london, tower bridge

i forgot to mention our tower bridge walk today

love this building (check out the odd protruding white sections), this is looking out from the tower bridge


a chilly thames cruise, looks fun! the tower of london is always interesting, this trip i didnt go inside but i enjoyed a walk around.

westminster abbey (and a little drama)

well its been quite a day, hustle bustle to bermondsey which was a big fat fiasco

we took two flippen buses to get there, happy to see 1/3 of the booths up (we were worried it would not even be running, times are hard) so here i am, sauntering around, looking at all the neat english antiques and what nots. most of the sellers were quiet and serious, but a few were chatty. it was fun, i was ENJOYING myself. it took very little time to get around and my mom introduced me to some guy she knew, all normal friendly chit chat. i had spotted a really cool box of pendants that i asked my mom to come check out. this was the kind of thing you splurge on, something you could actually wear. we went over and i saw the seller get up and leave as i approached, then i remembered he had done the same thing the first time i had come around. we stood there and stood there, looking at things, it was such a long time my mom found a ring she liked and we both just stood there and stood there as the seller ignored us (there was no one really around, he wasnt helping anyone this whole time). finally i waved at him and he sighed grumpily and said loudly something about how he doubts i could afford anything in the box and that everything in there was at least 30 pounds or more and very old and very expensive and if i thought i could get something for a pound i might as well go look somewhere else, blah blah blah and sigh sigh sigh... he was obnoxious! his little speech was so long, other people stopped to listen and several people looked shocked along with me. some lady yelled out at him, how rude! i was so floored, i just stood there because there is just no way for me to explain how mean this was. one of the sellers from the booth across from him jumped in and said, dont listen to him, dont take it personally, he is just angry... or something like that. all i could do was snap back at him something stupid like, you dont even know me! i could have 2000 pounds in my pocket for all you know, forget it! and of course i started CRYING!! can you believe it? crying? my mom was just standing there bug eyed at me and then spoke to the little crowd that had gathered in the commotion while i high tailed it out of there to get myself together. what a baby! after yesterdays super snuff at liberty and today though, i am wondering why people trying to sell stuff would act like this? maybe they hate all americans? (wouldnt really blame them) but my parents go to this market every year and actually know people there, it was such a bummer.

needless to say, i didnt buy (or need) a 30 pound pendant, geez!!! with my attire i am saving money everywhere i go! so we moved on to westminster abbey which was a smashing success!


they have a free audio tour that guides you around, it was so gorgeous and old and lovely... so glad i finally got to see it (you cant take photos inside, so you must come see for yourself!)

our lovely war in iraq, always some kind of protest going on. speaking of politics, my mom and i are starved for info about our current presidential race, maybe thats a good thing since we were both getting pretty freaked out about it. all i can say is i am looking for a nice country cottage if obama doesnt win, i am moving here!


a horsie for emily (through the bus window, ick!) notice how the people are following the rules posted.



shopping for my loves

i just had to squeeze in one more, look how sweet these italian girls are! oh and the shops at carnaby street took my money no problem.

shopping london style

time to shop!

be sure and forget the addresses of all the shops you are looking for because then and only then will you stumble on to a fabulous place like this (when you are thoroughly lost)


lets take a look inside


a creepy cool church crypt with a disco lighted art instillation





we met the artists and got some directions, still took a few more stops and starts but we found the shop:


thanks diane! this was a real treat and i drooled enough for both of us!


we headed to liberty (no photos) and sorry to say, as cool as that place may be, the staff thought our "casual" look wasnt worth their time. i call it the "tiffany" or "cartier" treatment. if you dont look like you have a ton of money (i admit while traveling i wear casual comfortable clothes...actually i always wear casual clothes! but by no means dirty or unkempt, well maybe my hair, anyways!!) the staff was pretty rude to us. i would never have been able to buy some fabric (even as i swooned over piles of it) as the staff walked by me repeatedly and helped everyone around me with wide smiles. oh well! their loss, i was over the moon for a 100 dollar bottle of perfume, who knows? with the right salesperson i could have been convinced i needed it, ha ha! we shimmied out the back door and went to toy stores instead (hi emily and lizzie!)


some cool fence details along our long haul through london today.


on our way to dinner at wagamamas, lots of interesting art through hyde park.


dinner was so good, we are thinking of having lunch there tomorrow. i highly recommend eating here if you are in london. tomorrow we will go to bermondsey flea market, westminster abbey (this is my 7th time here, wow 7! and i have never been inside it, always closed for some reason) and then covent garden for more shopping, oh and a visit to carnaby street for sure... xoxo to chris, emily and lizzie, miss you guys like crazy!

london mish mash

my shrine, the girls each came to me on their own with a gift for me to take on my trip. they did this very quietly and separately, very seriously. lizzie gave me clear directions on how to operate the winnie the pooh wind up box, it doesnt work but she told me how to "make it work so you can get some sleep". emily slyly stuffed the good luck horseshoe in my hand as i was heading out the door and wished me good luck on my trip. my first reaction was, where to put these? but thankfully i took them with a kiss and a hug and now they sweetly grace my nighstand.

it is strange to be traveling alone with my mom, she and i used to travel often and we have a good routine together, but i feel a little lost. there has been lots of time to talk and share about life though, much needed quality time. i am grateful for it, very thankful. there is nothing quite like a trip to get back in touch with someone you care about. lots of walking, riding (buses,trains, the tube), swapping stories and parenting tips, ha ha, thats the best!

finally some blue skies


i know we both miss everyone so much though and our conversations are heavy with details for our next big trip which will include everyone and lots of wild adventures.


for sure we will take the girls to bodiam castle, what a dreamy place.


speaking of dreamy, chris, can you say date night? i know the place!

bodiam castle

to get here? bayswater tube to victoria station, oops, back on the tube to charing cross, train to Headcorn (yes that is the name of the city) then take a bus to Tenterden, rush your butt off to get on the "thomas the train" (yes the real one) to chug chug chug an hour to the castle (after a short walk uphill). was it worth it? you tell me!








for emily and lizzie:




for chris:




see we really are here, not just photos we pulled off the internet (no makeup and comfy clothes, but here none the less)



just the teeniest bit of sun today, squeaking through.


now, for our ride home from the castle: we waited and waited, the bus time came and went so we approached another bus to take a different route. the driver said he could get us to the train station, but (and here he grimaced i kid you not) this is a school pick up bus which means we stop and pick up kids on their way home from school. i immediately said, "oh, lots of stops?" and he said, "oh no! just LOTS OF KIDS and LOTS OF NOISE!" so of course my mom says, "oh i LOVE kids!" sealing our fate.


lets just say the monkeys that got on that bus (literally they swung from the handrails) could have put on a great show at the zoo. we heard the f-word more than i have ever heard a person string in one sentence (and remember i work in a hospital where the doctors/nurses/techs swear like truckers) these were the girls too, we saw a kid get "playfully" kicked down some spiral stairs and another kid who was so obnoxious (i heard him say, "dont make me spit on you!") my mom and i started saying to each other what we were gonna do to him if he hit or kicked us on accident with all his shenanigans. that same obnoxious kid tucked himself into some kind of luggage storage and when another kid threw his backpack in there full of books the kid started crying serious boo hoo tears like a 2 year old (when he finally came out he had a black eye, no joke)....this was a long long ride and it was not scary or anything, just seriously theatrical. not sure if i will go back for that teaching credential after all.

we made it back though!

oh i forgot to mention the bus had to stop so some official lady could pull a delinquent kid off who had been doing grafitti on the school walls, he looked very south central to me, it was quite the scene! the best part of all were that the kids wore very formal school uniforms. my mom and i had more than a good laugh over that bus ride!

rainy tuesday: london

lots of bus riding today: horniman museum, cezanne exhibit at somerset house, southwark chapel

these crazy fish fascinated me for a long long time, i took dozens of photos that didnt come out. they swam along the surface with their eyes on tip of the water, sooo cool!




chimp skeletons


kingfisher for emily! (and its blue too!)


southwark cathedral








did i mention its raining?




my favorite shot of the day, taken from the top of a double decker bus. more to come!