Tuesday, June 11 - Update
I have added a bit more text but mainly maps showing where we traveled. I have more to do, so check back for more...
This site separates blog entries by month. When you get to the end of one month, click on Older Posts to see the previous month's entries...
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Saturday, June 8, 2013 Day 14 (Updated June 9 at 10:55am CDT)
The final day of our journey has arrived. We had a 4:30am wake-up call, then were ready for the bus at 5:30am which arrived shortly after. About 75 minute drive to Heathrow Airport, checking in our bags, going thru security, an a mile walk to the gate and we are 2 hours from flying out.
Mary and Kelly split off and headed to their flight to Boston. Shirrel, Karen, and Rachel headed to the rental cars to continue their visit for a few more days.
The remaining 24 of us are waiting for the plane...
A few have been struck by Montezuma's revenge so they are resting and staying comfortable. Hope the flight is not too bumpy.
Over the next week or so I will be adding more information to the posts I've already made and posting more photos. Feel free to stop by and check out the new info. (For any post I update I will have a statement after the original that the post was updated and the date and time I updated it. Might make it easier to know which pages to revisit.)
Any traveler that wishes to share some of their photos or stories, please send them to me. john.bezyATgmail.com will get them to me and I'll be glad to share them on this blog..
Update:
Yes, we are back in the Central Time zone!!!
The flight from London to JFK went very well. Even Customs and re-checking our backs was OK. We had to go thru another security screen. We were in the NEW $1.4B (yes, B for billion) Terminal 4 that has been touted for its enhanced and improved everything. Security was still slow and no scanners, just the same old human pat-down, and to board the plane we had to walk down a long tunnel, go out on the tarmac, and climb the stairway. Some improvements...
Anyway we left JFK only an hour late and got into Minneapolis 40 minutes late. We are still scheduled to depart Minneapolis and arrive in Omaha as per the original schedule.
It was raining in New York and looks like it has and will rain some more in Minneapolis. It can rain all it wants now that we've finished the trip.
C U Soon !!
Update 2:
We made it back! Apparently there was some confusion on Delta's part as to when we were arriving, but we arrived exactly on schedule. And fortunately, all of the bags arrived as well.
Update 3:
We heard from our Boston group they made it to Boston. They were delayed an hour leaving London and actually left London after we did. Probably due to the remnants of the tropical storm that was going up the East coast that we missed when we went into JFK.
Our departure from Minneapolis was in question due to the storms going thru the Omaha area but the pilots were able to find smooth air to the west, behind the storms and we arrived with only small amount of turbulence.
In spite of a couple of ankle problems, a back problem, a foot problem, and two or three possible cases of food poisoning, we survived the travel home.
Some comments made during the travel:
- I'm going to wake up in my own bed tomorrow!
- No alarm or wake up! I'll get to sleep in!
- I get to look forward to doing the laundry.
- It will seem strange not waking up and going to breakfast and seeing all of you (fellow travelers).
- Darn! I'm going to have to make my own coffee!!
- I get to cut my foot-high grass.
A great trip and thanks to everyone for making it so.
The final day of our journey has arrived. We had a 4:30am wake-up call, then were ready for the bus at 5:30am which arrived shortly after. About 75 minute drive to Heathrow Airport, checking in our bags, going thru security, an a mile walk to the gate and we are 2 hours from flying out.
Mary and Kelly split off and headed to their flight to Boston. Shirrel, Karen, and Rachel headed to the rental cars to continue their visit for a few more days.
The remaining 24 of us are waiting for the plane...
A few have been struck by Montezuma's revenge so they are resting and staying comfortable. Hope the flight is not too bumpy.
Over the next week or so I will be adding more information to the posts I've already made and posting more photos. Feel free to stop by and check out the new info. (For any post I update I will have a statement after the original that the post was updated and the date and time I updated it. Might make it easier to know which pages to revisit.)
Any traveler that wishes to share some of their photos or stories, please send them to me. john.bezyATgmail.com will get them to me and I'll be glad to share them on this blog..
Update:
Yes, we are back in the Central Time zone!!!
The flight from London to JFK went very well. Even Customs and re-checking our backs was OK. We had to go thru another security screen. We were in the NEW $1.4B (yes, B for billion) Terminal 4 that has been touted for its enhanced and improved everything. Security was still slow and no scanners, just the same old human pat-down, and to board the plane we had to walk down a long tunnel, go out on the tarmac, and climb the stairway. Some improvements...
Anyway we left JFK only an hour late and got into Minneapolis 40 minutes late. We are still scheduled to depart Minneapolis and arrive in Omaha as per the original schedule.
It was raining in New York and looks like it has and will rain some more in Minneapolis. It can rain all it wants now that we've finished the trip.
C U Soon !!
Update 2:
We made it back! Apparently there was some confusion on Delta's part as to when we were arriving, but we arrived exactly on schedule. And fortunately, all of the bags arrived as well.
Update 3:
We heard from our Boston group they made it to Boston. They were delayed an hour leaving London and actually left London after we did. Probably due to the remnants of the tropical storm that was going up the East coast that we missed when we went into JFK.
Our departure from Minneapolis was in question due to the storms going thru the Omaha area but the pilots were able to find smooth air to the west, behind the storms and we arrived with only small amount of turbulence.
In spite of a couple of ankle problems, a back problem, a foot problem, and two or three possible cases of food poisoning, we survived the travel home.
Some comments made during the travel:
- I'm going to wake up in my own bed tomorrow!
- No alarm or wake up! I'll get to sleep in!
- I get to look forward to doing the laundry.
- It will seem strange not waking up and going to breakfast and seeing all of you (fellow travelers).
- Darn! I'm going to have to make my own coffee!!
- I get to cut my foot-high grass.
A great trip and thanks to everyone for making it so.
Friday, June 7, 2013
Friday, June 7, 2013 Day 13 (updated @ 5:30pm London time)
(We discovered yesterday that the Ibis hotel we are using is sufficiently close to a Premier Inn hotel, the same chain we used in Edinburgh, hence we are in range of their wireless. So I have signed up for their free 30 minutes of usage and won't have to go in search of a location for wireless. But it's still only 30 minutes a day..)
Our last full day on the trip...
We start the day by tubing into London and going to Westminster Abbey for an inside tour.
After that we will be having lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe London.
Then we head for the Tower of London to tour and observe some ceremonies.
Dinner will be at the Ivory House close to Tower Hill.
Most folks will head back to the hotel to do their final pack in preparation for our very early rising and departure for the airport Saturday morning. Several people will be doing a Jack the Ripper tour this evening.
We have been very busy but having a wonderful trip, with exceptional weather.
The temp yesterday was in the mid-70s. It set a record as the highest temp of the year so far. Today has the potential of being even a bit warmer.. We'll see...
More later...
A comment:Never have i seen so many so many girls braiding other girls or leaders hair! It has become the popular sport. Kinda like a troop of monkeys grooming each other.
Mary has been sending the e-mails to heaven daily so the storms that were in the area today only dropped a few drops. Aagin, thanks for the wonderful weather...
(We discovered yesterday that the Ibis hotel we are using is sufficiently close to a Premier Inn hotel, the same chain we used in Edinburgh, hence we are in range of their wireless. So I have signed up for their free 30 minutes of usage and won't have to go in search of a location for wireless. But it's still only 30 minutes a day..)
Our last full day on the trip...
We start the day by tubing into London and going to Westminster Abbey for an inside tour.
After that we will be having lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe London.
Then we head for the Tower of London to tour and observe some ceremonies.
Dinner will be at the Ivory House close to Tower Hill.
Most folks will head back to the hotel to do their final pack in preparation for our very early rising and departure for the airport Saturday morning. Several people will be doing a Jack the Ripper tour this evening.
We have been very busy but having a wonderful trip, with exceptional weather.
The temp yesterday was in the mid-70s. It set a record as the highest temp of the year so far. Today has the potential of being even a bit warmer.. We'll see...
More later...
A comment:Never have i seen so many so many girls braiding other girls or leaders hair! It has become the popular sport. Kinda like a troop of monkeys grooming each other.
Mary has been sending the e-mails to heaven daily so the storms that were in the area today only dropped a few drops. Aagin, thanks for the wonderful weather...
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Thursday, June 6, 2013 Day 12
As we started the day we remembered those who participated in D-Day all those years ago...
We had no access to internet on Wednesday so I'll recap briefly...
Wednesday -June 5, 2013
Many of the Scouts and parents went to the Girls Scout Pax Lodge for the morning to enjoy the pinning ceremony and the official tea ceremony.
Several others went in search of museums, many headed out shopping, and two guys grabbed a local train and went to Bletchley Park which is the museum dedicated to the British codebreakers of World War II.
After Pax Lodge, some went on the Magical Mystery Tour, others did the Sherlock Holmes Museum, and others continued to shop.
Several slept in late and went to the 5-story Toy Store.
It was a long day and several people took advantage of the long tube ride back to the hotel...
Thursday, June 6...
We had a long drive to Bath to see the Roman Baths and the natural hot spring. The normal 3 hour trip toop over 4 hours because of huge traffic jams.
After Bath, wee headed over to Stonehenge to see the 5000 year old, what do you call it since no one really knows?? but it was impressive. Hard to imaging a people 5000 years ago being able to position stones that weighed from 5000 pounds to 14000 pounds!
A 3 hour bus ride back into London to enjoy a terrific meal at Hummus Brothers. We had hummus with spiced chicken on top, pita bread, chips, carrot sticks, and a chickpea and vegetable piece {think of a slider) that had been fried in olive oil. For dessert we had a custard with a "plum" sauce. I'm probably not doing them justice, but the meal we had there 2 years ago and this time were excellent.
Headed back on the Tube now to the hotel...
By now, most of the sheep we are seeing have had their wool sheared off. They seem to have survived with no problems.
As we started the day we remembered those who participated in D-Day all those years ago...
We had no access to internet on Wednesday so I'll recap briefly...
Wednesday -June 5, 2013
Many of the Scouts and parents went to the Girls Scout Pax Lodge for the morning to enjoy the pinning ceremony and the official tea ceremony.
Several others went in search of museums, many headed out shopping, and two guys grabbed a local train and went to Bletchley Park which is the museum dedicated to the British codebreakers of World War II.
After Pax Lodge, some went on the Magical Mystery Tour, others did the Sherlock Holmes Museum, and others continued to shop.
Several slept in late and went to the 5-story Toy Store.
It was a long day and several people took advantage of the long tube ride back to the hotel...
 |
| Napping on the Tube under London. |
 |
| Catnap on the bus. |
Thursday, June 6...
We had a long drive to Bath to see the Roman Baths and the natural hot spring. The normal 3 hour trip toop over 4 hours because of huge traffic jams.
After Bath, wee headed over to Stonehenge to see the 5000 year old, what do you call it since no one really knows?? but it was impressive. Hard to imaging a people 5000 years ago being able to position stones that weighed from 5000 pounds to 14000 pounds!
A 3 hour bus ride back into London to enjoy a terrific meal at Hummus Brothers. We had hummus with spiced chicken on top, pita bread, chips, carrot sticks, and a chickpea and vegetable piece {think of a slider) that had been fried in olive oil. For dessert we had a custard with a "plum" sauce. I'm probably not doing them justice, but the meal we had there 2 years ago and this time were excellent.
Headed back on the Tube now to the hotel...
By now, most of the sheep we are seeing have had their wool sheared off. They seem to have survived with no problems.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Tuesday, June 4, 2013 Day 10
As we suspected, the Ibis Hotel we are in in East London only has pay-for internet, so I will be relegated to finding a pub for lunch each day and doing the updates while sampled the local adult beverages. I know, tough duty but I will bear the sacrifice...
We headed for London from the hotel about 8am, stopped to pick up our local guide Barry (he was with us 2 years ago but didn't seem to recall; he's very good, very articulate, and keeps things moving. We had a bus tour of parts of the downtown London, then headed for St Paul's Cathedral. Magnificent! and very historical.
After walking around for bit more we headed to Westminster Abbey and arrived about 15 minutes before the end of the Queen's coronation. Several people spotted the Queen as well as Kate and Harry. An unexpected event. We then headed through St James' park over to Buckingham Palace to see it and have a group photo.
We are walking about on our own till dinner at 5pm. Some headed to the Globe Theater, some went back back to St Paul's, and some of us (all adults even by US standards)are in the Bag o' Nails pub...
We meet at Piccadilly Circus for dinner - Indian tonight, then slit into 2 groups, one headed to the show Wicked, the other group headed to We Will Rock You.
As we suspected, the Ibis Hotel we are in in East London only has pay-for internet, so I will be relegated to finding a pub for lunch each day and doing the updates while sampled the local adult beverages. I know, tough duty but I will bear the sacrifice...
We headed for London from the hotel about 8am, stopped to pick up our local guide Barry (he was with us 2 years ago but didn't seem to recall; he's very good, very articulate, and keeps things moving. We had a bus tour of parts of the downtown London, then headed for St Paul's Cathedral. Magnificent! and very historical.
After walking around for bit more we headed to Westminster Abbey and arrived about 15 minutes before the end of the Queen's coronation. Several people spotted the Queen as well as Kate and Harry. An unexpected event. We then headed through St James' park over to Buckingham Palace to see it and have a group photo.
 |
| Group at Buckingham Palace |
We are walking about on our own till dinner at 5pm. Some headed to the Globe Theater, some went back back to St Paul's, and some of us (all adults even by US standards)are in the Bag o' Nails pub...
We meet at Piccadilly Circus for dinner - Indian tonight, then slit into 2 groups, one headed to the show Wicked, the other group headed to We Will Rock You.
Monday, June 3, 2013
Sunday and Monday, June 2 and 3, 2013 Days 8 and 9
Only a short post from just Sunday since I only had a few minutes in the AM while still in Edinburgh but then at the evening hotel we had very limited internet access and what we had was very expensive... I am sitting in the wonderful British Museum in London as I start this. Might have to get it done now since we will be in the same hotel chain in London as in Leeds where we were last night and they might not have free internet.
Sunday
Left early from Edinburgh and drove South into England. We stopped to see the Alnwyck Castle - a remarkable castle in very excellent shape thanks to the current owners. And current is relative- the family has owned it for 700 years..It is the castle where several of the outdoor scenes from 2 Harry Potter movies were made.
We spent 3 hours exploring, then boarded the bus to head South. We stopped at the walled city of York. Most of the walls are still in goo shape so we walked on them around to the Minster - the largest church North of the Alps. It is HUGE... Unfortunately we could not go in because they were having a service in commemoration of the Queen's 60th Anniversary of her Coronation, which is actually being celebrated Tuesday here in London..
We left York and headed to Leeds where we spent the night. The hotel was very modern,. with space-age toilets - looked like it was an entirely modular unit they simply dropped in. The dinner was Cottage Pie - the same thing as Shepard Pie but Shepard Pie is made with lamb and in Cottage Pie they can use any other type of meat. We think we had beef. Tasted good along with the vegetables and the chocolate cake. We have not been short of good food on this trip.
Monday
Up early and left just after 8am for the 5 hour drive to London. It's a beautiful day - about 60 degrees, a slight breeze, and occasional clouds. Tons of people around. We stopped on the North Embankment (the edge of the River Thames), had a potty break, grabbed some food, then headed out on a walking tour which took us through Trafalgar Square and now to the British Museum. This museum is one of the largest - over 8 million artifacts. The biggest attraction is the Rosetta Stone - the stone that when finally discovered was used to translate the ancient hieroglyphics. We are here until 5:30pm.
We leave here to head to dinner - traditional fish and chips, then to our hotel for the next 5 days.
I hope to add more comments and some photos this evening...
Only a short post from just Sunday since I only had a few minutes in the AM while still in Edinburgh but then at the evening hotel we had very limited internet access and what we had was very expensive... I am sitting in the wonderful British Museum in London as I start this. Might have to get it done now since we will be in the same hotel chain in London as in Leeds where we were last night and they might not have free internet.
Sunday
Left early from Edinburgh and drove South into England. We stopped to see the Alnwyck Castle - a remarkable castle in very excellent shape thanks to the current owners. And current is relative- the family has owned it for 700 years..It is the castle where several of the outdoor scenes from 2 Harry Potter movies were made.
We spent 3 hours exploring, then boarded the bus to head South. We stopped at the walled city of York. Most of the walls are still in goo shape so we walked on them around to the Minster - the largest church North of the Alps. It is HUGE... Unfortunately we could not go in because they were having a service in commemoration of the Queen's 60th Anniversary of her Coronation, which is actually being celebrated Tuesday here in London..
We left York and headed to Leeds where we spent the night. The hotel was very modern,. with space-age toilets - looked like it was an entirely modular unit they simply dropped in. The dinner was Cottage Pie - the same thing as Shepard Pie but Shepard Pie is made with lamb and in Cottage Pie they can use any other type of meat. We think we had beef. Tasted good along with the vegetables and the chocolate cake. We have not been short of good food on this trip.
Monday
Up early and left just after 8am for the 5 hour drive to London. It's a beautiful day - about 60 degrees, a slight breeze, and occasional clouds. Tons of people around. We stopped on the North Embankment (the edge of the River Thames), had a potty break, grabbed some food, then headed out on a walking tour which took us through Trafalgar Square and now to the British Museum. This museum is one of the largest - over 8 million artifacts. The biggest attraction is the Rosetta Stone - the stone that when finally discovered was used to translate the ancient hieroglyphics. We are here until 5:30pm.
We leave here to head to dinner - traditional fish and chips, then to our hotel for the next 5 days.
I hope to add more comments and some photos this evening...
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Sunday, June 2, 2013 Day 8
The day is starting very clear with a slight chill in the air. Looks to be a good day.
We depart about 7:30 for a 2 and one half hour drive South to Alnwick Castle. We have 3 hours to visit the castle then we are on our way to Bath for dinner then to the hotel.
More later...
Broomstick training starts today so maybe we will have the girls give it a try..
http://www.alnwickcastle.com/
After Alnwick Castle we headed further South into England, thru York to spend the night in Leeds.
The day is starting very clear with a slight chill in the air. Looks to be a good day.
We depart about 7:30 for a 2 and one half hour drive South to Alnwick Castle. We have 3 hours to visit the castle then we are on our way to Bath for dinner then to the hotel.
More later...
 |
| Alnwick Castle |
http://www.alnwickcastle.com/
After Alnwick Castle we headed further South into England, thru York to spend the night in Leeds.
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