Oakwood House Maidstone

... to look inside the castle, the King Henry VIII lived in it with 6 wives. He beheaded 2 of them. At the gift shop we brought little bears with back packs and Ben brought a double decker England bus.

On Saturday we went to the beach with our cousin Thomas, Uncle Tim and Uncle Michel. We went for a swim in the sea and we drank coke at the pub. We also went ...

It's midnight and departure day is dawning. We are getting up at half 6 tomorrow morning to get the tube to Heathrow. Pretty mental. Had a cool last night- went to Wetherspoon's just off Leicester Square (where Rich seems to live) of all places.... great place to spend your last night in England for months. Ha. Banter and beer was the way forward tonight... all bodes well for future times. Ben: One important thing I must mention...Tom had his ...

Back in October for my 40th birthday, my sister planned something for me, that wasn't happening until today. As it happens, it couldn't have come at a better time - I haven't really had much spare time recently for one reason or another and it was perfect timing to get out and have some fun. Hazel had arranged tickets to go and see Cirque de Soleil at the Royal Albert Hall - it's something I've been meaning to see for a while, but just didn't get round to organising. We decided ...

... At lunch I explored Trafalgar Square a bit and walked around a cute little Christmas market I found.   Then, back to the National Gallery for more art lectures!  By the end of the program I was desperate to get out of that museum.  There is only so much you can take of an art museum before you start to lose your mind, and 6 hours is more than enough!  Back at the hotel after the program, I met up with Cara and Gabe, who I was supposed to hang out with that ...

... and the ceremony of changing of the guard. The Queens guard provided a colorful display. Each guard was dressed in bearskins and red jackets. The ceremony starts with two different bands marching into the forecourt and standing at attention while select members of the guard exchange places. We were surprised when the bands started to perform. Our favorites were the Olympic theme and Mission Impossible theme songs. During most of the ...

After a train through the gently rolling English countryside I arrived in London, but didn't see much since I immediately headed to the Underground to meet up with my friends. Many thanks to Jason and his wife Stephanie for letting me stay at their place. It was great to see and catch up with Jason, who has a great job in London and better save me a copy of his upcoming book, and Stephanie ...

... earlier. We couldn't find it, so we asked a couple of police officers and they said that they didn't open until a couple of hours from then. They directed us to a McDonalds several blocks away. That is one of my biggest complaints about London...no easy access to toilets AND not enough trash cans! Other then that, it is a really cool city! I'd love to go back and spend a few days there atleast! Our last stop before heading ...

... precisely designed barrel of the dome allows sound to circle around to the opposite side. It was so cool and completely plays with your ears. Depending on where you sit, it sounds like their talking is coming from right next to you either to your right or to your left. I stayed here for awhile then was off to trek back to the Tube. I moved over to the Imperial War Museum. I really was not sure what to expect for a free museum. Walking in, I was surprised ...

... Bratislava > ? > Krakow > ? > Prague > Munich > Stuttgart? > Frankfurt? > Cologne > Dusseldorf? > Utretch? > Amsterdam So basically this trip contains a LOT of unknowns, i.e length of time in each place, whether we're going to them, or even which places we've thought of going. So goodbye UK and hello Europa, well for 5 weeks or so anyway.

... it was very eerie and they went into some 'pretty dodgy' areas of London. Mum and I chose not to go, as we were quite exhausted from our day. Probably just as well, as the other 2 did not get back to the Hostel until really late and are feeling very tired now. I will go as we are about to go out for the day. Again, thanks for all those people who have emailed me back at some point. I really have appreciated hearing from you all. Cheers for now, Suz