Big travel day for all of us. This is the only part of travel that I don't like--the last day always comes and I have to leave. But at least my ankles were better, not good but better. We were up at 6 and the luggage, with all of Catherine's stuff, was HEAVY. To give you an idea, we had a large Ritter Sport bag, and it was indeed stuffed with chocolate.
Sadly, the hotel breakfast didn't start till 7, so we missed that wonderful buffet. But they kindly called a cab for us, which arrived about 2 minutes after they called. Happily, the airport didn't have any problems with Dave's name--the lady in Salt Lake had really fixed the problem, but they did have big problems with me.
First, in the bottom of the Ritter Sport bag, I had completely forgotten the big jar of Nutella like stuff. It took awhile to dig out, and they confiscated it. Dave says "of course it's a liquid." I say only if peanut butter is a liquid. After I threw it away, a lady led me away to the other side of the airport because, among other things, we were bringing home about a dozen rolls of Catherine's film which can't go through scanners. Finally deemed ok, I had to walk through security again, thru the scanner again and get patted down again. After this I was rewarded with the smallest, ugliest airport terminal I've ever seen. One small, closed duty-free shop, and one little kiosk selling sandwiches and a few other things. I bought a muffin and a vitamin water with what I thought was the last of my euros, not realizing I had another 70 euros hidden in my bag. The terminal featured this alarming sign. Ummmm. We were supposed to be flying to Newark, NJ. Not New York. Just goes to show that even the famous German efficiency can break down.
Boarding was super slow. As usual, I was in the earlier boarding group. They put me on a bus with no air-conditioning, which sat motionless for a long time before leaving. Dave joined me eventually. Take off was supposed to be 9:40, but we didn't leave until 11:05. Some wretched couple had a baby that cried for hours, but I managed to be unconscious for most of the flight anyway. I would dimly wake up for the food and then pass out again. Neat view flying into New Jersey, we could see the Statue of Liberty and the NYC skyline.
In New Jersey it seemed to take a long time to go through customs, get our bags, recheck our bags and get to our gate which was far away. I felt badly for Dave. We might have had time for dinner had I been able to move at normal speed, but my knees had had it, and my only speed was slow. We bought those nifty snack boxes they sell on planes and I slept all the way to Denver. In Denver, the gate was literally as far away as it could be. No time to go to the bathroom, let alone have dinner, we just got on the plane. Again I slept. By miracle we got to SLC a little bit early. This was a huge blessing, because the shuttle to Ogden left at 8:30 and 9:30. And we were able to catch the 8:30. Our driver was quiet until I discovered that the postcards in the seat pocket were actually painted by him! His name is Gary Ray Johnson; a wonderfully talented western style artist. He told me to take my pick. I thought this eagle was beautifully done, besides being appropriate for our return to America.
The cats were thrilled to see us, which made me feel bad since we were leaving the very next day. We did some basic unpacking and dropped into bed about 10:30. I thought I would have trouble sleeping what with jet-lag and having slept the past 18 hours or so. Nope. I slept like the dead until morning. I think I wore myself out a little on this trip.
Meanwhile, Catherine was scheduled to fly to Norway to continue traveling alone. But her flight didn't leave until 9 p.m. The hotel was great about letting her stow her luggage behind the desk for as long as she needed. She took advantage of the breakfast buffet. Then went back to museum island as saw the new and the national gallery. The national gallery had three hippos. The she went back to the big Lego store in Potsdamer Platz. it was just okay. She decided to get to the airport early. This turned out to be a very good decisions. Her train, and the trains normally run very efficiently, kept having major problems. Twice, they unloaded everyone without saying why. But eventually she made it to the airport and then to Bergen, Norway late at night.
July 3, 2015 Norway
We got up early. No food in the house of course, so we went to I-Hop. Dave did the laundry, I paid the bills, then we packed up a few things and left to drive to Butte for the family reunion. (I felt horrible about leaving the cats who were so excited to see us). The cabins in the campground are about 45 minutes away from Butte and are hot and buggy, but the area is charming and Dave's family is fun.
Meanwhile, Catherine was busy exploring Bryggen, Norway.She says Norway is "cold and expensive." She bravely tried a whale and salmon sandwich. Took two bites and then went and had a burrito.
She wandered around Bryggen, the old town.
And found the fish market (I suspect this was not hard to do).
Then she had authentic fish cakes for lunch.
She went back to the hostel and took a nap. Then went grocery shopping and spent the rest of the day trying to get the fishy taste out of her mouth. It was raining so she went to a museum about Bryggen and explored the university park .
Catherine went hiking, but because connections were so poor at our campground in Butte, we didn't get any pictures. I can just imagine how beautiful it must have been. There was an oops on the hostel. She was out and about and they called her wanting the key. She had meant to book for two nights, but only actually booked one. She got her stuff out of the room and then went down the street luckily getting the last room in the city. While there she watched Sherlock while double and triple checking all of her other reservations, and did catch a few mistakes.
I asked her if she wore red, white and blue and made sure to speak in a loud American voice all day in honor of the fourth? She said yes, indeed. Alas, there was no Kentucky Fried Chicken, but she did manage to find a tiny Big Mac which came with good fries and nuggets in honor of America.
July 5, 2015 Norway to London
Last day in Norway. She bought a beautiful Norwegian sweater, which, not surprisingly, is turing out to be a REALLY warm sweater. (She plans to wear it when visiting her friend in Canada).
Then she swam in a fjord--looks cold. but that has never bothered Catherine when it comes to water. Cold air, yes, water no. And warmed up in a sauna.
She had this lovely looking fish dinner, but was hungry later, which supports my long held contention that fish isn't real food.
Then she visited the Museum of Leprosy. Between 1850 and 1900 Bergen had the largest concentration of lepers in Europe with three hospitals devoted to their care.
After all this, she went to the airport and flew to London arriving about 1:00 a.m. She tried to get onto one of the 24 hour buses, but the driver wouldn't let her on!!! She said that it didn't look as though the bus was full, but he left her stranded alone in London in the middle of the night! She took a taxi to the hostel which cost her 16 pounds. Mom sends angry email to the London bus people.
July 6, 2015 London
Her hostel, Monkey in the Trees, doesn't live up to it's great name. Hard beds that are triple bunks. She's on the bottom, which triggered the unfortunate thought, "Just like Auschwitz." The free breakfast isn't much, toast and tea with maybe hard-boiled eggs. But no matter! Today was finally the long anticipated---the Harry Potter Studio Tour! She slept in, and had a meat pie in honor of the the family reunion we were attending in Butte, Montana. (Note--if you ever go to Butte, a pasty, from Nancy's Pasties is a must).
It sounds like the perfect tour to me. Everyone gathered in the great hall to see a movie about the movies, and then they were set free to explore to their hearts content. Catherine was there for five hours. I'm sure she bought waaaay too much stuff, but, as she says, "I didn't buy half the stuff I wanted."
One of the things that she did buy was this butter beer ice-cream. Best ice-cream she's ever had.
The sets from the films have been maintained. Here's the real Diagon Alley
And the beloved Knight Bus
" A group of Japanese VIPs visited the set and they saw Buckbeak. So they bowed, and he bowed back. So they bowed, and he bowed back and this went on for quite a while until the VIPS begged them to stop so they didn't have to break protocol."
July 7, 2015 London
One great thing about us being home again is that we get to skype with Catherine. We learned that her dorm is a mixed dorm. The first night was all girls, but the second day she was treated to a view of an older gentleman in boxers right at eye-level. We skyped for about an hour and walked with her through the heart of London today. Today she had a full English breakfast, (not at the hostel).
and then went to Trafalger square. Not terribly impressed with the square although it does have a Tardis post box.
Getting a little jaded with travel perhaps? Looks impressive to me.
A pretty girl and a pretty bridge.
From there she went to the National Gallery and saw Van Gogh's sunflowers plus some DaVinci, Raphael etc. She also saw some floating yodas. I wonder if Yoda makes more money than the floating person in Krakow?
Next stop was Westminster Abbey
and after that she skyped us, and Dave helpfully directed her to the most important site in London, the Mr. Pancake truck.
She obligingly ate one--actually the "Big Ben" crepe as she walked across the Thames. The bridge had both a bagpiper and a poem by Wordsworth. She walked by Jubilee Gardens near the London Eye. The plan was to find the Disney Store and Build a Bear and see Handel's house and then call it a day. I'm not sure yet if she saw those things, what she DID find was Hamley's toy store which she says puts FAO Schwartz to shame.
I just knew she'd get to meet the queen!
Only downside there was the guy who flew a nano drone into her head. Along the way, to her delight, she found standing tickets to the Lion King. She bought one and finished the day with the play which she says was amazing.
July 7, 2015 London --Missing
July 8, 2015 London
Interesting situation. The tube system we soon be down until the 10th due to a strike, so Catherine is figuring out the buses. Luckily, she's good at that kind of stuff. Wimbledon is going on, and she went to the courts. Didn't have tickets to see a match, that would have cost a fortune, but did get to serve a ball which won her a free key-ring.
This is the train station at the south fields of Wimbledon, covered in grass.
Next onto 221B Baker street. I assume this was the correct subway station.
She had fish and chips, on Baker Street.
and went to platform 9 3/4,
Then the Disney store which looks to have plenty of Tsums. (Don't ask)
and the post office. After that she was crammed in the tube with everyone else trying to get home before the strike begins. She's been smart about this--she went to all the little odd spots while the tube was working and saved some of the major easy to get to by bus, sites for later.
Sounds like a fun day. The buses were slow, so simply began walking. This is the first time the entire tube system has been down since 2002. Saw the BBC.
And followed it up by seeing the Minion movie. Very nice theater, not crowded, not very air-conditioned and not very buttery popcorn, but a fun show. She especially enjoyed that it was set in London. After that she continued her walk toward Buckingham, but gave up and took the bus after all. The buses weren't so crowded then, but the traffic was terrible. She picked up an ice-cream but failed to pick one up for the queen. She caught the guards in this pose. Queen Victoria once caught the guards talking and so declared that they must face each other silently for 20 minutes every day for the next 100 years.
M and M world. It's much bigger than the one in Las Vegas.
She allowed herself to be scanned to discover her official color. "Your color mood is purple. You have a thirst for knowledge that won't ever be quenched. Same goes for chocolate." Yup. That's accurate.
Moving on, she picked up a book on drawing faces, she says it's the best she's ever seen. Obviously, I will have to borrow this.
Then on to the Ripley's museum. I love these things. And based on the shows like this that I've seen, the British are weirder than anybody. Here are a few of the things she saw:
The original Humbug sweet machine from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
A lovely knitted Ferrari
And this story of Jeremy Bentham---possibly along with Jeremy himself.
And happy days, even though she couldn't get onto the first two buses because they were full, she did get on the third and even got to sit down on the way back to the hostel.
July 10, 2015 London
New Haircut! Buckingham Palace is closed until July 25th. Shame! So she went to the "London Bridge Experience." This is not a real tour of the tower and history, but a silly tour like the Berlin Dungeon (Catherine was selected to be a witch). The second part of the tour was like a haunted house and she skipped that part.
But she did see the real tower and the crown jewels. I love that the English actually use these jewels when occasion demands. Wisely, there is a little conveyer belt that wisks the tourists past these treasures and stops those who would linger too long.
She clued us in on the 37 yeoman guards, whose job it is to guard the queen.
. She took the Yeoman guard tour and found out that each of these uniforms costs 13,000 pounds and the day wear is also crazy expensive. These men have to have served at least 22 years and that service has to have been exemplary. All 37 guards have to live in the tower with their families and are locked in at 10:00 p.m. (Bet that goes over well with their teenage children). There is a chapel in the tower for the guards and only the guards and their descendants have the privilege of being married there.
London was hot today so she went to the British Museum. In America this would have been an air-conditioned experience. Not so in England. What is it with Europeans and air conditioning???? My mother never liked it, but I would think a cool dry climate would be best for museum exhibits. Anyway... she saw some great stuff.
The rosetta stone.
She also saw Egyptian cats and mummies. And found Harry the Hippo. Poor Harry is not as clean as his other hippo friends in other museums. I told her not to worry; he's a hippo.
But she did get me this silver version of Harry!
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