Countdown to London

February 5 is fast approaching. Ron and Donna leave at 4:15 pm from San Francisco Airport and will arrive in London the next day. Passports are in hand, local currency has been ordered, skis will be shipped, packing all we need into one suitcase each is underway, and handy phrases in French in German are being learned. We're ready.

First Day in London

FEBRUARY 6

We had a great flight on British Airways and arrived in London at about 10:30 am.  We used our Oyster Cards and got on the Tube (London's Underground) and made our way to the Gloucester Stop.  We found our hotel, the NH Harrington Hall, and then went into town to go on The Original London Bus Tour.  We had not slept much so it was a great way to spend our first day -- sit back, enjoy the sights, and get a lay of the land.

It turned out that February 6 is a national New Zealand holiday called Waitangi Day, which commemorates the signing of the treaty that is known as the founding document of New Zealand.  The Kiwis were out in full force, dressed in costumes, congregating, and drinking up a storm.

New Zealanders (or Kiwis) dressed up as sheep

Gathering at Parliament Square

Abbey Road

FEBRUARY 7
We took the Tube to St. Johns Wood and found the way to Abbey Road. Many others had the same idea as us and everyone was trying to get their photo in the infamous crosswalk from the Beatles album without getting ran over by the cars zooming by. The Abbey Studios were much smaller than I would have expected and so was the crosswalk. The tube station has a Beatles Coffee Shop with lots of Beatles-related souvenirs.

 

Walk Along the Thames

After our trip to Abbey Road, we decided to start at the London Eye, a huge Ferris Wheel, and walk along the Thames River to take in the sights.  We walked along the south bank and encountered many street artists and/or beggars.  Along the way we saw the Globe Theater, Tate Gallery, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace.  We must have walked at least 5 miles.  The weather was mostly overcast, but we did have moments of sunshine.  We even wore our sunglasses for about 15 minutes.

London Eye

Ron with the World's Most Pierced Woman

(He even looked it up in the Guinness Book of World Records)

Big Ben, Parliament and Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey

Another view of Westminster Abbey

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre (A Reproduction)

An English Pub

Tower Bridge

Stonehenge

FEBRUARY 8

We took a bus tour for the day to Stonehenge and Bath.  Stonehenge is a fascinating place.  Historians still do not know for sure what its purpose was, but it is amazing to see these stones firsthand.  They are massive.  We spent about an hour here and listened to the audio tour.

I was freezing and like a fool left my gloves on the bus!

The City of Bath

Bath is known for its ancient Roman baths and its Abbey.  The whole town looks like a Disney production.  All the buildings are made from the same stone so it has a very uniform look.  Lots of shops, street merchants, and restaurants.  We walked around and found a nice cafe for lunch.

The Bath Abbey

THE ROMAN BATHS

This man was totally in character the whole time.  He was pretending to be a Roman stone carver.

A view of the Abbey from the baths

A city street in Bath

Apparently they don't know how to spell in Bath.  Actually, this is a famous fashion label in Europe.

Off to Paris

FEBRUARY 9

Today is our 25th anniversary and we get to celebrate in both London and Paris.  We took the tube to the St. Pancras rail station to catch the Eurostar to Paris.

We took the Metro to the Raspail stop and found our hotel, Le Royal.

Our goal for the day was to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower.  Unfortunately the weather was much colder in Paris than it had been in London.  Only the first level of the Eiffel Tower was open so we decided to try sometime later during our stay in Paris.  We took photos and walked to the Louvre before going back to the hotel.  The hotel desk clerk recommended a wonderful neighborhood cafe called Chez Fernaud.  We had an excellent meal without having to pay an enormous amount.

EIFFEL TOWER PHOTOS

Place de la Concorde

Arch near the Louvre

The Louvre Pyramid