Voodoo Posse lost last night BUT I did get new shoes!
Rob loved the new shoe smell...Hmmmm.
tired of waiting...want to go. can not spend any more money.
my head is getting sucked into the jets but wait, i'll smile for the picture! remember me when i'm bald!
cathy waving goodbye to the queen...goodbye queen and wagamama's
We're coming to AMERICA...today!!
as americans in true form, we decided to end our journey in london at a pub. clive and usye joined us. in order to get a table, we had to stare down a couple of women who were sitting at a table for eight. they were camping and probably wo
uld've stayed if we hadn't looked so anxious. we had the coolest server who gave me a Happy St. Patricks Day 2006 pin to me.
Quick recap but the photos above say it all:
Luggage in the tube - total nightmare!
EuroStar - a must do when traveling from London to Paris.
Theo art - He stole my pen!
How many bottles of wine does it take to get to France?
Green underwear - no pinching please...I came prepared!
The Louvre -- wow...totally more than I could ever expect.
-- the winged Victory of Samothrace
-- Mona Lisa
-- Seated Statue of Ramses
Eating dinner in St. Germain -- French Fries (for real)
Hotel in the red light district "Do NOT make any eye contact?"
Loud noises all night
Shower box...Ted even made a song for it!
Tower of London
British Museum
Usha (yummy Indian food) with Clive and Usye
We took the tube over to Mark Spencer's and Harrod's where there conveniently was a Wagamama's to eat lunch. Love the Wagamama! Chicken Katsu forever! After fueling up, we headed to the shops and walked all over the place trying to convince ourselves that the exchange rate really wasn't that bad. You want to buy everything but it's twice the price.
We hopped back on the tube for another area of town...Not sure where and lo and behold, was a sign for BILLY ELLIOTT at Victoria Palace. The show was incredibly moving and very political. My favorite part was when he was dancing with himself - the current self and the future self. Beautiful picture of what we all go through when we're on the edge of greatness. There are obstacles but if we can just push past them, we will find the self we are destined to be. I found out later that all of the music was written by Elton John. No wonder Ted wanted to see a musical with a little boy doing ballet in it. We sat on the very back row of the theatre which actually ended up being the best seats in the house...People were so much smaller when this thing was built.
We walked all over the place when the show was over. We saw Buckingham Palace and more of downtown. We got on a bus and ended up at Trafalgar Square. We stumbled upon what we ended up calling the Antler Bar. It was a Scottish Bar filled with Antlers, very contemporary with hues of brown and blue everywhere. Our server was a girl from the Ukraine named Deanna. She didn't seem to care when I mentioned that I had just read an article about Ukraine and the Orange Revolution. There are many changes that are occuring in that part of the world to overcome the corruption. I felt a full circle moment there considering the show we just saw. I suppose it would be hard to hear what the outside world thinks is happening especially when she knows and obviously left for London to get away from it all.
We found ourselves in quite a dilemma when we headed to the tube station only to find the gate blocking the entrance. Ted and I got on a bus and prayed it would take us back to the outskirts of where our hotel was located. It did and we had hardly any trouble finding the place we saw for a mere 25 minutes. Theo and Cathy on the other hand had a totally different experience. They had to walk forever and freeze...This was the coldest night we experienced. They got on a bus but it ended up turning the wrong way. They didn't make it back to Clive's until after 2 a.m. They were troopers though considering they were all about making my birthday special.
Thanks to the 3 Musketeers - Ted, Theo and Cathy for making my three-oh the best!!
Solidarity FOREVER!
So far, we've been to Steve and Christina's house, Peterborough, Cambridge, Stratford and Sawtree (that's where Steve and Christina live). Kids are so adorable! Steve has introduced us to the Military Base here by taking us to the Bowling Alley for lunch and to a little shoppette. You could live here in the service and never really live in the culture.
In Cambridge, I now know that I love the store NEXT. Not sure what the equivalent is in the states but the clothes are extra tempting and I have to practice major restrain in all of the shopping areas. 
Ted and I are shipping some of our stuff home since we are taking the train to London tomorrow and traveling to Paris. Too much luggage is too stressful. I should've remembered that from my days on SSC. (Joy would appreciate that comment.)
I'm so happy to be celebrating my birthday in a foreign country...My first one ever. Well, unless you count Australia when I was 1 and 2 years old. Wish everyone could join us tomorrow. We're going to see Billy Elliott and planning to eat yummy dinner somewhere...probably Indian. It's sooooo good here.
I hope to have some kind of internet connection at some point after today so I can report back about what we're up to. Either way, I will be describing this experience better than I am tonight since I'm incredibly exhausted and confused because everyone drives from the passenger side here. Ted braved the steering wheel today out of the Car Park. He looked so cute and accomplished...So proud!
Love from the UK!
Baby Theo, Daddy Theo, me and Grammy Glow
Mom with Baby Theo...Grammy Glow!
Such a beautifully wrapped gift by Scott and his mom. 
Ginger, moi and Robin -- The girls 
Trish shared her actual birthday day with me so 
my new JJILL purse -- LOVE IT!
Happy Birthday to me!
