Off to the Airport

Mom and Dad are in the Sedan Service's car on their way to the airport. (Again, I do not drive in the snow, and we thought it best to plan ahead for transportation so as to avoid stress all around!) I woke them up at 5:30 a.m. for a 6:15 a.m. pick-up. They ate breakfast, and the car was early, so we got them off a bit ahead of schedule. However, when I came back in I thought to check to make sure Mom took her insulin, etc. with her. Alas, she did not! So, I called the service and they sent the car back around to pick that up. Even after the detour back here, they were on the road again by 6:20 a.m., which is still on schedule. Now, we are just waiting to hear when they get home, and how things went. Hopefully all of the airport/airlines staff will be helpful and kind, as Mom has a bit of difficulty getting around. She and Dad both said everyone was really nice on their flight here, so I'm sure things will be fine on the way back.

In other news, Karl is now in flight to Romania. He will land this afternoon and spend the next 4 business days there, in meetings, I think. He is hoping to post some pictures if possible, but he isn't sure what kind of time he will have for that. I have really enjoyed his pictures and commentary on England, and I hope you all have, too. We are managing without him here, but we miss him very much and can't wait to see him next weekend. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we wait for his arrival! :)

Well, it's early here, and I can think of nothing else of interest to write about. I don't think my brain works very well before 7:00 a.m. More later...

Order dinner and get a new friend.

Lesson 3: Never order seafood outside of the U.S.
Last night (Friday) was our final night with the customer in the UK, and the weather forecast was iffy, so I picked a tiny Italian restaurant within walking distance from the hotel that didn’t require me to leave a credit card number to reserve a table. That way if the heavens opened at the last minute we could just eat at the hotel without incurring fees for canceling transportation and dinner reservations. Luckily the troposphere cooperated and we were able to enjoy a pleasant walk to dinner.

Laurentiu ordered sea bass, which at the time sounded quite good to me, but I was eyeing a tuna dish that they had on special. I was all set to order when I made a last minute course correction in favor of the chicken fettuccini.
It had been a full day for all of us, so there was happiness all around when the food arrived. The first dishes to be served were the orders of sea bass. Creepy how the eyes seem to follow you isn't it? At that moment I kind of imagined the table collapsing under the weight had I ordered the tuna. Although my Romanian friends didn’t seem at all concerned, the arrival of the food confirmed my choice.

Now that’s what I’m talking about. After introducing himself to his food, Laurentiu, seeing all the vegetables in my pasta, commented on my healthy choice. I, in turn, commented that his looked very friendly as well.
So I’m not the biggest fan of boiled or steamed tomatoes, and there were also a few peppers left on my plate when I was finished. Laurentiu noticed this and said “Karl, you left all the healthy things on your plate!” Remembering one of my previous lessons in Romanian proverbs, I responded “i fudulie!” He seemed impressed, as did what was left of his fish.

Overall we had a good time together and I wish my new friends the best life can offer and safe travels on their way home.

Big Ben and Parliament House

You know how sometimes you hear of a place or an object that is a must see experience, then see a photograph and wonder what all the fuss is about. For me this was one of those places. I’ve seen countless pictures of the London Clock Tower, often referred to as Big Ben, and thought that it seemed cool and that was pretty much the end of it. I didn’t realize it was actually part of the Parliament Building that sits on the bank of the River Thames. Holy Smokes this place is unbelievable! These are some of the pictures I took. Believe me, they don’t begin to capture the beauty and enormity of this structure.

A shot of Victoria Tower from the Grounds below.

This was taken from the gardens to the south of the Parliament building

The ubiquitous "I was here" photo taken from the Westminster Bridge over the Thames.

A new street

When I visit any new town I usually start out with the tourist attractions, the buildings that you have to see, the popular parks and so on. But my attention is quickly drawn to the little differences from where I happen to be and where I have come from. In England those differences are not so subtle. I am just beginning to get used to people driving in the left hand lane. And in London, no car is more visible than the London Black Cab. They aren't all Black. That's just what they're called. Kind of like the Yellow Cab in NYC. The first thing I thought when I saw one was "what an interesting little car." It seemed so well preserved for such an old vehicle. Next thing I new the whole city seemed to be swallowed with them. I quickly realized that they weren't old at all, just retro by design. Strange, but it does seem very "British".
http://www.carbodydesign.com/archive/2006/10/19-lti-tx4-london-taxi/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Taxi

Another obvious difference is the police force, referred to as Bobbies, carrying no firearms and wearing their tall helmets. We’ve all seen them on TV but it is even more amusing to actually walk past one of them. I caught these guys taking a break from the action to discuss politics for a moment.

One perk of the Job, many patrol cars that I’ve seen have been BMW 5 series or Jaguars.

No doubt the first thing that I noticed upon landing in London was all the different cars on the road here that aren’t even available in the States. The second was the comparatively huge number of what we would consider “luxury imports”. Mercedes is like Ford here, and there is no shortage of Aston Martin or Audi either.

And in case you were wondering, yes black does seem to be a very popular color for cars around here.

Walking in London

I spent the last couple days walking around London. The weather has been better than expected, so that’s been nice. I gotta say, though, that I can’t help but wish that Wendy was here to enjoy this with me. I’ve taken a few interesting shots along the way. See what you think.

These Trees line the eastern pathway of Hyde Park. I'm not sure what they are but they sure look spooky

Some very Official looking Horsemen passing by Buckingham Palace

Feeding the Pigeons

Picadilly Circus reminded me very much of New York's Time Square. It was considerably less flashy, but it still caught me off guard to walk around the corner amidst all these 50-100 year old structures and see five floors of video board advertising everything from consumer electronics to Coca-Cola.



I caught this gentleman climbing out on a ledge to clean a window on Knightsbridge road...





These Schoolboys were gathered in Victoria Tower Gardens and decided to snap a group photo. I couldn't help but take a candid shot myself.