Woogo London

... rushed but we saw some good photo opportunities... don't know if we actually got any great pics yet, but what I do know is the best photos Tom took were ones he saw himself, not the ones suggested by the guide.....

We then went to an Aussie themed pub (the Walkabout) and watched the Crows thrash Essendon... so now Tom is wondering where he can watch the next game!! :-) Pub food there was no good but we had fun watching the game.

Today was also the day we got to 'go to ...

... Bill and I had been to London before – long ago, but we’d done some of the normal tourist things already. So, we chose to spend Sat. afternoon at the British Museum, which neither of us had seen. Jan and Phil, my other London friend who owns/runs/basically IS the travel company I went to Kailas with ...

Positive thinking as thought and practice by many people is actually not as dangerous as negative thinking. But it has it downsides. You have been reading and hearing from many people that thoughts are powerful. But the thing that you will have to know is that it is not totally powerful. There is another aspect which you have to know and it ...

We spent Tuesday going downtown Chicago (40 minutes ride on the L)to explore the city a little as we had several hours until our flight to London. We have forgotten how cold Chicago can get even when it's not winter. It was in the 50s with lots of shade in the concrete jungle. We were thankful we had our light jackets unpacked. Our flight left the gate on time at 9:31pm CST and took off earlier than expected as there was no traffic (3rd ...

South Kensington was not unfamiliar to me, in fact, I had visited a traveling photographic exhibit in the courtyard of the Natural Science Museum. The building on the left side of the museum houses the Victoria and Albert Museum which I quite enjoyed my first trip. I reached the massive main enterance, no admission cost, and stepped inside a perfectly old, dark and marbley building. I eagerly rushed deeper into the museum. I stayed there for thirty minutes. What a waste of time; I ...

... and one just returning. It was comforting to be with people on contiki and not random strangers. The only complaints I have about the Royal National is that they have no air conditioning and the windows barely open. With 3 guys in the room it got very hot very quick and was slightly uncomfortable. However I later found that lack of air conditioning is a common feature in most
hotels in Europe. The other issue was that the keys would deactivate really quickly in rooms of ...

... for everything except the steeple, which was added about 100 years later (and was built crooked!). Walking into a cathedral always takes my breath away. The shear magnitude of them is simple amazing! Another interesting thing that I was able to see there was one of the four original Magna Cartas! It was amazing to be able to see something that was so important in history and that you learn about in elementary school. After that, we found our way to ...

... year can't all be wrong, I gritted teeth and prepared to give it a second chance. And I am glad we did, even if a third visit is really really low on the priority list. First stop was to head out to Reading for dinner with Tim, my former boss at Microsoft and a major advocate of quitting jobs and doing other things. More than just providing his normal entertaining self, Tim pulled out all the stops with two bottles of Penfolds 389 and a Jamie Oliver ...

... pm Wednesday. I was met by Jeanine and her friends Andrea and Martin, whom she had met last year. We settled in at their place in Aldershot, Hampshire. The next day, we did some 'oldies but goodies' and went and saw Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square and Covent Garden before heading to my birthday present from Jeanine -- a naked 17-year-old boy. Woo hoo! But seriously... Jeanine had bought me tickets to ...

... to the subway and rode the tube to Knightsbridge and Harrod's. Looks like a castle. Bought a pill box and a card case for Lynzee. Back to the tube and home. Dinner at Thistle: baked chicken and linguine. Bottle of Piersporter. Caesar salad, chocolate cake - very rich!! Then Peggy and Nick and I walked across Tower Bridge. Bedtime. Heard the fireworks at midnight from concert at St. James.