Last Day in London

We started out this morning with an amazing brunch at The Establishment in Matt and Carissa's neighborhood. Afterward we swung by The Goat across the street for a pint before picking up our luggage and heading into the city. It was sad to say goodbye to the Pharr's flat.


Thanks to Kate's Marriott points, we checked into the beautiful Renaissance off High Holborn. The room was huge and perfect for the four of us. Once we dropped off the luggage, Sunday Funday officially kicked off. We walked a couple of streets over to the British Museum. It was only open for another hour so we ran through taking in as much as we could, including the Rosetta Stone.



After the Museum, we walked around Covent Garden, Soho and Chinatown. We hit a couple more pubs and just took in the sights before heading back to the hotel to change for drinks and dinner.


Things closed down pretty early in London on Sunday night. We stopped off at a convenience store and briefly lost Kate, who tried to return to the Hotel via the West End...completely wrong direction. Luckily she navigated back to the hotel after just a few minutes delay. She was just keeping us on our toes. We had a fabulous trip to London visiting the Pharrs and seeing the city! I am sad to go back home but look forward to (a) traveling to London again and (b) the Pharrs moving back to Dallas this fall! Until next time.....

Day Trip

We got up bright and early this morning to catch a tour from Victoria Coach Station. Our tour guide, Anita Baker, was a real live Mary Poppins with her navy outfit and matching umbrella. We started with a drive to Winsor Castle where we took a tour of the State Apartments, the Queen's Doll's house and the Cathedral. The doll house had working plumbing and the wine bottles in the wine cellar were actually filled with wine.

From there we were back in the bus for another hour and a half to Stonehenge. There wasn't much to do there but look at the rocks...which was cool. We then had another couple of hours in the bus to Oxford. Unfortunately we only had an hour to tour around. We booked it to Christ Church College to check out the dining hall where they filmed Harry Potter. The dining hall was actually closed because the colleges were all having graduation, but Kate was brave enough to sneak past the 'closed' signs and the guard. We felt quite rebellious.

After getting back to London, we hit a couple of pubs in Mayfair and then headed out to dinner in South Kensington for great Thai. We had a very long day but so much fun!

Exploring the City

Kate and I had quite the busy day today. We started off taking the Overground to Notting Hill. We wandered around the Portobello Rd Market. After that we head further into the city for lunch . We walked around Kensington Palace, Princess Diana's old house, and then through the Kensingtons Gardens. From there we followed Hyde Park to Buckingham Palace. Kate was amazed how much smaller it is in person.

Our next stop was Parliament, Westminster Abbey, and Big Ben....which Kate has now dubbed 'Little Ben.' After hitting the main hot spots, we used the tube to explore Covent Garden, Holborn, Chelsea and the West End. After a long day we stopped into a pub before heading back to Clapham Junction to meet up with Carissa and Matt.

The four of us went to dinner at a Lebanese restaurant that was amazing! It was very similiar to Greek food. After dinner we turned in early to prepare for our big tour in the morning.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

We made it to London! Our flight went good and we both managed to get a couple of hours of sleep so that we could make it through the next day. Carissa gave us great directions to her house so we headed to the underground station at the airport. Random strangers gave us their Travel Cards that were good for the rest of the day and would work on the underground and the bus we had to take. Carissa noted that the bus stop we needed was in front of a pub. Naturally, we took this to mean we should stop in for a pint. We finally made it to the Pharrs' flat and it is great! The neighborhood is in south London, near Battersea and is so cute. Kate and I walked the area while Carissa and Matt finished off their workdays. After a couple of hours of walking we were back at a pub watching the locals walk home from work. That evening the four of us went to The Duck for some great pizza. Not a late night as Kate and I were ready to finally get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow we hit Notting Hill and more of the City!

LONDON!

Kate and I are off for a London adventure visiting the Pharrs. I will try to post while we are there. We arrive in London tomorrow (Thursday) morning and come back Monday afternoon. We plan to explore the city and take a day trip to Windsor, Stonehenge and Oxford. Hopefully we can stir up a little trouble in UK and report it all here!

The Pharrs, Matt and Carissa

Last full day in Whistler

Last night we went out for the last supper with all six of us. Before dinner we did a little shopping. I found another bobsled in one of the shops. If I can't qualify for the US Snow Tubing Team, maybe I'll get picked up for bob sledding.

The Rockenbachs made reservations for us at Il Caminetta and we had an amazing Italian dinner. Here's a little peak at the menu.

Ken, Kristi and I

Kim, Micah and Bryan

This morning Kim, Micah and Bryan headed out early for their flight home. Ken hit the slopes for his last day of skiing and I went to snowshoe. The area was right across the street from where we are staying so after a short hike I was strapped into my snowshoes. It was a very fun route through the trees, up and down the hills.

This one's for Frank. My feet resting on a bench.

I hiked out to Lost Lake which was completely frozen over and beautiful. I just want to run out into the undisturbed snow...but fear of falling into frozen water kept me on the trail, for the most part.

Once I got back from snowshoeing, Kristi and I hit Whistler Village for a little more shopping. Here's a view of the village area. It was a great day, sunny but with snow flurries all day!

We just wrapped up our last dinner at the Irish Pub and have most of our stuff pack. It's been such a fun week, flying by so fast. We catch a ride back into Vancouver early tomorrow morning and get back into Dallas around 8pm. That is, unless some wonderful storm keeps me trapped here for another week. :)

Last Day for Skiing

Today was my last day to ski. I hit the mountain early but icy conditions convinced me to end by lunch. I turned in my skis and met the girls for lunch. We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping in Whistler Village. It started raining/sleeting this afternoon so I was glad that I was already down from the mountain.

Riding up the lift

The sun coming up over the mountain

And by popular request (well, one request by Elsa), below you will see the place we are staying. The Rockenbachs have a timeshare at Club Intrawest. You can also check out Kristi's blog for more pictures from our trip! There is a link to it at the top on my page (Rockenbach, Texas).

And these are my new boots I got for the trip. I love love love them. They keep my toes all warm and cozy...and dry! I've got to come up with ways to incorporate them into my Dallas wardrobe. Oh, and my jeans look a little snug because I've got some layers on under them. It causes everything to bunch all up.

Here are some shots from last night's dinner at Sushi-Ya. Kim and I shared so warm saki and had some Kirin. Kristi sampled the saki but was not tempted to join us. You'll also see my yummy dinner below the drinks and Kristi and I toasting.

Tonight we're heading out for Italian. It's Micah, Kim and Bryan's last night. They fly home in the morning while the Rockenbachs and I are here thru Sunday. I think I'm going to check out snowshoeing tomorrow!