I am done traveling....

...but Amy left Thursday for New York City. We celebrated her 19th birthday on Wednesday, she stayed up all night packing, and at 6:00 AM Thursday we took Amy and Patricia to LAX for their flight to the Big Apple. She has a travel blog and there is a link to it here. The girls are already having a great adventure.

Since my big trip is over I no longer have a need for a travel blog, so I guess it is time to shut it down. I will leave it on Blogger for awhile but probably won't be posting on it any longer. Once again I am back to my normal, boring life and can't imagine that anyone would be interested in anything I have to say.

Mandy returns from London on June 17, Amy returns from NYC on June 28 - and I look forward to having all 3 of my babies home for a few weeks this summer.

That's all folks!

Full success!!

I did it! All of my pictures are now up on the Picasa site. Just click on the link to your right and it should take you there.

Nighty-night...

Partial success!

I have posted my Paris pictures on Picasa. There is a link to the right - just click and enjoy!

Back to work again - on London.

Every picture tells a story

OK - I put photos on all of my postings today. Just scroll down and take a look. I am now trying to get all the other photos on the web. I will let you know when they are ready.

Back to work!

Suddenly I am a morning person?

This jet lag thing really sucks. Today I was wide awake at 5:30 AM, and you all know that is just not me. Well, at least I have been going through mail, catching up on my recorded TV shows, and in general getting back to life as normal. It is good to be home, sleeping in my own bed, with my feather pillows that I love. And seeing Steve and Matt, of course. That goes without saying.

Amy comes home from USC today. She has completed her first year of college! But she will only be home for 2 weeks until she leaves for New York City. She flies out on May 29, the day after her birthday, and won't return until June 28. She has been working hard all semester in 2 of the campus libraries to earn the money for this trip. She and her friend Patricia will be staying with Patricia's cousin in Queens and spending a month exploring New York.

Mandy flies home from London on June 17. It will be nice to have all my kids home for a little while this summer.

I downloaded all of my photos, all 674 of them. I will work on getting some of them posted to my blog later today. First I have an emergency hair and nail appointment. Important things first!

P.S. This is our breakfast in Paris!

California here I come!

Well, this is it folks. In a few minutes Mandy and I are getting on the tube and heading to the airport with 2 heavy bags and one carry-on. I am bringing back some of Mandy's winter clothes since it doesn't appear she will need them again.

Yesterday she took her last final exam and is feeling very relieved. Tonight she and her friends have a pub night planned to celebrate. I spent yesterday in the old City of London. I went to St. Paul's Cathedral and paid the exorbitant 10 pounds to get in and see all of it. Funny that all of the museums in London are free but you have to pay to get into the churches. I had to see the church where Prince Charles and Lady Diana were married. I actually got up in the middle of night to watch their wedding, many years ago.

After that I walked across the Millennium Bridge and went to the Tate Modern Art Gallery. Saw Picasso's, Rothko's, Pollack's, another of Monet's Waterlillies and more beautiful art. But the strangest piece was a stainless steel chain hanging from the 20 foot ceiling to the floor, stacked the whole way with pieces of soap, used soap, in all shapes and sizes and colors. Now this was a cool idea, but does it really deserve to hang in the Tate Modern in London? I am not so sure about that. To me it was just a glorified soap on a rope.

Then Mandy met me in the evening and we went to Shakespeare's Globe to see A Midsummer Night's Dream. It was so great. We had perfect seats and the play was so funny! Loved everything about it. We sat on wooden benches with no backs, didn't especially like that, but everything else was great. You can still stand in front of the stage for only 5 pounds - be a Groundling - but sitting was much better for the 3 hours.

Since it was so late we took a taxi back to the hotel, and were lucky enough to get a cabbie who got lost (or pretended to do so). Mandy was so mad. We ended up telling him to let us out a few blocks away so we could walk and not pay him even more money.

I leave London at 5:00 PM their time and land in L.A. at 8:00 PM California time. Weird. I feel a few days nap coming on.

I will get all my pictures up soon and will let you know when they are ready. See you soon. Cheers!

Where time begins

Sunday was Mother's Day (U.S., not U.K.) and we started the day by going out for the full English breakfast, since out hotel serves a mini version. Mandy treated, said it was my Mother's Day Brunch (my apologies to all of my usual Mother's Day Brunch guests).

After breakfast we went to Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guard. Luckily we got there 90 minutes early and got a good spot on the stairs. There were so many people there! And it was the hottest day so far with strong sun, no clouds and no breeze. I was outside all day and actually got a sunburn.

After the ceremony Mandy went to study and I was planning to take the train to Greenwich, where time begins. However the train was not running that day, so I changed plans and decided to go to Madame Tussaud's. I got on the tube, and changed plans again by getting off at Picadilly Circus since I hadn't seen it yet. It was supposed to be a quick stop but I decided to get on one of the London tour buses, and lo and behold the bus tour also included a river cruise and the river boat just happened to go to Greenwich! My lucky day! So I got a great tour of London on the top of a double decker bus, out in the sun, hence more sunburn - and a trip to Greenwich. It was a long walk from the boat dock to the top of the hill where the Greenwich Observatory is, and I only had one hour until the last boat was leaving. So I walked through town, then through a beautiful hilly park and up to the Observatory. The view was spectacular and the Prime Meridian line and clock were there. Quick look, took photos then walked back and made it just in time to get on the last boat. Success!

Oh yeah, about the dress I bought in Notting Hill. I wore it on Sunday because it was so cool and summery and cute. Well, it started falling apart after Mandy and I went our separate ways, and continued to fall apart all throughout the day. So here I was, all over the city in a dress that was coming apart. Luckily I had on leggings and a tank top under it, but I wonder what all the comments were behind my back that day.

Yo Sushi!

This is the name of the restaurant we ate in Saturday night. It is a sushi place where the food comes out on a conveyor belt that goes down the whole length of the restaurant and then comes back to the sushi chef, then around again. You just look at what is going by and if looks good you take it. The color of the dish tells you how much it costs. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes not.

During the day Saturday we went to Notting Hill and the world-famous Portabello Market. It was the longest outdoor market I have ever seen. The stands are along the sidewalk on both sides of Portabello Street the entire length of Notting Hill. Everything you can imagine is there, including fresh produce that looked delicious. I learned a good lesson there however. Don't buy any cute, summery and inexpensive dresses there. More on that later...

In Notting Hill we found the cutest bakery! It is called Hummingbird Bakery and had a line to get in so we figured it must be good. They had all kinds of cupcakes and cakes. Mandy had a piece of strawberry cake and I had vanilla cake which we ate there. The slices were HUGE and so sweet and so delicious. We also bought some cupcakes to take back to the hotel, also delicious. Yummy!

I have been eating a lot on this trip, but also walking miles a day and climbing stairs constantly. After only two weeks I can already see a difference in my stamina and strength, and my feet hardly ever hurt anymore! I need to keep up some of this when I get home, even though I am looking forward to sitting on the couch (or bed) and catching up on my tivo.

Portaloo

           




In a land of funny signs - and I have taken pictures of a lot of them - this was the funniest sign I have ever seen. It was on the side of a portable rest room at the train station, platform 18. Portaloo!

BTW - these crazy Brits not only drive on the wrong side of the street, they also walk on the left side of the sidewalk - but only sometimes - so you never can tell which side to walk on when you are about to crash into someone. A little confusing.

On Friday I gave Mandy the day off from entertaining me since she was getting a little stressed about studying for her exam. I went to Covent Garden on my own. It is a fun place. An outdoor market, cute shops and some amazing street performers. I saw a guy get out of a straight jacket in 90 seconds, another guy walk across a tight rope while juggling knives and the best painted man looking like a statue that I have ever seen. He was completely covered in copper paint.

I called Mandy in the evening - from an actual red phone booth! - and met her and her friend Jessie for dinner. Jessie suggested a Mexican restaurant and it was pretty good. I even had a margarita and it was delicious, though small. Almost felt like home. But not quite...

Dateline: May 8, Cavern Club, Liverpool

"Sheri, is that you? Remember me? We have met before. (aside: 'No.') You are famous, right?(another aside: 'No!') Here, take my picture with Sheri (said to a friend of this crazy man). Remember when we met? One year ago, outside L.A. (aside: 'Mandy, did you set me up?' 'No, Mom!') You were really drunk at the time. That is why you don't remember." Now I KNEW she set me up!!!! Everyone started laughing, including Mandy and the crazy Swedish man. When I was in the restroom they cooked up this little joke on Mom. Mandy said it was all his idea.

These 4 crazy Swedes were in Liverpool, claiming that they were performing the next night at the Cavern Club (the club where the Beatles got their start). They said their band is called Roxette and they had a song in Pretty Woman. Then the bartender brought us shots of Sambuca, which is NASTY. They tried to get us to stay and they would buy us more drinks, but we politely declined and got out of there!

It was really cool to be in the Cavern Club though. And we took a ferry across the Mersey River. We got to Liverpool on the train, about 2 1/2 hours each way for just a one day trip. The English people that heard we did that in one day were amazed. They don't travel that far without spending the night. They can't comprehend that driving the freeways for that long in one day is pretty commonplace in California, unfortunately.

The Old Vic

I forgot to mention that on Wednesday night we went to The Old Vic to see Pygmalion (My Fair Lady with no music). The Old Vic is the oldest theater in London and is just a few blocks from where Mandy lives. Kevin Spacey is the artistic director there now, and in fact he lives in Mandy's neighborhood when he is in London.

The play was fantastic. We sat in the second row, so had a great view. Even had a glass of wine before the performance. Good fun.

Good Day Sunshine!

I don't think I have mentioned the weather! The only day we have had rain was our first day in Paris for about 3 minutes. Since then it has been either partly cloudy or sunny, mostly sunny - with the temperature in the 70's. It is supposed to be in the 80's tomorrow! I told Mandy that I think she has been lying to me about the rain and gloom in London. Either that or I brought the California weather with me.

And it stays light so late here. The sunset is at about 7:30 PM but it doesn't get totally dark until about 9:00 PM. It is so cool. I love it.

Cheers!

So much fun, so little time to write!

It has been a few days since my last post. This has mostly been because we have been so busy and gotten back to the hotel so late. Also, the internet was acting up and Mandy was stressed. We can't take any chances on screwing up her computer right before her last final exam. So today she is off studying and I am paying 1 pound for 30 minutes on the hotel computer. I gave her the day off from entertaining me. I can get around pretty good by myself now. She did a good job of orienting me to the joys of public transportation. She hasn't even called me a spaz in awhile!

On Tuesday after her exam we went to Oxford Street, which is where all the normal people shop. It was so crowded and crazy! Mandy's favorite shop here is Primark because the clothes are so cheap. She bought 3 cute dresses, one for 10 pounds and two for 12 pounds each. That price is practically unheard of in this city. We have been eating at least once a day in a pub. The pub food is always good and also a good price, and of course the drinks are cheap. My coke (with ice!) and her cider.

Wednesday we went to Camden Town, where they have these markets all the time. That was so fun. The area is really funky and full of young people, bright colors on the buildings, lots and lots of goth stores for some reason, and the home of Amy Winehouse. We were hoping to see her but didn't. She is a mess, that one. We also went to the British Library where we saw original Beatles lyrics, a Guttenburg Bible, an original copy of the Magna Carta and many other ancient written works. Amazing. Oh yeah, we went to Kings Cross Station and saw Platform 9 3/4! Mandy was disgusted because it wasn't between Platform 9 and 10 so it was a fake. I tried to tell her that there is no such thing as a real magic platform. Poor girl - I felt like I was telling her there is no such thing as Santa Clause.

Yesterday we took the train to Liverpool. I will post on that later. It needs it's own post, for sure!
I am now off to Covent Garden, and to buy a new card for my camera. I already filled up the one I brought!

The squirrel whisperer

So I was on my own on Monday and had a great time. After spending many hours in Harrod's (more on that in a minute) I walked over to Hyde Park, and upon walking in spotted many squirrels scurrying back and forth. Or as Amy likes to say - the squirrels were twitterpated! The reason for this was a woman on a bench with a baggie full of peanuts in the shell. These crazy squirrels actually ran up her leg and sat and waited until she offered them the peanut. Can you imagine?! It was amazing! I got some great shots and hope I can get them posted soon. Mandy's hard-drive is completely full, so downloading my pictures to her computer is a risky business. When we did it the other night I chose a few to post on the blog and then she deleted all of them from her iPhoto. They are still on my camera of course, all 350 of them so far.

Harrod's was an unbelievable experience. The store has 4 1/2 acres of retail space dedicated to the excesses of consumerism. I think I was there for about 4 hours, which included having lunch at the Pizzeria counter (the first wood-fired pizzas in London) and dessert at Mo's Diner (so called "American diner food"). The pizza was delicious and the dessert good also. My "apple pie" was actually an apple tart.

Harrod's is so big that there are signs everywhere directing you, a map to follow and people all over the store to further help you. Mohammed Al-Fayid sure is paying a lot of people to just stand around in that store. But it is so great to shop in London. None of the sales people ever bother you unless you ask for their help. They just stand there looking available. Mandy's friend Jessie said that English people hate walking into stores in the U.S. and being badgered by fake-sounding sales people. I must say I agree.

I did buy a very few tiny little souvenirs in there. Honest, Steve. Very few and very tiny. I took quite a few pictures in there also, especially of the food halls. It was amazing.

Hyde Park was beautiful, and I only saw one corner of it because it was getting late. I took some pictures of myself since I was a person with no friends yesterday. (ha-ha) I took the Tube there and back all by myself. Luckily it was only one line, since Mandy says I am a spaz when it comes to public transportation. I'm getting a little better, and after all I am a native Californian. We don't take public transportation and we don't walk. All we can do is drive!

BTW - we never did get to the pub for that football game on Sunday. Turns out the game was early in the day. I hope we can make it to one later in the week.

As I write this Mandy is sitting for the first of her two final exams. She finishes in an hour and then will meet me here at the hotel so we can go off on some more adventures. My feet are feeling better each day. Guess I am starting to get used to all this exercise!

Guarding the horses is serious business

This poor guard of the horses. He has to come out of the gate and try to look serious, even when stupid tourists stand next to him for a silly photo op. Fun for us, sucks to be him. Mandy said it is probably a great honor to have his job, but I really think this is how they punish the bad guards!

We walked to Trafalger Square today. Went into the National Gallery and saw more priceless works of art. We saw one of Van Gogh's famous sunflower pictures, and another of Monet's water lillies. They also have works by Renoirt, Cezanne, Degas. Beautiful. After that we walked by Downing Street, but you can't get anywhere close to 10 Downing anymore. Too many guards and high security. All you can do is peer down the street through the black iron gates. Poor Gordon Brown and his Labor Party seem to be in trouble, since on Saturday they lost many seats in Parliament to the Conservative Party and also lost the mayorship of London to a flamboyant and crazy-looking Conservative guy. We then walked down to Parliament and Big Ben. On the way back we had dinner at another awesome pub - nachos! Well, it is almost Cinco de Mayo!

Tomorrow Mandy will spend the day studying for her exam on Tuesday and I will be on my own. I plan to take the tube over to Harrod's for some window shopping. (Honest, Steve!) Also will go to Hyde Park and see what else strikes my fancy.

I won't have access to Mandy's computer until Tuesday night, so if  I can't use the hotel computer I won't be posting for a couple of days.

P.S. I added some pictures to previous posts, so scroll down and take a peek!

London calling!

We made it to London! It is so nice to be back in the land of the English language. I keep having to stop myself from saying Bonjour, mercie, au revoir. I had gotten quite used to that in 3 days, but now we are back to the comfortable English.

Before we left Paris yesterday we visited the Luxembourg Gardens. It is very beautiful, and since the sun was out with not a cloud in the sky the gardens were full of sunbathers and families with children. The big fountain had little french boys and girls running around it with long poles to push their sailboats round and round. So cute. They also had little ponies and donkeys for the kids to ride, go karts they could race - all in all a fun place for kids to spend a warm and sunny day.

We decided to take a cab to the train station this time, didn't have the energy for the stairs in the Metro and the heavy luggage. We got to the train station an hour early but the French aren't good with providing directions. They never posted our track number, so Mandy went in search of information and discovered we were supposed to check in upstairs. By the time we got up there and got through immigration, customs, security (British security is very tight these days) our boarding was over and they wouldn't let us on. We only had to wait an hour for the next train so it wasn't too bad. 

When arriving in London we took a black cab (so cute!) to the hotel, mainly so we wouldn't have to wander looking for our hotel like we did in Paris. We are at the Harlingford Hotel, which is actually a B & B in a Georgian townhouse. It is cute, but the room is very basic. Looks a little like a dorm room. However it is very comfortable and cozy and clean, and the location is perfect. Our breakfast today was good, but apparently about 1/4 the size of the usual English breakfast. I think that is a good thing actually.

In a few minutes we are heading over to Mandy's flat and to see the sights on her end of town. Trafalger Square, Big Ben, Parliament, etc. And tonight we are going to the pub to watch a football (soccer) game with the crazy English fans. Can't wait!

Oh yeah, last night I had my first authentic British fish and chips in an Irish pub! Mandy had a steak and ale pie with mash.

Oscar, je t'aime!

We did it Amy! We both kissed Oscar Wilde's tomb for you, and took pictures for you too. That tomb is trippy. It is the only one in the cemetary that is "defaced," in spite of the plaque that warns you not to. It is covered with lip prints and writing. We also saw Jim Morrison's grave, Sarah Bernhardt's, Proust, Balzac and a few more famous people that I can't think of right now. I took a ton of pictures there. You know how I love old cemetaries and this one was the best ever.

I am really hurting today. My feet, my legs, my back...We started the day by walking to the Museé D'Orsay again, and because it was closed yesterday today it was mobbed. They had one of those Disneyland-type lines. We decided to go to the cemetary first and come back. By the time we got back it was about 4:15 and it closes at 6:00, and the line was almost as long. But we were determined so we got in line. We got in to the museum at 4:50 and headed straight to the 5th floor to see the Impressionists. It was amazing! We saw Whistler's Mother, Van Gogh's self-portrait and his bedroom, some of Monet's water lillies, Manet, Cezanne, Degas and Toulesse Letrecc (sp?). I am so glad we persisted along with the other million tourists. Apparently this May Day holiday is all over Europe. I have never heard so many languages all in one place. All of Europe seems to be in Paris right now. Lucky us! And did you know the Spaniards never say excuse me? And the French never move out of your way on the sidewalk when you are coming toward each other? Mandy keeps saying I am too nice and shouldn't move either, but I know they would just knock me into the street. Just as I am convinced that the French cars would rather run me over than stop for me. She says I am paranoid. (Not me...)

After the D'Orsay we walked over to the Louvre and ate dinner at the Cafe Marley, overlooking the glass pyramid. Steve, Matt, Mandy and I ate there last time we were in Paris. We both had some yummy pasta and a delicious tomato and mozzarella appetizer. Then we walked back to the Latin Quarter on the other side of the Seine, returned to the hotel and DIED. I am going upstairs to crash in a few minutes. Tomorrow afternoon we head back to London. In the morning we plan to go to the Luxembourg Gardens and the Shakespeare & Co. Store.

Next post will be from London. Over and out!