Perfection!

I experienced the most perfect European weekend I have had since I arrived! Ginnie and Gail were in Brussels for work and stayed the weekend with me. I have not seen either one of them since I left Memphis so we had a lot to catch up on (5 months worth)! We knew going into this weekend we would do nothing but chat so no real confirmed plans were made. We were going as the "spirit led us" (our quote from Gail)!

The weekend started when I picked them up Friday morning and we came back to my apartment. They were so incredibly sweet to bring Maxie and I some awesome goodies and treats! One item they brought was my favorite....Velveeta and Rotel! We made rotel dip and opened 2 bottles of wine (yes, it was only 11AM, but who is keeping track of time?!). We proceeded to sit at the kitchen table and to begin "Chat-Fest 2007"!! As soon as we began, Carrie walks in (she has a key to my apartment and comes by and takes Maxie on a walk almost daily...isn't that sweet??!!). Anyway, I had forgotten to tell her I would be home that day....so we invited her to join the party! For those that don't remember, Carrie is JR's wife (I work with JR).

We finished off the entire bowl of rotel and made our way into the living room! Gail needed a little rest after all that eating...so Ginnie and I let Gail nap...but Maxie was not having any part of it. She proceeded to give her kisses all throughout her nap (and Gail loved it!!).

While Gail was napping, Ginnie and I went to my patio and continued to catch up! The weather was absolutely perfect so we really enjoyed our time outside. When Gail finished her nap, we all (including Maxie) headed to my favorite neighborhood restaurant, Canterbury, for dinner. I love this restaurant and Maxie gets so much attention when she is there!! We had a wonderful dinner and yes, did not stop talking the entire time! We eventually made it to bed that night with sore jaws from laughing and talking so much!!

On Saturday, I let the girls sleep in as they had a long rough week at work. Our plan was to go to the farmer's market at the end of my street to grab a waffle for breakfast and some goodies for lunch! We all started getting dressed and in the middle of getting dressed we ended up sitting on the floor and talking again! This was hilarious because when we looked up it was 2PM and we were still had wet hair from our showers and were still in pj's! It was perfect!!! We decided to go to Sablon area for lunch and some chocolate! We had lunch outside at Wittamers (a famous chocolatier) enjoying the perfect day and perfect weather!

Ginnie and I at Wittamers

Gail and I at Wittamers

We walked around after lunch and did a little shopping! We headed to the Grand Place for some last minute souvenir shopping and a visit to the Mannekin Pis (I will blog about him at a later date). There is always something festive going on downtown and in the Grand Place every time I go there. For dinner we headed to another neighborhood restaurant for another perfect dinner!

Ginnie and I with the Mannequin Pis who was dressed up!!

On Sunday we made it a point to just basically roll out of bed and get to the market before we got side tracked into more stories to cause us to miss the market...again! So we did just that....rolled out of bed and to the market for a waffle for breakfast and then bought items to take on a picnic for lunch! We also came home with some gorgeous hydrangeas!

Sunday was "No Car Day" in Brussels which meant no one but authorized motorists (taxis, buses, emergency vehicles, etc) we allowed on the roads from 9AM to 7PM. Since the weather was perfect, everyone was out on bikes or walking in the streets! It was gorgeous and so much fun! We packed up and headed to the Parc du Cinquantenaire for our picnic! This park is so beautiful and we knew this would be the perfect place for our day! The Arch (seen below) was planned for the world exhibition of 1880 and was meant to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the independence of Belgium, hence the name, Cinquanteraire.

The location was perfect and there were so many people out and about because the weather was so beautiful! We laid out all of the goodies we got at the market for our lunch. Everything you see below was purchased from the market! Isn't that wonderful?!! We stayed at the park all day people watching, taking pictures with Ginnie's new awesome camera, playing with all the dogs, eating, and enjoying the day! There is no other word to describe our day, but 'perfect'!


Sunday night we continued "Chat-Fest 2007" and ordered Pizza Hut to satisfy my craving! We went to bed Sunday night knowing it was a perfect weekend that would have to be replicated sometime again soon when they return to Brussels!

Thanks Ginnie and Gail for the most perfect weekend I have had in Brussels yet!!!

Not every day is a good day...

Seriously, don't think everything here is as awesome as some of my pictures make it seem! I was in such a bad mood yesterday and every little tiny thing started to annoy me. I didn't like my job, my boss, this city, the weather, etc...nothing about this place.

To top it all off...I went to the grocery store after work. As I was standing in line to check out (and my basket was pretty full considering I have not been shopping in a couple of weeks and I have guests coming this weekend) this lady comes up and jumps right in front of me in line. She says something in French and places her items on the counter. I was appalled. I have witnessed Europeans not wanting to stand in line, but I have NEVER experienced someone jumping right in front of me and not leaving. At first I thought she was just placing her items there while she picked up a little hand-basket...but no, she put her items down and did not leave. Moments like this is when I wish I knew more French. I was so shocked that this happened I was speechless and could not even say a word. I proceeded to just glare at her the whole time we were in line. This was not a day to be messing with me.

When I got home and unloaded the car, I ordered Pizza Hut. Seriously...after a day like this, I needed a taste of home and it was sooooo good!

I leave for Memphis 2 weeks from today and I could not be any more excited. The only thing saving me right now is Ginnie and Gail coming in town in 2 hours from right now! I am so excited I can barely type!

See you all very soon!

Pictures

If you look over to the left of this post you will find a link to my Shutterfly album which contains all of my pictures. I am trying to keep this album current with the latest pictures from my adventures. Are you enjoying the stories and pictures? I should invest in a photo album company because I will be buying a lot of them when I go home (2 weeks from tomorrow!!!)!

Here is the link as well:
http://tippa.shutterfly.com/

I took away the password so you should be able to click right into it!!

Enjoy!!!

Bayeux, Deauville & Honfleur, France

The weekend ended with stops in a couple of small towns in France.

Our first stop was in Bayeux, France to visit the tapestry museum. This was very interesting...everyone that I have met in Brussels has talked about Bayeux and that you MUST go to the tapestry museum so when I saw it on the itinerary, I was very excited to finally get to a place everyone was talking about. I guess my definition of tapestry was different because when I saw the 'tapestry' we were looking at, I was a bit disappointed. The Bayeux Tapestry is not a tapestry, it is a work of crewel, which is several colors of thread embroidered on linen to create a scene. The Bayeux Tapestry has 73 scenes of the Battle of Hastings and is about 230'' long, but one end is missing, so it must have been a lot longer when completed. Ok, so that is cool...but the best part to me was that we were seeing something that was over 1000 years old. WOW! Although not what I was expecting, it was really cool!

Also, Bayeux’s Cathedral is about a 1000 years old and nice to see. It was originally consecrated in 1077 but little remains of that church (only the crypt and part of the west tower) the vast majority being rebuilt in the 13th century, but the central tower was added in the 15th century, and (now considered to be a monstrosity) the dome was added in the 19th century.

After leaving Bayeux, our next stop was Deauville, France and all I have to say is WOW! I absolutely love the beach and had no idea there was such an incredible beach town so close (4 hours from Brussels, I think). I will definitely be going back to this town. We only had about an hour to explore which basically meant we walked along the boardwalk and back to the bus! I cannot wait to go back! They have an American film festival there in early September (we just missed it) so Hollywood stars have been going there for ages. In fact, they love Hollywood so much that they have legendary actors' names on changing stalls on the beach.

I was a bit overdressed!

Our last stop was Honfleur, France where we finally got lunch! We were starving! The sail boats and harbor were awesome! Again, we did not have much time to spend here, but it seemed to be a popular town to visit on the weekends and just have some fun!

JR, Carrie, and me!

The weekend was busy, but great overall! I got to meet some great people from the American Women's Club and had a great time with JR and Carrie. It was also great to see the American flag being flown in all the cities we visited! One question to leave you with...why did the relationship with the France and the United States go so bad? If you visit these little towns you see the American flag and American influence everywhere....so what happened to make them dislike us so much now?

D-Day Landings - Normandy, France

On Saturday, we began our tour of sites where the D-Day landings took place. It is hard for me to describe the emotions I felt being there and seeing the actual location where so many lost their lives. As we overlooked some of the beaches, I just stood there and tried to imagine what it must have looked like with the paratroopers, boats, ships, etc. invading the beaches with such force. It was an overwhelming experience and as much as I tried to imagine what it must have been like, I really could not. It is beyond my comprehension to have so many men and women preparing to invade a country knowing there is a huge possibility they may not make it out alive.

My Grandfather was in WWII and stationed in Normandy 9 days after D-Day (D-Day + 9 is how they officially refer to it). It is emotional for me to imagine him being here and the possibility that he could have been killed. I am sure this is the feeling every person must feel when a family member or friend is in the military and in harms way. I do not remember many stories he would tell but we do have some of the items and pictures he brought back with him from his time in France. They are treasures that we will never part with.

Our first stop was at Gold Beach, which was a British invasion point. Not only is this one of the places where they landed this is also where the British built their temporary harbor and port in order to deliver supplies before they were able to take control of an existing one. I have never heard of these temporary harbors and their importance. These harbors apparently played a huge part of why we won the war. These harbors were built in England and towed to the beaches through the English Channel. Can you believe this? The Americans built one as well to be placed at Utah Beach but it did not withstand the horrible weather on the day they were trying to build it at the beach. How could this have been left out of every history class I took?!

Me at Gold Beach:

Gold Beach:

After Gold Beach, we visited a great military museum in the port of Arromanches. You can see the pictures on the Shutterfly album.

We also went to Utah Beach, which along with Omaha Beach was one of the American invasion points. The best part of this beach was the kilometer marker zero. Every kilometer from that point on until Belgium there is another marker to show the path of the Allied Forces.

We also visited Pointe du Hoc (close to Utah Beach). It is a clifftop location standing 100 feet above the water. It was a point of attack by the US Army during the Battle of Normandy in WWII. The Germans built this location to house a battery of captured French 155mm guns. The unbelievable part was that they did not fill in the craters from the bombs and you can see just how deep they were. Also, there were old bunkers you could go into and see. After the invasion, 90km of these craters along the coast were left!!

A little glimpse of the craters:

Pointe du Hoc cliffs:

We ate lunch in Sainte-Mere-Eglise. It was where a paratrooper by the name of John Steele got stuck on the top of the church and acted dead for (I think) 2 days until he could be cut down. Also in this town was the Airborne Museum, which was awesome and my favorite of all the museums we visited. Again, pics can be found in my Shutterfly album! The best part for me was seeing all of the items used during the war (first aid kits, morphine shots, food, etc). I even found a French phrase book, which is just like the one my Grandfather used, and we still possess. Isn’t that cool??!!

Paratrooper, John Steele:

A visit to a German cemetery, La Cambe, was also on the day's itinerary. The German war dead from the Normandy campaign were scattered over a wide area, many of them buried in isolated or field graves - or small battlefield cemeteries. In the years following WWII, the German War Graves Commission decided to establish six main German cemeteries in the Normandy area, with the one at La Cambe started in 1954. During this period the remains of more than 12,000 German soldiers were moved in from 1,400 locations. The cemetery was finished in 1961. In total there are 21,222 German soldiers commemorated here, of which 207 unknown and 89 identified are buried in a kamaradengraben (or mass grave) below the central tumulus.



We finally made it to the American Cemetery and Omaha Beach. The land was given to the United States by France and is truly American soil. The American Cemetery is on top of the cliffs at Omaha Beach and is clearly emotional. The sheer number of graves just astounds you. The land and cemetery are pristine and extremely well taken care of. It is beautiful and calm. If you ever take your life for granted go visit this cemetery.

The cemetery covers 172 acres and contains the remains of 9,387 American military dead, most of whom were killed during the invasion of Normandy and ensuing military operations in WWII. The graves face westward, towards the United States. Also, the names of 1,557 Americans who lost their lives in the conflict but could not be located and/or identified are inscribed on the walls of a semicircular garden at the east side of the memorial. The memorial consists of a semicircular colonnade with a loggia at each end containing maps and narratives of the military operations. At the center is a bronze statue entitled Spirit of American Youth. Facing west at the memorial, one sees in the foreground the reflecting pool, the mall with burial areas to either side and the circular chapel beyond. Behind the chapel are statues representing the United States and France.

American Cemetery:


Omaha Beach:


The whole day was draining and emotional, but overall, I am so blessed to have this opportunity to see and experience it all.

Normandy Weekend - Monet's Home and Gardens

I had a wonderful (yet very busy) trip to the Normandy region of France this past weekend! The weather was absolutely gorgeous which made it all the better. Our adventures started bright and early at 8AM when we left on a very nice bus from the American Women's Club.

Our first stop was to Claude Monet's home and gardens in Giverny, France.

Monet and his family settled in Giverny in 1883. Monet discovered the village of Giverny while looking out the window of a train he was riding. He made up his mind and rented a house and the area surrounding it. In 1890 he had enough money to buy the house and land outright and set out to create the magnificent gardens he wanted to paint. His most famous paintings (water lily and Japanese bridge) were of the garden in Giverny. Monet lived in Giverny from 1883 until his death in 1926.

Me overlooking the water lily pond (my favorite area in the gardens):
It was amazing to see all of the different kinds of flowers (many of which I could never identify). The whole experience was so peaceful and calm. Monet must have lived the most stress free life of anyone during that time.

We were also able to tour his home. I am a huge fan of color and really hate white walls...and Monet seemed to be the same way although his taste was a bit more 'bright' than mine! We were unable to take pictures in the house, but I can assure you he loved color!

The outside of his home has bright pink stucco walls contrasted with forest green shutters whilw inside, brilliant yellow hues brighten the dining room and lovely watery blues and greens grace the entry. In the kitchen two tones of blue burst into a riot of color, highlighted with copper pots and blue and white tiles from Rouen.

On display in the dining room are the matching yellow china cabinets filled with a collection of blue and white china pieces as well as the yellow and blue banded dinnerware he had commissioned in his own design. In the center, a large table is set for the family and guests. A pretty fireplace at the end of the room shows off blue and white tiles under a mantle decorated simply with an arrangement of bottle green vases. Japanese prints cover the walls.

The home is one room deep and about five rooms wide, each with windows overlooking the magnificent gardens where great care was taken in the planning and planting. Monet eventually expanded his land to include a small stream, pond, and waterlily gardens on an adjacent property. At one point he employed a staff of 6 gardeners to care for the grounds and keep the gardens supplied with flowering blooms.

Bedroom: Dining Room: Kitchen:

Coming up next...

Now that I have recovered from Jennie's trip, I am preparing for the next couple of weeks. This coming weekend I am heading to Normandy, France with a group from the American Women's Club. It is going to be a busy and exciting weekend! On the agenda is the following:

* Giverny, France and tour Monet’s home and gardens.

* Rouen, France - Historical capital city of Normandy, in northwestern France on the River Seine and currently the capital of the Upper Normandy region.

* Bayeux, France and tapestry museum - Small town which lies on the Aure River in Normandy, in the "county" of Calvados, not far from the English Channel. It is located 16 miles west-northwest of Caen and roughly 166 miles northwest of Paris. Bayeux is home to the famous tapestry which bears its name.

* Arromanches, France - Town in the Normandy region of France located on the coast and in the heart of the area where the Normandy landings took place on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

* Visit the D-Day beaches and American cemetery.

* Village of Sainte-Mère-Église - Small town near the coast of Normandy. The town's main claim to fame is that it played a significant part in the World War II Normandy landings because this village stood right in the middle of route N13, which the Germans would have most likely used on any significant counterattack on the troops landing on Utah and Omaha Beaches.

* Follow some of the routes of D-Day campaign.

* Deauville, France - A commune in France and is regarded as the queen of the Normandy beaches.

* Honfleur, France - A harbour commune in the Norman département of Calvados, in France, located on the southern bank of the estuary of the Seine, very close to the exit of the Pont de Normandie. It is especially known for its old, beautiful picturesque port, characterized by its houses with slate-covered frontages, painted many times by artists, including in particular Gustave Courbet, Claude Monet and Johan Jongkind, forming the école de Honfleur which contributed to the appearance of the Impressionist movement . The Sainte-Catherine church, which has a bell-tower separate from the principal building, is the largest church made out of wood in France.

The following weekend, Ginnie and Gail are coming to town and I am SO excited!!! For those of you who do not know Ginnie, she is one of my dearest and best friends. Gail is also very special and I adore tremendously (she is the lady who taught me to knit)!!! They are coming in for work but staying the weekend with me. So, I already know Brussels will never be the same with those 2 in town! I cannot wait!

More exciting times coming up!

Edinburgh, Scotland

We found the best way to get a quick overview of the cities we visited was to take the bus tour...and the Edinburgh bus tour did not disappoint!!

Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and its second largest city, after Glasgow. Edinburgh is 45 miles away from Glasgow and it is in the south-east of Scotland, on the east coast of Scotland's "Central Belt", on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, on the North Sea and, because of its rugged setting and vast collection of Medieval and Georgian architecture including numerous stone tenements, it is one of the most dramatic cities in Europe. Edinburgh has been the capital of Scotland since 1437 (replacing Scone) and is the seat of the Scottish Parliament.

Because of the limited time we had to spend in Edinburgh, the major attraction we wanted to spend time to see was the Edinburgh Castle. When you think of a castle...this is exactly what you would think of.

I was blown away with how the castle dominates the skyline of Edinburgh and the unbelievable beauty of something so old! HA!

OK, this is a little better!

Edinburgh Castle is an ancient fortress which, from its position atop Castle Rock (perched on an extinct volcano), dominates the sky-line of the city of Edinburgh. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC. A rich mix of architectural styles reflects the castle's complex history and role as both stronghold and seat of Kings. The tiny St Margaret's Chapel, Edinburgh's oldest building, dates from the 1100s. Crown Square, the principal courtyard, was developed in the 15th century, the Great Hall with its impressive hammerbeam roof was built by James IV in 1511. The Half Moon Battery was created in the late 16th century; and the Scottish National War memorial was added after the First World War.


There was so much to see on the castle site. One of the highlights was the crown jewels (this was the 2nd set of crown jewels we saw on this European adventure)! The Scottish crown jewels are also known as "The Honors of Scotland". They consist of a crown, sword and sceptre. On the Union of the Crowns in 1603, the Scottish crown jewels were left in Scotland when King James VI of Scotland inherited the English throne. By the Treaty of Union in 1707, which united the Scottish and English parliaments in London, the Scottish regalia were to stay in Scotland. Also on display with the jewels is the Stone of Destiny, which was returned to Scotland from Westminster Abbey in 1996.
Another highlight was the One O'clock Gun. The One O'Clock Gun is fired every day (except Sunday) at precisely 13:00, allowing citizens and visitors to check their clocks and watches. The origin of the tradition lies in the days when sailing ships in the Firth of Forth were able to check and reset their chronometers in the days before accurate timepieces were available.

In 1861 Captain Wauchope, a Scottish Naval Officer in the Royal Navy invented the time ball, still seen today on top of Nelson's Monument, Calton Hill. At one o'clock the ball drops giving the signal to sailors, but this meant that someone would have to be looking out for it and it often couldn't be seen in foggy weather.

So, in the same year the gun was fired simultaneously to the time ball dropping. Originally an 18-pound muzzle loading cannon which needed four men to load and fire was fired from the Half Moon Battery. The gun could be easily heard by ships in Leith Harbour (2 miles away). The cannon was replaced with a 25 pound Howitzer in 1953 and is now fired from Mill's Mount Battery on the North face of the Castle.

Although, the gun is no longer required for its original purpose it has become a popular tourist attraction. They chose 1 o'clock because, well, they were cheap!! If they were to fire the cannon at 12PM then they would have to fire 12 cannons where at 1PM you only have to fire 1!

Good-bye London...hello Scotland!

We saw London is a little over 48 hours which made it pretty much a blur and we seemed like everything was backwards most of the time! Luckily, London took care of us and made it a little easier to cross the streets without walking out in front of a car (or bus)!!


Once we got to the train station to catch our train to Scotland, we found out work was being done on the rails. We were instructed to get on a train, get off in 3 stops, take a bus for about an hour and a half, get back on the train and finally make it to Edinburgh. (Note to self....don't take a train on the weekends as that is when a lot of work is done which would probably delay your trip a few hours.)

While the guy at the train station was explaining this to us...and we were most definitely looking a bit confused, a group of guys came walking up and said "Hey, come on and follow us...we will get you to where you need to be"! Having no other choice, we gladly followed! Come to find out it was a 'stag party' (better known in the US as a bachelor party) who was in London celebrating upcoming nuptials! The guys were great and got us to exactly where we needed to be, carried our luggage, and even shared their beer on board the train!

We left London at 5PM on Sunday and did not make it to Edinburgh until after 1AM. Needless to say, we were tired, but still smiling!

Harrods and Kensington

While Jennie visited Wimbledon, I headed off to Harrods, the famous department store, and Kensington!

I was anxious to look around Harrods and see what all the hype was about. After the first few minutes, it lived up to everything I have heard. Although very expensive (mainly because the US dollar is not doing so well against the British pound), I did make a couple of purchases! Some of my favorite departments were the Christmas shop, the pet department (imagine that??!!), and the tea and food court.

One of my favorites in London was the time I spent in Kensington and visiting Kensington Palace, the former residence of Princess Diana. The little town of Kensington was so quaint and beautiful with little cafes and shops which were so cute.

Because this is the 10th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana, a special exhibition was opened at Kensington Palace which included pictures and videos, and my favorite, some of her gowns she wore on various royal and charitable events. It was amazing and absolutely beautiful and very sad at the same time.

I was also able to tour the state rooms inside Kensington Palace. Compared to Buckingham Palace, Kensington was very understated, although very beautiful.

Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea just outside London. Of great historical importance, Kensington Palace was the favorite residence of successive sovereigns until 1760. It was also the birthplace and childhood home of Queen Victoria. Today Kensington Palace accommodates the offices and private apartments of a number of members of the Royal Family. Although managed by Historic Royal Palaces, the Palace is furnished with items from the Royal Collection.

Touring London

On day 2 in London, Jennie and I were off on the Original London Sightseeing Tour on a double-decker bus! We got an excellent overview of this incredible city as there are many historical sites to see! We also had the most unbelievable weather (sunny skies and 80 degrees)!! I even got a sunburn in London....who gets a sunburn in London when the weather is traditionally gray skies and rain!!?? It was a blessed trip!

There is so much to see in London so I will only give you a quick overview. Some of the highlights included:

* Piccadilly Circus - The famous traffic intersection and public space of London's West End in the City of Westminster. Built in 1819 to connect Regent Street with the major shopping street of Piccadilly.

* Trafalgar Square - Square in London that commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), a British naval victory of the Napoleonic Wars. The original name was to have been "King William IIII's Square", but George Ledwell Taylor suggested the name "Trafalgar Square".

* Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament - Big Ben does not refer to the whole clocktower, but to the huge 13 ton bell that strikes the hour. Unfortunately Big Ben was being serviced so we were unable to hear the bell. It was still an incredible site to see. I had no idea it was so BIG!!!

* Westminster Abbey - Benedictine monks first came to this site in the middle of the 10th century, establishing a tradition of daily worship which continues to this day. The Abbey has been the coronation church since 1066 and is the final resting place of 17 monarchs.

* Buckingham Palace

* St. Paul's Cathedral - A Cathedral dedicated to St. Paul has overlooked London since 604AD. This is also the location where Princess Diana was married.

* The London Bridge - It was the only bridge over the Thames in London until Westminster Bridge was opened in 1750. On the south side of the bridge is Southwark Cathedral and London Bridge station. On the north side is the Monument to the Great Fire of London and Monument tube station. And it is still standing! HA!

* Tower Bridge - A suspension bridge over the River Thames. It is close to the Tower of London, which gives it its name. It has become an iconic symbol of London and is sometimes mistakenly called London Bridge, though London Bridge is in fact the next bridge upstream.

* Tower of London - Founded nearly a millennium ago and expanded upon over the centuries since, the Tower of London has protected, housed, imprisoned and been for many the last sight they saw on Earth. It has been the seat of British government and the living quarters of monarchs. The site of renown political intrigue, and the repository of the Crown Jewels. It has housed lions, bears, and (to this day) flightless ravens not to mention notorious traitors and framed members of court, lords and ministers, clergymen and knights.

Crown Jewels are kept in a Jewel House at the Tower of London. The Crown Jewels are the ceremonial treasures which have been acquired by English kings and queens, mostly since 1660. The collection includes not only the regalia used at coronations, but also crowns acquired by various monarchs, church and banqueting plate, orders, insignia, robes, a unique collection of medals and Royal christening fonts.

The Imperial State Crown:
* The London Eye - Opened in 2000, the British Airways London Eye is the world's tallest observation wheel at 135m high. Located on the banks of the River Thames it offers unrivalled views over London. It was really one of the coolest things we did on our trip to the UK! We were put in one of the 32 fully air-conditioned capsules for our 30 minute ride and spectacular panorama of the city of London! WOW!




It goes without saying that after a day like this....we needed some sleep!