London Eye

I am not going to lie, the London Eye Freaked. Me. Out.  Not necessarily once we were up on the air because the views were phenomenal.  It was the entry / exit that got the best of me.  The thing never stops moving.  This didn't appear to be a problem for anyone else, but the idea of having to time my steps just right so as to leave the stable (non-moving) platform, onto the counter clockwise, albeit slow moving, car.  I did not like it in the least.  The things I do for you people.  It was quite a photo op once in the air.

Only slightly scared at this point... 

OK, now this is cool. 

Just behind Big Ben is Westminster Abbey - one of my favorite stops on our entire trip.  (The only problem is that they do not allow photography inside the Abbey. So you'll just have to take my word for it.)

It was neat-o.

Notting Hill

Isn't it fun when your technology hits a glitch and the 2nd installment of a story comes out before the first?  Whoops.  Here's what was supposed to have been posted over the weekend...

The Notting Hill Market was one of the "must see" places to go on our list of things to do while in London. (Again because of all the extensive research we did prior to our trip: reading one travel book and watching the movie Notting Hill.) Although quite a zoo on a Saturday, I was very happy that we went. 

This would have been the most perfect place to get an 18th century cheese knife as a keepsake from our trip.  Did I?  Nope. To remember our trip, I got a pair of sandals as the shoes I brought with me gave me open wounds on the 2nd day of our trip, and then we bought a toy for Barkley.  Yes I know, neither one of those items are keepsakes...but 1217 pictures we took should suffice.  That's how we will always remember our trip, long after Barkley has chewed her toy to bits. 

Notting Hill (take 2)

While on Portobello road, we stopped into Stumper and Fielding.  Talk about a great spot to pick up a hat or scarf for the blustery, quite similarly to San Francisco (read: it's cold there too in the summer!) weather.  Although, we didn't buy anything, we did a have a great time looking around. 

and just when you thought I was finished showing you pictures of the Notting Hill market...here's a few more.

[What do I see? A Westie pillow case? Tempting, but no.]

[Hmm... We weren't the only people that had the bright idea to go to the market!]

[meet me at the pizza place.  which one? oh you know, the one where they drove a car inside...]



There are few words to describe walking around a neighborhood in London.  Actually that's not true, there are many words, yet I am speechless.  I loved walking around London - any place in London -  however my most favorite times were walking around the cute west end neighborhoods imagining what life would be like living here full time.  Pretty sure it would involve living in Notting Hill, owning a travel bookstore and having a house with a blue door.  Whoops, that's not my life, that would be Hugh Grant's in a particular movie.

Mental note to self: if I ever open a restaurant, place all of your delectable goodies in the window and people will come in like moths to a flame.  No joke, I was getting claustrophobic standing in the entry way waiting for our cupcakes to be boxed up.
I couldn't pass up taking a picture of this scooter.  Looks nothing like our old scoot scoot, but a scooter nonetheless and we love scooters.

1719

This is where I share with you the 1,719 pictures that we took while in Europe.

Ok, not really.

That comes tomorrow.
Stay tuned!