Our London adventures - Day 3 and now we're home...

So yesterday was our last full day in London, and I think the best way to describe it was crazy busy. I actually had to work yesterday (the meeting that I went to LON for originally was yesterday), so I was up early and had a cab take me to the office. My cabbie was pretty cool, but I have to say that LON traffic SUCKS!!! Our hotel was only 8 miles from downtown, but with all the traffic going into the city it took about an hour. Here in Cleveland 8 miles would take no more than 15 mins, 30 with heavy traffic. So I was already stressed when I got to the office.

My meeting went really well though...I was quite happy and proud of myself. :) I had a car service for the ride home, since Craig and I were supposed to go on the London Eye at 7:30pm. First, my driver was 30 mins late so we were stuck in traffic going back. I didn't get back to our hotel till 6pm. And my driver was CRAZY. First I have to preface this story by saying that 1) there are roundabouts everywhere in LON...think that every traffic light you see in CLE is a roundabout and that's what it was like. 2) Bike riding is very popular/common there, plus the bikers ride in the street and not really on the sidewalk. So I'm on my way back when a biker taps on our window, saying that my driver hit his knee. My driver starts yelling at him to get a mirror for his bike, and they yell back and forth, with plenty of "eff you's" thrown in for good measure. So then in his attempt to elude the biker (who was apparently following us since he knocked on our window a second time), my driver started tearing thru the streets during rush hour. Think 40-50 mph in a 25 mph zone. And then he started weaving in and out of traffic, at one point driving about 45 mph INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD!!!! He had to slam on his breaks at the red light to avoid a head-on collision. So I was getting kinda freaked out at this point. He then kept continuing to weave in and out of traffic at high speeds, taking the roundabouts without braking or anything. Only after the biker stopped following us did he drive normal. And while I think that gratuity was included in the ride (it was charged to the company account so I'm not sure) I didn't even ask since after that near-death experience I wasn't giving him any money, gratuity included or not.

When I got to our room we already were down to 90 mins to get back downtown. We got a cab at our personal expense (wasn't sure if we'd make it via public transportation) and were on our way at 6:30. We were making decent time, till we got halfway downtown and discovered that there was a water line break backing up traffic. To make a long story short, we got to the Eye at 7:45, but they were cool and let us get our tix and get on the ride, regardless of the time.

The Eye was so awesome...we went 450 feet up in the air, and the other cool thing was that it went so slow it took almost 30 mins to go all the way around, so we really got to see everything. After the Eye we wanted to go to the Hard Rock Cafe (when I was a kid we went to one in every city we visited) but it was already getting dark and we had no idea how to get there since it was outside downtown. So we just walked around Victoria a bit and then went to a pub for dinner. After that we headed back to our hotel to pack and just crash.

And that now concludes our London adventures. Craig and I got home today around 3:30pm ET. And I have to say, our 7.5 and 8 hour flights to and from LON were the best flights I've ever been on. The flights were so smooth it didn't even feel like we were on a plane. So we are pretty happy to be home, and REALLY happy to see Milo and Otis. I'm going to try and post some of our pics from LON tomorrow, and my final thoughts/reflections on LON (wow, that makes me sound like Jerry Springer, doesn't it?). Anyhoo, I'm off to jump into the shower since Craig and I are going to grab a bite to eat since we're too tired to cook and it's my birthday. :)

Toodles!!

Our London adventures - Day 2

Hello!! Today Craig and I got off to a much better start than yesterday. We were up early at 8am UK and were out of the room at 9:10. We found the right bus to take us to the correct train station, so we got to downtown OK. We had a glitch in getting on our first tour (basically it was that we don't have a printer in our room, so we couldn't print out or tix till we got down there. And they're a bit more stringent than we would be in the U.S. I had the confirmation number and everything, but it didn't matter.). Anyway, we got it straightened out and hopped on our first tour, a tour that took us past all the big sights in London.

Due to the little time we have here, we didn't have time to go into some places that we wanted, like Buckingham Palace or the Tower of London. But the tour was soooo comprehensive, and I got some really good pictures. Plus it was really nice out today, a little warm, but great for pictures and walking around. Some of the places we got to see were: Tower of London, part of Buckingham Palace (only the side since the street in front is closed to vehicles for security purposes), Big Ben, the London Eye, British Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and a bunch of other things I can't remember right now (hey, it's 12:30 am here). We also did a couple of tours of the Thames River so we got to see the above from another vantage point as well.

After those tours, Craig and I took a break for a late lunch before our next tour about Jack the Ripper (see the story of Jack the Ripper here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_the_Ripper). We found a cool place that was quite yummy, and guess what I had? Bloody risotto!!!!! Actually, risotto with chicken and asparagus, and those who watch Hell's Kitchen will understand my excitement about eating risotto in London, specifically Angie, Jeff, and Kristen. :) The food is quite yummy, but like a lot of things here, expensive. Ah well, at least we got a good deal on our room!

After our lunch we walked around a bit to see what kind of shops there are, and there are some that sell some really cool souvenirs. And something else that I found while we were walking around today? Diet Pepsi!!!!! I was so so so so so so excited when I saw that. Yes, it's the simple things that amuse me.

So Craig and I went on this Jack the Ripper tour that took us to the spots where he killed his victims and/or left evidence. I thought that the tour was just OK (it actually was pretty similar to a tour we did last fall with a bunch of people of "Haunted Cleveland") but it was interesting. After that we walked about 30 mins to get to the train station to take us back to our hotel. In all we were gone over 12 hours today...last time I walked around that much I was in Boston.

And right now I am going thru the 60+ emails that I got today to make sure nothing is related to tomorrow's meeting. So far so good, so I think that I'm going to turn in in a few. Sorry this post isn't as detailed or engaging as it could be, but like I said, I'm pretty beat from us walking around for over 12 hours. Talk to you tomorrow!!

Toodles,
Roxanne

Hello from London!!!!

For those of you who weren't aware, Craig and I are in London right now. I have a meeting on Tuesday, so we decided that he would come with me a few days early and we could sightsee before we leave on Wednesday (my birthday!!). I'm going to try and post a day-to-day account of what we did each day, but my dumb ass forgot the cord to my camera to download pics to the computer, so I'll have to add those when we get back.

I'll start with our flight (and yes, these LON posts will be detailed so they may be quite long). We left CLE at 6.25pm ET and there were a couple of my co-workers on our flight. One cool perk is that one of my colleagues was able to get the three of us into the President's Club at Hopkins while we were waiting to board our flight. It was my first time in the President's Club...I felt rich!! :) Anyhoo, our 7.5 hour flight to LON was probably the best flight I've ever had, not many bumps at all, on time, smooth the whole way. I am definitely feeling the time zone difference though...we flew east during the day, watched it get dark, and then at 1am ET watched the sun start to rise in the UK. Needless to say, 1) I didn't get any sleep on the flight (never do), and 2) I was WIDE awake at 2am ET. Hell, they served us breakfast on the plane at 12:30am ET!!!

Anyhoo, by the time we landed, went thru customs, got our luggage, found a cab to take us to our hotel and check in, it was close to 4am ET. I was BEAT. Craig was ok since he slept a couple of hours on the plane, but I was up close to 24 hours straight. And those who know me know that I need at least 8-10 hours of sleep a day to be a civil human being. :)

Craig's friend Paul works for Embassy Suites, and he got us a hotel room (a Hilton) about 30 mins from downtown LON for $75 USD a night. AWESOME!!! Our first room had issues though: both the toilet and A/C didn't work, the sink faucet leaked when you turned it on, and the room looked like it needed some TLC. So they moved us to another room and this one is SO much better. I crashed for about 4 hours before we started getting ready to check out downtown.

So remember how I just said that we were 30 mins from downtown LON? Our plan was to take buses and trains around the city to save some $$ (and everything here is so expensive). The train station that we went to to get downtown was closed, so we were pretty much lost in our city after that. We knew where we were and how to get back to the hotel, but that was it. And keep in mind that it's now 6pm UK time / 1pm ET and we hadn't eaten anything all day (and when I don't eat for long periods of time my blood sugar drops and I get super cranky). So we found a McDonald's and ate there. Yes, our first meal in London was McDonald's. And then we were aggravated by this point so we hit up a convenience store to stock up on beverages and munchies to stash in our room (side note: why is it that whenever I travel outside of Cleveland, no one carries Pepsi products???? It's all Coke!!!! Yes, I do have a Diet Pepsi addiction and it's not pretty when there's none around). Anyway, we took the bus back to our hotel room and now here we are.

So our plan for the rest of the night is to just chill out and figure out how to get to downtown tomorrow so we can go on our tours. And go to the hotel bar. Tomorrow I got us tickets for 2 tours: one is an all-around tour (link here: http://www.theoriginaltour.com/) and one is a Jack the Ripper tour (http://www.premiumtours.co.uk/tours/details.asp?iProductID=124&gclid=CKuZzLHm4JQCFQ9oQgodPy2XQQ), so we're really excited about doing those. After the tours I think we're going to hang around downtown to grab a bite to eat and explore the city at night.

That's it for today's installment...check back tomorrow night as I hope to have our recap of the tours and downtown up and posted by 10pm UK time / 5pm ET. Take care!!!

Cheerio!
Roxanne and Craig

P.S. Have to give a shout out to my mom and Rachel for taking care of Milo and Otis for us while we're gone. While we miss our doggies dearly, we feel good knowing that they're in safe hands. Thanks guys!!!

The tale of two dogs: Milo & Otis' summer vacation so far...

'Sup peeps? As Moms mentioned, here are some pics of mine and Otis' summer so far. As you can gather, it involves a whole lot of NOTHING. Mostly laying around and playing outside, which is just the way we like it. So sit back and relax, and enjoy the awesomeness that is me (oh, and Otis):

Hang tough folks,

Milo

All by myself...

So this is my one weekend a year where I'm practically a single lady. Craig is in PA for the annual Davis family reunion, so he took Milo and Otis is here with me. Although I do miss the other half of my family, I'm not gonna lie: it's been nice just having to worry about myself and no one else for a change. Otis has been kinda depressed though...he's not used to not having Milo here with him. But as I type this, they should be back on their way home, so it should only be a couple of more hours.

One of the perks of Craig not being home is that I get SO much stuff done around the house. I think it's because I don't have anyone to talk to or any movies to sit down and watch. Just yesterday alone I cleaned (and REALLY cleaned): the kitchen, living room, bathroom, changed the sheets, washed the kitchen and bedroom curtains, cut the front lawn, walked the dog, and then went over Angel and Jason's for a get together. Today I'm just taking it easy...went to brunch by myself with the paper, watching lots of Law & Order, and just chillin in general. I may do a couple of more things around the house, but nothing big. I think I need to turn on the A/C tho...it's getting warm in here.

I just can't believe that 4th of July has already come and gone...that means that the rest of the year is going to just FLY by. And it makes think of all the things that I still need to do this year, meaning the bathroom probably won't be done for a couple of more months. But that's all right. No need for me to cram everything in all at once. : ) Anyhoo, I think that I'm going to go and get some stuff done now, but I'll be posting some pics of Milo and Otis' summer vacation so far.

Peace!

My most favorite person ever...

I know I've been lacking in posts lately, but I promise that there will be at least one new one this weekend, when Craig and Milo go to PA for the annual Davis family reunion (I'm staying home with Otis since we figure it may be too soon to take him on that kind of trip). But I thought I'd make up for my lack of posting with a new pic of Maximo. Doesn't he look so old here??? I know I say this all the time, but he is completely awesome and one of the best things to EVER happen in my life. :)

I'm out.