The Final Days for Tim and Michelle

This update comes a few days after the events, so hold on as we take you through Belgium and the last few days in London!

We arrived in Belgium after the night train, which was fairly good nights sleep. We were not sure where we were staying, so after visiting the information desk in the train station and getting a list of the local hostels we were ready to call them for open rooms. Luckily, the first one we called had rooms, and after a few minutes we were on our way. We decided to again tackle mass transit using the metro, and after a few stumbles we arrived at our destination. We were early for check in time, so our luggage was “securely” stored in a large storage room in the basement.

We spent the day exploring the city, tasting chocolates, eating waffles (delightfully different than expected) and planning where we would eat for the evening. We visited the main square, which is a large open place in the city, with cobblestones covering the ground and 5 story older homes all around. You feel like you are in a hidden space in the city, even though it is a huge open square. In the middle of the square there is a large flower market, as well as local artists selling their paintings. Tim and Michelle bought three small prints for their walls, and they are hoping the prints will survive the trip home.

Dinner was eaten at a local restaurant, where Michelle decided to get adventurous with her meal. Since Brussels is known for their seafood, we found a whole street full of restaurants that sold mainly seafood. She ordered a mixed seafood platter with a variety of seafood on it, only two of which she had ever eaten before (crab and lobster). She ate her way through a huge bowl of clams, muscles and calamari, and actually enjoyed it. A surprising choice, since Michelle is not known to be adventurous in her meals! (Michelle is the one writing this post, by the way, just so you don’t think others are being critical of her culinary choices!).

After dinner we went back to the main square where many locals were now laying down in small groups and looking up at the stars. It was a beautiful night. We headed back to the hotel for a good nights sleep before the train ride to London.

An early morning trip back to the train station, and we were easily able to find out train and board. Since we were crossing the border into the UK we had to go through a longer checkpoint prior to boarding. We were all happy that we decided to get to the train station early for this trip.

The ride over was good, and once we arrived at the train station we split up. Duane and Brandon headed over to the Scout camp location and Michelle and Tim headed to the hotel. Since Michelle is writing this, she will let Duane and Brandon update their day in another post.

Michelle and Tim obtained a map and determine that it did not look like too great a distance to walk to their hotel. Unfortunately, the map was a basic one, without most of the minor streets on it. The major streets were there, but the scale was off from previous maps we had used. So we began a 1.5 hour walk through Westchester to the hotel. Ugh. We were both ready to set down our packs the moment we arrived. Unfortunately check in was not for another 45 minutes, so we had lunch instead at a local restaurant and then headed in. After unpacking and showers, we were ready to hit the town.

We walked around for the majority of the rest of the day, exploring China Town, the British Museum (seeing the Rosetta Stone) and the different shops there. We had dinner at a little pan-Asian restaurant, which was very good! After dinner, we saw the play “Spamalot” which is a play devoted to the Monty Python movies. A very funny play if you ever get the chance to see it. We had sore stomachs after laughing so hard. After the play, we walked back to the room and caught up with Brandon and Duane, who had arrived about an hour earlier. A good nights sleep was on the agenda, and well enjoyed.

The next morning we bought tickets for a hop-on, hop-off bus tour company, where you could listen to their audio or live tours of London, and if you wanted to get off the bus at any point to explore the area further, you could. Then you could get back on the bus at a later time or stop, and continue with it. We hopped off the bus around Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guards. It was an amazing scene, with hundreds and hundreds of people there. There were three groups of guards there for the changing scene: the old guards being replaced, the new replacement guards and the band that accompanied the new guards coming to the palace and the old guards leaving the palace. The entire ceremony lasted 45 minutes, and during the ceremony the band played some interesting songs. We recognized Bob Marley (No woman no cry), and the theme songs to the A-Team (a tv show that Tim loved) and Pirates of the Caribbean. An odd thing to hear a very formal band playing these types of songs!

After the ceremony, we thought about catching a tour of the palace, since the queen is not in residence during August and September, but we were not able to get tickets. Instead we went to get some lunch (fish and chips, yum!) and then headed over to the Tower of London, where some of the crown jewels are kept. We arrived 15 minutes before the last admission time, and had about 45 minutes to explore the tower and its history before the tower closed. The tower is an old city, that was founded in the time of the Romans (so you can still see some of the old Roman walls) and it was also used as a prison. A very interesting history to read if you ever have a chance!

The crown jewels were wonderful, and huge, especially the crowns that are on display. I am sure that these are not all of the royal jewels, but even these are overwhelming. Jewels that are bigger than a softball. Just amazing. Of course Michelle was more impressed with all of this than the guys, but they hung in there.

After the Tower of London we headed back into the city and tried to catch the Thames river cruise, but we were about an hour too late. We headed back into the central London area, and were able to catch a showing of Les Miserables. Michelle was ecstatic, as this is her favorite play, and reading the book in Junior High is what sparked her interest in the French language. It was a good performance, and again, the guys endured it quite well. :)

After the play it was a quick trip home for Michelle and Tim to pack and get ready for the plane ride home the next day. A great last day in Europe!

On the following day (Wednesday morning) the alarm went off at 5:45AM. Tim, Michelle and Duane headed over to the tube station to see how they could get out to Heathrow airport. Once directions were established a quick prayer was said for safe travels and we were off leaving Duane to go back to bed. The tube ride took a full hour to get out to the airport, which was good, since we had heard it took a while and factored that into our timetable. We arrived on time, and were about to check into the plane without too many troubles. The only real issue was that Heathrow only allows you to take 1 carry on bag per person, which is different than the two that are allowed from US airports. Since we were planning on bringing many of our fragile items on the plane as carry on bags, we were frantically trying to make 4 bags into 2. We also did not allow enough time to comfortably get on the plane because of this. Instead of being there 2 hours before, I would suggest at least 3, which means (Duane) you need to leave 4 hours before your flight for the airport. Ah, the joys of airplane travel.

The first flight was uneventful, although we will say that if you ever have the chance to fly on Air Canada, do it, as their staff is wonderful, they give you actual food on the planes and the leg room allowance was perfect. Especially if you have to fly for 13 hours, Air Canada is the company to do it with.

Our second flight had a bit more drama to it. We had 2 hours to get off the plane in Montreal, get through the Canadian customs, collect all of our checked baggage, stand in line to get through US customs, check the bags in again for the second flight, and make it to our gate. Yes, only 2 hours! We were doing fine on time until we arrived at the US customs area. We went through the first long line and the usual customs interview. Then, because we had been in the UK (with all of the disease scares going on) we had to have another interview by security personnel, not to mention another line to get to the interview. Once this was finished, we had 15 minutes to check our bags and get to the gate. We ran, as fast as our poor tired feet could carry us, all the way to the gate. Now mind you, we had been carrying our backpacks on our back for about 1.5 hours, and they were not light in the least. So when I say our poor tired feet, this is an understatement. I am sure that the people in the airport had a good chuckle at our attempt to run. But when we arrived at the gate and saw that the plane was still there, we were overjoyed.

Another plane flight, which was fine, and a quick pick up by Tim’s parents at the airport brought us to their house and an wonderful home cooked meal. At 8 we headed home, bone tired but desperately wanting to sleep in our own bed. We arrived home at 9:45, unloaded our bag from the car, and dropped into bed. A great ending to a wonderful adventure. Ahhhhh.

Some things that we are excited about upon our return to the US:
At restaurants - Bottomless drinks, not paying for condiments, water, and the seat you sit in for dinner.
At home – our washer/dryer, our own bed, and our kitty Lizzy, who was very excited to see us when we came home,
In general – not having a language barrier, knowing what to expect wherever you go, being able to read the local newspaper, getting life back to normal

Some things we will miss from Europe:
All of the great food, and the adventure at trying something new when you have no clue what it is and what it is made out of.
Meeting numerous helpful people who go out of their way to make sure you are on the right path.
Experiencing different cultures and seeing different trends - like the grandmothers with the purple and pink hair.
The sense of time and history that comes with just being in the different cities, since they are all so much older and sometimes grander than places in the US.

Duane and Brandon are continuing their adventure, and will come home in another couple of days. They have access to the site, and we hope that they will continue to update it as they are able. Thank you to all who have been reading this so far. It was a great trip, and one we hope to repeat someday, although with a bit more time taken in each city. This was definitely an whirlwind adventure!

Arrivederci, Ciao, Na shledanou, Auf Wiedersehen, Dag, Au revoir, Cheers, Goodbye!!