London, Day 5 - The Conclusion

Although my trip spanned a week I really only had five days in London, one of which was eaten up waiting for luggage.  I didn't have nearly enough time to see everything that I wanted to, but that just means that I will have to go back!  I am thinking about next Spring, and Les will have to go with me.  I think he'll love it there.

Anyhow, on my last full day in London I tried to cram in as much as possible. K had to work in the morning so I was on my own for a bit.  My first destination of the day was the Tower of London.  I was fascinated by this place because of the books I've read recently: Through a Glass Darkly, The Other Boleyn Sister, and The Boleyn Inheritance, all which have parts that took place at the Tower of London.

Traitor's Gate

A Beefeater

The Tower Green - Execution Site

Actors depicting scene's from Henry VIII's reign

A glimpse of the Tower Bridge

The White Tower

New & Old

More Old & New

After a couple of hours touring the Tower of London I made my way to The Monument, "a 202 foot hollow column that is Wren's tribute to the Great Fire that gave him a blank canvas on which to create modern London" (Rick Steves' London 2009)

 The Monument

More New & Old near The Monument

After viewing The Monument I started walking toward St. Paul's Cathedral.

St. Mary-le-bow Church

In the courtyard outside St. Mary-le-bow

A glimpse of St. Paul's Cathedral

Temple Bar Gate by Christopher Wren

A bit of the Temple Gate, a bit of St. Paul's

 St. Paul's Cathedral

More St. Paul's

And more St. Paul's

K finished up work around 1pm and met up with me on the step of St. Paul's Cathedral.  We continued on foot, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of London.

The entry to Twining's Tea, first opened in 1717

Royal Courts of Justice

More Royal Courts of Justice

Our next visit was to the Courtald Gallery.  My attraction to this gallery was Degas.  I love Degas.

 

After an hour or two at the gallery K & I made our way to Starbucks for some refreshment. Frapuccinos in hand we walked to a nearby park to enjoy our treats and give our feet a rest.  Once rested we made our way back to Harrods, so I could see what I missed a couple of days before.  Such a cool store!  I didn't buy anything (shocking that my budget doesn't really have room for shopping at Harrods) but I especially loved the Food Halls.  The gourmet foods available were beautiful, smelled wonderful and were a feast for my eyes.

After Harrods K & I headed to the London Eye.  I so wanted to ride up to the top and take in the view at sunset, but of course it was my luck that they were closed for routine maintanance that day.  Bummer!  Yet another reason to return to London.  I took a lot of pictures from the ground, though because it really is an amazing structure.

From the area near the London Eye I was able to get great views of Big Ben & Parliament.

 

HDR Processed

 

Too soon the day was winding down and it was time to head toward dinner.  J was meeting K & I there.  We went to the same pub that we went to on the first night for beer and fish & chips.  A great way to start & end my time in London!  I love London and I can't wait to go back.  I could easily live there.

London, Day 4

On my 4th day in London, Monday, I took off on my own (K & J had to work) and headed toward Salisbury and Stonehenge.  The train ride was uneventful, about 2 hours.  I listened to my ipod and watched the countryside and towns go by.

Once I arrived in Salisbury I boarded a tour bus that runs every 1/2 hour for Stonehenge.

Field after field of beautiful poppies on the way to Stonehenge

As the bus pulled up to Stonehenge I noticed a group of druids lined up outside of the circle.  The previous day had been Summer Solstice.  Once I was off the bus and up to the stones the Druids had moved into the circle and were having some sort of ceremony.  Kind of cool on on hand, but slightly annoying because they are in almost all of my pictures.  Avoiding pictures of other tourists was hard enough!  Oh well.

Stonehenge was quite a sight to see, I'm so glad I went.  Looking at those stones, so ancient, so huge, it just blows my mind. It still seems a bit surreal that I was there just a few days ago.  When I was done absorbing Stonehenge I boarded another bus and headed into the town of Salisbury.

One of Salisbury's claims to fame is its cathedral.  The spire of the Salisbury Cathedral is the tallest Medieval Spire in Britain, and one of the tallest in the world (3rd or 4th, I think).

Salisbury Cathedral

Another view of the Salisbury Cathedral

Inside the Cathedral

The world's oldest mechanical working clock from 1386, inside the cathedral

Cathedral Interior

HDR Processed

Stained Glass inside the Cathedral

The Salisbury Cathedral also has a copy of the Magna Carta on display.  Only 4 of these documents from 1215 still survive. Sadly no photos were allowed in that room.

Salisbury Cathedral Facade

After wandering the cathedral I went in search of some lunch, a very late lunch.  On the way I admired some of the gardens of the homes near the cathedral.

After lunch I grabbed a coffee and then caught the next bus back to the train station.  After a short wait I was on my way back to London. I returned to the flat to find that K had already cooked dinner and had opened a bottle of wine.  We ate a delicious risotto, sipped our vino, chatted, & watched some TV.  Another great day in the UK!

London, Day 3

On my third day in London I dove into exploring some of the more touristy sights.  K & J took me on a grand tour that started in Trafalgar Square.

St. Martin-In-The-Fields

National Gallery

From Trafalgar Square we walked toward Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, and Westminster Abbey.

Big Ben

"not the clock, not the tower, but the bell that tolls the hour"

A glimpse of the London Eye

Westminster Abbey

The front of Westminster Abbey

From Westminster Abbey we walked through St. James's Park toward Buckingham Palace

In St. James's Park

In front of Buckingham Palace

Also in front of Buckingham Palace, with a view of Big Ben

At Buckingham Palace our tummies started telling us it was lunch time so we headed through Green Park to Piccadilly and grabbed sandwiches for lunch.  After lunch we walked through Piccadilly Circus and through the theater district toward Covent Garden.

In the theatre district, pedestrian only, this car was coming through...it was someone royal!! No clue who, but still cool!

From Covent Garden we walked to the British Museum, which was on my must do/see list.  The priority? The Rosetta Stone!!  After my recent trip to Egypt, seeing this stone was a phenomenal experience for me.

The Rosetta Stone

The British Museum was awesome, so much to see.  We really only scratched the surface.  I could have spent several more hours there.  As it was, it was approaching evening and closing time.  We had walked quite a distance and were quite tired.  We decided to get off of our feet for a bit and stop at a nearby pub for a pint.

What a name for a Doctor's Office!! (It was near the British Museum)

We still had a few hours of daylight left and it was too early for dinner so we hopped on the tube to go to Harrods.  Sadly, because it was Sunday, it had closed early at 6pm....we got there around 6:30pm...sigh.

Harrods

More Harrods

Since Harrods was closed we hopped on a bus and rode back to Chinatown for dinner.  We shared a fabulous meal.  After dinner we walked for a bit, but soon were tired and headed back to K & J's flat for the night.  A lot of walking, a lot of sights, a lot of fun!

London, Day 2

My second full day in London was spent in a very un-tourist way.  We walked from London Bridge Station past Southwark Cathedral to the Borough Market.

Southwark Cathedral

At the Borough Market you can find the typical fruits, vegies, meats, etc. presented in a very upscale fashion.  It is like farmers market meets Whole Foods!  In addition to the raw stuff they also had a huge selection of prepared foods that tantilized my senses with their aromas.

Sights around the Borough Market:

Brownie Tower

Meat Pies

These were so good!  We took four of them back to the flat and had them for dinner that night.

The preparation of "Proper Filter Coffee" at Monmouth Coffee Company

As we wandered the market we worked up an appetite.  K & J had beef sandwiches but I opted to go to a seafood stand that they said was one of the best and try the chicken & seafood green Thai curry with jasmine rice.  It was the best curry I have had, EVER!  I wasn't sure how the seafood would taste in the curry but it wasn't fishy at all, it was so deliciously fresh!

Once we finished our food we left the Borough Market to wander down the south bank of the Thames for a little while. On the way I saw Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.

We weren't able to walk far before our time was up and we had to head back to the flat.  K was having girlfriends from work over for a girly afternoon of movies, munchies, & mojitos.  Of course I was happy to participate!

After an afternoon full of drinking & eating the girls headed back to their respective neighborhoods and K & I went for a much needed walk to Greenwich Park.  The walk she took me on was a lot further than I expected, but the views were worth it!

View of the Queen's House from Greenwich Park

Bracketed & HDR Processed

After a lovely walk through Greenwich Park we headed back toward the flat.  It was getting late by the time we arrived, but we still managed to dig into the meat pies from the market and watch a bit of TV.  K & J introduced me to the show Black Books and it is hilarious!  I only saw two episodes so I need to get my hands on the rest. If you like British humor you'll probably like this show.

London, Day 1 - Part 2

At the end of my last post I was patiently waiting for my luggage to be delivered to my friends' flat in London.  My wait lasted all day, not fun.  Around 5:30pm I had given up and started getting ready to go out.  K & I were meeting her husband at a pub for dinner and we had to leave by 6pm.  About 10 minutes before we walked out of the door my bags FINALLY arrived, all in one piece, nothing missing.  Woohoo!!  I hurried to put on fresh clothes and then we were out the door.

For dinner we went to a pub called The Horniman at Hay's which was on the south bank of the Thames.

I was looking forward to my first taste of London pub grub - fish and chips and a pint. K & I started with our beverages while we waited for her hubbie to arrive.

Once J arrived we ordered our dinner - three plates of beer battered cod which chips. YUM!

After dinner we took a short stroll along the river so I could glimpse a couple of the famous London sights: The Tower of London, and The Tower Bridge.

The Tower of London

The Tower & Bridge

Bracketed with HDR Processing

The Tower Bridge

After a few pictures we headed back to K&J's flat. Even with my very late start the evening was a GREAT introduction to London!

More London pictures and stories coming soon! I have a ton of pictures to sort through!

Live from London!

I have time to blog this morning, this, my first morning in London.  Why?  Because I'm waiting for 8am to roll around so I can call Alitalia and find out where my luggage is and when (hopefully this morning) it will be delivered.  Yep, good ol' Alitalia.

I arrived yesterday afternoon with only a small hiccup in my travel - my flight from Catania to Rome left late, and therefore landed late in Rome which meant that I needed to practically sprint across the airport.  No time for lunch, bathrooms, or stopping at a money exchange to pick up a few British Pounds to have on hand in my wallet.  Just keep walking REALLY fast to my gate!  I did make it, just as the plane was nearly finished with boarding.  It briefly crossed my mind that my luggage wouldn't make it but I didn't think too much about it, didn't want to stress about something that I had no control over.

The flight from Rome to Heathrow was uneventful.  We landed on time and I made my way through customs to baggage claim, and waited....and waited.  Some baggage came out, but there were still quite a few people standing around waiting.  I overheard an Alitalia rep talking with people nearby about how their bags didn't get transferred in time and that their bags wouldn't arrive until the next day.  Fabulous.  I was off the the baggage counter to see if my bags were among the left-behind.  Yep, they were.  I filled out the paperwork and then went on my way.  What else could I do?

I got in touch with my friend, K, who I've known forever and who I'd be staying with.  She instructed me to meet her at London Bridge station so I followed her instructions and hopped on the tube.  The transit system here is so easy! I made it with no problems.  I did, however, notice the striking difference between Brits & Italians when it comes to personal space.  The difference? Italians don't know what personal space means!  After living two and a half years in Italy I'm pretty used to it and had to catch myself from pushing and shoving to get where I wanted.

After meeting up with K she took me to buy my transit card for the week and then we hopped on a train to her neighborhood.  I enjoyed walking from the train to her house taking in the neighborhood filled with grand old buildings and beautiful large trees shading the streets.

Her flat is gorgeous.  Just a one bedroom, but with so much character.  High, ornate ceilings, big windows overlooking the street, and a lovely garden behind the building.

K & I sat down and had a snack and a beer and spent a good couple of hours catching up.  So nice just to sit and relax with an old friend!  Later that evening when her hubbie got home she made a delicious pasta for dinner and pulled out a couple of bottles of nice wine.  We just sat and ate and talked.  I love those moments!  After dinner we sat down to watch The Goonies!!! She just recently bought it but wasn't sure if she'd still like it.  It had been many years since I'd seen that movie so I was all for watching it.  I loved it as a kid too.  It was still a fun movie, a little cheesy in parts, but still good even after all these years.

And that was pretty much the end to our day.  This morning, once I get my bags or at least hear what the status is I will get showered and out the door to explore.  I am meeting K after lunch.  I just hope I have clean clothes to put on before I venture out into this massive city of London.  Wish me luck!!

Wow...that is all I can say...

I just realized that my blog passed the 10,000 visitors mark (about 76 visitors ago)!! Thank you so much for taking the time to read about my life.  It blows my mind that so many are actually interested in what I'm up to!  I hope you continue following my journey and enjoying my pictures.  Thank you, again!

Weekend Getaway to EGYPT!!

Les and I decided to make a trip to Egypt for Memorial Day Weekend...about a week and a half before the weekend. In the days leading up to our trip I couldn't quite grasp where I was going.  Even while I was there I had to give myself several reality checks. I had a hard time believing that I was actually crossing off one of the top items on my bucket list...and probably one of the items that had been on the list the longest! I still can hardly believe that I actually SAW the pyramids, and the sphinx!!

So, here are the long awaited pictures and a recap of our trip.  We flew in on Saturday, May 23, 2009.  Our plane landed at around 7-something and, after the longest bus ride from plane to terminal that I've ever been on, we were off trying to find our way through crazy security (I'd never seen anything like it!) and find our tour operator. Finally our group assembled and we made our way out of the airport and to our hotel.

On the way to the hotel my eyes were wide open, trying to take in every detail around me.  Cairo is a HUGE city. There were lots of lights, billboards, and insane traffic. I tried to take a few pictures from the moving bus, but because of the darkness they didn't turn out too well.

We arrived at our hotel about a 1/2 hour after leaving the airport. It was lovely.  We stayed at the Hotel Safir in the Dokki district of Giza. After checking in we started checking out our surroundings. We took in what was available at the hotel gift shop and then made our way upstairs for a delicious dinner in the main dining room. After dinner we hit the sack. Morning was going to come much too early. Our tour guide had instructed us to meet in the lobby for a 7am pickup. Egypt is an hour ahead of Italy so this was really 6pm for us.  Uff.

I was so excited, though, that I didn't sleep well.  My eyes popped open bright and early the next morning.  I hurried to get ready, had breakfast and soon we were on the bus headed for the pyramids!! Ok, not directly to the pyramids. We had to make a stop at another hotel to pick up the rest of our group, but then we were off to the pyramids.

Crossing the Nile with the Cairo Tower in the background

The Nile River from the bus

My first glimpse of the pyramids!!

Camels and other animals frequently share the roads with cars in Cairo and Giza

Once we arrived at the pyramids we had to get off of the bus to get our tickets.  While we were standing in line there was much confusion, and a few heated words between our tour guide and another gentleman trying to buy tickets.  I'm not sure what all was said as it was in Arabic, but it wasn't friendly.  At any rate we got our tickets and those of us who wanted the tickets to go inside the Great Pyramid were able to buy them.  They only sell 150 of those tickets a day so we were lucky enough to get there early.

After purchasing our tickets we had to go through security on foot. Our bus met us on the other side.  While we were walking toward the bus I saw this guard, possibly a military policeman(?) just relaxing on his camel.

The Great Pyramid

Entrances into the Great Pyramid

This is the pyramid that we went into. In the picture above you'll notice two entrances into the pyramid. The upper, larger entrance is sealed.  The lower entrance is where we went in. The climb was difficult, some portions of the tunnel were no more than 1x1 meter, with traffic going both ways. The climb was steep, and there were very few places to stop and catch your breath. The air was thin, musty, warm, and humid.  I struggled to keep my claustrophobia under control. Finally we reached the room where the pharoah had been entombed.  The room was reasonably large, but not huge, tall cielings, black walls, dimly lit, and contained only an empty sarcophagus.  It wasn't long before the dark, warm, moist air reminded me that I was inside a tomb.  I was slightly creeped out and decided it was time to go. The climb down was almost as tough as the climb up.  Even now, two days later, my legs are so sore!

Happy, Smiling Camel

A close-up of the happy camel

After a bit of time to explore the area around the Great Pyramid we were back on the bus and moving on to a fantastic lookout point.

This was also the location for us to take camel rides, if we wanted to.  We jumped at the chance!  The camel ride took us from the lookout above to the smaller of the three pyramids, on the right.

Camels are rather awkward, especially while trying to kneel down

Once I was seated on my camel I was instructed to lean as far back as possible.  The next thing I know I am hanging on for dear life as my camel awkwardly brings itself up to standing from its kneeling position. That in itself was quite a ride!

Les on his camel, taken by me while riding my own camel

Our group, heading out across the desert

Riding a camel was quite an experience.  They have an unsteady feeling gait that made me feel as if I was in constant danger of falling off.  And they are TALL!!  About halfway through our ride the guide stopped us for pictures. He unroped each camel to take pictures of each person individually with the pyramids as a backdrop. As I was waiting for my turn my camel got bored and decided to take a walk.  I had no reins and couldn't stop him as he headed off toward the open desert.  Only after yelling for help, while laughing, did one of the lead men come running to catch my camel.

Our next stop inside the pyramid park was to see the Sphinx!  I thought he was beautiful!

The Sphinx with the Pyramid of Khafre in the background

The remains of the structure in front of the Sphinx is where the priests would prepare the pharoah's body for mummification.  The construction of these massive stones was incredible.

Each column was made out of a single stone

The corner stones were actually shaped into corners to protect the building from the winds and sand

Ever wonder what the Sphinx is looking at?  Well, now you know!

We had a few minutes to kill before our bus left for our next bit of excitement so we decided to grab sodas at a little cafe.  This was our view:

Our next stop was a papyrus shop.  They showed us how papyrus paper is made and then we had the opportunity to buy hand painted payarus.  We brought a few home with us :)

Demonstrating how papyrus is made

Our guide took us to a few more shops, and then it was lunch time. I was ready!  On our way to and from lunch I took in my surroundings.  Here are a few things that popped out at me:

After lunch we went to the Cairo Egyptian Museum.  No cameras allowed, unfortunately.  What an amazing place!  I had a hard time believing that I was looking at the real stuff that came out of ancient Egyptian tombs!  We even saw the King Tut exhibit, the amazing pieces that don't go on tour around the world!  Spectacular!!  Sadly, we didn't get to spend nearly enough time in the museum.  It could have easily been at least a half a day for me, but when you try to cram everything into one day something has to give.

We moved on to the Oriental Bazzar after the museum.  We had hoped for some free time to take off on our own but because of an "incident" a couple of months ago, and because we were Americans we were forced to go as a group with an armed escort.  This didn't give us much flexibility to shop and barter, but I did manage to buy a few things and take a lot of pictures.  Here are a few of the sights from the bazzar:

Hookahs

Scarves

Mother-of-pearl inlay boxes and trinkets

Hand-blown glass perfume bottles

Scarabs (good luck bugs) and Beads

Silver Jewelry

Spices

Dresses for the modest Muslim woman

Detail on a scarf

Lamps

Quilted Pillow Covers

After quickly moving through the market we met back up with our guide and sat down for a snack at a nearby cafe.  We ate the most delicious falafel pitas and had the excellent turkish coffee. I wish I could drink turkish coffee more often!  I need to learn how to make it.  So good!

A mosque near the cafe

And that was the end of our whirlwind tour day.  Our bus took us back to the hotel where we cleaned a bit of the sand and dust off of our feet, walked around the neighborhood, and then sat down to a leisurely dinner. We started with some wine and sushi in the hotel's sushi bar where we made friends with our server who taught us a few words of Arabic.  I think he was flattered that we asked to learn a few phrases because he gave us complimentary desserts and coffee!  After an hour or more of just chatting and sipping wine we went up to the main dining room, ate a bit more, and then went upstairs and to bed.  My head hit the pillow and I was out.  It was a full, exhausting, but extremely fulfilling day.  Can you believe that everything I've written about in this post took place in one day?  I can't!

The next morning we got to sleep in a bit, but eventually had to pull ourselves out of bed, get packed up and head to the airport.  On our way to the airport I took a few pictures, many of which didn't turn out, but I will leave you with one that was pretty good, considering it was taken from a moving bus, and I was on the opposite side of the bus from what I wanted a picture of!

This was a massive mosque that looked like it had a very strong, stone fortress built around it.

We had an amazing time in Egypt, but I wish we had a bit more time.  Trying to cram everything into one day was challenging and there were definitely places where we would have liked to spend more time.  But, overall, it was awesome.  I saw the pyramids!!!

La Scala Infiorata - Caltagirone

Yesterday a friend and I decided to go to Caltagirone to see the steps decorated for spring. We both love taking pictures so we were both lugging around our cameras and tripods in the sweltering heat (had to have been in the 90's) but we had a blast. I took the opportunity to practice a few HDR shots:

On our way to the steps I noticed a shoe sitting in a doorway.  Not sure what this means, but I had to take a picture.  I guess we got yelled at, I was oblivious in my little photo world.  Apparently the people inside the doorway were not happy at me taking their picture.  I just rolled my eyes and smiled. I didn't want their picture, just the doorway and the shoe.

The steps, decorated for Spring:

We walked all the way to the top of the steps, stopping in each of the ceramics shops and enjoying the handcrafted beauty that is unique to Caltagirone.

After our climb to the top of the steps we made our way back down to La Scala Ristorante where we enjoyed a delicious lunch of Fettucine with Aritchokes and Pancetta and Caprese Salads.  YUMMY!  And of course, no day trip in Sicily is complete without a scoop of gelato.  I had coconut, which was awesome!

After our lunch I had hoped that the steps would be nearly deserted during the afternoon resting time, but no such luck.  There were actually more people on the stairs in the afternoon that there had been earlier in the day.  There went my hopes of getting a picture of the stairs and flowers without people.  Oh well.

What a wonderful way to spend the day!

From my garden...

I had two red, ripe, juicy strawberries in my garden today...

They were sweet and DELICIOUS!

And my cilantro sprouts are actually starting to look like cilantro!