London

I haven't been able to put an update up or comment on blogs for a while. And this is why...we were in London for 3 days!!! And it was fabulous. This post is my journal account of the trip so there are lots of pictures and it will be kind of long.

A couple days before our anniversary Jared made a fun computer presentation to tell me he was taking me to London as his gift for me. I have to admit I was so excited. We planned on going to see the theatrical version of Lion King, but in the end decided to save the money on it. I heard that my grandparents were planning on going to England around that time, so I called them to see if the times would overlap. Jared and I booked our time there for Wed (Apr 1) to Fri (Apr. 3). My grandparents were arriving on the same day but traveling immediately to Cornwall. The airports were so far apart it didn't seem like we would make it to see each other.


All day Thursday and the morning of Friday we tried to call them on their phone in England, but there never was an answer. It is so frustrating to be so close to seeing them and to not have it work it. I so seldom get to see any of my family and it seems like half of the time there is a chance it ends up not working out.

On Tues night we took our girls over to Gma and Gpa's house because we had to be up at 4 in the morning to make it to the airport in Nürnberg by 5am. Our flight left at 6:30 am and we got to England at 6:30am London time. I had such a hard time leaving my girls. They may make me want to rip my hair out, but I sure miss them. Putting Katie in her bed then leaving was the hardest. I have left the others before. But I have not had a night or day without Katie since she was born. I just sat there, holding her and crying.


Day 1
We set the alarm for 4am and arranged for Ray to take us to the airport. I had done the packing the day before and we did the last minute things after we took the girls over to the house. Well, the alarm went off and Jared it snooze. I layed back for just 2 minutes and suddenly woke up and sat bolt upright. I looked at the clock and it said 5:30 We were and hour and half behind schedule. We called Ray and woke him and while we watied for him to come we ran and got ready. I am so glad all we had to do with the bags was grab them a put them in the car. We jumped in the car and sped to the airport. It was so early in the morning that the rush hour traffic hadn't started yet. We and I ran to the check in desk hoping there wasn't a long line. We were so lucky and even got to the gate with about 15 minutes to spare.
The flight was only an hour long and we even got a snack. We flew with Airberlin. I loved how the clouds looked like the batting you put in blankets. I have always loved how no matter what the weather is like on the ground, it is sunny and beautiful out of the windows of the plane. We got to see the sunrise while we were flying. I got pictures of a point were the clouds just ended and when we started going over the Atlantic and once we hit England. I couldn't believe how many cargo ships I could see in one spot. I guess the English Channel is smaller than I thought. It amazed me how different the landscape of England was than Germany. I love all the hedges that separate all the fields.

I have been to London 2 before, but Jared had never been before. So he basically left all the plans to me, even once we got there. I was so excited for several things: a country where English is the main language, a english breakfast, seeing all the sights I remembered and some I hadn't seen before, the beautiful England countryside, and seeing Jared's reactions to things.


We flew into Stansted airport and the weather was so beautiful. Getting through customs was funny. Jared wanted a stamp in his passport, but we were told that he had to go throuhg with his German pass because of the rules for Europeans traveling within the EU. Once through customs we went to a gift shop to buy some pouches to put around our necks so it was less likley that someone could steal anything from us. Jared also bought me a chocolate orange bar (my favorite chocolate in the whole world); the funny thing is that that was the last one we saw the whole time we were in England. I was disappointed.

We took the train from the airport into London (the Liverpool Street station), that took about 45 minutes. Can you believe that we had 2 ladies sitting by us that were speaking German. I was so excited to be surrounded by English and this is the what happens. While we were in England we heard more German than any other language other thant English of course. I couldn't believe it. Where were all these people coming from? They were EVERYWHERE!!!

When we got to Liverpool Street station we bought what are called Oyster Passes (thanks Richy for the tip). With the passes you can ride as much public transportation that you want for a limited cost each day. We sure used it. We went of so many undergrounds and Double-decker buses that we saw most of London that way and really got to know the stations. In the stations they even have spots designated for people who play instruments or do acts for money. I thought it was a pretty cool idea.

This is one of those container that has gravel and salt in it for the ice during the winter. We liked it cuz it is proof that we really were there. By the way, Robby was so nice to let me use his hoody. We were amazed and grateful for how nice the weather was. Only sunshine and I actually got hot in that hoody.

We happened to be in London right when the G-20 summit was being hosted there. This picture is proof that the police were everywhere. We ate breakfast at the McDonalds by our train station. Because of the extra security everywhere no one could throw their garbage away in the garbage cans when they were done eating. We had to give it to the employees. I love the policeman's bobby hat.

This call box is so typically British. This one was outside our train station. I think it was the first picture taken in London. Doesn't he look nice. These call boxes are becoming rare in London now. They have kept several for history and for tourist. Sad to see such iconic things go.

On our way to the McDonalds we found this wonderful statue. It is dedicated to all the children during WWII that fled parts of Europe and came to England. Those plaques along the bottom are the cities that they came from.

This is one of my favorite things that we saw. I had read on the internet that in King's Cross station they had made this set to be like platform 9 3/4 from Harry Potter. (Even though the movie was actually filmed on platform 4 of the station. We got a picture of that too.) It is right next to the actual platform 9. Of course, when I heard that I knew that that was a must see.

We are carrying our bags around because we couldn't check into our hotel until the afternoon and that was several hours away. We didn't want to pay to have them stored. But on our last day we decided that it was smart to store it and just pay the price. Carrying the baggage wasn't such a fun thing for Jared. It did make this picture cool though.

I didn't know that there was two train stations right next to each other. We went into the first one and tried to find King's Cross. I thought maybe it was in the same building as the other, just in a different section. As we were walking I thought I saw the part of the train station where Hagrid and Harry are walking in the first movie. Once we found out that King's Cross a different building I felt pretty silly. Cool pictures though.

They were doing some construction on King's Cross, so we had a bit of a challenge finding it. When we got to platform 9 a security officer noticed us and realized what we were looking for. He asked if we were looking for Harry Potter. Then he showed us the way. It was the coolest thing. It felt like we were there in the movie. I loved it that Jared was excited about it too. When we were leaving we saw some other tourists looking for it too.

Side Note 1: I was nervous about this trip abit, because Jared put me in charge of planning it. I knew what I wanted to see, but not exactly sure what he wanted to see. I just had to guess. He told me a couple things and gave me some very, very vague guidelines. I think he wanted to where I would take him. We wanted to see more than just the usual places, we wanted to see some little known places. Harry Potter was one of them.

Anyway, I loved it each time he got excited about I place I had chosen. Harry Potter was one of them. Even if he wasn't that excited about a particular place we visited he always made it special for me. Always taking lots of pictures. He is such a good sport.

Side Note 2: Since I was living with my parents in Germany I have been cautious about looking like a tourist when we visit places. Because we were in Germany for the military is was drilled into our brains that we should try to blend in as much as possible when touring places, to stay safe. When we were in London it made me nervous when we looked like tourists. I guess old ways of thinking are hard to get rid of.

These headlines were changed each morning and night. This was the headline the morning we got there. Yes, President Obama and his wife got to London the same day we did. He was there for the G20 Economic Summit. I heard about the summit before we left and wondered how it was going to effect our trip. We certainly felt the effects. There were always police escorting diplomats and their staff around. It added a whole new energy and feel to our trip. Proof was everywhere.

This is the famous Picadilly Circus. It reminds me of Times Square in London. Near the end of our trip Jared wanted to go into the stores advertised here. He was disappointed to find that the stores weren't even there. Poor boy. But I did get a cinnabon here. It had been so long since I had had one. It was interesting trying to feed it to myself and Jared on a bus and then in the underground.

After this we made our way to our hotel. It was on the outskirts of London and took 20 minutes by underground to get there. Once off the underground it took us awhile to find, because the streets were't well marked. Finally we found it, checked in and dropped off our luggage. Then we headed back into the city for dinner. We made a couple stops on the way to dinner. I married a genius and this picture of St. Paul's Cathedral is proof of this. Isn't it beautiful.

We had several reasons for wanting to go to St. Paul's. One was just that it is iconic and beautiful. It is probably one of the oldest features of London. I have heard that lead from the original dome is still in the pavement. It melted during the great London fire many centuries ago.

The other reason was because Mary Poppins is one of Anne's favorite movies. She wants to watch it all the time and can even sing the songs. She even recognizes the songs when we listen to my Disney CDs. We wanted to recreate the image of the old bird woman feeding the birds for her. We got a picture of what we thought was the right spot, but discovered the next day while riding a bus that it was the wrong spot. See Day 3 for the actual reenactment.

I love all the spring flowers that were everywhere.

When we got of the underground to go to St. Paul's we saw lots of SWAT teams standing around waiting. Then there were helicopters flying around right in the area. We figured they were either news copters or police copters for the G-20. It wasn't until later that we learned why.

A while before our trip I was watching the commentary on the movie What a Girl Wants, with Colin Firth and Amanda Bynes (good movie). There is a part where they are walking along what they called the Millinium Bridge. I was intrigued, then when we decided to go on this trip, I got more information on it. (One of our out of the ordinary sites to see.) It is right across the street from St. Paul's. So that was the next stop on our London tour.

Here is the view from the bridge. Neat huh? It was made for the new millinium and is just a walking bridge. When we were half way over I made the mistake of stopping and taking some pictures. (You can see the Tower of London and Tower Bridge from the bridge.) Once I had stopped I could feel the natural bounce of the bridge from so many people walking on it. I am so scared of heights and whenever I feel physically insecure. I decided that getting to the other side as quickly as possible was the best thing. Jared thought I was being funny and a bit silly. But I loved the experience anyway.

This is the famous Shakespeare Globe Theater. It is directly across the Millenium Bridge from St. Paul's. Another must see for me. The original, that Shakespeare acted in and had some of his own played acted out in, was also destroyed in the great fire. It has now been rebuilt. Ever since 9th grade English class I have wanted to see it.

Once we were off the bridge we started walking along the pedestrian walking path that runs along the river there. There are several really cool things to see there. Like an old famous prison that gave prisons the name Brink.

This is a replica of the Sir Francis Drake's ship. We were just walking along, came through an alley and found this. Weren't expecting that. My dad loves old ships so it was especially fun to find because of that. I love history, so this was a wonderful unexpected find. Jared loved taking pictures of it. It would have been nice to take a tour, be they are all so expensive we didn't take tours of anything. So I guess there is lots more for us to see whenever we come back.

I didn't include a picture of it, but the while we were going on the walking path along the river we found that we were close to the original location of the famous London Bridge. It has since been torn down and I think sold, but a new one is in its place. That became our next goal to see. We found what we thought was it and even took pictures, then discovered we were wrong, and found the right place.

We had decided to got to Covnant Gardens for dinner. I had been with my grandparents and wanted to see it again. Plus it is famous for the movie My Fair Lady. Once we got to the London Bridge we were going to take a bus, but found out that no buses were running in the direction we wanted to go. We found out why later.

So we walked across and started back tracking in the direction of Covnant Gardens. We wanted to take a traditional cab while we were in London and decided that now was the best time, becasue our destination wasn't too far away, so it wouldn't cost as much.

I have never hailed a cab before, never needed to. So I didn't really want to try, I hate looking silly. Luckily, got a cab that someone was getting out of.

Here is Jared in the cab. The driver was so friendly and informative. He told us what all the police action was for and why the buses weren't running at certain points. And we had also noticed that certain underground stations were not be used. The driver said that it was because of protestors and riots at the financial district. By the Bank of England. It was just an assortment of people wanted to have their voices heard on different subjects. And things got way out of hand. It had even gotten violent. With had been within blocks of it the whole afternoon. It is a bit scary how close it was. I am just grateful that we weren't hurt.

We asked the driver for advice on places to eat. He gave us several suggestions. My favorite was TGI Fridays. That was my vote. Of course, I thought eating in a pub would be fun too. What we found when we go there was that we were strangely under-dressed for a pub. I guess the London pubs are more posh than the ones in the country-side of England that I have been in. That was a disappointment. But some day. I didn't end up having fish and chips like I had wanted either, but there is always next time. The driver said there was lots of mexican food there too, but we didn't find any.

Here is Covnant Gardens. I remember this spot specifically from my time there with my grandparents. They even have a build-a-bear store there. Jared had never seen one, so on the 3rd day I took him in and showed it to him. We would have loved to get one for each of our girls, but couldn't quite afford it this time. But someday we want to get them each one.

This is the spot where they filmed My Fair Lady. I wanted a picture of me sitting by the pillar like Audrey Hepburn. While I was waiting for Jared to take a picture some guys in the restaurant across the street started yelling a me to move. At first I thought maybe I was doing something wrong, but other people were sitting by the building and there were no signs saying we couldn't. I quickly realized they were drunk. Having grown up in Utah I haven't had much experience with drunk people. Just another fun thing to add to our trip.

So after a lot of walking around trying to decide where to eat, then choosing TGI Fridays, we had to walk around some more to find it. Luckily, following my intuition (Jared is learning that when looking for locations I am usually right) we were able to find it. I was so excited, I couldn't stop smiling. It was a little bit of home (America). We looked at the menu to see if it was in our price range (not that would have mattered much to me, I was willing to save in other areas to get to eat there).

I loved every moment of the meal and to stay there longer, but in the end we were both so tired.

Jared and I both ordered hamburgers...it had been so long since we had really had something worthy of being called a restaraunt burger. Jared was amazed at how big it was...this is his amazed face.

It took me awhile to start eating, because once my food was there I got so emotional. It was such a bitter-sweet moment for me. It was all so sureal. It was like being home in America again. I couldn't believe how good it felt, but it also made me soooooooo homesick. Such happiness and homesickness at the same time. I even started crying.

Once I got over my emotional moment, I just sat back and soaked it all in. Of course the food was wonderful. One thing we noticed in England was that all the meals are divided into courses...appetizers, main course and then dessert. We got a deal with all 3. Jared got these mini champaign glasses with different pudding and mousses. It should surprise no one that I got chocolate. I just savored every bite.

After dinner we just headed home to our hotel.

Day 2:

For our second day in London we decided to head to Harrod's first. We had seen it the day before from the window of a double-decker bus. This was one of the highlights for me. I was anxious for Jared to see it. Plus I wanted a souvenir from there also.

As we got of the underground at Harrods we found this headline. This is the riot from the night before that we were just blocks away from. That night when we got home to our hotel we saw more about it on the news. They had actually broken into the Bank of England and stolen some computers and things. They was video of it and everything. It really hit us how close we had been to all of that. We were certainly protected. I still can't believe it. It seems like something from another time in history. I found out later that a man had even died during it.

Harrods is one of the funnest places in the world...and so huge. I love the outfits the people in the confection section wear. It reminds me of Disney World. That is all chocolate. Makes my mouth water.

Now this was a jaw-droppper. It is all made of cake and frosting. Guess how much it costs.....almost 5000 pounds (sorry, no pound sign on the keyboard.). Probably weighs that much too. Jared bought me a beautifully decorated cupcake. It was so pretty I almost didn't want to eat it. But I quickly overcame that, and still don't regret it.

Jared found himself a bbq. We thought Ray would love it too. I love the extra burner and deep- fryer. Another one had lots of counter space and a routissery.

Now this was one of the highlights of the whole trip for me. Jared said that he would buy me 2 books. Now how am I supposed to narrow it down. I thought of Christmas Carol, by Dickens. Some continuing story of some of Jane Austen's novels. And so many other. Jared's back was hurting, so he planted himself down by the interior design books and just stayed there while I searched. Finally I decided I wanted the Chronicles of Narnia. I have never read them and since seeing the movies wanted to try. So the kind man who worked in the book section directed us upstairs to the children and youth section.

Once there, the first thing I saw was this stand of Little Mr and Little Miss books. Oh the momories!!!!! When I was growing up, when we would sleep over at my Gma and Gpa Jensen's house all of us cousins would jump in their bed in the morning. My Gma would read us books. And my Gpa would play bed bugs (tickling us kids). We would also look at my Gma's jewelry and talk about the significance of each and who they would eventually go to. Postman Pat and these ones were our favorite books. They had brought them from England after their many missions there.

Anyway once I saw them I knew I had to have some. I picked some of my favorite (new ones have been added too). That was so hard, but I managed it. We even got some bookmarks for Robby, Richy and Rike of these characters that fit them. We found Chronicles of Narnia, but then I saw Anne of Green Gables and knew that was the one for me. I have never read it. I can't even believe that. I have read Anne of Avonlea and Rainbow Valley though. I read this one in a week I think. I need to collect the others now. Jared had found a lovely interior design book for me. I just love that man. We also got some movies for the girls.

I just deleted a picture of Jared in front of Harrod's I need to put that back in when I make a blog book.

The next stop was the Royal Albert Hall and Hyde Park. I want to someday go in to the Royal Albert Hall for a tour and for a musical event. Perhaps for one of my favorite musicians. I have seen many recording of musicals that I love from the Hall. Someday.....

Anyways even though we didn't go in this was a must see. I had to show Jared the spot where my family had reported a suspicious bag just across the street, when we were here in 1996. And walk through the park like I had with my family so many tWe rimes. I wish I could have found the address for the BYU center, but that didn't happen. Too bad. But we did walk around the park anyway. First we sat on a bench and had the wonderful view above and the Prince Albert Monument in front of us also. Jared and I silently read some of my Little Mr and Little Miss books and just enjoyed the peace and nice weather.

After a short break we began walking again. My feet were killing me. We found this along the way. Apparently there is a walking trail dedicated to Princess Diana. It goes through and around Hyde Park and then on to and around Buckingham Palace and the park there. (Until I took the trip I never realized how close the palace was to Kensington and Hyde Park.) These markers show you which paths to take to stay on the trail.

This picture serves a double purpose. These cars have chueffers in them. They were waiting for the children who were taking tennis lessons at some private courts in the park. The thought of all that wealth and how it is wasted on such unneccessary status symbols and luxuries, was just disgusting to me. And a little infuriating. All I could think about was all the lives that could be improved with all that wasted money.

Also this shows the original carriage path that ran around Hyde Park. I love that they preserved that part of history.

Once we were done at Hyde park we caught another bus to our next destination. But then I realized we had gotten on the wrong bus, so we made a hasty exit at some random spot. And guess what we found...The Hard Rock Cafe. I love the happy, fortunate mistakes. Of course we decided to go in. How could we not?

This is the sign in the Hard Rock Cafe window. For some reason I thought it was hilarious.

When we got on the correct bus we made another stop on the other side of Hyde Park. We needed a break. We found these fun chairs and decided it was the perfect spot. Jared took a little nap while I read my Anne of Green Gables and enjoyed the sunshine and warmth. We found out that they charge for the use of the seats. A little shocked, we paid.

Another example of the security measures in London while we were there. Those are loaded I am sure.

After our little break we made our way to Big Ben and the Houses of Parlament.

When we got off the bus we couldn't see Big Ben yet. When we came around the corner and saw it for the first time Jared said, "Oh!" He is rarely awestruck, but he was then. It was his favorite part of the whole trip...that first glimpse.

Everyone knows that you can't go to London without seeing Westminster Abbey. So must history is contained in its walls. So many fantastic historical figures were married, coronated or buried there. I went in with my family in 1996 and to again. Sadly, they now charge to go in. What a disappointment. We got great pictures though.

This is how we looked most of our trip. We had 2 maps we were constantly consulting. A map of the city and tourist attractions and a map of the public transit system. These 2 things became our best friends. We get maps and guide books at each place we visit. They have made our experiences so much better and we keep them for future reference.

I had to show Jared and get a picture with the statue of Abe Lincoln that is across the street from Big Ben. We took a couple pictures of the wrong statues before we found the right one. I love that the British have a statue of one of the most beloved presidents in American history.

We headed across the river to get a picture of the Houses of Parlament. While were there Big Ben marked the hour for us and we heard the wonderful accustics created by the Thames River. I was tempted to brave my fear of heights to go on the London Eye, but the price made that decision for me.

That evening we ate at a little Italian restaraunt next to our hotel. It was interesting to see how different the British are when they are celebrating. All their proper behavior goes out the door. We watched tv that night. I actually was really disappointed in the tv programs. I had been so excited to see some American programming while I was there, but there was practically nothing. I couldn't believe it.

This is a traditional English breakfast. This was one of the things I was most excited about. We had this at the little bed and breakfast in the Yorkshire Dales when I was there with my family. And I fell in love with it. I was wonderful to have it again.

The Tower of London was our first stop on our last day in London. Actually we stopped at Liverpool Station on the way in to drop off our luggage at the temporary storage there. We didn't want to carry it around everywhere again.

We had a strange encounter when we got off the underground at the Tower of London. Some people were trying to collect money for a charity. Once they figured out we were Americans they changed their tactic. They shoved the cup in front of me and said, "It's for Obama! It's for Obama!" I have noticed this attitude here in Europe. They seem to assume that every American voted for Obama. It kind of annoys me.

This is part of a wall that dates back to the Roman Empire. Hence, the statue of Caesar standing my hubby. I remember this too from my original trip with my family.

I think I forgot to mention that for 2 days we tried desperately to get in contact with my grandparents who arrived in London on the same day we did. But the number they gave us didn't work. It was so disappointing.

The famous Tower of London of course. We look like such tourists.

They had changed a lot of things since the last time I was there. This may have been in preparation for the upcoming Olympics. Or just modernizing things so it looks nice and they can charge more. I remember not needing to pay to at least go into the the inner courtyard. You enter from the river side. Now you enter from the West side and you have to pay for all of it.

I love that the post boxes and so many other things have the official seal from the time of the ruling monarch when they were made. I helps you to get a sense of the long history the British have.

We stopped off at the gift shop that was there at the Tower. We found this replica of a suit of Armour that had belonged to King Henry VIII. That man liked the have all his bits and bobs protected.

This is the entrance you go into now. I have never seen the Crown Jewels and thought that maybe we could this time...until we saw the entrance fee. I love the Beef Eaters. It looks to me that their costumes got a make-over too. A bit sad really. One of the things that I love about the Tower of London is that one of my ancestors, William the Conqueror, built the very beginnings of it, that still exist today.

We stood at this fence for a while just listening to the river waves. It was like a mini beach. I love that sound. This bridge is one of the most beautiful one I have ever seen. I had never seen it up close. Just what you can see from the Tower. So we took a little jaunt up to it. We got a fantastic picture of it, but I seem to have not included it here.

While we were waiting for our next bus we saw this tradtional double-decker bus. They have since modernized them, but you can still see some of the old ones. There is a certain charm about them.

I think it was this bus ride where our bus got hit by a truck. It ripped the mirror right off. So we all got off to wait for the next bus.

No that is not coffee he is drinking. We both wanted some hot chocolate, so we stopped at the Starbucks to get some. Of course, I couldn't pass up the picture opportunity. It was mm...mm good!

As we continued our bus ride I saw this pub and had to get a picture of it. It is called...The Hung Drawn and Quarted. Who chooses a name like that?

Our next stop was at St. Paul's to finally get that photo op we had waited for. We had figured out the right place to do our reenactment of the Mary Poppins scene. We even had some pigeon lure with us.

Here is the much anticipated photo. Some of the pigeons were strange looking. They were missing toes. I couldn't help wondering what could possibly do that to a bird.

Isn't that a beautiful house! It is a long walk to get there but so worth it. We even walked through a little park across the street from it that I had remembered. It has a really pretty veiw of the palace that I wanted Jared to see. Unfortunatley, the little pond was all dried up and that marred the view a bit. But we tried, huh!

Jared was so disappointed that they don't have those big-hat royal gaurd anymore. My guess is that since Sept. 11 they have changed them. I had no idea how much Jared had wanted to see them until they weren't there. They still come out once a day for a traditional Changing of the Gaurd, but we missed that. He was soooo disappointed. I guess he wanted to see something that was so iconic of London.

We made our way to the Gaurd Museum to maybe see some there. We walked the whole way there, and found that it was closed on the day of the week that we were there. I felt so bad. So we continued our walk and got on the underground.

I found this in the bathroom of the underground. I was tempted to get one just to try it out. I wish I had. We made our way back to Covent Gardens for lunch. We walked around abit first. I took Jared into the Build-a-Bear there. I have one that I bought with my sister and it has gone everywhere with me. Jared had never seen one of the stores. So I made sure he saw one there. We would love to take our girls each in turn to go someday to make one of their own. I think Jared was a bit amazed and impressed by it. We also made it into the Disney Store, of course.

And guess what we found as we were walking around again. We found Drury Lane. Who knew that that was there? I certainly didn't. Of course, I had to get a picture of it. It was so pretty too. I love pretty things.

We had our final meal in London at T.G.I Fridays. Would you believe it...Jared got a salad. I have never known him to order a salad for his main meal. In his defence it was a rather large salad with delicious meat on it. I think I got luscious BLT and loved each bite. We were so full after.

After our meal we were so tired we decided to just get on a bus and slowly make our way to Liverpool station to catch our train to the airport. We took a route we had never been on before. I got to see another part of London that is featured in one of my favorite books. It also took us through the financial district, where they had had the riot the days before. We could see the bank that the rioters had broken into . The window was all boarded up. It was kind of eery to see.

We picked up our luggage and got on the train. Jared was so exhausted he just sat back and tried to sleep, or at least rest his eyes. I read while we traveled to Stanstead Airport.

When we got there we headed up to check-in our bags. As we were going up the ramp I realized that Jared had left our large bag in the train. He quickly ran back, before it could leave. Luckily he made it. That would have been bad if we had missed it.

Our final meal in England was in the airport before we got on our plane. It was sad to be leaving. I love England and had fallen in love with London. But it was great to see the girls again. They had a great time while we were gone though. I can't wait to go again. The next time we are going to go to Baker Street, where I have since found out has a wonderful museum about Sherlock Holmes, and to Greenwick and anything else we can see.

One morning while we were in London we called the girls. All I got from Alicia was, "Hi mom, can I talk to Daddy?" I hope she missed me too.