London Landmarks - Day 2

Our second day in London was actually the first full day of sightseeing we had. We were up and out of our hotel rooms by 8am for a full day of seeing the London Tower, Tower Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, and Trafalgar Square, to name a few...

London Landmarks - Day 1

I thought it would be fun to share a couple of my favorite pictures from some of the historic and famous landmarks in and around London we had the opportunity to visit. These are a few from the first day we arrived. We got into London late in the afternoon, and didn't have a chance to see too many things before the light, and our energy, dwindled...

This is a picture of the London Eye from across the Thames River.

Big Ben and part of the Parliment Building.

London in bloom

I am not, by any means, a botanist. But that doesn't go to say that I don't love flowers. I LOVE flowers - every size, shape and color of them. On my trip to London I enjoyed seeing the huge variety of flowers in the public gardens. Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy. Please don't ask me what kind of flowers they are...I only know the obvious ones...you know....tulips...roses, etc.

I know...this isn't a picture of flowers, but I loved the colors of the leaves of this tree...and thought it was a really cool setting with Windsor Castle in the background.

Chunky legs in motion

Today is May 1st, and although I still have lots of fun stuff to blog about regarding my recent trip to London and Paris, I wanted to mention that today I "officially" started my training for the 3 Day Breast Cancer walk, coming up in November. The trainers for the walk have a calendar of training set up for participants to follow, but they start out walking 3 miles on the first day (which I believe is June 1st), and I wasn't sure I was ready to jump in with a 3 mile walk. ("Why?" You ask? Let me refer you back to the title of this particular post...) Even though I walked a LOT in London (6 days and a total of 49.69 miles!) it was stop and go kind of stuff, nothing straight through. I figured it was best to start slow, and go easy on my "still recovering from walking in London and Paris" legs. My oldest daughter (who I am EXTREMELY proud of, for many reasons, one of them being that she decided to join me on this walking journey) and I got on our good walking shoes, stretchy yoga type Capri's, grabbed a bottle of water, and the dogs, and headed out. We started out with a 2 mile walk today. I forgot to tell her to stretch. I forgot to stretch. Stretching is important. I remembered that as soon as my shins started screaming at me, which was not very far into our little trek. I will remember to stretch next time.

The dogs were great, and very excited to get out for an early walk. I think we all enjoyed it, except for my shins, but they'll get over it.

Above is a picture from when I walked in the 2006 3-Day. It was my first walk, and a life changing experience. I'm right there...see me? I'm the one in pink.

Norm's excellent adventure - Day 6

On day 6 of our "Sightseeing Holiday" we decide to visit Paris for the day.

Norm finds a quick way to get to the Eiffel Tower!

The Eiffel Tower at last! According to Wikipedia, "The Eiffel Tower is an iron tower built on the Champ de Mars beside the Seine River in Paris. The tower has become a global icon of France and is one of the most recognizable structures in the world."

The Arc de Triomphe is the world's largest triumphal arch. In 1806 Napoleon thought of the ideas of a triumphal arch, patterned after similar ones in ancient Rome, and dedicated to the glory of his imperial armies. It was completed in 1836 and stands 162 ft in height.

Norm visits the Louvre. The Louvre is one of the most visited art museums in the world. The collection contains nearly 35,000 pieces displayed over the structure's 650,000 sq. ft. It was also featured prominently in the movie, "The Da Vinci Code," one of Norm's (and my) favorites.

Last stop of the day...Norm visits Notre Dame. (The famous cathedral, not the college.) Notre Dame is widely considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. Notre Dame de Paris was one of the first Gothic cathedrals. Construction on Notre Dame started in 1163, and was finally finished around 1345.

Norm's excellent adventure - Day 5

Ah, it's a lovely day to visit Buckingham Palace!

Next, we are off to visit the British Museum. Here Norm visits with a standing dyad of "King and Divinity" from about 1350 B.C.

Then it's off to see a painted limestone statue of Kaitep and his wife, Hetepheres from about 2300 B.C. (Don't ask me...I got the info off the sign...)
After exploring the museum, Norm heads off to Herrods for a little afternoon snack. (Two cups of coffee and a hazelnut muffin was 28 GBP, which equates to about $56.00! Ouch! Needless to say, the British economy is doing quite nicely!)
After window shopping at Herrods and more sightseeing, we went to a little Italian restaurant called Belle Italia, where Norm made friends with our waiter, Mario.
Is it getting a little warm in here, or is it just me? Maybe it's just the beer...
At last, on the "Tube" --the London underground transit system -- back to the hotel.

Norm's excellent adventure - Day 4

Norm spent the day at Winsor Castle. The Queen was there that day, but she didn't make a showing.

Norm participates in a parade welcoming 600 British troups home from Afganistan.
Winsor is a spectacular castle!
Lots to walk around and see...Norms little legs were getting tired.
Norm meets more of his British cousins.
After Winsor, Norm took a flight on the London Eye. The London Eye, also known as the Millennium Wheel, is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe, soaring over the city at 443 ft. It's visited by over 3 million people (and gnomes) a year.
The view from up here is incredible!
After putting in a long day of sightseeing, there's nothing like a relaxing meal at a little neighborhood pub, where everyone knows your name...
Not sure if you can see it in the picture, but the menu reads "Norm's Knock-outs"....seriously...I couldn't make this stuff up!