If you didn't read my previous post on our visit to London, GO READ IT! If you did, here are a few pictures of one of the coolest places on Earth, so far. Enjoy.......

Trying to give away the kids in the tube station.....we had no takers.



Traveling down Buckingham Palace Road on the top of a double decker bus


Westminster Abbey


Dad with the Tower Bridge in the background


Troy and Grace with the "Royal Guard" at the Tower of London

Our "beefeater" gives us the history of the Tower of London


Dad, Troy, Mom, Grace and Blake in front of the Tower of London


Troy, Amy, and Grace in front of Big Ben (or the clock that holds Big Ben!)




Grace, Blake, Troy, Mom and Dad stand on the bridge overlooking the Thames River and the London Eye

I must confess, I didn't really want to go to London. It wasn't on my Top Ten list of places to visit before I die (or before I leave Germany, whichever comes first). I was just forced into going when my very impulsive husband spent one arm and two legs on tickets to see Bon Jovi in concert in Coventry, England, which is only a couple of hours away from London. So, I put on my "let's make the best of it" face and dutifully boarded our RyanAir flight at 11:15 p.m. for a quick jaunt across the English Channel. I had no idea what waited for me on the other side.

I have this friend named Eric who travels to and from London all the time. He e-mailed me about 4 pages worth of very important things to "know before you go," like which way to look when you cross the street. Of course, at most intersections in London, the English have been kind enough to paint instructions on the ground for those of us who aren't used to traffic on the opposite side of the road. "LOOK LEFT" or "LOOK RIGHT" signs can be found at each crosswalk, a subtle reminder not to step out in front of the giant double-decker busses that race through the city. Thank you, British folk.

Eric also gave me the 4-1-1 on riding the tubes (that's the subway), shopping at Harrod's (the largest department store in Europe, possibly the world, but also the most expensive---probably where Gwyneth and Madonna shop for the little ones), river cruises and bus tours, and the many famous pubs. We didn't really make any definite plans, but we had a general idea of where we wanted to go and what we specifically wanted to see. So off we went to the tube station, armed with the latest Rick Steves book and a few hundred British pounds, ready to see this magnificent place called London.

We boarded the tube and once we figured out which direction we needed to go, we set out for Westminster, home to Big Ben, Parliament, Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, and Hard Rock Cafe (you can't make a trip to London without stopping at the Hard Rock. Where else can you buy a T-shirt that says "I spent more money on my lousy hamburger than on this pathetic shirt"?). We tried to blend in with the locals, but the more we tried, the more we stood out like giant sore thumbs. I'm not sure if it was the fanny packs we wore to protect ourselves from rampant pickpocketing, the 59-pound digital cameras that hung around our necks, or the fact that Mom kept referring to our location as "WestMINISTER," in spite of my subtle corrections.

Needless to say, I fell in love with London the minute we stepped out of the dark subway tunnel and onto the bustling street right across from Big Ben. London went from being way down on the bottom of my "to see" list, straight to the top of my "must see 100 times before I leave" list. In fact, I'm planning a girls-only trip back to London in the fall, after the kids start school. But Blake doesn't know this. So let's keep it on the down-low, OK?

By the way, the concert in Coventry was awesome. After 20 something years of singing, recording, and touring, Mr. Bon-Geriatric-Jovi still has what it takes to wow a crowd. Seriously, it was terrific and I'm glad that we went. Of course, I'm still wondering when the ringing in my ears is gonna stop.....

Thank you, Mrs. Altman, for keeping me on my toes and reminding me that I haven't written in the Smith Family journal for a while! We've been so very busy lately, and yes, I know that is EVERYONE'S excuse-du-jour. But for me, it's also the honest truth. My parents came to visit us three weeks ago and spent 14 whole days with us! Troy had a baseball tournament that weekend, so we gave them a little time to rest before we started dragging them all over Europe. My Dad brought us all a special gift from the States: a cold, which he gladly passed along to everyone except Troy. Within two days of their arrival, Blake, Grace and I were coughing and sneezing and drinking NyQuil like it was water. But we still had a pretty good time. Here's the low-down of our adventures:

Friday, Saturday, Sunday: baseball, baseball, baseball. Troy played a total of 7 games in 3 days. We had baseball coming out our ears.

Monday: rest and recover from baseball.

Tuesday: took a drive along the Mosel River, up towards Trier and Cochem. Our goal was Cochem and the Cochem castle, as I have been there 3 times and have YET to see the dang castle. But alas, we never made it. We did stop at a beautiful town called Bernkastle. It was breathtaking. Dad bought a "coffee mug" for his collection; we kept telling him it was a beer stein, but he didn't believe us. Hope he doesn't walk around the church drinking out of it---he won't keep his new job very long! Mom bought a few postcards and souvenirs as well. Blake was sick--very sick--so we left Bernkastle and headed home. But the drive was great.

Wednesday: rest and recover and eat great Chinese food for dinner. Believe it or not, Mom and Dad actually flew across the Atlantic Ocean to see Germany, and I took them to eat at a Chinese place. Run by German Chinese people. Huh?

Thurdsay: it was off to Strasbourg, France, which was NOTHING like I imagined it to be. I was picturing this quaint little French village, full of quiet locals, delicious cafes, and lots of history. What I got was a booming metropolis that challenged my driving skills and tested my patience. It was incredibly nerve-racking, especially with Mom in the back of the van screaming at every turn. I finally just said to Dad, "I think I'll make myself at home," and I began driving like the other idiots in Strasbourg. That made it much easier. We found a central parking garage, made our way to the incredibly huge cathedral that makes Strasbourg so famous, took a minitram tour of Strasbourg and "La Petit France," and enjoyed a wonderful French lunch, complete with French fries, French dressing, and French bread. It was great.

Friday: rest and recover (are you beginning to see a pattern?)

Saturday: Troy left on Friday for a Boy Scout campout near Nurnberg, so we loaded up the van on Saturday morning and headed his way, not only to visit him, but also to see a part of the Bavarian country that we had never seen. We toured around Nurenberg, and although we didn't get to see any major museums, we did get to (finally!) enjoy some of the mini-bratwursts that traditionally are only found in Nurenberg. Mmmmm, good! We stayed at a hotel about an hour away, in the middle of nowhere, where no one spoke English and a group of rowdy Germans celebrated at a wedding party half the night. Mom and Dad didn't hear a thing in their room, but my room was RIGHT OVER the dance floor, and I heard every stupid song the band played. It wasn't so bad until they started karaoke at 1 a.m. There's nothing more aggravating than listening to a drunk German trying to sing "Sweet Home Alabama" when you're trying to get some sleep. I went downstairs in my pajamas to chew someone out, but alas---all the staff had gone to bed. So I grabbed a pint and joined the party......just kidding.

We decided on Sunday morning to drive over into the Czech Republich, since we were only about 45 kilometers away from the border. That's an entirely different blog.

Monday: left at 11 p.m. for a flight to London. We arrived in London at 11:15, stood in line at customs for 30 minutes, waited 45 minutes for a taxi, finally checked in to our hotel at about 2:30 in the morning. Our hotel was only a 10-minute walk from the "tube," which is the London subway system, so Tuesday morning we set out for Westminster. Mom kept referring to it as "WestMINISTER," and she was quite offended when I asked her to pronounce it right. Oh no, we didn't stand out as tourists or anything. Nooooooooo. Anyway, London was NOTHING of what I expected. Stay tuned......