By Capts. Dave and Desiree
After leaving our boat on the hard, we caught our plane to London. It was most definitely a whirlwind tour. So much, so fast.we'll have to sketch it in outline form.
November 17-We flew out of Montpellier, France and landed late that night. We had to take a train from the airport, then into London central. We had to take a subway to our hotel. It was after 1AM, and no taxis, so we had to roll our suitcases along the street to the hotel. In a way, we felt like Harry Potter in need of the knight bus.
November 18-Harry Potter opening day! Please read Ryan's entry. Check out the "Sailing Twins"
http://www.sailblogs.com/member/sailingtwins/?xjMsgID=7972
November 19-We hopped to the subway and went to the British Natural History Museum. The place had amazing displays, and so impressive, that we never made it off the first floor.
November 20-Our first walking tour of London. We walked the area of London Bridge. Along the Thames River path, where bumped into the Shakespeare Globe. It is an accurate replica of Shakespeare's theater, right down to building techniques (no nails!) We really enjoyed the theater and learning about Shakespeare. We would like to return and see a classic like. maybe Macbeth.
November 21-A visit to the British War Museum. Ryan and Wesley learned quite a bit, as did we, about W.W.II during this tour.
November 22-We had an early start to head out to the British Science Museum. They had a special exhibit about space and aliens. This museum was immense, and we were there until it just about closed! We walked out the door and Dave came up with the spontaneous idea of going to a theater show, we were able to get tickets to Les Miserables and we all really enjoyed the show.
November 23-We took a different form of public transportation, the bus, so we could also get a view of Central London above, rather than via subway. We did a lot of walking, and found a few used bookstores so we could restock our "library" for both ourselves and Ryan and Wesley. We did also walk parts of Kensington and Hyde Park.
November 24-Thanksgiving Day! -Please read Wesley's entry. Check out the "Sailing Twins"
http://www.sailblogs.com/member/sailingtwins/?xjMsgID=7972
November25-The weather had definitely cooled down and became much windier. We had felt fortunate how the weather had held up thus far, so today was the big push to see the sights of London. We saw Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and walked endlessly up the streets until we came across Winston Churchill's Museum. Another amazingly informative spot-we all learned so much about history this week. We got a glimpse of Buckingham Palace that evening before we ate dinner, and prepared for our travels to Cornwall.
November 26-28-We had an early flight, and we went on the night bus (not the purple knight bus) at 3:30AM. We were off to see our friends Steve and Fiona Pound, whom we met sailing while in Menorca. Ryan and Wesley were especially happy since they would be meeting with their friends again, Morgan and Morwenna. We had a wonderful time with them. They have a unique home in a warehouse on the tidal estuary of Falmouth. As the tides changed, the boats would be high and dry on the mud flats. Timing the tides, we took a ride in their dinghy. The location was spectacular. That afternoon, we were all treated to a second showing of Harry Potter. Sunday was a lovely, relaxing day spent amongst friends. We had an early departure by train that wandered through the spectacular English countryside. If you have never done this, we highly recommend it.
So finishes our English sojourn, and we now move onward to the French Alps.