Day 8: Christmas shopping, day 3 and 4

After a night spent on the board and bricks, it was time for another day in London. First the bus from the hotel to Brixton (about 45 minutes), then hop on the Underground and on to Victoria. I had thought of seeing another musical, Christmas-related or not, but it being a Sunday, most had a day off. There were two I wanted to see: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (day off) and Matilda. But 80 pounds was a bit steep even for me. 

I then made my way to Westminster and on to the Southbank. Half an hour later, I found the perfect in between meal: Dutch pancakes or poffertjes. The girl flipping said poffertjes was no natural, but they tasted good. Next time I will have to ask for a bit more icing sugar though!

Moving on along towards the Tower, I saw two sandcastle builders. One made a face and the other one made a beautiful castle complex, complete with smurfs(?), princess and a prince. The most artistic sand castle I ever made was a turtle! Anyway. I moved on, crossed the river towards St Paul's and sat there for a while nursing my poor feet. Even though I had used blister plasters (which I had NOT forgotten), my feet were still sore. 

But I knew the perfect solution: late lunch/early dinner at a nice restaurant and I knew just where to find it: a shopping center near Bayswater. However, when I entered it, it was spookily empty. There were a few shops and stands, but no Christmas decoration at all and it was just a depressing place. And my nice restaurant was not there anymore either! Fortunately I had seen one of the same name out on the main road, so that's where I led my poor feet. 

Lunch/dinner was great, the service was great (and cute) and I felt refreshed and ready for some more 'shopping'. I knew of another shopping center and after the waiter (yep, the cute one) told me which station to use, I made my way over. 

I was a bit dubious on entering though. All expensive shops! Was I going to find anything that was even remotely in my price range? But I needn't have worried, there were plenty of shops in every price range!

Trafalgar Square. Only on the green lights though

The next morning I realised I had only bought one Christmas sweater and there was a bit of empty space in my suitcase. After having taken the wrong bus (do I ever listen), I finally made it on to the right bus and found the supermarket I wanted. I found two more sweaters and a pair of pj's. Got some brandy (for my Christmas puddings) and made my way back to the hotel. Where I tried to stuff everything in my suitcase.

This reminded me so much of Ginnie Marie, I had to take a photo!

It wasn't happening. So, in the end, I had to take off the thin sweater I was wearing and put on the thickest one of all! It was really nice, but also really warm! But, finally everything was packed, I was able to check out and take myself to the station and from there to the airport. My trip to London was over. 

I can't wait for next year's trip. Gera???

Day 7: Christmas shopping day 1 and 2

After more than four years, it was such a delight to be back in London. Even though I did miss Brom and my sister. Next year we will have to plan it a bit further in advance so we can all go together!

My room was a beautiful room with soft beds (board) and soft pillows (bricks) and a great view (see top photo). The dinner I had was pure gourmet. Of the cheapest microwave version! I buy better at home. Mind you, the price was accordingly low and it was warm.

On Saturday I made my way into London. Where it was busy! My first stop was Covent Garden, where I scored a belt (forgot to take one) and some gloves (forgot to take mine). And then it was off to the annual Christmas Pudding Race. Where I saw Oompa-Loompas, convicts, elves and even Her Royal Higness, the Queen herself!! And she graciously let me take a photo of her.

After having walked around for a while and taken a few photos of the beautiful decorations (mistletoe), I made my way to Oxford Street. There were some things I really wanted. Like a Christmas sweater. And paracetamol (forgot to bring those as well). And other knicky-knackies that I don't need, but do quite want. 

I had walked about half of Oxford Street when I decided to get on the Underground again and see what was happening in Hyde Park. Well, it was the Winter Wonderland! Complete with ice skating show, ferris wheel (no fun on my own) and German Christmas market. It was absolutely heaving though! The weather was quite cold, but bright and sunny and everyone and their aunt had made it into town.

The lights in Regent Street

I got back to Oxford Street and finally found a HMV (record/cd/dvd-store). Where I found some of the films and series I really love so guess what... By then however it was time to find myself some dinner, because that night I was going to see a show. And not just any show either: the Snowman. You may have seen the film, you may know the song (Walking on the air). I saw the musical. 

It was a really lovely musical. Only two songs with words, everything else was music only. The boy in front of me (Italian/French) was loving it! No need to understand another language when the music will do the trick every time. 

That night I made my way back to the hotel. Tired, weary, three large blisters on my feet and one on my credit card. But a beautiful day.

A treat

You might think that having a week off for Christmas and New Year's is a treat and you would not be wrong. However, I wanted another little treat. And after careful consideration and calculation I asked for a few more days off. Well, I asked for one day off and one day swap, but that meant that I would have Friday and Monday off, plus the Saturday and Sunday in between.

The next thing to do was find out what I was going to do with those four days. Was I going on a quick tour to Vienna to see 'the Kiss'? Or perhaps Berlin for a Christmas market? But, after checking and calculating I realised that both those destinations might be a bit above my financial willingness. Another choice had to be made. 

Well, it was made. I booked a flight. I booked my hotel. And in only two weeks I will be enjoying the lights and sounds of London!

A real treat!

London

The normal order of events just before Easter used to be as follows: the Sunday before Easter I made my way to a school somewhere and I picked up a coach load of teenagers and five teachers. Then I made my way to London where I would spend the next few days. And on Thursday (ie yesterday) I would have made my way back home. 

Despite the teachers wanting me back for the trip I didn't. It would have cost me more than I would have earned. I did miss it though. Thinking about where they were, how they were getting on and so forth. I just had an email of one of the teachers. She knows about the Cathedral of St Zvlkx, which makes her a good 'un in my book! The trip had gone fine and they had realised how much I knew about the trip, parking and so forth. Feather in my cap and all. 

Perhaps at some point in the future I will do schooltrips to London again. I would like it very much. Although they could never be as good as those trips with that school were. Because they were great!!

We will rock you!!

All three photos from the trip of two years ago. 

O is for...

O2 arena

Now, if you watched any of the Olympics, there is quite a chance that you saw this arena come by at some point. It was used for the gymnastics and the final of the basketball games. However, you may not have heard this name then, since due to advertising regulations it was known during the Olympics and Paralympics as the North Greenwich Arena. 

The arena was built later than the dome which meant that any work that needed to be done to the place, needed to be done inside, since no cranes could be used. So, the roof was built and then lifted into place! 

This is the letter O for ABC Wednesday. Why not join?

Photo taken in April 2011, from the River Thames

London

White Cliffs of Dover yesterday

We had some glorious weather today. Absolutely fantastic. I dropped the kids off at Greenwich and then made my way to the coach park. Which wasn't that far away, but it still took me the better part of 45 minutes! London traffic...

After I had parked, I made my way into the center of town to get a bit to eat and perhaps see the Queen. Well, the bite to eat was easy, I never did get to see the Queen though. Just her house. I think it's a bit large for two, but that might just be me. Oh, hold on, I forgot the corgies! Sorry, I take back what I said.

Buckingham Palace

Following Buckingham Palace I made my way back to the bus. I stopped off to get some books first and then went back. I got a chair out (thank you colleague) and sat outside, soaking up the sunshine. Then, when it was time to pick up the children again, I drove there, parked the coach and waited. And waited. And waited. Turned out, the teachers weren't completely sure about where the entrance was. In the end one of the teachers did find me though. In tears! I was reading a sad book and the main character had just passed away (I will write a review soon).

Tomorrow we're off to Cambridge, with two stops on the way: one at the Duxford Imperial Warmuseum (a lot of (American) planes from WWII) and the other at Wimpole Hall, a large estate. So, I leave you and might see you tomorrow.

Another one

Tower Bridge. Photo taken during same trip last year.

As you know I was away last week (to Normandy, which I loved) and this coming week I will be away from home as well. To London this time with the same school as last year. Actually this is the fourth year I will be driving them to London. Which I love. I even made it into the trip's booklet, albeit with a bit of a bad photo. Although my friend Pepperfly (who is responsible for it) told me it would only be a pleasant surprise if they then saw me in real life. Hm, not convinced...

Anyway, today I will be spending doing the laundry, getting food for the monsters and making sure their litterboxes are nice and clean and fresh. Not forgetting to unblock their pathway to them, otherwise I will come back to another case of sofapoop (not a good way of coming home I can tell you). Talking of monsters, Wuppie is retreating a bit into himself. His ear is bothering him a bit because it has become completely swollen now. According to Pepperfly (two mentions in one post, I mustn't overdo it), it can take up to a month to drain away again. Poor mite.

I will be taking my baby with me and hope the wifi in the hotel we always stay in is better than the wifi last week. That way I might regale you with fantastic stories about London. Or something else of course.

Day 2-5

Tower Bridge

Suffice it to say the traffic was murder in London! Oh my Godfried Bomans, I had never seen so many coaches not being able to park! Fortunately I was able to park in a spot where I a. didn't have to pay and b. wasn't crowded and c. in the shade. It was a lovely spot and when I made it to the other side of the Thames I took a Thames Clipper and raced along the river! The only time on Tuesday, since it was so incredibly busy on the roads.

Tower of London

On day 3 we went to Duxford Imperial War Museum, Wimpole Hall and Cambridge and the roads were okay. Not too much traffic and we were able to get everywhere on time. Back was the same, even though I did feel queasy by the time we crossed Dartford Bridge. Driving on the left side of the road, with the steering wheel on the left and then looking down over the railing into the River Thames: not a good thing for me! The day didn't finish that well for me though. We were nearly at the meeting point and I had to turn left with my (14 meter) coach. I was straddling both lanes so I could take the turn properly without hindering anybody when a car suddenly drove in front of me and stopped again since his light was red. I honked the horn to let him know I was not happy with his behaviour and turned left. By the time we had gotten to the meeting point I had told the kids on board to immediately walk towards their host families and not inspect the damage. The next thing I know a woman is walking up to the coach, holds out a badge, tells me she's a police woman and can I please get out of the coach! Yes, I had hit the car and it turned out to be an unmarked policecar!!!

Zero!!!

An hour and a half, two more police cars, five more police officers, a breathalising test and a sermon later I was finally allowed to leave again! I maintain my stand though: if she had just waited for ten more seconds, we would have both been fine! Idiot!

O2 Arena

On Thursday of course the traffic wasn't any better and we had to make a change to the program in order for me to have my required 9 hours of rest. Fortunately by the time we left at night the traffic was a considerable amount less and we made good time. Until I turned into a wrong street that is and nearly got stuck! In the end I had to reverse back out (after moving a car a few meters along, sigh), turn and retrace my tracks.

Mail Box in Cambridge

Friday started off with more beautiful sunshine (we had had beautiful weather all week) and we left on time-ish. When we arrived in Dover though, we realised that even though we were on time, we would not catch an earlier ferry: it was so incredibly busy! When we finally made it to the check-in it was 11.40am and we were booked for the 12.40pm ferry. An hour to kill! However, someone liked us anyway and the next thing we know we are on the 11.50am ferry (last on) and we are leaving Dover Harbour! We drove through France and Belgium, had a couple of stops and at exactly a quarter to ten at night I steered my coach onto the school's parking lot!

What a week...

Day 1

Remember how I went to London last week? Well, I've decided to make a list of everything that could have gone wrong and tell you what actually happened!

1. Oversleep. I didn't. I actually underslept, waking up two hours before I should have, which meant I was not as rested as I would have wanted.

2. Car trouble. Nope. Car was fine, except for the radio not working, but that hasn't worked in quite a while now: we're used to it.

3. Coach trouble. Neither. The coach was fine, everything worked, not a problem there.

4. Heavy traffic towards the pick-up point. Njet, although the heron probably thought differently after he had been hit and was lying in the middle of the road trying to get up again. I hoped he was killed soon after, since it was clear he was quite hurt (and before you ask: no, I didn't stop my coach on the motorway, that would have been suicide).

5. The group was late. Non! The group was there on time, including the teachers and my teacher friend Pepperfly.

6. Heavy traffic towards Calais. Ah, now, that would be a yes. But even so we still arrived on time in Calais: an hour before our ferry was due to sail.

7. Missed the ferry. A definite yes. Two in fact! Because of those nuptials next week of Katy and Billy, customs had decided to check everything. Well, that would have been an explanation, except they didn't. They were just being extremely slow and awful and instead of the four o'clock ferry we finally made it on to the six o'clock ferry! Two hours late. Grrrrr...

8. More heavy traffic towards London. Fortunately not, I was over an hour late for my shift (15 hours maximum) as it was!

9. Got lost. I had been at this particular meeting point before, so no, I didn't get lost.

10. Children didn't do their job. Well, four of them got all the luggage off the coach and another four cleaned the inside of the coach. So I would say they did their job!

Can anyone turn the shower on?

I was sixteen when I went to London the very first time. I think it was also the first time I was ever away from home and not staying with family. The coach picked us up from school and drove us to the port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, where we found out we had missed the ferry. Some miscommunication about summer/winter time and/or European/British time. Anyway, we finally caught the ferry (Herald of Free Enterprise I think it was called) and made our way over to England.

After we finally arrived (after midnight) at our hotel, I had to share the room with three other girls. I had never met any of them, but we settled in quite nicely. The hotel we stayed in was no Hilton, so bathroom facilities were mostly in the hallway. However, we did have a lone-standing shower cubicle and a sink in our room. So, what to do when you are with 57 teens in a hotel? You try how many of those 57 actually will fit in that one little shower cubicle!

Well, out of those 57, 50 had to look on as 7 of us squeezed ourselves, amidst much laughter, in to the cubicle. And yes, I am in there as well: I am the one in yellow!

Early to rise

Remember when I went to London and had to turn around with the channel tunnel in sight? Because there weren't any trains running and the ferries were too full and the roads in England were awful? If not, click here and read the horror story that was last year's trip!

But, the company I work for is not one for letting past trouble take them down and they are trying again this year. So, this morning at 1.30am my alarmclock went off! Around 2.45am I started driving and at 3.35am the first people were on board. A few more pick-ups and then we were off to Calais to catch the train. Hopefully everthing will run smoothly and I should arrive in London at around 2pm, giving the people enough time to shop.

So, wish me luck and feel sorry for me today.

U is for...

Underground

The very first time I was in London was when I was 16 and on a schooltrip. I loved it. Especially the underground (or the tube). Waiting for the train to arrive on one of those platforms with the wind wooshing in first. It was so thrilling! And I didn't even mind being packed in tighter than sardines or the smells of all those sweaty people. I just loved the whole sensation of it all. It was one of the reasons I was homesick after returning home! I wanted to go back to London. Fortunately I have many times since.

The map you can see at the top is a map from 1986 as are the tickets. There are a few more stations now and the tickets have changed a lot as well. There are still paper tickets, but people who use the tube on a regular basis use the Oyster card (I have one too), which is a pay as you go system which works really well.  

For more U-words from around the world, please check out ABC Wednesday and join in the fun!

L is for...

London

Now, I might shock you here, but London doesn't exist. Yes, I know it's on all the maps and it's on all the signs leading into London, but once you get there, you're not there! There aren't any signs saying you have entered London! There are signs for Peckham, Lewisham, Wembley, Westminster, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and lots and lots more, but the closest one to London is 'City of London'. So, I always tell people London doesn't exist!

Yet, it does. Because London is the collective name of all those villages and cities. You could almost say that everything that lies within the boundaries of the great and awful M25 (the surrounding motorway) belongs to London.

Either way, whether it exists or not, London is a fantastic place to visit and since over 8 million people call it home, it mustn't be too bad to live there either!

For more L words from around the world, please check out ABC Wednesday and join in the fun!

Book safari

I should have taken my sandals. And my lovely three quarter pair of dark blue linen/coton trousers. Instead I had with me thick corduroy trousers and half boots and thick socks. So, the temperatures in London went up and up and up and my own temperature rose with it.

However, even those high temperatures didn't stop me from getting the books I wanted. Which would be found only at Persephone's bookstore. Which was either in Lamb's Street or Conduit Street. And since I had it quite fixed in my head that Conduit was the one, especially after looking it up, I made my way to Conduit Street (just off Regent Street). But there wasn't any bookshop. Stella McCartney's shop was there and several other designer shops, but no Persephone. By now however, my A-Z was on the coach and I didn't know where to go. So, I phoned them up. Turned out they weren't in Conduit Street (I knew that already). But they also weren't in Lamb's Street. They were in (wait for it...) Lamb Conduit Street! *Sigh*

Anyway, I did make it there in the end. And I browsed in the shop for a while (which was as big as my living room, which isn't very big). And I came away with six books. So, not too bad.

Feathers and caps and stuff

In March I drove a school to London for the second year. They had asked for me and so had the organization that hires the coach. In a week and a half I have to drive another school to London for the second year. They too asked for me via the same organization.

Last week I got an e-mail. Whether I would be okay staying in a guest family instead of a hotel. I didn't mind too much, provided I have my own private facilities, which I am entitled to according to my workers' agreement.

Today I opened my e-mail and there was another one: the problem was solved. I would be staying in a hotel. It was a bit dearer than planned, but I had always done outstanding work in London, so they wanted me to stay there.

Good thing I don't have to wear a hat to work: it wouldn't fit anymore!!!

Off

Tower Bridge in London

Well, the only thing left to do right now is notify my neighbour exactly when I will be away and, of course, pack my suitcase. I've gotten quite used to packing over the last couple of years and actually have a double set of toiletries, making it a bit easier.

Where I am going you ask. Didn't I tell you? I am off to London for a few days! Hopefully the weather holds out and stays as nice as it has been these last few days in the Netherlands. Not too hot, not too cold, no blaring sun, juuuuuust right. If it will be like that in England, I will be well chuffed (I am already going into 'English mode' here).

Anyway, my posting over the next day will at best be sporadic, unless I manage to write some more posts right now and pre-post them. So, don't worry, I am off to enjoy heavy traffic in London, 53 teenagers and a small hotel room with a lousy bathroom. I will try to make tons of photos I haven't made before and see you in about a week's time!

*TTFN (ta ta for now)*

B is for...

Big Ben

The official name of this tower is the Saint Stephen's Clock Tower. Because that's what it is: a clock tower. And the name Big Ben doesn't refer to the tower, but to the bell inside the clock tower! There are several theories as to where the name came from: it could be named after a very famous boxer at the time the tower was built; or perhaps it was the builder. And perhaps both those theories are wrong and it was just someone being funny, we will never know for sure!

Anyway, the bell inside the tower was the second bell installed. The first one fell and after that couldn't be used anymore: it had lost its tone. This one also fell, but it didn't loose its tone and was hung in the tower.

It's said that the clock is always correct, however there were two occasions when the clock was late: once New Year started late, because the snow had weighted down the hands on the clock and on a seperate occasion a bird had found a nice perch on one of the hands, making the clock late as well.

If you ever listen to the BBC world service you can hear the bell at the start of the news, bringing London home to wherever you live.

Says the Leaning Tower of Pisa to the Big Ben: "If you've got the time, I've got the inclination".

For more B words from around the world, please check out ABC Wednesday and join in the fun!

Best laid plans and all

Last November on Facebook, several of my former colleagues thought it might be fun to organise a reunion of everybody who had ever worked for the Manor House Hotel in Castle Combe, England. Before I knew what I had done, I had booked a flight over, leaving April 1st, coming back April 4th!

Fast forward to early January this year. My friend Pepperfly (and no, that is not her real name) told me where she worked. The same school I had been to London with last year. The teacher in charge remembered me as well and according to my friend his eyes lit up. I had had a great time then and because of that school I had had another trip to London offered to me as well. Smiles all round...

Fast forward to yesterday. My friends C. and Pepperfly were here for tea and brownies and chat. But when C. had to leave she said: how about Easter? Why not come together again for Easter? For lunch and such... I get my lovely home-made calendar and look up when Easter is this year. Good Friday is on April 2nd, Easter on April 4th. And my mind goes into overdrive! What about my trip to England, what about my trip to London, never mind about Easter, AAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!

Of course the first thing I needed to do today was to ascertain (don't you love that word) whether or not I was going to London in the week before Easter. I knew from last year that they left on Sunday to return on Thursday and they wanted to do the same again this year. I phoned the sales-office and lo and behold: I was already down to do that trip, returning April 1st. Which is the same day I am leaving for England by the way. I then phoned my direct boss and told him to change my days off to start on April 2nd, so I would be free to work April 1st (are you still with me?).

After doing all that, I needed to change my flight. Which cost me about the same the original flight had cost me. Ah well, it's a small price to pay...

By the way, the other school has optioned the trip to London as well and have me down as their preferred driver! So, my year is starting to look really good!

London

Nearly there, only three kilometers (two miles) to go...

Saturday, two in the morning: my alarm clock goes off and I have to get up to go to work. Just over an hour later I leave for the first pick-up. The temperature is well below zero and when I'm driving, the snow is coming down again. Fortunately I manage to keep ahead of the snow. The people at the second pick-up are late, so at the third pick-up the people are freezing, since they have been waiting for over twenty minutes by then!

The fourth pick-up is fine again and at the fifth pick-up (and my first big rest) nobody shows up. At the end of my rest they still aren't there and with permission from the company we leave. Belgium is fine. The streets are clear and clean and the traffic is light. The news however has some problems in store. Since five o'clock we've been hearing about the Channel Tunnel. Apparently four High Speed passenger trains got stuck in the tunnel below the Channel (ie the sea) for hours and hours with between 1300 and 2000 (numbers varied during the hours) passengers on board. Because of the difference between the outside and the inside temperature, the trains got technical problems.

The view of snow-covered Calais which we enjoyed for nearly three hours...

Now, the company was notified by one of my colleagues at a quarter past five. They then called the train company who said the trains would keep running. So, we kept on driving. We got through Belgium and we hit France. The roads weren't as clean as in Belgium, but still managable. And then, about ten kilometers before the Tunnel, traffic slowed down. And it slowed down even more until it stopped completely. The only thing moving were the French cars who knew they had to get out of that traffic asap. I stuck it out, hoping against the odds that somehow we would make it.

Lorries and cars as far as the eye could see

Then, a phonecall from a colleague. Traffic wasn't budging one inch at the terminal and the ferries weren't going either due to the port of Dover being closed. Besides that, the police in England were advising people not to come to England due to the awful wintery weather. My colleague said that the company would decide by two in the afternoon whether to return or not (this was at 12.30pm). Just before two I had moved another kilometer and got another phonecall: turn around, we're going home! It took some effort to get off the motorway, but in the end (thanks to a Portugese lorry driver) I managed to get off and turn around.

Now, remember I started driving at just past three in the morning. And according to European driving rules, this means my working day cannot be longer than twelve hours. By the time I had turned around two o'clock had been and gone, so I was nearly at my limit. However, I was a lucky bunny: I had a colleague on board. And he was willing to drive back. So, we switched places and he drove home. I finally got home at a quarter past nine and got into bed only fifteen minutes later.

Hello London!

Caption Contest

I'm grasping at straws here people, because either I've got a blogger's block or I lead an extremely boring life! So, in order to actually have a post I've decided to have a little caption contest. I know all of you are extremely not boring and very funny and clever, so please give it a go. The winner will get eternal fame (hey, I'm bordering on broke right now and there's still three weeks left until my next paycheck!).

The photo was taken in London last April and depicts one of the Horseguards.