Hello from Peru Again!

Day 3: Col du Petit Saint Bernard

Updated: July 11, 2022

Up and early this morning excited for the first day of biking. We packed our day bags and fueled up on a delicious breakfast. Once the vans were loaded up with bikes, gear, and riders, we were off.

Breakfast of cycling champions

The loading of the bikes

The route for the day started at Bourg-Saint-Maurice, heading up 24km to the ski resort of La RosiÃƒÂ¨re, and then another 8km to the Col du Petit Saint-Bernard. The very good bikers (Dave, Marc, & Mike) started at the bottom and tackled the entire route, while the rest started a few kilometers up the road. Meanwhile, Matt was perfectly happy to let Ben drop him off in La RosiÃƒÂ¨re (same as 2018) knowing he’d be coming back up the other side of the mountain later in the afternoon. Meanwhile, Eileen and Jo strolled around the ski village after all riders were on the road.

The send-off

8k to Italy from here

Morning sunshine for days up here

Arriving first to the pass “€ which was not even close given his head start (yeah! totally won that climb!) “€ Matt recalled the advice we were given last year to pedal a few extra hundred meters and cross the border to get a cappuccino at the ITALIAN coffee shop. Real tough break having to pass the time at an Italian coffee shop in the Alps with great weather and a nice view of Mont Blanc.

Benvenuti!

Are any St. Bernards truly “little” though?

The real deal

What sort of moron parks their bike like that? But In my defense, I was the only one when I got here!

After the rest of the gang and the van arrived, additional cappuccinos were consumed. Because the weather was good today (unlike 2018), Dave’s next plan for the day was to continue onward into Italy, dropping down about 12.5km to a pizzeria/pasta place in La Thuile. Matt is not Julian Alaphilippe on disc brakes, so to make the timing work, off he went ahead of the gang. Arriving at the restaurant in La Thuile, the bad news was the restaurant wasn’t serving pizza today (sorry, Ben). Fortunately, Italy is pretty good at pasta, too.

Lovely La Thuile

No worries, the wheel came off AFTER descending to La Thuile

Italian pasta and espresso for lunch is not too shabby

Once we had enough food and another round of espressos, the day’s route now reversed all the way back to Bourg-Saint-Maurice. The catch, however, is that the climb from La Thuile back to France “€ while only 12.5km “€ is much steeper than the climb from the other side and you always get a nasty headwind in that direction.

So, with that in mind, the alpha riders (Dave, Marc, & Mike) headed back to France by bike and everybody else hitched a ride in the van to the top “€ except Matt, who jumped off the van about 6km from the top and rode back into France on two wheels as the Tour de France gods intended!!! (Also, you know, the rest of the riders already put in plenty of work on the French side earning their well-deserved lifts out of Italy.)

The view of Bourg-Saint-Maurice from La RosiÃƒÂ¨re

Another view from La RosiÃƒÂ¨re over Montvalezan

Reminder the sixth-to-last episode of Better Call Saul debuts today, and we are gonna have to wait an entire week to catch up. No!!!!

After traversing the pass, the 32km descent back to Bourg-Saint-Maurice was underway. On the descent, a tree fell and made the road impassable for cars and trucks. The timing of this was crazy because only Mike and Matt were still behind the tree when it fell (and found the road blocked with only one other motorcyclist), but Ben and the van had only passed Matt about 5 minutes earlier. So, while Matt didn’t see the tree fall (likely do to stiff winds, or perhaps the sonic boom Dave & Marc left in their wake) it couldn’t have happened more than mere minutes earlier.

Well, there’s another thing to worry about!

Fortunately both Matt and Mike navigated their bikes around the tree and continued descending at speed to meet up at Le Tonneau (our trusty Bourg-Saint-Maurice cafe from 2018) marking a successful day of biking up, down, up and down again over the Col du Petit Saint Bernard.

Only one more 12km stretch of biking was in store for the day, which was a flat ride from Bourg-Saint-Maurice to Aime-la-Plagne on the bike path along the L’IsÃƒÂ¨re river. We then loaded up the vans and headed back to the Chalet for a late afternoon snack and an Italian-themed dinner in honor of our bike route today.

Marc absolutely deserves the rest of the Tiramisu

Tomorrow is a Tour day with a slightly earlier start, so off to sleep we go.

Day 2: Geneva to Courchevel

by Joanna

Updated: July 11, 2022

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Travel day! From Geneva to Courcheval, home base for our TdF bike tour. But first things first, we started by enjoying a relaxing morning and the free Ibis breakfast (primarily the espresso machine). Even better, while we finished packing, we found a music video channel playing the top 50 hits from 1986.

Prime seating right next to the espresso machine

The trip from the city center back to the Geneva airport was a snap. We swapped a few dollars for euros at a currency exchange and made our way to find Dave at the same designated meeting point we used in 2018. Right away we spotted some familiar faces “€ Eileen and Phil – and introduced ourselves to some new folks, including Mike and Jon (long-time friends of Dave). After chatting with the group for a couple minutes, Dave arrived and we loaded up the van & trailer.

Deja vu!

Airport pickup success

Along the way, we stopped for lunch at Le Boulangerie de LÃƒÂ¨on, the first of what will surely be many top-notch recommendations from Dave this week. After making some tough decisions on which of the many delicious sandwiches and drinks to order, we hopped back in the van to continue the journey. The route goes past the town of Annecy, home of beautiful Lake Annecy, which “€ as one would expect “€ is a very popular place on a glorious Sunday afternoon.

Just terrible weather. There are at least 10 clouds.

Fresh jambon and emmental sandwich (on left) was the winner

We arrived at Chalet Nicola in Courchevel around 2:30pm and met another group member, Jim, who was already there relaxing on the porch after an afternoon ride. With plenty of free time before dinner, we decided to explore the town with Eileen who visits Courchevel nearly every year to go skiing with Phil. This pretty much makes them experts on the town, and Eileen was able to give us the inside scoop on the best bars, secret paths to nearby villages, and upcoming events “€ such as the Alpine World Ski Championships which will be hosted right here next February. After walking for a bit, we stopped at a fancy hotel for drinks and Phil joined us as well.

We have arrived. Bike-building time!

The living room of the chalet

Ski jump in Courchevel

Another Courchevel attraction – manmade lake and park area

Back at the chalet, Dave returned with the group’s next rider, Marc (an Aussie that knocks out triathlons for fun!), as well as the pedals for Matt’s bike. With all the equipment on-hand it was time to evaluate the bike situation and see if Matt still remembers how to ride one of these machines. Happy to report that after a couple adjustments, the answer is yes. Even better than last time, Dave brought a snazzier bike that weighs only 7.3kg, which is… amazing. Matt spun up and down the road a couple times, successfully recalling some 4-year old muscle memory. No falling over this time!

Comparing the S-Works and the Boardman

Back in the saddle again

With all bikes sorted and ready, the group met with Dave who reviewed the game plan for the week, including both tour and non-tour days. After the plan for tomorrow was set, we all sat down to dinner where the final two riders, Bob and Nick, joined. Recalling that France is the land of “dinner starts no earlier than 8:00pm” we finished the delicious three-course meal and headed back to our rooms for the night.

Tomorrow is the first day of biking! We will start in France and head into Italy for espresso and lunch.

Day 1: Chicago to Lausanne

by Joanna

Updated: July 15, 2022

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As with our previous trip to France, we started once again by taking shots of Chartreuse and eating some French flag-colored M&M’s (so lucky they sell those in the US!). We made our way to O’Hare for a 3:50pm flight. Despite gambling with basic economy tickets, we were seated together with extra legroom and the flight went off without a hitch.

Carrefour is the best King of the Mountain (polka dot jersey) sponsor

If you know what’s good for your future, you will avoid the stairs at O’Hare

We landed in Zurich a little early, giving us some leeway before or our connecting flight. We overcame our minor jet lag and breezed through customs (got a real stamp!) to find the correct gate once it was announced. The flight from Zurich to Geneva only took 35 minutes in the air, during which time Matt grabbed the Swiss Sky magazine and thumbed to the maps section, whereupon he noticed the town of Lausanne was only about 50 miles from Geneva…

“I’m pretty sure stage 8 of the Tour de France ends later today in Switzerland in a town called Lausanne, right?”(yes it does) “According to this map, that’s really close to Geneva.”(it is!) “But I thought Lucern was further away.” (that totally different city sure is!) “Are there multiple spellings of Lucern because of different languages?”(nope!) “What about Luzern?”(another different city and nope again!) Are these all the same city?”(DEFINITELY NOT!) “Well regardless, seems like we should hop a train and definitely go to Lausanne!”(yes indeed!)

TdF 2022 Stage 8 Map. Hey, is Lausanne Lucerne???

Welcome to Switzerland!

If fortuitous map-reading wasn’t enough, arriving at the hotel three hours before check-in did the trick, so we proceeded to venture out. Taking the train from Geneva Airport to Geneva City Center was quick and easy (with a free transit pass from Ibis). But for Lausanne, figuring out what train to take and how to buy a ticket was a bit trickier. Also, as noted above it is super important to know that while Lausanne is pronounced like “Lucerne” (we think), it is an entirely different city from both Lucerne and Luzern. We eventually figured this out, bought the correct ticket, and found a train that got us there.

From the Lausanne train station, we wandered towards where the final kilometers of the stage would be winding through the city. The streets were decked out in celebration of the Tour. We eventually found the Fan Zone where we ordered a duck sandwich and coffee for lunch. Jo’s Tour de French Foods has officially begun.

Even my nails match lovely Lausanne

Tour de France chaos has gripped Lausanne ahead of the peloton’s arrival

Crossing the Place Chauderon and walking the 12% gradient route to the finish

Making our way back down the climb, we found a grassy and somewhat shady spot to hang out until the TdF Caravan arrived. As loyal blog readers know, the caravan is basically a Mardi Gras parade with sponsor cars/trucks/vans driving the route ahead of the cyclists and throwing swag at the crowd, usually courtesy of enthusiastic French 20-somethings harnessed to the vehicles for their safety.

Today’s caravan haul: 2 E’Leclerc King of the Mountain t-shirts, 1 King of the Mountain flag, 1 King of the Mountain hat, 1 yellow jersey hat, 1 metal bike keychain/bottle opener, an espresso pod for an espresso machine we don’t own, 2 packs of cheese crackers, and a luggage tag. We also spun a wheel at the EF booth in the Fan Zone and nabbed a drawstring backpack and a passport holder. Education First, people!!!

Our view just before the hard right turn under the 2km banner

E’Leclerc is the best King of the Mountain (polka dot jersey) sponsor. We have always been at war with Carrefour!

Swiss dog knows the last 2km are going to be ruff

Once the entire Caravan passed, the Tour soon followed. From our location at the 2km banner, we busted out our cameras and the Cubs W flag. Obviously not a traditional TdF flag one would see in France, but definitely the right choice when you are trying to speak to a subset of friends who are both Cubs fans and know who Wout van Aert is.

As a bonus, it turns out that the white W flag is pretty easy to spot on camera (we’ll have to do better than the split second we got on air today). And oh (spoiler alert), Wout Van Aert ended up winning the stage, so our flag was totally appropriate.

W is for Waut!

After the last riders passed, we walked back down to the train station. We successfully figured out which train would get us back to Geneva the quickest and without requiring a train change along the route. We stopped in the hotel to officially check in, then left again to eat dinner. Last time we were here, we tried a burger place called “Holy Cow,” so this time, we had to try the competition, “Burger Factory.” After determining that Burger Factory is in fact delicious, we took a quick stroll to the waterfront before returning to the hotel.

We did not take the “Grandson” train back to Geneva

This is the Brunswick Monument near our hotel. Built for a duke who got kicked out of Germany for being a tyrant, but agreed to give the Swiss a lot of money.

Tomorrow, we meet our Alpine Chaingang group at the Geneva airport and drive over to France where we will stay for the remainder of the trip. Tomorrow should be a relatively uneventful travel day, and biking starts Monday!

France! Part Duex

by Joanna

Updated: July 15, 2022

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France! again!

Continuing our quest to make up for lost travel time, we are headed back to the Alps for another Tour de France. In 2018 we booked a trip with Alpine Chaingang and had so much fun we are doing it again. This time, Matt will be biking while Jo rides the van and eats baguettes. Two people we met on the trip in 2018 — Phil and Eileen — are also returning this year. Eileen will be enjoying the non-biking route with Jo.

Starting with a red-eye flight to Zurich on Friday, we will connect to Geneva and spend the night before meeting the group on Sunday. From there, we stay in a swanky chalet in Courchevel for six days of biking adventures. The route each day will include roads used by past or current Tour de France stages, and three days will feature the Tour itself (stages 10, 11, and 12) — including the ever-popular caravan. I’ve been meaning to stock up on random office supplies, very sharp magnets, and gummi snacks.

This is the controlled start blog post!

While the chalet will be our main base, one night will be spent in the town of Les Deux Alps in order to better access Alpe d’Huez, a famously difficult and popular climb for cycling enthusiasts. The last time the Tour de France included Alpe d’Huez was when we were there in 2018. But this year, the Alpe d’Huez stage (stage 12) is on July 14th, which is Bastille Day. This is the French equivalent of the Super Bowl on the 4th of July. Should be nuts.

Once we conquer all six days of biking, we will head back to the Geneva airport and connect thru Frankfurt en route to Chicago. We’ll have two weeks to chill until our next adventure… Peru! (But that’s another blog)

Flight leaves Friday. Biking starts Monday. Stay Tuned!

Day 7: Heathrow to O’Hare

by Joanna

Posted: April 16, 2022

Day 6: Other London Things

by Joanna

Updated: April 16, 2022

Day 5: Bath & Stonehenge

by Joanna

Updated: April 13, 2022

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Today’s transportation was extra-tubular! After waking up early (5:30 am, ugh), and enjoying a hearty breakfast, we took the usual Bakerloo line to Paddington Station where we transferred to a Great Western Railway train heading to Bath – a UNESCO World Heritage City about a 90-minute train ride west of London.

Paddington Station

Bath Spa Station

Upon arrival in Bath, we easily found Dan, our private guide for the day. The first stop was Alexandra Park, a lookout south of the city where we oriented ourselves with the historical landmarks. Plus, a few entertaining ones “€ such as Salisbury Hill (of Peter Gabriel fame).

Climbing up across from Salisbury Hill

Legend has it that Bath was founded by Prince Bladud, a leper who had been exiled. He found a job as a pig herder and was leading them around the warm, muddy area, when the pigs started rolling around in the mud. Later, the Prince noticed the blemishes on the pigs had gone away, and decided he would try to cure his leprosy by covering himself with the mud (made from the mineral rich hot springs). Miraculously, his wounds healed! Realizing the powers of the hot springs, the city of Bath was formed, which now honors the King and his pigs.

After the lookout, we drove into the city where Dan led us around town. We walked a portion of the River Avon, featuring a strategically-placed weir, which is used to manage the area’s temperamental water levels. You may recognize this particular weir because it appears in the 2012 movie version of Les Mis, where Inspector Javert (played by Russell Crowe) jumps to his death. Probably because he couldn’t stand himself singing.

From weir, it is either Valjean or Javert

Dan also told us that the nearby Pultney Bridge is unique because it is one of only four bridges in the world that feature shops on both sides. The others are in Florence, Venice, and Erfurt, Germany. Clearly, this is an homage to the the four Illinois Tollway Travel Oases.

Hey! It’s the maze from the Tube!

We continued to walk the city, and eventually Dan learned about Jenn’s appreciation of Bridgerton. Well, jackpot!!! Dan’s binder was filled with stills from the hit Netflix series that featured nearly every unique-looking building in Bath. The whole city is a set tour! For bonus points, we identified where CGI was used in the photos (or, in some cases, forgotten”¦ such as stray yellow street lines and blue plaques).

Yup”¦ this building was in Bridgerton too

Of course, we also talked about the baths. There are three sources for the baths, all in the same general area. They are the only “hot” springs in the UK. In the 1800s, still believing the water had restorative properties, Dr. William Oliver prescribed that his patients drink the hot springs water to help cure their ailments. The water tasted so bad, no one wanted to drink it. He made a pastry, now called the Bath Bun, to bribe his patients into drinking the water. They did this so often, that they started to gain weight, so Dr. Oliver made a diet cracker instead. You can still buy the Oliver Crackers today. We stopped in a local cheese shop to try with the crackers Dan provided.

The Bath Abbey and Pump Room “€ where you can pray the hot springs water cures you

When you’ve eaten too many Bath Buns

After our tour of Bath, Dan drove us to the George Inn, a 700-year old pub (not a typo) for lunch. We had more local beer, fish and chips, and a traditional English plate with sausage, cheeses, apple chutney, and many pickled things.

Really, really, really old bar and inn.

After filling up, we continued on to Stonehenge. We wanted to see Stonehenge because we are here, it is famous, and who doesn’t love a good mystery?! We checked out the informative visitor center that explained that various iterations of Stonehenge over the past 5,000 years. Paraphrasing archeologists, first there was a circle of small stones, then somebody moved those stones, then they brought in bigger stones, and then some fell down. The original purpose of Stonehenge is still unknown, but popular theories include: burial site, ceremonial site, religious site, calendar site, camp site, festival site, and/or alien landing site (the English Heritage Society does not recognize all of these theories).

Let’s goooo!!!

Armed with some background knowledge, we took the shuttle bus from the visitor centre to the rocks themselves. Stonehenge is surrounded by farmland with plenty of sheep and, surprisingly, a public road only ~300 meters to the south. Visitors are no longer allowed in the circle, but we were able to get close enough to appreciate the scale and the details. The inner stones are bluestone, while the outer, larger stones are sarsen stones. The tallest standing stone is about 30 feet high. Ok, all this geology talk is gneiss enough for me, but you are probably ready to rock on with the pictures.

Are there rocks ahead”¦

“¦If there are, we all be dead

No more rhymes now, I mean it!

Anybody want a peanut?

Dramatic skies

After walking a full lap around Stonehenge, we took the shuttle back to the visitor centre and contemplated a few of the items in the gift shop. We drove back to Bath, said goodbye to Dan, and took the train back to London with the Wednesday afternoon commuters. We put the Tesco Clubcard to use for dinner supplies and retired to the flat.

5,000 years NO

Day 4: Cathedral & Castle

by Joanna

Updated: April 16, 2022

1 Comment

We’ve been in the city of London for four days, right? Well, sort of. It turns out we’ve been in “Greater London,” while the “City of London” is a particular two square-mile area in the financial district. Furthermore, it is referred to as the “square mile” thanks to the Romans, but let’s not worry about that discrepancy.

The CITY of London

With that in mind, today’s journey brought us to the City of London (for the first time this trip) and St. Paul’s Cathedral. Designed by architect Christopher Wren, construction started in 1675 and took only 30 years to build, which is darn impressive.

St. Paul’s Cathedral west entrance

Under the dome

The Cathedral dome has three layers – an outer dome, a hidden brick dome for structural support, and the inner dome. The fun part is visitors are allowed to walk up the 528 steps to the Dome Galleries, and take in a 360-degree view of London. Wren was also an astronomer, so the Golden Gallery (the highest) is 365 feet above the ground, representing 365 days in a year. Wren was also the first person to be buried in the crypt and is honored with an inscription on the floor of the Cathedral.

Let’s goooo!!!!

View from the Stone Gallery (376 steps up)

Onward to the Golden Gallery

Thames River from Golden Gallery (all 528 steps up!)

Tight fit in places, but made we made it down

Once we made the descent back down to the cathedral floor, we joined a tour that highlighted a few key features and historical notes about the Cathedral.

Some fun facts: 1) St. Paul’s is not a Catholic Church – it’s Anglican. 2) During the Blitz, residents volunteered to help protect the church from bombings. They would hide in the upper stairs, in the dark, and if an incendiary device landed on the wood roof, they run out, grab it, and dispose of it by any means necessary. 3) In the nave, there is a 40-foot high memorial of Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington. It was started by artist Alfred Stevens, who promptly ran out of money, then ran out of interest, then died. Others finally completed it over 60 years – twice as long as it took to build the Cathedral itself.

Anglican in the front, Victorian in the back.

Tour guide Mary has diagrams!

Looking up directly under the dome

After a quick walk through the crypts, we exited through the gift shop and re-emerged into the “City of London.” We grabbed a quick snack (because you’re not yourself when you’re hungry”¦ thanks, Snickers!) and proceeded through financial district to our next destination “€ The Tower of London (another World Heritage Site). The walk to the Tower of London came with a perfect vantage point of the Tower Bridge.

Financial building”¦ financial building”¦ financial building”¦ ancient church!

This is NOT the London Bridge

The Tower of London is fortress, palace, and prison all-in-one. We started with a guided tour by a Yeomen Warder named Spike. A Yeoman Warder’s full title is “Yeomen Warder of Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London, and Members of the Sovereign’s Body Guard of the Yeoman Guard Extraordinar.” Yeoman Warders are known as Beefeaters, a nickname likely gained because of their higher status (and meal options) within the castle.

Still today, Yeomen Warders are also former warrant officers in the British Armed Forces with at least 22 years of service and the Long Service and Good Conduct medal. Spike regaled us with tales of fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, and miracles.

Doesn’t sound so bad.

As with any powerful empire, the English have a peculiar way of downplaying the long history of violence in the Tower of London. For example, ONLY seven people were beheaded on the tower grounds itself. The other 124 people were beheaded on Tower Hill, just a block north of the grounds. Totally different! Furthermore, in the BLOODY Tower, at the start of an exhibit dedicated to the torture devices used, there is a sign that reminds visitors, “torture was very rare in England” (compared to what, rainy days???).

Next up, we went to see the Crown Jewels. The line was long, which provided an opportunity for a coffee and snack from the New Armouries Cafe. We soon made it inside to see the Crown Jewels “€ which they insist are the real deal 🤔. The best part was the moving walkway to keep the crowd moving at a constant speed.

Obligatory Beefeater photo

Not sure the rat on your foot is your biggest heath and safety concern at the moment

Thankfully, we escaped the Tower of London without a scratch and without purchasing any overpriced items in the gift shop. We took the tube back to Maida Vale and went to dinner at the Asian Fusion restaurant (The Banana Leaf) next door. Afterwards, we stopped by our favorite gas station/grocery store/pharmacy to stock up on supplies. This time we came armed with an official Tesco ClubCard we found on the sidewalk! Bonus!

Tube stop thai

Won’t find this in the US App Store

That’s all for today. Time to relax and sleep for an early wake-up tomorrow.

Day 3: Save the Clock Tower

by Joanna

Updated: January 3, 2023

1 Comment

Thanks to the time-space continuum, this current trip blog is about the FUTURE (because London is 6 hours ahead of Chicago, duh). But buckle up! Today’s blog entry is also about BACK TO THE FUTURE — the new award-winning musical we saw in West End tonight. These photo captions are about to get heavy!!!

If our planning is correct, when this blog hits 88 miles per hour, you’re going to see some serious shit.

With some key sights in mind, we charted the course for the day. Taking the tube to Waterloo, we strolled along the Queen’s Walk, where the London Eye is located, and enjoyed a nice view over the River Thames.

Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads

To deal with London Eye crowds, it’s best to make like a tree and get out of there

We continued walking along the Westminster Bridge and got a close up view of Big Ben. Big Ben is technically the nickname for the big bell of the clock, but has become the common name of the clock tower itself. It was technically renamed to Elizabeth Tower in 2012 in honor of The Queen’s diamond jubilee (60 years on the throne), but continues to be referred to as its nickname. Big Ben is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, continuing our tradition of seeing at least one each trip. Although Big Ben has been under restoration since 2017, we were able to see it without scaffolding. I highly recommend the Big Ben twitter.

Don’t forget to take a flyer … Save the clock tower!

Damn! … Where is that kid? … Damn! … Damn Damn!

A short walk from Big Ben was Westminster Abbey (and no, none of us were Westminster crabby), which is another World Heritage Site, and another nickname. The full name is Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, but that doesn’t quite flow off the tongue. It has been the coronation church since 1066. However, the construction of church we see today was started by Henry III in 1245. This church is unique in that it is inclusive and belongs to the monarchy of the country rather than a bishop or diocese. Also, pretty much everything about it in The Da Vinci Code is wrong.

If you’re going to build an Abbey, why not do it with some style!

Your name is Calvin Klein, right???

From Westminster, we made our way to Buckingham Palace. Queen Elizabeth was not there, as indicated by the Union flag on top of the palace instead of the Royal Standard. The statue in front of the Palace is the main monument of The Queen Victoria Memorial, which also includes the Dominion Gates and the Memorial Gardens, all protected landmarks. We didn’t see the changing of the guard, but we did see the changing of a gate lock.

Buckingham Palace! Ya know that new sound, security system you’ve been looking for?!?

Careful with that screwdriver! Unless you know somebody else who can play guitar

We walked along The Mall and through St. James Park, which was originally swamp land that was drained to make the park in 1603. It is home to many birds, and houses Duck Island Cottage, which has become the headquarters for the London Parks and Garden Trust. Continuing our journey north, we walked past 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister’s house. Unfortunately, it was blocked off and inaccessible, but who really cares? More importantly, we found a great pub a few doors up the street.

The Horse and Guardsman advertised craft beers and labeled itself a traditional British pub. It did not disappoint and was the perfect place for dinner. We ordered Rivertown Beers (a brewery 45 minutes outside of London) and fish n’ chips.

Tab? I can’t give you a tab unless you order something!

Meeting at the Fish n’ Chips Under the Sea Dance

After refueling, we walked just up the street to Trafalgar Square. While the majority of the square features fountains, memorials, and statues from the 1800’s, one corner rotates contemporary art. Just west of a granite and bronze statue of King George IV installed in 1843 lies a giant ice cream scoop with a cherry on top, a drone on one side, and a fly on the other.

Guess Napoleon wasn’t ready for it, but those British kids are gonna love Trafalgar Square

Just as I thought! This proves my theory. We’re being erased — from existence!

We weren’t slackers and eventually made it to the main event of the day – the Back to the Future musical! It was a lot of fun, and we all enjoyed the adaptation from the film. The show also had a great lobby with shops and props in theme with the production. Fun Fact: London theaters sell frozen malt cups in the aisles during intermission. We may have to try one next time.