Monday, July 15, 2013
London Day 3 - Regent's Park home of "The Queen's Garden"
Standing in line to see the Crown Jewels, we met a couple from Atlanta (go figure!). "You shouldn't miss the Queen's Garden in Regent's Park" they said. Asking our tour guide about Regent's Park, he advised us to go to Kensington Gardens instead. Kensington is the home to the palace where Diana lived until her untimely passing. "There's a wonderful flower garden there as well" Chris said! Prepare for it. Get ready......
This is the "Flower Walk" in Kensington Garden. Not quite what we expected but we did enjoy a quick bike ride through the park (such a relief on our aching feet)!
Kensington Palace wasn't much to see from the outside either. We are still hoping we didn't find the gardens. The palace was under construction. Will and Kate will reside here after the birth of the royal baby.
As for the Queen's Garden in Regent's Park, the Atlanta couple was RIGHT! We saw some of the prettiest, largest, most fragrant roses ever. Some bushes were head high! Sydnee is 5'5".
Trust me, these photos do not do the Queen's Garden justice! My Mom was astounded at the size of the roses. Some were as big around as your head! Even the trash cans looked majestic (middle pic at the bottom)! We were refreshed from the beauty of the garden and walked another five miles afterwards. No joke! This garden experience was the perfect end to our trip to London. Goodbye U.K., hello France!
Loved the fragrance wafting up my nose,
Tammy
The Happy Handicap
As for the Queen's Garden in Regent's Park, the Atlanta couple was RIGHT! We saw some of the prettiest, largest, most fragrant roses ever. Some bushes were head high! Sydnee is 5'5".
Loved the fragrance wafting up my nose,
Tammy
The Happy Handicap
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Ah Paris, the City of ....."Firsts"!
I'm not a greenhorn when it comes to travel. But, I must say, Paris showed me things I'd never seen before. The three days we spent in Paris was filled with a lot of "first" time experiences, starting with:
Sloane got stung by a bee. There we were, standing on an island in the middle of the streets of Paris when Sloane starting yelling "I got stung by a bee!"
Our tour guide was giving us directions and in his British accent said "That's terrible! I've never had anyone get stung on a tour before!" And then, he started laughing which cracked us all up. I said "Are you laughing?" He said "I don't mean to." "It sounds like you are" I pointed out. "Oh dear!" he said. The more he spoke and tried to clear things up his accent made things funnier!
Meanwhile, Sloane's face was turning red, her thigh was hurting and the stinger was still in her leggings. She's always apprehensive about EVERYTHING and images of having a severe allergic reaction in a foreign country whirled through her mind.
I'm happy to report she removed the stinger and no allergic reaction ensued. She's so anal she carried a first aid kit with her on this trip which...she used!
We spent Syd's 25th birthday in the "Happiest Place on Earth" Disneyland Paris! The weather was nice and the lines were virtually non-existent. The travel time from Paris to Disneyland is 45 minutes on the Metro. Our tour director was leery of such a long commute but we're from the country, what's 30 miles? We drive that far for groceries.
About 15 minutes into the return trip, our train stops and the driver starts yelling "Everyone off, everyone off!" We are all looking around, puzzled. I noticed another train operator who smiled at me and I asked what was going on. A man threw himself in front of a train in Paris which had closed the entire subway line we were on. "First" number two!
A minor setback for getting back to the city but after some sign language, purchasing some cherries from a street vendor and praying for a taxi driver who was not a mass murderer, we arrived safely back at the Eiffel Tower in time to take a leisurely boat ride on the Seine River. Catastrophe averted!
5. Soap Heaven! French soap too! My first time to purchase soap on the street...
6. First time I've ever seen my aunt take a picture with her tongue licking out. Kind of reminds me of one of her Santa Gertrudis cows! lol
7. First authentic French crepe on a paper plate! Banana Nutella, yummy!
8. I enjoyed the Paris City Tour from dreamland.
Singing a foreign "Foreigner" song,
Feels like the first time,
Tammy
The Happy Handicap
Leave me a comment and let me know what you've done for the first time lately! :)
Sloane got stung by a bee. There we were, standing on an island in the middle of the streets of Paris when Sloane starting yelling "I got stung by a bee!"
Our tour guide was giving us directions and in his British accent said "That's terrible! I've never had anyone get stung on a tour before!" And then, he started laughing which cracked us all up. I said "Are you laughing?" He said "I don't mean to." "It sounds like you are" I pointed out. "Oh dear!" he said. The more he spoke and tried to clear things up his accent made things funnier!
Meanwhile, Sloane's face was turning red, her thigh was hurting and the stinger was still in her leggings. She's always apprehensive about EVERYTHING and images of having a severe allergic reaction in a foreign country whirled through her mind.
I'm happy to report she removed the stinger and no allergic reaction ensued. She's so anal she carried a first aid kit with her on this trip which...she used!
About 15 minutes into the return trip, our train stops and the driver starts yelling "Everyone off, everyone off!" We are all looking around, puzzled. I noticed another train operator who smiled at me and I asked what was going on. A man threw himself in front of a train in Paris which had closed the entire subway line we were on. "First" number two!
A minor setback for getting back to the city but after some sign language, purchasing some cherries from a street vendor and praying for a taxi driver who was not a mass murderer, we arrived safely back at the Eiffel Tower in time to take a leisurely boat ride on the Seine River. Catastrophe averted!
3. We saw real live boobies! Now, of course I've seen my own and maybe some on TV but I've never seen women dancing around with their booby nipples eyeing me! The show was good, the costumes very colorful and tasteful (they wore tops some of the time). If you want to see some of the same boobies, google it! Search for "La Nouvelle Eve" images. I think the star of the show is a she-male!
4. Disneyland Paris makes women primp! First time to see this! Lipsticks ready, aim, paint!
5. Soap Heaven! French soap too! My first time to purchase soap on the street...
6. First time I've ever seen my aunt take a picture with her tongue licking out. Kind of reminds me of one of her Santa Gertrudis cows! lol
7. First authentic French crepe on a paper plate! Banana Nutella, yummy!
8. I enjoyed the Paris City Tour from dreamland.
Singing a foreign "Foreigner" song,
Feels like the first time,
Tammy
The Happy Handicap
Leave me a comment and let me know what you've done for the first time lately! :)
The Duty of Church
Why do you attend church? Because your parents taught you to go? Because it makes you an upstanding citizen? Because it's the "right" thing to do? Do we truly understand church or just go out of duty? I was blessed to spend the last seven days in London and Paris. I visited some of the most renown churches in the world; Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral and Notre Dame. The reverence of the people in these churches were moving. My group enjoyed communion at Westminster. It WAS the highlight of the entire trip for me!
I think we too often forget God desires our selfless sacrifice to him. Redemption is not a boastful state. It is a humble, giving, sacrificial way to the heart of God. It is being the heart of God in human form. How many times have you attended church in the last month or year out of duty? How many times have you bowed on your knees before God (maybe not even in a church building) and soaked in his glory with selfless surrender? I believe lighting a candle in the presence of our fellow man shows our commitment to Christ and belief in his absolute power. The lighting of candles is an offering to God. What are your thoughts? and more importantly, what have you offered God lately?
Loving "The Light",
Tammy
The Happy Handicap
Leave me a comment with your thoughts about going to church out of duty.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
The Top 10 Things I Learned in London
First of all, I don't purpose vacations to learn. But, if you travel to a foreign country and don't bloody learn something, you're pretty sad! Here's my top 10 list from London:
1. I've been on many riverfront tours and stood on many wharfs; Boston, San Francisco, Chicago, New York etc. and maybe this just got by me or maybe Americans just don't know it. WHARF is an acronym for WareHouse At RiverFront! Who knew? Did you?
2. I've navigated a lot of subway systems in the U.S. but I have never stood beside so many tall men as in the tubes of London. I mean my breast to his butt cheek! One time it was almost cheek to cheek! I learned quickly how to stand to the outside of the train facing the window or grab the first seat available.
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4. God's Presence is real in Westminster Abbey! Approaching the High Altar in the nave (a new word for your vocabulary), I got cold chills up and down my entire body! No, the priest wasn't hot or I didn't have a random cold shiver. God was there! I felt his presence. We were blessed to be in the church at noon to take communion. The priest placed Christ's body as a small piece of bread in our outstretched hands as we bowed at the altar. Then we received his blood from another priest. The priest served everyone a small amount of REAL WINE from the same cup. My best experience of the entire trip!
5. I cannot afford to buy anything in Harrod's Department Store!
6. Covent Garden is not a garden at all. It's an English cultural experience. You will find markets, restaurants, live entertainment and more at the Garden. We saw a man performing a comedy act in a tutu. I knew my unmarried aunt was either desperate or delirious when she said "He's got pretty legs!" My camera battery was dead or you could judge for yourself!
7. English toilet paper is thick. I didn't separate a sheet and count but I'd venture to say it's at least 6 to 8 ply. I wasn't inclined to ask why it's so thick so I'll never know. You would think thick toilet paper would be a pleasing experience but it was like trying to cram a paper towel up your nose. Ever done that?
8. The London Eye isn't scary even if you are afraid of heights. You can stand up or sit down on your ride moving at a snail's pace while experiencing breathtaking views. Well worth the 19.20 pounds it cost to enjoy one trip around.
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9. The Brits fish 'n chips ain't cool! They're cooked with the skin on the fish, quite tasty, but my defunct American taste likes Long John Silvers better. However, the pubs you eat the fish in are super cool! They have "coves", basement-like structures with low ceilings and cozy rooms. The one below is where we ate our fish 'n chips.
10. Did you know the bridge that everyone thinks is the London Bridge is not? It's Tower Bridge. I learned the original London Bridge resides in Lake Havasu City, AZ. Below is a pic of Tower Bridge.
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London is a welcoming eclectic city with varying architecture and thousands of years of history. People are friendly, it's easy to communicate and the weather is nice in summer.
Schooled London style,
Tammy
The Happy Handicap
Leave me some comment love. You probably know some things about London you can share with me!
Monday, July 8, 2013
We Came, We Saw! Day 1 & 2 of London & Paris...
Here we go...London skyline at sunset
Chicken & Potatoes for dinner with the rest of our group of 44.
After dinner, we ventured out to the London Eye
High atop the eye, the view of Big Ben was awesome!
.JPG "view from london eye")
Leave me a comment and tell me what you like most about London? Come back tomorrow for Day 3 of our adventure - Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London.
Still feeling all British,
Tammy
The Happy Handicap
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