It was raining this morning when we woke up so we were bummed. We wanted to watch the changing of the guards at the Buckingham Palace, but it might get canceled when it rained. Luckily, the weather turned. It was really nice around 10:30 am so we were able to see the show. It was pretty cool...there were tons of people there and I thought it was just neat to see the red uniforms with the black fuzzy hats. :)
Afterwards, we went to the British Museum. it was huge! We only had 2 hours to spend so we didn't get to read all the facts, but it was amazing to see all the artifacts they had! It was filled with tons of things. One of my favorites was seeing a Japanese samurai outfit.
From there, we wandered to St. Paul's cathedral. We weren't able to tour inside because they had closed but it was beautiful. After taking a few pictures, we walked over to the Museum of London. Here, we learned a bit about the history of London. It was pretty interesting.
By the end of the day, our feet were killing us! We had basically walked all of London the past 4 days. So, we went and grabbed dinner at China town again; then made our way home to relax.
Anyway, tomorrow we're off to Paris. That will be quite the adventure since we don't speak the language and our hotel is not right next to a metro station....but it'll be tons of fun. I'm really excited.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Sunday, September 23, 2007
London Day 3
Since today was Sunday, we went to church this morning. It was hard staying awake for all three hours..but church was good. It's always good to be able to learn more about the gospel. :) Also, the ward itself was pretty interesting....the ward we went to was in Hyde Park. I guess it's a pretty popular ward for visitors. In fact, we learned that during the summer, about 2/3 of the congregation are visitors. As a result, the official ward members are really used to visitors and they're used to not introducing visitors at church...it would take too long. :)
Anyway, after church, Sister Larson was kind enough to invite us to have "dinner" with them. We thought this would be around 6 pm but soon found out that she meant lunch. So, we had to adjust our plan to go to the British Museum. It closed at 5:30 pm today so we would visit it tomorrow. We just thought it was funny since dinner was really lunch. I wonder why some people refer to lunch as dinner?? I've heard it a few other times before...like once or twice.
After "dinner", we went to the Tower of London and saw the crown jewels. Of course, pictures were not allowed. The jewels were really cool!! In fact, they were all in a huge "bunker" (AKA Safe). When we went into the room to see the jewels, you could just feel the security surrounding them. The metal doors were HUGE! After seeing the jewels, we wondered around the area and also got to walk along the tower bridge. It was really pretty and the weather was perfect!
Then, we rushed off to the Westminster Abbey to see the free organ recital. Sister Larsen had mentioned that they wouldn't let anyone in after it started so I started to get worried when we almost got lost. It took awhile to find the entrance to the tube. But we arrived at the Abbey and the Guard let us in. I guess you have to specifically say you're there for the concert or else they won't let you in. Anyway, the guy who played the organ was really good! He played for about 40 minutes and the best part was we got to see what the inside of the abbey looked like without paying. :) YIPPEE!! It was really beautiful! I wish we could have taken pictures, but again, no pictures allowed.
When the recital was done, we wondered down to China Town for dinner. Yes, we were in England hunting down some good Chinese food! Well, I guess more like good Asian food. We ended up eating some Japanese food. We hadn't eaten that for a while so it was YUMMY! :) China Town was pretty cool too. I wish Minnesota had a China Town too. Then we slowly wondered around and then took the tube back to our "home".
Anyway, that's basically all I have to say about today..and since Andy is too lazy to write on his own blog, he would like to add three things:
1. Movie tickets are EXPENSIVE! They cost 11 - 25 pounds, which is 22-50 dollars per person! CRAZY! Definitely can't complain about the prices in the states.
2. Burger King is too expensive to eat here. Not that we ever eat at Burger King anyways... but the burgers cost 4 - 5 pounds, which is 8-10 dollars.
3. Lack of customer service. Everytime we eat in a restaurant, you have to ask 5 times for the bill. Or you could just get up to leave. Customer service is not a priority and that is why you don't tip here.
Anyway, after church, Sister Larson was kind enough to invite us to have "dinner" with them. We thought this would be around 6 pm but soon found out that she meant lunch. So, we had to adjust our plan to go to the British Museum. It closed at 5:30 pm today so we would visit it tomorrow. We just thought it was funny since dinner was really lunch. I wonder why some people refer to lunch as dinner?? I've heard it a few other times before...like once or twice.
After "dinner", we went to the Tower of London and saw the crown jewels. Of course, pictures were not allowed. The jewels were really cool!! In fact, they were all in a huge "bunker" (AKA Safe). When we went into the room to see the jewels, you could just feel the security surrounding them. The metal doors were HUGE! After seeing the jewels, we wondered around the area and also got to walk along the tower bridge. It was really pretty and the weather was perfect!
Then, we rushed off to the Westminster Abbey to see the free organ recital. Sister Larsen had mentioned that they wouldn't let anyone in after it started so I started to get worried when we almost got lost. It took awhile to find the entrance to the tube. But we arrived at the Abbey and the Guard let us in. I guess you have to specifically say you're there for the concert or else they won't let you in. Anyway, the guy who played the organ was really good! He played for about 40 minutes and the best part was we got to see what the inside of the abbey looked like without paying. :) YIPPEE!! It was really beautiful! I wish we could have taken pictures, but again, no pictures allowed.
When the recital was done, we wondered down to China Town for dinner. Yes, we were in England hunting down some good Chinese food! Well, I guess more like good Asian food. We ended up eating some Japanese food. We hadn't eaten that for a while so it was YUMMY! :) China Town was pretty cool too. I wish Minnesota had a China Town too. Then we slowly wondered around and then took the tube back to our "home".
Anyway, that's basically all I have to say about today..and since Andy is too lazy to write on his own blog, he would like to add three things:
1. Movie tickets are EXPENSIVE! They cost 11 - 25 pounds, which is 22-50 dollars per person! CRAZY! Definitely can't complain about the prices in the states.
2. Burger King is too expensive to eat here. Not that we ever eat at Burger King anyways... but the burgers cost 4 - 5 pounds, which is 8-10 dollars.
3. Lack of customer service. Everytime we eat in a restaurant, you have to ask 5 times for the bill. Or you could just get up to leave. Customer service is not a priority and that is why you don't tip here.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
London Day 2
After a great night sleep, we had another day full of adventure! Here's a recap of what we did:
Buckingham Palace:
This morning we went to tour Buckingham Palace. We had wanted to see the changing of the guards, but with the tour, we would have missed it. So, we'll have to do that on Monday. Anyway, the palace was really pretty! I can't imagine living in such a big place by myself. Plus, it was definitely way too fancy for me. I really enjoyed it though..plus, they even had a room that showed Queen Elizabeth's wedding dress and all kinds of wedding jewelry. It was really pretty! Everything looked soo expensive. The room was also really crowded and I wished they had some sort of crowd control for the room but at least we got to see everything. It also probably didn't help that someone fainted in the room. We had to avoid half of the room for a while so the medics could help the person. I think the person was okay though so that was good. During the tour, you're not allowed to take pictures until you are outside in the garden area....that was at the very end of the tour. The area was huge and pretty. I'm glad I don't need to be a ground keeper for them though, it would take FOREVER!
Houses of Parliament:
After Buckingham Palace, we grabbed a hotdog and rushed off to Parliament. Again, we weren't allowed to take pictures. But, the building was gorgeous! The chamber area for the house of the lordes area seemed to be more glorious then the Buckingham Palace. In fact, it use to be a palace too. Anyway, there was a lot more detailing and the ceilings were a lot higher...not sure how to explain it but that's how I felt. The house of commons area was more plain. The tour was really interesting though and it was fun to learn about how the government worked.
These are the 2 big tours we did. After we were done, we walked around the river area and saw lots of fun little things. It was fun to be a part of the culture in London. We also visited the Imperial War museum really quick before we met up with our friend Rebecca for dinner. We ate at some indian restaurant on a street called Brick Lane...it's suppose to be a really popular place to eat and we soon found out why. It was ftons of fun because every restaurant tried to recruit customers by offering all sorts of discounts. Our friend told us that the very first ones aren't very good and the ones further down the street were better. So, after we got to a place that she knew was good, the guy offered us a 25% discount, free drinks, and a free appetizer. Our friend was smart enough to make sure the drinks could include the smoothie. YUMMY! Too bad they don't do this in the states. :)
Anyway, that's basically it for today. We've done a lot of walking the past 2 days and my feet are tired, but we're having a blast!! I'll have to post pics later. :)
Buckingham Palace:
This morning we went to tour Buckingham Palace. We had wanted to see the changing of the guards, but with the tour, we would have missed it. So, we'll have to do that on Monday. Anyway, the palace was really pretty! I can't imagine living in such a big place by myself. Plus, it was definitely way too fancy for me. I really enjoyed it though..plus, they even had a room that showed Queen Elizabeth's wedding dress and all kinds of wedding jewelry. It was really pretty! Everything looked soo expensive. The room was also really crowded and I wished they had some sort of crowd control for the room but at least we got to see everything. It also probably didn't help that someone fainted in the room. We had to avoid half of the room for a while so the medics could help the person. I think the person was okay though so that was good. During the tour, you're not allowed to take pictures until you are outside in the garden area....that was at the very end of the tour. The area was huge and pretty. I'm glad I don't need to be a ground keeper for them though, it would take FOREVER!
Houses of Parliament:
After Buckingham Palace, we grabbed a hotdog and rushed off to Parliament. Again, we weren't allowed to take pictures. But, the building was gorgeous! The chamber area for the house of the lordes area seemed to be more glorious then the Buckingham Palace. In fact, it use to be a palace too. Anyway, there was a lot more detailing and the ceilings were a lot higher...not sure how to explain it but that's how I felt. The house of commons area was more plain. The tour was really interesting though and it was fun to learn about how the government worked.
These are the 2 big tours we did. After we were done, we walked around the river area and saw lots of fun little things. It was fun to be a part of the culture in London. We also visited the Imperial War museum really quick before we met up with our friend Rebecca for dinner. We ate at some indian restaurant on a street called Brick Lane...it's suppose to be a really popular place to eat and we soon found out why. It was ftons of fun because every restaurant tried to recruit customers by offering all sorts of discounts. Our friend told us that the very first ones aren't very good and the ones further down the street were better. So, after we got to a place that she knew was good, the guy offered us a 25% discount, free drinks, and a free appetizer. Our friend was smart enough to make sure the drinks could include the smoothie. YUMMY! Too bad they don't do this in the states. :)
Anyway, that's basically it for today. We've done a lot of walking the past 2 days and my feet are tired, but we're having a blast!! I'll have to post pics later. :)
London Day 1
So, after traveling all night, we finally arrived in London at 10 am. We were about an hour late due to terrible weather at the Minneapolis airport, but at least we're here. :) It was fun walking through the airport and knowing that we were IN LONDON!! I have always wanted to visit London and I'm so excited that we're here!
We're staying with a friends sister and brother in law who live in London. We're so grateful that we could have someone to stay with. Hotels in London are really expensive! Anyway, they live really close to the tube so it's really easy to get around.
Anyway, we dropped off our stuff and chatted for a while and then we were off to explore. We didn't have anything specific planned so we just walked around the city to familiarize ourselves with the place. London is sooo beautiful!! Since we were going to do the actual tour of Buckingham Palace and the House of Parliament the next day, we just walked around and took pictures. It was really cool to see everything!
We also walked through Queen Mary Gardens, Regent's Park, and Trafalgar Sqaure. Trafalgar Square was really neat. There were lots of people! Also, there was this statue with some HUGE lion statues around it. I wanted to take a picture right by the Lion but it was too high for me...well, not really, but it was scary to get up that high. Anyway, the one little adventure we had was taking a small buggy bike ride....basically, a person rides a bike and there's a small carraige thing that's attached to the bike. It was fun!
Well, I think that's about it...we were really tired by the end of the day since we hadn't really slept the past 24 hours..so we just went home after dinner and crashed. In fact, we almost fell asleep on the subway. I was afraid we would miss our stop, but we didn't...we made it home safely. :)
We're staying with a friends sister and brother in law who live in London. We're so grateful that we could have someone to stay with. Hotels in London are really expensive! Anyway, they live really close to the tube so it's really easy to get around.
Anyway, we dropped off our stuff and chatted for a while and then we were off to explore. We didn't have anything specific planned so we just walked around the city to familiarize ourselves with the place. London is sooo beautiful!! Since we were going to do the actual tour of Buckingham Palace and the House of Parliament the next day, we just walked around and took pictures. It was really cool to see everything!
We also walked through Queen Mary Gardens, Regent's Park, and Trafalgar Sqaure. Trafalgar Square was really neat. There were lots of people! Also, there was this statue with some HUGE lion statues around it. I wanted to take a picture right by the Lion but it was too high for me...well, not really, but it was scary to get up that high. Anyway, the one little adventure we had was taking a small buggy bike ride....basically, a person rides a bike and there's a small carraige thing that's attached to the bike. It was fun!
Well, I think that's about it...we were really tired by the end of the day since we hadn't really slept the past 24 hours..so we just went home after dinner and crashed. In fact, we almost fell asleep on the subway. I was afraid we would miss our stop, but we didn't...we made it home safely. :)
Sunday, September 16, 2007
True Love??
Today in Relief Society, while we were talking about the Law of Chasity we started discussing what it meant to really love some one. To truly love some one involves commitment, sacrifice, selflessness, trust, and several other things. I'm really glad that we talked about this today because as I think about the things we discussed, it makes me love my husband even more. I appreciate everything he does for me and all the sacrifices he has made to be with me. Things weren't easy to begin with, but we endured and now everything is okay... :) Of course, no marriage is perfect and there are still things that we will need to deal with in the future, but I know that everything will be okay as long as we continue to do what the Lord wants us to do. I LOVE my husband so much. He loves me for who I am and is always there for me when I need him. I would say we're definitely on the path of true love! :)
Friday, September 14, 2007
Expensive Airplane Tickets
I've started looking into buying air tickets to fly home for Christmas...boy are they expensive! Since Minnesota is the hub for Northwest, it is the only airline that flies from Rochester to Pasco. To fly from Rochester to Pasco it costs almost $600 a person. Normally, we're able to use discount vouchers, but since Northwest doesn't fly from Seattle to Pasco, the vouchers won't work. :(
Anyway, hoping to save money, I looked at several other options. I've made a list of options I've looked into below:
1. Allegant Air is a new airline to flies from Rochester to Las Vegas and I learned that they fly from Las Vegas to Pasco. The tickets are much cheaper. From Rochester to Vegas, tickets would be $160 and then from Vegas to Pasco it would be $200. Basically half the price! I was really excited until I saw the times for the flights. Unfortanately, they basically fly at the same time...:( Scratch that idea...unless we decide to spend some time in Vegas...
2. By 2 roundtrip tickets. 1 roundtrip ticket from Rochester to Seattle and then from Seattle to Pasco. By doing this, we can use the discount vouchers on the flight from Rochester to Seattle. We would save a little bit of money doing this but the problem is that our returning flight from Seattle would leave at 12 am on New Year's day...which defeats the purpose of spending New Year's eve with family. There was a later flight, but then that would mean getting in really late...which may still be an option. All depends on if we find rides to the Airport of if we'll leave our car there.....
3. I even thought of flying into Spokane and then renting a car to drive home..which would be about 2 hours away. Well, tickets were still over $500. Take into account the cost of renting a car for a day, gas, and time...I didn't think it would be worth it..so this idea is a no go as well.
4. Andy suggessted flying to Pasco from SLC. We have several good friends in Utah so I considered the idea. Also, it would open the option of maybe driving home with my sister Julia and her husband Tim. Well, tickets were still like $500... :(
These were the only options we could think of...I wish air tickets weren't so expensive...I even checked the flights out of the cities. but it looks like tickets are even more expensive. Anyway, hopefully ticket prices will drop soon. I figure we'll need to by tickets in the next month or so. Too bad Southwest doesn't fly out of here...
Anyway, hoping to save money, I looked at several other options. I've made a list of options I've looked into below:
1. Allegant Air is a new airline to flies from Rochester to Las Vegas and I learned that they fly from Las Vegas to Pasco. The tickets are much cheaper. From Rochester to Vegas, tickets would be $160 and then from Vegas to Pasco it would be $200. Basically half the price! I was really excited until I saw the times for the flights. Unfortanately, they basically fly at the same time...:( Scratch that idea...unless we decide to spend some time in Vegas...
2. By 2 roundtrip tickets. 1 roundtrip ticket from Rochester to Seattle and then from Seattle to Pasco. By doing this, we can use the discount vouchers on the flight from Rochester to Seattle. We would save a little bit of money doing this but the problem is that our returning flight from Seattle would leave at 12 am on New Year's day...which defeats the purpose of spending New Year's eve with family. There was a later flight, but then that would mean getting in really late...which may still be an option. All depends on if we find rides to the Airport of if we'll leave our car there.....
3. I even thought of flying into Spokane and then renting a car to drive home..which would be about 2 hours away. Well, tickets were still over $500. Take into account the cost of renting a car for a day, gas, and time...I didn't think it would be worth it..so this idea is a no go as well.
4. Andy suggessted flying to Pasco from SLC. We have several good friends in Utah so I considered the idea. Also, it would open the option of maybe driving home with my sister Julia and her husband Tim. Well, tickets were still like $500... :(
These were the only options we could think of...I wish air tickets weren't so expensive...I even checked the flights out of the cities. but it looks like tickets are even more expensive. Anyway, hopefully ticket prices will drop soon. I figure we'll need to by tickets in the next month or so. Too bad Southwest doesn't fly out of here...
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Growing Up Fast
Over Labor Day weekend, my family had their annual 4 day 3 night camping trip near Mt. Rainer. Unfortunately, Andy and I weren't able to attend..maybe next year. :) Anyway, Allison posted a picture of all the grandkids and I can't believe how much they've grown in 1 year! Anyway, just so you can see the change, I've posted the grand kid picture from 2006 and the one from this year.
2006
2007
2006
2007
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