First Day on the Bus Tour!

Ok so we were up and at it at 3:45 am this morning (as Cas says the "freakin" morning) and on our way to the Great Cliffs of Dover and the English Chanel by 4:45 am.  We met some great folks on our bus - a couple from Winnipeg who used to live in Kanata and one from PEI who used to work six months at a time in Ottawa for CRA and who has good friends in Stittsville!  The world is soooo small.  Anyway here are some shots from our day...

It took about 1.5 hours to reach Calais on the other side of the channel.  From there another 1.5 hours to Amsterdam.  We spent our free time (3 hours) in Amsterdam just becoming familiar with some of the most popular spots so that when we return we can find our way around. Honestly, we were so pooped, we headed out of the city centre to find a quite canal bench where we enjoyed a hot Chai Latte! 

 Aunt Win, here is the train station!

St. Nicholas Church at Night - Cas is rocking out that new camera Andrew!

And now for some trivia...no googling!  4 Heineken coasters to the one who replies correctly...

Many buildings have planks protruding from the top with a large hook hanging down.  The homes are actually on an angle leaning toward the street.  What is the hook for and why are the homes tilting forward?  Here is an example.  Look way up on the houses on the right.  You may spot the hooks.

Tomorrow we wake up at 3:45 in the morning (UGH!), say goodbye to London and HELLOOOO to Amsterdam!

Lettin' Loose in London

Today was our last day in London and we figured it was time for a little culture. First we headed off to the British Museum, where Mom was thrilled to see artifacts that are actually older than she.

For a complete change of pace and a truly multicultural experience, we spent the rest of the day at the famous Camden Market. (Keep in mind, we've been finding our way to these places by navigating through the underground passages of London). 

 These Falafel's were definitely not 'full-of-awful.' They were extraordinary!!!

Hopping on and off Double Decker Fun!

Today we took advantage of the Hop On Hop Off tour buses.  We saw all the major sites in the city and walked until 10 pm until our "dogs were yowling!"  Here are a few of the 430 pictures that Cassie took while we were on the move!  Trafalgar Square, The National Art Gallery, St. Paul's Cathedral,
London Tower Bridge, The Gates at Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park - Speakers' Corner, Deb and Cas at Buckingham Palace, The Canada Gates at Buckingham Palace in front of Green Park, Big Ben, Two Chairmen Pub (our dinner spot today) and the Cheshire Cheese - a pub visited by many English literary giants like Chaucer and Canadian blogging giants Deb and Cas.

Cheers everyone!

Mmmm fish and chips at St. James pub. After waiting 20 minutes we learned you have to go up to the bar to order your food in London. 

Stay tuned for today's adventures! 

Hey! I tried calling you... Pick up your phone!!!

Now we know why they call it Piccadilly "Circus!"

People everywhere! They do NOT wait for the green light to cross the street. You could tell who were the Canadians, try were the last ones standing at the curb!!!