Going Solo in London

Let me tell you I squeezed as much out of this day as I possibly could. 

One thing to remember about traveling to Europe is that the plugs are quite different.  We brought the necessary adapters, but Matt needed to take them to work with him.  That left me only one choice  - get up at 6:30 to use the adapter or take my chances.  I chose the former.  Getting up early certainly got me on my way.  Plus I had a surprise to look forward to this afternoon!

At home I drive everywhere – everywhere.  In London I am compelled to walk everywhere – everywhere.  Today was no exception.  I could have taken the Tube to my first destination, but the amazing weather was too good to miss. 

I made my way to Tralfagar Square to visit the lions, see the Olympics Countdown Clock, and the world’s smallest police station.  I then went to see Winston Churchill’s War Rooms based on several recommendations.  On my way there I passed Number 10 Downing Street, where the Prime Minister lives.  I thought about cutting through on Downing but soon realized that was not going to be possible upon seeing the number of police and gates.  

 Churchill’s War Rooms were a worthwhile trip.  During the war he created a home-base underground to run the war.  The rooms are just as they were left after the war.  The mannequins in some of the rooms are a tad creepy, and a few of them even startled me as I rounded a few corners. 

   

 Then I doubled back to Tralfagar Square and toured the National Gallery.  I was thrilled to tour the Impressionist gallery.  I got goosebumps when I saw Seurat’s Bathers at Asnières because we just saw A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte @ the Art Institute three weeks ago.  

Since I was in the area I decided to tour Westminster Abbey again.  The last time we were there it was so packed I did not get a good feeling for what it really contained.  Also I wanted to stand on the same floors as William and Katherine.  It was just about one year ago that I got up at 4AM to watch the amazing nuptials of these two beautiful people.  

Kate took this path to her William <3

 By this time it was almost 1:00 and I was starving.  I decided to ride the Underground back to our hotel (Piccadilly Line – Holborn) to rest my feet for a bit.  While on the ride I realized that the Piccadilly also goes up to King’s Cross Station.  If you remember Harry Potter walked through Platform 9 ¾ each fall to go to Hogwarts.  I read an article in the paper detailing the renovations that just finished at this station.  So I skipped Holborn and checked it out.

The funny thing is that during the renovations they moved the Platform 9 ¾  display nowhere near Platforms 9 or 10.  They put it right inside the front door of the station.  I suppose it’s better for people to tick that site off their list without needing to bother people who actually have business on Platform 9 or 10.  I grabbed some sushi (£5 – score!) from one of the new restaurants and watched the crowds from above.  

The highlight of my day was catching up with a colleague that lives in London.  She suggested that we meet at Covent Garden at 4:15.  Covent Garden is a hopping place. There is more shopping than I imagined, plus some flea market stalls.  Even with all the people around we found each other.  We walked and talked for almost two hours.  She took me to one of her favorite coffee places called Monmouth.  I have to say it was the best cup of coffee that I’ve ever had.  It was smooth and delicious.  The nursed the small size for almost 45 minutes - worth every minute.  Too bad there was not another Monmouth closer to Holborn.

@ Piccadilly Circus

We walked through Covent Garden, Tralfagar Square, Piccadilly Circus, and finally over to Buckingham Palace.  We ended our visit at Leciter Square so Melissa could hop the Underground back to her flat.

Admiralty Arch on the way to Buckingham Palace

After we parted ways I window-shopped on Regent Street.  I also had to pee and bathrooms are a difficult to come by so I went into the biggest store I could find, Hamley’s Toy Shop.  After taking care of business I walked back to the escalator who did I see, William and Kate!

Oh yes I did.

Made out of Legos that is.  And the Queen and her Corgi.

Such a great day.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

If you remember from the last post I mentioned something about the sound of water in our hotel room.  After we returned from dinner the noise was still audible.  By this point we figured it wasn’t someone’s shower.    

While I’m one for the sound of the ocean, I can’t handle it in my room at 3AM.  I stopped at the front desk to see if they had any idea of the source of the noise.  The gal gave me a raised eyebrow as if she thought I as crazy. 

Two guys promptly came up to our room and gave me same the raised eyebrow as the front desk lady.  I invited them in and hushed them as I closed the door.  Simultaneously their heads tilted up to the ceiling and the raised eyebrows turned into a confused look.  They agreed that the noise was odd and understood why we didn’t want to stay there. 

Thankfully they had an open room, and we were actually happier with the extra space. 

The best part – it was quiet. 

Matt in the loo

Running on Empty

On Sunday morning we made our way on the Underground to our West End hotel.  They were not quite prepared for our arrival so we stowed our luggage walked down the block to The British Museum.   

Of all the times we’ve been to London we haven’t seen too many museums.  Luckily The British Museum was four blocks away.  Along the way we stopped for coffee at Pret a Manger that was only two doors down - now that’s London to me. 

 We saw the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles.  There were many other exhibits I wanted to see, or at least read about, but Matt was running on less than fumes and wandering aimlessly around the museum.  So we had to go back to our hotel.  

Thankfully our room was ready.  When we walked into our room we could hear water above us.  No big deal, someone is taking a shower upstairs.  After my shower it was still going on.  Man, that person must be dirty.  Matt was in full pass-out mode by the time I was freshened up.  He asked for me to wake him up in two hours so he could still go to sleep tonight.  

  

I knew if I sat down next to him we would not see the light of day until tomorrow (it was only 1:00 PM).  It is Sunday and many places close by 5:00, so I wanted to make the best of what was left of the day.  We’ve never stayed in West End before, and I had no bearings about anything.  I grabbed my trusty map and book to start walking.  

Temple Bar Memorial @ entrance to City of Westminster

I stuck to the main streets and kept track of when I turned so I could find my way back home.  Well my strategy didn’t work out so great because the street names in London seem to change on a whim.  That does not really help a girl in a city that is not on a grid.  I stopped into a Pret a Manger to ask the girl if she could give me a clue about our location on the map.  I was shocked that she had NO clue.  I had the wherewithal to ask for the nearest Underground station.  That was helpful.

On the way I got a little nervous since several of the streets were minimally populated and some even had signs warning of thieves.  Great.  I hugged my bag a little tighter and walked just a bit faster.  I eventually made it back within the two hours to wake Matt up.  Let's call today's walk a primer for tomorrow's marathon.

Getting There is Half the Fun

Since the trip to London was last minute, I had to fly alone.  I dropped him at the airport at 11:00AM so he could start his journey via Dulles.  I went back home to finish packing and pass the time until I had to leave around 2:30.

Thanks to all of Matt's travel I have become quite an efficient packer.  The main secret to our packing success is the roll.  We roll all of our clothes instead of packing them folded.  For some reason this allows an insane quantity of clothing in a suitcase.  I am guilty of over packing, but this packing system allows for it with room to spare.  I packed two jackets, an extra pair of shoes, five shirts, three pairs of jeans, and all the other necessary accessories for a successful trip.

With room to spare!

So I was on my way to the airport for the second time for the day.  Matt had something up his sleeve when he booked my award ticket - he booked it as business class on British Airways.  That ticket allowed me to hang out in the BA Lounge before taking off.  Snacks, free Wi-Fi, and a small meal before taking off was well appreciated.  What a great experience to fly BA.  First off all the employees have the great polite British/Scottish accent.  How can you not smile when you hear that.  On top of that, the business class seat was a lay flat with video on demand.  Yet again, he is making it hard for future travel.  How can possibly expect me to fly coach after this?

My sleeping pod :)

Cozy to watch The Descendants

Upon arrival at Heathrow, I had to find Matt.  Thankfully I've been to this airport a few times before so I knew what to expect as far as layout until Border Control.  The only thing we did not fully agree upon was where to meet after that.  I saw him before he saw me.  Thanks to the family signal I caught his attention right away.

We rode the Underground out to Holborn station to find our home for the next few days.

Old School Matt & Holly

When we were first married we were notorious for making crazy last minute travel plans.  It would be nothing for us to decide at 6:00 on a Friday night to drive to Minneapolis for the weekend.  Or decide to on a Thursday night to fly to Florida just because Matt found an amazing cheap airfare (and we had a few days left on a multiple day Disney ticket).   Who cared that it was hurricane season? 

We always enjoyed calling our parents once we arrived at our destination to hear their shock of our weekend location.

Fast forward to this past Thursday (just two days ago).  Matt has a client in London that wanted an onsite demonstration.  Since it was the company's dime he booked it straight away.  I jokingly asked if I could go along, but the price of the ticket was well north of  $1700.  I put the thought out of my mind.  Then he said, "you know, I have a lot of miles banked and can see if there are any award tickets for this weekend."  Euphorically I told him to go for it.  Within ten minutes he had an entire round trip booked.  Granted panic did set in since I had approximately 36 hours to plan for a trip that might take me several days to plan out my clothing. 

Old school Matt & Holly back in action.

G was already with Papa because my sitter could not take him on Friday.  Matt had already called his parents earlier in the day to see if they could keep both kids into the beginning of the week.  They graciously agreed to keep the kids.

We're going to London until Wednesday.  Matt is working and I am sightseeing.  A colleague from work is living over there now, and I hope to meet up with her one afternoon to see her favorite (or favourite as the Brits spell it) bits of the city.

Two things I'd like to look into are the Olympic venues.  I have no idea if any of them are close to central London or the Underground stops.  And the Queen's Golden Jubilee is also this year.   I'm sure there is a plethora of trinkets to buy in commemoration.  I also hear Kensington Palace is set to reopen after a renovation, and I hope to go see it.  Especially since William & Kate will move into their 20-room apartment @ Kensington next year.  I have to check to make sure it's a suitable living environment.  Maybe they will be there to check on the renovations, who knows?

City on the Cheap

We decided it was high time to reap some benefits of Matt’s travel.  The kids were with the grandparents for the weekend, and we hit the big city.  Matt has wanted to stay at the Conrad for quite sometime.  They had a promotion going to get a certain style of room for a discounted amount of points.  Free is good, right?

Oh my, is free ever good.  Apparently it was slow in the big city because she upgraded us to a one-bedroom king suite.  Sweet!

We needed some lunch before anything else.  We had a gift card for a restaurant nearby.  Our lunch came to $3 under the value of the gift card.  Not too shabby.

Our goal while childless in the city was to experience a little culture.  We left the Conrad and walked in the blustery wind to The Art Institute.  The six blocks Matt estimated seemed a bit longer. 

We came to the conclusion that we don’t get modern art.  We chuckled at the visitors that stood and pondered the all white canvas with a black frame.  Really?

Originally we planned to go out to dinner; it’s been a long time since we ate at a nice place without the kids.  However, the more we thought about it, we wanted to get the most out of our sweet room.  So the plan for fancy-schmancy turned into a Malnati’s pizza and a Red Box movie.  I have to say, I think I enjoyed that more than the original plan.

Love

Love is in the air, even a week after Valentine’s Day.  New love is also blooming.  My friend, Kim, is experiencing new love right now.  Hearing her stories of long, late night phone calls, outings to the big city, and nights at home cooking dinner together makes me think (way) back to my own new love, circa 1990-something. 

Today’s shuffle mix on the iPod played some songs that conjured up memories of when Matt and I first started dating.  Our relationship started when we were still teenagers, and music is an instant transport back to that time.  There are certain songs and albums, to quote a local radio station, that are the soundtrack of our lives. 

One of the first songs of significance to our relationship is Today by the Smashing Pumpkins.  Matt bought me this as a CD single and I listened the heck out of it.  Do you remember CD singles?  I'm so happy I can now buy individual songs on iTunes.  

10,000 Maniacs Unplugged Album – Back in the day MTV did an acoustic show called Unplugged that had great artists such as Eric Clapton, Nirvana, and Lenny Kravitz.  MTV then smartly released the show as an album.  I remember watching the 10,000 Maniacs show at Matt’s house since out in the country we didn’t have cable TV. 

InYour Eyes by Peter Gabriel – This was the theme of Matt’s Senior Prom.  We went into Schaumburg for dinner with Matt’s BFF Nate and his date.  At the time going to Schaumburg was quite a distance, at least to me being the rural kid that I was.

Melloncollie and the Infinite Sadness by the Smashing Pumpkins – We drove into the big city to the Tower Records the night this album was released.  At midnight we drove back to our dorm in the country listening to it at full volume.  I actually wanted the title song from the album, MellonCollie and the Infinite Sadness, to our wedding processional.  However, the title of the song in the wedding program would look to be a downer.  So I opted for the popular Trumpet Voluntary.

InYour Eyes by Peter Gabriel – Yes you’ve seen this song before.  It ended up being our first dance song at our wedding. 

There were a few albums that we obsessed over during college and early adult life.

ThrowingCopper by Live – Lightning Crashes, I Alone, and Selling the Drama were most likely worn out on our CD. 

TheBends by Radiohead – Whenever I hear Planet Telex, The Bends, Fake Plastic Trees I sigh and remember our apartment on Augusta Avenue.

Music as a “where were you when…”

I remember sitting at Matt’s house in April of 1994 when news broke of Kurt Cobain's suicide.  Hearing Courtney Love on MTV while mourners gathered outside his Seattle home, for some reason, is etched in my brain. 

Now as adults we have many more musical connections to Coldplay, Foo Fighters, and The Subdudes.  We’ve even got the kids trained to know when a Coldplay song comes on the radio.  G has a good rendition if Paradise.

The Annual Weekend Retreat

Before children I would confidently say one of my hobbies was scrapbooking.  It was therapeutic to document events and even the mundane things in our lives.  I could spend hours trying to organize paper and photos in just the right spots to convey my idea.  I kept all of my materials out at a table downstairs incase the creative bug struck.  Today we laugh at my early books because they were so lame.  I was very formulaic and to use patterned paper was almost unheard of to me. 

Then we had kids. 

All the scissors and pretty embellishments were relegated to the storage room for safety reasons.  That was pretty much the end of my spontaneous hobby.  I would scrap from time to time, but it was a big hassle to take out all of the tools and papers.  Plus I had to fend off the kids who flocked to my table like a moth to a flame when the shiny and sharp objects came out of hiding. 

We’ve done day scraps before, and while they were an opportunity to scrap for the day, it was a lot of hassle to pack all of your gear up for just a few hours.  Plus you tend to get some odd groups of women at these things.  My sister told me about a place near her house that offered scrapbook weekends.  I was intrigued.

We booked our weekend at The Scrapbook Manor in Walworth, WI.  This weekend was our third (or is it fourth?) stay.  I cannot sing the praises of this weekend loud enough.  It is 48 hours of kid-free, spouse-free, cooking-free, getting up early-free, and creative-full extravagance. 

I would usually take Friday off so I could get there at 3:00.  This year was a no go since winter break started at the end of that day and taking time off is a no-no.  Regardless I was there by 5:30. 

Here are (just some of) the many reasons I love The Manor ........

Karen – She is the proprietor of The Scrapbook Manor.  She is a lot of fun to talk to, and has a quick wit that will keep you in stitches.

The Manor itself – The house is on the main street through Walworth and has gorgeous curb appeal.  The main floor consists of the kitchen, dining area, on-site store, and scrap area in the living area & sunroom.  I wonder about the families that lived here in the past and how they used the space.  

Work Space & Shop - each person has a dedicated area that varies in size depending on how many guests are at the manor for the weekend.  The tables are ample and the lighting is great.  She has many tools available to use, such as a Cricut, so you don't have to lug your own along.  Additionally Karen has an onsite shop that has an ample supply of things you might need.  She stocks plenty of cardstock, markers, and quality patterned paper.  
  

Music – Karen has her iPod going all weekend.  It is an eclectic mix of 70’s, country, jazz, and alternative.  I’ve been exposed to many new artists thanks to her playlists.  Every song is not my favorite, but when she’s trying to accommodate the likes of all her guests, you’ve got to hit all the genres.

Bedrooms - The upstairs bedrooms have two to three full-size pillow top beds and fluffy linens.  The rooms are decorated with candles and Scentsy warmers.  Each person gets their own bed, heaven!  All of the guests share one of the two bathrooms upstairs.  Since everyone is on their own time-frame, I’ve never had a problem with people having to wait for showers. 

Sustenance  – Karen provides dinner on Friday, three meals on Saturday, and brunch on Sunday.  Saturday and Sunday are catered meals.  In between meals there is an ample supply of snacks and bubbly beverages.  

P&Q – The only expectations for the weekend are those you put upon yourself.  Go to bed and wake up when you want.  Heck, you can even decide if you want to bathe.

Extras – On Saturday a massage therapist comes in for those who pre-book massages.  The cost of a massage is very reasonable and all you have to do is go upstairs. 

I’ve never been to another retreat-style scrapbook location, and I don’t think I ever will.  Karen has told stories of guests who fessed up to “cheating” on her at another place.  From what I’ve heard none are as nice and welcoming as The Scrapbook Manor. 

Did you know Christmas starts at 3:00?

Without going into tedious details, it’s been a long December.  Work has been more work than it has been in a long time.  I texted Matt on my way home yesterday suggesting that day’s theme song should be AC/DC’s Highway to Hell.  And, yes he obliged upon my return home.  However, he did not have time to pull the How I Met Your Mother version together (maybe next week).

So to save our sanity Matt and I took today off to wrap up our holiday shopping and to run on our own time zone.  We even let the kids sleep in so we could start the day off right, slow. 

I checked our list twice while Matt savored his coffee at Egg Harbor and we were on the road at 10:00. 

Mall – check (with a great sale at Bare Escentuals!)

Target – kind of check, out of the Matchbox track we wanted

Which leads us to that toy store with the backwards letter.

First of all, this is one of the dirtiest stores I’ve shopped in a long time.  Being a store for children, it should be ashamed of itself for the filth that covers the store.  Second of all, I can’t even begin to describe the employees for fear of slander. 

It started off quite well, our search for a Matchbox track and a bucket of action figure guys was quick.  The bucket-o-guys was even 50% off.  Major score.  We were pleased to see short lines at the checkout.

This is where it gets ugly.

The “employee” scanned our items, and the bucket-o-guys did not ring up at the right price.  When I alerted her to the wrong price, she said “Oh that price does not start until 3:00 today; our ad does not start until then.  You can bring your receipt back at 3:00 and we will refund your money.”  I think she read my skeptical facial expression and clarified that many customers are confused with the sale.  Before saying anymore to the person, I walked to the end cap to carefully read the sign to ensure that I didn’t miss any fine print of a start time before questioning her further.

The sign only stated Friday & Saturday as the sale date.  When I gently explained this to the person she stated again that the sale didn’t start until 3:00.  I said I wanted to talk to a manager because if the sign was there the price should be honored. 

She had the gall to tell me that I had to go to the customer service counter to talk to a manger.  Then she left the cash register to help the register next to her. 

Oh the adrenaline was flowing in full force now. 

I removed the purchases from the bag and walked to the customer service counter.  From what I can remember, I explained my concern to the people at the counter and asked that the discount be applied at this time.  After all if the sign is up they should honor it.  The lady sympathetically applied the discount and we could be on our way.  I decided that the customer service personnel needed to hear how un-customer service oriented the checkout girl acted.  His face dropped when I described the person connected with the behavior.  Maybe he’s heard these comments before?  To his credit he did express a sincere apology for her behavior and the missing discount.  I’ve never liked this store, and today solidifies my decision to never, never shop here again.

It warms my heart hoping that she gets a pink slip for the holidays.  

*The rest of the afternoon was fabulous, and we finished the list with time to spare before picking up the kid.  Shopping is done!