London, Here we come.......

Our first full day begins with a light breakfast in the apartment.  We have a few things in mind for today so we walk across the street where we purchase our tickets for several attractions.  Everything is regulated so we are not concerned about being taken advantage of.  Actually buying the tickets this way saves us quite a few pounds not to mention that we are all over a certain age so that saves us as well.  Our transaction is complete and now we wait for the bus.  This is the hop on hop off but we have decided to stay on and tour the entire city.  The weather is a little cool with some clouds, but thankfully, not raining.  We ride on the top of the open bus and take in all the sights.  Our guide has a rather "thick" English accent and we listen as hard as we can, but still fail to understand everything she says.  All the things I have seen on TV. in the movies, in the news are now a reality. Westminster Abby, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, OK, this is so cool.  I guess I didn't realize just how big the city of London really is.  We tour for about 2 hours and decide to get off and ride the London Eye.  The eye is a Huge Ferris Wheel with each car carrying 30 people.  Because of Karen's disability, we are promptly moved to the front of the line. (thank you Karen) The entire rotation takes about 30 minutes and the views are fantastic.  After exiting we of course are hungry and thirsty,.  We find a nice pub just around the corner.  We enjoy some nice appetizers and a cold beer.  We find ourselves  concerned about the gentleman at the bar who appears to be sleeping, or passed out or has some medical issue.  His head on the bar, he hasn't moved a muscle in quite some time.  The manager, the server, the bartender all try to make an assessment but ultimately the decision is made to call the authorities.  A medic shows up on a motorcycle and is able to rouse the fellow.  After some time it appears he is fine, he thanks us for our concern and heads out on his merry way.  Well, that was entertaining, and we were relieved that he was OK.  We finish our snacks and make our way to the Mungerford Bridge heading for Trafalgar Square.  We have tickets for a play tonight but still have plenty of time to sight see before curtain time.  Terry and I walk the distance to the gates of Buckingham Palace.  It's quite impressive, not necessarily the building itself, but knowing the history and imagining what goes on inside the walls.  The Queen Lives there!!!!!  Diana stood on the balcony that I'm looking at.  Ok, I admit, I am enamored by Royalty.  Let's just say I'd much rather catch a glimpse of the Queen than see the POTUS.  Dan and Karen have gone a different direction and have procured the tickets for the play.  We catch up at a place called The Wellington for a bite before the play.  All is good.  Karen and I share Fish and chips (what else) and we have champagne to celebrate!
I love live theatre and KINKY BOOTS was no disappointment.  The theatre is small by comparison to the Keller and it's nice to have an unobstructed view and good acoustics. After the play, we exit by the stage door.  How cute to see the two young actors, run to their parents arms after the performance.  Gave me goose bumps to see the moms shower their sons with praise.  A night cap is in order so we find our way to a nearby pub only to find out they are out of just about everything we order.  Oh well, we make do and our server is delightful so all is not lost.  It has been a long day and we are DONE. Uber please.........

Safely across the Pond!

Our adventure begins at 3:00 this afternoon which is a nice change from our usual early morning departures.  Driver Doug has volunteered to take us to the airport. Karen is still in her walking boot accompanied by her trusty cane so she has arranged to have a wheel chair meet her at each airport.  Very smart thinking.  We arrive with time to spare.  A quick trip to Seattle where we will hop on Virgin Atlantic flight #106 bound for London.  Every thing goes off without a hitch which is highly unusual for the Peterson's.  We board and are immediately offered a glass of champagne which we happily accept.  A toast to the up coming weeks!  Terry' arm rest is a little tricky so after setting our glasses down, he upsets the armrest and down goes the champagne, all over both of us!  We get that cleaned up and receive a replacement glass and hope that is the extent of any mishaps.  The flight crew couldn't be nicer and we settle in for a long trip.  Dinner is served which was actually quite tasty for airline food!  We watch a few movies, try to get some sleep and before we know it breakfast is making it's way through the cabin.  It has been a very smooth flight and the staff is attentive and friendly.  Kudos to Virgin Atlantic, I am impressed.  We disembark and make our way through immigration.  Karen and her wheelchair, along with her husband Dan, whiz right through while Terry and I take our place in line.  45 minutes later, we emerge, breeze through customs grab our luggage and make our way to the Uber stand.  Our driver is prompt and the 18 mile drive to our apartment takes a little over and hour.  We have been given instructions for access to the key and again everything falls into place.  The apartment is exactly what we expected and has everything we'll need for the next week.

Our view is of the Tower of London with the Thames River as a back drop.  Perfect!  It's now all of 1:00 and we have the whole afternoon ahead of us,

We unpack and discover we are bit parched .  Terry is in need of a nap so he stays behind while the 3 of us decide to check out the neighborhood.  Low and behold there is a pub directly next door.  A nice cold beer tastes good. We find a local market and stock up on a few necessities.  By now, we are hungry and return to the pub for dinner with Terry going traditional ordering beef pie with mashers and peas. The rest of us basic pub fare but it's all good and we are happy.

 We are officially tired and struggle to stay awake until 9:00 so we can be on local time in the morning.  Day done.  Looking forward to tomorrow.........

Anticipation........

It's been a couple of years since our last European adventure so we figured it was time to return.
This trip we will be seeing a different part of the continent, England and Italy are our chosen destinations.  Dan and Karen will again be our traveling companions. You brave souls!
                                       
Terry and I have always experienced some sort of catastrophe while we are away, generally something related to the restaurant and last year our daughter was rear ended by a bus shortly after dropping us off at the airport. (she's suffered some back trouble but is working through that, thank you,  but the truck didn't fare so well)  Anyhow, I'm thinking that Karen may have this element already covered as Ms. Karen recently had a Mis step and suffered a bit of a break in her lower left leg!  At this junction she is wearing the ever attractive black boot accompanied by a scooter and crutches.  Her Dr. thinks that by the time we depart, she may only be in need of a cane.  Here's hoping.  She is a trooper as I have stated before, and if we have to leave her sitting in an English pub for a time while the rest of us walk about, well, she's willing to take that one for the team.  However, our "walking pub tour" may turn into a hobbling tour.  (Glad we didn't book the bicycle tour)  Something tells me she'll make it work, but it's a cheap way to get out of having to carry your own luggage!

We leave on April 18th and return on May 6th.  We will try to pack as much in as we can and I have received lot's of good recommendations from many of our friends at the Dockside.  The itinerary is London for a week, fly to Rome, rent a car and drive to Siena where we will call that our home base for touring the Chianti Region for 5 days.  Back to Rome to tour the city for a few days, a quick hop back to London where we will enjoy our last night of vacation.

 Looking forward to all the exciting adventures that lie ahead and can't wait to share them all with you.  Pip Pip Cheerio!!!!!!!