Dover photos

Not the ferry we rode, but one like it.

A view of buildings surrounding the castle, from the top of the castle. Notice the trebuchet.

Another view of castle outer buildings from the top of the castle.

Dover castle. Started in the 1000's. Many additions over a couple of hundred years.

Those white cliffs!

The boys hunting for treasure on the pebble beach at Dover.

Roman Lighthouse, built in 1 AD!

Zane gets a medieval chess lesson.

A view of Dover from the top of the castle.

Saxony church and Roman lighthouse.

A medieval toilet
Castle gate.
St. Edmund's Chapel. Built in 1253.


One thing I didn't mention in previous blog. The "hostess" on the ferry felt bad for us, just riding the ferry, not getting off in Calais because it was too late. So, she arranged for us to visit the bridge of the ship. It was pitch black up there, because the crew couldn't see anything if lights were on, but all of the digital navigation equipment was lit up, and very cool!

Time's flying!

The National Portrait Gallery



An old Routemaster bus-- built in the 1950's. They have brought
a few back to run some of the "historical" routes. In the "old days,"
people would jump on and off while the bus was moving! Not today,
though. They even have a conductor to take your tickets! (The
modern buses have an electronic "ticket taker," which just reads
the credit card type card that contains your travel pass.)


The Irwins on Routemaster. Gray has wanted to
ride in one of these for a long time!
Having fun with the ads in Picadilly Circus.

More fun with the ad.... (How sneaky of McD's, to make sure that people
take photos of their ad!)

Rickshaws in the St. Patrick's Day Parade.

Nelson's column in Trafalgar Square.

Big Ben from Trafalgar Square.

More of Trafalgar Square.


We have been in London 4 months, and blog posts are getting farther and farther apart! Sorry about that. I guess it means that life is in full swing. (Seems like I wrote that before...?)

I guess the most recent adventure was on Mother's Day-- 14 March here. Based on Mothering Sunday, it is set according to Lent and Easter. We went to the St. Patrick's Day Parade and Festival at Trafalgar Square. It was quite a small festival, with about a gazillion people, so we got on an old Routemaster bus, and rode through the city. Quite a trip, we got to see more how the city is laid out. Since we have used the Tube a lot (it's much faster than the buses), it's hard to imagine how things all fit together above ground.

We are getting ready to go to Italy! The boys are out of school for two weeks at Easter, and both Good Friday and Easter Monday are bank holidays, so we don't have to work. So, we're taking some of our very generous vacation time and going to Italy. (we get 27 days of vacation per year, and that is in addition to about 10 bank holidays (which does include things like Christmas, New Year's, etc.))

It has actually been challenging to book this trip. The flights were easy, and while they were pretty inexpensive compared to traveling a similar distance in the US, they were more expensive because it is a holiday. It was more challenging to find hotels. Typically, when going somewhere I don't know, I browse through hotels on travel sites, look at reviews, and book something. However, many of the reviews were in Italian! And, I had NO IDEA what the descriptions referred to in terms of "hotel is near this place, or that river." All Italian names, of course. So, I'm going back and forth between the travel sites, guide books and Google Translate! Don't know why I didn't just go to a travel agent...

Finally got hotels booked in Florence, Venice and Rome. Ran them by a friend who does know Italy (by email-- he was in the US at the time, or I would have planted myself on his couch with the computer). He approved of all but the place in Rome-- said it was too far outside the city. GRRRRRRR! Fortunately, I found one that is closer to the center. The deal is that these cities are all cities to walk around, and staying outside the city makes it more challenging to get back and forth (traffic is worse in Rome that you have EVER imagined!) One cool thing: the hotel in Venice is actually on a small island across the lagoon from central Venice. So, we will have to take a water bus (boat) into town each day. It's only about 10 or 15 minutes, and I think it's pretty cool! We will let you all know how it goes!

We also went to Dover one Saturday, a few weeks ago. This is a coastal city, and is the city that is the closest to France. (By boat, of course). We went to the castle there, which is nicely done-- they have several exhibits, including a live reenactment of the King holding court.

And, of course, there are the White Cliffs of Dover. We asked a taxi driver where we could enjoy the best view of the cliffs. He said by boat. So, we decided to take the ferry to Calais, France. Just a boat ride across the channel to France. We didn't even get off the boat, because it was late and most of the city was closed down. Also, we needed to get the train back to London. It was a cooky, cool thing to do, and we did it cuz we could. We watched the cars and trucks loading and unloading from the car deck below us. The boys thought that was pretty cool. How many semi-trucks can you fit on a boat? We counted 20! Plus all of the cars, which we did not count.

The boys are in school full swing now. Gray has 14 classes! Talk about block scheduling! He has maths (short for mathematics, you see), Language, history, science French, Phys Ed, art, geography, religion, music, computers, drama, foods, and dance . Some of those classes he has only once a week. It looks like he has a couple every other week. He has maths and language several times a week, PE and science twice a week. There are 5 class periods each day, with a 20 minute morning break, and a 55 minute lunch break. Then he has Registration/Tutor time (which I think is like home room) each day in the morning and afternoon. And, he is on some sort of two week rotation. I ask him how he remembers which class he's going to. He says he watches someone else in his tutor group and follows them! (There are groups of students, sorted into "tutor groups," and all of the students in each group have the same class schedule.) It's a very strange way to do school!

He is having a hard time adjusting to having to change clothes for PE. And, he joined school at the time when they are playing rugby in gym! He is built like a rugby player, but he has a social worker's heart, so he's not having a fun time in PE right now! Coincidentally, his ankle has hurt the last two times he has had PE.

Zane is adjusting very well. He has a couple of friends, Ashok and Sidak. Sidak invited him to his birthday party at the Royal Observatory last weekend. He had a great time, and was not ready to leave! The Royal Observatory is a very cool place. It is at the location of the prime meridian, and they also have some very cool technologically advanced exhibits teaching about the Earth, space, space study and travel and astronomy. I was mesmerized! Oh, and it's all FREE! So many of the big museums are free here. Pretty cool, eh?

The boys got bikes this weekend. They were very excited, and we have already sent Gray to the store for milk-- twice! We live in a very calm neighborhood, and the store is about a half mile away. How cool is that?!?! He will want to ride his bike to school, and will likely do so, as soon as we get it insured. (Bike theft is pretty common here.)

We are gearing up for company. Carla is visiting (and escorting our animals!) on April 16. She will be here 3 weeks! We are very excited to have company, and the rest of our family!

Then, in May, my friend Connie is coming with her two girls! They'll be here about 3 weeks also. Wooooo Hoooooo! It's one of the reasons we moved here-- so people would have a place to stay when they come visit!

Okay, gettttinnnnnnnnng verrry sleeeeeepppy. Will write again after Italy

No Kisses on Valentine's Day

(Guess we'll have to transcribe from what David wrote while we were in Germany.... )

Poor Shaunda became ill on the plane on the way to Munich on the 13th of February (sick, as in need a toilet nearby, SICK!) We went straight to the hotel so she could rest. I took the kids to the pool-- where we were asked to be quiet while playing-- as were the other guests with kids. Kids + swimming pool does not = quiet! Ever!

The next day, Valentine's Day, Shaunda was still ill. (thus the no kisses bit). We got the kids rousted from their bed early to get to the bus for Neuschwanstein Castle. As shaunda was ill, we inquired about coming another day, and were assured that we could. So, now-- plan B. I had the kids help figure out the train system. (Good for them, but also stalled for time so I could figure it out.) We git a bite of breakfast and proceeded through the Karlstor into Old Town. The Karlstor was part of the old city walls kept when the rest of the wall was demolished in 1791. We headed down Munich's largest shopping street toward the Marienplatz. Along the way, we stopped in Michaelskirche (the Church of St. Michael), where we heard Mass in German. The boys were impressed by the pipe organ in athe church, bu tnot so much by listening to a sermon in German. Two famous German kings, Ludwig II and Mazimillian I are buried there. After leaving the church, we found another church nearby with even taller towers. The Frauenkirche was built in teh years 1468 to 1488, and is the largest Gothic building in southern Germany. The towers are nearly 330 feet tall! We passed by the "New Town Hall" (1867 to 1909) and Glockenspiel on teh way to the U-Bahn train. After checking on Shaunda, we proceeded to the BMW factory. The BMW Welt (BMW World) has most of their new cars and lots of interactive displays for all ages of petrol heads regarding technologies they are using or developing. (They are working a lot on hydrogen. I hope we get some good alternatives to the gasoline engine soon!

Following that, Zane had had enough of cars for a while. We went outside and took some video of playing in the snow. We were on the grounds where the 1972 Olympics were held. the hills there were made from teh rubble removed from the city after WWII. Then, inside for some hot chocolate!

On to the BMW Museum. They have a shape-shifting car, which was the only one Zane wanted to see. Turns out, it is actually in London right now! We will have to see it before it returns home. After most of the museum, even Gray said he was ready to go!

Shaunda was a bit better after a day of rest, but still weary. So, we ate at the hotel "Burger bar."

Autobahn and Neuschwanstein

The next day, we made our own tour to Neuschwanstein Castle (since we couldn't take our scheduled tour the day before, due to Shaunda being ill.) Part of what Gray has wanted since he heard about going to Europe was to go fast on teh autobahn. (Autobahn is actually just a generic term for highway. Nevertheless, no speed limit at points! They have this in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.) I had not done enough preparation to get the kind of exotic car rental that Gray wanted. (He was thinking Maserati, Porche, Ferrari, American Muscle (Vette, 50's Cadillac). You get the idea...) We were able to locate a BMW rental place (yes, in Germany!) No M-series available, but a brand new 5 series sounded good to me! "Quite posh." It had talking GPS, a rear end camera so you could see what you are about to hit while backing up, along with warning "beeps" whenever any part of your car was getting too close. Heated seats front and back, along with electric seat adjustments, moon roof, STEREO, veeerrrryyyy smooooooooooth ride. After setting the navigation up for English, we proceeded toward Neuschwanstein Castle. After a late lunch, Zane and I climbed the mile up to the castle, while Shaunda and Gray chose to take the horse-drawn carriage ride. I have wanted to see this castle since I visited Munich for a few days in college. I wasn't able to do it then. The setting is spectacular, with the castle built into the Bavarian Alps, with mountains and Alpine forest all around. The inside is just as spectacular. The woodwork incredible, as are the paintings. The castle is actually only partially finished, as King Ludwig II died before it was completed. He was too fond of castle building and not attentive enough to the politics of the country. (He had 3 castles built, simultaneously!) The castle is illustrated throughout by schenes from Wagner's operas, as Wagner was a friend of the king.

Alas, I had to drive the BMW through all sorts of winding mountain roads afterwards. We went to Oberammergau for dinner. (There is a famous Passion Play put on here once a decade since the 1600's!) Then, back on the autobahn. I hit nearly 250 kilometers per hour on the way home (150+ mph...). What a day!