Today we traveled back to the states, but not without one more trip dragging our luggage thru the subways and trains (and with one last stop by the market to stock up on crumpets to take home). Flight to Philadelphia was uneventful, and Kelly had a whole row to stretch out on and get some sleep. Alas, the flight from Philly to Phoenix was delayed by a couple hours due to the frequent closing/reopening of the airport, so we were a couple hours late getting back to Phoenix. Once we arrived, we found that they had cleverly left one of our bags in Philly and would have to get it to us the next day. We finally arrived back at the house around midnight, a bit tired but very glad to be back in our own bed. Strangely, Lily was a bit wary when she saw us, sniffing us like she didn't recognize us. I think she's a little confused after we left for 3.5 weeks, Kelly's parents came for the interim, then we come back. It'll probably take a few days for her to get used to us again.
All in all, the trip was AWESOME. We loved all the places we went, were healthy nearly the entire trip, and it didn't go nearly as quickly as we had feared it might (don't vacations always seem to go faster than you'd like?), but we are also very glad to be home. Thanks for everyone for all your prayers for safe travels; see the link below for photos of the trip, and we look forward to talking more with all of you soon.
J+K
Flickr photos
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
London, Day 5
Today is our last day in London. This morning we went to Geo F. Trumper's, a barbershop in Mayfair, where John got a straight razor shave. Also stocked up on good shaving stuff here and at Taylor's of Old Bond Street.
Next stops were the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. We didn't have time to go in either of them, but we walked all around the Tower of London and over/back the bridge. Great views from the bridge, including the HMS Belfast.
This afternoon we went to go see Spamalot, a "musical (lovingly) ripped off" from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It was truly hilarious, included all the great sketches from the film (not dead yet, French flatulence, Trojan rabbits, et al). They left out a lot of the fluff from the film and included some original songs as well. Good to see the Pythons still going strong, catch the show if you can, I believe it's showing in NYC and Vegas. Word of warning, you will have "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" stuck in your head for at least two hours following.
Had dinner at an old English Pub, where I was informed that Black & Tan is terribly out of style and straight Guinness is now considered more fashionable. Ah, the sacrifices we make. Had a big plate of five cheeses and some more great fish & chips (I'm going to need a serious diet once we return stateside), but Kelly's hamburger was a bit senile; methinks they may have slipped some giblets into it.
We finished off our last day in London with Phantom of the Opera. Kelly had seen it a long time ago and I'd only seen the movie (for shame!), so it was fresh for both of us. The falling chandelier effect was top notch and all the performances/vocals were awesome. A spectacular way to finish our last night in London.
Next stops were the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge. We didn't have time to go in either of them, but we walked all around the Tower of London and over/back the bridge. Great views from the bridge, including the HMS Belfast.
This afternoon we went to go see Spamalot, a "musical (lovingly) ripped off" from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It was truly hilarious, included all the great sketches from the film (not dead yet, French flatulence, Trojan rabbits, et al). They left out a lot of the fluff from the film and included some original songs as well. Good to see the Pythons still going strong, catch the show if you can, I believe it's showing in NYC and Vegas. Word of warning, you will have "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" stuck in your head for at least two hours following.
Had dinner at an old English Pub, where I was informed that Black & Tan is terribly out of style and straight Guinness is now considered more fashionable. Ah, the sacrifices we make. Had a big plate of five cheeses and some more great fish & chips (I'm going to need a serious diet once we return stateside), but Kelly's hamburger was a bit senile; methinks they may have slipped some giblets into it.
We finished off our last day in London with Phantom of the Opera. Kelly had seen it a long time ago and I'd only seen the movie (for shame!), so it was fresh for both of us. The falling chandelier effect was top notch and all the performances/vocals were awesome. A spectacular way to finish our last night in London.
Monday, May 14, 2007
London, Day 4
Busy day today. We walked through Hyde Park (beautiful gardens and lake) and went to Buckingham Palace. It was neat to see the gates and the palace guards (no changing today), but not that much to see at the palace. They do, however, appear serious about keeping people out of the palace property, as they had the most intimidating security fence I've ever seen.
Next we went to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, then on to the London Eye. If you haven't heard of the London Eye, it's basically an enormous Ferris wheel over the river with glass pods that complete one full revolution every half hour. You can see almost the entire city from the top, though it is a bit disconcerting to look straight down thru the capsule and see nothing but some glass and almost 500 feet of air between you and the river. After going up in the Eye, we went to Westminster Abbey, but alas we got there a few minutes after they closed so we didn't get to go inside.
Tonight we saw Les Miserables at the Queen's Theatre. Neither Kelly nor I had seen it before (I don't count the 8th grade production back at Hutch). Very good production, we're both still amazed how well they do stage shows here; the stage transitions and effects are so seamless, music and vocals so crisp, and so many shows you could see two a day for weeks before you saw them all.
Next we went to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, then on to the London Eye. If you haven't heard of the London Eye, it's basically an enormous Ferris wheel over the river with glass pods that complete one full revolution every half hour. You can see almost the entire city from the top, though it is a bit disconcerting to look straight down thru the capsule and see nothing but some glass and almost 500 feet of air between you and the river. After going up in the Eye, we went to Westminster Abbey, but alas we got there a few minutes after they closed so we didn't get to go inside.
Tonight we saw Les Miserables at the Queen's Theatre. Neither Kelly nor I had seen it before (I don't count the 8th grade production back at Hutch). Very good production, we're both still amazed how well they do stage shows here; the stage transitions and effects are so seamless, music and vocals so crisp, and so many shows you could see two a day for weeks before you saw them all.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
London, Day 3
Since the forecast showed rain all day today (in London? Shocking!) and only a couple plays were playing, we decided to visit a couple museums. We started out at the Natural History Museum. We spent about 4 hours there and still didn't see everything. It was fairly crowded with lots of families, probably because it is a Sunday and rainy. They museum is set up very well for children with lots of activities for them to learn hands-on about all kinds of subjects from human biology, earth history, dinosaurs, and the like. We really enjoyed visiting, it was a nice change from all the historical artistic sights.
Next we walked to the adjacent Science Museum which was also very good. We could have spent all day here but only had about 2 1/2 hours. There are 5 full floors of exhibits. We walked through the first floor which takes you through the last 100 years of major inventions/creations such as the first Model T in England, the Apollo 10 Control Module, and the Babbage Difference Engine. We walked through the Flight exhibit which had some really amazing early planes, including a replica of the Wright brothers plane, and several dozen prop and jet engines. We also saw the History of Mathematics and Computing exhibit. Good geeky stuff all around.
After several hours of museums we decided to catch the Tube and head back towards our hotel for dinner. We stopped by The Rock & Sole for dinner again -- you gotta love the British tradition of deep fried everything.
Happy Mother's Day to moms (Carolyn and Linda) We love you both very much!
Next we walked to the adjacent Science Museum which was also very good. We could have spent all day here but only had about 2 1/2 hours. There are 5 full floors of exhibits. We walked through the first floor which takes you through the last 100 years of major inventions/creations such as the first Model T in England, the Apollo 10 Control Module, and the Babbage Difference Engine. We walked through the Flight exhibit which had some really amazing early planes, including a replica of the Wright brothers plane, and several dozen prop and jet engines. We also saw the History of Mathematics and Computing exhibit. Good geeky stuff all around.
After several hours of museums we decided to catch the Tube and head back towards our hotel for dinner. We stopped by The Rock & Sole for dinner again -- you gotta love the British tradition of deep fried everything.
Happy Mother's Day to moms (Carolyn and Linda) We love you both very much!
Saturday, May 12, 2007
London, Day 2
Today was another exciting day in London. The rain wasn't too bad today - just a drizzle here and there and one huge downpour in the afternoon.
This morning we started our day by taking the Tube to Notting Hill (mind the gap!). We spent several hours walking through the endless array of vendors at Portobello Market. The market comes to life on Fridays and Saturdays and is primarily known for the antiques. The food and produce area of the market was amazing. We never did find the blue door for the travel bookshop. Oh well.
This afternoon we visited the National Gallery museum . We have seen so much religious artwork in Italy and Paris that we very quickly walked through that section to get to the great Impressionism exhibit they have through the end of May. There was an entire room of only Monet's work along with several other rooms with Renoir, Manet, Pisarro, Picasso, as well as many others. Outside the Musee d'Orsay in Paris this was the biggest selection of Impressionist artwork we have seen, although this was the best display of Monet's work including a couple of the Water Lilies.
Next we spent some time walking around Covent Gardens, which is another market that is mostly covered, a welcome blessing given the nearly constant drizzle. There are several performers around doing skits, playing instruments, or singing. Great place to sit and do some people watching. We had tickets for a play tonight at a theater that was only a couple of minutes walk from Covent Gardens so we decided to get some dinner at a quaint little restaurant called La Boheme, right across the street from the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.
The best part of our day was seeing Lord of the Rings play tonight. The play has not even officially opened yet. The play opened for preview on the 9th of May and will has the official opening in June. We had seats in the center about 2/3rd up the bottom stalls. The set was unbelievable and the cast was very good. We both thought that the actor playing Gollum did the best job at bringing the character to life. The play lasted 3 hours with one 10 min intermission and another 5 minute pseudo-intermission that consisted mostly of Orcs scaring the pants off various audience members. It was difficult at first to not expect the same scenes and exact story as the movies. There were some differences in the story line but the producers did a great job in bringing the overall storyline to life on stage. The special effects done with the Nazgul (black riders), Shelob (spider), and Orcs was really good.
This morning we started our day by taking the Tube to Notting Hill (mind the gap!). We spent several hours walking through the endless array of vendors at Portobello Market. The market comes to life on Fridays and Saturdays and is primarily known for the antiques. The food and produce area of the market was amazing. We never did find the blue door for the travel bookshop. Oh well.
This afternoon we visited the National Gallery museum . We have seen so much religious artwork in Italy and Paris that we very quickly walked through that section to get to the great Impressionism exhibit they have through the end of May. There was an entire room of only Monet's work along with several other rooms with Renoir, Manet, Pisarro, Picasso, as well as many others. Outside the Musee d'Orsay in Paris this was the biggest selection of Impressionist artwork we have seen, although this was the best display of Monet's work including a couple of the Water Lilies.
Next we spent some time walking around Covent Gardens, which is another market that is mostly covered, a welcome blessing given the nearly constant drizzle. There are several performers around doing skits, playing instruments, or singing. Great place to sit and do some people watching. We had tickets for a play tonight at a theater that was only a couple of minutes walk from Covent Gardens so we decided to get some dinner at a quaint little restaurant called La Boheme, right across the street from the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.
The best part of our day was seeing Lord of the Rings play tonight. The play has not even officially opened yet. The play opened for preview on the 9th of May and will has the official opening in June. We had seats in the center about 2/3rd up the bottom stalls. The set was unbelievable and the cast was very good. We both thought that the actor playing Gollum did the best job at bringing the character to life. The play lasted 3 hours with one 10 min intermission and another 5 minute pseudo-intermission that consisted mostly of Orcs scaring the pants off various audience members. It was difficult at first to not expect the same scenes and exact story as the movies. There were some differences in the story line but the producers did a great job in bringing the overall storyline to life on stage. The special effects done with the Nazgul (black riders), Shelob (spider), and Orcs was really good.
Friday, May 11, 2007
London, Day 1
Today is our first full day in London. The weather forecast is rain all day. We decided to head towards Leicester Square to check out the half-price theater tickets, where we acquired tickets for Stomp tonight. Took the Tube to Harrods. We had original planned to do a couple of museums today but found that Harrods was much larger than we had anticipated. We did a lot of window shopping and bought a few gifts and later walked to Hamley's toy store to look around.
Tonight we had dinner at the Rock and Sole (Fish and Chips) which was very good and then went to the Vaudeville Theatre to see Stomp. You can check out the website for the show at http://www.stomp.co.uk. It is similar in creative style to Blue Man Group. There are 7 performers creating music from many various objects such as brooms, trash cans, and plungers. Highly recommended.
Tonight we had dinner at the Rock and Sole (Fish and Chips) which was very good and then went to the Vaudeville Theatre to see Stomp. You can check out the website for the show at http://www.stomp.co.uk. It is similar in creative style to Blue Man Group. There are 7 performers creating music from many various objects such as brooms, trash cans, and plungers. Highly recommended.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Paris/London
Our time in Paris comes to an end, but we head on to London today. We have had a great time in Paris. It truly is a beautiful city. We have seen and explored so much yet there is still so much we haven't seen.
We took the subway to the train station which was fun with our luggage, especially for John lugging both suitcases up and down all the stairs. It wasn't too bad. We made it to the train station to take the Eurostar to London, about a 3 hour trip including the three stops prior to getting into Waterloo Station. We experienced the British hospitality a couple times today when someone offered to carry one of our suitcases down a flight of stairs for us, then later a older chap on the street offered to help us when we were looking at our map to figure out which way we needed to head to find the grocery store.
It has rained all evening and is pretty cold here. Tomorrow the next adventure begins!
We took the subway to the train station which was fun with our luggage, especially for John lugging both suitcases up and down all the stairs. It wasn't too bad. We made it to the train station to take the Eurostar to London, about a 3 hour trip including the three stops prior to getting into Waterloo Station. We experienced the British hospitality a couple times today when someone offered to carry one of our suitcases down a flight of stairs for us, then later a older chap on the street offered to help us when we were looking at our map to figure out which way we needed to head to find the grocery store.
It has rained all evening and is pretty cold here. Tomorrow the next adventure begins!
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Paris, Day 5
Today we took a bike tour to Monet's house and gardens. We took a train to Vernon, where we stopped for picnic fixins (cheap Roquefort cheese and Riesling!), then picked up our bikes for the short ride to Giverny. The town where his house is very small and quaint, and surprisingly not overrun with tourists. We didn't realize that many of Monet's famous paintings (water lilies, etc) were painted at his house and that all the gardens were designed by him specifically as painting subjects. The gardens were absolutely amazing -- highlight of the entire trip so far. You can see in real life the water lilies, Japanese bridge, his house, all the things that you've already seen in his paintings. I could spend an entire week here just soaking in the environment; it is so peaceful and idyllic, not to mention exceedingly photogenic.
Took another walk down to the Eiffel Tower tonight for some sunset photos of the tower and the river (and some fire juggling!).
Took another walk down to the Eiffel Tower tonight for some sunset photos of the tower and the river (and some fire juggling!).
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Paris, Day 4
Today we went to the Musee d'Orsay (Orsay Museum), where they have the world's largest collection of impressionist art. The museum is built in what used to be a train station, so the architecture is very unique. The museum is enormous (not Louvre-caliber, but still a few miles of walking) and has an astounding collection of paintings, sculptures, and decorative artifacts. They had an exhibit specifically on the Forests of Fontainebleau, where all the cool impressionist painters flocked around the turn of the 20th century to learn to paint landscapes. A trip to Fontainebleau for a photo expedition and rock-climbing (thanks for the tip Marvin!) just got added to my "must do before I die" list.
Today we also visited the Louvre gardens (aka the prime "make out in the shrubs" destination in Paris) and the Louvre's glass pyramids. Dinner tonight was at an Italian place (what is it with Italian food?!) on the Champs d'Elysées and another visit to the Arc d'Triomphe, where they're now flying a ginormous French flag, presumably celebrating their new President.
Today we also visited the Louvre gardens (aka the prime "make out in the shrubs" destination in Paris) and the Louvre's glass pyramids. Dinner tonight was at an Italian place (what is it with Italian food?!) on the Champs d'Elysées and another visit to the Arc d'Triomphe, where they're now flying a ginormous French flag, presumably celebrating their new President.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Paris, Day 3
Today we went to the Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart) Basilica, a church at the top of a hill where you can climb to the top and get a spectacular view of Paris for 30 miles in every direction. Next stop was the Notre Dame Cathedral: grand Gothic architecture and gargoyles, and the most impressive stained glass we've ever seen.
Next stop was Luxembourg Gardens, a sprawling park with lots of fountains, impeccably manicured gardens, and plenty of benches and lounge chairs to enjoy it all.
Next stop was Luxembourg Gardens, a sprawling park with lots of fountains, impeccably manicured gardens, and plenty of benches and lounge chairs to enjoy it all.
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Paris, Day 2
Today we went to the Louvre. Wow. The scale of the Louvre just dwarfs every other museum we've ever been to. It would probably take a week just to walk through the whole Louvre, and three weeks if you actually wanted to stop and look around on your way. Of course, we decided to do it in a day. Highlights: Mona Lisa (of course), Venus de Milo, Egyptian hieroglyphics/sarcophagi/mummies (including a mummified crocodile), history of the Louvre (raise your hand if you knew it had been around for 800 years), and the amazing angular architecture of the glass pyramids of the museum itself. Alas, we didn't even scratch the surface of all the Louvre has to offer; we'll just have to make another trip back later to truly do it justice.
Dinner tonight at Le Lotti, the restaurant next to our hotel (Hotel Jolly Lotti). Good food, though the maître d' was a bit snooty.
Today the French elected their new president, Nicolas Sarkozy. We had gotten back from dinner and were watching French CNN on TV and saw that the president was about to make an appearance at Place de la Concorde (a huge public square with a gold-tipped obelisk flanked by fountains) and realized it's about a quarter mile from our hotel! So we head downstairs to check out the scene -- a hundred thousand French people, what amounted to a free rock concert, and preventive police everywhere . Amazing sight, tons of people dancing in the streets, street vendors selling crepes/nutella (yum!), people just knowing how to enjoy themselves. Good times all around.
Dinner tonight at Le Lotti, the restaurant next to our hotel (Hotel Jolly Lotti). Good food, though the maître d' was a bit snooty.
Today the French elected their new president, Nicolas Sarkozy. We had gotten back from dinner and were watching French CNN on TV and saw that the president was about to make an appearance at Place de la Concorde (a huge public square with a gold-tipped obelisk flanked by fountains) and realized it's about a quarter mile from our hotel! So we head downstairs to check out the scene -- a hundred thousand French people, what amounted to a free rock concert, and preventive police everywhere . Amazing sight, tons of people dancing in the streets, street vendors selling crepes/nutella (yum!), people just knowing how to enjoy themselves. Good times all around.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Paris, Day 1 (Kelly's Birthday!)
Kelly turned the BIG 3-0 today! It was a really sunny day so we walked along the Seine river all the way from our hotel to the gardens around the Eiffel Tower. The whole city is designed so well for walking everywhere: tons of beautiful parks with benches, pedestrian bridges, everything manicured so well. Didn't go up in the Eiffel Tower since the lines were obscenely long, so we walked down the other side of the river to the Arc d'Triomphe, then down the Champs d'Elysées. We ate dinner at an awesome Italian place called Pizza Pino (apparently we didn't get enough Italian food in Italy) and tried some REALLY good carpacchio (according to John at least -- Kelly's not a big fan of raw meat). Finished off the day with a nice walk through the park on the way back to the hotel.
Friday, May 4, 2007
Rome/Paris
Today we spent most of our day traveling from Rome to Paris. It was raining all morning in Rome and on the way to the airport. There was some sort of transit labor strike in Rome today so the tour bus took us along with 4 other couples to the airport. We left at 9:45 in the morning from the hotel in Rome and arrived in Paris around 6:30PM. Our driver was waiting for us when we arrived at the airport. It took over an hour and a half to get to the hotel from the airport because of the traffic. We got settled in the our room (which was suprisingly spacious) and headed for dinner around 9:30. The concierge gave a recommendation for a restaurant named Imperial. I was very good although I am really spoiled with non-smoking restaurants at home.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Rome
Busy day in Rome today. We had a tour of Vatican City: St Peter's Basilica and St Peter's Square (including the hysterical Swiss Guard uniforms - Michelangelo must have been on LSD that day). Also saw the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Pantheon, and the Spanish Steps. Tonight we had a very good last dinner with our tour group at the Mangrovia Restaurant.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Siena/Rome
Today we travelled from Montecatini to Rome. Along the way we stopped in Siena, where we walked around town for a while and checked out another church the name of which I don't recollect (they all blend together after a while). We stopped at a little café for a cappuccino and John cleverly left the camera in the café; luckily it was still there when we returned after a few minutes. Once we got to Rome we elected to try the local McDonald's cuisine - apparently "Chicken Mystic" is the local favorite. Can't recommend McDonald's in Italy - not that different from the states, but three times the mayo.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Florence
Today is Labor Day in Italy, so some of the museums and shops are closed. We were able to go into one with a local tour guide. It was right across the street from the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral. What is a museum now was once the area where the artist and architects worked when the cathedral was being constructed. One of the rooms was where Michelangelo sculpted David.
Later in the day we hiked 463 stairs to the top of the Duomo which is part of the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral. The view from the top was incredible. It was like a sea of fiery tile roofs. The rest of the day we walked around, sat on the steps of the cathedral eating a sandwich, and visited a few leather shops.
Later in the day we hiked 463 stairs to the top of the Duomo which is part of the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral. The view from the top was incredible. It was like a sea of fiery tile roofs. The rest of the day we walked around, sat on the steps of the cathedral eating a sandwich, and visited a few leather shops.
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