Hmmm.....

Peg-legged women only?

All gender restroom - not so hard North Carolina!

I've (obviously) no idea what's going on most of the time.  So, for those who find my ignorance amusing....

Because, apparently, even Londoners can't figure out which side traffic is on

"No Stopping"

Las Vegas advert

I know what they meant, but this made me laugh.

?

Firelord kept thinking the "i" had been left out.

Architecture

I don't think I would ever get over the juxtaposition of old and new here.  Old here is not fifty or even one hundred years old.  It's hundreds of years old.  Like 1078  as the original construction date.  Crazy stuff for a child of the New World.

Shoes

I've noticed that in London adults wear grown up shoes.  Sneakers, tennis shoes, athletic shoes, these are for kids, runners, and tourists.

 And there's nobody, not nobody, who wears shoes like Bit Boy.

Date night!

One of the advantages of having older kids is that we can leave them on occasion.  They are happily ensconced in their electronic devices (the apartment having excellent wi-fi), while Firelord and I have a bit of a walkabout.

Our first date night we went back to the George Inn where Bit Boy celebrated his 18th birthday with his first beer.
Firelord ordered me a most excellent cider, but neglected to notice what it was.  Easily rectified with another visit, this time sans children.

Bit Boy's first beer, Guiness, because he's our kid.

It was Aspfall Suffolk cider.
If you really love me, help me find it state side

For our next date we went to Draughts Board Game Cafe.  It had walls of board games, served drinks and food, and was packed even on a Monday night.

See that arch? It's a bridge, with cars going over head.
Londoners know how to use space.

On our way to and from Draughts we walked along this canal.
A little foreshadowing anyone?

Eating in London

There are more restaurants in London than city blocks.   Our first day we ate at an Indian restaurant across the street.

We've seen halal restaurants everywhere, selling far more than just middle eastern food.

Being us, we've also been eating in.  There are little shops all over selling groceries, but no really big super markets like we're used to.  Across the way, in a single shopping mall there is a Metro Tesco, Iceland, Poundland (like a dollar store, but - pounds), a halal meat shop, an Asian fruit and veggie stand, two different pharmacies, an occasional flea market, and many more little shops and carts.

If only I didn't have to ship it, I would have gotten this rug for you.

We learned the hard way that most of the shops close up around 6.

We saw a Tesco while riding a bus to Greenwich that looked more like the Safeway/King Sooper's/ Albertson's we have at home, but didn't get off the bus to check it out.

99 flake ice-cream - it's a thing

Hot Dog discovers DOUBLE FLAKE!

We've wondered if native Londoner's ever eat in, there are so many good places to eat out.

Iceland

On the recommendation of a couple of friends, and the hearty encouragement of Icelandair, we stayed a full day in Iceland.  Visiting Reykjavik during the day,  we spent the night in Keflavik so we didn't have to get up so early the next day to catch our plane to London.   Given that it was only one day and one night, we did an arranged tour a friend had recommended - The Golden Circle Tour.

We saw  Thingvellir National Park, the Gullfoss waterfall, the geothermal area that has the original Gesyer and Strokker (a geyser that rivals Old Faithful), an old church, and a horse farm.  

Beautiful country church, name unpronouncable/unrememberable

Unfortuantly, I can't remember the name of the old church, because ... Icelandic .... It's a beautiful language to my ear, but so different from the languages I'm familiar with that I have nothing to hang my hat on with regards to hearing, understanding, or remembering it.

Our brief stay gave me only impressions:

The landscape is barren, it's a stark beauty, with few trees and wide open skies.  The current locals are encouraged to plant trees, since Vikings cleared the native birch forests nearly 1000 years ago, but they've a ways to go before they get to the 30% total area forested that was there a millinia ago.

Icelanders are very white - the fairest group I've seen. I felt quite ethnic there.

Much of the countryside and old buildings struck me as being reminicent of Tolkien's Middle Earth (or visa versa, really), the troll and elf myths, the landscape (flat marshes and volcanos - Mordor anyone?), the old Nordic leif motifs... (Yes I know he studied Old English, Ango-Saxon, and Norse language and mythology)

On the flip side, much of Reykjavik had modern, avent garde even,  architecture.

Britains and Americans are seen as invaders and occupiers in Iceland, because they were.

Their take on ecology and the natural environment is very different than ours.  We saw a fish ladder for salmon next to a large natural waterfall.  I asked why it was there, since I was familiar with putting up fish ladders only for man-made dams.  The guide explained that it was for salmon.  I didn't know salmon were native there - turns out they're not.  The salmon were introduced to that river and the ladder was put in to get them to return farther upriver for the fishermen.  When I asked the guide what the environmentalist thought about that she said the environmentalist were far more concerned with whaling than salmon.  I wish I had had the courage (and rudness) to ask about her thoughts on whaling.

Iceland was beautiful.  I'm sure there's far more to see than even a week could do justice to.

Sabbatical Take Two

So, here we are in London!

It's not that we haven't traveled since 2013, but we haven't been away from home more than a week or two until now.  Firelord has another sabbatical - right now!   This trip has us 1 night in Iceland, 9 in London, 3 in Paris, 6 in Edinburgh, 7 on a narrow boat, and 1 night back in London before our long flight home.

I'm writing from an AirBnB in London's zone 1, near the south bank.  I can see the London Eye from our living room window.  We can just make out the Elizabeth Tower where Big Ben is.

View from our apt. London Eye right of center, the wee castle looking tower to the left is Parliament.

Did you know that Big Ben is the bell in the tower, and not the tower itself?  You don't see Big Ben, you hear it.  I did not know that until two  days ago.

There's lots of things I didn't know.  Like, did you know that on the tube (subway to a Yank) another one will be coming in a couple of minutes and you don't have to crowd in, block the door and nearly leave your 11 year old behind?    These are good things to know.

There's a lot of things you can know, but not KNOW, until you experience them.  That's part of why we travel.  I'm trying to remember that, as I sit in the central London apartment with a jet-lagged family, listening to the ever-present sirens that are part of city life anywhere, waiting for Bit-Boy to get out of the shower where he's trying to steam out a sinus infection, waiting for a surly Lego Kid to wake up, and generally feeling like a hobbit.

"We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner!”