I get around

Hi Folks,

I (Rowan) have been kicking around Europe for the last 2 weeks!

First to London for the International Palaeontology Congress where we all got very nerdy and talked about fossils (it was awesome). I went to the deep ocean life exhibition at the Natural History Museum and we dined beneath the Brachiosaurus Skeleton during our "formal dinner"
(sorry for the bad photo)

From then I went on to Poland to talk about Triassic corals with the leading expert in coral microstructure. We stayed inside the old Jewish Ghetto

and ate some traditional Polish food (Pierogie and Beet Soup)

On the way back, after going through airport hell (3 flights, 2 boarder control checkpoints, one missed flight and one almost nervous breakdown when I was told there were no more flights and I'd have to stay in Las Vegas for a night (this was a lie... there were totally flights to LAX!)) ANYHOW... on the journey I finished these:

And on the 10 hour flight from Heathrow, I made this sock:

So if anyone asks.... It takes me about 20 hours to knit a pair of socks! (Less for anklets and much much more for knee highs... So all y'all with socks knit by me.... be impressed!)

PS Hey Daddy, check out the building blocks of the "Gift from Stalin"

London Day 3: The Museum of Natural History

On our final day in London, we went to the Museum of Natural History. Our primary reason for being there was to see a Professor that Rowan wanted to talk to, but we also took sometime to walk around the Museum. It is a very well done museum with many exhibits that are interesting to see and often are interactive.

London Day 2: The Tower of London

The vast majority of our second day in London was taken up with touring the Tower of London. If I say nothing else of it, let me just say that it was impressive and that the Beefeaters give excellent tours. Among many things, we saw the Crown Jewels, some siege weapons fired, knights fighting, and "The Bloody Tower". I would highly recommend visiting the Tower of London if you get a chance.

London Day 1: Walk along the Thames

Walking past the Parliament buildings, we wandered along the Thames all of the way up to London Bridge. It was a very enjoyable walk, passing many beautiful and interesting buildings.

London Day 1: St. Margaret's Church - Westminster Abbey

We continued our walk down Whitehall after leaving the Cabinet War Rooms, then seeing Big Ben, we started heading towards the Thames. When we were across the street from Big Ben and the Parliament buildings, I looks around and noticed some very interesting buildings that looked like churches, and decided to investigate. Not surprisingly this turned out to be Westminster Abbey. Unfortunately, entry cost 15 pounds per person. Thankfully, St. Margaret's Church was free to enter, so we went inside and despite no photography being allowed, I snapped off a few pictures... this should make my Dad proud (he always seems to enjoy taking pictures in places where he shouldn't).

London Day 1: The Cabinet War Rooms and The Churchill Museum

Upon the recommendation of David Whitton, Rowan and I visited the Cabinet War Rooms and the Churchill Museum. After Trafalgar Square, we walked down Whitehall, then up a little side street to the Cabinet War Rooms. Everything was in pristine condition. On VE day, everyone simply walked out and sealed up the place, and it wasn't opened until about 20 years ago. The Churchill museum was quite an educational experience for me. I knew vaguely who he was and some of the things he was known for, but now I have a much better feeling for who the man was. Quite the character; I definitely enjoyed reading and listening to a few of his famous speeches and quotes.

London Day 1: Trafalgar Square and Nelson's Column

After the changing of the guard, we continued walking and happened upon Trafalgar Square and Nelson's column. I say happened upon, because we were mostly just walking up the road between two lovely forested parks and as we were coming to the end of the parks, it seemed that there was some interesting architecture off in one direction. We knew the general direction we wanted to go, but had no set route or plans. One of the lions that guard Nelson. Interestingly, one of the closest buildings to Trafalgar square is the Canada House. I didn't happen to get the name of this monument/statue/place of interest, but it was beautiful and right across the street from Trafalgar square, so I took a picture.

London Day 1: The Changing of the Guard

After the family gathering on Sunday, we decided to spend the next 3 days being tourists in London. Taking the train/underground from Theale to Paddington station, then onto Victoria station. After a few blocks of walking we looked around and realized we were at Buckingham Palace. Large crowds of people were gathering and standing around, so we decided to join them. By listening in on random bits of conversations we deduced that the infamous changing of the guard was about to take place. We settled our selves in and enjoyed the show.