Due to unforseen crappy Wi-Fi access (and a lack there of in some locations), please accept our apologies for this late blog. :-/
We said "au revoir" to Paris and hopped on a bus heading for London, England. I had read several articles that talked about this company crossing the English channel by ferry, so you can imagine how surprised we were when we woke from dozing as our bus pulled up into an extra large looking train... The Chunnel, or Channel tunnel, which crosses under the English channel from France to England. It was a neat experience. The bus loaded into the train and we were allowed out to walk around the inner compartments for the 35 minute underground ride.
There was so much to see in London and we only had a few days, so we crammed in as much as we could. First, it was off to Kensington Palace for a glimpse of Wills, Kate and baby George. Unfortunately, they didn't get the memo that we would be visiting in time, so we didn't meet up with them for tea. Instead we walked around the gardens and along the Diana Memorial Walk before heading on towards Picadilly Circus where we met up with Zac's cousin Diane. She joined us for the afternoon as we visited Big Ben and the Parliament Buildings, Westminster Abbey and Trafalgar Square. We wound up at a great pub with the best view of Chinatown to give our feet a break.
Jamie and Zac rented bikes and made their way to Abbey Road, while CL and I visited Harrod's to see what all the fuss was about on the 5th floor, better known as "Shoe Heaven".
The next day we shuffled our way into the crowds to watch the Changing of the Guards ceremony at Buckingham Palace and spent some time allowing for the various street performers to entertain us.
Check out the video below of Jamie's attempt at riding a bike...
http://youtu.be/80YbHjtF43M
After hitting the major sights in London, we hopped on a bus /ferry / bus combo ticket known as the Dutch Flyer to Amsterdam. The Netherlands have such a different feel to them and we were happy to share that with"the kids". Everyone knows that the dutch love their bikes, but seeing all of the cyclists in action during peak traffic hours is a sight to see!
Here's a few pointers on how to cross the road in Amsterdam: Look both ways for cyclists and mopeds in bike lane
Stop
Look both ways for vehicles in car lanes.
Stop
Look both ways for cyclists and mopeds in bike lane again.
Stop
*Note* Look throughout for dazed and confused pedestrians who were nearly hit by fast pedalling cyclists.
Other than meandering throughout the picturesque streets lined with canals (did you know there are approx 1300 bridges in Amsterdam alone?), we visited the Anne Frank House and had some fun at The Heineken Experience.
The night before we left we came across this performer in the canal. I know your thinking that's probably a typo, right, that I must have meant BY the canal?
Well, no, I didn't.....check this video out, it was quite a show!
http://youtu.be/_ioHkmy3Ytg
We said "au revoir" to Paris and hopped on a bus heading for London, England. I had read several articles that talked about this company crossing the English channel by ferry, so you can imagine how surprised we were when we woke from dozing as our bus pulled up into an extra large looking train... The Chunnel, or Channel tunnel, which crosses under the English channel from France to England. It was a neat experience. The bus loaded into the train and we were allowed out to walk around the inner compartments for the 35 minute underground ride.
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| Chunnel compartment doors |
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| It was a tight squeeze between bus and walls! |
There was so much to see in London and we only had a few days, so we crammed in as much as we could. First, it was off to Kensington Palace for a glimpse of Wills, Kate and baby George. Unfortunately, they didn't get the memo that we would be visiting in time, so we didn't meet up with them for tea. Instead we walked around the gardens and along the Diana Memorial Walk before heading on towards Picadilly Circus where we met up with Zac's cousin Diane. She joined us for the afternoon as we visited Big Ben and the Parliament Buildings, Westminster Abbey and Trafalgar Square. We wound up at a great pub with the best view of Chinatown to give our feet a break.
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| The classic phone booth picture. |
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| Sitting on Trafalgar Square Lion- A must do! (Zaaaac!) |
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| Big Ben |
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| Westminster Abbey |
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| Tower Bridge... NOT London bridge as most refer to it as. |
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| The eye of London |
Jamie and Zac rented bikes and made their way to Abbey Road, while CL and I visited Harrod's to see what all the fuss was about on the 5th floor, better known as "Shoe Heaven".
 |
| Bicycle selfie |
 |
| THE Abbey Road... (Yes Jamie thinks he's Ringo!) |
 |
| You don't even want to know the price! |
The next day we shuffled our way into the crowds to watch the Changing of the Guards ceremony at Buckingham Palace and spent some time allowing for the various street performers to entertain us.
 |
| Buckingham Palace guards. They didn't believe us about being invited over for tea. |
Check out the video below of Jamie's attempt at riding a bike...
http://youtu.be/80YbHjtF43M
After hitting the major sights in London, we hopped on a bus /ferry / bus combo ticket known as the Dutch Flyer to Amsterdam. The Netherlands have such a different feel to them and we were happy to share that with"the kids". Everyone knows that the dutch love their bikes, but seeing all of the cyclists in action during peak traffic hours is a sight to see!
Here's a few pointers on how to cross the road in Amsterdam: Look both ways for cyclists and mopeds in bike lane
Stop
Look both ways for vehicles in car lanes.
Stop
Look both ways for cyclists and mopeds in bike lane again.
Stop
*Note* Look throughout for dazed and confused pedestrians who were nearly hit by fast pedalling cyclists.
 |
| Three levels of crammed bicycle parking. |
 |
| One of many functional bikes. |
Other than meandering throughout the picturesque streets lined with canals (did you know there are approx 1300 bridges in Amsterdam alone?), we visited the Anne Frank House and had some fun at The Heineken Experience.
 |
| So many narrow homes lean to the did or sometimes even forward into the street |
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| Jamie's left foot is a wee bit bigger than his right... |
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| Cheers to Heineken and two free drinks after the tour! |
The night before we left we came across this performer in the canal. I know your thinking that's probably a typo, right, that I must have meant BY the canal?
Well, no, I didn't.....check this video out, it was quite a show!
http://youtu.be/_ioHkmy3Ytg