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[chezp]

Sunday 16 November – part two: “if I had to wear that, I’d sit too!”



Our tour completed, we left the Castle via the front door, your own chance to feel like Royalty for just a moment and then across the courtyard, we stopped to have a look in the dog collar Museum, which is also cunningly disguised as a shop. As Kevan commented, “if I had wear some of those collars, I’d sit too!” Some really were lethal contraptions with metal spikes all over them!





Leeds Castle



From there, we wandered round the other side of the Castle, as I knew from previous visits that this was be a real place to take photos. It's the shot they always used in postcards and Maureen and I made sure we got our own picture postcard views as well, while the men just sat there and laughed at us. They were soon laughing on the other side of their faces when Maureen started videoing them!



From there, we paid a brief visit to the Christmas shop, although there really wasn't that much in there, certainly not Christmas staff, which was disappointing. Then we walked through Lady Baillie’s Garden. She was one of the most recent owners of Leeds Castle and in the summer, the gardens are really something to see, but in November they did lack colour somewhat. There were still one of two plants in flower, but not many, which was a shame, but not surprising.



Next on the tour was the aviary, again an addition by Lady Baillie and they have a wonderful collection of all types of birds, including toucans, parrots and cockatoos. One of them said “hello” as you went to leave him. Of course, he wouldn't do it for Maureen when she had the video camera running, but that's animals for you, they never perform on cue!





"Hello" Mr. Cockatoo!



I was particular fascinated by the toucans. I love the markings on their beaks and it was the first time I had ever seen them eat. It quite a sight, I can tell you!





The toucans feasting



Our final stop on our tour of the Castle estate was the maze. Every time we come here, I think “do we will really have to do this again?”, but the answer is “yes you do” and the simple reason for that is what's waiting for you at the end of the maze. When you do eventually find your way to the centre of the maze, you leave through the most amazing underground grotto, which is well worth seeing.



The last time Mark and I went into the maze, it took us what seemed like forever to get out again and I'm sure we went round the same parts time and time again, that time we were helped out of the maze by the Leeds Castle staff member who was on the top of the centre of the Maze (directly over the grotto). Of course we didn't tell Maureen Kevin any of this, but I did notice as we all went into the maze that the staff member was today at the entrance, so we wouldn't get any help from him. I began to wonder how long someone has to be trapped in there, before they send out the search parties!



Fortunately, both Mark and I seemed to remember the correct route quite well from the last time we were in there and we reached the centre in about 10 minutes. It helps to have an idea of where the exit is (we knew it was to the right of the maze and kept our efforts centred on that area). The odd thing about this maze is that there are no real dead ends, it's just very confusing and literally, within a couple of minutes of being in there, you've lost all sense of direction.



The grotto was very intricately decorated with Shells and flash photography shows them up beautifully (there was no one else in there at the time, so I didn't feel bad about taking flash photos in there).





The underground grotto



It's just as well we did go through the maze to get to the grotto As we came out, we saw one young girl trying to get in the grotto through the exit and the staff member told her she had to go through the maze!



By now, we were at the end of the estate, but luckily there’s a land train (essentially it’s a Land Rover that pulls some carriages behind it) that runs every half an hour from there back to the car park. Otherwise it would be a long walk back and it would be uphill as well! We had about 10 minutes to wait for the land train and then we were on our way back and giving our feet a well earned break. You still have to walk a little way up the hill from where they drop you off, as they make sure you go through stop on way out. They’re not silly, you know – they don’t miss any marketing opportunity, a bit like Disney really!





One final shot of Leeds Castle



Next: “whose bear is it again Maureen?”

[statelady01]

Lady Baille was the previous owner and resident of the Castle before the Leeds Castle Foundation took charge of the place. There is a painting of she and her daughters that was absolutely lovely. There were also multitudes of artwork pieces featuring birds and being the art lover I am- I was enchanted by all of this.

One of my very favorite rooms was a drawing room overlooking the grounds that had Asian accents in the décor. The tapestries were magnificent and the color scheme reds and golds. The most exquisite piece was a wooden folded screen with Japanese symbols engraved in it- it had to be quite old and I was quite taken with it.

Upon exiting the Castle, we wandered into the dog collar Museum which I sort of thought odd but interesting and then on the other end, browsed through some of the gifts for sale. Out comes a pound coin or two for postcards – but Cheryl pointed out to me the guidebook – a good value at 4 GBP. It was the first guidebook I had bought and I did so as it some spectacular photos of the room with the Asian accents I loved so much.

We went to the other side of the Castle where Cheryl and I were in photo heaven, taking beautiful video and photos of the castle. Kevan and Mark parked themselves on a bench quite a distance from us and when I looked over, they looked like two old guys in a park. It was so funny to see them just sitting there so I pointed my videocamera in their direction and Kevan waved me off like a little kid. Turned out hilarious.

We visited a Christmas shop in the village looking portion of the grounds but there wasn’t anything too terribly spectacular. Then we made our way through the garden which I can imagine in the spring would be so wonderful. That was the downside of being here in November, but there were a few plants with blooms so it was alright- I still thought the landscaping layout was great.

Next was a stop at the aviary, courtesy of one Lady Baille. It was a stunning display- the place was immaculate and you could obviously see the birds were extremely well cared for- in fact, I would say it was the best I had seen, better than any zoo. One of them was talking up a storm so I grabbed the video camera for the kids to see when we returned home, but of course on cue he zipped up.

I was taking everything in and probably missed a bit of the conversation detailing where we were headed but I thought I heard wrong when Kevan and Cheryl were talking about a maze. Huh? A maze? Indeed it was and Mark told me there was a nice surprise in the middle – so I informed them they were the leaders and we the followers, hoping they remembered how to get us to the center. They did a great job and we came upon the grotto.

The grotto is one of Kevan’s favorite parts of Leeds Castle. Being a native Floridian, I loved the use of all the shells, that adorned the inner part. It wasn’t very dark at all and the waterfall echoing was wonderful- it was indeed worth the trouble of getting through that maze to get there!

We headed up the hill and waited for the land train to take us back towards the front. By this time, my blister, which was cushioned by a Band Aid, was worn out and I hated to do it- but I had to fix it so off came my Avia’s to do so. I didn’t think anything of it but my Band Aid had the stars and stripes on it as Cheryl and Mark noticed. Aaah- much better.

The land train took us back towards the front but dropped us in front of a garden store and another gift shop- we pretty much walked right through.

As we said goodbye to Leeds Castle, I was vowing in the back of my mind that it would be on the list to visit anytime we ever came back to Europe- it was that wonderful.

[Colexis Mom]

Glad you are writing again Another great installment! Glad you enjoyed Leeds Castle. Looking forward to more

[DVC_Don]

Who would have known what would happen? A while back two ladies in two different parts of the world buy a PassPorter guide book. Next thing you know, they are ridding through the British countryside mooing at cows together. Love this TR.

[chezp]

Sunday 16 November – part three: “whose bear is it again Maureen?”



We decided to head for our local supermarket Tesco to get some sandwiches for another quick and cheap lunch. Of course Mark and I don't go in there that much any more, as we get our shopping delivered and order it online each week. As it was a Sunday, it was quite busy in there. In this country you have Sunday trading laws, which mean shops can only open for six hours during the day, usually between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., although some choose to open between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., more of which later. We made our purchases and went back to our house to eat.



Once fully fed again, we were off, first into Maidstone to show Maureen and Kevan the town where we live and the Archbishops’ Palace, where we got married. It’s a beautiful old medieval building, dating from the 12th century, which was left to fall into disrepair and was only restored about a decade ago. It’s now the town’s registry office and I speak from experience when I saw it’s a lovely setting for a wedding.



We continued on our way, with an unexpected detour. Maidstone is set in a dip, so there are various hills around the town, overlooking it and it was one of those we drove up, stopping at a picnic spot at the top to admire the view. I never dreamed we’d have such a good view on a day in mid-November. Maureen and Kevan had been exceptionally lucky with the weather so far, it’s not usually this dry or this clear at this time of the year.





Maidstone and surrounding area from the top of Bluebell Hill



Finally, we made it to our original destination, Bluewater. This is about 20 miles from our home and a regular outing for us. It’s the country’s largest out of town shopping centre (mall) and will probably keep that accolade for some time to come. After it was finished, the government decided that no more out of town malls should be built. Shops should, in the future, be in existing town centres instead, as they were starting to fall into disrepair, dwarfed by the malls and unable to compete with them. Bluewater really is striking and very beautiful at Christmas, the lighting is excellent, with giant reindeer on the roundabouts and Christmas trees everywhere, a lot prettier than Oxford Street.



Once we got inside Bluewater from the car park, we turned left, as that was the way to the Disney Store, but like the one in Oxford Street, we didn’t buy a lot. I got a Christmas disc ornament with Eeyore on it (naturally!) but again Maureen couldn’t find any she wanted. We then took Maureen and Kevan on a tour of Bluewater, shopping for certain things like Christmas cards – we couldn’t find any for Maureen though. We kept telling them to shout if they wanted to go into any shops, something Maureen didn’t have a problem with, but Kevan only shouted a couple of times. I can’t believe he could only find a couple of shops there he wanted to go in!



I think without a doubt that Maureen’s favourite shop was the Bear Factory, where you can create your own teddy bear. You choose how well you want him stuffed and dress him and can even give him a voice. It’s great fun. It’s one of those places that I’ve always thought about buying something from, but have never got around to it, so I didn’t realise quite how much fun it was in there. Maureen and Kevan had great fun naming their bear, but there was only one top they could buy for him – the one with the Union Flag on it! So what else could the bear be called but Brit?!





Bringing Brit the bear to life



We kept being told by Maureen that Brit was for her DD, but then, increasingly in conversation, Brit kept being called “my bear” by Maureen! We had to keep reminding her that it wasn’t her bear really! Full credit to her though – Brit did in fact get presented to her DD when she got home, although she did mention something about “sharing” him!





The guys take a break from shopping!



I managed to get a few more Christmas presents in Marks and Spencer. Somehow, we’d managed to miss the Marks and Spencer store in Oxford Street (I don’t think we walked far enough up!) and as it’s such a typically British store, I wanted to take Maureen and Kevan in there. Just as well I did, as I wasn’t the only one who picked up a few presents! They had some great offers in there. Maureen went for some boxes of chocolate and some items such as hand cream, as did I, as I figured it was just the sort of thing my mum would like (and I was running low on hand cream too!)



We made a couple of final stops, one for Kevan to get a computer game, recreating the Rugby World Cup – we told him so long as he made sure England won the Cup each time he played, that was the main thing! (of course later in real life, the team did do just that!) By the time we finished, it was around 5 p.m. and the shops were all just starting to close. Remember I said that most stores open between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on a Sunday? Well, Bluewater is the one major exception to that rule, opening and closing an hour later – it’s not uncommon to see us up there at 10 a.m. wondering why it’s so deserted!



Well, of course, as all the shops were closing, that meant everyone was trying to leave at the same time. As a result, there were queues for all the exits, so I took the opportunity to take some photos of the Christmas lights from the top level of the car park.





Bluewater's Christmas decorations



Next: “anymore to eat for anyone?”

[statelady01]

We were quite hungry by this time so we decided to stop at Tesco- the local grocer for sandwiches and sides, and then eat them back at Cheryl and Mark’s. It was in a cute building – village looking and Kevan stopped for more money at the ATM. I was shocked at how crowded it was and that it was only open until 4 or 5! I can see why Cheryl and Mark get internet grocery services and wished we could get the same at home.

We headed back to their house and ate lunch and rested just a bit-then it was time to be off again. We got a lovely tour of Maidstone. Mark was very knowledgeable about many things there. We saw a pub that the IRA bombed in the 80’s as well as the Archbishop’s Palace- where Cheryl and Mark were married- it was beautiful.

I didn’t realize it when Cheryl and Mark we might like to see the BlueWater Shopping Centre that we were about to head into the best shopping mall Kevan and I had ever been to. We drove about 30 minutes and there it was- huge!

We visited the Disney Store there but again, I came out emptyhanded. There was a wonderful Lego store and it seemed to be that the items there were a good deal cheaper than in the US but seeing as how our boys weren’t real big into Legos – we did not purchase anything.

I did make a pit stop at Godiva and got 10 chocolate squares for 2.50 GBP and we shared them as we walked. A little chocolate for energy boosting.

Kevan and Mark wandered into the GadgetShop- where Kevan found a neat toy car for his little brother (he’s10!) and at this point I was getting desperate to find something to bring our youngest daughter Emily. Kevan had poo poo’ed the toy elephant at Hamley’s so when I saw the Bear Factory, I thought it worth a look.

I had heard of a store similar to this in the US but had never been in one. The Bear Factory is a store where you in essence build your own bear. This was the perfect thing for Emily!

Cheryl helped me pick out a bear body- he was the cutest thing- then I went to the stuffing area where he was stuffed to my liking. Next, to the stitching station. The staffer there asked me to pick out a cloth heart, kiss it and make a wish- then I placed it in the bear’s back and she stitched the opening up. Cheryl and I both were observant about what a good job the staffer did sewing him up. She also asked me to fill out the info for his birth certificate- we then were directed to the front- to pay and have him dressed. Cheryl and I fell in love with this little red sweater with the Union Flag on it- couldn’t have been more appropriate. As we were waiting in line, the three of them started to tease me that Emily would not be getting this bear- I was falling in love with him too much to be able to part with him!
At the register, we paid for our bear. The birth certificate proclaimed the arrival of Britt the Bear to be owned by Miss Emily Austin (and her mother maybe). For an additional 50 pence, we got a charming box he was placed in just so- and the cutest thing about it- was that the sides had arm holes- so his arms could stick out and not be smooshed!

I told the three of them that if the Bear Factory ever makes its way within a few hours of us that I would have a new collection being started!

One of the department stores we had missed on Oxford and Regent Streets was Marks and Spencer. We picked up boxes of Belgian chocolate as well as some hand lotion for some co workers- I thought those would be nice gifts.

This time Kevan took on the now-all-too-painfully-repetitive duty of “Maureen, your bag is open.” Aggghhh- why can’t I get this through my thick head????

By this time, Blue Water was near closing time so we headed out- as we exited we noticed all the Christmas lights on the outside and Mark drove around about so Cheryl could snap a few photos of them.

Next A meal fit for a king and queen

[ProChristo]

Sounds like a great shopping experience. We have a bear factory too, called Build a Bear Workshop. It is lots of fun! I'm sure Emily loved her gift.

[AKLRULZ]

Great updates!!

[ QUOTE ]
Who would have known what would happen? A while back two ladies in two different parts of the world buy a PassPorter guide book. Next thing you know, they are ridding through the British countryside mooing at cows together. Love this TR.

[/ QUOTE ]

[MegglesMom]

Another great update ladies! "Brit" sounds really cute, hopefully Emily will share with you, Maureen!

[Colexis Mom]

That mall sounds wonderful, and how nice to get a teddy bear! Looking forward to your dining adventures

[chezp]

Sunday 16 November – part four: “anymore to eat for anyone?”



Before I start this installment - a photo of Maureen with the finished product, Brit the bear:





We drove home and were back not long after 5.30 p.m., so I started work on dinner with some help from Mark. Maureen kept asking if she could help and I kept telling her to sit down and relax. After all, she was on holiday! We’d chatted quite a bit on e-mail about the dinner and what Maureen and Kevan likes – and perhaps more importantly, anything they didn’t like!



Between us, we’d figured what the menu would be – homemade sweetcorn chowder for appetiser, followed by salmon for me and lemon chicken for everyone else as an entrée, with carrots, peas, parsnips, Yorkshire puddings, roast potatoes and homemade rich tomato sauce, made with our own home grown tomatoes. For dessert, there was a choice of strawberry cheesecake or apple crumble. We were working on the theory that we always get served with huge meals in the States, so therefore if you had Americans coming for dinner, we needed to serve up a huge meal for them. We quite often have friends round for dinner and always lay on three course meals, so no-one ever leaves hungry! We couldn’t have that record broken tonight!





Us preparing dinner - photos courtesy of Maureen!



We sat down to eat about an hour and a half after we got in and I was really pleased with how it all turned out. My only disappointment was the salmon, as it was a little bit dry, but Mark told me that the chicken was fine. We also tempted Kevan with some English mustard and he loved it – so much so that we wrapped up a full jar that we had in the cupboard, so that he could take some home with him. I also got a heap of teabags out for Maureen to take back – I’m sorry, but the tea they serve in the States just doesn’t come close to our stuff and most Americans who I’ve given teabags to in the past have ended up agreeing with that!



By the time we got to dessert, Mark and Kevan were watching Top Gear on TV. It’s a show about motoring, but Kevan was stunned by it, as it’s very brutally honest about cars. If they don’t like a car, they tell you so in no uncertain terms. Kevan told Mark there’s no way they’d be able to do that in the States, as they’d probably end up being sued by the manufacturers! It’s also got some very British humour in it.



As a result, we ended up starting on the desserts while they were watching the TV in the front room. We did think about calling them in, but decided to leave it and tuck in instead! They joined us just in time to get some pudding…! We all declared ourselves to be stuffed and to be honest, there wasn’t that much left by the time we’d finished, which is always a good sign and pleases me – I hate to have lots of food go to waste.



And then it seemed as if we took a step forward in time to Christmas, with presents being exchanged. I’d asked Maureen to bring some deodorant over for me, but that was really all I knew that I’d be getting. One of our favourite presents were matching University of Arkansas sweatshirts which we both went into town in, just after Maureen and Kevan left the next morning. I also loved the Chip and Dale pin that Mark got, they’re one of his favourite characters and he’s been talking about starting to collect Chip and Dale pins for some time.



We were all starting to get quite tired by this point, so it wasn’t long before Maureen said she was off to bed and soon we all followed suit. Another great, but exhausting, day.



The weather today was in the high 50’s, dry and sunny.

The best thing today was Leeds Castle.

The worst thing today was was being charged VAT unexpectedly on our room.

The funniest thing today was Maureen getting “her” bear.

Today we tried cooking a meal for American guests

And the result was it was a great success – and everyone was full by the end of it!

The most magical moment today was when everyone was opening their presents – everyone had wonderful looks on their faces, it was just like Christmas!



Next: all good things come to an end…

[statelady01]

We settled in for our evening with Cheryl and Mark at their home. As Cheryl began to prep dinner, she got out her wedding and Disney photo albums and I enjoyed myself to no end, looking through them all. Kevan and Mark were in the den watching a movie and they came in after awhile. Cheryl had made a delicious corn chowder that we ate first and then dinner was served a bit later. Everything was so wonderful. Mark prepared a wonderful lemon chicken and Cheryl had a salmon filet. There were also carrots, peas, Yorkshire pudding, parsnips (which Kevan had seconds and maybe thirds? on) and a fresh tomato sauce that was out of this world. Mark brought out English mustard for us to taste- it was so strong but we both liked it. Correction- Kevan loved it! We took a bit of a breather and had dessert later- cheesecake as well as apple crumble with custard. Everything was fit for a king- and I don’t think we could have ever conveyed enough (although we tried) appreciation to our hosts for everything they had done, including the meal! In addition, Mark gave Kevan their extra jar of Coleman’s mustard and Cheryl bagged up some tea for me in a Ziploc to bring home. I don't think I could illustrate enough to everyone how at ease we all felt- if you walked in on the four of us- you would have never known we had just met in person two days prior!

After dinner, it was time for Christmas in November. We had brought some goodies for Cheryl and Mark and they had some surprises for us. I traded some pins especially for them during our July trip to WDW and also gave them each a sweatshirt from U of A. They had never had fruit snacks so I brought some over for them to try- Mickey ones of course. We had also found an Eeyore bobble in Fruit Loops so we secretly took it out of the box before the kids could get it- I didn’t feel guilty as Eeyore had to go to his proper home with Cheryl! They gave me a wonderful Arribas Brothers crystal piece from Disneyland Paris- that I simply adored! We also got some gifts from Maidstone as well as a London calendar and a box of shortbread. We also received a fantastic book of photos taken from the London Eye.

After, Cheryl and Mark hooked up their digital camera up to the tv so we could view all the photos they had taken thus far. They turned out wonderfully- I am asking for the exact same model camera for Christmas this year.

We had planned on watching some Disney videos- both theirs and ours but all of a sudden I was totally beat and exhausted so Kevan and I headed upstairs for bed. We settled in our wonderful quarters- it was so nice to be in a home so far away from home. I think it was about 2 minutes from the time my head was on the pillow until I was asleep.

[b] The weather today was: [b] windy and sunny
The best thing today was Leeds Castle and being at Cheryl and Mark’s home
The worst thing today was when my blister was aching
The funniest thing today was standing in line at the Bear Factory falling in love with my bear intended for my child and Cheryl mooing
[b] Today we tried [b] a British shopping center
And the result was it being the best mall ever
The most magical moment today was dining at the home of our friends and spending time with them

[goofy4goofy]

I love your bear Maureen and Cheryl, it sounds like you are quite the cook!!! Think you could stop by PA sometime?? LOL Great installment ladies!!!!

Kelly

[chezp]

Monday 17 November – all good things come to an end



We needed to get Maureen and Kevan to Maidstone East station by about 8.30 a.m., so that they’d be there in plenty of time for the 8.50 a.m. train back up to London. I set the alarm for them the night before and we were up an hour or so before then. As the time moved on, I kept hoping I’d set the alarm correctly – it had been a long time since I’d used the alarm in the guest room, probably about eighteen months now, so I kept hoping I’d remembered how it worked! Sure enough, I had and they were down just before 8 a.m. for breakfast.



When we were at Tesco the day before, Mark had bought Kevan some pork and apple sausages for breakfast, as he realised they were very different over here. Kevan tucked into those and declared them to be a great success and very tasty. We kept offering him a few more sausages, but he was using the excuse that he was full from the night before – we couldn’t believe it! And we were worried that they’d go hungry!!



After breakfast, Maureen and Kevan gathered their stuff together and we grabbed a couple of last photos in front of our house before we set off into town.





Some final shots outside our house



It was raining, not too hard, but this was more typical weather for this time of the year and it seemed quite appropriate, as I was so sad to be bidding farewell to them. It felt like we’d become so close in such a short space of time together. And within ten minutes, we were at the station and finally having to say those goodbyes.



When I said to them “see you soon” – I really meant it. We’d already half talked about meeting up again for a Disneyland trip in Autumn (Fall) 2005 and Maureen and Kevan were talking about coming back to London in five years’ time – well I hope both trips come off, as I can’t wait to see them both again. Passporter had helped to spread a little bit of extra Disney magic by creating this meet and this trip. We had a wonderful three days with Maureen and Kevan and I hope they enjoyed every moment of their trip to London – I know we enjoyed every moment we spent with them.

[statelady01]

Our train from Maidstone to London was scheduled to leave at 8:52 so Kevan and I made sure to be downstairs for breakfast by 8:00. Cheryl and Mark were already up and Mark cooked up some sausage and bacon for Kevan- he loved everything. I stuck to cereal and before we knew it was time to go. We took some last photos before departing their house and we got to the train station in perfect time.

Saying goodbye was so hard- we had such a wonderful time with Cheryl and Mark. I always knew it would go well but this whole experience exceeded even my highest expectations- the four of us got along better than I think any of us ever dreamed. It wasn’t a meet to meet anymore- it was a weekend with good friends. There is already discussion of a possible joint adventure at Disneyland California in 2005!

Our train ride was an interesting one. First thing, is that no one checked for tickets! I am glad we had them of course but we kept waiting and waiting for someone to come and collect them- no one did. The train made a few stops- at one of them, an older woman got on and sat in the seat in front of me. She started moaning soon after the train left the station- she looked positively miserable- that is until she pulled out a chocolate bar. After eating it I guess all was well with the world for her. It was an odd and albeit amusing experience. One thing I found myself doing was loving the sheep in the countryside again- so I took after Cheryl and started baa-baaing.

We arrived at Victoria Station by 9:50 and headed on the tube and then back to the Rembrandt for quick showers. We were ready for the National Gallery and Trafalgar Sqaure by 10:15.

We took the tube to get there- making a connection which was not hard at all, surprisingly and came up from the station- right in the middle of Trafalgar Square.

Little bit of background here- my mother loved the artist Monet and passed that on to me- when I was growing up we must have had dozens of framed prints all throughout the house. She passed away in 2000 and I know she wanted me to be able to see one of Monet’s works in person- she had done so as she had traveled extensively as a flight attendant and was able to go to France. In addition, I took an art history course at UA about a year ago so I had come to really appreciate art. So needless to say, the thought of seeing a Monet- and his famous work Water Lillies – in person was almost too much to bear!

We entered the National Gallery and immediately got a map so we could locate the Monet. We went through several exhibits including ones of Raphael, Michelangelo and Boticelli in particular- all were very good. Then we came to the Impressionist wing and there it was. I couldn’t help it- tears were coming down my face as Water Lillies was 100 X as grand as it is in any reproduction or photo. The colors jumped out as if it were almost 3 D. In reproductions, the hue is just of greens and blues but in person, you see violets and pinks as well.

I could have stood there all day but we wanted to make the most of our last day in London so we exited by the south. As we came out of the Gallery- we heard shouting and clapping around the front so we went towards the crowd to check it out. The Mayor of London had imposed a fine to anyone who fed the multitude of pigeons that hovered in Trafalgar Square in an attempt to make it cleaner. The protestors had laid down food in an area they claimed was not part of the zone prohibited. The BBC was there covering all the commotion.

It was bound to happen that the skies would eventually open up and rain would pour. We were so lucky to have great weather, as it is unusual in London to have such little rain in November. Kevan and I vowed to keep going but we were awfully hungry and wet. We grabbed takeout at the corner café near the hotel and headed back to our room to eat. We got BLT sandwiches and chips- as well as an excellent Greek pasta salad for about 11.00 GBP- once again, another great deal.

After lunch and a rest- the rain was not letting up but we had to go back to Harrod’s to get that jam for Kevan’s grandmother so we trekked down there. Once again, the food halls were fantastic and we ended up purchasing some cookies for her instead. We also found an area with Harrod’s logo merchandise so I bought myself a coffee cup for work with the Harrod’s sign on it.

When we were at Oxford Street with Cheryl and Mark on Saturday, I found a London sweatshirt I really liked but for whatever reason, didn’t buy. I asked Kevan if we could go back and tensions started to mount a little as the rain poured harder and we seemed to get lost. Finally after about 90 minutes, we came to the little stand and the sweatshirt. I thought it was a deal at just 10 GBP but when we got to the cashier it was 22.99 GBP- I started to put it back but Kevan insisted I get it as he had gotten a Rugby PC game that was a little more than that. Works for me.

By this time it was about 3:30 pm and of course, in London it is almost dark at this time and we were soaking wet (even though we did have an umbrella!). We did pop into the Natural History Museum but it was too crowded for our worn nerves and bodies – so we just headed back to the hotel as there was much packing to do anyway.

Coming Up Next - our last evening in London