Sept 24-28, 2009 - Kansas City

Flew out to KC to visit friends on Thursday evening the 24th of Sep. Met up with Aunt Donna as she is going to visit Gregg and her granddaughters while we are there. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn in Olathe. Spent Friday with girlfriends, Bev, Phyllis, Corinne & Carolyn, shopping and eating. Satuday had breakfast with Mary and family, then off to visit Hink & Evenlyn who are doing great. Dropped by Phyllis's for a while in the afternoon, then off to Dinner with Krista & Carolyn and an evening out. Sunday met up with Kathy for lunch, was great to catch up with her and her family. They are doing great. Then off to meet the bar group for a drink, then out to Mary's for dinner and a very relaxing evening at her place.
Monday had breakfast with Carolyn and then back home to the routine. What a great time I had visiting all my friends that I miss in KC. Enjoyable long weekend.

Aug 7 - 12, 2009

Headed to Idaho, as my brother youngest daughhter is getting married. Flew up to Spokane on Friday night, stayed with Rick and Lori, Mom & Dad were there also. We visited and got the yard ready for the wedding, on Monday we all went out to the lake to spend a relaxing day. That it was, was a nice sunny day, we skiied, tubed and got some sun. Was very enjoyable. Tuesday was the day to get all the decorations and yard ready for the big day.
Wednesday we woke to rain, was an early morning putting together a car port to use and ordering a tent for the wedding to be held under. Was a beautiful wedding, Lisa was a pretty bride and so happy. The reception was fun and all enjoyed the day. Returned home early Thursday morning and worked that day.

Caribbean Cruise

Another trip yes.. However this one was a celebration vacation, we all had a blast.
There were 16 of us all together, we cruised out of San Juan, some of us arrived the day prior and spent the night to check out San Juan. We all met up on board the Royal Caribbean Adventure of the Sea Ship on Sunday the 19th of July. We cruise out that evening for a week of adventure, sun, beach and port. We visited the ports of Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua, St Marrtin, St Croix. We saw some of the islands, enjoyed shipboard life, spent some time a the beaches and the pool. We all met up for dinner each night, which was great as we had lots of stories to tell from our adventures during the day. Some hightlights, some went on a zip cord, snorkeling, wave jumping, shopping and just relaxing. It was a fab birthday, thanks to everyone who was there to make it great.

Road Trip

Thought I would keep you all posted as it seems that my travel days aren't really over. Mom and Dad came this way and dropped off my nieces - Zoeann (9yrs) and Rebekah (13yrs) to stay with me for two weeks. We had a great time. On the 4th of July we attended the Stadium of Fire at BYU. A great time was had, the girls got to see The Jonas Brothers live, they loved it and had not been to a live concert before. The fireworks display was fantastic ! We did some shopping, swimming and relaxing. We then did a roadtrip to Reno to return them to their parents. We left on Friday the 10th and drove the 8 hours to arrive in Reno around 9pm, ahead of their parents. Annette and the rest of the family did make it, we visited, did a little shoppping, took the kids to the pool, then walked down to the riverwalk to have dinner. Was a very relaxing day. Sunday was loading the vehicles, checking out of the hotel, had mexican food for lunch and then started the drive back to Utah arriving home at 10pm.

Home ! Sandy, Ut....

Well a year has gone by, hope you have enjoyed my adventures thru my blog. I flew into Spokane on the 3rd of May, was met by my brother and his wife. Spent a couple of days there visiting and catching up on sleep. On Wednesday the 6th I left their place with my truck to do the drive back to Salt Lake City. What a beautiful drive, through the mountains, following the river and everything was turning green. Took me approximately 12 hours to drive, arriving at Marianne's that evening. Spent a couple nights there as no bed in my place. On Thursday got the keys back to my place, which thankfully was in great shape..Yeah!! Got my cable/internet/phone connected and had dinner with Gor. On friday my shipment from London arrived, so was here for that, did some cleanning, then dinner with Marianne. On Saturday we moved my things back in from storage was a busy day, but all in the garage now. Started work again on Monday, am now pretty much settled back in to my place and loving being home. The weather really helps as it feels like summer and the sun in shinning, the view of the mountains with snow is Fab.....

Last Hurrah before heading home !

We flew to Barcelona on Tuesday the 21St of April, spent the night, saw a little of the city. We visited The Familia by Gaudi, then ventured to the old town, visited a couple of local markets, which was fun. Then headed to the pier to board the ship.
We sailed at 8pm from Barcelona, first port of call on Thursday is Cannes, we took the local train up to Monaco for the day, was great and didn't even get lost. On Friday we docked in Livonia, we took a tour to the Cinque Terre, what a great day, the villages that we visited were built right at the waters edge then up the side of the hill, we went by boat to the first village, walked to the second, boarded the boat again to the third, had lunch there and then by boat to the 4Th to board the bus back to the ship. Saturday was Rome, again a good tour, saw the Pantheon, Trivoli fountain, Piazza Navona, St Paul's and the other major sites from the bus. Sailed for Naples that evening, did Naples on our own, took the hop on/hop off bus, got to see most of the city, an old city was interesting, but not my favorite. Next we were on to Messina, we did the sightseeing bus here also, got a good overview of the city, not a lot to do here, the square with the church was great. Sailed for Valletta, Malta - really liked this city, took a tour to the Mdina, was great very impressive and then time to shop and check out the town of Valletta, good have done with more time in this port. On next to Cagilari, enjoyed this city on our own, climbed the Bastion great views from here, old narrow streets, did some shopping then took the city sightseeing bus to get an overview of the city. Then we had a day at sea, which was a day of rest, watched a movie, read and checked out the ship again. Friday docked in Palma, was an overcast dreary day, but made the most of it on our own, walked the town, did a little shopping, then took the city sightseeing bus for an overview of the city. The Palace and Cathedral were very impressive, however they weren't open to tour due to it being a holiday. Our last night on the cruise as we sailed for Barcelona and our return to London. We returned to London on Saturday the 2ND, we meet my Keiron & Phil at the airport, checked into the hotel, then headed off to Windsor to check out the Queen's residence and the town. Had great afternoon wondering the town, shopping and visiting. Had a meal at the local pub then back to the hotel to relax. Phil, Keiron and myself headed to the pub downstairs for a couple of beers and to say good-bye, but not for long as they'll be coming to visit soon. We headed to the airport around 8am on Sunday to board our flights back to the states, Phyllis and Sharon to Kansas City and myself to Spokane.

Time is short....

Well my time is very short now, last day of work at the office is the 17Th of April. How fast a year goes. They decorated my desk, had a card and got a lovey picture of London and cat charm from everyone. We were then all off for drinks at The Tabernacle for my leaving. Was a great evening with lots of the guys from work showing up. Saturday was a quiet day, got things ready to pack. On Sunday, Phil & Keiron came over, went to the park, came back and had waffles (as Keiron had never had them), then they packed up all the stuff I couldn't bring back and headed back to their place, along with my 2ND suitcase which they will bring to me at Heathrow on the 2ND of May.
Went to meet my last visitors at the Heathrow airport - Phyllis & Sharon arrived on Sunday evening the 19Th of April at 10:30pm, we took a car service back to my flat.
Monday we awaited the packers, they took forever to arrive, suppose to be there at 9am and arrived finally at 11:30a, then finished all the packing around 2pm. We then too the tube to Hill stop, walked to Keningston Palace, toured the Palace, then on the bus through Piccadilly Circus and got off at Trafalgar Square, walked down Whitehall to Parliament and The Thames, past Westminster Abby, then back toward the flat and dinner. Tuesday morning we went to St Paul's Cathedral and Buckingham Palace, then back to the flat to head to the airport.

Been a Slacker -

Been a while since I updated, so here is for the last couple of weeks. On the Wednesday the 8Th, I took the afternoon off to attend my good friends Keiron and Phil's civil legal wedding ceremony. There were 10 of us that met at Liverpool Station to go to their council house for the ceremony. Was a nice ceremony, then went to Canary Wharf for drinks on the Thames, then to the Four Seasons for dinner, was a fab evening and very enjoyable.
In the UK they have a four day holiday for Easter, so was off on the 10Th and 13Th. On Friday went to Keiron and Phil's place and spent the day. Keiron and I went out to Greenwich to get a photo at the museum, didn't work, we got told no photos. Oh well, we stopped at the market to do a little shopping and a sausage hot dog. Keiron thought we would take the bus back to the Ferry across to their place. Well we got on the right bus, but going the wrong direction, so had to turn around. Saw lots of Southeast London that I hadn't seen before, we arrived at the ferry, which is a 5 minute ride, was fun, you could see their building from the ferry, then boarded a bus and got off at their building. Phil cooked dinner was yummy, then watched a video and headed home.
On Saturday went out to Bath, what a pretty city. Enjoyed the city, did a little shopped, walked all around, across the Putney bridge, got some great pictures of the bridge, then returned home.
Sunday & Monday stayed close to home, back to work on Tuesday for my last week.

Arundel

Great weather on Saturday so took the train to the town of Arundel to visit the castle there. It is still the home of the Duke & Duchess of Norfolk. What an impressive place, huge grounds, with lots of trees and flower starting to bloom. The castle itself was Fab. Very impressive and really enjoyed it. The town was small and quaint, was a great day.
Sunday - went for a stroll thru Regents Park, what a massive park, was beautiful with all the flower and trees blooming, many people out on the lake in paddle boats and around. Meet Janine at St John Wood's station and we did Regents Park together, was a great afternoon. The amazing thing was only need my jean jacket..Yeah !

Dublin, Ireland

This weekend I was off to Dublin on Sat morning. Stayed at the Merrion hotel for one night and explored Dublin. Walked to Grafton Street which is the pedestrian shopping street, lots of people and shops. Visited Trinity College did a tour there which was lead by a professor of the college, he had sense of humour the tour was great, it ended the Book of Kells, which we then toured on our own. Amazing!
Then boarded the tour bus for an overview of Dublin, good tour, went by all the important places, say the Guinness Storehouse, a number of churches/cathedrals, the River Liffey, O’Connell Street, then had dinner and back to the hotel for the evening.
Sunday, took a free three hour walking tour of Dublin, this was great was lead by a young lady who was from Ireland and she showed us all the sights and told us lots of history, saw Dublin Castle, Christ Church, Chester Beatty Library, the Norman ruins, thru Temple Bar, O’Connell Street, the bank of Ireland, over the Ha’penny bridge, Trinity College. It was a very informative and fun tour, really gave you the overview of the history of Dublin. Did a little shopping and took some pictures of the river, then back to the hotel to collect my bag and board the bus back to the airport for my flights home.

Saturday, the 14th of March
Went to the Victoria and Albert Museum, which is huge, but very interesting, had a great exbihit on fashion thru the years. Enjoyed it. Left there and went to visit the Original Twinings Tea Shop. Twinings have had a shop on the Strand since 1717! Twinings Strand Shop also boasts a small museum, which charts the history of the Twinings family, along with some fabulous examples of tea caddies and more unusual items from the world of tea. Of course I bought some tea. Then back home.
Sunday was a day of rest stayed in all day - worked on my scrapbook.

Saturday the 21st of March
Great weather this weekend, I know you don’t hear that very often from me. However the sun was shinning and it was about 65 degrees outside only needed a sweatshirt-no coat!
Keiron came up to see my place, we wandered around Hampstead had lunch, then headed down to explore The Harvey Nichols department store, was fun, but nothing we could afford. Then went for a drink at a bar/restuarant that floats on the Thames, we sat outside and enjoyed the setting sun with great views of the London Eye, Big Ben and the Thames. What an enjoyable day.
Sunday I headed off to see the town of Moreton-in-March, which is located in the Cotswolds. Great old town with really old buildings, explored the town and shops, then headed back stopped off in Oxford for a couple of hours to explore a little on my own. Then back home.

Company from Kansas City

Friday the 6th Laurita arrived from Kansas City. We explored some of the sights of London on Friday. Took the tube to Leicester Square, checked out Piccadilly Circus and then Trafalgar Square. Walked down Whitehall Street past the Royal Mews (horse guards) and Downing Street, arriving at Big Ben and Parliament Square. Visited Westminster Abbey, then on to Buckingham Palace, then took the tube to Harrods’s (a must see). Then back to my place to relax and put up on aching feet. Saturday morning we had an early start to Gatwick for our flight to Inverness, Scotland. This supposedly easy journey became a little complicated due to signal failures on the northern line, so had to change our route. We did make it and arrived in Inverness to the cold and rain, we took the local bus into town to our hotel The Royal Highlands Hotel. Out we went to explore the city, then back for dinner, then out to St Mary’s for evening mass. On Sunday we ventured by city bus to Culloden, the site of the last battle between the Jacobite’s and the English government. It was a very good and informative exhibition centre. We ventured out to tour the battlefield, but not for long as it was snowing and the wind was blowing a gale, we were very, very cold. In the afternoon back in Inverness we explored the views from Inverness Castle and visited the Inverness Cathedral along with taking in the sites of the River Ness and doing some shopping. On Monday we went on a tour of Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle. It was a coach tour to Loch Ness, then a cruise by boat across Loch Ness to the Castle. No sighing of the Loch Ness monster were made! Laurita brought back a Nessie, tho. Really enjoyed the Castle was very impressive, then back on the coach to Inverness. We then checked out the Victorian Marketplace and headed back by local bus to the airport for our return flight to London. On Tuesday we did some more exploring of London, started by going to Victoria station then walked toward Big Ben, stopped to check out the Westminster Cathedral – what a wonderful church, all marble and beautiful. We actually enjoyed it much more than Westminster Abbey. We checked out the London Eye, but decided against doing it as was a cloudy rainy day. We took the tube to the Tower of London, spent a number of hours exploring the tower and grounds, we walked the south wall; saw the crown jewels and the white tower. OK enough history for now. Then walked over the Tower Bridge, stopped for dinner at a local pub, then hopped the tube to Leicester Square to finish up Laurita’s souvenir shopping. While walking thru Leicester Square, there was a red carpet movie premier of Duplicity staring Julia Roberts – we saw her going into the theatre. Pretty Cool. Then it was home to relax. Wednesday it was back to work for me, Laurita did a tour with Greyline to the Cotswolds, and on Thrusday she did one to Windsor, Stonehenge and Bath. On Friday it was off to Heathrow for her return flight to the states. We had an awesome visit and got to see lots.

Copenhagen

We're off to Copenhagen on Friday the 20th, our first experience with Easyjet, which was more of a cattle car than Southwest. We started our journey at Victoria station boarding the Easybus for a 1hr 40 min drive to Stanstad airport. We arrived in Copenhagen late afternoon to snow. We took the local train into Central Station then a short walk to the hotel Scandic Copenhagen, great room 12th floor with a view of the lake. Went for a walk to check out the city, walked Stroget street which is a Pedestrian shopping street, with many street going off it, a busy place. Headed back to the hotel as it was snowing and cold. We spent 4 days in Copenhagen seeing all the sights, we walked off our poor legs and feet and got very very cold. We visited the Town Hall, saw Tivoli, Slotshomen - oldest site in Copenhagen, Christiansborg Castle now stands there, which is home to the State Rooms, Parliament, Prime Minister's Office & Supreme court, saw the Stock Exchange with Neptune standing guard, visited the Royal Navy Museum, Christiania (Copenhagen free state), saw the Opera House, visited Rosenborg Castle, watched the Royal Guards march, walked thru The Palaces - Amalienborg there are 4 in this square with the Marble Church off the the side, walked out to The Little Mermaid, she is pretty little, walked back thru Kastellet (Copenhagen's star-shaped fort), went into the Design Museum as they had a Motorcycle exhibit very interesting and right up John's alley. It was very interesting. We visited Carlsberg Museum, the brewery tours were closed, walked thru the Carlsberg Elephant's. And yes we did find the Harley Davidson store in Copenhagen, we walked out to it thru the Fredericksburg Have and by the zoo. It was a walk but enjoyed, we explored the Nyhaven area and then checked out of the hotel to return to London. We got home around 9pm on Tuesday night. Wednesday was back to the routine for me - work. We met friends on Wednesday after work for drinks and dinner, a good night was had by all. On Friday morning John left to return to the states.

Edinburgh

We are off to Edinburgh by train on Thursday morning, great scenery, but a long train ride approximately four and half hours. We saw lots of the countryside. We stayed in the New Town, was raining when we arrived, checked in and then ventured out to check out the city. We walked up to the Princess Gardens, Scott Memorial and the Scotland National Galleries, headed back to have dinner and call it a night. On Friday the sun was shinning, but was cold, we walked down the Royal Mile to the Palace of Holyroodhouse toured the Palace and Abbey impressive, then back up the Royal Mile, checked out the shops, then boarded a city bus to find the Harley Davidson store. Bet you all know who's idea that was. John visited the one in London and got some great t-shirts, so now is on a mission to have Harley t-shirts from the cities we visit. We had a little adventure by city bus, we did finally arrive at the Harley store, also saw the Royal Observatory and Napier University, Craighouse campus (as we were on the wrong bus). Mission accomplished he now has t-shirts from Edinburgh Harley Davidson and me too. Then boarded a bus back to the town centre where we went to dinner and called it a night. Saturday we visited Edinburgh Castle, it is pretty impressive, spent the morning there, walked and explored more of the city, stopped off to watch some of the 6 Nations Ruby games - had a drink and snacks. Ventured back to the hotel to watch the next game in the bar and spend the evening there. Sunday we visit the Tartan Mill and Whiskey Experience (not impressed), explored a little more, then boarded the train for our return to London.
Monday it was back to work for me and a lazy day for John. He is out exploring today Tuesday - going to the London Transport Museum and Hampstead Heath.

January

I'm still here. Made a trip to the US on the 30th of January. Met my family in Reno for weekend. Mom, Dad, Annette and her family and friends Robin and John joined me. We all had a great visit, did some shopping, gambling, lots of visitings and good American food. On Monday flew to Salt Lake City for appointments on Monday and Tuesday. Stayed with Marianne, had dinner with Charnae and Matt on Monday, was great to visit and catch up. Tuesday had my appointments did some shopping, then dinner with Gor, Penny, Marla, Marianne, Charnae and Matt - a great time was had by all. Then it was back to the airport for my return flight to London on Wednesday. Met up with John in Atlanta for the flight over to London. He decided to come visit while I'm still in London, a great opportunity for a vacation. Arrived in London on Thursday morning, spent the day catching up on our sleep. We did the sights of London on Friday along with a local Brewery tour. On Saturday we went out to Greenwich on the tube, visited the Royal Observatory, Greenwich meantime and the maritime museum, enjoyed the day. Sunday was a lazy day, we went to a movie and just hung around. Then it was back to work for me on Monday. John ventured out to explore more of London.

Puerta Banus, Marbella 29Dec - 05Jan

We arrived into Malaga by train, then took a local train to Fuengirola, then a taxi to Puerta Banus to the time share. We finally made it there about 5:30pm. What a long day. Checked into the time share, nice place, great balcony (do bad it wasn't warm to sit out there and enjoy it). We settled in and then went off to find dinner. Puerta Banus is approx 10 minutes from the condo, so walked down to find something for dinner and checked out the big boats in the harbour. Wow they are luxury yachts..
We had a great week here, except for the weather, but was warmer than London so that was good. We did a day trip to Ronda - we took the city bus to San Pedro then change to another city bus for an hour ride thru the mountains to the town of Ronda. What a town - it is centered over a deep gorge. Very impressive, quaint cobble stoned streets, arches and a bull ring. We spent the day touring the town, doing a little shopping and lots of sightseeing. The views of the gorge and bridge were just awesome. Then boarded the city bus for the return trip down the winding mountain road. We went to Gilbrator on a tour - really enjoyed it. It took us up to the top of the rock, impressive views, to a cavern and saw the tailless monkeys, they come right up to you and will take your packages if your not careful, especially if you have food. They were very cute though. Had to have our passports for this side trip as Gilbrator is still British. We spent a couple days walking the beach, gathering shells, watching the boats and enjoying the little sunshine that came out. We walked along the harbour lots, checking out all the expensive yachts, sailboats and cars. Had some great food while there, both Spanish (paella) and American (nachos) and they were very,very good. We went into old town Marbella one day on the city bus, saw the statues of Dali there, some were pretty strange, check out the beach and the harbour there. Then walked the streets of old town which were small cobble stoned with lots of little shops. Dad was thrilled...!!!
We really enjoyed our week here, Dad even bought a ham with the hoof attached and we ate on it for days. It was delicious. We headed home on the 5th of Jan back to London. I went back to work on Tues, Mom and Dad stayed till the 14th, so they went out to a number of the London sights and museums while I was working. The weekend we went to Borough Market and the Tate museum - it was a freezing day, but we braved it anyway. Then Sunday we made a trip to the British Museum and some souvenir shopping. Monday and Tuesday they visited a few more museums and Harrods and Wednesday morning they headed back to the states. What a great visit we had.

Spain

On the 26th of Dec, we were off to Madrid. Early morning took the tube to Victoria station then the National Express Bus to the Gatwick Airport for our flight(as the rail lines were down due to scheduled work). Arrived in Madrid mid afternoon, took a cab to the Westin Palace hotel, check in. Then off to explore. What a great city, very walk able, lot of pedestrian streets. We tried Tapas for dinner. Next morning we got on the open top tour bus for a tour of the city. What great building,statues and fountains, got off at the Plaza Mayor, they had a market in the square and lots of people statues, some very interesting ones at that. We then walked back to the Royal Palace and Cathedral, then stopped for dinner. Then back on the bus for the rest of the tour. We went to the Picasso museum the next morning then the other bus route, spent lots of time walking and exploring the city. Have some great pictures, be sure to look.
On the 29th we were off by train (high speed 280 mphs) to Malaga. Took a taxi to the train station then got something to eat prior to boarding the train.

Christmas

Christmas was a little different here in London. Mom & Dad were here, we had a nice quiet day at home. For dinner we had a Duck dish and Roast dish along with vegges and potatoes. We also had Christmas Crackers - a London tradition.