London

Ok so I wrote these two longish emails to my family when I was in London. I figured that instead of rehashing the whole trip again, you could just read these emails... good luck... they are lengthy!
The first day we were here, Friday, we basically jus crashed and slept after having not slept all night (well I didn’t sleep anyway). That evening we went to a local pub near our hotel. It’s a nice little pub and the food isn’t bad… for British food that is.
We didn’t realize that Heathrow is actually quite a ways away from central London. So our hotel, which is conveniently located quite close to the airport… is actually very far from London itself. About an hour and a half commute… to this side of central London. We walk to the bus station, then take the number 22 bus to Hounslow West. Then from there we get on the “tube” and take the Picadilly line to central London where we can hook up with any of the other lines to get where we need to go. Then of course, when we get to the tube station nearest our destination then we have to figure out where to go from there! Londoners aren’t quite as dedicated about street signs as we tend to be in America. ☺ Anyway, on Sabbath morning we set out to try to get to central London. It took us almost the whole day. But we had a good day anyway… it was like trying to figure out a puzzle. Two of the main tube lines were closed so we had to figure out how to get where we were going by bus. It was insanely crowded! At one point I sat next to this guy on the bus who was on his cell phone. He was apparently so upset at his bank that he was loudly cussing and freaking out about what he was going to do about it to the amusement of everyone on the bus. And he was so animated that he kept hitting me in the confined space as he guestured violently in his agitation.
It gets dark really early here… it was dark by the time we got to Parliament square. We took some pictures in front of Big Ben and the houses of parliament. And we walked around a little enjoying our first taste of London. On the tube on the way home, it was so crowded that we had to wait for four trains in a row before one came by that we could even fit on. People were crowding in and smooshing themselves so the doors couldn’t even close! I cheated a little because my feet hurt. So I unbuttoned my coat and put my hands in a protective posture around my tummy. As soon as I got on the tube someone got up and offered me their seat. At least there’s some privileges to being pregnant and traveling! Haha!
On Sunday we had a tour. We got up at 5:00 in the morning and left the hotel at 6:00. We barely made it to Victoria Coach station by 8:00… whew! We had a funny Irish tour guide who spent most of the trip making fun of the British. But in all fairness he also made fun of Americans, Scots, French, and even the Irish! He was hilarious… we had a great time. When we got to Stonehenge it was raining and windy and cold. We stood stoutly in the rain and listened to our pre-recorded tour. I had a good time, Stonehenge is fascinating, but I was glad to get back on the bus. Then we went to Bath. It was so awesome to walk on the same streets that Jane Austin and Charles Dickens walked. We really enjoyed ourselves. We had real English tea in a tea house that Dickens himself used to eat at. It was the tea with the tea leaves in it and the strainer and everything. They even gave us biscuits and jam and clotted cream… MMMmmmmmmm!
Thirdly we went to Stratford. I thought I had died and gone to heaven! Nearly the entire town of Stratford is dedicated to Shakespeare! All the cafes and the shops are brimming with Shakespeare stuff. Jimmy had to hold me back from spending our entire London budget there. We toured Shakespeare’s house where he was born and it was really cool! I finally settled on a Shakespeare book by Bill Bryson (one of my favorite authors!) and some yummy English truffles.
Then yesterday we went to Harrods. Harrods is the most amazing store! You can get anything there! Clothes of any kind, casual, designer, sportswear, etc… you can get books, electronics, you can even buy ski-jets or diving equipment, you can buy saddles and tackle for your horse, or you can buy a puppy or a hamster! The store takes up several city blocks and it’s 7 stories high. It’s bigger then most malls I’ve been in! We stopped for a minute at the fountain dedicated to Princess Diana and her boyfriend who died in the crash, the boyfriend was the son of the owner of Harrods. I finally bought a bra that fits me… thank heavens, and we picked up a couple of books there.
Then last night we had dinner and a show that we paid for in advance. The dinner was at a really fancy French restaurant called L’escargot. They had a girl who’s only job was to go around and ask if you wanted more bread… that’s all she did! It was a really nice place. They brought me my water in a glass bottle and poured it for me and fretted and fawned over us. It was delightful! I suppose we shouldn’t have been surprised to see that the main course was on a huge plate with lots of garnish and a tiny mound of highly-decorated food in the middle that was our main course. Jimmy joked that we would go to McDonalds on our way home. ☺ but luckily that with the appetizer and the bread girl left us plenty full to head to Les Miserables.
The performance was spectacular, of course. Jimmy and I cried all the way through it. Even the baby was moving around throughout. I’m not sure whether she was reacting to the immensity of the sound or my emotional response, but I like to think she enjoyed it too. I’ve seen it twice before in the states, so it was kind of funny to hear it with the British accents. ☺ Today we plan to go to Notting Hill and Portobello Road. Tomorrow we have another tour of the sights of London. It includes the changing of the guard and a private tour of the tower of London, which I’m particularly looking forward to, and a private viewing of the crown jewels, among other things. Then on Thanksgiving we plan to go visit some of the British museums. Then on Friday and Sabbath… who knows!I hope you’re all having a fabulous Thanksgiving break!