Planning my next UK trip

I really do enjoy planning almost as much as traveling. I am excited about going back to England. It is a work trip - I will be busting my arse Monday - Friday, but I am leaving a day early and staying an extra day for fun stuff.

I know I want to see at least one show in London. And, I am consulting "the book" to get inspiration on other activities to do or sights to see. Options I am considering....

Brighton
Cambridge University (I've seen Oxford)
Kent
Southampton
York

And....if I had a bit more time I could head North and try to find the Loch Ness monster.

For theatre... this is what I'm considering:

Breakfast at Tiffany's
Chicago
Hairspray
Othello
Phantom

Paris for my 35th birthday

Before getting to Paris, we (DH now, but this was before we were married) went to London first. And....before London, we changed planes in Iceland. I am counting it as a country I've visited even though I never left the airport.

We spent a few days in London, doing the typical touristy stuff. And actually... we didn't see anything that I haven't already blogged about, so now to Paris.

There were three highlights from this trip, all in the "book":

1. Mont-Saint-Michel - we drove to Normandy and spent the night on this little island in a building that was like 400 years old. We first spent the day wandering around the town, and visiting the abbey.

I love the ocean, so this was a huge treat. The views were amazing and I spent a little time in the water checking out the local mussel populations. It was very peaceful - especially at night when the island "closes" and the day tourists leave.

2. Taillevent - this is a restaurant in Paris and it was amazing. It was the best restaurant I had ever been to, and I have to admit I felt a little out of place. I probably wasn't as dressed up as I could be, and my French is not very good. The waiters were nice though - not snotty. It did help tremendously that DH's French is quite good.

3. Chateau de Versailles - don't all girls love an amazing castle? It is incredibly beautiful. The gardens were awesome. Sometimes I am very easily impressed, and this is one example of that.

We also visited the Louvre, Eiffel Tower and some of the other places I have already mentioned in other blog posts.

I did not go to Paris for my 40th birthday - as planned - but I went on a cruise and it was awesome. That will be a future blog post.

Iowa State Fair 2009

Yes, it is in "the book," and I have already checked it off my list. This was my second trip to the fair.

The weather was beautiful. The picture is of a cow carved out of butter. It is almost life sized. Ick! I don't actually like butter, but it does make a cute picture.

The crowds were not too bad. It was a good family day - the last one for months because Andy is back at college now.

We started with the bunnies. Jill wanted to bring one or more home, but we have too many pets. They were cute. I didn't realize there were so many varieties of rabbits.

Next stop was junk food - cheese curds and fry bread taco. And then on to chocolate chip cookies.

We rode the sky glider, which gave us a great view of the entire fair. We skipped the midway (rides and such), and then had roasted corn and mountain dew.

We walked through the animal barns - goats as far as you can see.....pigs - they were all sleeping... horses.....cows. Did you know that goats don't like to be bathed? We heard the worse noise ever, and it was a goat crying in the bath. Poor thing.

We went through the Cultural Center to look at the art.

It was a good day. Looong drive home though from Des Moines, IA to St. Paul, MN.

DC and Maryland, August 2009

This is another business trip, but I am having fun too -- dinner with friends and a nice (hot) walk around Dupont Circle.

Today we drove to the US Fire Administration offices. They are in an old college campus near the Maryland / PA border. It was a nice drive and the campus is lovely. (The meeting was good too.)

I haven't really blogged about my non-travel life, but I will - a little - now. I am glad to be in DC druing this particular week because Andy is at home right now packing all of his stuff to return to the University of Iowa. (Go Hawks!) I hope this year will be easier than last, but I am still a little sad. It helps to not be home, but perhaps that just delays the inevitable. I wish him the best of luck -- and I know he is happy there, but it is still hard on me that he isn't home.

Airports

I've been to many airports.

I play trivia almost every Tuesday night. This week they had a question about the number of airports in the US. I got the question correct.... in part because I travel lots.... and in part because the TSA is one of my clients. They know all of the US airports.

This reminded me that I was going to do a blog post about airport codes. DH thinks it is strange that I can instantly recall these from memory.

MSP - Minneapolis / St. Paul (home)
AMS - Amsterdam
LAX - Los Angeles
LAS - Las Vegas
DFW - Dallas Ft Worth
PDX - Portland, Oregon
SFO - San Francisco
MIA - Miami
LCY - London City
LGW - London Gatwick
LHR - London Heathrow
LGA - La Guardia
NRT - Tokyo Narita
DCA - Washington National
IAD - Washington Dulles
BWI - Baltimore Washington
MDW - Chicago Midway
ORD - Chicago O'Hare
SEA - Seattle - Tacoma
YVR - Vancouver
YUL - Montreal
DTW - Detroit
STL - St. Louis
DEN - Denver
PHX - Phoenix
SLC - Salt Lake City
CDG - Charles de Gaulle Paris
JFK - John F Kennedy
MCO - Orlando, FL
ATL - Atlanta

Yep....I need a new hobby. Or, I should have been a travel agent.

I have a good story about when DH's brother wanted to fly to Charleston, SC for a long weekend, but ended up with a ticket to Charleston, WV instead. I've been to both, and I prefer SC! I didn't know these until now, but their codes are: CHS for Charleston, SC; and CRW for Charleston, WV. Please.......don't anyone else make this mistake.

Paris for my 30th birthday

My first trip to Paris!! I spent the weekend of my 30th birthday in Paris. (I'd rather not reveal the date, but I guess context is needed - 1996.) It was just long enough to give me a taste of this awesome city. I remember being very tired and jet lagged, but tried to see as much as possible.


(Never buy new shoes before a trip like this.)

I went to a bakery every morning to get a fresh baquette. I love bread, cheese and wine. The French have a good thing going!

I went to the top of the Eiffel Tower. I didn't want to come down. I could have spent the whole day there, except for the fact that I was craving a crepe. It was a good crepe.

I went to the catacombs - and I don't need to ever visit that again.

I also really enjoyed walking through Jardins de Tuileries. I spent an afternoon in the Louvre; which isn't enough time - but again, just enough to give me a taste.

I knew before I arrived in Paris that I would love it and would want to return.......often.

Probably the best birthday present I ever gave myself.

UK January 1989

I can't believe it has been 20 years since my first trip outside of the US. I went with 19 other girls (strangers) on a college trip during J-term. We spent the whole month of January in the UK.




Sadly, I flew to London one week after Pan Am flight 103 exploded over Scotland. Yep, I was scared, but I still went.

Here are the highlights of what I can remember

First week was spent in London; weeks two and three in Leicester; and 4th week back in London.

First meal was horrible - fried veal patty and peas. (What is with their obsession with peas? There are like 10 other vegetables that I actually like - peas is not one of them.) I didn't eat again for 2 days - when I found a KFC.

We went as a group to the Tower of London and saw the crown jewels, to Buckingham Palace, to watch Les Miserables, and to Windsor Castle. (All places in "the book" are colored.)

We took a bus from London to Warwick Castle, to Oxford and then to Stratford-upon-Avon. A cute, ancient man took us on a tour of the oldest library in the world at Oxford. We saw Shakespeare's wife's home in Stratford and then watched the Tempest at Shakespeare's theatre. I also saw his grave.

I vaguely remember stopping at other places too - like the place where Lady Godiva rode naked on her horse.

We then spent two weeks in Leicester - this was the real learnin' part of the trip. All 20 of us girls were placed in the local schools and we lived with local families. I really liked my family. I got to be friends with another girl (Belle) who was placed in the same school and lived with a family on the same street.

I remember taking a tour of a local radio station. They even interviewed a few of the girls. (Not me - I am too shy.) Our radio station guide played a song for us and said the "singers" were going to be HUGE in the US in the next 6 months. It was Milli Vanilli. He was right - they were huge - but we all know how that ends.

I spent one weekend in York. I only remember going to the Railway museum.

I spent the next weekend in Edinburgh, Scotland (new country). That was an interesting experience for a college-aged girl from the US. We arrived before noon on Saturday. There were already lots of drunk men wearing skirts (kilts) who were more than happy to show us young American girls what they had - or didn't have - under their kilts. We stayed at the local youth hostel - another first for me - and last. I did visit Edinburgh Castle.

And we looked for the Loch Ness monster.

I don't remember much about the last week in London. I was pretty homesick by this time. I took the tube (subway) to Wimbledon, but was disappointed when I couldn't see anything from the station.

I have no idea where to find my pictures from this trip.