Hi Everyone!
We've had a very busy few weeks here!
Marisa's friend Kate came to stay with us for
a week and we had some really fun times taking
her around to the sights. I think her favorite,
hands down, was the London Aquarium! We
also visited the London Eye and a movie museum
that day, which the girls also loved.

We did a ton of shopping while Kate was here
and visited Madame Tussauds wax museum.
I think we all agree, skip this if you're ever here.
It's not that the museum isn't worth seeing or
wasn't fun, but the crowds of people there were
just way too much for us. I've never been pushed
and shoved so much in my life. We are pretty
orderly and respectful in the States, I have to
say, after that experience. And the Brits are
too. The whole point of going to the wax museum,
I guess, is to take pictures w/the "stars" but it's
not easy or enjoyable. I felt like I was in a mosh pit!

We went up to the Saturday market at Convent
Gardens. Lots of arts and crafts and plenty of
shops to keep the girls interested. I meet the
most amazing designer there, who does custom
belts with hand crafted leather made in England
with Italian silver buckles. We walked up to
Neals Yard, a place where the 60's are still alive
and well! You'll see pictures of the colorful buildings
and quirky little shops below. Some of the business
there have been going for 100's of years.

We also visited St Paul's Cathedral, but we were
too late to climb the dome. Sometimes it's so
hard to get out of the house when you've been
trekking non-stop thru the city for days! We toured the
Cathedral and then stayed for the EvenSong, which
was so beautiful. I'm so glad we were able to do that.
After dinner that day we went to The Globe to see
As You Like It. Very fun day! The play was very well
done and we all enjoyed it. The Globe is an outdoor
theatre modelled after the original, and the seating
is on wooden benches, but you can rent a seat cushion
for 1 pound, which we did!

We took the girls to see the new Harry Potter movie
downtown at the Empire in Leicester Sq where it had
premerried a few days earlier w/all the stars in
attnedance. Too bad we missed that :) The girls
really enjoyed the movie. Then we went to dinner
at the Hard Rock Cafe, the original one that Eric
Clapton first gave his guitar to, followed quickly
by Pete Townsend. Best burger we'd had in months!

A few days later we all took a train trip down to
Brighton on the Sussex coast along the English
Channel. It's been the most popular seaside
resort for Londoners since the 1830's. We shopped
along The Lanes, what used to be the old
fishing village with tiny little lanes and alley
ways. And walked along the Pier, which is kind
of a mix of New Jersey and Santa Monica except with
much greasier food. Instead of corndogs, they have
these greasy donuts dipped in a mountain of sugar,
seved scorching hot. Sounds good right? We tried to eat
the leftovers the next day and they were...well, not
as good as scones anyway. We did have some rain
while we were there, but redeemed the afternoon
by having tea at The Grand Hotel. I am a huge fan of
afternoon tea after that experience! It was fun to get
dressed up and sit in the glorious tea room! Our only
regret was that we weren't actually staying at The Grand.
We had to pry Kate's and Marisa's fingers off their
chairs when it was time to leave!

The girls were constantly on the look-out for the Mr Whippy
ice cream trucks around town, and we saw a few in front of
St Pauls that were both being written up by the Police.
You'll see some of the photos below! Kinda sad to see the
local ice cream man being hasseled by the Police!

Much Love!

Some more photos of the trip to Scotland, showcasing our
flat tire right after picking up the car!

Our drive thru the Highlands with a stop at Scotland's oldest
distillery and the town of Pitlochy, and our trip on Loch Ness
and Urquhart Castle. An updated blog follows the photos :)