Statelady & Chezp's London Adventure: COMPLETED!!!
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statelady01 · 12-08-2003, 08:32 AM

We then headed straight for the river cruise and this was nothing short of fantastic. As we were waiting, it got a little darker and much windier. I began to regret my decision of leaving my heavy wool coat at the hotel. Kevan continually offered me his windbreaker but I just kept on without it. We boarded the cruise boat and I was thrilled to see a staffer come around with a drink cart. Cheryl noticed right away it was one that had to have come from a British Airways plane- it was sort of funny. Kevan and I had coffee and it did a great job in warming me up.

The weather looked iffy but held out for the 45 minute journey. Our guide on this cruise was fantastic- not only was she incredibly knowledgeable and humorous- she had what I guess most Americans would consider a quintessential British accent – she announciated beautifully and I made sure to take enough video to hear her. ( The video camera had charged 2 bars back so I was in good shape!)

Tradition dictates that as you pass under the famous Tower Bridge and wave to people on it and they wave back- you will have 5 years good luck. We did well and I hope it holds true!

Tower Bridge

As we were coming to the boarding dock, we felt a few drops of rain and incredibly lucky for the timing. The Thames River Cruise was a unexpected highlight for me- it was relaxing and yet I felt like I learned and saw so much in a short amount of time!

Globe Theatre as seen from the river cruise

A Quick Snap in front of the Thames River

Shopping was next as we made our way to Oxford and Regents Streets. Some lights were on and some were not. What began to really strike Kevan and I were the crowds, the decorations, the busy feeling of the place- people were in the middle of Christmas rush. We felt like it was December 15, not November 15! We relayed these observations to Cheryl and Mark- who shocked us when they told us they were nearly done with their holiday shopping!

Christmas Lights

Department stores in London are, in my eyes, very different than in the States. Could you imagine having little mini areas featuring Prada, Fendi, Chanel and Armani in say, JC Penneys? That’s how it seemed to work in London! We bought a Spode Christmas plate for my mother in law at John Lewis on one floor while those aforementioned wares were being displayed on another! Out of all the different stores we ventured into, I fell in love with Debenhams- one Cheryl seemed to like very much as well. It was trendy but not stuffy. Upon entering, Cheryl and Mark suggested eating dinner which sounded fantastic as Kevan and I were starving.

I remember as a child eating at cafes in department stores in Florida where I grew up, but that seems to have all but disappeared in most of the major US ones. The Debenhams restaurant served the food cafeteria style but it was presented beautifully and efficiently. Mark, Kevan and I enjoyed a traditional Christmas meal- roasted turkey with cranberry stuffing, along with roasted veggies and gravy, as well as cranberry sauce. In addition, there were parsnips, which were very good- Kevan really loved them and was happy to hear that it was on the menu for our home cooked meal at Cheryl and Mark’s the next night! The two entrees and beverages came to just about $20 and it certainly seemed a bargain to us- it was a wonderful meal. Again, happy conversation flowed between all of us and we continue to enjoy spending time with Cheryl and Mark- making for a wonderful night.

After leaving Debenhams, we checked out several stores including the Disney Store of course. It had two floors but unfortunately, I did not find one thing that appealed to me- which really had me disappointed. It was absolutely packed so I probably missed some stuff but overall, nothing jumped out at me enough to purchase.

Into Selfridge’s, another department store, where Cheryl and I made the claim for a stop at the Haggen Dazs café. Mark and Kevan didn’t seem to interested so we were off to check out the offerings ourselves. I was having a hard time and so was Cheryl. We came to the conclusion we should split a cookie sundae- it was sooo yummy and lots of fun to share!

Ice Cream At Last

We had to go to the toilet (remember, verbiage different here) so after what seemed like forever to find it – we made a pit stop and back out into the London night.

We were all absolutely bushed at this point and I was determined to try out that Jacuzzi bath as well so we agreed to call it a night and head back to the hotel.

We bid each other good night- Kevan and I got busy packing one of our Pullmans for our trip to Maidstone and our stay with Cheryl and Mark- I was very much looking forward to this part of our trip and felt overwhelmed we were going to be welcomed into their home.

I asked Kevan to draw me the jacuzzi bath and I heard a few expletives a few minutes later. Evidently he did not let the water fill up enough and turned the jets on to have them spray all over him! I was snickering as I got in and it was heaven- and did wonders for my tired and one somewhat blistered foot.

I also wanted to charge our videocamera battery when I discovered a problem. The adapter had a circle of plastic around it and my charger had a rectangular box on the plug- so it wouldn’t get past the circle to plug it in! I just gave up and hoped that it being off for a long while would give us just an eensy weensy bit more video taping time.

We enjoyed some more of the BBC and another channel ITV before lights out and sleepy time.

**Colexis Mom** · 12-09-2003, 08:00 AM

Another great installment ladies (and pictures)!! I would love to ride in the eye, it seems wonderful to be able to look at the whole city from so high up! Sorry your "eyemates" were less than accomodating!

Looking forward to more

Great job!

beths3 · 12-09-2003, 08:20 AM

This trip sounds like so much fun. I'll have to go London someday now just to see everything in your report.

ProChristo · 12-09-2003, 09:03 AM

Thanks again for another great installment. We have a cafe in our local Dillard's department store, but they keep really short hours and we've never had great service or a great meal for the price. I think food courts around here have probably done them in.

goofy4goofy · 12-10-2003, 04:24 PM

Great installments!!!! Loved the picture of you and Cheryl eating an ice cream! Can't wait for more installments!

Kelly

**chezp** · 12-10-2003, 04:39 PM

By the way, just an update here - rest assured, we will be back soon with the next installments in this report - Maureen's just in the middle of finals at the moment and once those are out of the way, then we'll post the next bits.

We haven't forgotten!

wdwlovers · 12-10-2003, 09:18 PM

Alright, more coming soon! Loving it so far!!

kimdisneynut · 12-11-2003, 10:32 PM

Thanks, for another great update.

Kim

**chezp** · 12-14-2003, 03:24 AM

Sunday 16 November – part one: “you have to moo!”

We'd agreed to meet for breakfast at around 7:30 a.m., so I was hoping to be on the road by about 8:30 a.m. at the latest. Breakfast was quickly done and Mark went off to pick up the car, but when I went to check out, I got a nasty surprise. The bill for our room was £130 per night, not £98 per night – the price I booked it for. I was told this was because VAT was added on, but when I pointed out that taxes were meant to be included in the price, I was told that VAT wasn't.

I was going to argue further, but as Mark had already gone to fetch the car and I wanted to get going, I decided to pay and send them a nasty e-mail afterwards (which I duly did. I finally got an e-mail from them last week, saying they were refunding the £34.30 VAT back to our credit card, which was great news. At the current exchange rate, that works out to nearly $60, so it was a fairly significant amount!)

We set off about 8:20 a.m. and made good time, stopping for fuel on the way home. As we got out of London, Maureen was catching up on her sleep, but both she and Kevin noticed that we had put Illuminations on the in-car MiniDisc player to serenade them. There were “moos” each time I saw a cow in a field on the way back. It's a traditional I started when I was a kid, as we used to have cows living in the field behind us and they were my favourite animal. By the time we got towards Maidstone, everyone else was joining in with the mooing each time we passed a cow. A family tradition goes transatlantic, not bad!

We got to our house by about 9:20 a.m., which was pretty good going. As you can see, the journey back was a lot quicker than the one up to London on Friday. That's a lot to do with the fact it was a Sunday and therefore there was nowhere near as much traffic on the route to slow us down.

As we got out of the car, Maureen told me that our house was exactly what she imagined a British house to look like. I guess that's fair comment, as we’re in a very green and leafy suburb and that's probably a fairly British thing. Somehow our country seems to be one of the greenest in the world.

When we got inside, Maureen commented almost at once on the colours in our house. This is one of the things that attracted us to this house, as each room has its own colour and it's a very bold colour scheme. The living room at the front of the house is a pink scheme, while the dining-room and the family room at the back of the house have walls which are painted orange. I know this sounds awful, but it works really well. I was a bit worried that she might not like the colour scheme in the bedroom they’d be staying in, as it’s green and I know that’s unlucky to some people, but the second she saw it, her comment was “I love this room”!

After a cup of tea (the great British tradition!) and the chance for the guys to catch up with the Rugby World Cup (England beating France in the end) we were ready to head off to Leeds Castle.

We got to Leeds Castle about a half hour after it opened and the car park was still quite quiet by then. The tickets only cost us £9.50 per couple, as we’d got “two the price of one” offers earlier in the summer, otherwise they'd have been £9.50 each, still cheaper than Kensington Palace, mind you.

As we live near Leeds Castle, we've been to visit it quite a few times, most recently in the summer of 2002 with my parents, so we know the site quite well. There’s quite a long, but a very pleasant, walk from the entrance down to the Castle and along the way you get some tantalising glimpses of the Castle, before finally seeing the whole building in its glory. The advertising slogan of Leeds Castle is that it's the loveliest Castle in the world and I don't think they're far wrong. It’s certainly one of the most beautiful in Britain and I never tire of looking at it, in the same way that I never tire of seeing the Houses of Parliament in real life. Both buildings are, to me, truly magnificent and I always find it very quiet in the castle grounds, even with all the other visitors.

Our first view of the Castle

We went straight into the Castle, pausing only to get some photos first, including the only one of all four of us together, thanks to a guide who was more than happy to take the shots.

The main entrance to Leeds Castle

The only shot of the four of us together

Again you can't take any photos inside the Castle, but at least here, they make that abundantly clear as go in. You enter through the cellars, then go upstairs to learn something of the history of the Castle and how it's been used by Royalty during the centuries. It was originally a manor of a Saxon royal family, possibly built as early as 860. Listed in the Doomsday Book, this Castle has been a Norman stronghold, a royal residence for six of England’s medieval queens and a palace of Henry VIII. It’s now in the ownership of a charitable foundation which keeps it open to the general public.

There are many wonderful rooms to see, a lot of them replicating how they would have looked in centuries gone by, when various Royals resided here. Something which Mark and I were convinced was new were all the signs telling us that conference guests stay in these rooms from time to time. I guess it works out well for them, as the average conference goer probably has to be at his or her next meeting or seminar by around 9 a.m. at the latest and the Castle only opens to visitors at 10 a.m. But to be honest, and I couldn’t imagine staying in some of those rooms. I think I’d be scared of breaking something valuable and in one of the final rooms we saw, there was a distinct a aroma of cigarette smoke. Sure enough, the sign in there said that conference guess sometimes use it for relaxing in. I guess they’re allowed to smoke in there as well, which did surprise me, considering the wonderful furnishings in there, which could easily be damaged by that.

Next: “if I had to wear that, I’d sit too!”

AKLRULZ · 12-14-2003, 08:10 AM

Kudos! I just caught up after being sick and this is just fabulous - great job and the report of all reports here in Globetrotting!! Ya'll have set a high standard!

ProChristo · 12-14-2003, 08:53 AM

What a treat to wake up and get to read another installment from one of you. You made my day! Leeds castle looks beautiful, and I like the sound of your decor, Cheryl!

statelady01 · 12-14-2003, 09:43 AM

Downstairs at 7:30 for our breakfast and we got through quite quickly as I think we all were ready to hit the road. Cheryl got a nasty surprise at check out- it was her understanding that the VAT tax was included in the rate for their room but the Rembrandt said otherwise.( This has been corrected since). This had me a little panicked so while Mark went round for the car- I ran back upstairs and thumbed through all our documents to find my confirmation email- which did say the rate included the VAT. Back downstairs, Mark, Kevan and Cheryl were ready and the car was loaded up and off we went.

When Cheryl got in the front seat on the left side I thought she was going to drive but oh yeah, the steering wheel was on the opposite side- so that meant Mark was driving. Took me a second to register that in my head but we actually got used to it quickly. I think I dozed off but made sure to take in the scenery as we exited London and headed towards Kent. The Illuminations soundtrack perked me up a bit and then, there was mooing. I realized Chez was mooing. She told us about her family tradition of mooing when seeing cows and soon Kevan and I started mooing- I think Mark was too. One thing I really thought especially charming along the route was seeing miles of beautiful green pastures and these big woolly sheep. They were so gosh darn cute and some of the stuff we saw could have been postcard material.

When we pulled into the petrol (gas) station, Kevan and I noticed on the sign it said “Total.” Believe it or not, Total is a big gas station chain here in Arkansas- and at first we were convinced it was a coinky dink but then Kevan noticed the same color scheme on the sign- just a different logo design. That was so odd!

Exit signs on the highway are so much different to me than the ones here in the States. They are different colors than the green ones that seem to be standard in the US and there are actually drawings of which exits there are and the direction they go. The traffic was virtually nothing and we made great time.

The pictures I had of a suburb in England came mainly from watching British comedies on PBS. And some pictures and photographs- so I think Kevan and I definitely had a vision in mind- and Maidstone was pretty much what we figured- and we loved it.

Before we knew it, we were pulling into Mark and Cheryl’s driveway. Their home is charming inside and out. We got the grand tour and they had great colors in each room and painted in sort of a washed look manner- everything was so bright and cheerful. The four of us went out back to check out the garden and see some of the hard work we had been hearing about! It will be wonderful come spring when flowers bloom and it’s done.

Cheryl took me upstairs to set our stuff down in our room and it was a really nice one- with a sort of seafoam green tiled fireplace and green color theme throughout- the temperature in the room perfect and I could tell we would sleep wonderfully tonight!

Back downstairs, the guys had already turned on the television to catch up on England vs France rugby so I asked Cheryl where her computer and all the Eeyores were- her eyes lit up and she lead the way. I have never seen so many pairs of eyes in my life. There were shelves on both walls- FULL of Eeyore beanies. Far and wide, our furry blue friend from the Hundred Acre Wood was there. I immediately told Kevan to come in so he could see this and I think his jaw dropped to the floor! What an impressive collection!

Back to rugby and tea time- we all sat and watched for awhile. Then it was time to be off to Leeds Castle. There would be plenty more time for checking out their home later. Mark also got out a small saw and cut that plastic circle off my adapter which worked perfectly- so we charged up our camcorder enough to get some good tape of Leeds Castle. Mark saves the day!

Leeds Castle was literally minutes from Cheryl and Mark’s. As we pulled in to the parking lot, I think we all noticed there weren’t many cars there at all.

We got our admission tickets and thankfully, Cheryl and Mark had 2 for 1 vouchers that saved each couple 9 GBP. We began our walk towards the castle and the grounds were just nothing short of picturesque. It was a lovely morning- the temperature cold but not bone chilling and the sun was shining in all its glory. What also was so incredible were the clear skies with visibility far- it was just peaceful as you could hear birds chirping.

Leeds Castle is known as the loveliest castle in the world and I would be hard pressed to disagree. It is a stately yet not overbearing structure and it sort of illuminates an elegant presence on the grounds. I got reminded again to flip over the flap on my purse ( WILL I EVER LEARN?) and vowed to get a new one for traveling and perhaps.. burn this one when I got home.

We got a photo of the four of us for the first time right in front of the Castle. I wish we had been able to get more but I certainly more than understood Cheryl’s hesitation to hand it to a stranger in London- who could just take off with it- something I probably will think more about if we travel to any other cities in the future.

There were so many wonderful rooms and all of them were exquisite and yet, felt comfortable. Turns out some of the rooms we toured were put into use at times. Kevan and I particularly enjoyed a small courtyard of one of the hallways just beyond the entrance- it was charming.