Hey all!
Sorry it's taken a couple of days. We've had 1) internet problems and 2) a very busy schedule. In our first four days, we've already visited London and Paris. It's way too fast to take in what both of these cities have to offer! We did try our best, but the trip is very tiring. Most nights we're working on less than 5 hours, and the travel is starting to wear us down. We might need a vacation from our vacation! It's really a great trip and we're so blessed to take one last trip as a family (this isn't the "last trip", but more of like a last hoorah before I start my job).
We'll go into more detail in the days after the trip. Sierrah will probably post pictures, and my mom took some great videos, too (like I said, internet problem).
Here's a quick summary of the trip so far:
Day One:
We spent all of the first day traveling. ALL DAY. We got to LAX at 4 am Thursday and landed in London at 8 am on Friday. Our airport/plane time consisted of watching World Cup games and sleeping (not in that order).
Day Two:
We arrived at the hotel around 10:30 am. We met up with our cousin Hilary who's studying abroad in Ireland for the summer. The six of us went to a local pub for some Fish and Chips. Also note that Joey legally had a beer. My girlfriend Abby told me to try Leffe (her favorite beer when she visited last year). We walked around our hotel like zombies for a couple of hours. Then we slept.. and slept.. and slept. We finally went out to eat and had a burger. I don't know exactly why we would travel so far to have a meal similar to Johnny Rockets, but we did. Then it gets interesting. Hilary and I went out to Chelsea (a real nice area of town). We went to a club called Eclipse. This is the place of overpriced drinks and weird performers (interested?). The drinks cost an arm and a leg (about $12 each). Hilary and I decided that first drink would be our only drink. While we casually waited at the bar, a DJ and a bongo player played some music. The DJ was playing to a packed crowd in this tiny club. Then a girl walked up to the bongo player and whispered something in his ear. He proceeded to bite her on her arm. He full on Count Dracula'd her right on the bicep! He either knew the girl or she was very intoxicated because she just went about her business. Hilary and I left the bar in awe. It still weirds me out thinking about it.
Day Three:
All of our internal body clocks were completely off. London is 8 hours ahead of LA. No one slept passed 5 am this day. I woke up at about 4 and went to work out (impressed?). After that Joey and I went on a walk to Hyde Park. We sort of knew where we were going (we had no clue). We ended walking some 45 minutes down a street when we could've made a Larry and been there in 10, but we had some time to kill. The whole family then took a trip to see the major tourist spots. We saw Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, and Buckingham Palace. We saw the changing of the guard at the palace. We would've had tea with the Queenie but she jetted off to one of her other abodes. Our tour let out and we went walking again. We went back to Hyde park to see the Princess Diana memorial. The girlfriend also told us to have tea at the Orangerie in the park. We walked to miles and miles (okay, minutes and minutes) only to find out that recommendation was closed. Luckily enough we found a really nice Italian hotel that specialized in making hot water and cold sandwiches. Joey called this his "surprise" (see project guidelines). After another nap, the six of us left for a musical. We've all seen Grease the movie, but we heard the musical was a little different. We ended up taking two taxis because six of us could not fit into one. Sie, my mom, and I all fit into the first taxi. Joe, Dada, and Hil got into the other. Here's the problem: no one in the other taxi knew the name of the theatre. They barely made it and got to problem solve. The play was great! It had a slightly different plot with all the same songs we all love.
Day Four:
We got up plenty early for our journey to France. Sadly, we left our cousin Hilary to fend for herself and sleep in the airport (while not confirmed, I'm sure she's fine*). Our Trafalgar (the bus company) tour took us to a boat that crossed the English Channel. Then we bussed another three hours to Paris. Our tour guide Jenny showed us some great spots on the right side of the city. We also took an hour boat ride on the Seine River. The guide on the boat spoke at least seven languages. Apparently that's no biggie in Europe. i think that's just showing off. Before we went home, we had some good eats at a sidewalk cafe. I chose the onion soup (they already are French, so I find the use of the word unnessesary).
Day Five:
Our only full day in Paris was a lot to handle. Our tour started at the Eiffel Tower. The cinq of us made it to the second floor (about halfway up). Joey and I took the lift all the way to the top. Both of the floors had great views. Then we went to see the Notre Dame Cathredal and the Champs-Elysees on our way to the Louvre. The Louvre is the world's largest museum. Remember that. THE largest. The most notable work there is the Mona Lisa (no relation to my mom). I don't care what anyone says; I think she's good looking. She's kind of plain-looking, but those eyes and that smile struck me. My mom said she got a lump in her throat. Sierrah took a picture of it (I hope she posts it soon). Some 15 minutes later, we lost Joey. That's right. We lost my brother in the world's largest museum. He told us after he just kept thinking of that. The world's largest museum. We had bets on where we'd find him, if at all. Dada won the bet. We found Joey at the information desk. I thought he'd go to the Inverted Pyramid or back to the hotel. Check a win with Gen X. We then had some crepes. I called it my "surprise". Then we went back to the hotel for a quick break. Moulin Rouge was next. Let me tell you this... they were... topless. I know. Gross. My mom said it was art or something. The reviews were mixed: Mark LOVED it, Joey, Mom, and I thought it was a pretty good show, and it was not Sierrah's cup o' soup (onion).
We have a long bus ride to Lucern in the morning. It should take about seven hours to get to the Swiss city. Until then, au revoir!
*Fingers crossed
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