London Food Experience

Food was very much a part of the London experience.  I  was given very poor reviews about the food by a few people so I was reluctant to try anything in the beginning.  In fact for the first few days I starved or ate apples, yogurt, cheese, and oatmeal. 

The local grocery store is called Sainsbury's and it reminds me of Fresh and Easy back home.  Very much organic, small, with small meals that have been prepared already. Some of the foods I got at Sainsbury's included Ritz crackers, milk, Special K, cheese, fruit (all kinds), Indian cuisine, salad....etc.

When you finally get to a restaurant it can be confusing because the food names are different from the names we use in the US.  For instance Jason was in Subway and he ordered chips and they said" we don't have chips" but he points to the potato chips and they were like ohhhhh C-R-I-S-P-S... he was like oh OK crisps..then.  They said chips are french fries, so he was like oh I got it. Chips are crisps and fries are chips... OK I'm not lost at all... (LOL) Then if that isn't confusing enough people in the UK don't put ketchup on their fries (or chips) they put salt and malt vinegar on them.  When I went to McDonald's with my friend Brother John I saw him dipping his fries in his coffee... I was very confused.

I did notice that the portions were much smaller, and in the UK you are very unlikely to get a drink refill much less free refills.  In many places they do not come to check on you or come to your table to "take your order" instead you go to the bar and "place your order" and they bring it to you (after a longer than American wait time).

At McDonald's the selection was very small.  You might have 8 options and don't even think about getting anything Super Sized.  Their large is our small, and please don't ask about any double or triple patties (you will just confuse everyone).

Sandwich or deli options are vast and come with more tastier options than you might find here in the US which might be due to the many options of cheese and fresh breads they have. (Jason's favorite place was Pret A Manger)http://www.pret.com/


Restaurants:
Ruby Tuesdays- Bruchetta
McDonald's-Coffee
Feathers-Ravioli (stuffed with ricotta and spinach) grilled tomato and rocket
cheese cake coffee (red wine)

Zizzi - Ravioli Capra - egg ravioli with goat cheese and spinach covered in tomato sauce. finished with pesto and pine nuts (This meal was good not great but the company was awesome)
Jason had lasagna
http://www.zizzi.co.uk/pdfs/Zizzi_Food_Menu.pdf

I had bourganase scallop potato and beans

Other foods I ate while in London or Paris
Pizza
Lebanese
Sushi (ITSU)
Indian Cuisine
Indian Candy

Many other things that I will add to the list as it comes to me.









My Top Choices:


Places I would rather forget:


Recommendations:

Paris

I woke up many times through the night for fear of oversleeping thus missing the driver at 5 a.m.  Got downstairs in time at 5 a.m. but the driver didn't show up until 5:45am (15 min late) which gave me a scare.  Once  he came and we got settled in the van, we met 6 others in our group (people all from the US).  There were 2 additional families (the family from Connecticut (2 children (adopted from Guatemala) with parents and a very nice grandma with her granddaughter from Indiana.  We made it to the train station in no time and were greeted wit the tour company's guide.  Got coffee since I hadn't had any yet (thank you) and went through the terminal (it was very similar to the airport) except you don't have to take off of your shoes.  Loaded the train with our group which made travel because it was more group oriented vs. being alone and our group was nice.

Loaded the Euro Star and made our way to Paris and with the exception of traveling backwards (which made me a little nervous) the experience was awesome.  I found the train movement to be more like a gliding feeling which surprised me (not really knowing what I was suppose to experience) but it made the travel smooth.

The inside of the train was very roomy.  I sat near the window and mostly worked on my blog, ate my food, and talked with my neighbor. I find that part of my experience with travel is meeting people.  On the train I sat across from a gentleman who expressed he had purchased the seat next to me so I wouldn't have to worry if someone would take the all because his friend "was unable to make it".   That ultimately developed into a very interesting story of which gave us something to talk about on the way to Paris.

Once we arrived in Paris at the Gare du Nord Station we noticed as we were walking to the platform that it was raining.  We were assigned groups based on our tour of which I was one of the few who choose to do the hop on hop off tour of which I wanted my own control of my day.  I was scheduled lunch with April (a friend in Paris) around noon.  I officially had about 2 hours to find April and get started on my tour.  When I got on the bus I patiently waited and started my tour but noticed very quickly that when we made stops there were no announcements of the stops of any kind.  The driver would stop for a minute open the door and then take off.  The main problem was that I was in Paris and nothing is in English so stopping off at a building with no information made the tour difficult to know where and how to engage for the day using this method.  Remembering that my initial goal was to get to April, I hopped off  went underground and attempted to get a subway ticket to Madeline Blvd.  OMG this was very difficult simply because again no one spoke any English.

The subway was largely different from London in a few ways.  Besides only having French descriptions, it was decorated with lights and had more accommodating seating.  I got lost a few times even as the man in the information booth explained specific directions in French with a little broken English.  At one point I came back to him with my head down and explained I must have failed at something because I couldn't find the exit he stated was so obviously in front of me.  3x must be charm because that is how many times it took me to find the exit I was suppose to take.  Got to my destination Madeline Blvd opened up my computer to get the address of April and realized I only had the street info.  No name or street address (hah) so needless to say even after walking up and down the street looking for a person named April who possibly works for a company by the name of Simmons but since I never found her or a company by the name of Simmons I ended up wasting 3 hours being frustrated.  I embrace this part of my trip as well since it was when I was lost that I noticed more, engaged more, and listened to myself more.  I ended up eating pizza for fear I would order a meal and there would be a egg sitting in the middle of it (as is the norm in London and in Paris).  Looking at a menu that you cant read (since its entirely in French) made my decision easy to order Pizza.  I can say that I was confidant that the food was much better than London simply by the presentation of the food being delivered on the tables around me.

Once lunch was over I got back to a tour bus and just rode and rode for at least an hour without the slightest desire to get off to see anything.  Eventually I had to get off to start seeing stuff so I made my first stop at The Opera House.  After witnessing the building in all of its grand splendor I was distracted by the store across the street with two charming bitten apples across the street.  Yes something familiar ~ I found the Apple Store!

I went inside and was so happy to finally have Internet.  Who can live without Internet even for a day?  I have to say that in Paris the computer keyboard is different than ours in the states.  Even London has the same keyboard that we do but the A and M are moved which made it difficult to type emails and check FB properly.

After browsing The Apple Store I got back on the tour bus and finished my tour.  The major sites I visited in Paris was:

• Eiffel Tower
• Louvre Museum
• Notre Dame
• The Opera House
• Grand Palais
• A few other sites 

The Best Day in London with Brother John

Spending the day in the ministry was one of the best and most memorable experiences for me in London.  My plans were previously made so I knew to meet Brother John (a 72 year old elder at the Hall) at 10 a.m. I left my dorm at 9:15 a.m. to make it on time, although I ended up with enough time to make it to McDonald's to get my usual Latte.  The Tube (now that I know where I am going) was a breeze, and with 10 minutes to spare I arrived.

There were some friends who were waiting outside already and they informed me Brother John was looking for me since he was 20 min early and within minutes I saw his arms waiving from down the street. There are many aspects of the day that were awesome but the first was that I got to actually drive in someones car with the steering wheel on the opposite side of the road.  The brother jokes that Americans have the wheel on the wrong side and British have it on the right side (an argument I about to win) so I chuckled and was grateful he was driving and not me.

The work we were doing was the track work so we arrived at 3 large vertical buildings and he and I alone tackled 150 doors.  We met and spoke with many from all different back grounds.  People were very open to discuss God along with the concerns they had with what was happening currently on the world scene.  I wanted to note similarities and differences in the ministry in Europe vs. the States and found  the main similarity was how common the beliefs are across the world.  People in London are just as affected by what is happening with the economy and are were very much disgruntled about the lack of concern from the government.  The differences were the way people were able to articulate the beliefs they had. I felt like we did a very good job bringing comfort from the bible and at the end of the day felt that work is more gratifying than any other work being done around the world.  I learned to never underestimate what giving people hope can do.

Around lunch Brother John and I went to McDonald's (his treat) and talked about his wonderful wife of 48 years and what it takes to keep a marriage strong and happy. It was encouraging to know that someone with such longevity still had such a strong feeling of love and devotion for his wife after all these years.  It was very encouraging and ultimately I couldn't help but note several keys to marriage that I could undoubtedly benefit from if I too adopted.

After lunch we went on several calls and ended about 4pm with a bible study. The girl we went on the study with was very bright and seemed to have a very solid understanding of what she wanted from the bible. He dropped me off at the Tube and I made it hope by 5pm.  I noted this to be one of the better days of the trip which was hard to top. When I got home I relayed the info to Jason (who was encouraged as well).

Indian Row

My morning has started very late for it is noon and I haven't even gotten dressed.  Jason is at Stone Ridge (one of the wonders of the world) and I hope to make it back to the British Museum.  My original plan was to wake up early, make it to the Zoo but I think I have taken too much time and fear I would only get a couple of hours out of the London Zoo.  I find that attractions such as that require payment and a plan to stay all or most of the day.  I believe I can be ready and up and out of here within 20 min.  I want to make this day my souvenir day and work on organizing any last minute shopping that might need to be completed.  I am sending a few post cards today just to ensure arrival before I leave the UK.

End of Day~

Despite the fact that my day started off slow, I was able to make it a productive one.  When I left home I went on to check how to take trains so that I could visit Hampton Court later this week.  It seems pretty easy since it involves the Tube most of the way.  After that I went underground to head to the BM with the thought process of  avoiding walking the entire way this time.  Its funny because after 2 subways it still seemed like I had to walk a long distance.  I am thinking that I brought that on myself since the Museum was right next to me and I went the exact opposite direction so when I found it and discovered I walked right by it I was a little perturbed with myself.  The Museum itself was a very nice experience same as before with the same intention- to learn. This time I focused on the Roman era, currency history, clock history, and about Turkey.

Once I was finished I noticed it was 5pm and I was suppose to be back at the dorm before 5:30pm to change my reservations at the dorm.  I didn't make it, on time which means it turned out to be a waste to even come home.  Once I was home I started downloading a movie and just waited around to see if Jason wanted to go to dinner.  He was really tired from his travels so I dined alone.  I never take this as a bad thing because when I am alone this means I get to eat what I want and that is exactly what I did.  Down the street from my place there is what I call Indian row.(hopefully that's not offending anyone)  Many Indian stores, eateries, all ran by Indian people.  I decided to be adventurous and walk into each and every restaurant and look at the menu, ask a lot of questions and perhaps learn something about the culture.  I ended up meeting a man who was young (maybe 25 years old) who said he was running the sweet store because the owner just ran off.  I thought that was rather open to just say, so I knew this was my guy to have a conversation with.  I ordered several treats from this Royal Sweets place along with ginger tea just to give it a try.  I tried special royal,  deserts, like royal balushahel, jalebi and gigar sweet which is like a carrot cake (but nothing like a carrot cake).  As I sat and we discussed America and India he helped me pick out dinner from their Indian restaurant next door.  This was a really nice place.  I spent 18 pounds which is like 30 dollars and I didn't get a drink.  I ordered coconut fish basmati rice and crab in butter sauce.  It was completely the opposite of what I imagined however it was good.  The gentleman helped me to appreciate the difference between Indian foods (of which I mistakenly took it for Mediterranean food).  I learned Indian foods can be spicy and they usually have a meat and sauce and maybe rice or salad.  Ultimately it was a pleasant experience and I learned a little more about a culture and a food that I probably would have never tried back home. 

Notting Hill

As usual I sleep in so late!  I woke up at 9:40am which has everything to do with going to bed at 2-3am.  Today is the day that I planned to go to the meeting on these crazy subways again.  Apparently this is very common for the Tube to close down an entire line (this weekend happened to be the one I needed the most) so I needed to find another way to the meeting and really wasn't sure how to do that.  I spent 45 min on the computer tracking, tracing, writing and scratching my route out.  Eventually I had a plan and went with it.  I had 3 options for meetings today 10am, 1pm, 4pm.  I literally left at 11:30am with the goal of making it to the Hall at 4pm but I made it by 1pm (whew). Such hard work but all worth it.  Londoner's sound so nice and pleasant and although the meeting was conducted the exact same as home, the brother say Love or Lovely after everyone commented.  I was thinking about my brothers in Phoenix (Staton, Watson, or Brown) saying that is simply lovely or thanks Love after someone commented and couldn't help but giggle. After the meeting people came right up to me and once they heard my accent they were giggling at me.  Accent I was thinking that is backwards.  Anyway I met several people and made service plans with the pioneers and elders so I finally feel set.  I know that going into the ministry with be an amazing part of my trip and I am sure to meet some great friends along the way.

On my way home I had a thought of visiting another site while I was out so I decided to visit Notting Hill.  I was surprised to find there really wasn't much to the place other than a street which is called Notting Hill Gate with shops and eateries.  The homes are very nice and there are a few parks that are exclusive to the area. While I was there I decided to eat at a Sushi place called ITSU.  It was trendy withl good food and the service wasn't half bad.  They serve the food on a conveyor belt and you grab it and eat . The food surprised me since it was so yummy and I got very full.  I ate duck rolls, and a few Vietnamese and California rolls. After I left Itsu,  I roamed the streets until I was over it and then went on home.

As I was on the tube on the way home I had this AHA moment where I realized I knew where I was going.  I realized I finally figured out the bus and Tube (underground transportation) and thought I am really learning my way around.  This excites me because for the first week I had to ask, and play mice games going back and forth asking questions, or not asking questions and getting lost.  I asked Jason what he does and he murmured on about he doesn't ask people, and goes with his instinct or gut until he finds the place.  I was thinking, that sounds much more time consuming than my system but he is a man and I believe it is fair to assume that most men don't ask for directions???

I got home about 5pm and jumped right on FB to see if Jason was home since that is our primary way we contact each other.  I am so grateful for FB because not only have I been able to contact Jason but its such a great way to stay connected to family back home.  I have even been able to put out a few fires all the way from London on FB.  Thanks FB owners!

Right away Jason came over and we hung out and had a few laughs as we debriefed each other on our day.  He had class and from the sounds of it, it was very boring.  He fell asleep and even his group members at family night said it was a killer.  (sorry Jason) I had this mental picture in my head of me at the Kingdom Hall socializing, singing and happy while he is stuck in a classroom bored to death.  (poor babe)  As I mentioned tonight was family night and Jason and I spent the evening with four lovely ladies that he goes to school with.  They made fajitas, and we all played spades.  (Good times) Jason's team won and mine lost but we gave them a run for their money. (not literally I don't bet) lol! 9pm we called it quits and now its almost midnight here and I am finishing up these blogs! 

I did manage to get skype uploaded and figured out as well and carried on a 3 way call with my friends.  As you can imagine we talked for hours.  Its almost 3am and I am still up typing away.

Regent's Park

Prior to going to bed on Friday night, Jason and I agreed to go running in a park that is a few blocks away called Regent's Park first thing in the morning.  He mentioned it was really pretty and that it had some nice flowers yada, yada, yada... sounded like every other park in London so I really didn't expect much. 

Well it turns out that the park was originally built to surround a palace for the Prince Regent so the grounds are impeccable.  According to sources the palace never materialized so they turned it into a regular park for the public to enjoy.  The outskirts of the park are normal greens with large bushy trees.  There are squirrel playing like they were little cats and dogs running from tree to tree or just playing "your it" with another squirrel all within arms length.  They are as common as seeing a bird and they will come if you call them.

 

Jason and I began the day walking through the park holding hands as I was in awe.  The flowers are so vibrant and well manicured.  It was truly breathtaking.  After an hour of walking around we noticed the park had a section that was a dog park so we watched the dogs run and play.  If we were to walk further we would have hit the zoo which is right next door to the park but we weren't prepared for that.  There is a place for coffee and the whole nine and if you want to bring your family for lunch there is a local eatery to enjoy. 

 

Since its Saturday I set myself to go out into the ministry (as it my routine) so being in London should not change that.  I set out with coffee and my Bible on my way with my hand held directions to find the local Kingdom Hall which meets at 10am here.  As I got to the Euston station (where the train leaves) I saw a big disappointing sign that said closed due to construction(they were working on the subway) and since this hall is just under an hour away and these were the only instructions I know- I was unable to make it to service.  (very disappointing for me) I headed back home, and as I was walking I saw a nice little hair shop and decided to pop in for a wash and blow dry.  Hair appliances from the US don't work here (even with a converter or adapter) so my hair had since gone to its natural curly state.  About an hour later I was walking out feeling much better and cuter.  I went home to show Jason my new hair style since he was home resting and re cooperating from his long week of school, papers, and homework assignments.  We got dressed and ready (since it was about noon) and went out to Piccadilly Circus since they have many options for food and fun shopping. 

 Food was very interesting because there are many options to choose from here in London so I settled on something I had never settled on (Lebanese food) and picked up something that was so good that once I ate my food I literally turned around and went back for seconds.  I tried their chicken pastry and Jason tried a Shawarma which is marinated meat (either chicken or lamb) that is skewered on big rods and cooked slowly, then shaved and placed in a 10 inch pita roll with pickles, tomatoes. We walked around and found a local Gap got some jeans then came home.

Once we got home Jason was pretty tired so he wanted to crash.  Generally I sleep and rest when I see fit I usually am a big ball of energy.  When he went to sleep I went back to Regents park to enjoy it.  I grabbed my new FedEx blanket (that I won .. little plug for FedEx) and carried my book pillow and snacks and literally sat in the park listening  to my book until it was almost 8pm.

 Since it was Saturday it was safe since the park was completely full of people.  The sun doesn't go down here until after 9pm so it was so nice.  I then went to grab my Watchtower went to McDonald's to grab a latte and sat there studying for another 2 hours.  It was 10pm and (really very late) so I high tailed it home and read my book until I crashed.  It was a very memorable day.  Never have I had so much alone time to enjoy and think about things in such a wonderful scenic environment at that.  Had to be one of my best days so far.

Trafalgar Square

Today is the first day Jason and I get to spend the entire day together. The original plan for us today since he has 2 days off was to head on over to Paris.  When we got up we looked up the weather and the euro star tickets (train that goes through the channel) and found it might rain in Paris and the tickets jumped up in price to something we were unwilling to pay.  We decided to change Paris for mid week when fairs would be affordable.  By unaffordable I mean they had jumped up from $124 rt/ pp to$309 rt/pp.  Clearly not worth it for just a few days. 

Our first stop out was the dry cleaners and then breakfast at McDonald's.  The food at McDonald's is relatively different so we continue to try new things.  Our over all mood seemed somber as we walked to eat (no doubt due to disappointment we were not spending the day in Paris) so in an attempt to fix my mood my husband did what all good husbands do to make their wives happy... He bought me A GIFT!  Jason and I made a little trip to the local department store and picked out a rather nice present.  Jason bought me a Louis Vitton bag and omg I was flabbergasted by his generosity.  All day he really didn't have to say much more because my purse pretty much kept me cheery all day.

After the purchase we brought it right home and left again out to eat lunch and pick up his shirts he missed out on the other day.  I have to admit while he was in the store I couldn't help but to notice how different the shopping experience is in London in comparison from home.

 First there are so few cars where the stores are due to the public transportation so you see shops upon shops with alleys and open ways and as people are walking by no doubt on their way to their destination just pop in and out as if it was the last thing they expected to do that day.  The shopping experience is also different because Londoners have a high expectation and manners and etiquette seem to be top priority.  The sales people are very attentive and rather than it be like a shopping purchase it is more like a shopping experience. 


Once shopping was finished we went on to lunch.  In the financial district there are many options to eat from and since it was Friday all stores and eateries were open for business.  I say this because last time Jason and I were in the financial district after 6pm it was like a ghost town.  Only pubs were open which is primarily the business people getting off of work and drinking to make the day all better.  (very interesting) No problem with drinking and driving here because everyone takes a taxi, tube, or double decker bus home..

Our final stop was Trafalgar Square.  This was one of the few places Jason hadn't been with his group, therefore I had to show him where it was.  On my original tour I only stayed outside but today as we approached realized there is a gallery inside with amazing art.  This is a place I knew my sister Ramona would fall in love with.  The art was breathtaking!

The square dates back to the 14th century but only became a cultural square open to the public in 1830.  It is said to be the heart and soul of London.  As mentioned earlier it houses the National Gallery of Art. (http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/)

On our way out who could resist taking pictures amongst this amazing place.  Jason and I took a few cool shots and then went on in for the evening.  Pretty mellow evening.  We ate dinner in our room and relaxed in preparation to do it all again tomorrow. 

The British Museum

Today Jason left bright and early at 4am back to his dorm. Once he left I went to sleep until 11am London time.  It took me an hour once I was up to get dressed and ready to get on with my day.  At noon I was out the door and on my way to the British Museum.  I have to admit for a place that is only 1 mile away or 19 minutes by foot you would think I was hunting a buried treasure.  I got lost so many times and had to ask so many people which way was up or down.  Its fun to hear Londoners speak, with their this way, thatta way, your almost their.... in such a encouraging fashion.  I didn't feel too bad because you would ask Londoners which way is this place and they would say they didn't know either.  My face frowns as I'm thinking... oooohhh K.  As I am walking through the city making turns I find so many places or spots that I have no choice but to stop and smell the roses...

No literally there are gardens and parks everywhere and they come with flowers or pathways with greenery that is just not available in Arizona.

  It's so lush and pretty.  I tell Jason that unlike his group like setting and his drill Sargent Guide that's saying move it! move it! move it! I am just walking here to there without a care in the world.  No schedule to keep, no body to please, no one to follow.... ITS JUST ME! When I finally get to the Museum I take my sweet time walking and reading and taking in all the artifacts. Going through a Museum at this point in my life is so different then when I was younger.  I actually want to read the info and take in the information.  I am learning amazing things like Chess originated in India or how different currency started or when it ended.  I spent roughly 3 hours in the Museum and plan to  go back a few more times since I only got through 15% of it. 

One of the most amazing parts of the collection that I was able to witness was the Egyptian collection.  I learned about mummification and actually saw real life human remains. 

They even went as far as putting on display real human remains that were not mummified or bodies that were.  It appears the difference is the skin, teeth, even hair was attached.  They keep it at a certain tempeture in the glass to keep it preserved.  It was certainly fascinating to say the least.  I would have to say all and all the Musuem is certaintly very comprehensive and I believe its the largest of its kind due to the enormaty of the artifacts.

I was able to see the Chinese collection, African collection (brought in by Nelson Mandella and the many other Roman scuptures that were on display. 

When it was time to leave I headed back towards my part of town (how funny the Muesum is only a mile away) and thougt I could stop at my favorite place (McDonalds) for a cup of coffee.

  I sat looking out the window checking my face book and watched the comings and goings of Londoners trying to remember the faces (well really the cute outfits) but their faces too.  I tried to imagine myself living here (which is easy to do) but then my thoughts turned quickly to my family and friends and just like that my mind was back home.  (It was a nice vacation from the vacation, but those thoughts can be dangerous) especially since I love AZ.  Anyway moving on...

At McDonalds I connected with Jason and dinner plans were set.  He was finalizing his paper (homework) and we were set to leave around 5:30pm.  Our first mission was to try to make it to a store that Jason did some shopping at during the day and the lady was kind enough to hold the shirt until the end of the day.  We ducked and dived, ran and climbed public transportation  until I finally said Jason go without me (that sounds dramatic but it was) just so he could make it to the store before it closed at 6pm.  I did my best to stay with him and he kindly waited for me but I could sense the disappointment that we didnt make it,  but he did not allow that to spoil our time together at all.  We stopped off and had a glass of wine (his large mine small) and after 45 minutes of pleasentries and catching up we went on to dinner at Zitto's a quaint little Italian spot.  The awesome thing about London, is when you are in the right spot (next to a pub) you find many good food spots.  We were tired at this point (8pm London time) and so we ate and talked and made plans to go to Paris tomorrow. 

We are jumping on a train and hopefully plan to enjoy a few days in Paris....

Hope you are enjoying my blog so far!

Off Schedule

Yesterday was a very interesting day.  It started out with me sleeping in till 3pm London time.  This is completely no beuno because this means I lost a whole day just about, and it means I threw my sleep off.  Trying to adjust to the 8 hour time difference is hard enough but to sleep on your home pattern is not good. When I got up I was famished so I decided to go out and get some food but when I got up to leave I noticed it was raining.  I went back up stairs to try to wait it out and decided to do a load of laundry for Jason and me.  Within 5 mins the hard and steady rain was completely non-existent.  As the clothes washed (cost to wash a load is 3 pounds) so almost $5 American)

 I went to eat at one of the best places I have eaten so far since being in London.  I had a glass of wine (red Merlot) Pasta which turned out to be stuffed Ravioli with a grilled tomato and rocket. I indulged, eating cheese cake and hot tea.  The experience took over an hour.  I will remember the meal as my first great meal here in London.  After my meal, I went back to the dorm which is about 7-8 min from the restaurant and put the clothes up and unloaded some stuff.




 I then ventured out to find my local Kingdom Hall.  It can be difficult to find your way around and in the evening I have to be careful alone.  It seems safe here but with so many people one can't be sure.  After taking 3 trains on the tube and a double decker I was right in front of the Hall.  I felt home.  Its ironic that people were on the way to the Kingdom Hall as I arrived promptly at 7:30pm which made it easier to ask questions about service and meeting times.

 I wished I was dressed because I would have gone in and just sat there. I found that most meet at homes during the week for service which would make service difficult to go to until I meet someone but I was able to find out what time they meet for service and all the meetings.  I will have to settle for the Sunday meeting since Jason and I will be in Paris for the next few days.

On my way back I made a few stops in a few stores and added a few more streets into my mental rolodex.  I got home after 9pm and around midnight Jason came to see me.  He stayed with me until the morning.  He probably could tell I really missed him since I pretty much threatened him not to leave or else.  He got the picture alright. (LOL)





Just as I predicted when it came time to go to sleep I stayed up all night and fell asleep at 4am London time. I finished my book Water for Elephants and started the amazing Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.  I woke up at 11am which gave me a good amount of the day.

This and That!

I thought I would fill you in on what happens at night when I come back from a long day of site seeing.  First if it isn't confusing enough, at maybe 10-11pm your time when you might be winding down to go to sleep, we are starting our day.  This creates a interesting scenario when trying to communicate to folks back home.  When I get home for the day at 8-9pm you might be on your lunch at work, or you could be like my son on his summer break and just barely waking up for the day (lol).  Anyway since I am staying in a dorm I usually come home when there is nothing more to do and London is a city to avoid after dark unless I am with Jason.  It doesn't get dark here until after 9pm it seems and since we are at a dorm there is chatter and people moving about all night long.  This is my time to shower, rest my feet from walking all day, listen to my books on my Itouch or connect with my family or friends back home.  I update my blog all day (as time permits or as I find Internet on the way). In London all McDonald's have free Internet and you can find plenty of McDonald's here.  I am taking 200-300 pics a day so I have to spend some of my evening sorting those out before they get out of control and then likely I might finish or update my blog. 

This morning was the first time I saw Jason before he left for school.. (that was awesome).  I have no phone so we have roughly an hour to debrief every night before we go to bed. We mainly discuss each others day and figure out whats next for tomorrow.  He has been here longer and has done everything I am doing with school so he is an excellent person to bounce my plans off of.  He tells me where to eat, what to eat and how to get there.  His schedule is very long and hectic.  He leaves at 7:30am meets his group and gets home after 7pm of which he usually just came back from dinner.  He told me today to get a cell phone so I might be reconnected to the world after today.  We might trade converters or laundry or any other issue of the day.  That is one great things for him that I am here- I can get small things done for him that he simply wouldn't have any time for.

Piccadilly Circus

Today’s plan is to take the tube to Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square which can rightly be described as the heart and soul of London. Jason feels this is a starting point for me, since its highly traffic area is likely to be entertaining and educational. This will be my opportunity to see the House of Parliament & Big Ben. I don’t really see any other trademark being more symbolic of London that this. I believe this clock tower is the world’s most famous clock and if it’s not the biggest then certainly it must be the loudest. At least this will give me an opportunity to try the interesting cuisine that the locals enjoy as well as shop at the shops of Piccadilly Circus. The goal is to keep myself busy and to learn something at the same time.

Cont. 2pm London time
Showing up at Piccadilly Circus was rather easy from my place. You should have seen me at the terminal asking how this massive transport(the tube) works and trying to tell the guide that no matter how loud, fast, or British he wants to make the explanation I still don’t get it. After a few more points and grunts I was down the stairs headed towards Piccadilly Circus. When I arrived I was pleasantly surprised how fun this place was. Right away I realized I needed to catch a tour because there was just too much to see on foot. The Original Tour company is the tour I choose for only 25£, and for what I got it was worth every penny. Ultimately I was able to get a tour by a live guide of all the major tours in around a two hour time span. I covered all the major places to visit around the city and after lunch will continue on a few more sites. To name a few of the sites I have seen so far in detail would be too time consuming this time around so I will give a short list:


• Trafalgar Square

• Phiccadilly Square

• Big Ben

• London Bridge

• Hyde Park

• Wellington museum

• Buckingham Palace

• Westminster Abby

• The Tower of London

• Sherlock Holmes Pub

And many other places. I am now on my way to try out the Museum Tour of which I will likely spend the rest of my day at the British Museum since one of my bff’s Tronicia suggested it was a “must see”. You all are just getting to work and I am ending my evening with a tour- THE BLUE LINE! (4:30pm London time)http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1572271809&v=wall&story_fbid=131842236852783&ref=notif#!/album.php?aid=2057609&id=1572271809

Transistioning

The transition to London (while transitional) thanks to my getaway to Philly was no less easier to transition to.  I found myself sleepy and hungry, with limited options since everything is so foreign to me.  London's food has gotten poor reviews from the time I left AZ all the way up to my neighbor on the plane who frequents here often.  I decided to go to a hospital (which had a nice cafeteria) and at least the food was recognizable.  Its roughly 5pm or it could be 6pm I haven't seen a clock yet outside.  I am sitting at McDonald's people watching because they have free wireless.  What I notice about London besides it being the smoker capital of the world is that people seem busy.  There is a huge diverse group here with the young, old, black, white, Asian, and Indian population.  You can tell we are close to Paris because people dress very stylish and trendy despite age, or background.  Its interesting not to see as many obese people as you might see in the states (just a mental note) which might be because they either have horrible food options or they walk everywhere.  I plan to try to stay up as late as I can, perhaps catch up with Jason and get ready for adventure tomorrow.  I am thinking I might go ahead and do a tour (highly recommended by many who visit here) and then just relax.  I have started taking pictures but none that I can make sense of yet.  London is a pretty awesome city, that I can tell you and perhaps I will bring back a little more than stories with me to the states.

Cont.
I spent the remainder of my day walking around the city getting my bearings together. London can be overwhelming when you first get here especially without knowing anyone or knowing how to get anywhere. It helped me to just sit somewhere and create a plan. When I left McDonalds I decided that it might help if I connected with Jason. I lost my cell phone at the airport so when I got back to the dorm I had to wait at the front of the building to ensure I could catch him. I had to do this because Jason didn’t know I was in London since I lost my phone before I communicate I made the plane. As I waited I met many friends. My first friend a young Italian boy named Daniel who was an exchange student who was here to brush up on his fourth and least used language, English. He approached me to help him with the laundry machine and me being my open self ended up talking with him for over an hour about his travels and life in Italy. As I was giving him a quick easy “American” lesson (his words not mine) his Spanish friend from Spain walked up and discussed his travels and his endeavors to learn English as well. I was thinking that I didn’t count on when coming to London meeting Italians and Spanish boys. I guess London is the melting pot of Europe. I’m not sure that it looked all too well when Jason passed me he sees me sitting in the middle of two young guys. At the time none of that mattered because I finally felt safe and happy in his arms. I had to hold myself back when I saw him from screaming because it has been what over 5 days since we had seen each other last. It’s funny too because once we were together things just gelled and plans went into place as I knew they would. For the first time he was able to share all that he had seen and done freely with excitement. He stressed how rigorous the program was, and that he really just needed to relax and rest. Relax we did, and over all the evening was as perfect as I could have imagined. It is awesome to be in love and to connect with your soul mate after being so far from each other for so long. I remember being so grateful to hear Jason talk and felt so happy to listen to all that he had to say with no interruption.


Once Jason left I had to try to work on getting to sleep at midnight London time and 4pm Phoenix time. Yeah… that’s hard to do! I watched a movie and listened to my books and finally fell asleep. It is day 2 here in London for me and you all are on your way to bed since it around 10-11pm yesterday and 6-7am here in London (I know confusing) and my day here begins.

Visiting Philly

My weekend started off in Philadelphia wet and dreary and ended up being one of the most memorable weekends.  Yesterday when I arrived at the airport, it would be a understatement to say that I was sleep deprived. On Friday night my flight was suppose to leave at 10:35p.m. but was delayed so we left Phoenix at 12:42a.m. which made matters sorely worse since I was wondering how I was gonna stay up for the 10:35 flight.  With roughly 3 hours of sleep, two fifty pound bags in tow, and no hotel booked it would be a huge underestimation to say that I was in a very bad place.  Things started to look up once I got to my hotel about 2 hours later.  It was right about the same time that my head was about to hit the pillow that my bff Jerlyn texted me and said she would be at my hotel around 3pm.  I slept until 2pm and was ready to go. 

When Jerlyn showed up I was very hungry which explains why she found me milling around the lobby looking for something to eat. A friend of Jerlyns (Monica) who is familiar with the area suggested we all go to one of the best and most recommended places to eat Gino's or Pats Philly Chease Steak house. The decision was easy to make since we are in Philly and when in Rome....you must eat a Philly Cheese Steak sandwich.  The two best places(Gino's and Pats) rival each other and both had lines of over 30-40 hungry people(which just means you cant cut the line).  Gino's won the toss of which we were all the real winners because the sandwich was cheesy, heavenly, and amazing.  If I had to describe the sandwich I would give it one word and that is authentic.  Nothing more than simple ingredients (fresh bread, steak, onions, and cheese) all tossed and shoveled in my warm gooey bread with love. Definitely a must if you visit Philadelphia. I topped that sandwich off with some cheese fries and a Coke and I was in a awesome place. 

As we were leaving and still licking our fingers from our sandwiches we decided to stop by a local shaved ice spot called Rita's.  G-E-L-A-T-I is what they serve (mango) with vanilla custard on it and in it.  Literally it was so good. 

The night ended on market street as I stopped in to check out the Liberty Bell down town as well as some local shop downtown.

 We ended the evening people watching while drinking horrible drinks outside.  We were not short of comments about all the girls wearing skimpy or crazy looking clothing.  (All and all a pretty awesome night).  Spent Sunday morning walking around the airport corridor where all the hotels are at trying to get some sort of exercise in to make up for that Philly Cheese Steak. Enjoyed a wonderful brunch at Jones restaurant on 7st and Chestnut.  Again the food there is awesome, my dish included Salmon Benedict with a Guava Cranberry Mimosa.  Now I am at the airport telling you all about it.  I soon to board my plane and get to London to see my hubby Jason by morning. 

My London Connection

So far I am ahead of schedule on my travels. I was able to book my flight into Philadelphia and I am now on my way to enjoy a side trip. When I called the airlines this week I was told that the flight Saturday was booked or oversold so it might be difficult to get out on that flight to London. I was told the flight for Sunday was wide open and would make it to London as planned on Monday. Fortunately I gave my self 2 days of travel time for situations like this because with standby you really don’t know what might happen. To keep the adventure going I decided to go to Philadelphia early and make a weekend out of it. One of my oldest bff’s is meeting me in Philly to hang out and take on the town. Part of that includes but is not limited too getting a Philly cheese steak sandwich and if that doesn’t give me a heart attack I might go on to see the liberty bell or something like that.


As far as my flight to Philly it was good (minor turbulence) and many clouds. It is drizzling here and it is a little humid. I guess I will have to wash and wear my hair today.

Day 1-London

Jason's first text brought much relief and excitement since he let me know he made it safely. He mentioned I could text to him unlimited of which he is probably saying to himself I said unlimited not without let up. I had many questions of which he has not answered even half of them. So far what I know is the flight was great if you have a window seat, and the weather is cold or chilly in London. He managed to take the tube to the Schafer Hall (where we will be staying) with much ease. Apparently there is a lot of walking though which makes sense since we are using public transportation. He forgot to bring the international adapter (first mishaps) but nothing too complicated. I believe he was able to pick one up locally. He is able to brief me in on all the stuff I might want to pack or pick up before I leave which is a nice perk to having your other half leave a few days before you leave.

Note to self: Bring Jason's sunglasses he forgot on the coffee table....

Jason is in London.

This morning I got a text message from Jason that said: "I'm here!!!!!! Great flight very cold will change clothes very soon :O love you. I can receive unlimited text. Spread the word!

Jason has arrived safe and sound and it was all in a blink of an eye.

Just close your eyes and when you wake up......

As I lay my head down to get some sleep, my thoughts wonder what Jason is doing on the plane right now. Sleeping no doubt, and if I could imagine him saying anything to me, it would be to just close my eyes and when you wake up I will be able to talk to you again. It is a frustrating feeling to not be able to speak or see someone when you want to. Especially in the information age when everything is right at our fingertips all the time. Today I sat in on a meeting at work where they are considering software that will allow sales reps to speak into a headphone so they wont have to type anymore. The software is designed to relate your words into text on the screen for you, so it shouldn't be surprising that when I want to speak to Jason (anytime or anywhere) I should be able to do so right? So you guessed it, I called the airplane and Jason picked up the phone at his seat. We spoke about many things, but in particular we spoke about our love and how much we didn't want to be apart. This conversation admittedly happened in my head but that is ok... The important thing is that we spoke....At least our hearts did.

A Work Day Away

Jason leaves to London tomorrow and I can't help but think that I will be super sad without him. We have never been separated before and when I say separated I mean we pretty much do everything together. It starts with work, then gym, home, meetings, we even have all the same friends... (well sort of). Anyway, this is the first time I wont see Jason for a few days but the real catch is we will be over 5278 miles away from each other. We will be separated by bodies of water, lower temperatures, cultures and daily tea until Saturday. The largest degree of separation we will experience is being a work day away. London is exactly 8 hours difference from our time table hear in AZ which makes communication very difficult. My routine involves waking up at 4:30 am which might be my best chance to catch Jason since it will be 12:30pm in London. I’m pretty sure he will be in class all day so that idea most likely can be eliminated. I get to work at 7am of which it will be 3pm for Jason. On my lunch break he will be eating dinner and when I get off of work at 5:30pm he will be sleeping since it will be 1:30am in the morning. All in all we will do our best to stay connected until we can see each other again.

Transportation

I guess you could say there are many modes of transportation that we will have to rely on between my door step and Shaffer Hall. As I think about this reality I do what all good travelers do which is plug in my handy dandy google maps to check my streets and distances from point A-B. Once we get to LHR (London Heathrow Airport) my time there should roughly be about 10am. I am thinking after 14-19 hours on the plane (depending on what plane I make it on since I fly standbye)my main goal will probably be to get to a place where I can rest my body horizontally for another 2-3 hours for a nap (jk) who could sleep after arriving in London at 10am? Sleeping is for grandpa's and grandma's. No disrespect to all the grandma's and grandpa's who are following me... Moving on, our dorm room is roughly 40 minutes from the airport and it appears we have a few options to get there. Taxi, bus, Tube, rail, car, tram, foot, and by bike. My guess is I can take the Tube (subway) or the bus (the scenic route). You will have to stay tuned on how I figure that one out. Other than that I have read about a money saving pass that will allow me to utilize many of London's travel options that is inclusive of 55 attractions around London. My plan is to start my research to see if this is the cost saving option I have been looking for.

London Weather

As time gets closer and Jason and I start packing our bags we finally feel it is time to start checking the weather in London. What I know about London weather is we will primarily experience warm weather. We are not going during the hottest part of the summer (August) however July should average temperatures of (70°F). Ultimately this is very different from AZ weather (112°F) we are experiencing now. From what I am reading on the Londonist (a London website) the weather can be unpredictable. I think if we keep an open mind, an umbrella and a rain coat tucked in a back pack somewhere we will be fine. I am pretty sure the weather won’t detract from what my daily plans will be. I say this because I have no daily plans. I am taking more of a check list and based on the weather or how that day I feel I will pick what I want to do that day. One of the things I plan to do is sit in a coffee shop and people watch so perhaps if it rains all day I can elect to do that on that day! See what I mean... I am just open.

So little time so much to do!

On my morning run I allowed my mind to drift to more pleasant thoughts (to take my mind off the heat and fact that I was out of breathe on the first quarter of a mile (lol). I started thinking about how fast 17 days can come and go and what I wanted to accomplish or see while in London. One of my travel rituals involves visiting the local Kingdom Hall to meet my brothers and sisters. This usually tends to be the fastest way to meet the locals while getting to do other things like getting to the best local restaurants, or sites. I have started mapping out my zip codes and putting together a list of things I would like to see such as..... Buckingham Palace, some famous British Museums, and Big Ben. I would love to hear from you if you have any ideas on what you would do if you were in London!

The Journey is Up 2 Me

What does it take to be considered a great traveler? Travel is an escape from reality right? You pay, pack, and journey into another world where people who eat, stay, and live everyday already. Arriving into their world seems so interesting to ponder over. It never ceases to amaze me how similar or how different people can be once you enter their world even across bodies of water. This is the primary component of being a great traveler... the ability of leaving your world and entering someone’s else’s without a trace . Of course to journey one must leave their chaotic state of being only to enter the temporary sanctuary of peace we call vacation. This is a time without cell phones, needy kids, scheduled agenda's and time off of work! All for what? Besides returning to triple the emails and the blinking red light on my phone, it is to gain an experience or new memories that you can take with you on your days to come. It is a visited place that is forever in your mind for those hectic days that you can escape too. I find that I often leave my memories at my vacation site never to revisit them in times of need and it is only when I am dusting the photo album or when I am looking for the next cute face book profile pic that I run across some distant pictures from a random trip I took. I want to be better at mentally putting my vacations to better use or better yet to have some memories at my disposal vs. memories that have already been disposed. I want to learn while on vacation even if it’s about who I am while not on vacation sort of like a reflection period. Who is to say I can't come back sharper, or refined?

Stop and smell the roses

On every trip whether short or long, it has always had some life changing moment for me. As I contemplate ways I want this trip to change me, I can't help but think about many opportunities that could also pass me by due to the fast pace hustle and bustle of the city, the cars passing, the horns honking, the lights changing and so on and so on. I want to find a way to slow down, to take it all in. I feel it will be my obligation to share many of my experiences with my family, and Jason since I wont see him all the time. Yes he will have his own experiences to share but no doubt since he will be in school he will have a different mindset. I want to stress to myself that sitting outside at a bus stop, or as I wait in line to eat can have a aha element just the same as wandering through a museum. It is my norm to be thinking about the next thing, and how I can be accomplishing something while I am doing that thing and I can see if I think along this path I might miss the main thing. Perhaps I will work on my brain, and the thinking that it must do, so that I am able to change my thoughts or the path of my thoughts with the minor goal of
s-l-o-w-i-n-g d-o-w-n.

Travelers tools

I am on a new quest to find as many travelers tools that I can find. Frommers seems to be a great site and we have purchased the book from Frommers for London since it is so detailed. As I explore I think about all the streams of information and try to figure out necessity over "stuff" and find that there are three main pieces of info I can get from Frommers. Information on the city, advice on what to do, and last but not least when is the best time to do all this stuff. I am finding that airline companies even have travel tools for different countries which makes sense I guess, but perhaps there is one tool that you have found that you could share that would be more helpful over any of these tools or sites. The Internet seems to be helpful but at this point I feel like info is buried somewhere like a needle in a haystack or there is information overload which ultimately leaves me back to the starting point of where it all began. Again if you know any tools that might be able to help me find things to do while in Europe please send them over this way!

Tea Time

Jason and I have entertained the idea of becoming tea drinkers especially since we are going to London and Paris. I say this because in my mind it seems like the drink of choice in Europe is tea, and when we get there we want to at least be able to enjoy this drink along with the experience that comes with it. Our quest began in a tea store in chandler mall when purchasing a tea set for my brother. While in San Francisco (actually in China town) we did a tea tasting and had the lovely experience of learning about many different types of teas along with the many wonderful benefits that come from drinking tea. After all besides water, tea is the most widely consumed drink in the world. Among the various varieties we found that tea is used for reasons ranging from weight loss all the way to medicinal. Heck I just thought this stuff taste good. Here in the the US it seemed to me that ice tea was more popular well sweetened with some sort of artificial flavor. Ultimately after my tea tasting I learned that drinking tea this was is the exact opposite of what drinking tea is all about. All and all I look forward to learning what the tea experience is like in another country.

Fair weather accoutrements...

How do you prepare for climate you are not use to? Do you buy the heaviest jacket in Macy's or treat it like an Arizona summer with flip flops and a Wheaties t shirt? In our current element Arizona weather ranges from 95 degrees (OK this is at night) to 111. My clothes with the exception of when I go to work consist of a short piece of tatterred cloth and some sort of hair tie to keep my hair off of my neck. I am sure you can imagine our concern when picking out clothes to wear in another country where the summer weather ranges from the low 50's to the mid 60's. To help us with this problem we decided to spend a quick weekend in San Fransisco which has similar weather currently to London. Among other ideas to prepare I have to say this is by far the funnest. We are immersed in fashion while getting a strong sense of what people wear in cooler weather. I wasn't really sure what I would find with weather like this in the summer because people could be wearing large jackets and boots or they could be wearing shorts with a sweatshirt. Here in SF we found both ranges but along the way we found our style. It helps to have a stylish hubby who can guide you. Learning what true fashion is (which is definitely an exploration I am on) involves much more. I am finding it involves being you with a tailored or a refined classy edge. All and all our homework is done and now we can go on and have some fun in this wonderful little town.

Accomodations

During the duration of our stay in London we plan on visiting 3 places. London, Paris & Amsterdam. I am not really sure how we came up with Paris and Amsterdam but that is what we decided. We have heard of how wonderful and beautiful Paris is and I have two friends who gave Amsterdam very high recommendations so we can just go with that. Jason's accommodations are pretty simple since he will be in a dorm at Oxford, but my accommodations seemed at the onset to be complicated. There is of course the option for our timeshare (well until we found out that July in London is high time and all the timeshares were taken. Jim (the RCI representative) assured me he would do all he could to call me if something came available but after a week I stopped holding my breathe. The next idea was a hotel of which was super expensive. In London the cheapest hotel was $89 dollars a day and that was in a not so safe neighborhood so that was out. The last option that we found most advantageous was staying in a dorm room too. We found many dorms that were willing to offer ASU alumni rooms at a very modest rate ($28-$32) dollars a day. All in all I was able to book my 2 week stay for under $500 dollars which works perfect for me. Its a room with a bed and desk and all I need. So there you have it. We are booked for the better part of our trip. Now we have to figure out is where we will stay while in Paris and Amsterdam. Any suggestions???

Ticket Search

Buying our tickets started out real tricky. Being the savvy shopper than I am, it was my ultimate goal to save as much as I could just for bragging rights. I love travel so this is what I do best, and I am in sales so how hard could it be to negotiate a little airfare? Since it doesn't exactly work that way I had to move on to plan b. Standby. I paid $430 for my ticket to London using Open Skies and I will be using the carrier US Airways. I am thinking that I have very good chances to get on the flight and so what if I get bumped, tripped, scrapped up on the way... I saved over 1,000 on this ticket. My hubby's Jason barely got his ticket for $1200 and that felt like we were at an auction bidding. We went through many different screens, carriers back and forth and ultimately we got it down to the $1200 whew... its over we are booked. He is going on Delta and I am flying on US Airway... For me it all means 10 flights a day heading to Philadelphia from Phoenix only to leave on one large flight to LHR (London Heathrow) at 9:55pm at night. Jason will ultimately travel with out stress or worry since he paid not to worry.

How it came about that we decided to go to London.

It started about 3 months ago when Jason (my husband)was meeting with his ASU counselor. During the meeting he found out that in order to graduate that he must travel abroad. Many options were given but the two that we actually considered were Australia and London. After much deliberating we settled on London. He will be gone roughly a month and I will follow him for about 2 weeks. The funny thing is we don't plan on spending much time together. He will be studying at Oxford University while I spend my days in Paris and London roaming, shopping, and learning. I plan on meeting up with my local kingdom hall and hopefully engaging in the ministry which seems to be the best way to know someone locally. I thought since I will have much time on my hands I will get to write about my experience. I am new to writing, and certainly never have written any sort of blog so let the reader beware.


Graciously,

Flora