London

Dear Family and Friends,

This past week has been very busy. In addition to planning for our trip to London, we spent the days leading up to our departure arranging for the arrival of our car from the U.S. We are very excited to finally be a two-car family again and hope this will allow Joe to get home sooner some evenings.

Tuesday night, Julie picked up Joe at work and we headed down to the Marsielle airport to catch a late flight into London's Stanstead airport. Once there, we obtained our rental car (a manual right-hand drive Chevy) and drove south to our hotel near the town of Crawley. On Wednesday, Joe took the train into downtown London while Julie and the kids had fun going to see 'Up' in English, going shopping, and eating at Pizza Hut. Joe of course was jealous and after his class was over he insisted that the family go out to diner and a movie. This time it was TGI Fridays and Disney's 'Christmas Carol' in 3D. We all enjoyed the movie even though Nathaniel ducked for cover when Marley's jaw fell off.



On Wednesday morning, we had a good English breakfast and then took the train into London Bridge Station. We then hailed a London taxi, which itself was a treat, across the Thames to the London Tower, one of England's most visited castles and the location of the Crown Jewels and royal ravens.



The castle is guarded by active duty soldiers, who are pulled from either the English, Austrialian, or New Zealand armies. A couple times each day, the soldiers standing guard are releaved in a small but nonetheless precise changing of the guard ceremony. Additionally, the castle is home to the 'Beefeaters', a special unit of military personnel who are similar to the guards at Arlington and conduct tours of the castle.



Like many castles, the London Tower is surrounded by a moat and several successive walls and connecting towers. The inner castle was the home of English kings for hundreds of years. It was also the cite of considerable political intrigue, torture, murders, executions, wealth, and all of those little things that make for a good castle.



One of the many stories told by our tour guide was that of Lady Jane Gray, who served as Queen for only nine days before being beheaded by her sister, Bloody Mary. As with any story, seeing the actual oak execution block complete with axe marks and one of the original execution axes really helps bring the story to life!



The Crown Jewel exhibit included the actual crowns and sceptres of many of Egland's royalty. These are kept in a climate controlled vault and are very well guarded. There were also several other interesting things to see, including a display of King Henry the Eight's armour, and a hands-on display of swords, spears, and maces. Elyse and Nathaniel even got to try on some guards helmets that must have weighted at least 15 pounds.



Nicolas got to practise shooting a crossbow out a murder hole in one of the many castle towers. The kids also paid close attention to a constable (a guide in period costume) who explained the sleeping and travel arrangments of King Richard.



After our tour, we went out through the gates and watched the river boats pass under the Tower Bridge.



Finally, before starting back to our hotel, we took another taxi over to Westminster Abbey to see the graves of the many famous and influential people buried there. Unfortunately, the Abbey was closed to visitors and instead we walked around parlament and Buckingham Palace.



Even though our trip was short, we enjoyed getting to know more about the city of London, the culture, and as always, a few of the comforts of home.



Cheers,

Joe, Julie, Nicolas, Elyse, and Nathaniel