Volcanic quickie

They’re talking about the volcanic ash cloud tonight in the news. It’s disrupted air travel today in Ireland. It would be a shame if I had to spend more time in a foreign country. As I promised earlier, here are pictures from the Eyjafjallajokull volcano that my dad took from the plane.

Eyjafjallajokull volcano, Iceland

It's 9:40 PM (GMT) in Bath.

Drive left, pass right

Today was our last day in London and we toured the Tower of London. This is where three of Henry VIII’s wives were beheaded and also where the Crown Jewels are kept—pretty neat. There was graffiti from the 1500s carved into the walls by prisoners. I was surprised to learn that there are about 300 residents living in the complex—it’s not just a tower, it’s more of a castle.

Tower Bridge

White Tower (under renovation)

 

Tower Green

And now the reason I skipped the update from the past few days in London: I had to blog about the driving!

We picked up our rental from the airport—a five-speed Peugot. My dad drove out from there to our B&B in Datchet (he’d done this before about 25 years ago), and then it was my turn. First, it’s hard to get used to cars coming at you on the wrong opposite side. Then, most roads are curbed here and they’re narrower. So while I was avoiding traffic coming at me on the right, I rode on the curb a few times. It’ll take a couple of days to get used to it. Believe it or not, I actually did get better as time went on.  I drove from Dachet to Eton and then we walked over to Windsor.  I needed a rest!

Rental Car

Datchet Mead Hotel

Windsor Castle

I just chatted with Fe and the boys online. I miss them.

It's 12:05 AM (GMT) in Dachet, Berkshire

Busy, busy

As I thought, we've been so busy seeing things, I have't had time to blog anything.  My feet hurt!

It's 6:35 PM (GMT) in London

Olde London towne

Landed at Heathrow today at about 1030 am.  The pilot flew a more northerly route to avoid the ash cloud that is still coming from the Eyjafjallajokul volcano in Iceland.  The plane flew by it though, and my dad got some pics, but he has a Sony camera and the memory card is not compatible with my reader.  Damn Sony and their proprietary crap!  Oh well, I'll post it later.

We took a bus from Heathrow to the hotel--it was the cheapest way to go.  When we went to get our bags off the bus though, one of my dad's was missing!  It didn't have his money or passport, but it did have his camera in it.  Luckily, the bus company's lost & found had it.  Someone had mistaken it for theirs and walked off with it, but then turned it in when they realized that. 

As any good intenational traveler knows, the first thing you do in a foreign country is change your money.  I did this after customs at the airport.  I wasn't sure it would fit in my wallet--not because I had so much, but because their money is bigger than ours.

This is what $700 gets you.  God save the Queen!

The first thing we saw in London was the British Museum.  You can never see the whole thing in a day, so we saw the highlights:  the Rosetta Stone, the Elgin Marbles, and the mummy collection.

The Rosetta Stone

One of the Elgin Marbles

I want my mummies!

We did go to a lot of other places on the first day, but those stories will have to wait until I get back..  The Underground is the best!

My dad and the "Way Out" sign

It's 10:32 PM in London (GMT)

Securi-tay!

We're waiting at gate C3 for the flight to Philly.  Security was pretty tight: I had my shoes swabbed for some reason and my dad had his baggage checked a second time.  I told him he looked like the guy who flew his plane into the IRS building in Texas.

It's 4:55 PM in Middletown (9:55 PM GMT)

Flight info

This is the flight schedule:

Pied 4360     Depart: MDT 6:54 PM    Arrive: PHL 7:40 PM          Aircraft: Dash 8
USAir 728    Depart: PHL 9:55 PM     Arrive: LHR 10:05 AM        Aircraft: A300-200

LHR is the code for Heathrow.  All times are local.

The flight is longer than I thought at 7 hours.  Good thing I'm used to flying to the Philippines!

It's 6:00 PM in Carlisle, PA (11:00 PM GMT)

Weekend before the trip

My dad and I will be taking a trip to Britain next week. We'll be leaving on Monday the 10th and returning on the 24th. It's my first time to the UK, but my dad was there with my mom in 1985.

It's 5:14 PM in Carlisle, PA (10:14 PM GMT)