Big Adventure - London, Day 8

Saturday, May 7, 2011

We got up early to execute our plans and again grabbed breakfast at a nearby café. This time I had a somewhat traditional English breakfast of eggs and ham. When we got to the bus stop we learned it didn’t get to our stop until 10:30am. Our plan was in jeopardy... so we walked to the next bus stop at Buckingham Palace and it was the same situation. We hadn’t anticipated this wrinkle and we knew we just had to keep moving. We continued to walk until we got to the Kensington area and were finally able to get our bus. We had walked about three quarters of the way there and were already tired. Michele had accidentally spilled her hot chocolate on her shirt so the short bus ride was needed to rest and regroup. We got off and went to the TK Maxx store where we looked around and Michele found a suitcase for the trip home. We still had time to follow our plan as long as the Palace tour went quick. So we walked to the Palace with a giant empty suitcase. Luckily, they let us check it at the front while we walked around.

Michele with her new suitcase

Me not taking a photo inside K.P.

Kensington Palace sat on the edge of Hyde Park and was really beautiful from the outside. It was smaller and older looking and felt like it was in the country. They were refurbishing the landscaping in the front but it still looked like such a quaint place. When we bought our ticket the lady made a major point that the tour wasn’t a memorial to Princess Diana. I don’t think we were expecting it to be but we were shocked at what we found anyway. It reminded me of a whimsical children’s museum. Each room was empty of furniture but had some type of misunderstood carnival haunted mansion set up in it. The place was musty and dark and the room setups were ridiculous and made no sense. It really felt like they had messed up a very historical building with an crazy storyline that was so out there it was inappropriate. It felt like it was disrespectful of any royal family member that had lived there. It was a major disappointment so we didn’t stay long. By the time we exited it was already 11am.

Our bus ticket was expiring and we needed to make up some time so we decided to take a taxi to Westminster Abby. When we got there a huge line of people were waiting to get in. We had wanted to drop the suitcase at the hotel but we didn’t want to miss getting in to the Abby so we just went directly there. Michele and I had been in line for about 40 minutes and were about 40 people from the entrance when an older man who worked at the Abby approached us. He told Michele that she couldn’t enter with the bag because it was too big. Michele was really upset and I felt horrible about it. She got out of the line and sat down with her bag. I got out of line to join her but she insisted that I get back in line and go in without her. I felt awful! She was so angry and so disappointed. I wanted to stay with her and be supportive but I also wanted to go the Abby. I was in London, the royal wedding happened a week ago here, and I didn’t know if I would ever get a chance to see it again. So I went in by myself feeling guilty but excited.

Me not taking photo inside W.A.

The place was so beautiful on the outside and I had seen so much of it on TV just a week ago. As the line entered the building I noticed there were several stone tributes to people on the walls. They were really big with people’s names and stories on them and they seemed to be placed kind of randomly next to each other. I paid for my ticket and proceeded inside. The stain glass windows were gorgeous and the place had ceilings that were so tall. I desperately wanted to take some pictures but there were signs indicating it wasn’t allowed and workers wandering around telling people to turn off their cameras. I was able to take some awkward shots but nothing of significance. As I walked around I couldn’t help but notice that the place was a crypt. There were so many stone boxes full of dead people. Even on the floors there were stone on top of places where people had been buried. It was like the biggest indoor cemetery I had ever seen.

I walked to the area where the main alter was. I couldn’t believe I was standing in the same place where the Queen and the entire royal family was just the week before. The alter area looked so much smaller than it did on TV. It was so ornate with wood and gold. On TV you just didn't get to see the detailed gold. Behind the main alter area was there was an area surrounded by crypts from dead Kings. This is where the couple went to sign their papers. There was a big chapel behind that area with stained glass windows all around it. To the side of the main alter was a walkway and courtyard. The floors and walls were covered with more monuments of dead people. One segment of the walkway had a small gift area and coffee shop. It seemed really out of place. I walked back into the Abby where the main aisle was located.

The main alter area looked really worn and the aisle that Princess Catherine had walked down just a week ago was so narrow. The section closest to the alter area was for the choir. I always thought it was weird that the choir faced each other in rows of three or four and that they were located in the middle of everything. Must have been an old cathedral thing. The main aisle was divided in half with a little room with a gate. The gate was trimmed in ornate figures and shapes including a lot of gold trim. During the wedding the orchestra played on top of the room. I walked out of the back of the Abby where the Prince and Princess had walked out to board their horse carriage. I passed by the Tomb of the unknown soldier and the Coronation Chair. They were in the process of preserving the chair that had been used to coronate so many kings and queens. As I walked out of the building I took a ton of pictures of all the details. It was truly an amazing structure but again it didn’t feel spiritual at all. It was a cemetery for one thing but just like the cathedral in Gent it was just too ornate. It felt like the emphasis was out of whack.

I walked around to the front of the building to find Michele. I tried to reassure her that it wasn’t that big of a deal. I told her it was full of dead people and played down how beautiful it was to try and help her feel better about the situation. She had calmed down and said that she wanted to go back to the hotel. We were both out of cash so we tried to flag down a taxi that took credit cards. We found one at a stop light and hopped in. Luckily the hotel was just a few blocks away.

We returned to our favorite hang out—the hotel lounge, to grab some lunch. Michele had more fish and chips and I had a greasy ham and cheese sandwich. We talked a lot and she had a couple of beers to try and relax. We both grabbed some more money to exchange to prepare for our taxi ride to the airport early the next morning. Feeling rested and refreshed we decided to press on.


We walked to the London Eye taking kind of the long way around so we could get some more sight seeing in. We cross the Jubilee Bridge and walked right into a bunch of street performers. They were really lame. There was a street dancer getting a pretty good sized crowd but everyone else was really bad. There were two people dressed as Mickey and Donald. There was a man dressed in a frog suit peddling a stationary bike and then there were people just dressed up standing around with a bowl for money in front of them. It was kind of sad looking but people were donating so I guess it was working for them. We approached the London Eye and Michele was getting nervous. She was very afraid of heights but one of the respected ladies on our Belgium trip had talked her in to going on it. We bought our tickets, got in line, and about 15 minutes later were hopping on board our bubble. It was moving so slow and was really steady. We didn’t feel any movement at all the whole ride. The scenery was gorgeous and I took a ton of pictures. I felt fine inside the bubble except when I looked at the machine itself. It made me a little woozy. As long as I was looking at the horizon I felt fine. Michele felt so comfy that she stood up and took some photos. I was glad she went on it. I think she would have regretted it later.

After the ride we walked back to the hotel and began to pack up things. Michele had decided we needed to get up at 5am to catch our 6:30am taxi. We didn’t eat dinner because we had had such a late lunch but on our walk back to the room we stopped at this tiny grocery store next to Westminster Station. It was a one aisle narrow room and I bought some yogurt. As the evening went on I began to get more and more hungry but I didn’t want to eat at the lounge again. I ended up eating anything I could get my hands on in the room. We packed everything and watched some TV then went to bed. It had been a whirl-wind day and our time in London was just about over.

View from the top - Parliament & Big Ben

Big Adventure - Belgium, Day 4

Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Official Day two was another early bus ride and day full of meetings. We ate at the cafeteria again... totally gross! After lunch we all took a tour of the Tupperware plant. It was interesting to see how the products were made, tested, stored, and distributed. I took some photos and video to commemorate the tour. It was an impressive operation. After the tour it was back to the meeting.



We left at 5pm to travel to Brussels to eat dinner.  The bus ride was rough.  We got caught in rush hour traffic in the city and the driver kept up a steady back and forth movement to ensure everyone was car sick.  We finally stopped because the bus couldn't fit on the road we needed to get to.  Everyone got off the bus so relieved to be breathing fresh air and in the process was hit with some pretty cold temperatures! The sun was out but I wore my leather jacket almost the whole time we were there.

We began to walk on some serious cobblestone sidewalks gruffling under our breath about the bus ride.  With my head down watching where I walked, I was totally taken by surprise when I looked up to see the entire group in this large courtyard.  It took my breath away. It is called the Grand Place and it is one of the biggest tourist destinations in Brussels. The courtyard is lined with guildhall buildings from the 13th century and city hall. The buildings were huge and so ornate, so tall, and some trimmed in gold. It was breathtaking and made the horrible bus ride totally worth it.

Restaurant - La Maison du Cygne

Grand Place - Maison du Roi

Grand Place Courtyard

Everard 't Serclaes

We entered the restaurant and climbed a winding staircase to the top floor.  Our restaurant, La Maison du Cygne, was one of the buildings in the courtyard. Just outside the entrance was a famous bronze statue called the Everard 't Serclaes.  Touching the arm of the statue was suppose to bring you good luck.  Since we were headed to dinner I let the other people in the group do all the touching. The interior was wood with enchanting chandeliers and wall treatments. It looked so elegant. The private room where we were seated had four large tables. Our appetizer was thinly sliced beef with a blob of vanilla ice cream and lettuce on top. Turns out the beef was raw and the ice cream was mixed with parmesan cheese. The menu called it L’Incontournable Carpaccio de boeuf Marine’ a’ l’Huile d’ Olive, Basilic et Glace au parmesan. It didn’t taste too bad but I just couldn’t get the raw part out of my head so I kept it to a sample size. The main entrée was lamb and potatoes and it was followed with a sampling of cheeses and crème brulee for dessert.

The food was super fancy but the service was super slow. I was told that slow meals was the European way. I normally would be fine with that but I was so tired by the time we reached 3 hours I could hardly keep my eyes open. After some lively conversation at my table and the need to stretch, I excused myself to go to the restroom. When I got to the hall where the bathrooms were the labels on each room were in French and there was no sign of the little skirt or pants figures. So I guessed! Luckily, I guessed right!  We wrapped things up at the restuarant and began our walk back to our bus. The courtyard was lit up like a palace. It was an amazing scene. We ended up back at the hotel around 11pm but the experience was very memorable and well worth it.

La Maison du Roi at night

Big Adventures - Belgium, Day 1 & 2

I found out in late March that I had been invited to attend a worldwide marketing conference for work. It was in Belgium the first week of May. I always try and document my trips but I just keep it for me.  A friend of mine recently pointed out that this would be good blog material.  Funny enough, I had a blog!  This was my first time traveling to Europe so the following posts are all about my adventures.

Day 1 & 2

Saturday, April 30, 2011, Dad took me to the airport to catch 1:45pm flight to Philadelphia, PA.  I met up with Michele from work at the Orlando airport. We flew to Philly to get a connecting flight to Brussels, Belgium via US Airways. Thanks to work, we got to fly 1st Class.  I am not sure I will be able to fly coach ever again. You are treated so well and I enjoyed every minute of it. They gave us goody bags, a pillow, a blanket and kept feeding us the whole flight.

The long leg of the of the flight was about 7.5 hours long but luckily it was overnight so all we really wanted to do after dinner was sleep. That proved to be a bit of a challenge because the chairs just didn’t recline enough and the air circulating was so dry that it made it very uncomfortable to breathe. I managed to get a little sleep and we arrived at about 8am on May 1^st (2am Orlando time). We made it through customs without issue and I officially got the first stamp in my passport. We grabbed our bags and met up with some other work people waiting on a ride to the hotel in the city of Gent. We shared a ride with Paul (Asia) and Anshu (India). It was about a 40 minute ride but I was so out of it that it didn't matter.  I was like a zombie and thank goodness when we got to the Marriott in Gent our rooms were ready.

Marriott Gent

Canal in Gent

I slept for about 2 hours and then met up with the group to take a tour of Gent.  What a beautiful city!  Everything looked like a scene from a movie except it was the real deal!  Things were so old and so ornate.  Buildings are just not made that way any more. There was so much detail and the materials have lasted for 1000s of years. The tour was good.  We ended up going to the giant church near the middle of the city called the Saint Bavo Cathedral. The main tower was so tall and when you walked in it was open all the way to the top.  There were brick buttresses, arches, artwork, sculptures and lots of wood and stone materials.  The decor was so ornate and represented many different religious symbols, people, and stories. It was beautiful but I found myself feeling very indifferent about the religious connection.  This happened to me in Montreal too. It was beautiful but for me, it just seemed like the emphasis was on the building and not God. I took lots of pictures and our guide on the tour kept asking questions about world history that no one knew the answers too.  He would ask us the trivia questions about European History and everyone in the group was silent.  Partly because we were mostly American, but partly because we were all so jet lagged we were ready to nod off.

Outside the Cathedral

Inside Cathedral

After visiting the church we decided to go to a local cafe called Krokantino for real Belgium waffles and beer.  The waffles were awesome! Light and crispy and fresh, not heavy like Americanized waffles.  The people I was with seemed to really enjoy their beer too.  Michele and I returned to the hotel to rest and then met up with the group at 7pm for dinner.  We walked to a building across the street from the hotel to a restaurant called De Witte Leeuw. It was on the other side of the river Lys canal.  The hotel was located on a canal that ran throughout the city.  The buildings were made of stone and wood and had very steep sloping roofs.  They looked like an old village town that you would see in a Christmas display!  Dinner was chicken and potato soup with some shrimp appetizers, rolls, and ice cream with hot fudge for dessert.  It was my first taste of Belgium chocolate and it was everything it was said to be!

It was awesome weather the whole day.  

Restaurant, 4th building from right

It was bright and sunny with a cool breeze and about 70 degrees.  We stayed at the restaurant for several hours and returned to the hotel for the evening.  I was exhausted.  Once I got caught up with email and Facebook I tried to sleep.  It was a six hour time difference so the jet lag was pretty bad.  I couldn’t believe I was in a different country.  It was like a dream.  It was like I was experiencing time travel.