I see London, I see France

Long story, but it happened that Ed found two cheap tickets to London for Erica and Bentley which we wanted to give them for a graduation gift. We planned for them to take the Chunnel to France and go to the Paris Temple open house. When Erica suggested I go as well, Edward found me a ticket and 8 days from that time we were in London, England. We arrived at 10 am Tuesday morning and we were able to see Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, 10 Downing Street, The London Eye, The Thames and Buckingham Palace and Green Park. We ate lunch at a place called The Laughing Halibut.

At 5:30 p.m. we took the Eurostar to France. Erica slept most of the way.

 I enjoyed watching out the window as we flew past the countryside at 300 km/h. I actually fell asleep in the chunnel and slept for a while. We got to Paris at 8:30 pm Tuesday night and took a cab to our hotel (Novatel in the 18th Arrondissement). We were exhausted and went to sleep as soon as we checked in. The next morning when I looked out our window there was a homeless encampment right outside.

We took an UBER to Versailles to tour the Paris Temple.

Then we walked to Palace Versailles. It is ginormous. 

I love these hallways and arches and the floors.

After touring that we took the metro back to Paris and visited the Louvre.

By the time this day was done, we walked almost 21 km. We had supper at an Italian restaurant a few blocks from the Louvre. It was delicious. Then we took an Uber back to our hotel. The next morning (Thursday) we had tickets for the Catacombs. We took the metro. This was fascinating and one of my favourite parts of our trip. I highly recommend it. Where else can you see the remains of 6 million people? (The tour covers only a small part of this mass grave, but what you see is overwhelming.)

"Stop! Here is the empire of the dead." Yeah, about 6 million dead people.

It was positively artistic they way they arranged femurs and skulls. My pictures don't really show it, but these stacks of bones are as high as Bentley and maybe 10 feet deep. 

Then we took the train up to Montmartre where we toured the Basilique du Sacre Coeur. It was beautiful. My camera died so I have no pictures of this.

We waited in line for a very inefficient public toilet for about an hour. Then we walked to Moulin Rouge and took a picture before taking the train back to Notre Dame.

This is one of my favourite pictures.

Then the Eiffel Tower. We walked up the 700 steps to the second level where we took the elevator to the top. The view was beautiful.

Another favourite shot.

Then we walked down and went to the Arc de Triomphe. We climbed that and watched the lights come on on the Eiffel Tower.

 

By this time we were cold and tired and hungry so we took the train to our favourite pizza place and ate before taking UBER back to our hotel at 11 pm.

We had to be back at the Eurostar at 6:15 the next morning. Our UBER driver had assured us that UBER was very reliable so we went to bed hoping we could get an UBER at 6 in the morning. Amazingly, we did. However customs was moving very slow and we got into our seats with 8 minutes to spare.

Back in London, we went to Tower Bridge, the HMS Belfast and the Tower of London. Then we walked to the British Museum.

We ate at McDonald's (mozza sticks anyone?) and went to Picadilly Square. It was under construction and there wasn't much to see.
The kids were exhausted so we went to our hotel Hilton Garden Suites Heathrow and went to bed. We flew home Saturday morning and landed at 3:30 pm. It was a whirlwind trip. We walked close to 20 km a day for three days. All in all, it was a whirlwind trip with not nearly enough time for eating the delicious foods in France or digesting the history and architecture. The baguettes, cheese, eclairs, pizza, crepes... I could have spent a lot more time in restaurants. We just didn't have time. There was so much to see. But when I go back, and I will go back, I will skip all the touristy stuff and meander through neighbourhoods, browse markets, and while away the afternoon people-watching at a café while stuffing my face with eclairs and baguettes.

April quilts (completed in May)

You know when you hear about something on facebook and you can't help being part of it? Apparently a seniors complex burned down in Newfoundland leaving 22 seniors completely homeless. Luckily a quilter lives across the street. She put out a call to all quilters to send blocks of certain specified dimensions to her. She would then compile them and create 22 quilts for these displaced seniors. I sent her 21 blocks. I am overwhelmed by the support she received. She's going to be sewing for a while. But I love doing stuff like this.

This is a project for a friend on mine who has spent countless hours making quilts for the Drop-In Centre here in Calgary. She is no spring chicken but she is a work horse. She never stops. I wanted to make her a quilt to honour her for all her hours of selfless service. I hope she likes it.

Medical School Interviews

Erica applied to Med School. She got interviews at U of C, Western, Queens and U of A. She and I flew to Toronto, rented a car and drove 2 hours east to London where she had her interview. Then we drove back through Toronto and further on 2 hours west to Kingston Ontario where she interviewed with Queens. I fell in love with Queens. I parked the car and wandered about the campus. They have what they call the Harry Potter reading room. In fact, many buildings on this campus evoke a Hogwarts feel. I thought it was beautiful and wanted to sign up to take classes immediately.

 The final destination for an interview was Edmonton. Wish us luck!