European Adventure Recap - The Tower of London

Friday October 23, 2009

London, England

This is the Tower of London. It sits at the north end of Tower Bridge on the River Thames.

The original part of the tower (seen in the middle of the picture - the square tower with the cupola on top) was built by William the Conqueror in 1078.

Other parts of the building were added on by successive Monarchs. As it stands today, "the tower as a whole is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and moat." It covers about 18 acres (if you include the moat).

"The Tower has been used as fortress, a palace, and a prison. It has housed the Royal Mint, the Public Records, and the Royal Observatory. And from the 13th century until 1834 it housed the Royal Menagerie."

"For centuries it was the arsenal for arms and armor. And, since it is one of the strongest fortresses in England, it has guarded and continues to guard the crown jewels."

"The Tower was occupied as a palace by all the Kings and Queens down to James I. It was customary for each monarch to lodge in the Tower before his coronation and to ride in procession to Westminster through the city of London from the Tower."

All info was taken from this site and this site.

European Adventure Recap - Changing of the Horse Guard

Friday October 23, 2009

London, England We ventured over to the Parade Grounds where they were scheduled to have the Changing of the Horse Guards. Unfortunately for us, they were not having the Changing of the Guard Ceremony at neither Buckingham Palace nor Windsor Castle while we would be in London....so at least seeing the Changing of the Horse Guards would mean we would see the changing of something.

The Horse Guards that are coming onto duty enter the Parade Grounds area.

They file through this courtyard area....

and through this breezeway....

and then out to the Parade Grounds.

Here's one of the guards on foot Don't you love those boots? The Horse Guards that are coming onto duty and the ones coming off duty line up opposite each other in the Parade Grounds. Then the ones coming off duty file back in through the breezeway and through the previous courtyard and go back to what I'm guessing were stables or wherever they keep the horses. The ones coming onto duty make their way down to Buckingham Palace. The whole thing was kind of a non-event....there really wasn't any kind of ceremony or music or anything special....nobody really said anything either (except the occasional yell at a bystander to get out of the way!). We mainly just watched a lot of horses walk around. I get nervous being that close to a horse! You had to make sure to watch your step at the Parade Grounds!

Christmas 2009

Hope your family had a wonderful Christmas and remembered the Reason for the season! Thank you Lord for sending Jesus as a humble baby to live a perfect Life as an example for us!!!!

European Adventure Recap - Autumn in London

Friday October 23, 2009

London, England

This building at the Parade Grounds was covered in beautiful foliage!

Shannon and I decided we wanted a picture with the pretty surroundings, so we set the camera on timer and took one. We thought it looked kinda funny - because you can really only see our heads peaking up over (we couldn't get any higher)....

So we took another one a little closer. But this one turned out too dark.....

So....we took another......and that one turned out too light!......

So we tried one more time. This one turned out pretty light too, so we just gave up and moved on! But what a pretty place to stop and enjoy the natural beauty of God's creation!

European Adventure Recap - Buckingham Palace

Friday October 23, 2009

London, England

This monument sits in front of Buckingham Palace. It's called the Victoria Memorial in honor of Queen Victoria. Buckingham Palace - the British Monarch's official London Residence. You can see in the previous picture that the flag was on the flag pole. That means the Queen was at home that day. We should have stopped in for a spot of tea!

Standing on "The Mall" - the road that runs in front of "Buck House" as the locals call it....because it was once called Buckingham House before it became known as Buckingham Palace.

A Gated Sidewalk....

Guard Duty.....

Ornate Gates with lots of lighting.....

Don't tell anyone, but I stuck my hand through the gate and picked up a few stones from the inside perimeter.

Unicorn Charger Patina Handle, worn and weathered over the years Across the street from the Palace is the edge of St. James Park

A lovely pond is flanked with Weeping Willows (they always make me want to cry!)

Quite a contrast from the stark stone facade of Buckingham The Palace has it's own Private Gardens too - complete with barriers and barbed wire. The picture below shows what surrounds the Royal Gardens. I'd hate to see what they would do if you tried to sneak in.

Random Act of Kindness

Last year, my bff, Shannon, and I decided that instead of getting each other Christmas presents, that we would get dressed up all fancy-like and go to a fancy-schmancy restaurant (that we would never just go to on any regular day) and live like rich people for one night! Last year we went to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.

This year we continued the tradition and went to Volare, an Italian Restaurant (pronounced Voh-lar-ay).This year, however, we received an unexpected blessing!

After we had ordered our food, the waitress came over and told us that a gentleman and his wife that had been sitting at a nearby table had completely taken care of our meal - paid in full! But that's not it - the waitress said that the man told her to make sure we got dessert as well! What a blessing - total strangers - picking up our tab - just because. What generosity! (Because our meal wasn't that cheap. Heck, the dessert alone was $9 each!). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's my soup - it was yummy and "flavorful" (just as the waitress described it).....I love the square bowl, turned opposite of the square plate.

Shannon had soup too. We also each had a Caesar Salad (with a real full-bodied anchovy on the side....where it stayed!) Then it was time for the main course. I had Ravioli and Shannon had Veal Shank. The best part of the meal (for me at least) was the dessert. It's no surprise to anyone that knows me that I have a major sweet tooth - I come by it honest as there is a long line of them in my family. Here's my dessert - a Molten Chocolate Cake with Hot Fudge Syrup, Vanilla Ice Cream, Fresh Fruit and this oh-so-cute presentation! I love the hearts! I definitely admired this work of art before I took my first bite. Shannon got a Heath Bar Cheesecake - standing on it's end! (It was yummy too - she let me taste.)

Right before digging into the decadent desserts.....

After we got home, we decided to take a few photos in front of the Christmas Tree - here's our "Sassy Picture".....just for fun!

And the "non-sassy" pic

The couple that paid for our meal was already gone before we even found out that they had paid for us, but today I say thank you to them, wherever they are. May I be so kind as to bless someone else the same way and want absolutely no recognition for it. What a humble and generous thing to do to make two girls feel really special and very blessed.