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We got up at 5:00 AM to get ready to go. We pulled our luggage (two bags each plus carry ons and purses) about four blocks to the underground. We made it and bought ONE WAY tickets to Heathrow Terminal 1-2-3. We managed to get us and everythng on by working together. We arrived to find we had to use an escalator or call for help to use the lift. Trista thought we could use the escalator. The plan was for Trista to go to the top of the escalator and we would send the bags up to her. NOT a good plan. Some bags turned over and slid back down. It was really a mess. I was the last one up and a bag previously sent up began to slide toward me. It hit me and I dropped my new watch. Chloe hopped on at the top of this up escalator to try to help and the bag (which I was keeping from sliding down) crashed into her because she had fallen. I had nowhere to step off and was yelling at Trista to “drag her out of the way!”. Two security men came running from around the corner and when they saw us with all our bags a mess and Chloe laying on the floor they did not see the humor in the situation. They just told us to “use a trolley”. We did.

We had lots of time and did some last London shopping in the airport. They are so particular about the size of everyones carry ons and even stopped people to measure them. But they did not care about anything we had bought in the airport shops. Seems sort of silly.

The flight was good but, of course, long. The movie channel worked this time which was helpful. Also, a very young gentelman and his two little children sat by me. His wife had suddenly and unexpectedly died in their home in England. The military was sending him to a base close to family so he could have help and support. It was very sad. The children wanted to know if I was moving because I had known their mother.

We had a long delay at Chicago but made it home safely. My husband and Chloe’s Mom were waiting for us and they were such a nice sight. It has been such a good trip and I really enjoyed traveling with Trista and Chloe.

We started the day fairly early and went to Leicester Square to purchase discount tickets to “The Lion King” at the Lyceum Theatre. We got seats in the “circle” section.

We then went to Victoria Station and caught a train to Dorking Deepdene. Trista wanted to visit there. She had never been but heard the name announced on the train all the time “calling at Dorking Deepdene”. We thought it sounded funny and we were hoping to get mugs or t-shirts or something funny with the name on it. We traveled to Dorking and found Dorking Deepdene was really just he name of the train station. The town itself was just Dorking which is funny enough. But apparently they don’t see the humor in their name because we could not find any memorabilia with the name on it, not even serious ones. The town was nice and we ate a pasty at a little shop there for lunch. I had never had a pasty before coming to England and really like them. We also saw a restaurant called Wimpys which apparently is quite common but struck us as funny.

We then went to Merstham to retrieve the rest of our luggage from Alice’s flat. She was home but it was hard leaving because she could not hear hardly at all and we were having a very difficult time making her understand we were not staying but WERE leaving Trista’s food for her. Then we headed for the hotel in London with all our luggage. We may not have planned too well as it was rush hour. The train was fine to Victoria Station but the underground was packed! It took about three passing trains before we worked out way close enough for Chloe and I to get on. We left Trista on the platform and she took the next train. Luckily Chloe and I had learned how to use the system and were able to go on.

We then took the underground to Embankment and walked to the theater. The play was really good but everything is catching up with me. I am tired and had to fight dozing off. There were several people sleeping which surprised me. After the show we retraced our steps and stayed up at the hotel until about 2:00 AM getting packed and organized for tomorrow.

We ate the breakfast provided by the hotel. It consisted of apple juice, corn flakes, milk, tea or coffee and toast we had to make ourselves served in a too small room. I figured out the old fashioned toaster (no help from the hotel staff) and made us each some toast.

We then left for the Camden Market. We used the Earls Court station of the underground. I love the underground. It is so easy; you can get almost anywhere in the city. We just rode the Picadilly Line to Leicester Square and changed to the Northern Line to Camden Town. So easy! We shopped for several hours. There are dozens of small places selling almost anything. We mostly purchased gifts for those at home but of course some for ourselves as well.

We got caught in a downpour. We were soaked and Chloe and Trista stepped into some puddles and had cold, wet feet all day. We ducked into a small restaurant and it was nicer soon and turned into a great day.

We also went to Leicester Square. We did some more shopping and checked on discount tickets to see “Lion King”. We hope to go tomorrow night. We ate dinner at an Italian Restaurant there in the square and then returned to the hotel.

After a little rest we gathered our clothes and went in search of a lauderette. The hotel clerk was of no help. She said it was somewhere off the high street. End of directions. After much searching and asking we found one a few blocks away. It took a lot of money but we finally had clean clothes. Trista exploded a soda there and we had no way to clean it up. We felt bad leaving it but we didn’t know what else to do.

We had spent the night at the Dublin Airport and flew out at 8:15. We landed in London, Gatwick at 9:15. We thought there was a direct shuttle to Heathrow but it was a very expensive bus ride on the National Bus Service. We found out there are four terminals at Heathrow and we did not know where we should get off. We stopped first at terminal 4. We decided to stay on the bus. The next stop (several miles away) was for terminals 1,2, and 3.

We tried calling our hotel to find out about their shuttle from the outside telephone but could not make it work.  We went inside and were able to reach the hotel and learned there is not a shuttle. The clerk said she could send a cheap “cop”. I suggested we could go out to the taxi stand but she insisted I should use her driver who would arrive within 30 minutes. We waited TWO(!) hours and Trista called her many times. She would not tell Trista which underground station. Eventually a young man did show up to get us. He was not a tazi driver but we went with him. It was about an hours drive to our hotel.

We learned from the clerk that were was no booking for us. It took me getting quite angry but we were given a room. It is an awful hotel. It is very old and stinky! The room is so hot and they could not turn the heat down. The room is very small for three beds. The bedspeads are stained. The bathtub is broken. There are holes in the wall in the bathroom stuffed with stainless steel which I believe is used to keep rodents from coming through. It smells of urine and natural gas throughout. It is really our worst accomadations on the whole trip.

We were glad to go out to eat and explore the area. It is a nice quiet neighborhood very close to the high street and the underground station. That will be helpful.

The girls didn’t want to get going this morning. Busy days and late evenings are catching up with them. Chloe and I took the train into Redhill and let Trista sleep a little bit longer. We stopped in the library to look around and bought an extra suitcase for the trip home. When we got back to the flat we left for Windsor.

We met a woman at the train station from the US. She is living in England now with her British husband. She had a baby with her and said she had a son in school. She told us that the schools were not good but mostly because the children misbehave so much. She could not wait to to move back to the states and said it would be before the baby went to school for sure. Interesting. We have seen many very young people smoking and asking for money in the streets of Redhill.

The train ride was nice and not too long. Windsor is about 20 miles west of London on the Thames river. Then it was a walk UPHILL (of course) to the castle. The queen still lives and entertains at Windsor. Windsor castle has been a royal residence for about 1000 years and it is the largest of the castles.

We got audio guides to use throughout our tour. They are used many places and they are quite good. They work very well and tell much interesting information. It was exciting to think we were walking up stairs or sitting in chairs the royals (and guests) had just used. The original artwork still displayed was wonderful. The beds are short but very luxurious. Lots of deep colors. The castle is so big it is no wonder they charge and let visitors come. It must be so expensive to maintain. We were there for many hours; they were closing so we had to leave.

Walking back through town we browsed in some shops. I must explain what happened next. I had been carrying a large manilla envelope under my arm most of the day looking for a place to mail it. I finally found a post box large enough to accept it. As we were in one of the shops I found a book about London written in Spanish that would be a perfect gift for a young friend who is studying Spanish. I stuck it under my arm so I could look in another bin. I bought a few gifts in the shop and we went on down the hill toward the train station. In a little while I realized I had that Spanish book still stuck under my arm where I was used to the feel of the manilla envelope. I could not believe it and was horrified. I wanted to return the book immediately but the shops were now closed! Trista and Chloe thought it was funny because I was so upset and I am sure will tease me about it forever!

Since everything closes so early we returned to the flat. We have a big day tomorrow.

I am starting to feel there are not enough days left. We leave Saturday for France! We did alot today. I am getting tired. It seems as if everything is up stairs!

We visited the Tower of London. We had a person take us around on a tour. He was a soldier called a “beefeater”. They have been called this for centuries because people were poor but the solders were thought to have more money and could afford to eat beef. After the tour we were free to look around on our own outside. Ravens are always kept on the grounds because they are considered good luck. Not for me! A bird pooped on my face! Luckily I had a wipe. We saw the crown jewels and the chapel among many interesting things. The tower is still considered a royal residence.

We then went to the London Eye. It was worth the long lines. It consists of several large glass cubicles on a large wheel like a ferris wheel. You can stand inside the glass capsule or there is a bench. It went over 400 feet up in the air and we could see all of London. It was wonderful.

We took the underground to Leicester Square for theater tickets again. It was very crowded. They were having the London premier for a film at the movie theater. Apparently it is a common theater for this. We were able to get tickets for the play “Chicago”. I had seen the movie before and while the play was different it was still good. My niece had not seen the movie and thought it was very good since she had nothing to compare it to. I love the theater in London. There are so many choices that are so easy to get to.

We went to Canterbury today. It was a few train changes. Once there, we bought tour tickets for the tour bus. It was a hop on and off wherever tour. We also bought tickets for Canterbury Tales (which was good!). We also visited the Canterbury Cathedral. I love these places. I know you can worship God anywhere but I think cathedrals are so cool.

Canterbury is divided into “Quarters”. We visited the northern quarter. It included “downtown”. I liked the shops and watching the people (there were lots of people). We also found the “crooked red door”. The whole area was “tipping” from ground movement. People used to come to see the buildings. The city came in and fixed them. One business owner did not want them to fix it. But, the city insisted it would only get worse. So they let the owner keep the door frame and door at the angle it had been. So, you can see how the whole street had been. The door is painted red and people come just to see the “crooked red door”. It looked funny.

Trista had been to Canterbury in warmer weather and recommends the walking tour. She was able to see many things and learn a lot about the city and history. We needed more time but had only planned one day and with darkness coming everything closed early.

We had planned to go to Canterbury today but the girls slept in so we will go tomorrow. We are going back to London. I could go to London every day, there is so much to see. First we stopped in Redhill for Trista to do a few errands.

We went to the British Museum. It is HUGE! Trista had been before so she sat in the lobby with a book. Chloe and I had a really good time. We spent several hours and did not see it all. We were just worn out. It was not just on Britain. There were exhibits on Greece, Rome, Egypt and more. The whole thing was really good. The museum was really busy but so big there were always things you could see.

We then took the underground (I love it!) to Camden to the “Market” The market is an area of open air shops with a variety of vendors. We saw many things of interest but they were closing. Everything closes early in England. However we were able to look around a little and we will go back another day.

Yesterday we walked to Redhill to church. It seemed quite a ways to me but Trista kept assuring us we were almost there! We attended Holy Trinity Church which is a different type of church from what I am used to but it was a good service. They served tea with milk during fellowship time. I drink tea regularly at home but not with milk so it was interesting.

After taking the train back to Merstham in the afternoon we walked to the launderette. We forgot our laundry tablets so had to buy new. We Americans are so used to our cars! I am sure that if we had to walk back a time or two we would be more careful.

In the evening we decided to go to a movie. The closest movie theater was in Crawley. We took the train and it was very cold and raining hard. Upon arriving by train we found everything closed up (Sunday and evening). Trista called the movie theater and learned it was probably too late to make a movie and we did not exactly know how to get there. We ended up getting on a train back to Merstham. Not much of a day.

Today we went to Oxford. It was a beautiful train ride. The countryside was wonderful. It was very cold but we really liked Oxford and could easily have spent another day there. We paid for the bus tour which worked out very well. It was a hop on and off type with someone on the bus telling about the sights. You could get on and off as much as you wanted throughout the day. It was a good system and we used it all day.

We climbed up the Carfax Tower. It said at the bottom there were 99 steps and it sounded like SO many. But I paid and up I went. It was not too bad climbing and at the top you stop outside to a spectacular view of the city. It was well worth the climb. We also visited the Oxford Tower. It had 101 steps! The first part was a guided tour followed by a self guided tour with head phones. I really enjoyed the tower. It had been a prison and it was interesting seeing how things had worked and what some people had been imprisoned for.

We really should have planned more time in Oxford. We missed so much!

We took the trains into London today. Our main purpose in going was to see the changing of the guard at the palace at 11:30 AM. We reached the palace only to see a sign stating it would happen tomorrow. They said they must have forgotten to change the sign the other day when we were there. Great!
So, we went to Westminster Abbey. The lines were huge so we walked on over to the London Eye. This is an observation wheel that goes, I believe, 443 feet into the air. The large glass cubicles are great for seeing the city. However, the line went on forever. Acturally two lines; first a line for tickets, then the line for the Eye itself. We decided to have lunch and come back to the London Eye on another day. We could not find a restaurant that would take my Visa and ended up eating at McDonalds! We were all disappointed.
We went back to Westminster Abbey but it was closed so we got in line to attend the evening song service. As we waited inside in line to be let back into the back chapel area we saw the burial places of some people. What surprised us the most was that Charles Darwin is buried there. He died in 1882 and because he was a moral man and not unfamiliar with church he was allowed a burial spot in the Abbey. Anyway becuase we were near the front of the line we were seated right by the singers. It was very nice to hear a service sung.
We then used the underground to get to Knightsbridge and went to Harrods. The store was nice but very expensive. We did have a Krispy Kreme donut. Chloe was also able to purchase a gift there. My daughter needed to consult with a doctor and there was a walk in clinic right in the store. The doctor was funny. He had a very strange, heavy accent and he said “I will look at you and I will cure you”. Ultimately, he did not.
Over all we had a good day even though we did not accomplish much. We did enjoy walking around and just looking at the sights and the evening song service was very good.