London and Wales ~ Part One

As was mentioned in my last post, going to Britain

was not on our radar in a serious way until it was booked

and we were making preparations for our departure only one week later.

We hit the ground running and didn't stop until it was

all over and we were back in our own beds.  Yes, crazy!

We just about forgot to take a *farewell* shot and then,

just as my brother and mom were about to drive away,

we flagged them down, and gathered for the photo above.  

Anticipation ran high.

Our flight was AC 854 to London ~ see it listed below?

We had a little time on our hands once we were through security.

Calvin took the opportunity to have some fun with his camera.

After a nine hour flight through the night, we arrived.
Calvin snapped this shot as we were descending into London.
If you look closely you can see a square of red around the Tower of London
directly below the wing beside the Thames ~ those were the poppies!

Before we left the airplane, we visited with the captain of the flight.
Howie got to take a turn in the right seat.  :)

After leaving the airport, we got a rental car and proceeded to drive to

our friend's mom's home an hour away.  

Side note ~ driving on the wrong side of the road on the wrong side

of the car with left handed shift was interesting, to say the least.

I kept having to look away ~ Howie was doing the driving.

He did very well and overall, we only had a few *colourful* moments.

We logged over 1150 miles on our rental vehicle ~

all things considered, I would say it was a great success.

We got ourselves settled and the next afternoon,

we ventured into the city.  Emma noticed the *little* things ~ 
like the lettering (above) on the pavement.  Oh, so British!

We took a train and then the underground and arrived one hour later.

First stop ~ Tower of London and the Tower Bridge.
It was afternoon, so we opted to save the Tower of London for
another day when we would have more time to explore ~ wise plan.

We took a Thames River boat ride from the Tower

to Westminster and saw sights like these ~
The London Eye on the left, and the Parliament Buildings on the top right.
See the Big Ben clock tower?  We did ~ up close and personal for well over an hour.  
Our Calvin is a photographer ~ we happily indulged him.
Big Ben at dusk was a *must do* for our young man.

While Calvin was shooting Big Ben, Emma shot people (pun intended).
(After she captured Big Ben on its own first ~ of course.)

See?  People are in this shot ~ any guesses who they are?

We had time for silliness, too.

Actually, we had LOTS of time for lots of things.

Calvin was busy, busy, busy.  He got some amazing shots

which he agreed to allow me to post...see below.

The next five shots are Calvin's ~ yippee for the tripod!

Big Ben on its own ~ he used HDR imaging for this shot...

...and this one.

Both were taken on the same night with varying exposure

times and techniques.  The differences are interesting, don't you think?

The London Eye ~ opposite side of the bridge

and opposite side of the river...kitty-corner from Big Ben.

Another of Calvin's shots ~ an iconic London image.

Looking toward Big Ben...

...and away from it.

After Big Ben, we walked in a big circle around the downtown area.

Along the way, we enjoyed some of the sights of London at night.

Buckingham Palace was gated and guarded (of course) ~

but, that didn't stop us from peering in and wondering.
(There was someone sitting in a front window on the lower level ~
who was it?  Couldn't say...but, we were intrigued by it all.)

Calvin set up his tripod and we got a family photo ~

this is Emma's photo of the set up.

Here is Calvin's photo of us all ~ in front of Buckingham Palace at night.

We ended the night in Trafalgar Square ~
See Calvin with his tripod and me watching him?

We arrived back at our lodgings late and went to bed.
It messed with my brain a little when I thought of what time
it was back home ~ around 4pm BC time.
We were all restless at about 2am in our new locale ~ 
a little mixed up.  Nothing new, really.
It took a few days, but, we got sorted out ~ mostly.

More to come...ready or not.
Many Blessings, Camille

*Posts in this series ~ Introduction, Part One, Part Two, Part Three, 
Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Final Installment

**All photos in this post courtesy of our two photographers ~
Emma and Calvin.  Thank you, my loves.  xoxo