Archive for July 2016
Good-Bye, London. It’s Been Great!
“He who returns from a journey is not the same as he who left.” — Chinese proverb Two different people will be using our passports early in the morning. Tomorrow we fly home, but we are not the same people who boarded that Virgin Atlantic flight the first of June. Our passports declare…
Read More »Hafez
Everyone always makes fun of British food. They laugh about boiled beef and vegetables. Ha ha ha. Like that is all the Brits can cook. Don’t forget fish and chips with mushy peas. (Do forget the mint in the peas. Please forget it. I beg you. God, I hate that mint.) And don’t forget the…
Read More »Down the Tubes!
The London Underground is a fascinating place and an engineering marvel. Michael posted about the Underground a few weeks ago, but today we went on a walk with Harry from London Walks and he shared lots of information that we found interesting. For one thing, last year, over one billion people rode the London Underground.…
Read More »The Castle and Palace Badge
If the Girl Scouts bestow a badge for castles and palaces, I am confident that I can claim it after today. I think we’ve seen them all. When/if I get it, I will sew it on my sash right next to my camping badge. (Yes, I have the camping badge. Stop laughing!) I hope it…
Read More »The Royal Gardens at Kew Palace
Yesterday we ventured out to the Royal Gardens at the Kew Palace. I know this sounds weird, but we never saw the palace. Palaces, as a rule, just get your attention because of their size. They are palatial. You never hear anyone say, “I looked everywhere, but just never could find the dang palace!”…
Read More »Beachcombing Along the South Bank of River Thames
Most people probably do not realize that the Thames is tidal. I think you would have to travel about ten miles to find yourself in the English Channel from London via the river. People have lived along the banks of the Thames for probably more than two thousand years. It is very accessible and has…
Read More »The Battle of the Somme
The first day of July is a date that the people of Great Britain have etched permanently in their collective psyche. One hundred years ago today was the bloodiest day in British military history. Twenty thousand young British soldiers lost their lives on this day. Nineteen thousand perished within the first hour. It has been…
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