London Trip 2010

The trip to London was absolutely fabulous! The perfect length of time, four days, to see a dear friend. I was able to see her win a championship, go out with her teammates to celebrate and meet them all, visit her new girlfriend - Gemma, walk around Camden for an afternoon, see her father and step mom in the country for a day, meet a couple of her station guys and go to her fire station, play Top Golf, and last but not least have a day on my own to run around London. A jam-packed four days but I wouldn't have it any other way. Had a great time seeing Murphy play soccer, which she still loves dearly. All of her teammates were very excited to win the championship as it was most their first time to win a championship. After they won we went to a local bar that one of her teammates works at and had a fantastic time! The next day no one was in any shape to be getting up early, so we didn't head out of the house until around 2 pm. We spent about 4 hours walking around Camden. Camden feels like one big flea market and in parts a secondhand market. We went through these really cool old underground stables that were transformed into small shops in each stall. We decided to eat in that night and Murphy's girlfriend cooked a delicious meal that I of course had never had. She baked a pasta dish with spicy tomato sauce and included small slices of pepperoni in it. It definitely had a kick to it and was surprisingly very good. The next day I went with Murphy to visit her dad and step mom, Ilene, in the a village about an hour north of her place. Its a cute place with a nice garden in he backyard which the two of them labor many hours during the year to keep it looking tip top. Ilene is a wonderful hostess and I love hanging out with her and the whole bunch. Whenever you go to their home you will be sure to have tons of laughs, a relaxing day, and a full stomach when you leave. Murphy had to work the next day, so I set out to visit a few places. I first went to Kew Gardens and did a walk around. I was able to take some amazing pictures of the flowers and trees there (check out some of the best ones below). When I was in Brazil I went to the Jardim Botanical Garden where the Victorian Lilies grow in their native setting. When the Queen saw these magnificent lilies she had them brought to London to grow in the Royal Garden aka the Kew Gardens. The lilies I saw in Brazil were about a fourth of the size of the ones I was able to see in London. Of course the lilies were located in a greenhouse with the humidity and temperature at the perfect setting. The lily greenhouse was by far my favorite spot in the garden because of the lilies, beautiful flowers, and the temperature. Oh yes it was very chilly walking around the garden and London, but that green house felt like Florida. After I was finished at the Gardens I hopped on the Underground and headed to Green Park to visit the Hard Rock Cafe to grab a t-shirt for my mom. Well I went the wrong direction on Picadilly, so I decided to go to the next spot which was a giant toy store, 6 or 7 stories high, on Regent St. Tons of cool toys, gadgets, and a huge section of Legos. I restrained myself from buying anything though. I then decided to cut across thinking I would hit Picadilly but instead I ran into Park Lane. During my walking adventure, I came across these statues of elephants that were placed all over London with different Paintings/designs on each one. I feel like every time I go on vacation I see these things in some kind of different form. The first were the cows in New York City, then the pigs in Chicago I believe, then there were the alligators in Florida somewhere (possibly even my hometown), and lastly there were cows/bulls in Rio de Janeiro. Well I had to take some pictures of the elephants on the streets and in Hyde Park. Also, along the walk I came across a quaint church with a fantastic small garden. Each section had brilliant color selections and I was able to take some awesome pictures. Once I got back to Picadilly I was able to find the Hard Rock Cafe and purchase my mom's t-shirt. I jumped on the Underground again and headed to the British Museum where I was hoping to see the Rosetta Stone and the Lachish Letters. Unfortunately, the Lachish Letters had been moved from the British Museum to the British Library. I was able to see the Rosetta Stone, tons of ancient Greek and Egypt artifacts which included statues, tablets with writings, and other amazing items. It was unbelievable the amount of items the British Museum had from these countries, I would of thought I could only see these items in their respective country. And the greatest part, it was free to visit! I didn't have much time for anything else, so I grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed back to the fire station to meet up with Murphy. That night Gemma, Murphy, and I played Top Golf at a make shift driving range. The range is made of all artificial grass and has several holes at various distances. Each hole then had five rings around it. You get twenty hits per game and the object of course is to get the most points possible which is accomplished by hitting your ball closest to a pin and the farther the pin the greater the points. We played five games and had a terrific time. I would definitely love to play again sometime. Supposedly these driving ranges exist in the U.S. but I have no clue as to where. The next day it was rise and shine and off to airport to go home. Of course the flight was delayed due to the ash cloud coming from Iceland but thankfully the airplane was able to get out at a reasonable time. All in all the trip was excellent! And the best part is it won't be too long till Murphy and Gemma come to visit, only a couple of months.

D Rock