August 10th & 11th

So I have to make up for the past two days.

The 10th was a great day. Emily and I got up early to eat our free breakfast and set out on our free walking tour. We got down stairs with, what we thought, plenty of time to get her, oh so precious, Starbucks coffee. The tour started 45 min earlier than what we thought and by the time we got down stairs, the group was about to leave. We saw many different things and had a great tour guide who told many great stories of t history on England and the city of London. Even some not so good stories of Grim the Reaper. I wish I could tell you of all the places we saw, but frankly, I don't remember the names. A few were: a quick glimpse of Buckingham palace, Big Ben and Westminster Abby, The House of Parliament, and the other royal house where the Queens son lives......Can't remember the name. We got up close to the guards, but since 2002, no one is allowed next to them. I was thoroughly disappointed when I heard this news and saw my dreams of posing nearly naked next to and English guard fade away. We saw the 2 guards change with 2 fresh guards,which was very cool to see. We made our way around London and saw the building where Rugby Union was first established. We started at quarter past 10 and didn't have a break till 2 in the afternoon. We were very hungry. The cereal and toast just didn't stick with us. The tour guide suggested a place where we can go to eat with a discount and where he will be having lunch. Almost everyone popped in for lunch and a cold Brew. Emily and I bought our tickets to the pub crawl while we were there as well. It was raining cats and dogs when we left for the Hostel. We both had a nap and were off again. The first place was in a very nice shopping part of town. Emily and I were able to see 2 very cool bars and 2 clubs. I drank Emily's share of drinks, while she kept the good ol English Brew to a minimum. We didn't get to bed till late and we booked one more night here in London. We are having a very hard time finding a hostel in Amsterdam to accommodate 2 people for 6 days. We are not quite sure what we are going to do yet. We were up fairly early for check out. At least earlier than "I" would have liked.

August 11th
I ran over to get some water, juice, and loaf of bread to kick start and replenish the system for the morning. After we checked out and locked up our bags till we could check in again at 2. In the meantime, we walked to the Starbucks down the street to get the princess her Starbucks. lol. We both had a little bite to eat with our drinks and spent the next few hours figuring out where we are going to sleep the next couple of days. It really isn't that serious, but I was starting to get very worried. Amsterdam is busy, and what we hear is full of high hippies. I decided I could probably spare a day or two of the 6 to go somewhere else. We decided we are going to go up to Bath for the day and one night. The hostel we are staying at here in London has a branch up there.
After we got our sleeping arrangements established, we headed out to see the Eye of London, Buckingham palace and St. John's Cathedral. All of out stops were breathtaking in their own respects. The great view from the eye, pondering what exactly is in the palace and what one person needs all that room for, and the outrageously huge cathedral. Since we got a late start on our outing today, we had dinner at an American/Italian restaurant, which was much needed. We were both very hungry and craving something cold to drink. OH yeah, So I have noticed all the runners around here wear backpacks. I pointed this out to Emily and she started pointing out non backpack runners. She couldn't get past one. EVERYONE wears a backpack. We were wondering if it was for weight or if they are running to and from work. When we were walking from Buckingham Palace to catch the underground to St. John's I decided I am going to ask this lad who was running toward us why he wears his backpack while he runs. I politely put my hand out as he was approaching and said, "Excuse me sir, I have a question for you."
At this point he was right next to me. He said without breaking stride "yeah?"
When he kept on running away from me, I hesitated and didn't know what to say or do.
Luckily he read the look on my face quickly and told me to come along.
I jumped on my horse, to now catch up with him, and asked was able to ask my question as we ran together. He told me he runs to and from work. I just said, "ok, that's what I thought. Cheers" then about faced to make my way back up to Emily.
I got a couple souvenirs, but they are a surprise. lol.
The weather was much nicer today, but got chilly quick when the sun went down.
After the tube ride home, Emily and I started a load of laundry and have been charging our electronics in the meantime. Our clothes are probably well done by now and Emily went up to check on them quite some time ago, while I stayed down here to upload my photos, finally fill out my post cards from Ireland, and catch up on my Blogger! Wish us luck on finding a place to sleep!

Best Regards,

Kurt Haisch