Happy Highlights Daily Herald: January 2015

London Trip: Part 17, The End (going home on the ferry)

Here we are at our adventure's end (well, almost...we are getting back on a ferry with our car and floating to France - that's a bit adventurous!)...

Have you ever heard of the cliffs of Dover? We got to see them.

There they are behind Jay and the kids.

From the ferry window we get a better view of them.

What do you do on a two hour ferry ride? You read....

you play on your ipod...

you gaze out the windows....

you look around at what other people do for fun on the ferry....

and you look forward to breakfast the next day in your own home. Here we have what we ate almost every morning in the London hotels...fried eggs, cooked mushrooms, baked tomatoes...it is only missing the baked beans (yes, you read that right, baked beans). The toast with peanut butter and banana is not a London idea...it just sounded good :o)

London Trip: Part 16, Our Last Day in London

This is our very last day to tour and see the sights of London. Sadly, Ivan woke up sick this morning (January 1) and so, he stayed in bed and Emily and her dad finished up our vaca for us.

Ivan was feeling better towards the evening so later we joined them and had a rushed time at the well-spoken-of science museum where we found The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel just across from it. We visited both...in a hurry.

After all the rushing...we had a slowed-down relaxed meal in a very lovely restaurant that caught our attention by the sign outside that said, "homemade meals." It was our last hope for taste testing real British cuisine. I hope you enjoy the pictures....

Yes, you are right, it is Buckingham Palace in the background.

more of the Palace...

zoomed-in on a palace guard, but he isn't wearing the usual bright red uniform...gray, blah.

I spy a great big clock!

It's Big Ben...oh, wow, hello Big Ben :o)

and a very colorful parade...

it keeps going...a New Year Day's parade (how fun!).

This looks like an important building....is it???

Well, this looks like Westminster Abbey where many famous people are buried (like Charles Dickens and if I remember right, C.S. Lewis).

nice kitty hanging on Westminster Abbey's facade

A distant peek at the London Eye.

They launched the fireworks from near the London Eye last night. It would have been very spectacular...especially the reflection in the water.

swans seem to be the bird dejour...I guess all the geese are...ummm...well, maybe they were special "guests" at all the Christmas dinners in London. That is certainly what Charles D. led me to believe.

It is nice to meet your acquaintance Mr. Sherlock Holmes. I'd like to ask you if you approve of Mr. Cumber...(what's his name)'s depiction of you in the newest TV series?

Well, yes, I agree he also makes a handsome dragon.

It seems to be our lot in life to forever be gazing in windows, but never entering, but you can see she is not daunted in the least. Sometimes close is good enough!

Why is there always perfect access to souvenir shops? I must admit that sometimes they are just as interesting as the museums themselves.

Again, close will have to do...it is closed today. I don't blame them...we all stayed out late last night, didn't we?

Thankfully, these welcoming windows will always let you in (when they are lit-up) no need to stand in a long line (although I'm sure there are two sister missionaries in there right now who would say they wouldn't mind a line...or two...of beautiful souls to let in :o)

Across from the chapel is the most amazing Science Museum! if only we had come earlier, rats! I guess our vaca is unraveling a bit here at the end. Not to complain, though. We have sure enjoyed it immensly just the same!

Ice skating is allowed in the evenings here....

and so is standing next to red telephone booths...

as is sitting in cosy restaurants that make "homemade" food.

Tea for two...tired people (well, one looks kind of rested).

This, my dear ones, is authentic vension meat pie the British way. Did Ivan like it? I'd have to say, "meh."

make that two venison meat pies...and one tired Dad...

I had roasted veggies with pork shoulder and Yorkshire Pudding (which is really just a extremely fluffy, airy (empty insidey) hunk of a "dinner" roll type of a thing. I've always wanted to try Yorkshire pudding. It was definitely, meh, but everything else was yummo!

Emily scored with a itty, bitty tub of yummy breads to go with her pumkin soup. Good choice, Emmy.

To end our exquisite British dinner and our last evening in London, a bread pudding with vanilla sauce...

look quick ... it's gonna be gone in a second for being shared amongst four people...

London Trip: Part 15, Happy New Year!! It's 2015!!

Ring out wild bells...the New Year has arrived in alls its splendor!!! Happy New Year everyone and may God bless you throughout the year and for the rest of your life, too, while we're at it :o)

Everyone is so excited for the mayhem to begin!

Wow! big, bright, fanciful tops of fireworks exploding in the distance!!!

Big fluffy cottony balls of sparkly lights!! whew whew...it's New Year's in London!

So amazing...and...pretty...

fizz, fizz, pop, blump...sizzle sizzle...kind of gets ya, doesn't it? it lasted for about 10 minutes..a bit of an anti-climax in a way. Oh, well, that's alright, it was free afterall...thanks, London for sharing the tippy tops of your fireworks with us! (kind of missed the Ka-boom, though)!

In case you're not sure, it does read "2015." Well, it's time to go back to our airB&B rental and go to bed. Good night everyone...and...oh, did I say Happy New Year?

London Trip: Part 14, New Year's Eve 2014

After wandering around Chinatown (and having a wonderful dinner), visiting Platform 9 3/4 (and an awesome souvenir shop), and falling into temptation by browsing a used bookstore (and spending way too much time in it), we finally continue on our journey to London bridge so we can prepare for the evening's biggest event yet...seeing how Londoners ring in the New Year!!!

Don't be fooled...and don't speak to strangers in the metro (especially on New Year's Eve!!)

Hey, I warned you...

Let's get out of this underground metro station!

Sheesh...it's a lot of walking. It's a good thing we pigged-out at that Chinese restaurant!

and at long last, here we are standing before...a monument?

read all about it...a taste of history

and here we are...on the London bridge...

See? what did I tell you :o)

Look out for large pyramind-shaped buildings that shoot lights into the sky!

We still have a bit of time to wait until midnight. It's nice to look around at things. We decide to go on a long walk to get a better view of "things".

This bridge in the distance looks fancy! We decide to walk to it.

There's a castle along the way. Hello Mr. Castle!

Oh wow, look at that Christmas spirit glowing in the distance...I hope we can see it closer up.

Well, well...we finally made it to the other bridge and boy does it say "London!" all over it. This is actually how I imagined the "real" London bridge to look like. However, it probably did look like this in the middle ages.

We must keep walking...

Now we are standing on the "cool-looking" bridge looking back over at the really plain, but useful London bridge. You don't see it? Well, it is the long skinny orange-ish shiny line you see in the distance there.