Jan in London ...

Forgot to mention that Jan is extremely surprised that most of the people here have good teeth - she was expecting something else ...

Historic Day in London

It was a historic day in London today (even by the centuries old standard which is London).  It was the  opening of the State Parliament today.  The Queen is taken from Buckingham Palace by coach to the Parliament in all the pageantry which you would expect including horses, guards and bobbies.  We decided to take a walking tour this morning which had mentioned something about the Queen.  Wow.  We ended up behind the scenes in the Horses Guard Parade (not an actual parade but a parade ground) which was not open to the public - our guide had some pull!  There were three coach processions.  The first procession was for the Crown jewels ("her best hat" as coined by the Queen) in a coach.  The second coach procession was Prince Charles and The Duchess of Cornwall (Camilla) - this was the historic part - Prince Charles has not attended the opening of Parliament since 1998 and all of Britain is aflutter as to one of the first signs that Prince Charles will become King.  The coach procession was Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip in the "Irish" coach purchased by Queen Victoria.  We were within 30 yards of the coaches.  We then hightailed it to Buckinham Palace and again got preferential viewing space for their return - we were within 10 yards of the coaches this time on the Mall.  Not too many people get to see the Queen and we got to see her twice.  Our Guide, Tom Hooper was amazing.

Jan at Buckingham Palace

We then walked through St. James Park to Trafalgar Square and had lunch in the Crypt at St. Martins in the Field Church.  This is literally an old crypt beneath the church where the markers were on the floor:

A Marker on the Floor in the Crypt in St. Martins in the Field Cafe

The Crypt at St. Martins in the Field

We spent the rest of the day wandering around Covent Garden.  Had dinner at St. Christpher's Inn (the bar at the hostel) - great food for a great price.  Went to Picadilly Circus to wander around in the evening and returned home for a well deserved night's sleep.

Our First Day ...

We left Edmonton at 10:30 pm on May 6 and arrived in London at 2 pm on May 7.  We took a lift to a platform and then got on the Tube on the Brown (Bakerloo) line but had to switch at Waterloo to the Grey (Jubilee) line and got off at London Bridge Station.  Seamless.  We walked to St. Christopher's Hostel and checked into our 4-bed room.  Nice and clean and small!  Went for a short 3 hour walk on the South Bank and then crossed the Thames River at Westminster and walked along Whitehall, Fleet, Strand and Ludgate Hill past many landmarks to St. Paul's Cathedral.  We crossed backed over the Millenium Bridge to the South Bank and back to the hostel.  Had fish and chips and a few beers for dinner.  Apparently the Queen is opening up Parliament tomorrow, we are going to try and catch a glimpse ...

Here we are at home with our backpacks before leaving for the airport

Jan in Trafalgar Square

Leaving today ...

Last minute preparations ... we are leaving tonight.  We can't believe that this day is finally here!  Our adventure of a lifetime starts tonight as we fly to London on the red eye.  Tomorrow we are booked into St. Christopher's Hostel on the South Bank ... Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral. several pubs, Harry Potter studios, all on the agenda.  Wow!

Europe: Look out! The Zechels are about to arrive ...

We are getting are backpacks ready and researching destinations like mad ... we are starting in London for a few days, then off to the Cotswolds in rural England and then flying to Portugal.  Our travel method then changes and the trains will be our mode of transportation for the remainder of our 3-4 months in Europe.  Our route will evolve as we go, but as we land in Portugal, our route will likely take  us from Lisbon to the Algarve (still Portugal) to Africa (Tangiers, Morocco), Spain (Sevilla, Ronda, Granada, Tarifa, Madrid, Toledo, San Sebastian, Barcelona) to France (Carcassone, Provence area, Nice, Monaco, Paris) to Belgium (Bruges) to Germany (Rhine valley, Rothenberg, Munich) to Austria to Prague to Switzerland to Italy (Venice - we have a cruise booked for 7 days from Venice which takes us to Croatia, Greece and Turkey), Florence, Tuscany, Cinque Terre, Rome, Amalfi coast) to Greece (Athens and a small less touristy greek island to end our trip).  We should be back in August ...

Hangover Part 3

Hangover Part 3.  These pictures kinda tell the story ...

Vegas Baby!

We arrived in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 27, 2013 at 8:30 am.   We are here with our friends Vic and Sylvie Paquin and Dave and Belinda Bilodeau. We are staying at the iconic Caesars Palace.  It is unbelievable how big this place is - it is about a 10 minute walk from the Bilodeau room to ours.

We started out the day by going to Dave and Bren's room for a pre-breakfast rum and coke (maybe 2).  Had breakfast at the Margaritaville Casino and then did a little gambling at Harrah's and the Quad (which is the old Imperial Palace).  Dave was the big winner of the morning taking down Kenny Rogers at his 1 cent slot machine - $28 profit.

In the afternoon, we cruised the strip and had a light lunch of beer and appetizers at Cabo Wabo Cantina - Sammy Hagar's restaurant near Paris. There goes the afternoon.

Stopped at Walgreens for some supplies; played Dance Party slot machine to a profit of $20 (this is group money - we all kicked in).  We then went to dinner at Max Brenner's Chocolate Restaurant in The Forum Shops mall attached to Caesars Palace.  I ordered the veggie burger - ouch!  Not good.  Vic felt so bad, he gave me half his meal.  

After dinner, Dave played Slots with Judge Judy and lost $10 of group money.  We went over to The Quad where Vic and I played blackjack for about 2 hours and both of us broke exactly even.  The evening was not so successful for the slot players and I am guessing they lost about $20 between the 4 of them.  We went to bed about midnight having been up almost 24 hours.