Time In the Moat at The Tower of London

Britain is commemorating the centenary (British for 100 years) of World War I in many ways this year.  One of the most overt rembrances was the Tower Poppies installation at The Tower of London.  Each poppy on display symbolized the death of a Commonwealth soldier during the war.  Volunteers spent many hours assembling an astounding 888,246 ceramic poppies to plant in the moat.  The installation started in August, and the final poppy was planted on Armistice Day (Veterans Day in the USA).     

If you've seen any of the photos I liked on Instagram, you'd notice my slight infatuation with the Tower Poppies.  Check out some of the photos by Historic Royal Palaces, Levanterman, and TheLondonHeli on Instagram for more amazing shots.

The Tower Poppies from The Shard's observation floor

While on our expat adventure, I've been fortunate to view the poppies several times as the installation grew.  As the installation grew, so did the number of tourists.  Toward the end of October, the huge numbers of people visiting the display often required the Tower Hill Underground Station to close due to overcrowding.  

On an overcast Saturday in November, I was a part of something extremely special.  I spent the morning in the moat of The Tower of London removing just a small portion of the 888,246 poppies.  Each one of these beauties was purchased as part of a charity fundraiser to benefit several charities.  

I was astonished at what it took to make the installation possible.    

• The poppies are ceramic so there is an element of fragility.  Each poppy was allocated to a paying customer, so each broken poppy ate into the charitable profits when it needed to be replaced.  
• Each poppy was comprised of six parts!  The ceramic poppy was sandwiched between four different sizes of rubber washers.
• To finish it off the poppy was perched upon a metal rod.  

After our group leader gave instructions on how to dismantle the poppies, everyone got to it.  By that I mean taking selfies.  Holy moly, I think some volunteered so they could take pictures for the entire shift instead of actually getting their hands dirty.  I suppose when working with the public you get what you get.  Once most of the group got their fill of photos, it was down to work.  

I was super happy that I wore my wellies

We took turns unplanting the poppies and safely organizing the parts.  The poppies went into their original box, and the metal rods were bundled into groups of 30.  The most tedious of the jobs was sorting the four rubber washers.  Just when we thought we'd made a dent in the pile, someone would pour on their group's stash.  Some of the metal rods had started to rust and the washers were stuck so it took strong hands to remove them.    

The poppies harbored the perfect environment for some massive worms!  All I could say when I saw these birds was Mine! Mine! Mine!

 

Our leader was thrilled to share that we'd unplanted over 3,000 poppies!

The only way out at the end of our shift was to walk all the way around the moat.  I could not have been more excited about the walk.  Truly an experience I will never forget.     

Stonehenge - Touring Tuesday

Our day trip to Stonehenge continued on after our picnic at Highclere Castle.   

I'm not sure about you, but I had some romantic ideas about Stonehenge.  I pictured the stone formations in the middle of a huge field surrounded by idyllic fields of grazing animals.  Well that's not exactly how Stonehenge is laid out.  As you can see, you can do a drive-by viewing from the road. 

Aside from the road bisection, Stonehenge is surrounded by the fields of grazing animals.

The visitor center for Stonehenge newly opened in January 2014, and it is a modern space.  The former visitor center used to be next to the rocks, and I appreciate that the new one is nestled at the bottom of a rolling hill and out of view from the rocks.  It is a mile and a half ride via the tram or your own feet to get up to the rocks.  The visitor center exhibition provides history and theory behind the rocks.   

Then we made it up to the rocks.

Wow.

Visitors are not allowed to walk among the stones as the composition of the dirt is heavily chalk based and therefore unstable for masses of people each day.  For a separate fee you can get up close to the stones.  Or you could be President Obama and just go among the rocks because you can.  

Oh and the clouds.  What a spectacular addition to the day.  

The Day We Ate Lunch At Downton Abbey - Touring Tuesday

The M25 is a motorway that rings the greater London area.  To some Londoners, the world does not exist outside of this road.  Up until August, we were content with touring within the border of the M25.  Partially because there was so much to see in London and because we don't own a car.  

Just before the kids went back to school we rented a car for a day trip to Stonehenge.  As you can see from the map below, it's way outside of the M25 ring.  I'm sure some were not sure if we'd ever return from the unknown.  Like good Brits we planned ahead and booked entry tickets for late afternoon to give us time to get lost or take any detours we chose.    

Matt rented a car from Heathrow which meant that's where he had to go to get the car.  It took a bit longer than expected because he had to travel on the Underground to Heathrow and then drive back to our house.  Lesson learned on that one.

As we crossed over the invisible M25 barrier, a sign caught my eye.  (I did not get a photo of the first one because I was slightly dumbfounded after reading it.)  Did that sign say Highclere Castle?  No, it can't be this close to us.  It is not the same Highclere Castle.  Or is it?  However the Rampant Cat seems intriguing, but that's for another time.  

A quick search confirmed that this was, in fact, the actual Highclere Castle.  It is home to Lady Mary, Anna & Mr. Bates, and the always overlooked Lady Edith.  We did not have tickets for the tour because all the online tickets were sold out, but a detour couldn't hurt.

Our effort was rewarded.

The parking lot was free, and we pulled in to take a few photos.  As we talked to the parking attendants they told us that it was a slow day at the castle and walk up tickets were available.  Unfortunately our timed admission to Stonehenge kept us from going in.  Fortunately for a small admission, the family could walk in the gardens of Highclere Castle, and we could bring our picnic!

I know that the rest of the family did not care if we ate lunch at the castle, but there was no way I was leaving without getting somewhat close.  We grabbed our gear and plunked down in the middle of the lawn.  Whether or not you watch Downton Abbey, the gardens of Highclere Castle are amazing.  

The gong rang to tell us it was time to leave for Stonehenge, but that did not stop me from taking a few sneaky photos through the window.   

Summer Holidays Part 2 - Barcelona - Touring Tuesday

After a quiet night in the hotel, we rolled our suitcases to the metro for a ride to our apartment in the heart of Barcelona's touristy area, La Rambla.  Our apartment was smack in the middle of it, and I think it was the best choice for our family.

La Rambla is a pedestrian friendly strip of walkway paralleled by a street on each side.  The street is jammed at almost every hour of the day.  The area is filled with fountains, souvenir stands, street vendors, a few pickpockets, beautiful buildings, and lots and lots of Go Pro cameras.  

The city's busy open air market, La Boqueria, was directly across the street.  It was significantly busier than the market in Lisbon.  So busy to the point that it was not fun to walk through.  The number of people taking photos in the market far outnumbered the shoppers.    

Barcelona began to show off once we ventured off La Rambla.  

A4 Update - October 2014

October was the most tame month we've had since moving here!

• The first few days of the month spent with Nana as she wrapped up her visit.
• Matt & Holly spent a weekend in Stockholm Sweden.
• Holly volunteered for two of Oldest Kiddo's school trips to the Victoria & Albert Museum and the British Museum.  Taking 20 kids on the Underground is exhausting.  
• The kids had their autumn half term break, and we kept the kids busy!

A Pause In the Summer Holiday - Touring Tuesday

After a few days in Lisbon, we jumped a quick flight to Barcelona.  Unlike our trip up the hill in Lisbon, we had an easy trip into Barcelona thanks to the airport shuttle.  Our first night was spent at a hotel in downtown Barcelona. 

 The kids were thrilled to swim and have little downtime from all that walking.  It was a bit too chilly for Matt and I to don our swim gear, but the kids did not care.

Like the civilized children they are, they had a quick game of chess before dinner.  

We could already see a difference between Lisbon & Barcelona just from the view in our hotel room.  We had no idea what was waiting for us tomorrow.