A Bird's Eye View of London and Paris March 2012 TR NEW! The END 1/12 p35

[Dancegrl624]

Love all the pics!

What are those red things? I've seen those at the UK pavillion at Epcot!!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

I live in a village called Croxley Green which is just outside Watford - it's about 8/10 miles away from Gerrards Cross.

I love living where I do as I get the best of the beautiful countryside yet within half an hour I can be in the heart of London!

That's so great! We live in the suburbs (near farmland though) and are just 20 minutes from downtown St. Paul and Minneapolis so we get that city life too, but only when we want to!

You made it. It sounds like a scary flight though. I've had a couple of those too and I start doing a lot of praying!!!
I love her house...I would call the English Tudor.

Yeah, it was a lot of praying and deep breathing!

As soon as you said 50 minutes late into Philadelphia I thought (all the smilies have changed). My question is - how many times did you circle Philly or did you not even notice because its almost like you are getting closer and closer to the airport- when you are actually there!!!!! Phew - so happy you made it on time!

How great to be able to stay at your friends house. It looks like a lovely house and a beautiful day to arrive.

Great start!

Yeah, I was too busy praying we would just land already to care!
Staying at my friend's house was the main reason we went - it was great to see them, plus it made it so much more affordable! It was really a nice area, and their house is so cool. A mix of old and new - the kitchen was redone in IKEA!

So 50 min sitting on the runway and a rough flight is not exactly an auspicious beginning. So glad it wasn't a sign of things to come. How cute is that village? You are right... exactly what I would imagine for an English village!

I was thinking it could be a bad omen, but really didn't want to think negative!
That whole village cuteness kept me impressed the whole trip!

I love the eagle idea! That's such a creative assignment.

I'm excited to read more!

Yeah, she has a wonderful teacher! He was just as excited about our trip as we were!
Stay tuned - I'll keep reporting!

Great first update.

Glad you made your connecting flight and that it all went smoothly.

My husbands family don't live far from Gerrards Cross. It's a nice part of the country out there.

Looking forward to more. X

Thanks!
Things improved greatly after that first flight!
I really enjoyed Gerrards Cross and the whole area!
More will be coming - hopefully within a few days!

Ugh to the shaky landing and the race to the connecting flight -- so glad you made it!!!

The Eagle idea is great! I bet some of those journal entries are hilarious!

Love, love, love all the pictures of the English village -- I am ready to move there right now. LOL! Even their mailboxes are great!

Yeah - I wish I had read more of the journal entries besides Sarah's! The teacher said he really gets a kick out of what the kids write!
Oh, yeah - that village made me absolutely fall in love with England. Wait until you see Salisbury!!! I oohed and aaahed all over that town!

Oh my! I'm hooked already!

Your flight sounded like a nightmare to me though. I don't know how you held it together. That would have sent me over the edge! I'm so glad you guys made it ok.

I love your friend's house! It looks exactly like what I would expect. Very English indeed. I have a feeling that before this TR is over, I'm going to have a trip booked! I just need to read enough of it to forget about the flight you had first though.

Why thank you! That's my goal, hook you in from the beginning!! Then typically I take a week or so to do the next update!
Oh yeah - well the flight overseas is so much better - especially when you fly at night and can sleep. Before you know it, you're there!
I know you'd love England! It's got so many cool, quaint and interesting historical things to see and do. I just wish it weren't so blasted expensive to fly there!

Love all the pics!



What are those red things? I've seen those at the UK pavillion at Epcot!!

Thanks Meghan!
Those are mailboxes! They say POST on them! One of those little British icons like the phone booths, double decker buses... I took a few pictures since DH is a mailman. You'll see...

 

[Mndisneygirl]

I chose a different color for this post because it is completely unrelated to my March trip. It's about our October trip!
Guess what I did today???
Made a dinner reservation for Ohana! We've never eaten there for dinner, but have had breakfast twice. Our plan is to eat and then shop and explore the Poly a bit and then find a spot on the beach to watch Wishes (well it will be Hallowishes since it's a party night). I haven't decided on any other ADRs yet, but we're only going to do a couple TS anyway and probably none of the real popular ones, so they can wait. I'm open to suggestions though!!

I don't know if and/or when I will be doing a PTR, so I may periodically throw in some stuff here. Hope you don't mind. If you do, just skip the posts in orange!!

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

I have never been to Ohana for dinner either...can't wait to hear about it!
Love Jennys house!! And what cute sounding towns! I love the name of Croxley Green--it reminds me of the little village of Gretna Green in the Miss Read Books!!!

 

[MeMom]

I chose a different color for this post because it is completely unrelated to my March trip. It's about our October trip!
Guess what I did today???
Made a dinner reservation for Ohana! We've never eaten there for dinner, but have had breakfast twice. Our plan is to eat and then shop and explore the Poly a bit and then find a spot on the beach to watch Wishes (well it will be Hallowishes since it's a party night). I haven't decided on any other ADRs yet, but we're only going to do a couple TS anyway and probably none of the real popular ones, so they can wait. I'm open to suggestions though!!

I don't know if and/or when I will be doing a PTR, so I may periodically throw in some stuff here. Hope you don't mind. If you do, just skip the posts in orange!!

We've started our October planning, as well. It's crazy to think that when we make that trip, there will be another little one in tow!

I hope you like 'Ohana as much as we do!

As for your flight - sitting on the runway for all that time would have done me in. I probably would need to be knocked out to take an overseas flight anyway. My limit is the hour and 45 minutes that gets me to Disney World.

That house is very cool! Looks like it would be perfect in World Showcase.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

My philosophy is that if you have Ohana booked for dinner, you don't really need any other ADRs. I really hope you love it as much as we do. So far, it is the only restaurant that is a must do for us on all trips!

My other favorite Disney meals have been:

California Grill - Pork Tenderloin
Cape May - mainly b/c of the crab legs
La Hacienda - La Hacienda mixed grill for two

Have fun planning! I'll be making ADRs right around the corner myself!

 

[Dancegrl624]

Thanks Meghan!
Those are mailboxes! They say POST on them! One of those little British icons like the phone booths, double decker buses... I took a few pictures since DH is a mailman. You'll see...

So cute! I think that's where we had to drop off our KIMunicator after we finished our UK mission. I wish our mailboxes looked like those!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

It looks like your trip was off to a great start. Well except for that first flight. Good thing you only had to go to Philly. Glad you made your connecting flight and that one was much smoother. Can't wait to hear about all your adventures!

PS -- you are going to love Ohana for dinner!!

 

[eandesmom]

Fun update! Not fun first flight and run to the connection. I hate that, you get on the plane all sweaty and flustered and then have to calm down and try to sleep. Looks like it worked out just fine though. Pretty weather and country, I hope it holds. Our cars do look giant next to many Europeans. My SIL has a small SUV (in Germany) and it looked huge compared to most cars we saw on the road.

Ohana is super yummy for dinner, we loved it! Excellent choice. We'll be making our October ADR's on Sat I think. Well, Mary Ellen will lol. I have offered to call as well but she's on top of it.

 

[Lovemy3babes]

I'm in Sheree! I have been on a bit of a break from the Dis so was excited to get back and see you started your report. Great start!

What day are you planning 'Ohana? Morghan and I should hopefully be there 10/17. I hope we get to meet up at some point in October! MEA rocks!

 

[ClaireW]

Spotted your comments about Paris on MeMom's report and headed over here to find out more!
We're in the UK and are pretty familiar with London (hubby commutes there most days from our home near Stratford upon Avon) and we've made plenty of trips to DLP too! It was a one-off trip to DLP back in 2001 that really kicked up my Disney love a notch or two and since then we've made a few return trips. Although, since we honeymooned in WDW and discovered all that Florida has to offer we've only been back to DLP twice (when pregnant/with a newborn).
I'm very interested to see what you've got to say - for us WDW wins hands down

 

[Mndisneygirl]

I have never been to Ohana for dinner either...can't wait to hear about it!
Love Jennys house!! And what cute sounding towns! I love the name of Croxley Green--it reminds me of the little village of Gretna Green in the Miss Read Books!!!

Looking forward to Ohana too! I thought most of the places we went in England were right out of a movie or book! I guess the stereotypes are accurate!

We've started our October planning, as well. It's crazy to think that when we make that trip, there will be another little one in tow!

I hope you like 'Ohana as much as we do!

As for your flight - sitting on the runway for all that time would have done me in. I probably would need to be knocked out to take an overseas flight anyway. My limit is the hour and 45 minutes that gets me to Disney World.

That house is very cool! Looks like it would be perfect in World Showcase.

October isn't that far away is it? I forget, are we there the same dates? I'd love to meet you and your family! I do have some motion sickness issues, but usually Dramamine does the trick!
I'll have to see if I have some more house pictures that look just like the UK pavilion!

My philosophy is that if you have Ohana booked for dinner, you don't really need any other ADRs. I really hope you love it as much as we do. So far, it is the only restaurant that is a must do for us on all trips!

My other favorite Disney meals have been:

California Grill - Pork Tenderloin
Cape May - mainly b/c of the crab legs
La Hacienda - La Hacienda mixed grill for two

Have fun planning! I'll be making ADRs right around the corner myself!

We're excited to try it! Thanks for your suggestions. I have more ADR news to share.

So cute! I think that's where we had to drop off our KIMunicator after we finished our UK mission. I wish our mailboxes looked like those!

Aren't they cool!! I have a little miniature one in my shadow box. I've had it since my first trip to London, although I don't think I bought it there.

It looks like your trip was off to a great start. Well except for that first flight. Good thing you only had to go to Philly. Glad you made your connecting flight and that one was much smoother. Can't wait to hear about all your adventures!

PS -- you are going to love Ohana for dinner!!

Yeah, that flight wasn't great, but the next one was much better! We had a lot of adventures, most of them were very positive!!

Fun update! Not fun first flight and run to the connection. I hate that, you get on the plane all sweaty and flustered and then have to calm down and try to sleep. Looks like it worked out just fine though. Pretty weather and country, I hope it holds. Our cars do look giant next to many Europeans. My SIL has a small SUV (in Germany) and it looked huge compared to most cars we saw on the road.

Ohana is super yummy for dinner, we loved it! Excellent choice. We'll be making our October ADR's on Sat I think. Well, Mary Ellen will lol. I have offered to call as well but she's on top of it.

Thanks! I hope to get another update up this weekend, but it's a bit busy. The weather - well, the weather was surprising for us the whole trip - good and bad!
I sure hope we can meet up in October!

I'm in Sheree! I have been on a bit of a break from the Dis so was excited to get back and see you started your report. Great start!

What day are you planning 'Ohana? Morghan and I should hopefully be there 10/17. I hope we get to meet up at some point in October! MEA rocks!

Hi Kelli!!
Glad to see you here!
We just booked Ohana for Sunday 10/15. We'll be at WDW until Saturday a.m. so we should be able to meet! I just heard Maryland has a break in October too like ours, but I'm not sure the exact dates. I always thought it would be a good time for a WDW trip and other friends of mine from MN went over MEA and said it was great!!

Spotted your comments about Paris on MeMom's report and headed over here to find out more!
We're in the UK and are pretty familiar with London (hubby commutes there most days from our home near Stratford upon Avon) and we've made plenty of trips to DLP too! It was a one-off trip to DLP back in 2001 that really kicked up my Disney love a notch or two and since then we've made a few return trips. Although, since we honeymooned in WDW and discovered all that Florida has to offer we've only been back to DLP twice (when pregnant/with a newborn).
I'm very interested to see what you've got to say - for us WDW wins hands down

Claire! Are you originally from the UK? I'll tell you know that I generally prefer WDW over DLP, but as we go, I'll point out some of the things at DLP I like better. Wow, that must be quite a commute from Stratford-upon-Avon! I went there on a previous trip and just loved it!! Didn't make it this trip, but I thought it would be under appreciated by my children and DH. After I saw those souvenirs at Epcot in Memom's report, I wished I had gotten more authentic Parisian souvenirs and not just DLP stuff. But c'est la vie, right?


*************
ADR UPDATE!!! We decided that we'd need to eat dinner at Boma since we're staying at AKL again. So I did a little research (just a little!) and I THINK that they have DH's beloved ribs on Wednesdays and Saturdays (does anyone know if that's still accurate? I suppose I could call, but it's subject to change by October), so I booked a later dinner (6:50) on Wednesday 10/17! That's our last night at AKL so I figured we'd come back from whatever park (either MK or Epcot probably) and eat and pack up for the move to OKW.

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Boma is yummy! Great choice!

 

[lojo]

Looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip. It's fascinating the things that other nationals notice, things that we all take for granted.

Will also be watching for info on your October trip - we're going to OKW and AK in January (first trip to Orlando).

 

[**Clare**]

Hi there, I'm loving this TR I'm reading with the biggest smile on my face and am very amused at how much you like our post boxes! The pp is right that you just take everyday things for granted!

Really looking forward to reading more

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip. It's fascinating the things that other nationals notice, things that we all take for granted.

Will also be watching for info on your October trip - we're going to OKW and AK in January (first trip to Orlando).

Oh thanks and
I think you're right - I'm sure others are more interested in things we think are mundane here.
Well, I will try to tell you all I can about OKW and AK! We've stayed at AKL before so if you want to see pictures, check out my March 2011 TR. There are a few in the Dec. 2009 one too, but we were only there one night then. I'll be doing a TR after the October trip too, so I'll have more on OKW. So I bet you're pretty excited for your first trip to Orlando! You're sure coming a long way!
Have you been to the US before?

Hi there, I'm loving this TR I'm reading with the biggest smile on my face and am very amused at how much you like our post boxes! The pp is right that you just take everyday things for granted!

Really looking forward to reading more

Thank you - there are so many things about England that I just loved! Partly because it's so different than here, partly because of the great history. It seems sort of romantic to me.

I'm going to be working on an update tonight. I hurt my left hand last night, and have sort of a little chunk missing from my palm (it's just a really deep scrape) It made typing uncomfortable last night, so I had to postpone my writing. It's better now, but did you know that band-aids just don't stay on the palm of your hand??

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Friday March 2
We weren’t in a big hurry in the morning – still catching up on our sleep I think!
Our friend Brent was working from home that day and waiting for some servicemen to come, so he drove us to Windsor, which took about a half an hour.
On our way I took this picture - there's something about laundry that seems to make me want to take a picture! Weird, I know.

There's a Burger King headquarters on the way to Windsor! Who knew?

Obligatory phone booth shot:

This was the Windsor Parish Church - outside of the castle grounds - it's very old, and very beautiful. Both of which are quite obvious!

cool narrow street/alley

We arrived close to 11 a.m., and walked a block or so to the castle. We just missed seeing the changing of the guard – we could hear the music and then just saw a bit in passing, but we had to get our tickets first. We were told that the stateroom apartments were not available for viewing today, because Her Majesty was in residence! Apparently there was some ceremonies regarding the Order of the British Empire or knighting people or something. Whenever the Queen is there, they fly her flag, the Royal Standard. If she is not there, the Union Jack is flying. The tickets were discounted since we couldn’t see everything, which was nice. Not like Disney – if something is closed, too bad. Same price!

We did get to go in and see the Royal Doll Houses, St. George Church and an exhibit of pictures of the Queen through the years, which was kind of cool. She’s about to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee, for 60 years on the throne! There are lots of events surrounding that!

They have double decker tour buses here too!

We took tons of pictures – so here’s a sampling:
This is actually the exit - but just through that arch was where part of the changing of the guard happened.

Still not inside yet...We had to go through a bag check and security screening/metal detectors to go inside the grounds.

My royal princesses! This was inside the security area.

OOOH - look! The royal guards! These were the horse guards. They did go to be involved in the ceremony the Queen was doing - that's what a guide told us.

This is a shot of one of the walls - they had all kinds of cool details - I suppose this was for shooting through?

See the little crown on the top of the light?

Guess we won't go through there...

But we can take a picture.

Nope, no idea who that's supposed to be! But a cool statue nonetheless!

They were fixing up some parts of the castle. I imagine that there is always something that needs work - it's so huge that by the time they refurbish one section, it's time for another one!

I think this was something that was captured during a war. They had all kinds of stuff from other countries that they had "recovered". Sarah must have thought it was interesting!

Cool cannon, eh?

cont. in next post

 

[Mndisneygirl]

We saw some very well-dressed people walking around the grounds and the shops too – I figure they must be pretty important- they got to see the Queen!
Do they look like royalty?? Maybe from a distance…

LOVE the hats!!

The military uniformed man was carrying some sort of little folder like would hold a diploma or certificate. It was all I could do not to ask some of these people what they were getting!!
I love the "security" type people - whoever they are, they are very well dressed, don't you think?

St. George Church - This was just amazing to me! Such intricate carvings.

It was just as beautiful inside, but we weren't allowed to take pictures. Seemed to be that rule in a lot of churches we toured, but not all of them.
We weren't allowed to take pictures inside where the doll houses or the photo exhibit of the Queen were either.

Look - did they change the guards again? If they did, it was without ceremony or pomp and circumstance. These guys just marched right at us!

Here they come!

There they go!

We went and stood and took pictures with a guard – who did his job and just stood there, not smiling. When Dave and I stood for our picture, I made a comment about how he must get sick of this stuff and all the pictures and I SWEAR he made a noise - kind of like a sigh or snort-type breathing. So then I started cracking up. He never did.

We went in the gift shop and the clerk looked the other way while I surreptitiously took this shot – we weren’t supposed to take pictures inside the store.

Anyone want to be the Queen???

Look at the size of this place! I just couldn't stop taking pictures!

We weren't far from Heathrow, so there were lots of planes passing overhead.

That's it for the inside of the castle grounds!! More pictures from the outside are coming!

Cont. in next post.

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

Oh golly!! I am in love!! I swear if I went I would NEVER want to come back-maybe that's why Mike won't let us go this year! LOL!! What did you do to your hand? Not P.C. I hope?

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Windsor, continued.
Back out among the commoners, we walked around town.

It’s a cute town, and there are a bunch of shops and restaurants, bakeries etc., and of course, McDonalds! That’s where the girls wanted to eat. I refused. No way did I fly halfway across the world to eat something I have a half mile from my house! So they had their sandwiches and I waited. Then we walked around a bit more and I found a Patissierie and got a sandwich and the girls got desserts as big as their heads!!
Seriously – check these out!
Paige got cheesecake

The first of many chocolate croissants!!! This one was a bit different!

Look - another mailbox! And a mailman too! In case you didn't know, Dave is actually a mailman!

It's a tough job!

After we ate, we decided to take a little cruise on the Thames! It was about a 40 minute cruise and we got some nice views of the area – the racetrack, the “other” side of the castle, Eton is there too.
Waiting for our cruise - we met a few feathered friends.

On the boat

Wonder what's biting?

racetrack

The kids waved at us

Not sure what this exactly means...

rowers practicing

There's another view of the castle

Back to the dock - cool row of boathouses

cont. in next post