Horse Races!

We had an absolute blast at the horse races last night: Kempton Park Racecourse, just three stops from Shepperton. I had no idea what to expect, but I'd read about it as "things to do" in Surrey, so I dragged the family out. It was such fun! The train stopped right at the racecourse, we paid our entrance fee, and asking for help and tips in my thick American accent worked like a charm. (I also think that's what got me out of being in more trouble when I photographed a horse and my flash went off -- that is a big no, no in front of horses! It was after the race though, not before, if that makes it any less horrifying -- it was my winning horse!)

We all of us won something on the races we bet on. There were seven races total, and we'd arrived a little late and missed the first two, then spent the next one figuring out how it works and what was going on, then we bet on 4, 5, and 6, and sat out the seventh because the lines were getting too long. Anna bet on a horse to win, and won! Then Alex and Anna both bet on horses to place, and they one first and second! Then I bet on a horse to place, and it won. I wish I'd bet on it to win -- it was 9-1 odds.

Arthur arrived even later and didn't get a chance to bet, but it was just so much fun seeing the horses paraded out before the races, the jockeys mount, and then the winners brought out after. And, of course, winning was a lot of fun, too. We actually came out ahead by about 4 pounds. But Anna and Alex had no qualms about just taking their winnings and not deducting what I had placed for them as bets.

Today it is raining at last. Really, after this heat, the rain is a relief. We're heading into London and the British Museum, which I think is a good way to spend a rainy day. Then tomorrow, we're off to Paris!

Sightseeing, sightseeing, sightseeing

We're all a bit exhausted: since Arthur arrived, we've had our debit card suspended, called the U.S. to clear it up, been to the British equivalent of Walmart to stock up on food for the flat, been to Windsor, toured the castle, walked to the Shepperton Lock, took a small ferry across the Thames, been to Salisbury and Stonehenge, celebrated Arthur's birthday at a curry house down the road, and collapsed from exhaustion.

We're taking a small break from intense sightseeing, but still, I want to go to the evening races tonight at Kempton Park -- it's just a few train stops away from us, horse races and live music!

The weather reports keep threatening rain, but instead, we have had nothing but sunshine -- in fact, it's been a bit too hot! Even the locals aren't sure what to do with this weather. One even suggested that we brought it with us from California. Needless to say, London does not have air conditioning. But what we can't understand is why they don't have screens on the windows. We kept every window in the flat open last night, and now there are spiders and dead flies around. Time to vacuum (whoops, I mean Hoover).

Here are some more photos -- can you tell that a far superior photographer has arrived? Some are his, some are mine (and some are Anna's):

Day before Arthur arrived: a visit to the Tower of London

Lots of hands-on exhibits

An exhibit of the royal animals that the kings kept as pets over the centuries

The guards in front of the home of the Crown Jewels. The jewels and coronation accoutrement were pretty cool -- no cameras allowed, though.

Turned around to find these guys marching right toward me.

It turned out to be a mini-changing of the guard.

One marched up to the guy already there....

...and then started grooming the other -- picking stuff out of the other's hat.

Tower Bridge.

Crossing Tower Bridge with an ice cream.

Day after Arthur arrived: Windsor Castle, while trying to learn how to operate the audio guides.

The Crooked House, in Windsor

Next day: Walking down Ferry Lane to the Thames, in Shepperton.

The Shepperton Lock. This was actually quite mesmerizing: small craft going up or down the Thames go through the lock, where one side is higher than the other.

Boats pulling in to be raised up.

Boats filling up the lock, waiting for the water to be pumped in.

Lock filled up and boats moving out.

Crossing the Thames by ferry -- a very short crossing, from the Shepperton side to the Weybridge side. We walked a bit and ate at a lovely pub on the Weybridge side, then crossed back again. A ferry crossing has operated at this part of the Thames for 500 years.

Feeding the ducks on the Weybridge side of the river.

What got Anna laughing so hard...

...almost uncontrollably? It was seeing mom, moments before, fall over backward out of a plastic chair, with my feet flying up in the air, at the "Riverside Refreshment" cafe.

Still laughing. I didn't think it was that funny. (She's still laughing about it, two days later.)

My American accent

Had the experience of someone not understanding me: We'd been to a cafe near the train station almost every day, and they have a really good mocha, but on my third visit, it was a different cashier. When I ordered a "large mocha to go," he looked at me like I had just spoken Swahili. I tried again, more slowly: A large cafe mocha for take away. Got it that time. I can't help it if I pronounce all my vowels. But the fourth day I went in, it was the same cashier, and he recognized us as, I can only assume, The Americans.

We hung out at the cafe yesterday waiting for Arthur to arrive by bus from Heathrow. The airport is very close to Shepperton, but I knew there was no way I could handle driving to the airport. Waaay too scary. So I looked up buses, found a direct one to Shepperton, and told Arthur. But as we were waiting for him, I realized this is not a pleasant, air-conditioned, airport transfer-type bus, but rather a regular city bus. It took the poor man a full hour, stopping through every village between the airport and here. Still, it was only 3 pounds! We managed to be at the right stop at the right time waiting for him.

For a late lunch, or early dinner, before he could collapse from jet lag, I dragged him to another local pub, definitely more for the locals than the pretty one on the Thames. Here, my American accent got me lots of help and advice. I tried my first Guinness, and we were served free "bar snacks" of greasy sausages and fried chicken.

Next item on our list (which Arthur and I are more excited about than the kids) is a curry house (British for Indian restaurant?). There are a couple good ones here in Shepperton.

The weather has been soooo lovely. We are so lucky!

London sightseeing

The weather was spectacular today, so we took advantage by exploring Hyde Park. We went via Buckingham Palace, then took a double-decker a few stops, and ended by renting bicycles. The only form of transport we didn't squeeze in was pedalboats or rowboats on Serpentine Lake. Or horses on "Rotten Row" (an English corruption of the French Route de Roi).

Found a fantastic pub for dinner here in Shepperton (required venturing out by car again, but we made it). The place has a large tree-covered terrace, overlooking the Thames, near the Shepperton lock. There are houseboats as well as riverside homes here. It is so lovely. Unfortunately, only British food to be had. Seriously, how can an entire country have no decent cuisine. I came prepared to scoff at the stereotype, but it is simply true: the food is terrible. (And at this pub, the service was really slow, but the atmosphere still made up for it, in my opinion. I'd go back.)

The waiter called Alex "mate." He really liked that. He seems to be falling in love with all things British. I'm trying to arrange a cricket match or football game. Gotta have the full immersion.

Here are some photos so far...

Happy to be here, but jet lagged. On Westminster Bridge, in front of the London Eye.

Next day, at Buckingham Palace. Still jet lagged? Or is she just going to pose that way for every photo?

Guards in furry hats. A big hit. But didn't they used to stand closer to the tourists? And you tried to get them to "break"? Now they are far away.

Rented bikes in Hyde Park. It was a self-service kiosk, and did not function smoothly. But it was an adventure anyway.

Serpentine Lake, in Hyde Park

At the pub.

Well, British Food, anyway.

View of the pub, with the river behind us.

The river: the part that rolls past Shepperton.

Blimey...!

We arrived safe and sound. Our "host," Philip, met us at the airport, and I immediately made the mistake of starting to get into the car on the driver's side (Alex, providing me with running commentary, said "strike one").

Anna had starting giggling about the accents before we even "alighted" from the airplane. Alex later confessed he barely contained himself when Philip used the word "blimey" in regular conversation. And they are both learning lots about British spelling.

We are all settled in at the flat and beginning to recover from jet lag. The kids could not help but take a nap that first afternoon, which meant they were up all night. But they pushed through a first day of sightseeing, utterly exhausted, and so are hopefully sleeping through the night. (I am already so adjusted to the time change that I woke up at my usual 3 a.m. tonight, our second full night here.)

The first night, despite my complete terror at the thought of driving, I did venture out because I realized I did not have the right plug-shape adapter for my computer, and it was out of battery. I was completely cut off! (Except for my iPod touch.) So I researched what I thought was a shopping center and how to get there (on my tiny iPod map), and Anna and I headed out (Alex was too tired to get up from his nap). I bumped a few curbs and drove way too slow for the locals, but I didn't get in any accidents. Still, once we made it to the giant round-about where I thought I would find the shopping center, I had to try every exit before even slightly figuring out which was the right one (and I'm not sure I did find exactly the shopping center I was looking for). That is a lot of circling around, and around, and around. We ultimately found what I needed (and some KFC, beer, and candybars---just what tired travelers require!) and headed home.

We spent our first full day sightseeing in London. Some pics of those adventures later.

We depart...

In the last couple weeks before our trip, we have shared in the sadness and tragedy that our dear friends the Suttons have endured, and still are enduring. That has made leaving, and leaving them, a bit hard. Michelle, there are direct flights every day! Just in case you need to get away from it all.

We were so panicked this weekend to make our final arrangements for the house, the cars, the pets, and our jobs that we completely forgot we had Giants tickets today! Anybody know how they did?

But we are ready to go. The kids and I leave for London and Arthur for Dallas for the week. He then joins us on the weekend. Our home-exchange partners, Philip and Ann, are picking us up at Heathrow and will show us around the flat. They will stay with family and leave the next morning for the U.S.

We are all excited and a bit overwhelmed by the last-minute rush. I am actually looking forward to a long flight. I might not mind sitting on my ass for 11 or 12 hours (how the hell long is it, anyway?).