Yay I’ m home! We made it in one piece, and our bags made it too! We have been welcomed back to Canada with heaps of snow in Vancouver… not sure what exactly is going on here?!? Ah well, I’ll enjoy the -6 degree weather while I can (-18 with windchill apparently… laugh all you want, but this is a big deal for Vancouver!). So now I’m not tired, even though it is 2am in Canada (only 10am in England right now, maybe thats why I’m not tired) and am trying to make myself tired by putting photos on my computer. I’ve gotten through one memory card and have decided to call it a night/morning. More tomorrow or in the next few days as I get the chance. Oh – and too all of you lovely Victoria people to whom I promised a visit – it might not happen as soon as I thought because it looks like I’m going to Ontario for a week on Wednesday (I guess that is now officially tomorrow) to help look after my grandmother. My aunt in Montreal was going to, but she fell and broke her upper arm and hip whilst ice skating, so she’s pretty much not going anywhere. Since I’m unemployed at the moment, off I go. Computer is coming with me, so hopefully the nursing home has wireless (haha… okay, maybe there will be some signal in the area I can steal) and I can keep everyone updated from there. Until then, LONDON PICTURES!!! (Stonehenge and pretty Cathedrals and Roman Baths are on another card…)

The Tower Bridge

Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Bridge over the Thames, and Westminster Abbey seen from the London Eye

Buckingham Palace (right at the end of the long skinny lake), Houses of Parliament, and 10 Downing Street (British equivalent to 24 Sussex Drive)

The Thames with the London Eye (L) and Big Ben from the Golden Jubilee Footbridge

Big Ben

Buckingham Palace (Video of changing of the guard going up on YouTube when I get around to it)

Doo, doo dooo, I’m in London!!!
Actually, I’ve been here for a few days now. Since I last said hi, I’ve been to St. Albans, just north of London from whence we visited Cambridge and London for a day… went to see SPAMALOT on the West End (oh yes I did!!!) and went around the London Eye, and in Westminster Abbey and saw the houses of Parliament… Currently, we’re staying with Natalie’s Uncle and Aunt in Newbury (just west of London, near Reading… “take a ride on the Reading Railroad, do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars…”) and we are in London again today for some Changing of the Guard action at Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London. Tomorrow, something else, same with Saturday. Sunday back in town to go to Hillsong Church London for Church and then to check out all the stuff we still wanted to see. This is probably my last post from Europe because on Monday at 10:35 Greenwich Mean Time (that means subtract 5 hours for Ontario/Quebec time and 8 hours for BC time), we are out of hear… to Copenhagen… then Chicago… then VANCOUVER at 10:30pm BC time or some aweful time like that.

I’m back in England after a bit of time in Wales… actually, I’ve been back for a bit, just not on the Internet. Currently, I’m in Natalie’s friend’s house in Ramsey, just outside of Southampton. We’ve spent the last 4 nights staying in Wells where they have a sweet cathedral (known for all of the carvings of kings, saints, bishops, etc all over the West Front as well as fun carvings inside like guys with toothaches and people pulling thorns out of feet. I liked the vaulting). From Wells, we did day trips to Salisbury (another sweet Cathedral… very English Gothic, tallest spire in England, more amazing vaulting), Stonehenge (it looks just like it is supposed to look), and Bath (as in Roman Baths, and a cool Cathedral…). Today we’re going to hang out, see the new Bond movie (!!!) – have to see it in England really, and Natalie has decided she needs a new, warmer jacket. Tomorrow, off to St. Albans which is base #1 for exploring London. Home in a week and 2 days… can you believe it???

…that I’m in Wales playing on beaches and flying kites? Yeah, it was a serious stunt kite that dragged me along the beach a fair ways as I dug my heels in. I managed to do a few things with it and not go tumbling head over heels… (although I did leave some nice long tracks in the sand!) The tide was out so we had a huge expance of beach to play on. The wind was pretty shifty though, so it was tricky for kite flying and we didn’t last long. However, it was a pretty cool beach. A couple of ponies were being ridden down the beach whilst we were packing up the kite and there is a massive ruined castle up on top of the hill overlooking the beach (Llansteffan – pronounced Clanstefan – yay Welsh). Maybe I’ll get some photos up before I get home.
So right now, I’m sitting watching Welsh rugby and they are trouncing the Pacific Islands. The next Welsh rugby game is touted to be a challenge against the Canadians. Against the Canadians. Yes. The Canadians are the next rugby superpower.

Quickly hi – We’ve returned from Scotland, spent a few days wandering around the countryside in Chesterfield and are in Wales right now. I’m about to go play on a beach, so I’ll say hi more later.

We drove into Edinburgh last night to the sight of bonfires everywhere and fireworks going off all around the city. Yay Bonfire night! I wish we had been able to actually sit and watch them instead of being on a stinky coach. As we walked across the North bridge to our hostel, the fireworks were going off behind Edinburgh Castle and it was quite a cool sight. Edinburgh seems to be a neat city, although we’re only going to have today in the city because we head off on a tour of somewhere in Scotland to be revealed at a later date tomorrow then its back down to Chesterfield. Now, you ask, why fireworks and bonfires? I know Dad can tell me because he always knows that kind of thing. Whether anyone else can is the question. How well do you know your English history? Let me know the answer.

If you need a hint, see here.

For the answer (but guess first!!!), here