + a ticket can bring. Ahwell, we'll take th $600 ticket and the kid behind you screaming and kicking your seat. Seriously, we had a kid behind us screaming and kicking our seat. Luckily the mother could control him a bit, and managed to cut the screaming and kicking time down to just a couple hours. It reminded us of our Ireland trip, except that trip, the mother didn't do anything about it. I told Amy that she is picking seats next time. The entertainment-system was cool! It was windows-based, but the seats had plug-ins for charging laptops and usb-plug-ins for charging i-pods or other USB devices. I plugged in my USB mouse, and it worked, lol. The movie selection was great, but I only got to watch half of x-files before "dinner" came at 2:00 a.m. Toronto time. It looked like Amy caught a few winks before "dinner," which was a little dissapointing. I ordered the Beef, amy ordered the Chicken. Mine came with beef slices, carrots, potatoes and mushrooms, and some weird red sauce... a mix between bbq and marinara. It also had cold beet squares, a good blue-berry spice-cake, and a chocolate bar. After dinner, we slept, my body couldn't go any longer without sleep. I think we got about three hours before I woke up and they were passing out breakfast, which consisted of peach yogurt, orange juice, and a muffin. We ate a bit of yogurt and saved our muffins and orange-juice.
The arrival at LHR was a bit dissapointing, nothing like the Ireland arrival where the green island appeared out of nowhere. We simply circled around a thick wall of clouds for twenty minutes and descended into a dreary London day. I felt pretty rested, better than Amy I think. We proceeded to the immigration line, where apparantly people think it's "OK" to spit their gum out on the carpet?... Our immigration officer was probably my age, very nice, and passed us in no-time. At this point Amy told me she was shakey and needed food/restroom. But she wanted to get to a "stopping-point" before she stopped. We followed the signs for the underground, it took us a good 10 minutes to get there, walking through underground passages. We arrived to a lot of Chaos and confusion, but I hopped on an automated ticket machine and bought 2 1-6 zone day-passes for 7 pounds a piece. We proceeded to bumble through to get down to the loading deck and our train arrived promptly. Luckily, I jogged to the back a bit so we got a less-crowded car and we both had seats. We had to make a switch at "hammersmith" station, which we did, and then we realized that we were going to be late for our "London Eye" reservation. We weren't too worried about it, we were just happy to be in London.
We arrived at our Hotel and were a bit dissapointed in the location and the fact that we had to wait almost a half-hour for our room, even though it was past check-in time. I will let Amy give you a run-down of the hotel room. One thing I just noticed in the bathroom, before I forget, the drain doesn't drain and the shower isn't very warm. Luckily the bath is super-hot.
So we checked in, got a great room with a view and decided to hit the town. We took the tube to westminster station and arrived at Big-Ben and Parliament. We walked down the Thames, took a few pictures of the London Eye and County Hall and then stopped at Charring Cross for some food. We ate at a place called "Little Italy" for our first meal in Britain, funny huh? It wasn't bad, but wasn't exceptional either. I ordered the Halibut, it came with tons of cheese and a lemon, which was interesting. It was just okay, I liked Amy's lasagna better, which was very "beefy" and good.
After dinner, we were pooped. We realized that our "Walk Along the Thames" was largely unnecessary because food was just a tube-stop away. We returned to our room, waited a while and then reluctantly paid 15 pounds for 24/hrs of internet. The rest is hazy for me, because I fell asleep. Amy may be able to fill you in better.
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