This wasn't Jack's first trip to England or Scotland (Karrie, his mom, was a flight attendent while he was in high school which allowed for quite a bit of international travel for Jacky), but it was our first international trip as a married couple.
We arrived at 9 a.m. London time and decided to fight jetlag by acting like we had just woken up from a wonderful nights rest. After taking the tube in to Victoria station and walking the rest of the way to our bed and breakfast (by the way, it turns out it was just bed...if you wanted breakfast you had to pay more)we set out on our first adventure. We walked to Green Park...
where I frolicked...
and then continued on to Westminster Abbey. Unfortunately, due to a senior flower association convention we were unable to go in.
But here are a few pictures from the outside. 
Jack in front of Big Ben
We walked along the river Thames to Trafalgar Square, and on past Piccadilly Circus to The British Museum.
Pillaging and looting are to thank for the amazing treasures found in this remarkable museum. Above is the Rosetta Stone. 
By this time of the day, jet lag was setting in. We took 3 separate cat naps. We would sit down for a minute and wake up about 15 minutes later feeling refreshed enough to go a little further, but still exhausted. Thus, the seemingly unhappy faces in the next few pictures. 
This was the most amazing collection of artifacts and history that I have ever seen in my life. If I lived in London I know where I would spend my weekends.
cheap shot 
Earliest version of the Rubber Ducky...Ceramic Ducky 
Jack looking a little more lively after a cat nap 
Sausha still looking sleepy 
My husband still has an obsession with swords. 
The section devoted to Buddhism. 
This is from the African Exhibit. When we left the museum it was probably about 7:30 p.m. We went straight back to our hotel and were asleep by 9 p.m. 
Let's just say Day 2 we were feeling much more refreshed. 
Tower Bridge. As this was my first trip to London I wanted to make sure and see as much of the city as I could in the small amount of time that we had. Jack was a good sport when I suggested walking from our bed and breakfast to the Tower of London (it was only 9 miles...) We walked down the Thames River almost the entire way. It was a beautiful day and although my feet hurt a bit, it was totally worth it. 
This is a stain glass window from inside of the tower of London. 
It was an amazing thing to walk where so much recorded history has taken place. The crown jewels are also kept here at the tower of London, but I have to say, I had a rather sick feeling in my stomach as I saw the amount of wealth the kings and queens of England flaunt and knowing that many of these rulers could have stopped poverty in their kingdom by merely selling their jewels and providing food with the profit. There was also an eery feeling walking through the gift store which is located where the political prisoners of the tower were tortured and often killed. Eery... 
The rest of the day was spent visiting the Winston Churchill Museum, The National Gallery (also amazing!) and watching The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre. 
Day 3. After we attended church (we were very disappointed to hear an American accent from the speaker...)we caught a train to SCOTLAND! It is somewhat cheesy, but going to the area that a large portion of my ancestors come from was a great experience. The train ride was 5 hours from London to Edinburgh, but the scenery was incredible! 
We spent the rest of the day just roaming around parks and looking at centuries old chapels. I would highly suggest taking a trip here at some point in your life time. I hope I will have the chance to go back and spend time in the country side. 
This is me in front of my castle...nice huh. 
\ 
This was when I (Jack) had posession of the camera. Here are some action shots of some of the wildlife in Scotland. Above is a rabid squirrel. Well, possibly rabid.
A seagull, one of the rarities ever seen in the animal kingdom.
Sausha took this picture which she brags about and I reluctantly admit is better than any of the photos I took.
Day 4. Here we are in Edinburgh Castle. Unlike the Tower of London, this castle has a good feel to it; despite knowing that people were probably tortured here as well. It sits on top of a rocky hill giving it an almost mythological feel. Sausha has officially claimed it as her own and has graciously allowed me passage any time I like.
Here is a view from the castle of the city.
After Edinburgh Castle we went on a walk through one of the many parks in Edinburgh. This picture is in the middle of the city. Needless to say it is a somewhat picturesque place.
Another view from the park.
Also from the park, showing off my cameras incredible zoom capability.
STONEHENGE! no not really, still the park.
We then went to the Scottish Royal Natural History Museum. We went in with low expectations having just come from the Brittish Museum, however, we were blown away by how much they had. There were seven floors of artifacts, some dating back to 6,000 B.C. They also had a science section that was designed for kids, or immature adults like us. The above is a robot that spelled out your name with blocks after you input your name. You will notice the spell-o-bot is in the process of spelling JACKATTACK. 
An immature adult fascinated with the children's science section at the museum.
Another immature adult testing to see if his reflexes were as quick as a race car driver's. Turns out that nascar is not in my blood.
Day 5. After taking the train ride back to London we checked into our box called a hotel. It was called the easy hotel, which sounds a little promiscuous, but turns out is just small. This is our whole room. I am standing in the doorway taking this picture. Where Sausha's legs are is the only way to get onto the bed because it is completly enclosed by the walls. Needless to say we felt like we were going to suffocate. 
This is St. Paul's Cathedral. We wanted to go inside here also but another senior citizen convention foiled our plans. I was also dissapointed at not seeing the bird woman selling here wares on the stairs. We absolutely would have spent two pence to feed the birds.
Once again Sausha showing everyone that she is much more artisically inclined then her husband.
St. Paul's from the front. You'll notice the seniors lining up at the bottom left hand side of the picture. We ended the evening by going the play Les Miserables which was fabulous. I had only read the book, but suddenly understood all the music I had heard on my mission from the play. We both decided it was our favourite of the plays we saw.
cheap shot 
Earliest version of the Rubber Ducky...Ceramic Ducky 
Jack looking a little more lively after a cat nap 
Sausha still looking sleepy 
My husband still has an obsession with swords. 
The section devoted to Buddhism. 
This is from the African Exhibit. When we left the museum it was probably about 7:30 p.m. We went straight back to our hotel and were asleep by 9 p.m. 
Let's just say Day 2 we were feeling much more refreshed. 
Tower Bridge. As this was my first trip to London I wanted to make sure and see as much of the city as I could in the small amount of time that we had. Jack was a good sport when I suggested walking from our bed and breakfast to the Tower of London (it was only 9 miles...) We walked down the Thames River almost the entire way. It was a beautiful day and although my feet hurt a bit, it was totally worth it. 
This is a stain glass window from inside of the tower of London. 
It was an amazing thing to walk where so much recorded history has taken place. The crown jewels are also kept here at the tower of London, but I have to say, I had a rather sick feeling in my stomach as I saw the amount of wealth the kings and queens of England flaunt and knowing that many of these rulers could have stopped poverty in their kingdom by merely selling their jewels and providing food with the profit. There was also an eery feeling walking through the gift store which is located where the political prisoners of the tower were tortured and often killed. Eery... 
The rest of the day was spent visiting the Winston Churchill Museum, The National Gallery (also amazing!) and watching The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theatre. 
Day 3. After we attended church (we were very disappointed to hear an American accent from the speaker...)we caught a train to SCOTLAND! It is somewhat cheesy, but going to the area that a large portion of my ancestors come from was a great experience. The train ride was 5 hours from London to Edinburgh, but the scenery was incredible! 
We spent the rest of the day just roaming around parks and looking at centuries old chapels. I would highly suggest taking a trip here at some point in your life time. I hope I will have the chance to go back and spend time in the country side. 
This is me in front of my castle...nice huh. 
\ 
This was when I (Jack) had posession of the camera. Here are some action shots of some of the wildlife in Scotland. Above is a rabid squirrel. Well, possibly rabid.
A seagull, one of the rarities ever seen in the animal kingdom.
Sausha took this picture which she brags about and I reluctantly admit is better than any of the photos I took.
Day 4. Here we are in Edinburgh Castle. Unlike the Tower of London, this castle has a good feel to it; despite knowing that people were probably tortured here as well. It sits on top of a rocky hill giving it an almost mythological feel. Sausha has officially claimed it as her own and has graciously allowed me passage any time I like.
Here is a view from the castle of the city.
After Edinburgh Castle we went on a walk through one of the many parks in Edinburgh. This picture is in the middle of the city. Needless to say it is a somewhat picturesque place.
Another view from the park.
Also from the park, showing off my cameras incredible zoom capability. 
STONEHENGE! no not really, still the park.
We then went to the Scottish Royal Natural History Museum. We went in with low expectations having just come from the Brittish Museum, however, we were blown away by how much they had. There were seven floors of artifacts, some dating back to 6,000 B.C. They also had a science section that was designed for kids, or immature adults like us. The above is a robot that spelled out your name with blocks after you input your name. You will notice the spell-o-bot is in the process of spelling JACKATTACK. 
An immature adult fascinated with the children's science section at the museum.
Another immature adult testing to see if his reflexes were as quick as a race car driver's. Turns out that nascar is not in my blood.
Day 5. After taking the train ride back to London we checked into our box called a hotel. It was called the easy hotel, which sounds a little promiscuous, but turns out is just small. This is our whole room. I am standing in the doorway taking this picture. Where Sausha's legs are is the only way to get onto the bed because it is completly enclosed by the walls. Needless to say we felt like we were going to suffocate.
This is St. Paul's Cathedral. We wanted to go inside here also but another senior citizen convention foiled our plans. I was also dissapointed at not seeing the bird woman selling here wares on the stairs. We absolutely would have spent two pence to feed the birds.
Once again Sausha showing everyone that she is much more artisically inclined then her husband.
St. Paul's from the front. You'll notice the seniors lining up at the bottom left hand side of the picture. We ended the evening by going the play Les Miserables which was fabulous. I had only read the book, but suddenly understood all the music I had heard on my mission from the play. We both decided it was our favourite of the plays we saw. So the next morning we caught a train and went to the airport and hopped on our seemingly endless plane back to the states. It was uncomfortable, what with the crochety old man sitting behind me who successfully woke me up everytime he had to use the facilities which occured frequently, and also succeded in biting Sausha's head while sitting down. The flight was long and by this point I had had enough of seniors ruining my fun. We got back however and were happy to be home. We loved our trip, but more than anything else I think we enjoyed being together for a week without the constrictions of school and work.
3 comments:
So somehow I missed this when you posted it two weeks ago despite my daily blog-stalking!
It looks like you had SO much fun! Beautiful pictures, and I'm still jealous.
Gorgeous pictures--your trip sounds like it was absolutely AMAZING! I love all the pics, so I can see England vicariously through you Sausha!
One thing that is disturbing to me...the end o the post talks about a "crochety old man" who "succeded in biting Sausha's head while sitting down."--WHAT?!
We appreciate the English spelling and vocabulary; it makes the blog authentic. Will and I are going to search airlines for cheap tickets once a day from now on. Actually, it might have to wait until after we pay our insurance.
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