Category: Family

Day Nine in York, England, Old York, That Is

by CrazyUsFamily / Travel / Travel Tips / Travel With Teens2 Comments on Day Nine in York, England, Old York, That Is

Us in York, England

I think we have settled in to this here vacation. Tomorrow we fly to Ireland. Ahoy!

Last Day of Bullets in England.  We have enjoyed your quiet restraint, England. Your roadside rest stops are more than we can hope for, and your endless stream of historical sites completely blow are mind. We wish we had stayed in Brighton longer. We love the Chalk Cliffs! And like all of you keep telling me, London really is the bomb. I could have stayed there for days. Until we meet again, I will say adieu (because I know how much you love Paris!)

And now today’s bullets:

  • (It’s an all caps moment) HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE PHIL!
  • Morning: Eli and I taking some space from dad and Kyle. Dave and Kyle when to a weapons museum, Eli and I had breakfast.
  • Starbucks with Eli, and never have I asked for so much ice
  • Eli and I were all ready and waiting
  • Eli has the best sense of direction and helped me find the cash machine.
  • I will be honest. I was not impressed with York at first, that is, until we made it to the Shambles.
  • As I walked away from the Ghost-Tours dude, I was scolded by a woman on the street. “He really does give the best ghost tours,” she said. Apparently I did not give the situation the proper response. Still not sure what it should have been.
  • Everyone in England prefers London
  • Settling in
  • Holding Kyle’s hand in the car
  • Clifford’s Tower and looking for the big red dog.
  • The things I cannot post online
  • I’m sitting in Clifford’s Tower high above York, England.
  • There was a disgusting bathroom in the parking lot. Pictures in The mirror made it all better.
  • Lunch at the Nook. Gin Rummy with Dave and Eli
  • Glow and the Dark shoelaces.
  • York Minster is where we turned it around and climbed to the roof.
  • When Kyle and I went to use the bathroom in York Minster we saw a Priest, who was about to conduct a service, texting. Kyle and I looked at each other and smiled. As we walked into an area where we could speak, Kyle said, “Are you thinking what I am thinking?” And I was, “A priest texting, how awesome is that?”
  • I lay on the floor of York Minster so Dave could take my picture under the sleeping priest.
  • The purple man said inappropriate thing to my sons as I took their picture. Ew!
  • Ice cream on the river.
  • The boys chasing the geese. The gees were so fat that one of them fell on it side when it tried to fly.
  • Time with Dave walking through Leeds
  • Brinda the front desk clerk who reminded me of my sister, Brenda.
  • French food for dinner in the mall attached to the hotel was actually really good.
  • Everything closes so early here, especially on Sunday.
  • Packing for Ireland was a little stressful. We had to compress five bags into four. I think we did it.
  • Kyle’s feet are touching me while I write. He is asleep and I am sitting at the foot of his bed.
  • The desk is a hilarious mass of charger chaos. Thank goodness for adaptors.

England and Ireland, Day 8: And then there was Doris.

by CrazyUsFamily / Travel2 Comments on England and Ireland, Day 8: And then there was Doris.

Laundry

I really need some sleep. My laptop screen is glaring in Eli’s trying-to-sleep eyes. He is patiently trying to sleep as I type sitting in the bright blue chair next to him.  He pauses, “Hey Dad, do you have one of those thingies you put over your eyes?” Alas, Dave does have one of those thingies. He gets out of bed, unzips something, and walks the eye mask over to Easy E.  It’s been a long day, and it’s been a good day. It started with Doris and ended with Mango Sticky Rice.  Say no more, right?

And now for today’s Bullet point adventures:

  • I was up a the crack of dawn. We wanted to make our way to Leeds, stopping at Birtish Heritage Attractions along the way. The laundry also needed to be done. I was up, showered, Dave and I were out the door and on our way.
  • We solved the mystery of the missing Laundromat. They are building a Tesco in its place so the Laundromat people hit the road.  We found this out when we asked the folks at the Co=op grocery, who then directed us to the nearest laundry in the town of Lydney (seven miles away).
  • Before I found out about the laundry, I also learned that apparently in Coleford, England, you do not leave the house with wet hair like I did this morning.
  • After the dude  sitting in the grocery store made the comment about my wet hair, I asked him  if leaving the house with wet hair is common. He said, “no.” Then paused and said, “it’s really quite fetching.” I said with a laugh, “I really don’t think so.” To which he said,”what  country are you from?” Crazy America, where people leave the house with wet hair and no, I did not say that out loud (hence the lack of quotation marks). I did tell him, “Utah.” I should have mentioned the well-known Utah Big Hair, but I did not want to complicate things.
  • As Dave and I wheeled our dirty clothes-filled suitcases up to the Laundromat, Doris, the launderette was standing there. It was 8:44 AM.  “The Luandry isn’t open yet. You are lucky it is me working today instead of the other woman.  She would never let you in before 9:00 Am. Once I have the door open, come on in.” Standing before me was my Grandma Koener reincarnated onto this lovely British woman.  I am not kidding. Someone somewhere knew I needed this little slice of heaven in the form of an tall, elderly British woman, wearing a pink gingham checked smock.
  • The Lydney Laundromat may be the best part of trip.  Not only did Doris,  Jo, a regular customer,  and Mary, the Canadian, help me with my laundry, they welcomed me into their world. I met Mary. I met the dancing town guy and the thin old lady wearing high heeled Wellies. Like a perfectly cast episode of Downton Abbey meets Monty Python I was spun into this episode of the Lydney Laundrette, with a plot line that goes something like this because that is how it really went.  Crazy American Women overdries her clothes. Burned Pajamas ensue.
  • Best part was when Doris talked about and I quote, “the Facebook,” and cellphones.  As for cellphones Doris thinks we should grab all the cellphones and throw them in the river. As far as “the Facebook,” goes Doris wonders and thinks it is slightly idiotic that we need to know, “her baby laughed today. or I went to the store. ”  She grimaces and says, “why do we need to know all of that? I’d be done with all of it.”  I know she ate lasagna for dinner tonight, and I know she loves to dine out, even though her husband does not like to. She is a sweet, hard working, feisty ball of love, and so was my grandma. I am grateful for moments like these.
  • While I was do ing laundry Dave drove back to the cottage we were staying in, packed us all up, and two hours later, he, Grandma and the boys met up with me. We only left one thing and decided it was not worth retrieving — a top sheet.
  • Dave brought me the yummiest tea. I love him.
  • Whitley Court which I started calling Wheatly Castle and Dave started calling Whitby Court. Oh, the abundance of British Heritage Spots.  [insert British accent here] “Ello love.”
  • Today feels better and was better.
  • Waitrose Rest Stop. Wasn’t going to stop until Dave mentioned there was a Starbucks. I am glad we did.
  • WaitRose. We ended up eating here. British Pot pies are giant. They had one package of dark chocolate covered rice cakes left. Hallelujah!
  • Forgot to mention Coleford lodging. Place family checked out of today. Glass bathroom door. Four of us in the small room.  Dave and I on a futon mattress on the floor. Grandma in the big one. Tonight is better. Dave and I share a twin 😉
  • Kenilworth Castle. I learned about birds and the whacker, a brutish heavy and sharp sword. It is a “strike first” implement and I love it.
  • A little car boredom and clementines
  • Things like a couple of clandestine make-outs at Kenilworth Castle always makes Mommy smile.
  • Leeds and our disco hotel, a very good hotel indeed.
  • Mommy needs some food and some sleep. We all do 🙂
  • Why doesn’t FaceTime ever work?
  • And we end the night with Thai food. Yum!

England & Ireland, Day 7: Let it Go!

by CrazyUsFamily / Travel / Travel Tips / Travel With Teens2 Comments on England & Ireland, Day 7: Let it Go!

Us at the Fountain Inn, Wales

 

Traveling is an interesting bag. In many ways it feels like running a marathon. It’s uncomfortable, it is inconvenient, and traffic takes so much longer than you plan.  Tight quarters enable some really fantastic and really pointless arguments. Long car rides make people squirrely, and working insanely (yes, correct adjective) hard to meet the demands of Team, “I want to see castles with painted ceilings,” versus Team, “I want to see the city and the Dr. Marten store,” is challenging, to say the least.

We are close to mid-way through our trip and today we hit a wall. I know Day five was a tough one, and it has been a little rocky ever since. I am crossing my fingers that today we broke through. I am averaging about five hours of sleep each night, and as the family glue, five hours is barely holding me together.

This morning, I screamed. I cried. I swore – a lot. Then everyone else seemed to fall a part.  We could not think straight and I could not get out the door. By noon we were on our way. Grandma asked to be left behind, and by the time we came to get her, she thought we may have forgotten her. Confusing. Traveling creates confusing communication.

Earlier today, Dave, the boys and I landed in the Forest of Dean. We saw a gaggle of Peregrine Falcon bird watchers as Eli lost it. Eli is amazing, that kid. In that moment, he had it. Dave pulled him aside. They sat on a bench and talked for a very long time. We started walking the long way down to the river, and I talked to him. He was an angry cat hissing and mad. He is tired. He is out of his comfort zone. He does not comprehend his grandma. The two of them fight like two years olds. He lost it and somehow in this moment of losing it, he helped us all reconnect. Thank God for that amazing boy. I love my son.

Backing up a second. When I was melting down this morning, I reminded Dave, “Hey, I am flexible. This may not be where I want to be, but I can make it work. I just need some encouragement. Damn it, I need a cheerleader!” I’ve said this to Dave before and in this crazy moment I could see again that my words were not connecting.

When Eli lost it, I decided to be a cheerleader for Eli. Honestly, I wasn’t even thinking about Dave and what I had said. When Eli firmly stated, “I want to go home – now,” I knew that going home was not possible. I did know, however, that I could support him. I needed to cheer my boy on and so I did. I listened. I asked. I heard how mad he was. I was annoyed to, but it wasn’t about me. I am the mom and in this moment that is what I needed to be. We spent the next few hours hiking, hearing how much we suck, and mostly high-fiving Eli and of course, Kyle, on.  “Yes, Eli, you can have that Kit-Kat, and I am not ashamed to bribe you for your love wink, wink.” Yes, I also said, “wink, wink.” Eli has a wicked sense of humor. It had nothing to do with me giving him treats, or buying his love.  It was all about the fact that I heard him. I heard him. Instead of letting him think our trip was a failure, I kept thinking, “how can I help him push through?”

Hey, even I have wanted to fly home or cut and uncomfortable trip short. This will not be the only time in his life than things will be less than comfortable. This will not be the only time that grandma gives him a hard time about how much ice cream he took on a shared dessert. You know, she likes her dessert. How can we push through? I know what works for me. It is simple. It is just knowing someone is there, and that someone knows I am there too. They see me.  They hear me. Does that make sense?

And now for today’s bullet points:

  • Morning: I need someone I can talk to
  • I need a friend, another woman I can talk too.
  • Past the white line (Ok. I can’t remember what I was talking about except maybe the road?)
  • Crying third day in a row
  • The Forest of Dean
  • Listening to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
  • Inside jokes and knowing glances with Kyle
  • One of these days I need to get some sleep.
  • Bucolic to our hearts content.
  • Markus, where are you? Biggest collection of bird watchers we have ever encountered looking for Peregrine falcons.
  • So many tough days.
  • Eli very upset.
  • Lessons learned as a parent
  • Can we buy your love for 70 pence?  — that is what we said to the boys after we bought them an ice cream cone.
  • Footbridge to Wales (we wanted to cross, but didn’t want to take the time.)
  • Sometimes skirting the border of Wales, “Blurred Lines,” is the perfect song.
  • Goodrich Castle = good times, really good times.
  • Finally music SINGING MUSIC OUT loud. I Love singing with the boys. Awesomeness! Joni Mitchell – “A Case of You.” Dave can’t refuse singing.
  • On the way to Tintern Abbey. The road smells like onions, and now BBQ.
  • For a few minutes Eli and I lost Grandma, Dad, and Kyle.
  • “Grand Budapest Hotel” playing tonight in the Tintern Village Hall.
  • Being here feels like meeting a celebrity or sitting in the from row of the theater. The Abbey is stunning, but no longer trapped in the mind of my imagination.
  • Fountain Inn, Wales – Love. We ate outside. The owner took our order. His wife cooked our lovely meals. (lots of lovelies), and they grow their own food. Ok and I think everyone in the tiny town eats there.
  • Dessert craziness. We be getting a little territorial with the ice cream. And I cannot tell you what happened next. It is a secret blood oath Dave and I will always share together.
  • “Munchies” the dog or at least that what I think his name is, had a basket on his face and was running all over Fountain Inn Restaurant.
  • Ok about the small town UK roads. Several times today I thought we were going to get hit head-on, by say, a giant Range Rover. It has not happened yet, but totally crazy.

 

England Day Six: Phoning it In and Hoping Even My Bullets Make Sense

by CrazyUsFamily / Travel / Travel Photgraphy / Travel Tips / Travel With Teens4 Comments on England Day Six: Phoning it In and Hoping Even My Bullets Make Sense

Chalk Cliffs at Beachy Head, UK

  • A better day
  • It’s raining
  • I was up a 6:30.
  • My shameless breakfast. (I can’t even remember why I thought it was shameless.)
  • Americans really are louder, including me.
  • People in the UK are full of quiet restraint, and are also in no hurry to say get you your food or your check. We are the rude Americans rushing through our meals, then impatiently waiting to go.
  • “Swapsies” – said by Chelsea the adorable waitress at our crazy Bates Hotel. Best part of hotel were Markus (front desk) and Chelsea (waitress).
  • The drive from Hailsham to Beachy Head was rainy, dark, and beautiful.
  • On our way to Beachy Head here are a few of the songs I was listening to: “Sail,” by Awolnation, and “Dear God,” by XTC.  And like my iPod shuffle understood the many broken hearts who had traveled to those chalk cliffs, as we drove away from Beach Head and made our way into Brighton, the Smith’s ,”Sing Me to Sleep,” came on.
  • Beachy Head in the rain was crazy.  Beachy Head is known by locals as a popular place to commit suicide. That is what Markus, the front desk guy told me.
  • At the chalk cliffs Beachy Head, I met a man from Spain in the rain. Called Dave over to speak Spanish with him. The man told us about Spain. He told us if we ever go, what to see and where it was warm. He told us the places where people speak English the most.
  • Beachy Head really was full of hope. They were serving homemade Gluten Free cake. Yes, I bought a slice and it was delicious. And the bathroom hand dryers saved the day. I used them to dry my very wet clothes.
  • We loved the Beachy Head Historic site. Once we finished all we were going to do, Kyle decided he wanted to take a different hike to the top of the cliffs. I went with him and am so glad I did. Of course on the way down, the cold rain began again.
  • From Beachy Head, we drove to Brighton, which reminded me of an old sea town made new. Kyle and I really like the town.
  • 12:40 PM – is the rain stopping (um, no.)
  • I like the white Beachy apartment structure in Brighton along the ocean drive.
  • Brighton Pier
  • We saw kids in their caps and gowns outside an impressive looking building as we drove into Brighton.
  • Walking along Brighton Pier, I heard a woman on her cellphone. This is what she said, “Sorry I forgot what a pier was until I looked up Brighton pier.”
  • My jaded children walking around the rides at Brighton pier, “why are we here?”
  • They like Prince (the musician) in England. “Purple Rain” was playing at Brighton Pier, and they were playing Prince at the hamburger place in London the other night. I began to sing, “Purple Rain,” as it rained, and the boys asked me to stop just like they did when I was dancing to the other boardwalk music a few minutes before.
  • We ate at a Vietnamese restaurant in Brighton called, “Pho.” Our waiter, Tom, was completely adorable and joked with me about gnomes. Car
  • In the crazy traffic, we saw an accident on the side of the highway. I man’s truck was turned upside down. He was sitting on the edge with his hands on his face.
  • All caps traffic!
  • The Sun came out around 5:00 PM. Woot!
  • For a few minutes we were in Wales. Tonight we are staying close to the border, on the English side.
  • I openly and happily sucked bandwidth for my entertainment during our very long car ride.
  • Ear Muffs: Here is what I was thinking about on the long car ride. I was thinking about the importance of vacation sex. People should have sex regularly on vacation. If sex is not an option, make sure you are connecting. Human connection keeps things peaceful and together. Reciprocity keeps everyone feeling good, relaxed and validated 😉
  • Cats were definitely in the cottage we are staying in.
  • I need to write the stories of these days. These bullet point entries are helping me remember. What a crazy, hard, awesome trip this has been.

 

(Ok. So I am trying to keep my insane goal of writing everyday on this trip. So far I have. This post was a little sketchy. I promise to return and fill in the spaces a little better. Have a great day. I am going to bed now.  Bed meaning a futon on the floor of the room Kyle and Eli are sleeping in. Hilarious travel fun indeed.)

England: Day Five and it Almost Broke Us

by CrazyUsFamily / Travel4 Comments on England: Day Five and it Almost Broke Us

Lunch

What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger, or something like that.

Here is where the trip changes from London to England/Ireland

Of course more bullet points, because at the end of the day that is about all I have, especially on this day.  Enjoy!  These are the notes I took along the way.

 

  • Checking out of our London hotel
  • Weird tongue from crazy catsup
  • New rules. If the boys are brats, first they lose electronics for 1 hour, then 2 hours, and then all day. To answer your question, Eli lost electronics for and hour, and Kyle for two.
  • Sad to leave London. Wish we could have spent more time there hanging out and seeing the city.
  • Our Travel Tip. There are so many free museums and things to see that I do not think the London Pass is worth it. I would not recommend it. We are discouraged because we spent our days in pursuit of doing our London Pass Activity, which ultimately took too much of our precious London time. We spent time on trains and in places we did not want to be in attempts to get to the London Pass activity.  Some places we stood in line, and most places close by 5:00 p.m. Often the activities felt similar, like we were going through and assembly line, viewing the many tiny short historic beds in tiny little bed chambers. The highlight was definitely the Collar of Torment in the Tower of London. Sadly, the Tower of London felt more like an Epcot Center Exhibit than a piece of history. I definitely prefer seeing the Tower’s grandness and amazing architecture from the outside then cattle calling my way through the inside. Hampton Court took stole an entire day.  The gardens were underwhelming, and again tiny little beds. The high point was the dining area. As interesting as Henry VIII is, I can read about him or watch the “Tudors,” right?  Seriously, we found it much more interesting and gratifying to walk the city, look at the architecture, meet the people, read the historic plaques and learn the city.
  • Back of the Van: The back of the van is where I spent most of today. It was crazy cramped and every time Dave came to a stop and re-started his engine that auto-stops at the stop, a suitcase would fly into my head. Eventually we put the middle seat between Kyle and Eli down and re-configured the suitcases. After that I was only occasionally pummeled by oncoming luggage. It was a long travel day. One that should have only taken a few hours. Damn London traffic! In truth, the back seat ended up being pretty awesome Zen-heaphone-wearing-music-turned-up-loud safe space.
  • Eli says he knows what I’m thinking. He is sort of right.
  • I’ve lost my mind. (At some point during the day I wrote that phrase. I thought it many times).
  • While in the backseat, I took advantage of Dave’s wi-fi hot spot.  That sounds slightly inappropriate, doesn’t it? Anyway, I took advantage of his hot spot, and began reading my local KSL.com. I was almost delighted to here about the final Rainbow Family arrest at the end of the Rainbow Family gathering back in Utah.  Many people were in an uproar and girls’ camps in the area were in some sort of uproar. Anyway, I began to read that a dude was arrested for assault, I believe. I read further and found the specific charge was for disturbing an Om circle. Indeed. 😉
  • Meltdown when we stopped — me, that is.
  •  (Another thing I wrote during the day.)  After being pummeled by suitcases for two hours, and being smashed in the back, Dave stopped the car and I lost my mind. We all got out. Wait. What I meant was Dave was out the door and on his way while I was still trapped in the back.  I called him back and asked the boys and my mother-in-law to go on ahead. “Please do not say anything.” I said and continued, “I need to vent. I am about to snap.” And then I did, vent and snap, that is.
  • Dr. Who Shop: What I didn’t realize is that we were stopped to go to the special Dr. Who Shop, which happens to be located next to the Pies and Eels take-out restaurant.  It was exactly as you would expect it to be.
  • Things I think about while driving in the car: human connection — my need for it, how handsome my boys are. I love Kyle’s new pink sunglasses and I love how accommodating Eli is as I stretch my leg out underneath his outstretched arm.
  • Lunch – grocery store and shish kebabs. Kebab place next door to two funeral planning places next to the mini, mini dealer.  Once we had our food, we sat on a little stone fence across from the Kebab place and ate our lunch. I don’t even know what town we were in.
  • After our epic fail at the grocery store, it was Dave’s turn for the meltdown.  I can’t say that I blame him. Driving on a different side of the road is nuts. Driving in that kind of traffic is crazy business. He only sort of went on the wrong side of the road once.
  • Did I mention how heinous the traffic was today?
  • After telling the kebab guy I was from Utah (he asked where we were from), then Sweden, I realized he was not really understanding. Finally I said I was from Canada. He seemed to like this. We settled on Winnipeg, which I figured was the safest answer seeing as how it is the closest to Minnesota, where I am really from. HE kept saying, “Canada, lots of lakes.” I kept thinking, “Minnesota, land of 10,00 lakes.”
  • (Yes, I wrote this again on my notes from today.) Dave’s meltdown
  • Deep fried hotdog, (Kyle ordered one from the Kebab place).
  • Toenail ripped off. Yikes is correct. We were stopped to see a castle that we did not see. I think it was because it was not on my mother-in-law’s British Heritage Pass. Watch out for those travel passes. They try to control your destiny, and they are good at it. Anyway, as I was climbing back into the back of the van I kicked the metal runner the seat was connected to and part of my toenail ripped off. Yes. Ouch indeed.
  • I am officially annoyed.
  • Dave and I both had a meltdown. Once we checked into the Bates Pub and Motel, Dave and I lost it. We all got into the car to see the drive to the Chalk Cliffs only to realize that the good parts are way too far away. After 17 billion hours driving in traffic, and not a lot to show for it, Dave and I fell apart. We screamed, we cried. We both feel bad, but not mad at each other. He knows I am here for him, but forgets to let me. Traveling with kids and an extra passenger is complicated. We are re-grouping. If I am not kidnapped by Casper the Friendly Ghost, we know that tomorrow is another day.
  • Horror movie hotel (again, yes, I wrote this down). Let’s just say, there is stale chlorine smell flowing from the bathroom. The walls are covered in cobwebs. The carpet is old and gross, and I am very relived that we have our own spare set of sheets. Pray for us!

 

Tagged :

London Day Three: “I’m Henry the Eighth I am. Henry the Eighth, I am I am.”

by CrazyUsFamily / Travel / Travel Photgraphy / Travel Tips / Travel With Teens2 Comments on London Day Three: “I’m Henry the Eighth I am. Henry the Eighth, I am I am.”

Hampton Court to Waterloo Station

Notes on Today, (because these here notes are working for me). See, I make notes during the day and post them here at night.

 

  • Jet lagged.  Ok this morning I woke up and felt that awesome hit-by-truck feeling. Somehow it kind of went away. That is a good thing.
  • Rash. Ok so occasionally and for years I have suffered from a lovely thing my dermatologist and I like to call, “Allergic Dermatitis.”  Any fellow sufferers out there will now that the itch is no fun. Thankfully for the British Pharmacy system. Dave and I walked into the pharmacy and came out with the best medicine ever. And seriously on the box it said, “This medicine is specifically used to treat allergic dermatitis.” What the what?  No doctor involved, and so far it has worked than anything I have used back home. Ah-hem.
  • Checking out of hotel: We left our lovely hotel, which was located just a few blocks from the British Museum. We were all sad, and worried it would be downhill. Alas, the new neighborhood rocks (see below), and the new hotel is equally good, if not better.
  • Texting Carrie at Hampton Court. Ok, so somehow there was wi-fi at Hampton Court. Knowing Henry VIII, I am sure he would not have it any other way.  And if one of his wives say protested the interest or was simply ugly it would be off with her head. Anyway, I was able to text Carrie at Hampton Court. She, herself, was in disbelief and asked if I had planned to run into our mutual friend, Robin. Here was my answer: “Yes, Carrie Poulsen, It was really she, Robin.” I still cannot believe I saw Robin and I am still tickled as a really good gluten free cake tastes on Father’s Day.
  • The Red Elk in Hotel Number One: I was thinking about the giant Red Elk statue that was sitting on a large ottoman in the lobby of our first hotel. Dave and I think it is the same Red Animal sculptor who made the giant stag we saw in the lobby of our Geneva hotel a couple of years ago.  What a fantastic gig that giant animal sculptor has, right?
  • BM is short for British Museum. Need I say more? I am glad I said this or perhaps you may think I am talking about something else.
  • Breakfast: While Dave ordered English breakfast at this lovely Italian café we think is owned by Greeks, Kyle and I ran back to the British Museum to see the Chinese Antiquities exhibit our friend recommended. The exhibit did not disappoint nor did the breakfast. In Dave’s own words, “It was a high quality breakfast. The bacon was good.”
  • Alarms at the BM: Ok so when Kyle and I were at the British Museum we went to enter the room where we thought we needed to be. Someone had set off the alarms. We were not sure what that meant. Was there a thief in the museum’s midst? We never found out.  We were not allowed in the room.  Kyle, my super guide, recalculated our route and we were on our way only to be stopped by someone who wanted me to take their picture. Of course I obliged. In the distance I noticed a film crew. Wait. Maybe that is what the alarms were about?  I would like to think it was. And in the room we could not enter, today I would like to think that Sting was inside.
  • Smurf Gummies: I found the Smurf Gummies and we all fought over Papa Smurf. There were so many Smurfettes, which seems kind of odd, because she was the only Girl Smurf I remember.
  • Resorting to headphones: Sometimes long trips require you to pull out your headphones and play some good music. Today was that day. My (current) Jam: Damian Rice’s whiny version of Radiohead’s “Creep,” Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Robin Thicke’s, “Blurred Lines,” because no shame & KCRW’s “Sounds Eclectic” mixes (there are many albums), because a little mix is always good.Travel Tip #37: sometimes a day with headphones is exactly what you need. Namaste!
  • It started to rain while we were in the gardens at Hampton Court. Kyle had a “meltdown” (fake meltdown, that is) about how his Hampton-Court-Garden-Experience was ruined because it was no longer raining. We took cover in the Casear room (I am sure that is not its actual name) when the rain stopped. The kids were bickering, Dave was sour and I was grumpy. That is when I pulled out an old standard: The make-everyone-say-something-nice-about-every-person-in-our-family game and I did.
  • While looking for Dave’s mom, Dave called out to the wrong grandma.
  • Pigeon announcement at the Train Station: Wherever you go and if there are pigeons, I am sure there will always be an announcement about not feeding them. Todays’ Hampton-Court-Train-Station announcement also cautioned that we would become very sick if we touched one of those crazy rat birds.
  • Pret a Manger: We had dinner there and it’s not bad when you are in a hurry.
  • Arcade games: We used our London Pass to play arcade games. Really Dave and Eli played this really long alien shooter game, adding tokens when whomever lost all of their health. Then we play a game of crazy air hockey, which involved copious amounts of neon colored pucks.
  • Disadvantages of sitting close at the London Plays. As Dave stated, “The disadvantage of sitting in row 2 is that you can see the underwear of the entire cast.” Agreed.
  • The dudes rating the play were funny. I am talking about the three guys, who were walking up the stairs in front of me after the play. They were not only rating the play we saw tonight, they were rating all of the plays. I believe “The “Producers” was their favorite with a nine out of ten with “Book of Mormon, the Musical,” with a vacillating eight and a half to nine.
  • Our second hotel is in a great neighborhood. I think the neighborhood is called, “SoHo,” or better, “The West End.” We are apparently close to Coventry Street and after seeing, “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” tonight we walked through Covent Garden, which is supposed to be totes awesome. Dave just discovered that there is a Shake Shack in Covent Garden, which he plans on visiting tomorrow.
  • And speaking of both “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” and “Jersey Boys,” (the play my mother-in-law took us to ), I now feel completely comfortable taking the boys to see “Book of Mormon, the Musical.”
  • Overly cooked: that would be our boys.  Like a crazy revved up engine racing down the street, once in bed, they revved higher and would not stop. Once I stopped talking (ignored them), however, and turned off the lights, it took exactly  hree minutes for them to drop.  Huzzah!
  • In full competitive form Kyle is “fake” sleep talking tonight. I love my boys.

Goodnight. xo