We are back and I know you've been dying for the "deets" Three days in London story

 Since I was a little girl and started to look into family history I have dreamed of a trip to England, to find family and a trip to the village in Germany, where my grandfather was born.

This trip was all that and more.

We took off in the evening and landed in the morning in London, I have to say that while the "food" on the airplane was meh, the service was great, they came down the aisles offering water and snacks a lot.  I did get about an hour sleep on the plane, but the best part was the tracker that tells you where you are and how long till you land ( I can make a joke about  how many times the Cabin Crew must have been asked "are we there yet")  It was cool and I really need to up my geography game.

We landed in Heathrow and this is where the "fun" starts.  I pulled Chris's 45-lb. bag off the carousel and it flew out of my hands and landed squarely on my left foot. Broken?  Yep I believe it was, as it turned purple from toes to heel almost immediately.  No we did not go to the NHS as the cabbie explained how hard it was to get in. I just iced it and dealt with it as best I could   I think I broke at least two toes and the top of my foot is still swollen and tender.   We went to Kaiser when we got home, but they said it wasn't broken.   I've broken toes before.  This felt like that.

The hotel was nice and centrally located across from Victoria Station ( does anyone remember the steak house called Victoria Station?  I LOVED that place)  We took a taxi from Heathrow and while it was pricy, it was really the best option.  I can't imagine dragging bags and me onto the Tube.  We took taxis everywhere, got to ride in some of those iconic black taxis and met some cool drivers.

We saw the Changing of the Guard.  I was so happy to have timed it so we could do that, it was on my "bucket" list for London  It was a really warm day and I felt sorry for the Beefeaters in their red coats and tall hats.  The Welsh Guard marched in playing some marching music and I expected , you know, patriotic tunes or iconic British music to be played.  At some point, Chris turned to me and said "isn't that 'Sweet Caroline'?"  It was   They also played "Part of your World" from the Little Mermaid and something from "Frozen" ( I think it was "let it Go" but I can't be sure)

The portable stool that Chris bought that advertised it would hold 600 pounds collapsed within about a minute of him sitting on it.  We had two.  We tossed the broken one in the trash and left the other on the bus for someone else to find. I was NOT dragging that crap all over Europe. It freed up room in the suitcases.

We rode the Double-decker "hop on hop off bus- although given my foot we did NOT hop off, but rode around on a glorious Summer day.  Chris got a bit of a sunburn.  I almost cried when I saw Big Ben ( yes I KNOW that's the name of the bell and it's called the Elizabeth Tower) it was one of the things I really looked forward to seeing- it was BEAUTIFUL;  the gold around the clock-face sparkled in the late afternoon sunshine. I gasped "THERE IT IS!"  and took about a million pictures to be sure I got a good ONE!

The next day, we took a cruise up (down?) the Thames and it was marvelous.  We rode on the London Eye ( we did NOT buy the souvenir photo as Chris was wearing a teal shirt and half of him disappeared, except for a floating head. In retrospect we probably should have bought the darn thing.)

Food in London was meh- NEXT TIME ( and there WILL be a next time) I am going to really research places to eat.  Our Concierge sent us to a place that was terrible ICECREAM MASEHD POTATOES anyone?  Colder than a well-digger's butt. The salmon managed to be greasy and dried out, that takes talent.

We DID get good fish and Chips in the hotel the first day and the service at the Doubletree was top notch.  The Italian Place near the London Eye made me ask aloud what Tony from Palermo's would have said about the bland orange-y sauce I was served on my pasta. it was worse than Chef Boyardee.

The adventure continues as we made our way to Cornwall and FAMILY!