European Tour 2013
We decided to take a really big trip over the summer, so we set off for Europe! We had a fantastic time! You'll probably get to hear about how it all got started when we get to the post on Paris. (All I can say is that I have the best hubby in the world!) London was our first stop!
Getting There
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| Bags were packed and Dexter sent us off with love!! |
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| We had a quick lay-over in Russia so we staked out for Snowden....no dice though |
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| Europe here we come! |
So, we actually got off to a bit of a rough start when we landed in Heathrow. Aside from planning Paris and Greece, we had pretty much just taken off with a very carefree spirit thinking we would just figure out the rest as we went along. It turns out that wasn't the best approach. We learned a very valuable lesson - always plan at least the first night before you arrive. The airport was further from the city than we thought, and London books out! Luckily we wound up finding this quaint little place outside the city. We crashed here for the night and got a feel for a taste of the cozy life outside the city.
Outside a little pub the next morning .
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| Grabbed a bite to eat while we waited to hop on the Heathrow Express! |
Some of the first sights and sounds of London!
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| Yup, they really have these all over the place! |
Double Decker Buses
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The elevator was quite cramped,
but the place was perfect :) |
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| As with our style, one of the first things we did was figure out public transportation :) |
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| Coming back after some running around |
Seeing Some Sights!
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| Hyde Park |
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| Horse's Head |
The Marble Arch....
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| Kind of creepy if you ask me.... |
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Life moves on as though it's nothing....people are bustling about and passing through it as thought tons of people weren't publicly executed by hanging right there....
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We did a hop-on hop-off bus tour and it was really
a great way to get to see lots of hot-spots in the city!
(Good recommendation from a friend - thanks Kate!)
Here we are being goof-balls on the roof of the bus |
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They have really interesting information available
in a ton of languages. It makes for quite the learning
experience both historically and culturally. |
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| We had good timing - there were big celebrations for the 60th year since the Queen's Coronation! |
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| Look closely - I found the scaffolding amusing :) |
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| BT Tower |
Big Ben!
London Bridges
We took a nice ferry ride on the Thames River to find Tower Bridge....
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Heading off....
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| Waiting for the boat....we were the only ones in line - made for good seats! |
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| Taking a picture of me taking a picture of him :) |
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| Heading down the river |
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| Snuggles and cuddles on the boat - so flirty keeping me warm :) |
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| Not all the bridges are so glamorous |
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| The newer bridge |
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| The original pillars from Blackfriars Railway Bridge - looked pretty neat!! |
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Shakespeare's GlobeTheatre!
(Albeit, a reconstruction....learned lots about this historic place!)
For example, it's the first thatched roof building that was allowed in London since the great fire back in the 1600s. |
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| Yay! It's not falling down as the nursery rhyme would indicate. |
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| Tower Bridge! |
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Mr.&Mrs. at the Tower Bridge
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Off to the Tower....
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Discovering the Tower of London, a.k.a. Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress
London is just filled with history!! And a lot of death....but still, very interesting.
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There were clocks everywhere!
On the Westminster Bridge
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| Pedicabs |
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| Ou-la-laa.... |
More of our adventures out and about in London
That's some serious barbed wire.
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| There are details everywhere you look! |
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| The architecture is so classic looking! |
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I thought it was neat how they pay tribute to their more common citizens and such.
This statue was dedicated the local miners. |
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| Scooting along making use of that bus pass - we had it take us everywhere! |
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| Random Buildings |
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| These little lights lit up the city at night - we were out and about enjoying it most nights so not too many night time pics! |
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| Look at all those guys all named Bob....a bunch of Bobbies ;) |
Peek-a-boo - we see you, again, Big Ben!
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Cool modern buildings - it's about what I imagine alien buildings would look like.
(No offense, I thought it was really stunning!) |
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Check this out - you get a yellow/red light - so you know when it's about to turn green.
You wouldn't believe how many countries do this - I really think we should adopt it back home! |
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| I was totally tickled by this place....not sure why, I guess I just appreciate the accuracy of the sign. |
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Such an incredible city!
We were really lucky to have such wonderful weather. It was a bit chilly at night, but we found ways to stay warm while gallivanting about. Sorry there aren't many night pictures, we had some great food - including fish and chips of course - and made some wonderful memories!
Heading Out
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| Forget a taxi - we took one last ride on that bus! |
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| Back Underground ;) |
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| There's my Babycakes! |
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Yes, I'm clenching to a Subway sandwich -
I've been in Asia for a long time and we
only had 11 days in America! |
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Yes, can you believe it? We both lived out of
only a backpack for almost a month! |
Getting our tickets to get on the road again!
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| CB <3 BC |
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| We knew that we were starting in London and that we would somehow wind up in Greece. We quickly learned if we wanted to plane hop we would have to plan a bit more ahead. This time we decided to go with a bus ride through the country side and then took a ferry across the English Channel! It was quite a thrilling experience seeing it all! |
To sum it up, London was spectacular! The buildings were awesome and it was a HUGE bonus that everyone spoke English (in some form or another,) so it made the whole traveling thing pretty easy for us! Aside from being expensive it was a great place!
Thanks for reading. Sorry it's so incredibly late. (This was from last summer - July 2013!) I feel like we've been going and seeing and moving and doing and traveling for a year and half straight pretty much. (Not that I'm complaining!) We had a day off so I wanted to start playing catch up. This spring break we are going to take a break from traveling to let Johnny's back rest and heal so hopefully we'll catch up even more then.
There are so many people that we love and miss back home! We are so happy that you enjoy sharing in our adventures with us (truly!) and I am sorry for such a delay in posting. We are planning on staying in America pretty much all summer so we can catch up with everyone! Only a few months until we see you all!!
xoxo
Jenni
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