sheilasview.com

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.

We went to Brighton today. Brighton is on the southern coast about 50 miles from London. Trista went to visit there last summer and said it was a fun and pretty place. The beach was nice with volleyball courts, basketball courts, wading pool and a fountain. There was also a skate park. However, when we went to visit today it was cold and very rainy. The wind blew so hard people were having a hard time standing up!

We walked to the Royal Pavillion before visiting the pier. It was built by King George before he was a king. He moved to Brighton when he was just 21 years old and started the building. He used the footprint of a farmhouse to start and made a huge, beautiful place. Now it is open to the public as an exhibit. We also visited the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery. It had some very good peices. I expecially liked the mummy case and the furniture from different periods (i.e. craftsman, art deco, etc.). We ate at Harry Ramsden’s fish and chip restaurant. I liked the fish and chips but it was served with mushy peas which I did not like. Why mash your peas?

We did go out on the pier even though the weather was storming. It is a very nice place with food vendors and, of course, the arcade. There were many games to choose from. With the bad weather there were very few people. Not at all like what my daughter had described from the warm months. Even with the waves crashing you could see that in better weather it would be a beautiful place to spend time.It was storming so hard we decided to take a bus back up to the train station. However the hostess at the restaurant had told us it would be cheaper with three of us to take a taxi. The taxi driver drove us around for a while (we could see some things we had passed more than once). It took us longer than it should have but it was still less expensive than the bus.

I must say I love the train and underground system in England. You can get anywhere fairly easily. Also, today I bought a family pass for the train and underground which will save us even more money. Well worth it!

Today we went to London and I was so excited I was up early! My daughter, Trista, was also excited to show us the city. It was pretty rainy for the morning but just cool in the afternoon. We spent the whole day in London and had a very busy day. First I learned at the train station that we could buy all day passes that covered all our train and underground trips. That saved us alot of money.

We rode into Victoria Station on the train. It was huge. There were probably hundreds of people. Next we walked to Buckingham Palace. I was surprised by the litter but there was no one panhandling. The area of the palace itself was very nice and even with a crowd it was calm. We did not get to see the changing of the guard because they do not do it every day and we were there on the “off” day.

Then we rode the underground to Picadilly Circus. Mostly because I just wanted to see it. My neice, Chloe, didn’t really understand why but I am a baby boomer and had heard of it most of my life. We also visited Oxford Road, the Jane Norman Store, and Selfridges. We did a little shopping along the way but not at Selfridges because it had alot of couture. That is out of my price range. We had lunch at a little Italian place called LaLocanda. We ordered lasagna and pizza and both were very good and the prices were good too.

In the afternoon we visited Licester Square, a very busy place. There were many shops in the area that we visited but the main attraction for us was looking for discount theater tickets. We found tickets to “Wicked” showing this evening at the Apollo Victoria Theater. The show was great. I wish we could afford to see many shows but even purchasing discount tickets it was a bit expensive. We had great seats where we could see and hear well. I was worried that we were not dressed appropriately because we had been out and about all day but when we arrived at the theater we found people were dressed in a multitude of ways. Some, like us, were very casual while others wore business attire and yet others wore formal evening wear.

So, we spent the whole day and evening in London. We took the train in and out and rode the underground many times. We also walked for miles! I have a blister on my toe to show for it. I would recommend London to you all.

Yesterday we traveled all day. With the layover in Texas it is about a 16 hour trip. The flight was uneventful except the movie channel was not working correctly. The most interesting thing to watch was the monitor that showed you exactly where we were.

We arrived at Gatwick Airport in the A.M. today. Gatwick is a small airport and I would definitely recommend it. Not far from London but so much easier than a large airport like Seattle or Houston/Fort Worth. Customs was a little interesting since my daughter was not there to meet us and I did not have her address handy to show the agent. He eventually let us go on. I had not thought of it ahead of time but after I wondered about how easy it is for someone to enter a country. We were questioned about where we were staying but when I did not have that info he let us go on anyway.

While in England we are lucky to be able to stay in the home where my daughter is boarding. It is in the village of Merstham. It is a very small community but Redhill is a very short train ride and has everything you need. The apartment is only a small block from the train station. Merstham is about 16 miles from London. My daughter is 22 and would probably like to live in London but I can appreciate the slow pace of life in the village yet how close it is to the large city.

We decided to stay close since we were so tired from the trip. It turned out to be a wise decision and we did not really do too much today. We took the train to Redhill and looked around. It was cooler that I thought (nippy I was told) and I bought a track jacket at a charity shop. We went to the little mall (Belfry). It was quite small but had clothing stores, engraving, drug store, food shops, etc. The post office was also in the mall and that seems like a great idea.Redhill is a medium sized town with everything a family would need. The elderly woman we are staying with says she never goes into London anymore and most of her friends do not. The first business I saw after getting off the train was a McDonalds so I guess it would be considered a modern town. We did not eat lunch there but tried the local chips shop across the street. The fish was not that good to my American tastes. I am used to piece of white meat with coating deep fried. They leave the skin on the fish and all the bones were intact. Different! It seemed to smell bad in the resturant to me (very small space, kitchen close) but my daughter who has been in Europe several months thought it was fine.

We stopped in the local grocery store just to look at some products. Many interesting things but would you like to eat something called “digestives”. I guess it is a treat but it brought to mind medicine for me. We were too tired after the trip and returned to the apartment.

I have never been to England (or anywhere for that matter) but I have a great opportunity I just can’t pass up. My daughter is living outside London for a few months. She is volunteering in a junior school and her time is almost up. I am going to meet her and spend a little time visiting the area and we will fly back together.

After talking to my daughter we have decided to invite my 14 year old niece to come along for the trip. It should be a great trip for her and we think it will be a great trip for the three of us traveling together. Tomorrow we leave!