Last two days in London

• Friday--New Years Day

We didn't get back to our hotel until 3am--and had left the hotel the previous morning at 9am. We were very exhausted. We spent the most of our morning & early afternoon sleeping. That may sound ridiculous, but there simply was no energy left in any of us.

We made our first attempt at Madame Tussaud's...a bust. The line was very long--so we decided to make a run for it the next morning. We ended up at Piccadilly Circus--bright lights, ton's of shops, theatres, restaurants, carnival rides...the works! We walked around & ended up having traditional fish & chips for dinner.

Saturday--Last Day
Woke up early! Ready to tackle another long day!

Madame Tussaud's
Still a 45-60 minute wait. Tons of people! I'm a sucker for wax museums. My cousin & I had gone to the one in Las Vegas. Plenty of time to fool around & pose with the statues--but not here. This was crazy-busy! We took a couple of pictures--but were more excited to leave than actually go there. It's comparable to the Hollywood Walk-of-Fame...something you feel you should see...but happy for it to be over with once your done.

Abbey Road
This was my favorite of the day! We took the tube to St John's Wood & did the nostalgic walk to the infamous Beatles "Abbey Road". Yes...we did the walk! Such dorks, but I love it! : )

Tower Bridge & Tower of London
We simply took pictures of both--by now we're pretty much over the "tour" thing. I think we are all pretty excited to go home. There was a fantastic french restaurant we went to near the bridge--I finally had the Christmas duck! : )

Recap:

• Double-Decker Bus--check
• Red Phone booth--check
• Play or Musical--check
• Crepes--check
• Starbucks London cup--check
• London Eye--check
• Piccadilly Circus--check
• Big Ben--check
• Buckingham Palace--check
• Westminster Abbey--check
• Tower of London--check
• Tower bridge--check
• Parliament--check
• Madame Tusauds--check
• Abbey Road--check
• Exhausted & ready to get home--check! : )

New Years Eve--London

Do you ever have those days when you are so overwhelmed with joy & gratefulness that you just start to cry? Today was one of those days...



We arrived in London on Wednesday. There isn't too much to say about this travel day except for vanilla ice cream & crepes with Grand Marnier sauce helped end the day--amazing!



To see the Queen...
Early Thursday, we set off towards Buckingham Palace. We stopped to take pic's in the infamous red phone booths. We arrived at the palace shortly after it had opened and few people were there yet. We took several pictures of the palace, the entry to Green Park, the memorial fountain for Queen Victoria, the royal guards, & more. The current exhibits in the State Rooms of The Queens Gallery are "The Conversation Piece; Scenes of a fashionable life" & "Treasures from the Royal Collection". We took the audio tour. Most of the paintings were personal family portraits that introduced you to several royal family members. The paintings were by Johan Zoffany, Stubbs, Gainsborough, & Hogarth. The "Treasures" included knight armour, Faberge pieces, furniture, crowns, & a 63 carat diamond. Not sure how one would wear that, but I guess if you had that in your possession you would manage to figure out a way.


Leaving the palace we walked along-side St. James Park and at the end of the park we got our first peek at Big Ben. The "gong" of this clock tower brought a smile to my face to finally hear it in person. It has an exciting yet calming sound to it. Right around the corner we saw Westminster Abbey--a large and glorious church from the outside view--this is one line we decided to surpass.



Hakuna Matata!!!
We went to see the musical "The Lion King" at the Lyceum Theatre. It has been here in London for 10 years now. The Lion King has always been my favorite Disney movie. I can't count how many times I've sang "Hakuna Matata" & "I just can't wait to be King" with my friends Cindy & Malia...good times! The beginning of this show was so emotionally intense. I'm not really sure why, but if it was hard holding back the sobs even while sitting in an audience. Both of my parents cried at the beginning and throughout as well. The combination of the music, the costumes, and the actors give off the most insane energy that overtakes you emotionally... "He lives in you" was the best song of the Broadway score...I'm listening to it on Youtube right now...it's that good!


Ending & beginning a year in London
We spent 4 hours on the Westminster Bridge waiting for the new year to arrive. It was cold. I could barely feel my lips to speak. I will post a few videos on this... one with Big Ben gonging at 11pm & the other bringing in the new year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vLssjJyGrY

http://www.youtube.com/user/lostinthedetails#p/a/u/0/xWm33ziIIXY


One of the cool things was right after the new year began, snow started falling for maybe 5 minutes. It was natures new years contribution of "confetti". : )

Happy New Year everyone!

Last Day in Ireland (Tuesday)

It "Hertz"
We broke up with Leon first thing in the morning. He simply wasn't bringing us any happiness--more stress than anything. We found cab's & walking to be much more convenient!

Church Tours
These were both self-guided tours. I took a ton of pictures of both. Both Gothic-style with an amazing collection of stained glass.

St. Patrick's Cathedral
The views were so beautiful, I can't really begin to describe the details. I took a ton of pictures & I am kicking myself that I can't post them right now.
I had previously told you that Jonathan Swift is buried beneath the floors--so are many others. The only thing kind of creepy about all of that was the death masks they had in a display case. (pictures of those too--creepy!)

Christ Church
For the most part, I will again let the pictures speak for themselves.

Surprising parts of the tour:

• The heart of Saint Laurence O'Toole is encased in a metal case (also in the shape of a heart) hanging in the Peace Chapel of St Laud.
• You can tour the Crypt of the church. It has many statues, a lectern from the 15th century, and gold communion cups and plates.

Afterwards we went to Queen of Tarts for lunch--the best food I had in Ireland! I had a goat cheese and tomato tart--this came with 3 salads (couscous, leafy greens, & potato.) Yum!

We tried to go to the Book of Kells, but unfortunately the books were taking some time off for the holidays. Instead, we took a few additional pictures of "The Money Tree", a bronze sculpture of "Molly Malone", & Trinity College.

Oh, and did I mention I am now an owner of Waterford Crystal??? I am. : ) Just a pair of champagne glasses--life does have plenty to celebrate!

Gaol...certainly not to be confused with "goal"

We seem to be having a bit of an issue with getting on a normal schedule here in Ireland. We sleep past breakfast, eat lunch around 11, take a 2 hour nap from 5-7, then get hungry for dinner at around 10:30 at night. This needs improvement!


Kilmainham Gaol (Jail)
Not a very uplifting thing to do--but an imperative piece of Irish history. From what I caught on to, the jail was built to hold 112 or 121 prisoners. The prisoners included men, women, & children. Children were told to walk in circles in the courtyard (separate circles for boys & girls) and told not to look up because the grace of Gods light would not shine down on them. If they were to look up, they would be whipped by an adult prisoner. All ages were expected to do hard labor in this prison. Most were in for petty reasons such as stealing food or clothing. In 1850, the jail held over 9,000 prisoners--keep in mind...built for just over 100 people. The reason for this was the famine. Anyone on the streets at that time that was caught begging was thrown into Kilmainham. (At least then they would be fed...right?)

This jail was center in the Rising of 1916--the 14 leaders of the Rising were taken to Kilmainham and executed. James Connolly was one of the leaders executed. He was already in the hospital dying. He was brought to Kilmainham by ambulance, taken out of a gurney and was sat in a chair...all for a firing squad to quickly execute him. Disturbing!

After that, the leader of Ireland at the time was pegged at having "lost Ireland". France then gifted Ireland with the flag you see today. Green representing Catholic, Orange representing Protestant, and White in the middle to represent Peace amongst the two.

I'm sure I left out a lot of details in there, but that is what I got out of it. The flag is the uniting happy ending for me in my mind.

Rhi-andom other tidbits I've gotten so far...

• Arthur Guinness--his wife had 21 children. Take that Duggars!
• Molly Malone is the most photographed woman in Ireland.
• Jonathan Swift (Dean of St. Patrick's & author of Gulliver's Travel) is buried in the cathedral floor. (Next to one of his Esthers'. He dated two of them--one he renamed Vanessa, the other Stella.) Stella was the one buried next to him.
• Handel's Messiah debuted in Dublin. It was performed by both the Christ Church & St Patrick's choirs combined.
• Guinness is celebrating their 250th year. They have a 9000-year lease that they pay 45 pounds a year for & it includes free water from the Wicklow Mt's.
• Silky Road is the name of the cafe at the Chester Beatty library that I couldn't think of in a previous post.
• U2's Bono & The Edge own a hotel here named The Clarence.
• The MGM lion roaring at the beginning of the movies came from the Dublin Zoo.

Hello Dublin!!!!

I heart Avoca!!!!
Let me start off by saying...Jessica, you evil person!...I love that you sent me here! Avoca is the equivalent to Anthropologie in the states. My poor dad...girlie, girlie, girlie...everywhere you turn!

So, let me tell you...my best friend Tara has been due to have "Who Number Two" on the 26th of December. I was pretty sure she was going to have her the day that I left, but apparently, she (Baby Flikk) was quite comfortable in her moms belly. But, my take on the whole thing is...I purchased a fabulous pair of PJ's from Avoca...God must have told her about these pj's...because she came out around the same time I had purchased them for her (probably thinking she was going to get to wear them!) Little did he let on that I'm in a different country & they are a size 3-6 mo's....good lure though huh?!?
Elaina Nicole Flikkema~ Born Dec 27th 7lbs 10ozs--21in long! Cannot wait to finally meet you in person Lainey!!!

Back to the purchases... Lauren ended up getting her first "wooby" (Mr. Mom reference). It's a cashmere zip-up hoody--pink & red Zandstra stripes!

For me, I bought a scarf & a cotton (obsessed w/ the feel of cotton) throw-on jacket. Nothing big...more fun to buy for the babes!

Bus Tour
We went for the bus tour today...which I'm so grateful for doing! No stressful driving (most of you know it's difficult for me as it is in the states.) This allowed us to see Nassau Street, Dublin Castle, mmmmm...we went to a coffee shoppe...starts w/ an "S"..Silk?? something...I'll figure it out! Any way, at the coffee shoppe we had Turkish Delights & Coffee. (I'll let you google that.) Then Christ Church, St Patrick's Cathedral, and.....

P-I-N-T Pint!
The Guinness Storehouse! This made my dad smile! We went on the tour...which I believe is seven floors of brewery. I have several pic's of this...to the point that I think that I took most of my pictures so far at Guinness...need to re-establish priorities....nah! : )
The best part was making to the Gravity Bar....John Mayer popped in my head as we approached. We were welcomed with a pint & an amazing view of Dublin! Afterwards we we stopped at the Guinness gift shop...which we had already stopped there before the tour. Beforehand, I had on my "practical hat"--I didn't find any purchases to be of importance. But, after the Gravity Bar & a pint...I bought a postcard, t-shirt, 2 chocolate bars, & a toucan bottle opener--all so very important things to have! (meet my inhibition-less self) I also talked my dad into getting getting 2 Guinness grill-lighters/bottle-openers for both him & my uncle. (I would like to think it was my sales-skills...but maybe he was care-free too.)

O'Neill's
The cab driver advised us that this would be a great place to get food...& of course a pint. (Did I mention that during the holidays...you can't find a restaurant..but an open pub is just around the corner.)
O'Neill's has an area w/ a "carver". They serve all kinds of great food! I had Sheppard's Pie & red cabbage! Comfort food!

Luggage Arrived!!!
Not much more to say about this...except for Happy Mom=Happy Trip.

Darts
I asked about playing darts here in Ireland tonight. His response: "You'll take your eye out!" Does anyone else see a "Christmas Story" pattern here?!?

Temple Bar
Many up's & downs from people on whether or not this was worthwhile to go to...my input: A Must! Maybe it was because the live bad was fantastic and the atmosphere was lively...
We heard everything! Dolly Parton (Jolene & 9 to 5), Hallelujah (I know kd lang sings one version of this...), Simon & Garfunkel (The Boxer), & so many more. The best was how everyone started singing Sweet Home Alabama as if they they were all from there! I love how music is so universal!!!

Food for thought: Did you know that Cadbury "Crunchie" bars are packaged sea foam?!? ....Heaven!!!!

St Stephens Day

AKA the second day of Christmas....

St. Stephen was the first Christian martyr.


I hate to say this again, but most everything was closed on Saturday too! They sure like their holidays here. Monday is a bank holiday (not sure what it's called though.) Our cab driver today said it was a good excuse to drink--hence so many holidays.


We ventured to Wicklow Mountains! First stop, Starbucks!!! I got teary eyed & cried...such a sad American! For the last several months I've given up my coffee & protein shake mornings to replace them with Starbucks coffee & oatmeal w/ fruit & brown sugar. Since we have arrived in Dublin, we've had eggs (scrambled & watery), sausage (big & boiled), bacon (slabs, not strips), & fruit (always a good choice.) I'm usually a breakfast girl...but not here. When I saw Starbucks, the idea of my normal breakfast overcame my emotions. I ordered a Porridge & fruit, a Venti coffee, & an almond croissant (a little overboard.) My parents ordered coffee & pastries too--all for the low price of 33 Euro (apprx $50.) Oh! I became a collector too! I've never understood collecting stuff--but I purchased my second Starbucks mug! It says: Dublin Starbucks coffee. I have one that my cousin bought me for my Los Angeles bon voyage that says: "Los Angeles". I'll see if I can get one in London too!

Next, Wicklow Mt's--what a beautiful drive! Green! Sheep! (Not green, but they did have blue paint on them...probably a territorial thing.) It was nice to see the picturesque landscape surrounding us. No dramatic stories to add to this one, just nature at its best! (except for the blue sheep.)

I have pictures, but unfortunately I forgot to bring my cord to download them.

We then drove through Roundwood--the highest village in Ireland. During all of this we worked up a thirst...the town of Rathdrum was our watering hole. The roads were made of brick and multi-colored Christmas lights were strung across the streets hanging from building to building. Jacobs Well Pub is where I had my first pint of Guinness in Ireland. I was going to wait for the Guinness Storehouse...but decided to take the plunge early!

On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at seemingly one of the only open restaurants in Dublin. It was the most quaint hole-in-the-wall Italian place. The waiter/owner was quite the comedian...not afraid to rip on me for ordering water w/ dinner vs a nice bold glass of red wine. (Keep in mind I'm driving & I'm in a foreign country with my automobile completely backwards.) We had more than enough to eat & he managed to slip in some complimentary red wine with dinner. It must be a sin to eat Italian food without red wine...

Christmas morning...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUccXB1O0n0

Let me know if this doesn't work!