BootsnAll Travel Network
Add this blog to: MyYahoo, Google, Bloglines, RSS


Articles Tagged ‘2012’

More articles about ‘2012’
« Previous Page — « Previous Entries
Next Entries » — Next Page »
« Home

Trying to slow down!

Saturday, October 6th, 2012

There were a few tired legs this morning as a result of a big day walking the streets yesterday, and also standing for three hours at the show. The decision was quickly made over breakfast to take the metro today, and to keep things simple. Our goal: visit Kensington Palace, check out the Science Museum and Natural History Museum – then return to our waterfall hostel via Covent Garden Market. Mission accomplished!

Kensington Palace was well worth the visit – especially interesting for the children as there were a number of interactive stations, and whoever has designed the displays clearly has a wonderful creative and design flair. The rooms are novel, informative and cleverly use common objects of the period to tell the history of the palace and its inhabitants. There was also a new permanent display commemorating the life and reign of Queen Victoria who was born at Kensington Palace, and was also living there when she heard of the death of her uncle King William IV and subsequently became Queen. Kensington Palace was also the place where she met her husband Prince Albert. It was also Queen Victoria who opened Kensington Palace to the general public in 1899.

London Oct 5

London Oct 5 (1)

London Oct 5 (8)

London Oct 5 (28)

Our quick visit to the Science and Natural History museums confirmed that we would definitely return for a thorough exploration on another day. Covent Garden Market was a short tube ride away where we enjoyed soaking up the festive atmosphere and watch (and participate in) the street theatre. Mboy10 even earned himself a large oversized lollipop for his being chosen as an assistant/prop for the Charlie Chaplin act. There was quite a crowd and Mboy10 was involved for over ten minutes and he found it all a bit daunting which is unusual for our family actor-in-training! He did well despite the challenges. There were a number of street acts running – magicians, musicians, jugglers (knife throwers yesterday!) and pantomime… it reminded us of Berlin! One classical music group was so good MamaBear and Jgirl18 had bought their CD the day before. There are also numerous interesting boutique-style shops and food stalls from which we had to sample a few goodies. A good shorter day, and our feet appreciated being able to use the metro all day!

London Oct 5 (36)

London Oct 5 (42)

London Oct 5 (48)

Posted in 2012, postcard: England | No Comments »

London’s calling

Friday, October 5th, 2012

If there is one event that encapsulates “London”, many would argue that the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace is it. Our children certainly had it on each of their “must see in London” lists, and judging by the number of people congregating outside the palace this morning, plenty of others also had this on their list! Even arriving an hour and a half before the scheduled “change” we had to work hard to secure viewing places that allowed us even a modest view of the palace forecourt. Unfortunately, despite the day being cloudless and blue this also meant most of us being in the shadows of a large pillar, and I have to say that October in London is NOT HOT… in fact, downright COLD in the wind. MamaBear had managed to secure the little girls a fantastic position directly in front of the main gates by talking nicely to a generous American man who let the littlies stand in front of him. The rest of us took a variety of positions around the black wrought iron fencing. So we waited, and waited – and finally ended up in a decent position to see the changing of the guard; while the little girls wanted to return again, the rest of us were actually underwhelmed with the experience (although the brass band was appreciated by some).

London Oct 4 018

London Oct 4 028

London Oct 4 034

London Oct 4 044

Our position in front of Buckingham Palace might have only been average, but we certainly got it right later that evening when we managed to secure eight “return tickets” to see a show at The Globe Theatre. We were just fortunate that our walking route into town from the hostel took us directly past the Globe, so even though we had previously enquired (twice) about tickets, and had been told everything was completely sold out, and only if some pre-booked tickets were returned would we have a chance at getting in. Thankfully that did happen, so we found ourselves (minus the two little girls and GrandpaBear, who had already walked too far this day) in the absolute best places of the standing stalls for the 7:30pm showing of Shakespeare’s Taming of The Shrew – for only five pounds a ticket! Now I remember studying this book at school and do not have fond memories I must confess – but hear me now… if you are ever in London you HAVE TO get along to the Globe to take in one of the shows. It was quite simply the best theatre production I have ever seen – in fact, that any of us have ever seen (sure, the kids haven’t seen that many – but it was fabulous). Everyone loved it – Lboy12 and Mboy10 even asked if we could come back again tomorrow! It was witty, it was professional, it was interactive (Kgirl13 had her eyes covered by one of the actors at a particularly lewd bit, Mboy10 had his cheek pinched by another and Lboy12 was asked some questions….I tell you, we got good spots!), the atmosphere in the globe was incredible, and it brought Shakespeare alive… so trust me, you MUST get along to a show!

London Oct 4 063

London Oct 4 065

London Oct 4 078

The view of St Pauls across the Thames at night was also stunning. And our day of adventure was not yet over. During the day, the hostel staff had agreed to move us from our room above the pub, to another large dorm up on the third floor. We were one thankful bunch I can tell you! We almost couldn’t wait to go to bed to NOT hear the sound of pub music thumping away! There always has to be a twist though – correct? Yep. Always. And the twist in this tale was MamaBear waking up at 1am to find our duvets dripping wet. Why? Quite simply, because the roof leaked and there was a steady dripping of water coming down onto our bed! Needless to say, we hurriedly did some re-arranging of bedding, and positioning of rubbish bins to catch the small waterfalls.. then fell back into bed. I am not sure that we were laughing last night, but by the morning we could all see the funny side. However, if you want a strong recommendation of which hostel NOT to stay at in London please read my previous posts :-). Having said all that, the staff were brilliant, embarrassed and apologetic and we now have a big pile of towels to mop up the flow which continues into our room… and I tell you – the constant dripping of ancient water torture beats loud pub music any day of the week! 🙂

London Oct 4 079

London Oct 4 082

PS Highlight for the kids in the morning would have to be the squirrels in St James’s Park. Even the adults had to agree that they were very cute and amusing as they scrambled amongst the fallen brown leaves, hiding acorns and nibbling nuts taken from our outstretched hands. Having never seen squirrels up-close-n-personal before, we were amazed at the way their tails are bushy yet feathery at the same time, and how they quiver as the breeze blows through them.

London Oct 4 013

London Oct 4 002

Posted in 2012, postcard: England | 2 Comments »

Everything British

Thursday, October 4th, 2012

Our third day in London and we walked our way through a range of quintessentially English experiences. Our first task after breakfast was to head to the Globe and see if we might be able to secure some last minute ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in 2012, postcard: England | 2 Comments »

Tales of torture, treasure and treason

Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012
Let’s start with torture, and even before we got to the Tower of London! Last night we were collectively beaten up until the not-so-early hours of the morning by the rhythmic beat(ing) that came from the pub music directly under ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in 2012, postcard: Spain | 2 Comments »

grey

Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012

by MamaBear

Whenever I walk in a London street,
I’m ever so careful to watch my feet;
And I keep in the squares, ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in 2012, postcard: England | 3 Comments »

transition

Monday, October 1st, 2012
Copied straight from MamaBear’s journal
All travel has its advantages. If the passenger visits better countries, he may learn to improve his own. And if fortune carries him to worse, he may learn to enjoy it. ~ Samuel Johnson
Now ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in 2012, postcard: England, postcard: Spain | 1 Comment »

Direct line to Jesus

Sunday, September 30th, 2012

By MamaBear

Our final day in Santiago captured everything we have enjoyed about the Camino….primarily food and friends and wandering, but also seeing sights and seeking out some special souvenirs.

[Continue reading this entry]

Posted in 2012, postcard: Spain | 1 Comment »

Changing perspectives from Santiago

Saturday, September 29th, 2012

How quickly perspectives can change! It was only a few days ago that the thought of covering 17km  in a day’s walk was “not too far” – today we were checking out the airport bus timetable to cover the 10km ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in 2012, postcard: Spain | 5 Comments »

A.W.E.S.O.M.E.

Friday, September 28th, 2012

by MamaBear

Day 21: Total distance to finish the Camino! 5kms
Weather: Foggy and cold, then clear and hot.

Four hours sitting at the University Hospital of Santiago waiting to get Tgirl8’s ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in 2012, postcard: Spain | 6 Comments »

Only 5km to go to Santiago!

Thursday, September 27th, 2012

Day 19: Total distance 16 km. Total ascent: 263m
Weather: Cloudy, showers and cool. Temperature: 16

There is a sense of expectation and excitement as we approach the end of our Camino adventure. ... [Continue reading this entry]

Posted in 2012, postcard: Spain | 3 Comments »

« Previous Page — « Previous Entries
Next Entries » — Next Page »