England and France

Wednesday morning we headed for The Tower of London (via the tube of course). It's not like I pictured it - which was one big tower where people were usally not seen again once they entered. It's a huge castle with a long history. Wall grafitti from prisoners from the 1500's etc are still there, protected by a covering. It's all very surreal and set in the middle of busy intersections and buildings from every era. A cold blustery wind blew that day - kind of went with the castle. I climbed a lot of stairs that day- some very narrow. After lunch we walked over the Tower Bridge which spans the Thames River, then on to the Tate Modern Museum which holds thousands of art pieces , including Andy Warhol. It's the largest space I've ever seen for an art museum, but then London has a lot of large buildings with large spaces. Went back to our room to rest for a while, then back on the tube! to meet a friend of Kristin's from high school. We ate at The Crown Pub in the Soho theater district and shared a meat pie. Their has been an eating establishment on that spot practically since London began.

Thursday morning up early to ride the London Eye and get a great view of the city. At the beginning it was a little disconcerting knowing we were on a gigantic ferris wheel but it moves very slowly. Got some great pictures which Kristin has on the other picture site. On the tube to Trafalgar Square where those huge lion statues and fountain are situated. It has a historial significance pertaining to some battle, but I couldn't tell you what that was. There are a LOT of memorial statues and monuments , a lot pertaining to war heroes, particularly WWII.

Then we decided to go to the neighborhood of Notting Hill (as in the Julia Roberts Movie). Very cute and a good neighborhood feel. We ate lunch at a corner cafe (ehcikcen crepes).

Last, but not least, we took the tube to Hyde Park where Kensington Palace is located (last residencedof Princess Diana). We took a self guided tour where they had displays of Di's gowns, plus some of the resident apts and bedrooms of past Kings and Queens. This is also where Queen Victoria was born. After that day, we packed up our suitcases, took the tube to the train station bought tickets for a train to the hotel we stayed at next to Gatwick airport, which is about 40 minutes out of London. Checked in to the Sofitel Hotel (very nice).

The next morning we were up at 4:45 a.m. to catch a 6:45 a.m. plane to Marsielle, France. 2 1/2 hours later we arrived. We had only begun our adventure. Transportation has been a challenge but it's worked out so far. From the airport we caught a bus, which took us to a train, which finally got us to Avignon at 2:30 pm Checked in to Hotel Colbert - quaint, cute, and with a million stairs set in to a very steep spiral staircase. Our two windows overlook the patio below - there are about 10 rooms in a very old building - very charming. The 5 years of French Kristin took has helped us out tremendously - she can communicate very well with the locals. We walked all over town - the pictures help describe it a lot. I'm thoroughly enjoying this town and since Kristin has been here before, it helps us to sort things out.

Today we took a 40 minute bus ride to St. Remy (where Picasso did a good amount of his art work) and that was every more charming. I've enjoyed interacting with the French and I like the sound of their language.

Tomorrow we have an all day tour in a mini-van with an English guide. We'll be gone from 9am-7pm.
Au-revoir!