Kerschens on the loose: London

I had a week vacation from school the first week in June, so the family came to visit! We all flew into London on Saturday, May 30th, stayed there until Tuesday June 2nd, on the 2nd took the train through the Chunnel to Paris, stayed in Paris until Friday the 5th, on the 5th rented a car and went to Versailles and then a little village in the Champagne region, stayed at a B&B there for two nights, and then on Sunday drove to Germany to meet Pascal's family. We spent the afternoon and evening at their house, had a very lovely dinner and then drove to Cologne to stay in a hotel for a night before continuing on to Tuebingen the next day. We spent the afternoon together in Tuebingen, then the family continued on to Munich to spend the night there and catch their morning flight, and I obviously stayed here. So, a pretty whirlwind trip, especially the last few days, but so much fun. Traveling is way better when you do it with somebody who has money so you don't have to stay in hostels and eat pizza all the time. Thanks dad! It was so nice to see my family again (except for my dad it had been 4 months since I saw them last) and we had a great time sightseeing. I was sad when they left though. And now a little more about London:

We unfortunately weren't there long enough to really explore, but we did hit up all the main sights. We did a bus tour that took us to the Tower of Lond which we spent a couple of hours checking out, then a river cruise back along the Thames to where Big Ben is, and the next day a walking tour from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guard. Other activities included a "flight" (that's what they call it) in the London Eye, going to the musical 'Chicago' in the West End and eating at an amazingly delicious Indian restaurant. On our last morning we toured St. Paul's and then headed off to catch the train to Paris!



In the cab on the way to the airport. London cabs are amazing: we fit 5 people and all of the luggage in 1! At crosswalks in London they always tell you which way to look so you don't step in front of traffic. Please note that dad is following the directions and looking left.



Sherlock Holmes Museum (unfortunately closed); mom and Sherlock; on our double-decker tour bus



Trafalgar Square and Admiral Nelson column






St. Paul's Cathedral; City of London financial district with super-modern architecture, including the "Gurken" or Pickle to us Americans; Tower of London



Traitor's Gate; Bloody Tower; reproduction of a castle room



The White Tower; the building housing the Crown Jewels (those were spectacular. I've never seen so much sparkle in my life); the Tower Lawn



The White Tower again; the ramparts



Tower Bridge



The Tower Ravens: legend has it that if they ever leave the tower, England will fall. Which is why their wings are kept clipped. Nothing like taking control of fate!



As seen from the river cruise: the Globe Theater, houses of Parliament, London Eye and some museum



Houses of Parliament; Westminster Abbey



the infamous London buses; Big Ben and the Thames; crazy Dali sculpture



hanging out around the London Eye



In the London Eye at sunset (the view was breathtaking)



Big Ben with Westminster Abbey behind it; Houses of Parliament



Various stages of the changing of the guard



Buckingham Palace; our tour guide using Jackson and another kid to demonstrate the changing of the guard ceremony; Harrod's Department Store, where mom and I split a delicious Spanish cheese platter and then went jeans-shopping.



Kensington Palace; St. Paul's Cathedral