The London Eye

Last summer, if you asked me what the London Eye was.......I have to admit......I wouldn't have known.  When we began planning this trip, I started researching........WOW......The London Eye very quickly moved to the top of my list of London's "Must See" attractions.

The thing is huge, majestic, beautiful, intimidating and just plane awesome.

Now, let's back up a bit.....this is a girl who doesn't like ferris-wheels, roller coasters or anything of that sort.  I would still be riding the merry-go-round at the fair, if the attendants would let me get on--ha ha.  So I was actually thinking I would be quite content to just be in the general vicinity of the Eye and get a few good shots---not the case, I was like a woman possessed, and was drawn to the thing the moment we stepped off our tour bus.  I couldn't get close enough to it and found myself longing to get on it!!!!!!   Much to everyone's surprise, especially my husband, I was first in line for the tickets.  
 

This was the scene when we "hopped" off the bus.  We bought 'express tickets' and were guaranteed a 10 minutes or less wait.....we were on that thing in about eight minutes!!!

It hard to describe the massive size of the Eye.  It is the tallest ferris-wheel in Europe (and was the tallest in the world in 1999, when it was erected).  It stands just under 450 ft tall. There are 32 air-conditioned capsules, representing the 32 different borroughs of London.  Each capsule is capable of carrying approximately 25 passengers. 

The views of the city are breathtaking as you slowly make one full revolution on the wheel.  It takes about 30 minutes to go around once and the wheel is moving slow enough that passengers are constantly entering and exiting without the wheel actually having to stop at any time.

I really didn't expect to photograph Big Ben from above it.....haha!

Unfortunately, most of these photos have glare, remember I was suspended in a glass capsule in very bright sunlight.

This was one of the "high" points of the entire trip........pardon the pun!!

The double-decker buses on the street look so tiny.....and I was zooming!!!

Cheers

:o)

 

"Hop On-Hop Off" around London

We picked up our tickets for the "Hop On-Hop-Off" bus tour around London.......and we hopped on!!!!!!

What a treat.....this is the most awesome way to see the main attractions of a city in a short time.  The weather was fabulous....sunny and about 18 C in the morning, climbing to a nice 24 C by afternoon....just right for cruising about the city on the top level of a double-decker bus.

The architecture in London is very beautiful.  I just love to stand back and look at the buildings and bridges, so it was 'eye candy' overload for me-----take a look at just a few of my favorites, starting with St. Paul's Cathedral......

In the photo below, note the building at the right......a building of this style was my favorite building in New York City's flatiron district.   I can only dream of having an apartment in at the very tip of this building and having a view of both streets from my windows.
 

Here is a landmark of London for sure----Big Ben...............

I was surprised to find out that the name of this bridge is The London Tower Bridge.....I always thought it to be The London Bridge.................. (absolutely stunning, whatever the name)

Here's a shot as we drove onto The London Tower Bridge.................

Here is a picture of an old castle---you can even see what used to be the moat ........

Couldn't resist posting this one......(No, this is not the hotel we stayed in while in London....ha ha)

 

Wish we had more time to take in a show at this beautiful theatre......................................

I was pretty excited to see the Canadian flags flying at the Canadian Embassy in London .......

Royal wedding, anyone?????  The line-up to get inside this cathedral was very long.   I was quite happy to catch a snap of it from my comfy seat on the bus.

Hope you enjoyed the few pictures I chose to post.  It is hard to decide when I have so many.......stay tuned for the London Eye and a river cruise on the Thames River.

Cheers

:o)

Hello London!!!

Well, the big day had finally arrived.  My sister, brother-in-law, niece and her husband, along with myself and hubby set off for our much anticipated vacation!!!

Our flight left St. John's Newfoundland at 10:00 pm as we set off for Heathrow airport in London, England.

We had a smooth flight, (which is so good as I am not a big fan of flying....just seems so wrong for a huge airplane filled with hundreds of people and all their luggage to get up in the air and actually fly....oh well) and arrived in London at 6:00 am.  I thought it would be a nice quiet time of the day to arrive and get settled in..............silly, silly me.  Is there ever a quiet time in London??

Everything ran like clockwork though, our pre-booked 9-passenger van (you do need a ton of stuff when there are six people traveling for 3 weeks!) arrived and brought us to our hotel.  We stayed at Doubletree by Hilton on Southhampton Row.  I'm always a bit apprehensive when booking hotels online, but we were not disappointed as we checked in.  We were all hyped so we went out for a bit of exploring in the morning before our double-decker bus tour that afternoon.....and of course, some tea and toast.

We loved what we saw as we rambled about....the street signs made it a reality.......we are in London!!!!..

....no surer way to detect a tourist in London than when you see her going all "gee-gaw" over a phone booth.....but, it is pretty London-ish.....don't you think?  

This is just a little peek today.  I am so looking forward to sharing more of the magnificent photos that I have taken over the past three weeks.

But......there is always a "but", isn't there???.....Hubby is replacing our furnace today, so my back entryway and laundry room looks like a disaster zone.  However, do stay tuned, I'll be back in a day or so with more!!!

Cheers

:o)

From Dover to Dover

Well, just five more sleeps and we're heading across the "Big Pond" to England!  I am so excited, this is my first time to any European country.  Here in Newfoundland, I live about a 15 minute drive from a place called Dover, which is one of the prettiest little towns in our province.  The big deal about this though, is that I am going to spend two nights in Dover, England on this trip. 

I went to Dover yesterday and visited my friend Tony, who also happens to be the mayor.  I took a few pictures to give a sense of what Dover, Newfoundland looks like.

What do you think??........

These pictures do not do justice to the fabulous view, from almost anywhere in Dover.  I used to drive Roger's Mom and Dad down there often before his Dad got really sick--he used to love to have an ice-cream and just look at the view.......I can understand why.

Cheers

:o)

Black Forest Trifle

YUMMMY!!!!!

I went to a surprise potluck Farewell party for one of my old work colleagues who has taken a new job.....I made Black Forest Trifle......it was yummmy!!!!  One of the girls (Tracy) volunteered to have this gig at her house----thanks Tracy, that's a lot of work!  Even though it's potluck and everybody brings awesome food and drinks...it's a huge thing for the house owner.....and a fab "hostess with the mostess" she was!!  S|he was busy as a bee barbequing and fetching ice, cold beers, etc......awesome stuff ;O)

Well, here's the trifle and the recipe.........

Black Forest Trifle

chocolate cake mix (baked, cooled  and chopped into bitesize pieces)

1 can cherry pie filling

1 chocolate pudding (prepared)

3 cups whipped cream

---------

In a large glass bowl, place 2 cups cake chunks

Add 1 cup whipped cream, then a layer of cherry filling

Add a layer chocolate pudding, 

then alternate layers, ending with a topping of whipped cream..

I grated milk chocolate chunks and sprinkled over top

Here's how it looked........

This is a simple recipe...I actually froze half of the baked cake for another time.  I made this last summer, replacing the canned cherry filling with fresh raspberries.  What's your favorite trifle recipe??

Cheers 

;o)