Reflections on Europe

I have returned from Europe. I must say, the whole trip went pretty tickety-boo.

No hiccups or experiences and miraculously, no fights with my in-laws!

For those who get along with their in-laws most of the time, I envy you.

So, Geneva was pretty cool. Sadly, since CERN was actively doing experiments, we could not go in and see the LHC. But that was okay. We went to the interactive center, and Mut, my brother-in-law, explained some of the things he does at CERN...which is smash particles together and see what comes out. I'm sure that is way simplified.

Also, did you hear that CERN found neutrinos that travelled faster than the speed of light?

Oh Yeah.

We also visited a huge old Cathedral; they'd excavated the old cathedral underneath, dating back to the 8th century. They have a whole interactive walk underneath. Sadly I was a bit sick that day and we have to call it short, but it was pretty tops.

Next we jetting to Nottingham to visit my second brother-in-law, Butter. Butter is going to university there to become a doctor, and hopefully he'll graduate next year. We rested the first day, shopped the second (where I got an adorable dress) and then visited the Galleries of Justice - an old jail and dungeon dating back to the Victorian period. I would not wanted to be a criminal back then, it was terrible and inhumane. But oh-so informative to see how crime, punishment and justice has evolved.

After Notts we headed to Russ' hometown to visit his folks for a day before we headed to Manchester to fly home. I got to do more shopping, and we got to have nice chats with his folks. It was a really good time.

Flying home was...well. Flying home. We paid for exit-row seats because of my freakishly long legs, but the seats were extra-narrow. Sigh. So instead I got squeezy hip pain. Woo.

I got my Mum's photos, so as promised...Sea Shepherds!

The Steve Irwin on the Thames

Not the best pic but hey! The Steve Irwin was moving fast!

A Canadian Mer in London

For the last couple months, Russo (the hubby) and I have been looking forward to a big vacation in Europe. My parents were going on a cruise out of Barcelona, and decided they'd go to London, then Paris, then a tour of Spain before getting on the boat. It had been about 3 years since Russo and I had been to England, and I'd never been to Paris, so we thought we'd tag along. We decided to do London and Paris together, then Russ and I would jet off to Geneva, back to England to Nottingham before visiting with his folks in his hometown and flying home.

Russie is from England. He's British. Did I mention that?

Anyway, off we flew on the 9th. I don't know about other Mers, but I loathe plane rides. I don't mind the plane itself, the noise or the food, but I just detest the lack of manners that people display while on planes. Ugh!

Luckily for us, Russie's sister Bonie lives in London. She picked us up in Gatwick and we went to her flat - an adorable little place. Her long-term boyfriend (ie. just waiting for their engagement announcement) and her just bought the place a couple months ago and it was downright cute. We had a big family day on Sunday, and went for a walking tour of some cool places on Monday, including the Tower of London and London Bridge. For lunch we went to an old pub on the river Thames. As we were waiting for our food, guess who sailed by?

The Sea Shepherds on the Steve Irwin!

If you don't know who the Sea Shepherds (http://www.seashepherd.org/) are, they're basically eco-terrorists who stop nations like Japan from whaling. They had just been in the Northern European area protecting Pilot Whales from a yearly slaughter, and were returning to port for supplies. They also have a show on Animal Planet called Whale Wars.

 My photos are on the camera, since I was so excited I forgot to grab my phone. I will upload and post soon, but it was amazing!! I leapt up and waved furiously and even got a wave back; it was so cool to see them!! I have decided that Bonie is completely made of awesome and win and magic.

We walked to Trafalglar square after, and I noticed some of the fountain statues were merfolk, and being a new Mer I just could not resist...