Shadow Box It!

Not sure what to do with all of your souvenir ticket stubs, subway passes, museum pamphlets and memorabilia? Shadow Box it!

(P.S. check out Gabe at the bottom of the picture)

London Wrap Up and a Love Story

It is time to wrap this up and move on to other adventures!

Although not planned, we happened to be in London for the Royal Wedding. The whole country was abuzz with wedding fever. It was the topic of conversation on every subway, in every restaurant and every newscast. There is no question is my mind that the Britts enjoyed the speculation leading up to the wedding more than they did the wedding itself.

(no..I did not take this pic!)

We had every intention of being on the front row but, beside the fact that we forgot our pointy forehead hats, we couldn't get past the crowds to even get through the gate to Hyde Park. (This is the view of Hyde Park from our hotel room window).

So we found front row seats in the comfort of our hotel room and got the play by play on the perfect dress, Harry's assessment of the bride whispered to the groom (she looks amazing), who was invited and who wasn't. the carriage ride, and the first kiss(es).
The festivities lasted all day...
...but I have to say that the hand crafted hats were the highlight for me.

My "wedding" dinner.
Our trip to the famous department store, Harrods, started out wonderfully. We were awed by the size, the displays, the unique products and, of course, the prices. And then...disaster struck.
I found the expansive perfume display and excitedly called for Brittney to come smell some of the more exotic choices I found. I meant to do the "spray into the air and then lean in and smell" things but instead of spraying into the air I sprayed directly into Brittney's eye. Blinding my daughter was definitely not on my "things to do while in London" list and I know for a fact it wasn't on hers either. I felt terrible! I led her around by the arm like a good blind guide but it was a good 30 minutes before she could open both eyes. Harrods will forever be burned into our memory (and eyes).

These purple roses were hanging upside down in several bunches.
And amazing food displays...


I would've considered getting this doggie bed for Aussie, but it just seemed wrong that my dog have a nicer bed than me.
As a family of tennis fans, we decided to hit Wimbledon. I think it would have been a lot more entertaining with a couple of good tennis matches going on. By this point in our trip, I was getting a little ornery about how expensive everything was and I was done shelling out the big bucks with nothing to show for it.

The famous "center court." Many a tennis player dream of one day playing in this spot.
And the equally famous Wimbledon strawberries and cream.
Time to put London to bed....

The London Eye
Big Ben....
...and Piccadilly Circus.

Thank you London for providing challenges and discomfort that caused my daughter to push through and discover her own strength. She now knows that she can do hard things. Thank you for showing her your diversity and culture and beauty. We discovered that Will and Kate weren't the only ones falling in love in Great Britain. She spent the last 4 months uncovering your many gifts and fell deeply in love with it all. We will be forever grateful.

London V

"Can you possibly drag this London thing out any more", you ask? Well, yes. Yes I can.

For example, have you ever laid eyes on storefronts so cute and quaint? I love these. They make me want to shop in them though I don't need any candy or magic supplies.

I did not get a photo of the outside so this is your intro to the British History Museum.
Hercules. Brittney needs a strong man in her life.

The Queen.
As you can see Brittney was my entertainment. I made her pose everywhere.
The [replica of the] Rosetta Stone. Apparently Brittney can read hieroglyphics.
Waiting for her dad to read every single inscription for every single artifact.
That's Jordan on the other side of the case facing the camera.
This was one of my favorite parts of our trip-Jordan and Brittney trying to figure out our tube routes. I loved it because navigating is usually Jordan's field of expertise but on this trip his daughter out-navigated him-hands down. If they each turned a different direction once inside the subway station-I followed my daughter. No offense, hon.
London landmarks.
Years ago we got a print of a Carl Mydans photo of Winston Churchill. I have been quite fascinated with the man ever since.
He was greatly revered and maybe even more disliked.

Some of my favorite Winston Churchill quotes:

Bessie Braddock: “Sir, you are drunk.”
Churchill: “Madam, you are ugly. In the morning, I shall be sober.”

Nancy Astor: “Sir, if you were my husband, I would give you poison.”

Churchill: “If I were your husband I would take it.”

You can always count on Americans to do the right thing—after they’ve tried everything else.

History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.

A sheep in sheep’s clothing. (On Clement Atlee)

A modest man, who has much to be modest about. (On Clement Atlee)

I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the ordeal of meeting me is another matter.

London IV

Some Favorites:

So..more London love. I loved this orange juice. I think it was the "bits" that made it so good.
I loved Kensington Palace! We went with a tour, but if I had it to do over, I would do it on our own. We were so rushed. There was so much more I wanted to take in but not enough time to do it in. Not to mention the fact that there was a Cath Kidston store I noticed as we were rushing to catch our bus. Tear my heart out, why don't ya?

We spent a lot of time with the guided tour headphones on. Some of us more than others. I wont mention any names but he felt he had to listen to every option available. Which would be why we were rushing to catch our bus.
Gorgeous! Everything was in bloom and so bright! I loved it.

The changing of the guard. You did know this was the Queen's main residence-no? It would be my first choice as well.
Stonehenge. So, yes. It's cool. Again, Jordan loved the headphones. I asked him for a brief synopsis when we got back on the bus.

London Love Part III

Paddington Station to Oxford
What is it about Paddington Bear that I love? One of my regrets in life is that I don't have anything that I collect. I have friends that collect the tiny spoons from each place they visit, one that collects tea cups and napkin rings, and one that collects a Christmas tree ornament at every location and everything Lucille Ball. Can I collect Paddington Bear?
If Brittney could, I think she would collect a cookie, a cupcake or a chocolate bar from each location. Oh wait. She did.

Brittney's study abroad group took a day trip to Oxford. I skyped with her the weekend after her visit when she was still on an Oxford high. She mentioned that she thought I would love it. I held out hope we would go back. We did. And I did. Love it. From the minute we stepped off the train to a station that was filled with more bikes than I've ever seen in my life. We caught the double decker tour bus and with Brittney's suggestions picked our stops along the way. The first stop was the Alice in Wonderland shop. After a stop in this fun store I thought that maybe I should collect all things Alice.



My daughter is a huge Harry Potter fan so it came as no surprise to me that she loved Christ Church college where much of the movie was filmed or used in their repicas. This is the..something...
And the Great Hall (a.k.a. Hogwarts Hall). With paintings of all of the Oxford Greats on the walls. Including Charles Dodgson (a.k.a. Lewis Caroll). Dodgson used Alice, the daughter of the Dean, to inspire his Alice in Wonderland stories. By the way, students still eat three meals a day here. (I asked because there was salt and pepper spilled on the tables).
The Cathedral is the college chapel.

Really, really cool but hard to walk on.
We climbed some very skinny stairs to get this view...the locals claimed it was their warmest April on record. Lucky us!


Lunch....
I loved the colors. I need an excuse to come back here. I wonder if we can get Christian into Oxford? With a scholarship?