Travel

14/08/2016

We had a wonderful trip to Israel this June. What an amazing country filled with rich history and culture. Our first evening in the old city we went to the Western Wall and witnessed a military graduation ceremony of a class of the Israeli Defense Force. Look at the top of the picture and you can see the Dome of the Rock shire located on top of the temple mount.

20/02/2016

No trip to London is complete without a ride on the London Eye. The London Eye is a giant Ferris wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames. Also known as the Millennium Wheel, it stands over 400 feet tall. We had pre-booked tickets before the ride and walked right up and boarded via the express lane. Once boarded you could see for miles. Looking at some of the pictures we took it reminded me of feeling as though we were in a plane we were so high up. The ride was smooth and comfortable in the enclosed gondola. Another must do if you visit London.

18/02/2016

Number 10 Downing Street is one of the most famous addresses in the world. Located in downtown London a block from the Thames River, it's not any normal street in London. Ten Downing Street is the official residence of David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. We quickly found out it isn't easy to get a look at the Prime Minister's home. You can get within a block of the residence before you are greeted with this gate stretching across the entire street. When we walked over to see it a little closer we quickly got the attention of the three friendly police officers who kept an eye on us. This was definitely something worth seeing for no other reason than to say you were there. It's an easy five minute walk from the Westminster tube station.

08/01/2016

Our visit to the Imperial War Museum-Part III: On our way into the museum through the main doors we looked up to see this latin inscription, which states "Hen VIII Rege Fundatum Civium Largitas Perfecit," that roughly says "The King Henry VIII Foundation for the Achievement of the Bounty of the Citizens" or, more simply, "for the Health of the Citizens." This building was the former Bethlehem Hospital for the mentally ill. Inside the main hall we were treated to an array of WWII warbirds such as the British Spitfire and German fighter planes with a sampling of their fledgling ballistic missile program. Part IV coming soon.

07/01/2016

Our visit to the Imperial War Museum-Part II: As we entered the Imperial War Museum grounds we saw these massive 15in battleship guns facing as they would on the deck of a British warship. The gun on the right was from the HMS Resolution then transferred and remounted on the HMS Roberts which saw action on Normandy beach during the D-Day invasion of 1944. The HMS Roberts bombarded the eastern edge of the allied landing zone. The gun on the left was mounted on the HMS Ramillies in 1916 and saw action in WWII in the North Africa theater. You get a feel for the size of the guns with my son Clay standing next to them. Next we entered the main lobby. Part III coming soon.

06/01/2016

Our visit to the Imperial War Museum-Part 1: The IWM can easily provide a day of enjoyment for anyone interested in the British empire’s military or war history. The museum is a short tube ride under the river Thames from central London. We got off at the Lambeth North tube station and took the short 5 minute walk over to the museum. I was surprised to see the park like setting and expansive grounds for such a large museum housing an extensive array of exhibits. After a little bit of detective work I stumbled upon a historical plaque noting that in the early 1900s the museum served as an asylum for the mentally disabled in London and was later converted to the IWM after WWII housing one of the largest collections of military history in the UK.

http://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/iwm-london

Our London museum tells the stories of people’s experiences of modern war from WW1 to conflicts today

04/01/2016

Lessons for holiday travel: We arrived here at Paddington Station, located in central London, on an express train from Heathrow Airport. The Heathrow Express train only took 20 minutes from the airport to the city center at a cost of $20 per person. The train saved us a lot of time in transit. Our hotel was a short walk from Paddington Station. Here are the lessons I learned the hard way that day. When we arrived at Paddington I walked over to the main ticket office pictured here to purchase our train and ferry tickets from Edinburgh to Belfast for the next leg of our trip. I had already researched the train and ferry schedule and simply needed to purchase these from the teller in the ticket office. I explained to the teller I needed 5 tickets to Belfast for the day after Christmas. She looked up at me and and said “no trains or ferries run the day after Christmas, it’s Boxing Day, a national holiday”, That being said, I was dead in the water and in need of a solution. Here are some lessons learned that day,

1. Always check plane and train schedules during the holidays for changes and closures.

2,Check museums and tourist attractions for their holiday schedules.

3,During the winter holiday season the daylight hours are shorter and many public sites close early.

4,When at a dead end, always explain your problem and ask for help from locals who can offer advice. After a bit of time at the train station to gather my thoughts, I went back to the ticket office and explained my problem. I then asked the ticket clerk if she had any ideas how I could get our family to Belfast from Edinburgh. She thought for a moment and said there were discount airlines that might fly there. I had not considered using regional discount airlines in europe. After some research that night back at the hotel I found and purchased online airline tickets from Easyjet at a price lower than the train tickets and with a much faster arrival time. Always ask for help or ideas when you have exhausted all options or in unfamiliar surroundings.

01/01/2016

Here we are in Dublin Ireland on New Year’s Eve attending a traditional Irish music show. The Irish step dancing and traditional music was wonderful. The night was one to remember and definitely worth the late night out on the down. New Year’s Eve in Dublin is one for the bucket list.

29/12/2015

Christmas at Dublin Castle: We toured Dublin Castle a few days after Christmas to see all the decorations. The castle is still a working government building and filled with priceless paintings and other bits of history from when England ruled all of Ireland. Here is a picture of Jean in front of the 20 foot Christmas tree that greeted us as we entered the castle complex located in Dublin city center.

24/12/2015

Merry Christmas to All: A picture of the Christmas Tree at England’s Parliament building in London directly off the Thames River. I saw the Christmas tree as we walked out of the Westminster tube station on our way to see the Christmas lights of downtown London. Merry Christmas Everyone!

22/12/2015

The Christmas season in Edinburgh: Each year in Edinburgh Scotland the city has a Christmas festival lasting a few weeks located right in the center of the city. Streets are blocked off and carnival rides and a Christmas market take over the city. The entire downtown looked like a giant Christmas party, lights and all. We stayed at a small hotel within easy walking distance to the festival, city center and Edinburgh Castle. Edinburgh is one of my favorite cities to visit with its rich history and world famous Edinburgh Castle. Karen had to talk us all into this picture. I believe it was taken around Christmas eve that trip next to the tree in the hotel lobby. Karen loves pictures don’t you honey.

20/12/2015

Merry Christmas from Belfast Ireland: Here is a fun picture we captured a few years ago which conveys the festive mood of Belfast Ireland during Christmas. We were walking back to our hotel on the edge of the city center and by chance walked past the city hall each day. In the evening on our way back to the hotel it would look like this every night. Christmas takes on a much more festive feel in europe compared to our large cities in the U.S.