carl

Adios, Costa Rica

 Costa Rica '08, Jan 06 '09
Jan 062009
 

Up early to catch our flight home.

Sunrise in San Jose, Costa Rica

San Jose sunrise.

This has been a fantastic trip. Thanks, Sarah, for having the idea and doing all the work!

And special kudos to Paul and Marcos. They were the perfect hosts for our visit to their country. Paul’s knowledge is deep, and he always was entertaining while educating us. He also managed to keep 46 people herded for ten days, without us feeling like a part of a big tour – I think we all had very personal experiences. And Marcos who managed to move an enormous bus around tiny streets without breaking a sweat – and he kept the bus spotless, too.

Welcome!

 About The Trip, England '10
Jun 052010
 

To celebrate Kevin’s graduation, we took a trip to England. This is our journal for the trip, organized by day.

Photos are by Carl and Eric. You can click through on any of them to be taken to their Flickr page, where larger versions are available.

Heading to Heathrow

 England '10, Jun 05 '10
Jun 052010
 
Sunrise over the Atlantic

Sunrise over the Atlantic

We left home on Saturday morning, fully laden for 10 days in England. SFO to Heathrow went surprisingly fast, except for the two young children who screamed for eight hours straight on the flight. Sleep wasn’t a huge option as we departed SFO at 1pm and arrived in London the equivalent of 11pm, only it was now Sunday morning at 7am. We flew through a night, though it never got fully dark due to the polar route in the summer time.

Getting to Know London

 England '10, Jun 06 '10
Jun 062010
 

Day 1: Instead of napping we decided to use the ‘force your body to time shift’ approach to jet lag – after checking into our apartment we went to breakfast and started sightseeing.

Apartment on Curzon Street

Apartment on Curzon Street

Our apartment is on Curzon Street in Mayfair – it’s small, but nice and very convenient to the tube; it’s also across the street from Shepherd Market, a small area with shops and restaurants. The spot we chose for breakfast was okay, but we’re not really used to runny eggs and English style bacon and hash browns. Tomorrow we’ll try eating in, though we also found some nice pastry cafes right across the street.

Walking through Green Park

Walking through Green Park

Guard at Buckingham Palace

Guard at Buckingham Palace

Burning off the bacon, we walked through Green Park and past Buckingham Palace, then jumped the “Original Tour” double decker bus to get situated and oriented to the city, disembarking for the Tower of London, then rejoining for the rest of the loop afterwards.

Kevin and Eric atop the tour bus

Kevin and Eric atop the tour bus

The tour of the Tower of London was quite entertaining – they are hosted by Yomen of the Guard who live within the walls. We learned about many beheadings, mucky moats, how to become a Beefeater, and nuances of armor.

Beefeater, Yeoman Warder and Tourguide

Beefeater, Yeoman Warder and Tourguide

After the rest of the bus tour, including three loops through Trafalgar Square (where pigeons have been eradicated by fining humans for feeding them and sicking hawks on the birds that choose to stick around anyway), we returned home for a nap.

Late that afternoon a quick two stop ride in the tube took us back to the Thames for a ride on the London Eye. Even after 23 years of marriage I wasn’t aware of the depth of Sarah’s discomfort with heights until I asked her to take my picture near the top of the loop. Oops.

View from the top of the loop of the London Eye

View from the top of the loop of the London Eye

We had a very nice meal at an Italian restaurant near the Eye, then hopped the tube for home. Time to finally get caught up on some of that sleep!

Legal Tour, Part 1: Parliament

 England '10, Jun 07 '10
Jun 072010
 
Parliament Building

Parliament Building

Day 2: Coffee and hot chocolate from across the street and a heaping bowl of Special K helped us get adjusted to the new day, hopefully fooling us into accepting local time at 7am. We were picked up at 8:30 by our guide for our legal tour of London – first stop: Parliament.

Upon entering the iconic Houses of Parliament, we were met by David Stollery, who is the Senior Doorkeeper for the House of Lords. As a Doorkeeper, he helps keep the House running smoothly. This includes tracking attendance (which allows the Lords to get reimbursed for their expenses!), managing the flow of messages while the House is in session and general organization and security. Mr. Stollery spent almost two hours with us, walking us through the chambers of the House of Lords and House of Commons while explaining how the Parliament of British Government operates and the role of the two Houses. He also participates in many of the ceremonies, and entertained us with very rich descriptions of the traditions behind them.

In Parliament with David Stollery and our tour guide, Oola

In Parliament with David Stollery and our tour guide, Oola

Mr. Stollery also explained the process to observe the Houses in session – something we’re planning to return to do on Wednesday.

Entrance to the Supreme Court

Entrance to the Supreme Court

In 2009, the United Kingdom created a Supreme Court, replacing the Appellate Committee from the House of Lords as a separate and independent court. We visited their new facilities in the Middlesex Guildhall, across the street from Parliament. Since they weren’t in session we were able to enter the court rooms (when they are in session you can observe the court from behind a glass wall).

Kevin in the Supreme Court Chambers

Kevin in the Supreme Court Chambers

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