Saturday March 27

The long anticipated day to the start of our 5 month vacation had finally arrived. Andrew and Brett Stewart showed up at the house around 13:00. Gave them final instructions on running the house. Rick showed up soon after, and we left at 14:00 March 27 2010. Arrived at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) at 15:00. Started taking pictures on the sidewalk as soon as we unpacked the car. A shabby looking young man, smoking outside the terminal, asked if we would like him to take a picture of all of us. Hesitantly gave him the camera, and was amazed to get it back after he took our picture.  Air Canada flight 854 left for Heathrow Terminal 3 at 17:35.

Sunday March 28

Arrived at Heathrow around 11:00AM . The taxi Andrew and Brett Stewart had arranged for us, despite being a little late, drove us to 5 Holsart Close Tadworth. Arrived at the house around 12:00 noon. Taxi fare was £50, only had £20 notes, so gave the driver (Terry Hanson) £60. About an hour after we arrived, there was a knock on the front door. Opened the door, and there was a grocery delivery driver with a bag of groceries. Andrew had arranged for Sainbury's to deliver some groceries and supplies. There was one tenderloin steak (the driver said that 2 were ordered but the store only had 1), dishwasher detergent, rubber gloves etc

Went for a walk to Tadworth, found a grocery store. Bought the bare necessities (Wine, milk, onions, breads, cold cuts, potatoes, another bottle of wine). Tried to barbeque the tenderloin and the potatoes we bought in Tadworth, but the barbeque was burning the potatoes, so decided to fry the steak. Drank the wine, tried the TV and went to bed around 8:00PM.

Monday March 29

Woke up around 8:00AM. Brought in the garbage cans and discovered that the garage doors didn't work. Repaired garage doors and went for a short test drive around the neighborhood. It was real strange driving on the wrong side of the road, but after a few blocks, I got used to it. Forced Rita to go to Waitrose (grocery store) with me. She left permanent fingernail marks on the dashboard of the van. Left around 5:00PM. Bought household supplies, groceries (Hungarian sausages and Salami) , 3 bottles of wine (£5 each bottle). The bill came to £220 ($330). By the time we left the store it was dark. Scary drive, driving in the dark on the wrong side of the ridiculously narrow road . Cooked goulash soup and had dinner.

We ( Rita and Ti, AKA Gertrude and Pasquale) tried talking to Sally Sampson1 (AKA Raija, RxAxYxA) on Skype but her audio wasn't working. Talked to Eija and then Salimah for a while, watched a little TV went to bed around midnight.

Tuesday March 30

Rita woke me up around 5:00AM. Then; Rita went back to bed. Skyped Rick, Sally Sampson1 and Lassi in Switzerland. Found out Lassi was coming to London with his girlfriend in a week. Asked him to email his itinerary so we could meet them. Talked to Raija and Ken, they had figured out their Skype problems. Didn't do much else, the weather was lousy.

Wednesday March 31

Woke up around 6:00AM Rita around 11:00AM. Weather was lousy again, so did the Swedish relatives videos, Rita did income tax. Made Chicken Paprikás with the soured cream we found at Waitrose.

Thursday April 1

Rita was working on her income tax, I was looking for flights from London to Helsinki, Copenhagen to Madrid, Madrid to Rome, Madrid to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to London, Took a bath in the afternoon. Weather was clear, but cold and windy. Went to investigate the shops in Tadworth. Found a treasure at the town Deli. Goose fat. Came home downloaded a London transit program into the GPS $15CAD. Hope it works. Had the remainder of the Chicken Paprikás, followed by a Goose Fat sandwich for dessert.

Friday April 2

Rita worked on her income tax and I worked on the Swedish videos again. In the afternoon we went to Sainsbury's in Epsom. Bought wine and other necessities. We had wine, baguettes and goose fat in the cupboard. What more can a man want. Soon after we came home Salimah & Rick Skyped. Asked them to get a hold of Tina and Dean.

Saturday April 3

Walked to the end of the village, found the fishmonger, baker. That was it.

Sunday April 4

Tried to go to Waitrose again, kept getting lost, so came home. Programmed the GPS with the correct address and went to Waitrose in Banstead. Forgot it was Easter Sunday (a Bank Holyday in England) and all the stores were closed.

Came home and later went to the One Stop Convenience store at the local gas station. Rita's Visa didn't work again. The East Indian fellow behind the counter was from Toronto. His wife is going to university here to become a dentist. Rita mentioned how nice everything is around here. He told Rita that he would rather be in Canada.

Monday April 5

Worked on the DVD for the Swedes again. Annika and Kaj emailed their itinerary for visiting us. Lassi messaged on Skype that he wants to meet us for lunch when he arrives in London. Went for a drive to Asda, another grocery chain store. It is the closest to our place but Rita doesn't like it. When we came back Ken phoned that it was OK to buy the plane tickets from Copenhagen to Madrid. Started cooking Spaghetti Sauce.

Tuesday April 6

FINALLY made it to London. Went to the Tadworth train station just after 10:00 AM. Talked to the stationmaster about the cheapest way for us to get around. I thought the "Oyster Pass" they advertise would be the cheapest way. He recommended buying the regular £7.50 all day ticket you could buy from the machine at the platform.

Went to London (45 min. train ride). Got off the train at London Bridge and immediately Rita noticed a shop where they were selling Pasties. She just had to have one. I took a bite out of her Pasty and decided that the English were probably too lazy to go to a building supply store to pick up bricks to repair their houses. They just pick up a Pasty at the train station, and when they get home, they just mortar it into the hole of the house. Walked across the Thames on London Bridge hoping that the bridge would hold up under the weight of the Pasty sitting at the bottom of my stomach. If I fell in the water I would have gone down like a ton of bricks. 

Went to look for the Scotiabank in London with the help of Garmin and the transport program I had bought for it. Rita had tried to use her new chipped Visa card at the stores but had forgotten her PIN number. All of the stores in England accept the chipped Visa, but unlike in Canada where you can still sign the receipt, here you can't. After three tries her Visa had been deactivated. She was hoping (I wasn't) that the Scotiabank in London would be able to help her to activate the card again.

In pedestrian mode the Garmin is difficult to use, because North is always at the top of the screen, and most of the time, you don't know where North is. Finally, after three or four inquiries from several people, found one that knew where the Scotiabank was. The Scotiabank, we had been searching for, was just a little office. The receptionist suggested Rita try her VISA on an ATM, but she didn't know where we could find one. After wandering around, we finally found an ATM. It worked. Rita, after a few tries, finally remembered the PIN number which had been issued to her with the new chipped card.

We walked around and explored the area. Rita claimed she needed a pair of black shoes and saw a shoe store. The Visa was active again, and so was Rita's shoe fetish. Before she got in the door I pulled her back by the scruff of her neck. No black shoes for Rita.

Took the underground (the tube) from Bank to St. Paul station and went to St Paul's cathedral. There was a group of young tourists there and I didn't know exactly what language they were speaking. It sounded like Hungarian, with an accent. Asked their tour guide if they were from Hungary, and they were.

Caught the 2:52 train back to Tadworth.

Had a spaghetti dinner, at the house, after which we walked to The Dukes Head Pub on Dorking Road and had a Dorking Beer. It was a beautiful evening and we enjoyed the 2 mile walk there and back

Wednesday April 7

Cloudy day, so we decided just to hang around the house. Rita went to the fishmonger and baker in town, and got back just before it started raining. She was so happy because she was able to buy Crapu and was planning a Crapufestival. It turns out that they were only shrimp that Baba Gump had caught on his shrimp boat. Lassi phoned in the evening that he would like to meet us at Harrods on the corner of Brompton Road and Hans Crescent on Friday at noon

Thursday April 8

We wanted to catch the 10:24 train to London. Had a good head start going out the front door. But THEN. Rita wanted to come back into the house to try to cram her running shoes into her purse. It didn't fit. Still PLENTY of time. But THEN. Rita wanted to come back into the house to get her ID just in case she got hit by a truck in London. Finally started walking to the railway station. I went ahead to buy the tickets and came rushing out of the office as Rita was at the bottom of the ramp. Walked directly onto the train, Rita's behind got pinched by the door as it was closing.

Took the Tube to the British Museum. We realized it was big, just didn't realize how big. Rented Interactive Media gizmos for £4.50 each. My gizmo went through the intro, plunked in a number to listen to the story on the display. When it finished it started another intro and another and another. Went back to get a new gizmo, listened to another story the headset went dead. Had to manipulate the wire to hear it. Went back to get another headset. Finally it worked. We managed to see the ground floor and not much else.

Arrived back at London Bridge. Rita wanted a coffee and I wanted a smoke. So I told Rita where to meet me, just outside then station at the taxi stands. Looked on the board for our train and it was leaving in 10 minutes. I finished the cigarette and went to find Rita who was walking toward the taxi stand. Got on the last car of the train and in a few minutes it left. The board had said that the train was to Tadworth, but as soon as we left, the display was showing other towns that we had never heard of. One of the towns was Purley and I knew that the Tadworth train went through Purley. So I figured we would get off there, and catch the correct train. When we got to South Croydon the conductor announced that the train would be split and the last four cars would be going to Tattenham Corner. So we didn't need to get off at all.

Friday April 9

Started off to London and caught the 9:54 train to London Bridge. Again we JUST made it. Arrived at Harrods at 11:30 and went to buy a Starbucks coffee while we were waiting for Lassi and Vanya. They found us around 11:45. Exchanged greetings, talked a little. They were in a hurry to see some attractions in London since they were only here for a couple of days. We told them to look around inside Harrods and we would meet them again at the same place around 12:10. Walked around Harrods and met them again at the agreed time. Found a Pizzeria around the corner, but the prices were too high for Lassi. Told him not to worry we would buy them lunch.

They had pasta dishes and a bottle of Perrier, Rita had a sea food Pizza (which she didn't like) and a beer, I had Risotto with mushrooms and a beer. The cost $120. Lassi was right. Talked while we ate the lunch and then said our goodbyes.

Went into Harrods to have a look around. Didn't buy anything but Rita did use the washroom. So she can honestly say she was at Harrods in London and dropped a bundle.

It was still early afternoon, decided to go to the Victoria and Albert Museum which is only a few blocks away on Brompton Road. Artifact overload. Another humongous Museum with Religious artifacts, furniture, silverware jewelry etc. etc.  

Rita wanted to take a picture of me and I reluctantly handed over my camera. Rita put it up to her eye and the camera dropped out of her hand. She managed to catch it halfway to the ground. If you are wondering why I always have a worried look on my face on pictures, well now you know the rest of the story.

Around 4:30 we decided to head back to Tadworth. I had figured out the signs at London Bridge and knew that the train was to be split at Purley with the last 2 coaches going to Tadworth.

Decided to have Chicken Paprikás that evening and we knew we were out of pickles. Went to the local store to buy some. All they had was pickled onions. Rita bought some pens and writing paper.

When cooking Chicken Paprikás earlier, I had noticed that it was very sour. Tasted the soured cream and it was really sour. Used half soured cream half crème fraiche and it turned out perfect. Repaired the light in the gazebo and the back yard light, watched some TV and went to bed.

Saturday April 10

Finally the weekend. After a hard week we decided to take advantage of the weekend. Took the day off. Went shopping to Waitrose in Banfield. After, we walked through the town looking at the stores. Rita needed some more makeup supplies and checked out the local hairdresser. While I was waiting outside the stores I decided to ask some of the pedestrians where I could find some blank DVD's. Most of them directed me to the grocery store, some to the druggist. Finally one person suggested the photography store in town. Bought 10 DVD's for £10. Went to Asda afterwards because we needed some cheap wine, and some more groceries. Rita decided that Asda was a better place to shop than Waitrose, since it was a much bigger store and the wine was cheap. On the way home I clipped a car, parked halfway on the road halfway on the sidewalk, with the passenger side mirror. The roads are really narrow and cars are parked all over the place.

Rita Skyped with Rick then Raija and finally we sat down to a steak dinner. I had fixed the barbeque earlier and was able to BBQ the steaks.  

Sunday April 11

Cold morning but the forecast was for a sunny day. In the afternoon, around 1:45 we decided to walk to Epsom Downs. Stopped at the Derby Arms for a beer, after which we headed home.

On the way back, me in my wisdom, decided to stop at a public washroom across from Epsom Downs Racecourse. Rita didn't. Passed by the Tattenham Corner Pub and decided to investigate Tattenham Corner. 

Few shops, 2 hairdressers not much else. Walked by the train station and down a parallel road to the one we came on. Rita started complaining half way down the road that she had to go. Guess what, dead end road, no warning signs. So we thought the railway station would have public toilets. Wrong. Went across the street to a gas station. No luck. By this time Rita had tears in her eyes, the water has to go somewhere. Decided to head back to the Tattenham Corner Pub, and we just made it. Asked Rita if she wanted to have a beer while we were there. For the first time in her life Rita was not thirsty. Arrived back home at 4:45 both of us tired after the 4 mile walk.

Cooked Kelkáposzta, used roast beef. The beef was TOUGH, really TOUGH. While cooking the meat I wrote this story, and when I went back to the kitchen the water had boiled away and the meat was well done. I mean really well done. Some people would call it burned, CHARCOAL. There was Rita sitting at the kitchen table, her head surrounded by smoke, reading her newspaper. Didn't even notice the smoke. I had to blame someone, so it ended up being Rita's fault.

Monday April 12

Went to London again. We took some wine bottles with us and dropped them in the recycling bin by the train station. We also took Andrew Stewarts income tax letters that had arrived and forwarded them to White Rock where his mother in law lives.

At the train station we met a couple from Florida who were trying to figure out the ticket wending machines. Their daughter lives in Tadworth. We talked with them until we arrived at East Croydon where we changed trains to go to Victoria Station. 

Walked to Westminster Cathedral and then to Westminster Abby. The entrance fee was £12 and were given an electronic guide. Tomb after tomb after tomb. 

Eventually we got tired of the tombs and walked across the road to the Parliament building. In the Parliament building they don't store the dead bodies, but the deadheads. At least that's where we seem to store them in Canada. It was closed so we walked around it. Asked the guards if the Parliament building was ever open to tourists and were told that it would be locked up until the end of elections on 7 May. 

Walked across Parliament Bridge and back, and took the underground from Westminster station back to London Bridge. Bought a loaf of bread made with lard. The train left in about 5 minutes and we made sure we were in the last car, just in case they split the train. Sat in a comfortable area with a large table between the seats. After the train pulled out of the station we realized we were in the 1^st class area. They announced that the train would be split at East Croydon and the front 4 cars would continue on to Tadworth. We were in the 8^th car so we moved forward on the train to the 4^th car. As it turned out they didn't split the train, but the Tadworth station platform is only long enough to handle 6 cars, and we wouldn't have been able to get off from the 8^th car.

When we arrived back at the house we had Kelkáposzta with the lard bread. DELICIOUSSSSS.

Tuesday April 13

Started off for London on the 11:24 train. We are getting later and later leaving Tadworth. Rita just had to have another Pasty. We had a late start and with the Pasty slowing Rita down we were in no shape to do too much. 

Decided to go back to St Paul's and take the tour inside. Cost £23 plus electronic guide £8. Signs everywhere saying no pictures no videos. For that price I pretty well ignored the signs. Besides I was from Hungary. No ridit de English. More tombs, starting to get tomb overload. Went up to the whispering gallery 257 steps up 257 steps down. Rita counted them. Another big Cathedral, like so many others in Europe we had seen. If your not an architect, you get cathedraled out.

After leaving St. Paul's, we decided to go to Buckingham Palace. Having seen the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, on our last trip to Europe, we weren't overly impressed. Took some pictures, Rita even took the picture of a black couple, with their camera, who were standing by the pond beside the palace.

Decided to come back home, Rita bought a Cornish Pasty and a cookie at London Bridge. She also bought a loaf of her kind of bread and I bought another bread made with lard.

Wednesday April 14

Day off. The weather wasn't great so we just stayed around the house. In the early afternoon Rita walked into Tadworth to buy groceries. Came back with milk, butter and some fruit. Around 5:00PM we decided to go for a pleasure drive. It was no pleasure and came back in about a half an hour.

Thursday April 15

Went to catch the 10:54 train to London Bridge. We arrived early just as the stationmaster was walking up the ramp. Two young men were in front of us having difficulties with the automatic ticket machine. They were able eventually to buy their tickets, but it didn't work for us. So we hopped on the train anyway. A lady came up to us after the train left and asked if we were able to purchase tickets because she wasn't. We told her that we were on the same boat and if the conductor came to check our tickets we had an alibi. Got into London Bridge and purchased our Day Passes there.

I had looked at the map of the underground and wondered what was at Canada Water station. On the map it looked fairly close to the river and London Tower. We decided to go to Canada Water and walk to the London Tower. Wanted to walk across the Tower Bridge anyway. Canada Water, a new station still under construction, was practically deserted like Canada compared to the UK. Walked and asked several people the way to Tower Bridge. It was a long walk, but eventually we made it.

Crossed the bridge and went into the Tower of London. £13.50 plus £4.50 for a guide book. Walked into the Tower and collected our books. I grabbed one and Rita also grabbed one. Bonus one book for free. Didn't feel guilty whatsoever after the admission fee. Walked all over the grounds and saw the Royal Jewels. Doubt they are the real things. If you saw the Beefeaters protecting them, you would doubt they are the real thing also. They are tourist guides more than guards. I wouldn't trust them to protect my trusted GPS never mind my jewels. That was it for the day. Tower overload.

On our way home in the underground they kept repeating a message. Because of the announcers heavy accent (or should I say Ours) it took us about 10 announcements to finally understand that all flights in the UK had been canceled. I said to Rita "it must be another terrorist attack". Rita grabbed a paper at London Bridge Station and told me that Eija??????????  had blown her top. I thought fine, if they want to keep an irate Eija out of the UK, that is up to the English. But suspending all flights more than a month ahead of her scheduled arrival is going overboard. It turns out that the Icelanders had named a volcano (Eyjafjallajokull) in her honor, which I suppose has similar temperament to Eija.

Friday April 16

Stopped at London Bridge Station to buy two doughnuts, one for Rita and one for me. As she was taking her first bite out of her doughnut, I mentioned that the pants she was wearing looked kind of tight on her. After I finished both doughnuts we were off again. Saw Trafalgar Square and The National Gallery. Painting overload. Walked through half of The Gallery and decided to come back some other day to see the rest. Rita read practically all the write ups and listened to all the commentaries on the electronic guide. Admission was free electronic guide £2.50.

Looked at Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers. Don't understand art, it looked like brown blotches on a yellow background, to me. Told Rita that I preferred her painting of the sunflowers to Vince's. She was very pleased with me. 

When we arrived home we drove to Waitrose and to Asda. Looked in the bin, at Waitrose, where the Hungarian Sausages are kept, it was empty again. Looked around the other bins and managed to find a couple of links that were misplaced. Either they sell out quickly or they do not order them often enough. Bought some cheap wine at Asda and then came home.

Saturday April 17

Left on the 11:54 for London Bridge, with the intention of going to Soho. Went to Piccadilly Circus and started walking. Without a compass we didn't know which direction we were walking in. Went by a Church that had a flee market in the front of it. Walked by the stalls looking at all kinds of useful things to buy, including a statue of a pair of "Humping Rhinos", which I thought would make a lovely decoration at home. Rita was looking at all kinds of jewelry and accessories. Kept walking and finally the GPS picked up that we were walking in the wrong direction. I complained that the GPS wasn't equipped with a compass in pedestrian mode, it was just telling us which bearing to take, but not which way the bearings are. Rita said that she had noticed compasses for sale at the flee market. Eventually we started walking back towards Piccadilly Circus and the church. When we arrived back at the church we went to look for the stall, that Rita said was selling compasses. Bought a compass for £15 and Rita decided to buy a magnifying glass for £10.

Finally we knew which way was up. Went to Leicester Square and then on to Covent Garden Market where there were entertainers all over the streets. Humongous crowds everywhere. Rita bought a Baguette and a Rye bread at a bakery, she just couldn't resist.

Walked to the Royal Opera and looked at their calendar. Aida was on from the end of April to end of May. Decided that we wanted to see it, and would try to book tickets on the internet when we came home. Walked all over Covent Garden and ended up back at the National Gallery. It was starting to get warm and Rita was overdressed. She went inside the National Gallery cafeteria washroom and took of some of her sweaters.

From there we walked down The Mall towards Buckingham Palace and through the park back to Westminster Station. We took the underground back to London Bridge and came home. After carrying the breads around all day we had worked up a hearty appetite, and had the remainder of the Gulyás soup with the bread.

I looked up tickets for Aida at The Royal Opera on the internet. There were only about 20 seats left for all the performances. Some single seats and perhaps 4 or 5 double seats. Price £200-£300 ($300 -$450 CAD) each. Decided we were not avid opera fans after all, and if we wanted to impress people with how cultured we are, investing the same amount of money for a dozen or so "Humping Rhino" statues would impress them a heavens of a lot more, than just being able to say "We saw Aida at The Royal Opera in Covent Garden".

Sunday April 18

Didn't do much. Walked to The Bell, the nearest pub to our house. Didn't find the path that led to the pub, so we took the long way around. Eventually we found it in the middle of the woods. Met some locals and exchanged stories. Had a couple of pints and took the path back to Tadworth. We will be able to go more often, now that we know our way around to the important places in Tadworth.

Monday April 19

I didn't do much. Rita cleaned house, did laundry, etc. I told her it was very important that I do this Web Page. She believed it, and didn't bother me the rest of the day.

Rita decided it was too cold to go out. So we stayed in the house. I posted the Web Page and the Photo Gallery, Rita puttered around the house.

Decided to go to Windsor Castle. I tested the compass we bought at the flee market, against the map in the morning. The map worked, North was always up. The compass didn't. The needle was going all over the place except North. I should have bought the Humping Rhino statue instead of the compass. At least with the Humping Rhino Statue I would have known what was up.

Before we left, I tried opening the car door to get my GPS out. The alarm went off. Had great difficulties turning it off, finally managed to do it. Noticed that the car battery was dead.

Caught the 10:54 train at the station. As we stepped on the train there were 2 rail cops who wanted to see our tickets. Showed it to them and they noticed that we were going to Windsor Castle. Started talking about our home exchange and they were quite interested in it. Had to transfer at Purley, then at East Croydon, Clapham Junction. We arrived at Windsor and Eton Riverside at 12:20.

Walking up to the castle Rita noticed a fish and chip restaurant and a pastry shop she was interested in.

I noticed that the royal flag was at full mast, in the castle, which means Her Royal Highness was in attendance.

I was thinking "How in heavens do the English know that Her Royal Highness Ritva I is here"? I was told that it was Her Royal Highnesses birthday and she was in Windsor Castle. I thought "SHIT, I'm in trouble, forgetting it was Ritva I's birthday again". It turned out it was Liz's birthday not Ritva's.

Damn, we came all the way from Tadworth and we didn't have the invitations. We thought we would "knock her up" anyway, to see if she was receiving. It was early afternoon and we figured by now she probably had a few to celebrate, and being completely sober, we wouldn't be able to socialize on the same level with her. So we, like the peasants, paid £11.50 each and just strolled around the castle, hoping she wouldn't notice us.

On the tour we were told about the Order of the Garter. I thought, "WOW, Victoria's Secrets is getting really popular". You can order garters right from Windsor Castle. Soon I realized it was a club of old boys, who preferred garter belts to pantyhose. I'm a good old boy, I would fit right into that club, besides they have a pretty nice clubhouse.

                                                 The Clubhouse

After we finished the tour of Windsor Castle we went for a walk around the castle outside the walls. On the way back to the train station we stopped and had authentic, English, fish and chips in a Chinese restaurant. And of course stopped at the pastry shop Rita had had noticed on our arrival, to buy pastries.

Arrived at the train station a few minutes before the train left. This time we only had to transfer at Clapham Junction. There, they were checking the tickets again. There was an altercation on the other side of where the ticket checkers were. Three men were wrestling with one guy, we never did find out why, but I suppose it was over not having a ticket. By the time we where through the check, they had him on the ground, and under control. There is no such thing as a free ride here. Turnstiles everywhere, sometimes you have to go through a couple, to catch the next train.  

When we arrived home I tried starting the car again. Nothing. The battery was as dead as the Kings in Westminster Abbey. The alarm went off, couldn't turn it off. Finally it stopped. Tried again, same thing. Skyped Andrew Stewart and asked him what could be wrong. He arranged for Barclay's to come by tomorrow to charge the battery.

Barclay's came to the house at 8:30 to charge the battery. Since I was not Andrew Stewart, it cost £66.  HEAVENS, I could have bought a new battery for that amount of money. Or, a few garter belts to charge me up, numerous times.

In the afternoon Rita wanted to go back to Sainsbury's, one of the first stores we went to, and have another look around. Drove and drove, only found the small convenience Sainsbury's. Tried another location same thing. Finally we gave up and went to Asda. Bought our supply of cheap wine, came home, and drank some of it.

Left Tadworth on the 10:54 train to London Bridge and from there to Greenwich. At London Bridge, Rita had to go, and since they only have pay toilets, she had to fork out 20 Pee's. These English aren't stupid. Their exchange rates are ridiculous, you give them 20 English Pee's and they let you have one Canadian one.

On the walk up to the Royal Observatory we came across this sign. Waited for awhile for a Pelican, with a smile on it's face, to cross the road. None came, so decided just to take a picture of the sign.

It seems everything in this country is humping or humped. Everything is getting it's JOLLIES. Now I know why they call it Jolly Old England.

Rita thinks I'm pretty crude, but somehow, "Pelican who has been made love to crossing" doesn't do it for me, nor it seems for the English.

Took the tour of the Royal Observatory, straddled the meridian, of course. 

Took a bunch of touristy pictures, looked at compasses that worked in the Observatory store. After Rita frivolously spent the 20 Pee's, instead of having a free one at home, I decided we had to go on a budget and buying a compass that worked would have put us in the red. Started to walk back to the train station.

It was only about 2:45 so we decided to see what was above the Waterloo Underground Station. 

We had transferred there often, but never went above ground there. Walked for a few blocks, looking at stores and the vendors stalls on the street. We were walking beside some young girls and Rita noticed they were talking Hungarian. Sure enough they were. It seems there are a lot of Hungarian tourists in London.

Went back underground and decided to check out The Elephant and Castle Station. 

There is an old, rundown shopping center, if you can call it that, above ground. About half the stores were Money Exchanges, Check Cashing Stores, etc. The other half of the stores cater to Caribbean clientele. More than half the population, it seems, in this part of the city are colored.

We decided that we weren't going to do anymore frivolous spending, so we came home.

Saturday April 24

Late start to the day, left the house at 13:30 and went town hoping with the train. Bought return train tickets to Purley, £5.80. Expected it to be an inexpensive day. Traveling with Rita? Well, enough said.

Got off the train at Purley and started walking around. There is a large Tesco near the train station and of course Rita had to go and investigate. Cosmetics department of course. Bought a bag of goodies. Walked around the large store and much to her credit she didn't buy anything else.

Later on, we came across a hairdressing salon. Rita disappeared off the street. When I passed by the front door of the store, there was Rita talking with the cashier and all I could hear the cashier say is "It's very expensive!". I thought, Great, an inexpensive trip.

Passed by a pay toilet on the street, and noticed it was only 10 Pee's instead of 20. After Rita spent all the money on the cosmetics, I was adamant and insisted that she save 50% and take advantage of the opportunity. But of course Rita is not the frugal type, so we didn't save any money there.

Caught the train to Tattenham corner and got off at Reedham. 

Looked around and had plenty of time to catch the very next train, which comes every 30 minutes. Got off at Smitham, It was a much nicer and bigger town, but managed to catch the very next train again.

When I say we went town hoping, I mean it literally. If you take too big of a hop, you miss the towns altogether.

Had dinner and decided to watch TV. Couldn't find a good, light-hearted comedy, so watched a couple of documentaries. Before going to bed we decided to watch the news.

More than half of the BBC News was devoted to Pope Benedict XVI's visit to England in September. The British Government has sent an apology to the Vatican, concerning the suggestions made by the British Foreign Office, for the Holy Father to do during his visit.

Amongst the suggestions made, for His Holiness to do during his visit:

1 Open an abortion clinic.

2 Bless a gay marriage.

3 Launch a new "Benedictine" brand of condoms.

The first two are ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS, and the Pontiff does deserve an apology.

But I do consider the third as a proposal with merit. After all, he is an EXCELLENT role model, and ALWAYS wears a hat on special occasions.

From now on, if we feel like watching a light-hearted comedy, we will watch the BBC News.

Sunday April 25

Rita told me this morning, that I have been swearing too much, using Hell, on our blog. I thought "THE HEAVEN" with Rita. But then decided it was a heaven of a lot easier to edit this blog, than to put put up with the heaven she would put me through if I didn't. So please note, all previous references to Hell, has been changed to Heaven. 

Heaven, it took me most of the day to make the corrections.

Monday April 26

Lazy day. Didn't do a heaven of a lot. Figured out the GPS in pedestrian mode. Now if we walk 10 steps we will be able to figure out that we are going in the wrong direction, which always seems to be the case. Downloaded cityXplorer maps for Helsinki and Madrid $25CAD. The one for London seems to work quite well. At least we've been able to find our way home so far.  

Looked at Google Earth for shopping areas in Villaviciosa de Odon, around the place were we are going to stay. Doesn't seem to be anything close by. We will definitely have to drive a lot there. It's way out in the suburbs of Madrid.

Tuesday April 27

Went to Hyde Park. Didn't have breakfast so grabbed a baguette sandwich with tuna at the Upper Crust at London Bridge Station. Delicious with lots of tuna in it. 

Took the tube to Hyde Park Corner across from Wellington Arch.

Walked around the park, saw the Italian Fountain, Kensington Palace, Royal Albert Hall and Albert Memorial.

The Albert memorial was very inspirational. Here was a guy who was proposed to by Queen Victoria, totally subservient to her in the beginning of their relationship, only good enough to blot her papers. In the end he was wearing the pants and running the country. VERY INSPIRING.

Standing in front of the memorial, I felt my spine firming. So Hell is back. Rita can like it or not. Besides, how would I be able to give my address in the afterlife. All the séances and other communications would be misdirected.

Wednesday April 28

Ouch! Had a tooth ache. Haven't had any problems with my teeth in 40+ years. My dentist always complains that he can't make any money on me. Bit on something hard a few days ago and it finally acted up. (Or could it be a curse put on me by Rita?)

Rita went to the Pharmacist here in Tadworth, and bought some Clove Oil and Cuprofen. The Clove Oil didn't do much, except put a horrible taste in my mouth, but the Cuprofen worked. Hopefully it will just go away.

Thursday April 29

Another day off. Rita went to the other end of Tadworth to get some cardboard boxes from a store. She intends to ship most of our warmer clothes back to Canada when the weather improves. Pretty boring, Eh.

Friday April 30

Finally made it out of the house at 11:30, caught the 11:54 train to London Bridge. From there took the tube to South Kensington Station. Had a choice of finishing the Victoria and Albert, or seeing the Museum of Natural History. Decided on the Natural History Museum.

Dinosaurs and creepy crawlies everywhere. Millions of kids running around enjoying all the sights.

Wonderful museum for kids, and for people from Muskogee, I suppose, but we have seen it all before. We were also born in the "OLDEN DAYS" (according to Hanna), and were starting to get worried about ending up in one of their exhibits.

 

Posed with Charlie Darwin, ran through the museum, and decided to go across the street and finish the V&A. We thought that we had finished the first floor of the museum earlier, but we had only seen perhaps the half of it.

More tombs! Everybody who has ever kicked the bucket in England, must have a tomb. And what's more, all their possessions have been kept. Talk about pack ratting. There is just no way to see it all in a lifetime.

We were ready to leave when Rita noticed the Fashion Gallery. We were not about to leave just yet.

And then the SHOES.

If she would have found the cosmetics, I would have gone to the second floor where they had beds on exhibit.

Dinosaur, creepy crawly, tomb and artifact overload. There must be a shorter term to describe the syndrome, but my feet and head hurt, after a full day of exposure to all these old things.

Left around 5:30, and headed for the underground. At that time of the day, traveling on the underground, is an intimate experience. The London Transit Service does a quicker and better job of getting you into an intimate relationship with a perfect stranger, than any dating service ever will.

Sardines are packed looser, than we were. I was waiting for the Olive Oil to be poured into the can. You didn't even have to hold on to the stanchions, there was nowhere to move, and absolutely no way to fall. My feet hurt, and I sure would have liked to sit down. I was really jealous of the lucky few who had managed to get seats, butt, the view they had, I wasn't jealous of. I felt much better about having to stand.

Transferred at Westminster, and was hoping that the car from there wouldn't be as packed. That one even had the olive oil. There was no way we were all going to get in without some lubrication. Finally, arrived at London Bridge. The trains from there to Tadworth were never too busy. Today was the exception. We didn't get a seat until we got to East Croydon, halfway to Tadworth.

                     

Well, that's it for April. If you aren't bored yet, you may click on May.