We made it! Mariana and I connected in Philadelphia. We checked in and within a few minutes, it was time to board. The flight wasn’t too bad. We were both able to sleep for most of the flight. Unfortunately, Mariana’s luggage did not follow. Hopefully, the luggage will show up at the hotel before we leave London. Now, checked in… We’ve off to see London!

We took the underground tube (subway) to the hotel. Dropped off our luggage and took off to check out the sights. Our first stop…St Paul’s Cathedral.

We battled the storm. The tube station was packed wall to wall and ceiling to floor with people. We ran from platform to platform along with the masses. We noticed that people don’t seem to dress according to the weather. We noticed some people dressed for a hot summer day while others were bundled up in their jackets and scarves. The weather is pretty hot. I had to take off my jacket and lug it around with me.

We decided to attend the 5:00 pm Evensong services at St. Paul’s Cathedral. The decorations were majestic, although quite dirty. I was not allowed to take pictures. The choir was beautiful. The acoustics – great. The priest read the lessons from the bible and then the choir sung. Beautiful! Very structured. Mariana kept dozing. Her head looked like a bobble head doll. We headed back to the hotel and stopped at a Market Spencer to grab a bite to eat. Mariana’s luggage had not shown up. Shower, over and out!

The next morning, we decided to take the Thames Clipper (hop on hop off water shuttle). Our first stop was Greenwich. We stopped by the Painted Hall, the Chapel and the Observatory. We stood between the east and west of Meridian. There was lots of excitement today as London was having the 20 K Marathon. We hopped back on the Clipper and sailed under the London Bridge. We hopped off at the London Bridge and walked across. Hopped back on the Clipper back to where we began at the Embankment. We walked across the Hungerford Bridge to the park to watch the street artists and check out London’s Eye. Back to the other side of the River Thames on the Westminster Bridge to see Big Ben, Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey. We ended the day at Trafalgar Square for some fish and chips.

Although both countries use English, we found there are different terminologies. For examples:

• Take Out = Take Away

• Exit = Way Out

• Restroom = Toilet

• Line Here = Queue Here

• Subway = Tube

• Chips = Crisps

• French Fries = Chips

• Apartment = Flat

I was expecting that England is everything about historical Royal society, unlike America is modern liberal society. However, what we experienced a similar culture as America. We were in the Greenwich which is a Royal area, yet we saw the old churches choirs with due reverence and rock bands playing in the same area.

There are los to see in London. Unfortunately, we ran out time!

Next posting will be about Paris!! See you soon.

Meridian Line

Meridian Line

Royal Navy Symbol

London Bridge

London Eye

Europe 09-24-09

And we’re off…

Cathy and I are off on our whirlwind adventure of the best of Europe. We have quite an agenda planned over the next three weeks of our tour. The quest will begin with an awful 13+ hours in a sardine can (flight). In addition, the chaotic dashes to catch the next flight during the 2-3 layovers along the way.

But then… Ahhh, the wonder…

The two explorers, half asleep, half starved and trying to unlock themselves from the sitting position will begin their escapades. First, we will begin our expedition in London where we plan to visit Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral. Then it is off to Paris where we hope to visit the Eiffel Tower, Montmartre & Pigalle and the Louvre. Moving on to Zurich and Luzern to see historic churches and museums. We will begin our second week in Roma to see the Coliseum, Roman Forum and Vatican City. We will continue to Venice to check out St. Mark’s Square and the Grand Canal. We’ll end the second week in Vienna to visit the Rathaus and Maria-Theresien-Platz. By this time, Cathy will be dragging me from place to place. Our third week will begin in Germany were we plan to tour Berlin to see the Berlin Wall, Brandenburg Gate, Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church and the Sony Center. From there, we’ll proceed to Hamburg to visit the Old Town, Town Hall and Alster Lake. The last country on this journey is Amsterdam to visit Oude Kerk and Dam Square. On our last day, Cathy will be carrying me back to London for one last spending spree. Then back to our sardine can and America!