From London to Paris---Valentine's Day!

Well, it has been said by some mockers that by the time we finish this tale of our two week vacation, it will be time to write about our retirement. To you we say, "Maybe...maybe we are still trying to relish in the memory of such a enriching experience that has forever shaped our lives and influenced our behaviors. Maybe we like to contemplate the past instead of rushing into the next event like those people who only live for thrills, going from one blog to the next searching for that fleeting rush of new subject matter. Yes, maybe we like to savor life. Or maybe we have just been to busy to post. So with that, here is Valentines Day of '07...

We started at a couple of the free museums in London, first with the Museum of Natural History built in this beautiful old building.

The front entry was quite impressive...you walked past some pretty strange creatures to ride the escalator up into a planet sphere thing.Here are some pics from inside...the first is an ant farm where the little guys have to climb across the branch to get the food on the right, and then return to their nest on the left. Enlarge it to see better.

And the most popular exhibit? A moving growling T-rex...some children around us were crying (I held Jay's hand).

Next was the V&A (Victoria and Albert) Museum which is just a collection of really old and cool stuff from kings and queens and their treasures...

They let kids put on these frock things, so being the demanding wife that I am, I made Jay try one on against his will...just don't tell him I published this picture!










And then we had to walk to Harrods, which is a huge department store similar to Macy's here in NYC, although a little older, and a little fancier, and a lot more expensive with the exchange rate!



We spent a little too long looking at Harrods, and had to run to catch our train (which isn't fun with heavy backpacks and humidity, but we made it). We rode the Eurostar, which takes you to France under the channel at break-neck speed. Paris here we come!














These pictures in no way give credit to the beautiful sunset we saw as we rode along the English countryside.








So the first thing we saw when we got to Paris was this strange person who apparently worked in the station????



















We arrived at our hotel, dropped off our stuff, and then had a lovely and romantic (and long!) walk along the Seine river. We saw many incredible buildings...including Notra Dame.







And then we finally saw it---the Eiffel Tower! And it was sparkling! I never knew that for ten minutes on the hour it sparkles. It really was beautiful...I guess that is why it is so famous!















Some shots from below...




Happy Valentines to us!

We take a break from this trip to Europe...

We realize we have been slack in our blogging lately, but we have been busy. With what, you may ask? Well we have had visitors here in NYC from the swamps of Georgia----John (Jay's brother) and Lindy and Anya Salmon.




One of Jay and Johns trademarks are relating everything in life to Seinfeld....so one of the first places of interest in all of New York they wanted to see was...(see if you recognize below....)



You guessed it - Tom's Restaurant. But they always cut off poor "Tom", as we did. The inside was different because they used a set in the sit-com, but we still enjoyed the food and a typical mindless discussion.

We also went out of our way to go to this park. There wasn't much to see, and it wasn't very big, but I guess not everyone has a park named after them. At least Anya was delighted.


So, looks like Anya has new favorites ... Uncle Jay and Aunt K (sorry everyone else!). We will report more later after we get through Paris!

More Pictures from Happy London!

This is a little Museum of Sir John Soane's home which we really enjoyed. We couldn't take any pictures inside, so here is the outside.

He was an architect who had some amazing collections, and arranged them intricitely in this house.












This is a monument across the street that reminded me of my mom getting us ready for church on Sunday (she's a Saint).







Lunch!

We ate at a pub--

some traditional English foods...yorkshire pudding with roast beef, and fish & chips with peas.

Us at Trafalgar Square (see the pigeons flying? We planned that).

Here is Jay entering the National Gallery which sits in Trafalgar Square (see the reflection). He is so happy not to be wearing his coat for once.

We couldn't take pics inside, but we saw many famous paintings by Manet, Renoir, Vermeer, Monet, and many many others.

We decided to choose a favorite artist so we sound more educated,

so I picked JMW Turner...


And Jay choose Camille Pissarro

Next door is the National Portrait Gallery. This is the only picture you will ever see of this room beacuse just after I took it, a frantic muesem employee told me photos are not allowed. (If I had taken it of the hall behind me, you would have seen him waving his arms). So, maybe we can sell the image on e-bay...

After an afternoon of Art, we walked around and shot some night shots of Picadilly Circus. I think this is the only side that lights up, so it is not as flashy as our neighborhood (aka Times Square), but it is has its charm.

We walked right into a British Film primere and lots of adoring fans yelling at lots of Brittish actors. We really don't know a lot of American actors, let alone British, but we tried to take pictures of people who looked famous, like this guy. The only recognisable person I knew was Argus Filch from Harry Potter (the janitor guy who loves his cat) .

The highlight of the evening, however, was seeing the Broadway show "Les Misarables" (a lifelong goal of Kjerstina). We were even bumped from our high balcaony seats to front row mezannine, all because of Jay's good looks (and because they didn't sell enough tickets).

It was Great!






Remember the Man Who Knew Too Little?