Day 20

We got up fairly early this morning because Tami had a doctor’s appointment at 9am. We hung out at the BX waiting for her. We got a cinnabon and coffee while we waited. The gift stores opened so I also got another tea for one for the Perrys. I had Adamm and Serena help me pick it out. It has cottages on it. Serena was really pouty because she really wanted this brown vest and I didn’t have the money to buy it for her. Anything that is bought in the BX itself has to be paid with dollars and either Tami or Paul have to buy it. Anyways, we eventually set out for Dover around 10:40am. Tami told Serena that she had to stop sulking and asked her if she could pay her back for the vest in September when they came to visit. That did the trick! Serena fell asleep on the way there, but James didn’t. It was so cute, because they were holding hands. Aw! It took a couple of hours to get to Dover. We stopped once on the way because James had to go potty. Serena had to go as well, but we just pulled off at this viewing spot (which had a beautiful view, btw) and there were no bathrooms there. Tami whips out her Shewee for Serena because she was balking at going in the woods. Lol This shewee was too funny! It’s a funnel that you put in your clothes so you don’t even have to undress. You take it out when you’re done and toss it out. It even said to practice in the shower! She said she got it from a friend of hers. Serena wouldn’t go that route. We went through some cool tunnels and over a suspension bridge with a view of London. I also got to pay the £1 toll…it was on my side! Lol We also passed by the station where you load on your car to take the Chunnel. I thought the sign looked so funny, because it was a car inside of a train. Dover was so cool! The castle was up on the white cliffs of Dover. We parked and bought our tickets for the tour of the Secret Wartime Tunnels then found some lunch at the NAAFI Restaurant. NAAFI stands for Navy, Army, Air Force Institute. They had pictures of enlisted men and women eating here during wartime. Our day today was very historical. Serena had another jacket potatoe. She has grown quite fond of those. I think it’s funny that in England they have baked beans throughout the day as well as tea. After lunch we still had a couple of hours to kill so we walked up to the keep. We explored the souvenir shop there. Adamm saw some swords he wanted to buy, but the least expensive one was £60! They didn’t have any daggers. I got him some rat droppings instead (chocolate covered candies! Lol). Tami bought him a sign for his door that said to basically keep out. Adamm, Serena and I went to the top of the keep whilst Tami, Paul and James explored below. There were about a hundred steps of winding stairway to get to the top. The view was wonderful! By the time we got down from the keep it was about time for our tour in the tunnels. The tour was pretty cool. We walked the tunnels they did during the war! We saw where they lived, worked, operated, etc. It was amazing! We had some older ladies on our tour who were a bit intolerant of the little ones, and James wasn’t the only one there. She yelled at the kids to shut up…how rude! We saw a couple of short films along the tour to give us more background knowledge on what we were seeing as well. It was so cool! After the tour we asked some of the locals for a good dining spot. They suggested Cullin’s Yard down by the English Channel. We stopped at the Admiralty Lookout on the way to the parking lot. What a view! We’ve noticed that birds in England are very bold. One seagull landed on the roof of Paul’s car as we were packing up to leave! Lol Talk about bold! We found the restaurant easily and were very happy there. The food was good (Adamm’s still had its faces…he loved it! Lol), service was great, the atmosphere was awesome…it was perfect! On top of it all, the prices were reasonable. After dinner we wandered down to the waterfront. Tami wanted to put her feet in the English Channel. Adamm, Serena and I touched the water! Lol Serena wanted to collect some of the English Channel water for Morgan, so she used a water bottle we had in the car. Adamm and Serena also played tag with the waves. On the way home Serena was hoping that James would go to sleep so she could watch “The Little Mermaid.” James had trumped her decision to watch it on the last trip, so Tami said he had to let her watch it on this trip. Well, they started to watch it on the way there, but James got scared when the sharks came out, so they had to turn it off. Serena said she would watch it when he went to sleep, but he never slept on the way home! Lol We got home just after 10pm. James was overly tired and it took awhile to get him to sleep. I had to laugh at one of his comments today. Tami was putting him in his carseat for the trip home. He was fiddling with it as she was trying to put it on and she got frustrated and loudly told him to stop it. He then said, “Mummy, stop being so grouchy! We should get you a t-shirt that says grouchy Mummy.” Lol She was going to put a t-shirt on him this morning that said that his daddy was grouchy. Paul had only gotten about 3 hours of sleep because he was working on his paper for his class. He ended up wearing the grouchy sweatshirt he had! Lol I guess you had to be there, but it was really funny! I started blogging when we got home, but got too tired and had to finish the next day.

Day 19

We slept in again today. I guess Adamm and Serena have been wearing James out. He’s usually up pretty early. We decided to go to the later mass today. We had toast (using Tami’s new toast rack that says, “Ideal Storage at Home or on Safari.”) and cereal and Paul’s really strong coffee. When we were all showered, dressed and ready (around noon or so) we drove to Bury St. Edmunds and parked in a municipal-type lot. We walked through the town to the gardens. Paul showed me England’s smallest pub, the Nutshell. It was tiny! When we got to the main square they had some type of dance festival going on. I took some video footage and pictures. They were pretty good, as far as folk dancing goes. The Abbey Gardens were beautiful! The colors of the flowers were so vibrant! Paul and Tami took us to their favorite picnic spot and we had our picnic lunch amongst the ruins of St. Edmunds Abbey. It was cool! The kids and I played Hide and Go Seek Tag amongst the ruins. We had a blast! It was really hard to find people, and even harder to catch them once you did! Adamm was especially adept at hiding. We found a tree that Serena insisted on climbing, but she needed my help to get up there. The cathedral in town was beautiful as well. We got some shots of it from the gardens. Mary Tudor, sister to Henri VIII, is buried there. I also read that Charles Dickens frequented this town and wrote about it in some of his works. It is a quaint medieval town. After lunch we went to the park and let James have some fun on the slides and swings while Adamm and Serena looked for flint stones. The ruins are all made of that stone. They managed to find some, and guess who had to carry the larger stones they found? That’s right! Mom, the pack mule! Lol We drove back to the farm and prepared the tater tot casserole and brownies. Today was a bit chilly, but the brief glimpses of sun helped to warm it up a bit. We got dressed for mass and set out, without Paul and James. Tami thought it might be a bit too much excitement for him in one day. Well, we checked at both Mildenhall and Lakenheath, and neither chapel had an afternoon mass! We were pretty disappointed. While Tami had her bloodwork done we went to the BX to shop around some. We ended up getting more batteries for Adamm’s mp3 player. When we got home we had dinner then played Wii fit for awhile. It was so funny! Paul had to finish up his paper, so we stopped around 10pm. The upstairs light in the bathroom blew out, which blew out the other ones upstairs as well. We got ready for bed in the dark.

Day 18

Today we were all (except Paul) planning on going to the market in Bury St. Edmunds then to Lavenham to see the crooked houses. Tami calls it the Dr. Seuss Village. Lol James changed our schedule a bit, though, as he got sick. He threw up twice, so we decided to keep him home. Since Paul was going to be working on his schoolwork (he’s taking graduate courses online through Phoenix University) I volunteered to keep an eye on James while Tami took the kids into the two villages. They ended up not going to Bury St. Edmunds. We got a rather late start to the day and the market would have been already closed. They did go to Lavenham, though. They parked near the pub where they had lunch, then walked up one side of the street and down the other, popping in to little shops along the way. They were excited to be able to actually enter the crooked houses! They did a bit of shopping and brought me back a toast rack, which is so English. Tami got one, too. They ended up not eating lunch until around 3 or 4pm. They were famished! They ate at “The Cock” pub at Adamm’s insistence. Apparently Adamm and Tami were laughing and Serena had no idea why. I explained it to her when they got home! Lol Adamm’s comment of the day while tasting the fish: “This fish tastes very fishy.” DUH! They also went grocery shopping at the Commissary in Lakenheath. In the meantime I sat with sickie James all day. At first he just curled up on the couch. We watched his favorite movie, “Cars.” I hadn’t even seen it yet! It was a very good movie! We also did some puzzles and played Wii. James made me play a million Mario Kart Wii games as he watched. I was really bad! Lol At least he didn’t care, though! Adamm would’ve been yelling at me! Lol He didn’t throw up any more, and he only ate a slice of toast, and one and a half peanut butter sandwiches. We put James to bed and had a later dinner of chicken on the grill with yummy sauces: pomegranate chipotle and sesame teriyaki…yum! We also had potatoes and corn. Then we had drumsticks for dessert. We were setting up our Miis for the Wii Fit as dinner was being prepared. It was soooooooo funny! Both Adamm and I are obese and had these super fat Miis, and Serena was this little stick figure…she was in the normal range. Paul is also obese, and Tami is just overweight. Adamm and I were our age, but Serena came out as 32! Lol We teased her a bit over that! It was so much fun! We laughed soooooooooooo hard! After dinner Serena did some of the training activities. In the soccer one she was supposed to head the balls but dodge the soccer boots and panda heads that were thrown at her! Lol It was hilarious! There is a balancing one where she had to put the balls in the holes, a ski jump and slalom exercise. When she got to a certain point she unlocked the tightrope walking one. It was so funny! She had to balance, which is not her forte. We then went to bed so that Paul could work on his paper. I love these laid-back days!

Day 17

We got in pretty late last night. I slept in the latest, until 9:40am! It felt so good to sleep in! James and Adamm were the first to rise, then they woke up Paul and Tami. Serena awoke an hour later, then finally me. I even heard when James yelled up the stairs, “Daddy! You have to make the coffee!” Tami loves the way Paul makes coffee (very strong) so he is the official coffee maker here! After a light breakfast we split up into a girl group and a boy group. The boys went to the base for a bit and then hung out around the house. Paul had a nap while Adamm played Wii and James watched movies on the computer. The girls got dressed up (Serena in her new dress and family tiara that Tami bought so she could be Princess Serena) and went into the village of Mildenhall for High Tea. We were going to go ape today but there were no bookings available for today, so we booked it online for Tuesday. Tami and James will watch from the sidelines as Paul, Adamm, Serena and I tackle the course! It should be great fun! We were going to do tea on Tuesday, so we just flipflopped the days. I had to laugh at Tami because she actually typed up an itinerary for the kids (more for Adamm) and put it on the fridge! Lol Anyways, we went to Emily’s Tea Room for Victorian Tea. It was named after the owner, Jackie’s, daughter. It was a quaint, typical English tea room. We had Brie cheese walnut and red grape sandwiches, pork, apple chutney and some other ingredient sandwiches, scones (plain and fruit), and chocolate cake (two kinds). Tami had Suffolk blend tea, which is only made in this area. She said she wants to buy some before she leaves in September. Serena had a chamomile blend and I had Black Current Burst (I love and am obsessed with the taste of Black Current…I even had some black currant jam with my toast for breakfast! Lol). After tea we went to the base to fill up with petrol, and we popped into the bookstore to see if they had the 4th book in a series we are currently reading. They didn’t. We had to show our passports when we went in (as well as my guest pass). Then we went to the other base in Lakenheath and did the same routine. They had an eyeglass place there. I tried to get my glasses fixed because the screw came out. Unfortunately she couldn’t fix it, but she did give me some tape to keep it together. I look like such a nerd! We shopped for some souvenirs, as they were fairly inexpensive on the base. Serena got a hoodie, I got a long sleeved t-shirt for Adamm, and I got myself one of those cute service for one tea sets with roses. Then we drove home and had a delicious rib dinner with green beans and rice. Adamm and Serena had fun boxing on the Wii. Tami had bought all of the accessories possible and many games for this system. It has kept them quite entertained. I took my turn boxing Adamm, too, and James got really upset that Adamm was hitting his Mommy! Lol He was even crying! Poor guy! He had his shower then went to bed. Then we watched a movie: Fun with Dick and Jane. It was hilarious! Tomorrow Paul will be working on a paper for his class (online), while the rest of us are going to the market in Lavenham, where they also have the crooked houses. Ciao!

Day 16

We went down to breakfast around 8:15am, right before they closed the kitchen. It was a breakfast made to order. We mostly had eggs, toast, and bacon or sausage. The coffee was also very good…the strongest we’ve had yet! Cece would have loved it! We checked out by 10am and drove to Bath. The countryside was beautiful, but I got so frustrated with the bushes by the side of the highway that blocked me from taking pictures! Argh! Tami says they are called Braken. It even sounds icky! Bath was not what I had expected. It was very hilly. Tomtom took us right to Tami’s Uncle Mike and Aunt Sarah’s house. Mike was the only one home. His artwork was all over the house. He was about to show another exhibition so much of his work was not there. Aunt Sarah was still at work. She is a Speech Pathologist (they call it something else in the U.K.). Mike drove us around Bath and showed us the sites. He said there were two major universities here. I never knew that! This would be an excellent place to come study. He said that most of the architecture was Georgian, and that this used to be the favorite hangout of royalty. They built houses here called crescents. It is a series of houses connected to form a crescent shape. There are also Roman ruins here and roman baths with mineral springs. He dropped us off downtown and we found an excellent pub for lunch called “The Grapes.” The proprietor said he just started today and that he had a whole new staff that he was training. I had to laugh at Adamm’s typical American attitude. He kept asking when the food would arrive! Lol It was a wonderful pub experience. You have to go up to the bar to place your order and pay. Then they bring you your meal, and you have to get your own condiments that are up at the bar. The food was so good, and I finally had my English fish and chips! Serena had a chocolate fudge cake that was so good! I just had to help her finish it! Then we walked around a bit window shopping. Tami was trying to find a jacket for James because it was raining a little and it was chilly. We made our way to the spa and checked it out. Both Serena and Adamm were old enough (12 being the minimum age) but they needed an adult each to go in. James was not allowed at all. Paul insisted on going into the “adult” spa which offered a restaurant, steam room, massages, and pool. That left the four of us with James unable to enter. Adamm and Serena decided that Serena would come with me into the “children’s” spa and that Adamm would hang out with Tami and James (shopping!) for two hours. They went to 4 different stores, I guess. Tami found some really cute clothes (dresses) that we had to check out later. Serena and I had to wait about 15 minutes for an attendant to accompany us across the street to the Cross Bath. He opened the door for us, and we changed into our suits. Serena had a slight problem: the strap on her suit was broken! I happened to have a sewing kit from one of the hotels with me, so I quickly sewed it up and we entered the pool. There was no roof, and there was nobody there. We had the pool to ourselves for an hour and a half! They had noodles, too! Serena was a bit let down. She thought it would be hotter and bubblier. It was like bath water…nice and warm. Every time we got out and back in it felt even warmer. We also played with our cameras a bit. We set the timers then jumped in for our pictures together. The water coming out of the little ball was very hot. You could see the steam rising from it. When we finally emerged from our fun in the bath, the rest of the gang was waiting for us. We did some more shopping at Marks and Spencer. They had wonderful sales and we tried on many clothes. There was a black dress that I really liked and it looked really good on me, and I had been looking for a little black dress, but it was unfortunately not on sale! Bummer! Tami bought Serena a pretty pink sundress and herself a sweater and some jewelry. We also picked up some wine and flowers to take to Mike and Sarah for dinner. Tami called Mike to come pick us up where he dropped us off. For dinner we had pork (with the cracklings…it had been roasting all day), potatoes, peas, cheese and biscuits (crackers), and raspberries and cream for dessert. The meal was delectable! Mike told us that his dinner table is huge when all of the leaves are in, spanning the width of the room. He also said that it had been in his family for years, and that King George the VI and his queen ate at this very table! I shared a table with royalty! James amused himself with a train set that Sarah had brought down for him. We left pretty late and got home even later…around midnight. Talk about tired people! James fell asleep on the way home and was easily transferred to his bed. We stopped for petrol (gas) and caffeine to keep us awake. It was funny, because Sarah mentioned that the spa made your skin softer, and Serena commented, “Oh, so that’s why it feels so soft!” lol It was really nice! Oh, and Mike told us that they had all of these pigs painted around the town. I took a picture of the one by the spa. It reminded me of the cows in Chicago! What a long, but satisfying day!

Day 15

We stayed up pretty late last night (around midnight) to put the last load of laundry into the washer. I saw the most hilarious sitcom here. We laughed so hard we cried! It’s called “The Vicar of Dibley.” Dawn French was the main character and she was so funny! So were all of the characters in it! We took a very leisurely morning and had delectable banana-blueberry pancakes for breakfast. We packed up for the drive to Stonehenge and set out with our reliable Tomtom navigation system. We had some issues getting it started, but it didn’t take too long. I had to laugh at Adamm, because all day he’s been asking what we were going to do and when. My answer was always, “whatever we feel like doing” and “whenever.” He hated that! He missed the itineraries we had for the past two weeks! Lol Serena was loving being able to take our time with things and do whatever whenever. The drive to Stonehenge took about 3 hours. We packed a picnic lunch and ate in the car. The countryside was beautiful (when I could see it). I got so annoyed because I would get glimpses of a beautiful landscape, then it would be covered by bushes along the road or large trucks passing by on the other side! It got annoying, because I couldn’t take as many pictures! I am pretty sure I will surpass Mr. Kim’s record! Lol I saw the strangest little car on the road, too. It’s called a Ka, and it’s made by Ford. It looks like a big egg! I just think the name itself is funny! We had a police car following us for quite some time. Tami got a little nervous, but her car always beeped when she started speeding, so she was fine. She also has this cool feature on the windshield wipers. It will sense the amount of rain there is and adjust the speed of the wipers accordingly. Isn’t that cool? We passed by the sign for Legoland and I almost said it until Tami reminded me that I shouldn’t say the “L” word around James…he would go crazy begging to go there! Lol I also love how they call rest areas “Welcome Breaks.” The terminology never ceases to enthrall me! We went directly to Stonehenge and got there around 3:30pm. Tami and Paul got in for free because they hold National Trust cards, which offer free admission to over 200 National Monuments in Great Britain. We also got a £6 refund for parking, so it only cost us £7 to get in! They offered free auditory guides in various languages as well. We had to push 99 then the green arrow to start it. It talked us through the history of Stonehenge, how it was created and why, and so on. We went through a tunnel to go below the highway and came out by Stonehenge. There was a large circle of rope around it and a path to follow around it. I learned a lot more about it through the commentary. For instance, I was unaware that it had a large ditch dug around it and that it was dug with deer antlers (they had found some of those tools there). It also explained the various theories as to how the circle of stones happened to arrive at this spot, including a theory about extraterrestrials. We bought a few gifts then some ice cream before driving to the hotel, which was not to far away. We stayed at a quaint bed and breakfast that had only 14 rooms. The owners were very nice, and it was a very nice place. They suggested a few places for dinner, and we decided (or Serena, rather, decided) that we would eat Chinese food, so we walked just down the street to the Happy New Garden. This was probably the most formal Chinese restaurant that I had ever been to. They had a finger bowl and towels at the end! One of the appetizers was seaweed, which I had suggested and everyone laughed at. Paul, Tami and Adamm got a sampler appetizer that had it on it! The food was delicious! We all crashed after that amazing meal. James was a bit antsy, but did well, considering he is 3 ½ years old.

Day 14

Wake up call was at 7:30am this morning. I awoke earlier to make sure that I had everything ready to go. We gathered in the lobby around 9am after having yet another sumptuous breakfast (including baked beans!). We met Laura, our guide from ACIS who will escort us to the airport. We said our good-byes to Guy last night, as his flight to Madrid was this morning at 9am. He was leaving just as we were leaving the hotel. On the way to the airport I tallied up a few tidbits for you all. It is estimated that we walked about 92 miles total on this trip (some more, some less)! We also cumulatively took over 15,000 pictures!!! Mr. Kim wins the prize with about 1,500 pictures. (He had two cameras, though…one a pretty pink one! Lol) The ride to the airport was pretty uneventful. We unloaded (when we finally got to where we were supposed to unload) and headed in to check our bags (well, they did anyways). One lady who worked for British Airways was quite rude! She got upset that 20 people popped into the line without checking in first! The thing is that we had paper tickets, not e-tickets. The nerve! Most of them were nice, though. We gathered by a wall to say our good-byes. There was a lost little girl by us. I remember seeing her mother and saw her in a line, so I tried to take her to her mother. She saw her dad first and ran to him, though. After I said good-bye to the group they ended up waiting with us and we had a nice conversation. I shared some Ritz crackers with the kids (note the cracker calming the crying Amelia in the picture!). I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you what happened to everyone else from that point on. Maybe someone could post a comment to this post so I can see what you did and how your flight went. It took my sister-in-law Tami quite some time to find us. I called her after an hour and she had taken a wrong turn at first. Then she had to find her way back. Then she was stuck behind some people. I had to keep calling her because she couldn’t figure out how to call my cell. We loaded up, went to the loo (I just had to say that!) and were on our way finally around 1pm. I am pretty sure we saw the kids’ flight go over us if they took off at 1:05 or 1:10pm! Tami (my sister-in-law) was using a navigation system called Tomtom. It was amazing! She had taken a few wrong turns, and Tomtom adjusted and told her where to go. It was so cool! It also beeped whenever she started speeding. When we were about halfway there we looked back at the kids in the back seat. Serena was sleeping, Adamm was jamming to his mp3 player, and James was twisting in his seat…we had forgotten to strap him in! Yikes! I quickly did so and we continued on our merry way. My brother and his family live on a farm near Lakenheath called Symonds Farm…it’s a pig farm! PU! Actually, it doesn’t smell, but there are a lot of flies! I am also missing my a/c at all of those nice hotels, but I won’t miss the walking! They have a very nice two story house on the grounds of the farm. The brown mounds in the grass are moles, I am told. We had a yummy lunch of sandwiches and fruit salad. When Paul got home Tami and I went to the base to gas up the car for our trip tomorrow. We are going to visit Stonehenge then stay in a Bed and Breakfast in Bath. RAF Mildenhall was about a 20 minute drive through narrow (often one lane) country roads. Adamm and Serena took over their Wii and Guitar Hero game. Adamm needs to practice up to challenge Mr. Kim! He’s already told me he wants to go to Woodstock every other Friday for Mr. Kim’s guitar hero fests! Lol We passed by many beautiful sites which I will have to post for you later, as I forgot my camera! When we got to the base Tami had to get a guest pass for me for the week. The lady at the desk was in fatigues but seemed very feminine. She had manicured nails and makeup on, but when she opened her mouth it was like a master sergeant from a movie barking orders: Ma’am, go to the book and sign in and print your name and hers! It sounded so weird coming from her mouth! Lol I would hate to meet her in a dark alley! Then we went through the gate past the police with big guns. She gave me the tour and showed me the “secret building” where my brother works. There are no windows because of the top secret nature of his work. I would tell you what he does, but I can’t or I’d have to kill you! Lol j/k We filled up and then went to the BXtra to check it out. It stands for the Base Exchange and had a food court (which James calls Burger King because there’s a Burger King in it), a video rental/store, and many other things of necessity. We picked up some snacks for the kids then headed home. Paul had the lasagna in the oven when we got back home and I started our laundry. The washing machine here takes hours to do just one load. I’m not quite sure why, but it’s going to take me forever! It’s 10pm and I’ve only done two loads! I’ve got one more to go! So I am sitting here blogging, waiting for my clothes to finish. Tami has these dryer balls that help clothes dry faster and make them softer without using fabric softener sheets. I think she got them in Canada. We had salad and lasagna (which was delicious) for dinner with carrot cake for dessert. We had to call it “Grandma’s cake” because he avoids all veggies at all costs! He wouldn’t eat it if we called it carrot cake! Lol Putting James to bed was fun. Paul and Tami have a huge queen sized air mattress that they blew up for us to sleep in James’ room. After his bath it was reading time. He picked out 4 books and wanted Serena to read to him. Paul started reciting “Goodnight Moon” before he even looked at it! Lol I guess that one’s a favorite! I was very impressed that James could spell his name. He finally went to bed (at the same time as Serena). I was able to post the last two blogs so that I am now up to date. While I am sitting here (still waiting for my clothes) we watched the real Deal or No Deal. It’s different here. They have real people opening the boxes, and the highest price you can get is £250,000. The people opening the boxes are there until they are called to play, then they add other people. Now we are watching Big Brother (the English version). I’m not in to reality shows, but Tami is so addicted she records them all! Well, I’ll end my novel for today. Tomorrow you get to visit Stonehedge with us! Oh, I almost forgot. Adamm and Serena are quite happy because Paul and Tami have two cats: Sabrina and Gracie.

Day 13

Today we got to sleep in as late as we wanted. It was pretty much a free day. We split off into separate groups (making sure there was an adult in each group) and explored on our own. Guy gave us several suggestions. The museums in London are all free. Some people went there. Others went shopping, and still others just went exploring. He also suggested checking out Hyde Park across the street. Mr. Kim and Mrs. Frank took a large group to the British Museum then shopping. They hit a makeup store called “Be Not Too Busy To Be Beautiful” where they got different colored mascara, green eye shadow and dark lipstick put on them. They also found a nice shoe shop. They wandered around Piccadilly Circus, which is the Times Square of London. This group of girls was very happy to go shopping here! My group stayed in the hotel most of the morning relaxing as I blogged. We ventured out in the afternoon. We walked down Bayswater Road to Oxford Street. We discovered a pedestrian subway that was pretty interesting. We decided to cut our walk short in the interest of time and took the bus back to the hotel. We had to buy our tickets from a machine and had to pay in exact change. It cost 2£ per ticket. We didn’t have enough change for 6 tickets so I asked a man nearby who looked like he worked for the bus system where we could get change. He was nice enough to change a 5£ note for us so we could get our tickets. We waited and waited as millions of busses went past us. It seems like there are a million of them! Traffic is horrid in London! When we finally were able to get on a bus, the driver announced that everyone would have to get off and get on the next bus. So we did. We finally made it back to the hotel and went to a store nearby to buy some lunch. We ended up getting some souvenirs there as well. We took our food to Hyde Park and ate by the fountains. Alex, Serena and Allyson had fun feeding the pigeons whom they named swishy, squishy and the evil one (it was black). We walked back to the hotel from there and relaxed until dinner. Then we met for our dinner buffet once again and said good-bye to Guy. I think everyone is ready to go home!

Day 12

Our wake up call this morning was at 8am, but I woke up at 6:30 for some strange reason. I decided to go down to breakfast early. I sat with a nice Frenchman and began a pleasant conversation. I asked him if he was here on business, and that’s when he told me he was a soccer player here to play a benefit game. They played yesterday and tied 2-2. I think it was former players of the French soccer team v. current players. His name is Albert Rust and he was goalie for the 1984 Olympic team that won the gold medal against Brazil! Alex and Florian really wanted some autographs yesterday, so I asked him if he wouldn’t mind waiting a few minutes while I went up to my room for some paper and my camera. He was very kind and agreed to stay. I ran up to the room, all excited. I tried to wake Serena up so she could come down and meet him, but that just wasn’t going to happen. He signed three personalized autographs; one for Alexandre, one for Florian and one for Serena. I also got my picture taken with him for proof! Lol We’ve been in the same vicinity as many famous people on this trip. In Madrid Amy Whitehouse and Shakira were there (although we didn’t see them), in Nîmes Lenny Kravitz stayed in our hotel. Mika, Alicia Keyes and Radio Head were also in town. Then in Paris Albert Rust was in our hotel. After breakfast we packed up to go to the Gare du Nord. We all had our passports as we went through customs. Guy told us we would have to fill out a card to pass through. I had the card, but still needed to fill it out as I came upon the customs agent. He took the card and told me not to worry about it. He asked how long we would be in Great Britain, and let us through. Nobody got stopped that I know of. We had about a half an hour before we could board the train, so we used up our coins and exchanged the rest of the money into pounds. There was a cool conveyer belt that took us down to the platform. That was much more convenient than an escalator! The ride was about 2 ¼ hours. It got pretty rocky at times. We were going probably close to 200 mph! I was told that air pockets build up on the rails, which tend to buffet the train back and forth. I went back to the food car to see if there was anywhere I could plug in the laptop to continue blogging, as I was running out of batteries. I was thrown against the walls like a ping pong ball! Regina and Betty were already there, so they chuckled a bit as I finally made my way there! I was told that I could plug in in car #5. That happened to be the one full of French middle schoolers! Ay, ay, ay! I managed to find a seat and continued blogging. We were under the English Channel for about 20 minutes. My ears kept popping! We breezed through the London train station and met our guide for the day, Sean. We loaded the bus and set off for a tour of London and Westminster. We stopped at Covent Gardens for lunch. Things are so incredibly expensive here! The second time we got off the bus was to see St. Paul’s Cathedral. They were in the process of cleaning it, so you will notice in the picture that some of it is whiter than others. We couldn’t go in because it was Sunday and they were having mass. Our next stop was at Buckingham Palace, where we took our group photo. We were also able to take some pictures with the royal guards. When we got back in the bus we drove past several interesting sites including Boodles, a gentleman’s club where the sandwich was invented, and the White Club, of which Prince William is a member. We went past the Ritz and Piccadilly Circus as well as Hyde Park. Our hotel was very near Hyde Park. We checked in, got settled, and had a dinner buffet at the hotel. Thank goodness we didn’t have to walk anywhere else! We were all pretty exhausted by then! Our meal consisted of Chef’s selection of fresh salads, bread rolls, traditional pork and leek sausages in rich onion gravy, beef hot pot, vegetable lasagna, creamy mashed potatoes, fresh garden vegetables and the chef’s selection of desserts. It was Anne’s birthday today, so we sang to her twice. We sang to her in French when we were on the bus, and then again in English at dinner. The chef even prepared a special birthday treat for her (see photos)! It was another full day in Franspañaland!

Day 11

I couldn’t believe how strangely the hotel spelled everyone’s names! It took me quite some time to figure out who Bera Bekana was! Lol Our wake up call today was at 7:30am with breakfast at 8:15am. I can never get enough of the pain au chocolat! Miam! (That’s French for Yum!) We met in the lobby around 9am. As we were waiting we noticed some men signing soccer jerseys. Apparently some former (and current) players for the French Soccer team were staying at our hotel. At the same time my French penpal, Sandrine LeMaître and her family joined us for the day. They live in Roëzé and were staying at her aunt’s flat near Notre Dame Cathedral. Her husband’s name is Sylvain, and her two boys are Alexandre (13) and Florian (9). They took Adamm with them for the morning while I took Serena, Alex and Allyson shopping. The rest of the group went to the Musée D’Orsay. We all got the chance to ride the RER today. The RER is similar to the Métro, but different. The trains are very different. They are two story trains. They also make fewer stops and go out to the suburbs. They share the same underground system, and you can use the same metro tickets. Another difference is that you have to also use your ticket to exit the station. We met up with Adamm and the LeMaîtres for lunch by the carrousel across from the Eiffel Tower. We had a picnic lunch nearby. Sandrine and Sylvain bought dessert for everyone. Adamm kept stealing bites of my réligeuse! It’s my favorite French pastry! We joined everyone back at the hotel around 1:15pm and met our guide, Julien. He narrated interesting stories about the history of Versailles on the way there. We passed the town of Sèvres, the wealthiest suburb of Paris known for its porcelain. When we got to Versailles it looked pretty overcast. We had been pretty lucky so far, as it only rained when we were inside, like at the art studio. It did cool things off a bit too much, though. We had to wait a bit for our reservation to go in as a group, so we went to a nearby café for some beverages. The waiter took too long with our order and we had to leave. He was upset, but we were on a schedule, and he took over 15 minutes and still hadn’t brought our order! We all made it back to Versailles and had to wait again! Apparently a famous TV personality was there and cut in front of us. Sandrine took her picture and was chastised by her entourage! Hmph! She thinks her name is Laurence Broccoline (she’s Italian). In any case, we made it in and saw the inside of the magnificent château of Versailles, home to Kings Louis XIV, XV, and XVI. Julien had many more interesting stories for each room we visited. We began with the Royal Chapel. Each room was named for a Greek god and had a picture of that god depicted on the ceiling of the room. The Hercules Room was where guests were greeted. The Venus Drawing Room was where the food was laid out. The Diane Room was the billiard room and housed a solid silver billiard table. Julien told us that the nobles were obligated to let the king win, so the king would play poorly on purpose to make the others play even worse. If a nobleman missed going to church on any given Sunday, he would gamble with them for their fortunes, holdings, and even families. They then had to prove themselves to win the favor of the king to get their families, etc. back. The Mars Room is the throne room and had pictures of Louis XV and his Polish queen Marie Lewinsta (I’m not sure on the spelling of her name). The Mercury Room was the King’s bedroom. Next we went to the magnificent Hall of Mirrors, joined by the War and Peace Rooms. It is said that whomever had an audience with the king, had to leave his presence facing him, bowing, and backing down that long hallway. Next was the Queen’s Chambers. The door to the left of her bed was her escape route when the peasants stormed the palace during the French Revolution. The last room we saw was a dedication to Napoléon. Next, Julien got our tickets to the gardens. He also told us about the ghosts that wandered the gardens. I’m sure that freaked out Brittany! Lol We were very fortunate to see Versailles when we did, because we were able to see “Les Grandes Eaux.” They only turn on the fountains at certain times of the day, and when they do they also pipe classical music to go along with them. It was an incredible sight! We were also very fortunate because it was not that crowded. We spent about an hour wandering in the gardens. Some of the girls got some ice cream at the bottom of the gardens. Stephanie got lilac ice cream…interesting! She said she had an aftertaste for a long time! I prefer cassis flavored, which I believe in English is black currant. They use this berry to make cassis, a liquor put into wine to make a kir, which originated in Dijon where I studied. But I digress once again. We boarded the bus again and headed back to the hotel. I got to spend some time visiting with Sandrine and her family. They joined us for dinner as well. We ate “Assiette Fraîcheur, which had tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers and a black olive in a Dijonnaise sauce, “Filet de porc aux pruneaux” which was pork with a prune sauce on top and “frites” or French fries (which are Belgian, not French!), and “Fôret Noir” or Black Forest cake for dessert. On the way back to the hotel many of us stopped at the Monoprix supermarket to buy some wine for friends and family. I had to chuckle at the students. They felt really uncomfortable buying wine! We were fortunate to have Sandrine and Sylvain there to help us choose some good wines. They are less expensive (but just as good!) at the Monoprix. I also bought some Dijon mustard and “Madeleines” (one for everyone as an “au revoir” to France tomorrow on the train). “Madeleines” are a spongy cake that is sweet and very delicious! I had all of the students store their wine in my room until they packed to go to London the next morning. The difference between buying French wines in France and buying French wines in the U.S. is that in France they do not have sulfites (a preservative) but if they ship it overseas they have to put in the sulfites according to the FDA. That’s why the wine is so much better in France. It truly is a part of the French culture. We had nothing else planned for the evening, so I said a tearful goodbye to my French friends and went to sleep.

Day 10

I am sure you’ve all thought that we had dropped off the face of the earth y now! Let me assure you that all are doing fine and having the times of their lives! I’ve been having some technical difficulties. The hotel in Paris charged 15 euros per day to use the internet, so I thought I would wait and post the blogs in London. Well, I got here and they charge 10 euros per day, but I can pay 5 euros per hour, so I am blogging them all then cutting and pasting them into the blog hopefully in an hour’s time! That being said, on to day 10!

As I said in the last blog, wake up call is at 7:30am. We all went down to breakfast around 8:15am and met in the lobby around 9am. We hopped onto the metro and got off at the Tuileries Gardens, which used to be the royal gardens when the Louvre was a palace. France later turned it into a museum when Versailles was built, but that’s a story for tomorrow. We walked the length of the gardens, admiring the statues within and ended up at the Arc du Triomphe du Carroussel, which was the old gate to the castle. When your back is to the Louvre you can look through this arch and see the Obélisque at the Place de la Concorde, the length of the Champs-Élysées (the Michigan Avenue of Paris), and the Arc de Triomphe. Our group picture of the day was taken in front of the Arc de Triomphe du Carroussel with the Louvre in the background. Guy gave us our tickets and took us underground to the inverted pyramid, our meeting place. Everyone was given a worksheet with questions regarding the big three works of art: Vénus de Milo, La Victoire de Samothrace, and la Joconde. We then split into smaller groups (easier to maneuver in the Louvre) and regrouped after lunch. Serena insisted on crêpes for lunch so we went to Crêpes Folies. Hers had Nutella and bananas, and mine had ham, cheese, mushrooms and a béchamel sauce. When it’s a meal like that they are called “galettes.” The toilets in the Louvre are pay toilets. You have to have a 50 cent piece to put into the slot in the door for it to open. There are also attendants on duty to change your money for you and to let you know which stalls were available. We found everyone by the inverted pyramid and hopped on the metro again to go to our drawing lesson. By now the students have become expert metro riders! They are listening to directions so well! They were told not to keep money in their pockets and to keep their bags in front of them. Someone actually tried to pickpocket Adamm. He has side pockets on his shorts, and while we were on a very crowded metro Adamm was standing next to a man who was sitting. He tried getting into his side pocket. Adamm said he just watched him and pretended not to notice because he had nothing in there! I was so proud of him! He has earned a new nickname on this trip, b y the way. Abby has dubbed him “Bubbins.” Now others are starting to call him that! Lol Frankie has also earned a nickname, given to him by Adamm. It’s “GM,” or Gypsie Magnet. He has had over 20 gypsie women approach him. “Speak English?” they would say. He just ignores them and they go away. It’s just funny that they all seem to be drawn to him! But I digress. We entered the art studio of Kathy Burkes, English portrait artist living in Paris. She invited us to gather around while she shared her CV with us and told us a bit about herself. She then asked us to close our eyes and explore our faces with our hands. Then we did the same to a neighbor. She wanted us to be aware of the spaces between our eyes and ears, nose and mouth. We then went to the easels and took turns being model and artist. The first method we used was contour drawing. We drew the contours of the face without lifting up the crayon. Then we used triangles. We drew all of the triangles of our model’s face. The third method we used was shadows. The whole time we constantly switched partners and she talked us through each step. The last time we drew was a complete portrait combining all three strategies. I was surprised to see that I could actually draw something that looked like a face (no offense, Rachel!). Ask any of my students…stick figures is the extent of my artwork! After thanking Kathy and gathering up our portraits we walked to the Centre Georges Pompidou, a modern art museum. We gathered in front of the funky fountain at its base and separated into small groups again for an hour’s worth of shopping. My group went to the BHV, or Bazaar de L’Hôtel de Ville. This is the department store where the Parisiens typically shop. The lines were horrific, as July is one of the two months that offer sales. When we regrouped we walked to dinner at La Table des Gourmets. Earlier in the day Guy had asked our preferences, as we had a choice for the first time. We could choose a salad with shrimp or melon and smoked ham, chicken or steak, and strawberries, fruit medley or triple chocolate cake. All who had it would agree that the triple chocolate cake was the most amazing dessert ever! Some people were a little disappointed that we did not have crème brûlée. After dinner we went to the Eiffel Tower and stood in line for going to the top. We went in the North Pillar. They have four elevators at the bottom that all end on the first and second floors. The first floor has a very pricey restaurant. You have to have reservations at least 6 months in advance to eat there! On the second floor everyone gets off and and lines up to get on the second elevator. We had to go through a metal detector to get on. There was heavy security there as well, including the militia with their semi-automatic rifles. Yikes! Frankie decided he would do better with his feet on solid ground, so he tried to leave but they wouldn’t let them. I was crowded at the front waiting to board the elevator, so Mrs. Frank attempted to explain to the security men that he did not want to go up. Her rendition of the story was quite entertaining! The view from the top was breathtaking! We were there right at sunset, too! Alex was a bit scared on the elevators, so I tried to calm her nerves by singing to her. As we were going up, the blue lights came on, so I sang the Blue song. She started laughing, as did others on the elevator, so I think that helped. I don’t think my songs on the way down helped much, though. I sang, “Catch me I’m falling…” and “We’re going down, down, down, down,” and my personal favorite, “Free Falling.” Lol Poor Alex! Also poor Adamm and Allyson…Alex was gripping their arms quite tightly! When we all regrouped near the carrousel at the base, we waited for 15 minutes for the tower to twinkle so we could capture it on video/pictures, etc. The walk back to the hotel was a bit exciting. There are many people who try to sell souvenirs near the national monuments but who do not have a license to do so. We were fortunate enough to witness a police chasing some of them away! We got in late again, around 11:30pm, but it was so worth it! Everyone was getting pretty exhausted by now!

Day 9

We awoke early this morning, at 6:30am. We ate breakfast around 7:15 and loaded up the bus yet again to head to the train station in Avignon. We made it there around 9am and sat around the train station for about an hour. We said good-bye to José-Luis and sent him back to Madrid. Loading onto the TGV (Train de Grand-Vitesse, or very fast train) was an adventure! We had a plan, though. We split up into three groups and appointed 2-3 people to load the suitcases in. People were shouting for us to get going and move, as we only had precisely three minutes, no more, to load onto the train. We all managed to get on okay, but had to work a bit to fit all of our luggage in the luggage racks. They were in about 4 different locations. We were on a double-decker train and our seats were in car 8 on the top row. Several sets of seats faced each other. Some people had to ride facing the rear. There was also a bar area where you could buy food and beverages. The train hit a velocity of 150, which is not even the fastest of the bullet trains. The terrain whizzed by really fast. I was always amazed at how fast another TGV passed us in the opposite direction. It was also a very smooth ride. Many of the participants slept. Others read or watched the landscape. After 2 hours and 45 minutes we finally arrived at the Gare de Lyon train station. It was jam-packed with people. The fun part was making sure everyone got off and got their luggage. We managed just fine. These guys are amazing! We re-grouped in the train station once we all made it off of the platform. Then we went outside and around the corner to wait for our bus. It was a very disorganized operation, but we finally found our bus and loaded the luggage into the cargo hold. We stopped at the Place de l’Opéra to pick up our guide, Janice. She narrated a tour of Paris for us. We drove past the Opera House which has an underground lake, as in the Phantom of the Opera. The lake is directly under the stage, which lends perfect acoustics. We next went to the Place Vendôme where you can see the most expensive hotel in Paris: The Ritz. (No, we’re not staying there!). Mansard designed this square as well as the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. We drove past the Comédie Française (theatre), the Louvre, L’Académie Française, which is an organization of 40 members to preserve the French Language, the Conciergerie, which is the prison that held Marie-Antoinette before her death. The European Union Flags are prevalent throughout the city, as FCrance is currently the President of the Union for 6 months. This position rotates among the countries of the Union. We got off the bus (illegally) near the Notre Dame Cathedral and walked to find lunch nearby. My group just bought sandwiches and crêpes at a store front and sat in front of the Cathedral to wait for the guide. Janice had us cut the line, due to our time schedule. The line was pretty long, too. She had an umbrella with a green frog on the handle (appropriate for France, as they are called frogs) and she was incredibly amusing. She explained that the North Rose stained glass window was the only one that was still the original from the 13th Century. The others have been renovated since then. The North Rose depicts the New Testament and the South Rose the Old Testament. On June 21st, the summer solstice, if you stand in the transept (the middle of the cross-shaped church) around 4:20pm you can see an egg-shaped silhouette to the left of the middle of the North Rose. Then, for just 8 seconds, you can see a red heart above the statue of the virgin Mary to the right of the altar. Notre Dame was also known for the place where Napoleon crowned himself emperor. She then took us to the side of the altar area to show us the “Stone Bible.” It is a series of scenes sculpted into stone and painted that tell the stories in the Bible. It was used to educate illiterate people on religion. Then she told us how they had alternated weaker pillars with stronger ones to support the roof of the church, and in the front of the church is a statue of Saint Denis, one of the patron saints of Paris. He was beheaded and legend has it that he picked up his head, washed it off in a stream, then continued down the hill where he finally fell dead. Where he fell is a church built in his honor. We continued walking around Paris until we met up with the bus and continued the tour on the air-conditioned bus. We arrived at our hotel around 5:15pm. A couple of the rooms had to be switched to accommodate everyone, but we managed. Some people have a beautiful view of the Seine river and the Eiffel Tower. Others can see “Les Invalides” and “Sacré Cœur.” The hotel has 31 flights, so we have a beautiful view of the city! We are just down the river from the Eiffel Tower, right next to the mini Statue of Liberty. We have to take an escalator to get to the elevators to get to our rooms. This hotel looks like a mini shopping center! I’m not kidding! In my room, the toilet is in a different room from the shower and sink, which is typical of French homes. We met downstairs and walked to dinner. This restaurant, Villa 15, served a puff pastry filled with cheese, pasta with breaded turkey, and a “tarte aux pommes” (apple tarte) for dessert. We then walked to the Eiffel Tower where we took a boat tour of the Seine River. It sure is beautiful by night! You’ll notice that the Eiffel Tower is blue in the pictures and has a ring of 12 yellow stars on it. They have done this because that is the European Union flag, and France is currently the President of this Union…for the next six months, in fact. The Presidency travels from country to country. It looks really cool! It still twinkles on the hour, too! After the boat ride we walked back to our hotel. We are really close to the Eiffel Tower! Oh, I almost forgot! Regina has been wearing a pedometer and is keeping track of how far we’ve been walking. I think we are averaging around 7 or 8 miles a day! How’s that for walking for fitness? We got back late tonight…around 11pm. At least we don’t have to get up until 7:30am tomorrow!
P.S. I apologize for the fuzzy photos…I must be getting tired! lol

Day 8

We had yet another delectable breakfast. The hotel is really beautiful. As we leave the hotel we turn in our key to the desk who stores them until our return. This morning we got to sleep in a bit and left around 9am for Les Beaux. It was about a one and a half hour drive from Nîmes. The pictures on the blog do not do this place justice. If you think the pictures are beautiful, you have to see it in person. The view causes you to stop and contemplate the serenity and majesty of the fields of Provence, the relaxed lifestyle, and the Pyrénées mountains. When we got there, Mrs. Frank and Mr. Kim were so excited they hugged each other! There was a bit of a walk to get up to the ruins of the castle, but it was worth the climb. As in Carcassonne, there were many small shops away. We enjoyed the smell of lavender wafting from the shops. This region is known for its lavender fields. When you look at the pictures you will understand why this is also the home of many Impressionist artists such as Gaugin and Van Gogh. On the castle grounds there was a demonstration of a Trébuchet. After wandering the castle grounds and troglodyte homes we once again boarded the bus and drove to Arles for lunch. We ate at a Casino Cafeteria where the food was really good (once again) and not too pricey. It was in a small mall which also included a supermarket. Some went to the supermarket and others to the cafeteria. They had some of my favorite desserts, too! A “Réligeuse” is a puff pastry filled with chocolate custard with a smaller one on top. A “Millefeuille” is in English a Napoleon. It literally means “thousand leaves.” We then went on to the Sports Complex for our calligraphy and fencing lessons. Half of the group went to fencing while the other half was learning calligraphy with the Master Calligrapher Thiérry E. Garnier. Thiérry began by explaining that there are 3 main types of calligraphy: Arabic, Chinese and Latin. He is a Latin calligrapher. He also makes his own ink from the parasites that grow on oak trees. He crushes them (once the insect has broken free from the bulb) into a powder and adds water, honey, and I think something else but I forgot. I had to translate so I could not take notes this time! I’m going from memory. He explained that you need 4 things to do calligraphy: a pen, paper, ink, and some courage! He showed us how you dip the pen into the ink, blot it on the paper, hold it at a 45° angle, and just move the arm, not the hand, to make your strokes. He made it look so easy! He also showed us his masterpiece that he made, which is copied from a 15th century document. It had a beautiful picture in the middle of it, which was also done by calligraphy. You can draw pictures as well as make pretty letters! Then we each got the chance to practice the letters, then write our names. At the end, he wrote each of our names on a certificate. Then we went fencing. Our instructor’s name was Quentin. He first went into the history of the evolution of the swords, and which ones were used by which people. Then we were given some safety instructions and told to take a mask and épée, or sword. He showed us how to thrust left, right, and overhead, how to thrust low to the legs, swipe over the legs and at the feet. He taught us a short routine that we had to memorize and practice, then we had to come up with a choreography of our own. We each performed them, then he decided which was the best. Rachel and Maddie won in the first group, and Frankie and Mr. Kim won in the second group! We then went to the Roman Arena in Arles. We were going to go inside, but they had what is called “La Course Camargue.” Brave souls actually choose to run with the bulls in the ring! Because it was Wednesday, it cost more to enter, so we decided to do a bit of souvenir shopping instead. On the walk back to the bus, Guy asked the students to think about who Voltaire was, as we were going to walk down that street. By the time we got back to the bus, he clarified any questions the students had about Voltaire. We drove another hour to the Pont du Gard, a Roman Aqueduct. Work began in 38 AD and ended around 52 AD. This aqueduct was used to conduct water from a spring near Uzès to Nîmes. We spent an hour here. We took a quick dip in the Rhône River, and some of us climbed to the top of the aqueduct for a beautiful pcv (that’s Frisbiese for post card view). We boarded the bus again and headed back to the hotel for dinner. We ate at the same restaurant we did last night.

Day 7

Today we say adiós to Spain and salut to France! We had to stop along the way at a rest stop for 30 minutes. The drivers can only drive for so many hours before they are required to take a break. The drive was long, but quite picturesque. Our first stop was in Carcassonne, a medieval walled in city. There is also a more modern part to the city, but we just visited the walled in part. We split up and ate lunch here. There was a nice cathedral and the Comtal castle to see, although we did not go into the castle itself. There were many quaint shops along the way. After Carcassonne we continued on to Nîmes to our hotel. It is really nice, and really old. The elevator is one that you have to open the doors yourself and has glass walls. It was quite an experience! The students also had fun trying to figure out how to use the skeleton key. After we got settled in we took a short walk to the Tour Magne, which used to be one of the watchtowers surrounding the city in Roman times. We had to go up in two groups, as space was very limited up there. The view from the top was breathtaking! From there we walked to the Maison Carré, or square house. The Maison Carré used to be a temple and is simply a one room square building. Inside we watched a short movie in 3-D about the history of Nîmes. From there we walked past the arena and on to dinner. For dinner we had a “tarte tomate chèvre et basilica (quiche made of tomatoes, goat cheese, and basil) and salad with “sauce dijonnaise” (vinegar and oil with Dijon mustard). The main dish consisted of a chicken with mushroom sauce and potatoes, or “Suprème de poulet aux champignons.” For dessert we had “Fondant au chocolat,” which is a very rich chocolate cake swimming in cream. Since it was Alex’s birthday, her dessert came with a sparkler. In France they put sparklers on birthday cakes instead of candles. Then we walked back to the hotel and settled in for the night. Much of the day was spent in the bus today, so there is not as much to blog. À demain (See you tomorrow!)
P.S. I am a day behind on my blogs because I have finally figured out that I can use my time on the bus writing this, then just post them in the evening so I don't have to stay up late! Sheesh! That's why they are a day behind.

Day 6

We arose for breakfast as usual and boarded the bus (not ours, but a different one). José-Luis heard a funny noise as we were pulling into Barcelona so he took our bus to get it repaired. Our guide’s name was Estrella, which means star. She was very nice. She narrated many things as we drove around Barcelona. We drove past the Olympic Stadium, the Columbus Monument, and the face of Barcelona done by Lichtenstein, “La Bercela” as well as many other sites until we stopped at “La Sagrada Familia” or “The Sacred Family.” This church was originally designed by Antonio Gaudí but has had many architects since then. There are four sides, and each one is different. The first side we saw depicted the birth of Christ. You can see the story from many small clusterings of statues. He also included many plants and things from nature, as he was an active ecologist. The opposite side was the passion and death of Christ done in a very different style by a very different architect, Subirache. The story is read in the form of an “S.” Some speculate that it stood for Subirache and others think it stood for Satan, so this side has been very controversial. As a tribute to Gaudí, Subirache designed the Roman soldiers There are currently 4 bell towers.reached Mont Juich where we got off of the bus. We walked around Park Güell for awhile. Mr. Güell was a wealthy man who befriended Antonio Gaudí and became his benefactor. Mr. Güell saw houses in London with private gardens and wanted to replicate that for Spain in Barcelona, where he lived. He bought a large piece of land with the intention of dividing it up into 60 plots for houses to be built. There would be lush gardens all around these houses. He commissioned Gaudí to plan the streets and common areas. Gaudí used the mosaic tile method called “Trencadiz” to construct the benches in the common square as well as the marketplace. This is also the method that was used on the Opera House in Valencia. The benches were flowing in and out so as to maximize the amount of people who could sit in them. They are very comfortable. The tiles felt cool to sit on, and the way they were curved made it incredibly comfortable (as you can see from Mr. Kim reclining). Then we got back on the bus and saw two houses in town designed by Gaudí: la Casa Milà and Battló. They had to make special furniture to go in his houses because of the strange designs and lack of corners. Gaudí favored the curves. We ended our bus tour at the Barcelona Cathedral, where we witnessed several girls who were refused entrance because of the way they were dressed. I am proud to say that not one person from our group was stopped! The cathedral is currently being renovated solely by donations. After the visit at the cathedral we split up into three smaller groups and rambled down “Las Ramblas,” which is the major thoroughfare of Barcelona. There is a large boulevard in the middle with many colorful characters. Some were quite impressive. One man stayed frozen until someone put money into his hat, then he danced the moonwalk for them! My group went to the change booth to exchange money. I was having issues with my credit card, so could not exchange any money, but Brittany and Alex succeeded. Then we ate lunch at a café nearby. The hot chocolate was so thick! Serena was able to find her coke bottle. She is collecting them from different countries. We went to the Carrefour (I know it’s a French grocery store, but it was in Spain!) and Alex bought some Disney Princess mini-cakes for her birthday tomorrow, so we started calling her “Princess Mini-cakes!” We browsed the many stores in search of a book for Serena. She had finished the three books she had brought and was looking for another one for the long bus ride to France tomorrow. We found some books in English, but none that really interested her. They were in “El Corte Inglés.” We also used the restrooms there. We all met up around 4:40pm and walked to the “Art Escudellers” where we became Gaudí wannabes. We tried our hand at trencadiz, tile art. We got to smash tiles them glue them onto the top of boxes. It was great fun! Best of all, it was in a cool, air-conditioned basement! We then went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. We took the metro back and even had to change stations once. Everyone was so good! They all stayed together and I believe have gotten down how to use the metro system in Barcelona. It’s a good thing, too, because it is similar in Paris. The platforms were narrower than in Paris, but the ride was smoother. They were very clean, too! Guy took Ana and Rachel to look for some DVDs for the bus ride while Mr. Kim led us back to the hotel. We eventually got there! Lol Then we all dressed up (many in new dresses they bought in Madrid) and walked to dinner. We ate at “El 106 restaurant.” It was so delectable! We began with a salad (no corn this time!) then had Fideua, which is paella with noodles instead of rice and calamari (squid). Our dessert was a “tarta de manzanas” (apple tart) with cherry sauce on the side. It almost looked too beautiful to eat…almost! What a tiring day! It was really hot, too.

Day 5

Today we say “adiόs” to Valencia and “hola” to Barcelona. We enjoyed yet another wonderful breakfast buffet. The coffee here is so strong! It’s a great jumpstart to the day. Then we packed up and boarded the bus for a tour of Valencia. Our local tour guide’s name was Elena. She narrated as we passed through various neighborhoods of Valencia. We passed by the different houses from the America’s Cup. They are currently working on the roads to get it ready to host the Grand Prix Formula One races. There has been a lot of money invested in upgrading the waterfront area…over 4 million! We drove to the Cultural Center which was built not too long ago (within the last 10 years). This complex included the Opera House, Science Museum, Oceanarium, etc. Everything was so beautiful! If you ever go to Valencia you have to visit this area! Our group picture was taken in front of the Opera House. The white façade is made out of millions of tiny pieces of tile, which you don’t notice until you are very close. That is the type of art we will be doing in Barcelona! The participants will be able to appreciate how very difficult it was to construct this beautiful monument! We drove past the Bull Ring, which is one of the largest in Spain housing 1,700 people. We also drove past the large market place, “Mercado Colón” but could not stop because it was closed. We also passed by the train station that was decorated on the outside by many oranges (not real ones! Lol). We went by the City Hall where, Elena informed us, they hold a huge festival called “Las Fallas” in March. We then got off the bus for a short walking tour. We started at the Maritime Consulate Tribunal. This was essentially the courts/jail for any infractions made by sailors. The black and gold ceiling was incredible! We also saw the thinnest house in Valencia. That dwelling used to stand alone before the other houses were added to either side. We then had some time to sample the local “horchata,” which is a typical Valencian beverage. It’s a cold, sweet creamy drink. It was delicious, but so sweet I could probably only handle one (which is more than I can say for some others, not naming names!). Then we visited the “Santa Iglesia Catedral,” where the Holy Grail is housed. It is said to be the same chalice that Jesus used at the Last Supper. We had to be extra silent, as there was a mass in progress. Elena explained to us the various styles of architecture that were used on this particular church from Baroque to Gothic. We got the chance to stop for ice cream as well! Yum! The last thing we saw before boarding the bus again was the Serrano Towers, gateway to the city. We drove up the coastline and stopped at a rest stop called “Autogril.” It was a bit expensive for lunch, but we managed. They had a small shop there where we bought the DVD “Mi Gran Boda Griega” (My Big Fat Greek Wedding). We watched that movie in English with Spanish subtitles for the second stretch of our trip to Barcelona. It took awhile to get to our hotel as there was a bad accident coming into the city. Traffic was backed up for kilometers! After checking in we took the metro to the beach. As we emerged from the underground, the sky turned darker and it was very windy. That did not deter some determined swimmers in our group! Even if there was no sun, they still enjoyed themselves! We returned to the hotel on the metro and got ready for dinner. After a nice long walk we arrived at “L’Envers du Décor.” We had salad, chicken and lentils with ice cream for dessert. Yum! I tried to get Frankie to eat lentils, but he wouldn’t do it! Lol Sorry, Ms. Marden, but I’m trying! After that some of us went to stock up on water as the others got ready for bed. Please feel free to post comments which I will pass along to the participants! Some of these hotels also have public computers they can use. Ciao!

Day 4

Yeah! I finally figured out the bugs and got it to work! Phew! Today was not nearly as eventful as yesterday, but was exciting, nonetheless. After breakfast we checked out of Hotel Opera in Madrid and loaded up the bus. Our bus driver's name is Jose-Luis, and he will be with us until Avignon when we board the TGV to Paris. He's from Mali and is very nice, but only speaks Spanish. The scenery was beautiful! There were many olive trees stressed so they would remain short, thus easier to harvest the olives. Spain is known for its olive oil as well as its oranges. We stopped along the way to use the restrooms. They were very nice at the "Quesos y Jamones." We stopped in Cuenca to view the hanging houses "las casas colgadas" and the Abstract Art Museum. You might be wondering why I took pictures of the toilets in the museum. In Europe many bathrooms are shared by both men and women. This was one of them. The urinal is located just outside the stalls. If you look in the picture of the stall you can see white in the lower right hand corner...that's the urinal! Mrs. Frank was not too fond of the idea of sharing a restroom with the menfolk so asked me to stand guard for her! lol We went to the center of the old part of Cuenca and had lunch at one of the many cafes along the street. There was a wedding going on, so we were serenaded by bagpipes during lunch! We continued on to Valencia where we checked in to this very modern, very squared hotel. It is even nicer than the last one! We then set out for the beach. We took a city bus, which cost 1,20 euros each way. The beach was so much fun! The waves were pretty high, so we went body surfing! Mrs. Frank and Guy swam farther out than anyone else. We met many friendly people, too. There was a group of gentlemen playing volleyball. Part of Guy's commentaries this morning explained that the Spanish spoken in Valencia is different than in Madrid and Barcelone. Instead of "calle" meaning street, they would say "carrer." I tried to understand those gentlemen speaking to us in the sea, but could only understand one of them, who seemed to speak a more standard Spanish. There was also a woman and her daughter from Bulgaria there on vacation. I am so impressed in general at how the participants are learning some Spanish as well as the customs here. They are frequently seen writing down key phrases here. One of the more common ones is "Vale!" That one is heard quite frequenty. It means "Okay!" After the beach we returned to the hotel (on the crowded city bus), took showers and met for dinner. This evening we had the most popular and authentic meal yet: Paella. It is made in an enormous pan. It consisted of rice, prawns, chicken, beans...I think that was most of it. Saffron is used to obtain that yellow color. We started with a salad which had not only lettuce but also beets, corn, tomatoes and tuna. After the Paella we had Valencia oranges. Yum! Since we didn't start eating until 8:30pm, we went up to our rooms to get ready for bed right after dinner. In Spain they don't typically eat dinner until around 9 or 10pm. See you tomorrow (I hope!)
Mme

Pictures for Day 3

Happy 4th of July! We had no fireworks, but we did have a great day! It began with a wonderful breakfast buffet. They had coffee (very strong, just the way I like it!), juice, bottled water, and milk to drink, and an array of amazing food to eat, including quiche and a cold pudding bread. We met after breakfast for a map lesson so participants could orient themselves for our free afternoon later in the day. Then we boarded the bus for the museum tours. We met Mati (short for Matilda) on the bus who commented on the many things by which we passed. Her commentaries were filled with historical facts as well as interesting stories about the city. We arrived at the Reina Sofia modern art museum around 10am. We weren't allowed to take any pictures inside. The main attraction was Guernica by Pablo Picasso. Mati's explanation was fascinating. Guernica is bigger than just representing the war. It represents the killing of all innocents in war. It is read from right to left. The far right depicts panic from complete destruction of the town of Guernica by Hitler. He used incendiary bombs. The deformation of the neck represents shouting to the heavens in desperation. The elongated body of the woman whose giant knee is on the ground represents the townfolk attempting to flee, but unable to do so (as shown by the large grounded knee). The open mouths are cries for help. The shout to the left of the painting is one of questioning, "Why us?" There are spears in their mouths on the left showing their desperation. He began the painting with colors but decided on black and white, showing more black than white. The black represents despair and the white hope. The symbols of hope present are the dove between the horse and the bull, the lady with the torch, and the soldier at the bottom with the flower and broken sword (signs of peace). The horse is in the shape of the cross representing Jesus crucified. He also shows signs of the stigmata (the wounds in Jesus' hands, feet and side). The light at the top is also a symbol of Christ. The lady with the baby resembles the Pieta statue of Mary holding Jesus after he died. The bull could represent the fascists attacking or Spain itself. Guernica is such a powerful piece of art to the Spaniards that they carry copies of it at demonstrations. We also saw some of Salvador Dali's works. Those were the highlights. We boarded the bus again and headed to the Prado museum. Mati gave us each individual headsets so we could hear her as she describes various works of art. The Prado is so large and always full of people that it would be next to impossible to hear her commentary without them! We went into a special Goya exhibit. There is a statue of Goya in front of the museum. We took a group picture at it's base. We also heard about Velzquez's works of art, including "Las Meninas" or "Ladies in waiting." It was actually a commission from king Phillip IV of Spain. Velazquez was his official artist. If you look closely you can see the king and queen in the mirror behind Velazquez (on the left painting the portrait). Velazquez was actually looking in a mirror as he was painting this. The princess in the the middle, with her ladies in waiting and two dwarves. The court's Public Relations man is pictured in the doorway in the background. The red cross on Velazquez's chest was added years after the original painting was finished and showed that he was knighted in the order of St. James. This painting is rated as one of the top three in the art world. We saw much more, but those were the highlights. After the two museums it was time for lunch. We split off into 3 groups and bought lunch. I apologize, but I can only really speak for my group. I believe Mrs. Frank's group did more sightseeing around town (they got to see a wedding in progress!), and Mr. Kim's and my groups bought sandwiches (except Adamm who insisted on eating sushi!) and had a picnic lunch in Retiro Park. Abby found some sights other than the park (see photos) as Alex gently (or not so gently) reminded her about her boyfriend back home! Mr. Kim's group rented some rowboats and explored the small lake in the middle of the park. My group saw them as they were feeding goldfish and crackers to the ravenous goldfish (and carp?) in the lake. Alex dubbed them cannibals because they were eating goldfish crackers! They also had to compete with the ducks! After the park we went shopping. We soon discovered that "REBAJAS" meant sales! I bought pyjamas (can you believe I forgot to pack some?!) while the girls bought dresses. We went to the department store called "El Corte Ingles" and discovered that they had 9 floors (not including the supermarket in the basement), none of which had clothes. We had to go to another "El Corte Ingles" for clothes! Ay, ay, ay! We also found some nice souvenirs near the Prado. We had a nice afternoon for exploring the city and all its wonders. The weather has been so incredibly beautiful! It was in the upper 80's, but there is very little humidity so it wasn't too bad. We all met back at the hotel around 6:45pm to head out to the Tapas bar. We first made lemonade. Participants had to cut 3-4 lemons in half then squeeze out the juice. They poured the juice in a pitcher and added 4 packets of sugar, Then they added ice and water and mixed it. It was delicious! We were told that Spanish lemons are the best in the world! lol Then we got to make three different tapas. The first was called Escalivada con anchoa. On a slice of French bread we put eggplant, red pepper, onion, anchovies, salt and pepper. I don't typically care for anchovies, but the blend of flavors was divine! Next we made Jamon Iberico. It consisted of bread, 2 slices of ham and olive oil drizzled on top. The 3rd tapa we made was called Cabrales con cebolla confitada. On the bread we placed carmelized onion then Cabrales cheese (a type of bleu cheese found in the city of Cabrales). Mrs. Frank said it smelled like dirty feet! lol I must say, though, that it was mighty tasty! After the tapas we had dinner in the same room. The first part of our dinner was Bravas, which are potatoes with a spicy sauce on top. Then we got Chistorra de Navarra, a type of Spanish sausage similar to chorizo but smaller. Next we ate Calamares, or Andalusian style breaded squid. After that we were served Morcilla de Burgos, better known as Blood Sausage. We didn't tell the participants exactly what it was at first so they could try it. Most of them at least tried it, but few enjoyed it. Then we told them what it was and they didn't believe us! It is grilled blood and rice. Then we ate Croquetas de jamon, a fried puff pastry with ham, which went over much better than the blood sausage (as you can tell in the picture!). For dessert we had Tarta selva negra. It's a kind of chocolate cake that was very light and fluffy. After graciously thanking our hosts we walked by the Palacio Real. There are a series of free concerts there in celebration of their bi-centennial since the French invasion. This evening there was a violinist and his crew. His name is Lucio Dalla. Some stayed with Guy to listen to the concert, others returned to the hotel (including me so I could begin this blog! lol) and the rest went with Mr. Kim to the "Chocolateria San Gines" for "churros y chocolate." We had churros for breakfast, too, but without the chocolate. It's a long, thin fried doughnut type thing that you dip in chocolate. Guy tells us you can find the best churros in Madrid, so they didn't want to pass that up! After that full day would you believe we were all in our rooms by 10pm? We need to pack up and rest up, because we rise nice and early tomorrow for our trip to Valencia! Hasta manana! (It's driving me nuts that I can't do accent marks on this laptop! Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can do that? Marty?)

Mme

P.S. Good news! Both errant bags have returned safely to us! No more worries, Fettys

Having Blog issues! Argh!

I had an awesome blog done but it won't post, so this is a test. I will continue to try to get it up and running. Thank you for your patience!
Mme

Day 1,2?

This is all I can manage for now: the Reader's Digest version. Our flight was delayed in Chicago an hour because of the storm. We made it to Heathrow but couldn't find which of the 100 or so gates to go to. The sign kept flashing: Please wait. We got tired of waiting so Mrs. Frank asked for help. We made it to our connecting flight and picked up all of our baggage...well, except for Hannah and Abby! They will (hopefully) be sending them to our hotel tomorrow, as they were still in London! We met Guy, our guide and boarded the coach bus for the 45 minute drive through heavy traffic and tunnels to our hotel. It's really nice, but we had some challenges. You have to put the key card in the elevator to get it to work. You also have to have the key card in a socket in the wall in order for your lights to work. The window shades were also a challenge, but not insurmountable. We grabbed a light lunch at the cafe in the hotel then took a walking tour of Madrid, maps in hand. We saw incredible architecture, human statues, various instruments, and many stores. We then relaxed a bit before dinner. This food was melt-in-your-mouth-delicious! Everyone then settled down for a nice long sleep to recharge for tomorrow. See you then!
P.S. If you can't get the slide show to work, you might need a newer version of Windows Media Player.