Suffolk, Kent, Canterbury and London

We had a fantastic time on our trip, though we definitely returned less rested than when we left!

We flew out of Oslo on Wednesday and arrived to London Stansted Airport at about 4 p.m. to find that, much like in Oslo, the sun was already beginning to set. That made learning to drive on the "wrong" side of the road in our rental car a bit harder for Kelly! I held my breath the entire way, but somehow we managed to get to Mitch and Katie's house in Suffolk in one piece.

Zach had a blast getting reaquainted with Jack and Ian, but decided that Hannah was going to be the center of his attention this trip. Whether it was sitting by her or holding hands with her, Zach became her shadow.

Thanksgiving morning, Mitch took us out for a tour of his base, which was really cool---Zach especially enjoyed the planes. I was pretty thrilled to visit the store on base where we loaded up on American junk at American prices---Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, Mountain Dew, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, People Magazine, Slush Puppies...it was awesome! We miss the United States!

Afterward, we headed back to the house for a wonderful Thanksgiving lunch and then outside for a walk through the heath followed by a bonfire in the back yard.

Friday morning we went with the England Walkers to Kent to see Leeds Castle, built in 1119. After a picnic and tour, we drove a little further to Canterbury to visit Canterbury Cathedral where Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in 1170 attracting thousands of pilgrims, as told in Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Very cool stuff!

There we parted ways and crossed our fingers for a safe drive into London. Kelly did an excellent job and in no time we were driving right past the London Eye, Houses of Parliament and Big Ben!

Saturday morning we ventured out on a double decker bus, took tons of blurry pictures, and then toured the Tower of London. Of all the places we've toured thus far, this was by far our favorite. After a fish-and-chips lunch, we cruised down the River Thames to get more glimpses of some famous sights.

That evening we went to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park to endulge Zach with some carnival-type rides and Christmasy atmosphere. We found a train ride and carousel and he was in Heaven. We got a bit lost on our way back to our hotel and somehow ended up at Harrod's. We managed to escape without buying anything but endulged ourselves with a warm cab ride back to our hotel's area. There we found an awesome little Italian restaurant with delicious pasta and even more delicious desserts.

Sunday morning was awesome---we got to attend morning worship services at Westminster Abbey. It was surreal to be sitting where people have gathered for church for nearly 1000 years! We took a tip from a local and had a great lunch at a Portuguese restaurant (even Zach loved it) and then headed to the British Museum to see the Rosetta Stone and parts of the Parthenon among other things.

We were pretty worn out, so we finished our day with a steak dinner and yes, more dessert, this time at the "Waffle House." This is not the same as the American version though; this one serves up Belgian waffles topped with Belgian chocolate, strawberries, ice cream....whatever you can think of. Delicious!

After half a night's sleep, we took another drive through London on our way to the airport. This time it was the middle of the night so there was no traffic and Kelly seemed like he'd been driving like the British for years.

We had a wonderful time, but I have to admit that a trip to London is not a relaxing thing!

If you'd like to see all of our pictures from our trip, just e-mail me and I'll send you a link---there are lots!