And to begin with......London.....and on to Paris...."..etc, etc, etc..."

On the road again...well....the air!!  Headed from Washington to Chicago to connect with my flight to London.  The flight over was very uneventful...and I was able to get a few hours of sleep.  I arrived in London to a very unusual site....well for this time of year or maybe any other time.  It was a clear sky and the temperatures were 24C or so.  And, the good news was it has been the same for the 3 days I have been here.  So here we are....and the flag flies in all its glory on a great day.

I spent most of my first day getting my ground legs and settling in at my hotel here in the Paddington area.  I love the area for it's convenience back to the airport and with 4 tube lines (Metro) serving the Paddington station.  It enables me to get to almost any location.  Love that London Tube....

So the first night I went to see a play recommended to me by my great friend currently in Barbados....Mr. Howard (Skip) Edmonds.  Now....if Skip recommends it...you might as well take it to the bank...it is not given lightly.  His recommendation for the play of his lifetime was....The War Horse.
The play won 5 Tony awards in the United States last year and was the winner for Play of the year.

All of what Skip told me was true.....it was AWESOME.  I wrote about this on my Facebook page...but it was unbelievable that a puppet company could control a full size horse....make that several full size horses on stage....also these horses...while being controlled by the puppet company were so realistic that after about 10 minutes I was a believer!!   The story of this play is a horse (Joey) who is a pet of a young man on a small farm.  To raise money the horse is sold into service in WWI.   The play begins with Joey as a colt and progresses to a full size animal and evolves around that service.  So real....and the story covers a lot of emotions...and you will leave the theatre with a warm feeling at having viewed something that is a difficult thing to pull off on stage....but please...please go see it if  you have the chance.  Here is the theatre billing....

So my second day was off to the museums....along with hundreds of school children on day trips.....not the best of times....or the worse of times....they were very well mannered....but the crowds were huge...must have been the weather that brought all them out...since it was another day of not a cloud in the sky and a temperature of 28C.

First up....the Natural history museum....

My favorite were the images of nature....I love nature and am looking to capture as much as possible when I head to the Galapagos later on this this phase of my RTW travel.

I did not venture too far....almost right across the street to the Victoria and Albert museum.  This is a main stay for the UK....very British....and loved the gates....V&A....yeah!!

....and now look at how ornate detail in some of the entrance facade......

This area also was hit by the bombings of London during WWII.  And this plaque lets one know that even thought this was wall was hit....it was left that way for everyone to remember what happened.  And frankly it is hard for me to believe that I am walking in areas of the city that were actually bombed during that WW.

Hopefully you will be able to enlarge this picture when you view it to read all the inscription.....

Also in my travel through London I found a couple interesting photos to share with you....the first is of the "bike leasing" industry.  We have this in Washington DC...and it is called City Bikes....here is the London version....1 pound for 60 minutes and 1 pound to reserve.....and there are a lot of these in the city and appear to be well used from the people I see riding them....

This next one is a given in my book.....you do not have to tell me twice!!  A photo in the Charing Cross Tube station.......it is like take the lift (elevator) .....

So here I am at the end of my day and looking to cross the channel tomorrow.  I did some shopping today and just enjoyed a day walking around doing nothing....except watching people...and trying not to look like a tourist....most people recognize me as one I think.

And....Paris tomorrow to begin my 30+ days of rail travel that will take me to France, Spain, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands......" ...I hear that train a  comin....comin round the bend...."

Last days of Summer - Time to hit the Road

I had a great summer.....and hope all of you did as well.   Since I got back from RTW 1 in May I have been enjoying this retirement 'gig' even more....doing what I want....when I want....and with the people I love.....

Let me begin with a trip to the great state of Illinois.....a visit with my grandchildren....Keaton and Schuyler and family.....

While there we took a day trip up to McHenry to visit my niece Debbie and family......here they are with their first grandchild....Deb...Open your eyes girl!!!

A side trip to Door County Wisconsin was also included in my summer travel.....wow....this was a highlight.....what a great place....we left the heat of the city and settled into a lake front home and enjoyed a couple days of awesome weather in the low 80's...leaving the humidity behind as well.....

A few shots enjoying the great hospitality from the Canedo family of Lombard....

The Robert's and Canedo family enjoying that carefree Door County lifestyle......

Their children....enjoying the water....well a little chilly as you can see by the towel wraps!!!

Next up was a trip to Florida to visit a couple of my awesome friends Greg & Darren who live in Wilton Manor, FL.....a beautiful home right on the water....Thanks for the great hospitality....

"Captain" Darren took command of the boat for a day on the water....just ahead of a tropical disturbance....(not Emily!!)....

My bud Brian was much braver than I....he got on the "tube" for a ride .....way off my radar....I think I learned a life lesson in New Zealand with that "bob-sled" ride....being a watcher is great fun...really!!!

Summer's in Washington are always full of events on the "Mall"....one of my favorites is the Folk Life Festival.  It is usually the week before and the week after the 4th of July.  This year Columbia was featured with all crafts and native art from that South American Country.  Also celebration of R&B as well as Motown artists from the 60's.  One of those was the Dixie Cups (NOOOOO  Not the Dixie Chicks....they are way too 21st Century)....The Dixie Cups had one great hit in the 60's..."Going to the Chapel of Love"....and now in their late 60's they are still on tour....

I also got the opportunity to try my hand at some more canning.  This time peaches.....oh man, the peaches were so so good this year...and here we are in mid-September and still have about a week left of this years crop.  The first canning was of peaches in sugar syrup....they were AWESOME.....then I tried the unsweetened variety....natural sweet juices of these great Virginia peaches.....WOW....so so good...here they are up next to my first canning project...the beets!

Now after enduring a week this summer that included an Earthquake at the 7. level....followed by the inland impact of hurricane "Emily"...I am getting ready to hit the road.  I might add....the quake was very short lived....and while at first I thought is was an a bomb....I quickly realized...everything is shaking and then when I opened the door other people on the street were outside and we all realized at the same time.....an earthquake...in Washington, DC??  Yeah....really.  Now "Emily"....she brought us rain....a lot of rain....8 to 10 inches...and a lot of power outage.  I was very fortunate...I did not have any water damage or electrical outage....

Now.....it is time to hit the road!!  Round the World part 2 awaits.....that means....September 27th off to London, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, Naples, Rome, Florence, Munich, Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, London, Buenos Aires, Guayaquil, Galapagos, Lima, Cuzco, Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Santiago, Easter Island, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Miami, Tampa Bay (WHAT---sorry that is for a Dallas Cowboy/Tampa Bay Buc game), and then Lombard, IL for Christmas....WHEW.......

Packing this time is much easier....much lighter....a bag that is 22x14.5x8.5.....and here are the contents....and the bag...

All that and 26 pounds.....I will have my backpack of electronics....however will be much lighter with this carry-on.....

Thanks to all for reading and your comments from RTW 1.....I look forward to writing RTW 2 and hope you will tune in somewhere along the way......wheels up!!!!!!