Our bliss in europe...

began in london. o.k., so i forgot to start by saying ian and i went for 2 weeks in april and i'm just now posting about it because i have a new blog design. also, this may just well be a very long post so go to the bathroom now, grab something to eat and get comfortable.

we had the time of our lives! 2 weeks alone - what a vacation!! the kids were left behind with dear, generous, and risky friends who came and stayed with them. thank you, thank you alicia - who came from aliso viejo with her lil' 3 yr. old girlie (i lived with her family on my mission) and to her mom, maria (who flew in from virginia to stay another week and who would not take any money!!!) ...i gotta travel more! and sweet gloria from my ward. couldn't have done this without you ladies.

moving right along - on a plane to london...that 10 hour flight was awesome! movies, reading, sleeping, no kids. went by fast. i have to say we had the best caby ever on our way to the hotel. he said, "you're in europe now, get used to everything being expensive. spend all your money, have the best time, and go home broke!" and so we did just that.i know this isn't the greatest photo but these little lights were so, so beautiful and this was taken our first night in london at a turkish restaurant. we ate. we ate very well. we had some of the best food we've ever eaten ever, in europe. actually i loved the food in london more than in paris. seriously. there was too much to choose from in paris and it was hit or miss. but when we did hit it right, oh my gosh, it was so amazing!! but it was so quaint in london and so many ethnic places to go to. i had lunch everyday at 'pret a manager' which is like our quiznos but way better and everything in london is 'organic'! i also drank the most wonderful bottled water ever. the flavor is elderflower and it is soo refreshing. can't find it here. then i tried their other flavors and decided to bring those little bottles home and use them as vases.

everyday we had a hot chocolate because it was so cold and we got one from a different place each time. it also rained almost everyday. it was better than the heat though. my feet were in total pain for 2 weeks! i just sucked it up and kept walking. we walked for 10 hours the first day. and everyday thereafter we walked at least 5 miles a day. i did not think twice about what i ate and felt no guilt for eating pastries and sweets usually two times a day. always after dinner and always way rich! this was my favorite, usually with double cream all around it too. yum!we stayed in and around covent gardens and i loved that area of london. so posh and stylish. i felt like i was back in the 80's. so everything was so expensive because of our weak dollar. everyone says the "f" word. there is absolutely no sensorship on t.v. - what a shocker. i have to admit we found this quite obnoxious show - irish - we think, about a very disfunctional family and it's kinda like "the office" - meant to seem real life, funny and serious. it's called "shameless" - so bad, it's good. i vowed to never watch it again but i hooked my brother onto it and he loves it - i'm horrible! thanks youtube.

we went to museums, gardens, palaces, the cotswalds, harrods, many boutiques, and wonderful cafes. saw the crown jewels and the tower of london and when ian when to his office i took off all by myself all day on the metro (the tube) and the train and walked and walked and didn't get lost once! i'm so rad! the women are eclectic and smell sooo good. the men are handsome and smell good too and dress so nice. i love, love the buildings and windows and architecture and there are angles everywhere. saw big ben and buckingham palace and kensington palace - i love princess diana!! saw a collection of her dresses. spent a day alone in hyde park - gorgeous. the princess diana memorial playground is the greatest kids park i've ever been to and it's the only time, while we were there, that i wished the kids could have been with us!

i think my most favorite place i visited in london was "kew gardens". i went alone. it's like 10 descanso gardens all put together. it took me like 5 hours to walk all over and see the whole place and that's alone, without kids, walking at my suzy fast speed. hugest glass conservatory and fountains and flowers and trails and kids areas. i fell in love with the little "township" (that's what i call it) that kew gardens is in. so little and quaint and of course i did some shopping in those little boutiques!

also about london, there were purple flowers everywhere. they looked so beautiful against the grey background and buildings. it was just so nice to walk alone, silent, slowly, stopping at my own pace. oh, at harrods i saw this little exhibit. i saw this poster that reads "be calm and carry on". it's from the war, don't know which one, but a long time ago and the king made this poster to give the people some peace of mind. i'm gonna buy this poster soon and plaster it on the kitchen wall to remind me to do the same!

i guess my other favorite place was the cotswalds. very, very old towns with gold stone buildings and so much character. we had the best day. we walked and walked and walked - went to a beautiful arboretum and saw a neighborhood of old cottage homes that each have a name. ooooooh.

here are some photos of london:

so this is sideways but it's a photo i took at kew gardens in the glass conservatory. i like it.

this is a very old fountain in the middle of some buildings we walked by one day. charming.

this is the door of a cottage home in the cotswalds. i just love the charm and purple, of course.

this is a little french cupcake cafe that was close to our hotel in london. and they were so good!!!

this is a little bread platter i bought in the cutest little boutique in the township of kew gardens.

i think i will put all the other london photos on a sight where you can see them all. for tonight ... this is london in a nutshell and i will post paris tomorrow!

cheers! london. we had a grand ol' time.