12 July 2009 “Sitting in the Eurostar Station, have a ticket for my destination…..mmmm..mm”

12 July 2009

“Sitting in the Eurostar Station, have a ticket for my destination…..mmmm..mm”

Left Ely and Bury St. Edmunds this morning. Kye drove us to the train station

and we caught a train to London’s King’s Cross/St.

Pancras Station where we caught the Eurostar. We are currently on the train and have yet to “submerge” and

the kids are anticipating that moment very much. I’m sure it won’t be as thrilling as one

imagines but the thought of traveling underwater is strange. Roan’s biggest concern is what will happen

if the chunnel breaks… hadn’t quite thought about that myself, but now that he mentions it…???

It’s been a lovely week visiting the UK. Thoughts of figuring out the Underground, teaching the kids how to hop on and off the Tube; how to hold on to the rail while on the tube if there wasn’t a seat available. Riding the train to Bath and staying in Bradford-on-Avon; riding the train to Salisbury and having it work out perfectly to take a ride to Stonehenge (we thought of

our last visit the the Neuwalder/Abele’s fondly!); another train ride to visit Kye and a trek to Cambridge for some punting (we had a brillant puntsman? Tom who navigated the crowded water way like a pro) ; Matt learning how to drive in the UK (scary! luckily he is dyslexic) and

eating a “chain” pub for the third and last time! The pub was great and the meals and drink were very inexpensive, so with the kids it was a good deal for all of us. We fondly refer to it as the “Winchester”, for those of you who may have seem Shaun of the Dead. Every time we were trying to figure out where to eat Sam would say, “ look it’s Winchester’s! Let’s eat at Winchester’s…” and we did. My favorite night was Curry night… although that Chicken Vindaloo kicked my a**! And I love spicy food! Makes me curious about how hot the Indian food can get.

It was a very quick trip and we did a lot in a short time. The UK was a great first stop for us as

it got us through jet lag in a country that was relatively easy to navigate. We found that everyone was generous with helping us out, either by helping us get through the queues quickly with children in tow or helping us figure out which train or hotel to stay in.

Now on our way to France. We want to get to Paris for Bastille Day on 14 July. Sam and I watched a whole show dedicated to the foods that Marie Antoinette ate before her beheading and about the French

Revolution. Since we missed 4^th of July back home, this may make up for it in some way… we are hoping for some fireworks!

This coming week will be more relaxing as we stay in Paris the entire time without much moving around. We will take the kids to the

“tourist pilgrimages” of course, but we hope to spend time playing in the parks and generally milling about.

We ended up dumping a bunch of gear out of our bags and shipping it home (Hannah…. A package will be arriving in the next month we hope!) No one is homesick yet. I think realizing we won’t be back for a long time helps and we just look forward to the time we are spending together exploring and although we have been to some of these spots before, with the kids it’s like seeing it all for the first time again.