I'm going to let Mom drive for a little while...

I spent the last three weeks on Spring Break (thanks to Ken and Deb for a fabulous time!) ... and Mom has asked that I relinquish the keyboard to her for a little while.  Apparently, she has a few tales she wants to share.  Me being the guy who fully recognizes where his next cookie is coming from ... I handed over the laptop.

So here goes ...

Jeff and I spent the last 3 weeks traveling across Europe with Mom and Pa.  It was the vacation of a lifetime and I think I'll spend a little time sharing our travels and travails.

Tuesday, April 24/Wednesday, April 25

After two flights and a very long 'night' on the airplane, we arrived in London super excited to embark on our adventure.  As we passed through passport control, the customs agent asked us what our plans were while we were in the country.  I told him that we were visiting Great Britain, Scotland, France and Germany.  I told him I was really looking forward to Scotland since I'm Scottish.  With a twinkle in his eye and a deadpan delivery, the agent looked me squarely in the eye and said, "No, you're not.  You're American".

Touche'

On to London.

We learned from news reports and public service notices that much of Great Britain has been under severe drought.  I must say, these people have a funny idea of drought, if the torrential downpour we walked through to reach our hotel was any indication.  Since it was raining cats and dogs we decided to proceed to our bus tour of London and should the rain let up, we could hop off.  We embarked on The Original Bus Tour of London and saw many of the sights of London that one reads about only in books.

We saw Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park ... the original public pulpit where folks can expect to witness open air debate, discussion and opinion; Trafalgar Square with it's centerpiece Nelson's Column commemorating Admiral Horatio Nelson who died at the Battle of Trafalgar.

We saw St Paul's Cathedral where Charles and Diana were married and from there we crossed over London Bridge, the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London.  The Tower of London has a long and checkered history which includes it's previous home as the Royal mint and an armory.  But it's predominantly regarded as a prison.   

We passed by 10 Downing Street which was patrolled by a cadre of guards .. you can't really see it very well since the whole block is cordoned off behind an iron gate.

Pa captured a picture of this Griffon whilst we were on the hoppa.  This dragon statue sits atop the Temple Bar.

One of the truly impressive sights to behold is Big Ben.  It's positioned on the north end of the Palace of Westminster which houses the British Parliament.  I learned that although many people refer to the structure by it's nickname, Big Ben.  Big Ben is the name of the bell that's housed within the structure.

We also stopped for a meal in an English pub for fish and chips and steak and ale pie.  It was fantastic!

We loved our first day in  London.