Holiday Photos #31

We saw and did a lot on our first couple of days in London, but the photos are a bit sparse. I suspect it was because this is when William hurt his foot and when we got out of the ER, I spent more time paying attention to how he was holding up than I did taking photographs. Still, I took some.


William wanted to see the changing of the guard. We had front row..., er, front fence seats...,er, standing room. It was mildly entertaining. Certainly not something I need to do again. Sam and Kyla want to see it on the upcoming trip and I suggested they go on one of the two days they'll be in London before we arrive.

I thought the crowds that came to witness the event and the statues near Buckingham Palace were a lot more interesting. Check out the kangaroo in the nearest sculpture in the above photo. And the variety of people and clothing in the crowd. Remember you can click on the photos to see more detail.

This was a beautiful multi-sculpture statue - or would that be a multi-statue sculpture in the middle of the traffic circle in front of Buckingham Palace. You can't see it in this photo, but it even had fountains on the bottom design tier. I took a lot of photos of sculptures and statues and most of them I put up on Laume's Studio.



We mosied over to Trafalgar Square. They were doing some cleaning or repair work on many of the sculptures but we still enjoyed wandering around. It was pretty but, I really liked the energy in Leicester Square a few blocks away better. I went in the National Gallery (the building on the left) for awhile but William's foot hurt and he sat and people watched.

And pigeon watched. I think this was the first place either of us had seen large "gangs" of pigeons. Did we see pigeons like this in New York City?...... no, not that I remember - although I'm sure they are there - we just watched the movie Enchanted. I love the clean up scene with all the New York City "wildlife".

Lots of beautiful fountains.

In the overview photo above of the square, you can see a church spire just left of the fountain in the center. I can't remember the name of the church... St. Martins? Beneath the church is cafeteria style dining (but excellent food) called Lunch in the Crypt. Pull up a chair. Dine with some of the local residents. Or more accurately, dine ON some of the local residents.


I took this photo with a telephoto lens from inside the cloisters of Westminster Cathedral. I liked the complex design of the towers in the background in contrast to the more modern interpretation of a .... phoenix? dragon?... on the pole on the right.

So, now, go check out all photographs of the sculptures and statues I posted over on Laume's Studio. And then we'll leave London behind (but don't worry, we'll be back later) for someplace COMPLETELY different!

Quack, Quack, Quack! (Warning - This post contains excessive use of exclamation points!)

I mentioned about a week ago that there were plans afoot and ducks being rounded up and put in a row, yes? Well, there's still a lot of feather grooming to be done but those ducks finally lined up nicely and here's where they're headed -

Paris!!!!!!

(Imagine I've screamed that at you in a high pitched voice that make your ears bleed and that only dogs can completely hear) (and yes, the sky was really that color.) But wait, that's not all! We also will have a little time in.....

London!!!!!!

"Have a little time" - get it? Little time? Big Ben? I know, I'm just too funny for words!

We were only planning to go to Paris but it turns out, for reasons known only to air flight planners, that it's much cheaper to fly to London. So much cheaper that it absorbs the cost of the Eurostar to Paris and still saves us money!

And that's not even all the good news! For the first week, my son Sam and his girlfriend will be joining us for a mad cap couple of days first in London followed by another two days racing through the sights in Paris! Then they, being resourceful young adults, will find their way back across the channel and fly home while hubby and I will spend another much more relaxing, cafe sitting, museum browsing, street wandering week, just the two of us, in the City of Love, Lights, Chocolate, Coffee, Frenchiness, and all manner of OLD THINGS!

I could go on and on, and I'm sure I will, until you're tired of hearing about it. We leave in just eight weeks, so that's eight weeks of me blathering enthusiastically and annoyingly about things like what sort of luggage to use and what kind of shoes to buy, what color scheme to wear and whether to stay in the Latin Quarter or Montmartre. I'll try to pace myself. And I'm open to any and all suggestions for hole in the wall restaurants, best patissieries, must see streets or gardens, etc.

Okay, this time I'll be kind and give you a chance to get your hands over your ears first. Ready?.....

I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!