And So Ends the Around the World Trip! (Day 38)

Around the World in 38 Days!!!

                                                                                                       Thursday, July 14
Hello,
    After a slightly delayed take off out of London/Heathrow, Dad has successfully landed in Omaha, thereby completing his dream of flying around the world.  And he did it in less than 80 days! If I've counted correctly, his trip was only 38 days long.   Missy and he flew from London to Chicago to Omaha, and although travel-weary, they are safely back home.  Unfortunately, their luggage did not make the change-over in Chicago.  I wonder if Dad's bag simply wasn't ready to end the trip??
    We saw some great sights and stayed in some wonderful hotels, including the Strom B&B/Kaohsiung (the 2nd B standing for Boaza--those tasty white veg/pork filled buns), and the Strom B&B/Mill Hill (Molly actually cooks so her 2nd B stands for Breakfast!)
    I am now writing from his children's point of view:  In some way, each of us got to be a part of this dream.  Cassie helped him to prepare for the trip--sorting documents, buying new clothes and helping him pack.  Missy met him here - took him on a whirlwind tour of London- and then flew back to Omaha with him.  Molly, Dave and I got to go with him and enjoy the fun of all our adventures. Bryan/Liz kept the home fires burning so Dad had a place to retreat to when he arrived in London--ready to be free of Molly and me!  :)
    And now the trip is over.  Everyone went their separate ways, back to their own homes.  We all had a wonderful time and we have lots of great memories.  Here are some classic comments from everyone:

*  At every airport, when they made an announcement in the local language, Dad would look at us and ask, "What did he/she just say?"  (none of us spoke the languages either!)
*  At the Xi'an hotel--"$40 for a shot of scotch, I'm worth it!"
*  In Xi'an, from Dave as we were driving around--"I guess they don't paint in the lane lines because no one uses them anyway."
*  At the Great Wall--"What's wrong with beer and ice cream for lunch?"
*  At the great Wall from Molly--"It's not the Great Wall it's the Great Staircase."
*  At each sight, from Sylvia--"Shopping?  Did I hear, Shopping?"
*  At Lake Baikal--"A week ago I had never heard of Lake Baikal, now I know everything about it."
*  In St. Petersburg in traffic--"If you don't have patience, you shouldn't drive."
*  In Rome's hotel, every time Dad tried to open the elevator door--"Just wait!  Just wait!  I can find the latch."
*  Each time we were packing up, from Amy-- "You have to pack a spare set of clothes in case your luggage gets lost."  (Finally proved true on his last flight!)
   We enjoyed a lot of cribbage (Dad beat Dave every time but the last game!) and Yahtzee (Dad won that too!!)
   From all of us--"The package is secure!"
   As Dad likes to say--"Here's to you as good as you are . . ."
 

And Another Day in London--A Soggy One (Day 36)

                                                                                   Tuesday, July 12
Hello,
    We went into London again today.  It was beautiful to start with.  We walked to the London Eye and went up in it.  I think I am finally over a lifetime of being afraid of heights.  Jakarta cured me.  You couldn't even cross the street there without having to go up and over.  Although a few years ago, Molly and Dad dragged me around the top of Stephansdom in Vienna, and that might also have helped to cure me.  I'm sure there are nail marks in the bricks in the wall just off the elevator!
  We had a great view of London, in spite of the heavy clouds.  Actually I think the dark, menacing clouds were beautiful.  You can decide for yourself from the photos below.
   After that, we walked to Westminster Abbey.  Missy and Dad went through it, but my toe was in serious need of time off.  It poured buckets while they were inside, but luckily it had blown over by the time they came out.  Both of them loved it, they took a tour with headphones--Jeremy Irons narrating!
   Then we went to meet Molly, have lunch and see her new building.  I'd say 'office building', but she is a scientist.  Huge rooms with lots of scientific gear.  Loads of windows--a really beautiful new work space.
   Tomorrow Dad and I are taking a break, Missy is going into town on her own.  Hopefully we will see her again!
amy

Missy and Dad on the London Eye.  It was built for the Millennium and was supposed to be temporary, but it was so popular, they kept it up.  According to one of the guards--it is ALWAYS busy there.

Parliament, The Thames and Big Ben

Missy's picture from the Eye.  I love the dark clouds.

Amy, Dad, Big Ben and Missy

Pano from the Eye, looking north 

Looking south

Molly's new lab (but that is not Molly--it's Dad)

And another of her new lab

 
 
    

A Day in London (Day 35)

                                                                                             Monday, July 11
Hello,
    Missy, (sister who lives in Omaha and arrived last Saturday), Dad and I all went into the big city today.  We took the Hop On/Off bus and didn't even get 1/2 way through the tour.  We got off at the British Museum, then got back on and went to Trafalgar Square and a pub lunch.  After that we went to St. Paul's Cathedral, which always makes me break into--
Feed the birds
Tuppence a bag,
Tuppence, tuppence,
Tuppence a bag . . .
Followed by Super-cali-frag-il-is-tic-ex-pe-ali-doh-shus, even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious!
   We got back on the bus and went to Westminster Abbey/Big Ben, only to find out the Abbey closed at 3:30.  Out of luck there.  We decided we would take the tube back to Molly's, since it was slow going on the bus (heavy traffic).  While being underground means losing the view, it was well worth it.  We'll go back in tomorrow and see Westminster, Buckingham and Covent Garden.  If it isn't raining, maybe a canal boat ride?
   Here are some photos.  In case you don't know this--the classic, well-known British phone booths are being removed.  I am glad that Kaohsiung has one.  It's outside a British Pub there.  I hope he knows how valuable it is now.
   amy

Dad and Missy near the British Museum

British Museum 

A curious exhibit in the British Museum

Missy and Dad and a lion.  Happily not a real one.

Dad and Missy at Trafalgar Square

Dad and Yoda

Dad on his phone at a pub.  Just like a teenager!

Big Ben and the London Eye (ferris wheel)

Dad and the Twins! (Day 30)

                                                                                   Wednesday/Thursday, July 6/7
Good Morning,
   Today we heard from Bryan.   Dad went with them to the doctor's.  He got to see the ultrasound of the twins.  I can't wait to hear his thoughts on that.  Such a change from the days when he wasn't allowed in the delivery room as poor Mom popped out 7 of us!!
   Dang, I have a broken toe.  Molly took me to the doctors on Monday, but when he told us I needed an X-ray, it was too late in the day to get one.  We went yesterday, only to find that it was already closed for the day.  Finally this morning we got in and the technician said, "Broken."
   She sent us to another doctor who looked at the X-ray and agreed with the technician.  She said (and we already knew) that all that can be done is to tape it to another toe and wait 6-8 weeks for it to heal.  She told me to elevate it, walk as little as possible, and go for drugs if it still hurt.  I will do my best on the first two, especially since I have a 10 day trip to Korea after I get back from this trip.
   I'm thinking I might get pads to line the legs of the tables and chairs in my house.  The thought of ramming this toe again . . . simply makes me cringe.  It does hurt.  I am limping.  Good thing I have all the notes to type up from the trip.  :))
   No pictures.
amy

Handing off the Baton! (Day 29)

                                                                                                 Tuesday, July 5
Hello,
   It seems I am addicted.  I thought the posts would end with our arrival in London, but I can't stop writing.  Today Dad went to Bryan and Liz's to visit with them for a few days.  (Bry is youngest brother)  When we met up with Bryan at the train station, I told him it was a relay-- he took Dad's arm and struck this pose!
   Molly and I are working on printing the blog--in the correct, not backward, order.  Not being successful so far, but not giving up.  If any of you have a suggestion, please let us know!
  Here's the hand off . . .
amy

Bryan and Dad at the Herne Hill train stop.  

London--Happy 4th of July! (Day 28)

Arrival at Stansted Airport, London.  We flew in on Ryan Air.  

                                                                                                   Monday, July 4

We made it!!  

On Molly and Martin's patio--post BBQ/pre fire works.  Left to right--Dad, Toby (one of Molly/Martin's twins), Liz and Bryan (the ones having twins soon), Ziggy (their dog), Molly and Martin.

Toby's twin is Timmy . . .

Bryan was brave enough to light it.  The directions said be 25 meters away, Liz was hoping to NOT be a single parent!!

The "Little Timmy" had 25 fireworks in it.

They were a bit more colorful, but the London sky is cloudy.

Lakes and Villages and Castles, Oh My! (Day Last/27)

                                                                                         Sunday, July 3
Hello,
   Sorry about the title.  I'm getting desperate!  While I don't think this will be the last post, our trip is basically over.  Tomorrow we fly to London and stay with Molly and Martin for 10 days.  Since Dad and I have been in London many times, we won't be seeing the sights there.  We are trying to get tickets for a play, but no results yet.  We will also spend time with our youngest brother and his very pregnant wife.  She is due in 3-4 weeks--the twin boys I mentioned in an email a couple months ago.  I can't wait to see them.
   The little pink and blue things are cotton balls.  I've never seen them colored until now.
   Today we went outside the city (Rome being the city) and visited 2 lakes and 2 small towns.  The first one, Gandolfo, is where the Popes can go when they need to get out of the city.  Pope Francis has decided that he is not going to use the Summer Castle, but maybe things will get crampy at the Vatican and he will change his mind.  The village has a population of 8,000.  It's on Albano Lake.
   Then we drove to Nemi Lake.  They are known for their really small strawberries.  We had a little torte-like thing that was really nice tasting.  On the way there, we stopped on Rocca di Papa.  It is a road that is clearly going uphill.  Our driver got out with a water bottle, laid it in the road, and the bottle rolled uphill.  We looked behind us, and the road was definitely going downhill.  Very odd.  He was hoping that Molly could explain it.  She's a scientist, but her specialty is brains, not hills!  She had no idea why.  We thought it was an optical illusion, but really--the road is going uphill.
   We had a rather fancy lunch.  It was some of the best food we've had.  Equal in taste to all the lunches we had in China.  I could not begin to know what we ate--just that it was delicious.  This place is a famous winery.  We went down to the wine cellar--huge.  The most expensive bottle was 9,000 euros.  The oldest one they had was from 1962.
   Molly has been wanting to try a nice Italian wine, but the one they brought to her turned out to be from France.  It had to do with her telling them what type of wine she likes.  I guess it didn't match any of the Italian choices.  So much for getting Italian wine.
   We came back to the hotel, watched some tennis, went out for our last gelato, packed up, and then we all put on a face mask.  Dad is not sure he likes these things, but he's always willing to don one.  Although after about 3 minutes, he was ready to take it off!
    Our trip is not over, but the touring part is.  Now we can stay put and take walks and help Martin eat the 17 jars of jam that he made!  I know one of them has my name on it.  :))
amy
   Oh--Germany beating Italy was good news for our family!  Now we wait for the match against France.  Football/soccer I'm talking.

Pope's summer castle in Gandolfo.

Santa Tommaso del Villa Nova church.  It's parallel to the Pope's castle.

Gandolfo village 

More of Gandolfo.

View of Albano Lake from Gandolfo

More of the same.

Pano of Albano Lake

The first Post Box, dated 1820.  I'm becoming skeptical of these 'first' sights we have seen.  Molly just googled it--Wiki says Paris had the first post box in 1653 . . .? 

Veg and meat market in Nemi.

Just liked all the flowers.

Dad patiently waiting for us to stop shopping!

Pano of Nemi Lake

Our last lunch on the road!  Pagnanelli restaurant.

Nemi Lake from our restaurant

And looking the other way as we ate.

x

Bless Me Father, For I Have Sinned . . . Vatican (Day 26)

Since I can't move these two photos, I guess I am starting with them!

The back wall of the Sistine Chapel.  When Michelangelo painted it, no one had a stitch of clothes on.  After he died, they gave everyone some covering!

The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.  

                                                                                                   Saturday, July 2
Hello,
   Getting to the end of our trip.  Hard to believe, but true.  Today was the Vatican.  Once again, our guide arranged it so we could cut to the front of the line by using the "Dad is old and needs to go in first" card.  He's been practicing how to look feeble.  Honestly--he's failing that course.  Even though he's had 2 days without the Jeju face cleanser, he still doesn't look old enough to need special treatment.  No matter, we got in right at opening time.  Still pretty crowded inside, but not too bad.
   First we went through some of the galleries.  Walls hung with huge tapestries and maps of Italy.  Learned an interesting fact--The reason there are so many frescoes is due to the very low literacy rate of people long ago (refer back to the definition of 'old' in yesterday's post).  Since they couldn't read, stories were told through the frescoes.  Rather like children's picture books today.
   And you had to be fast on those frescoes.  Now I admit I couldn't write fast enough, but I think they were painted on a wet wall, and due to the wet thing, the color soaked in quickly.  You may ask--what if they made a mistake?  Well, there were no erasers that would fix it.  You had to be fast and you couldn't make a mistake.  Nothing like a bit of pressure . . .
   Of course no photos in the Sistine Chapel.  Just loads of head craning to see it all.  And you can't talk.  I was thinking that laying down a few cots so people could really see the ceiling, would be a good plan.  Since we couldn't talk, there was no way to relay this idea.  I wonder if the Pope has an email account?  I borrowed my friend, Jeremy's, plan--I took pictures of the Sistene Chapel from the book Dad bought.
   Then we went out to the huge open square, which is not really a square shape.  Two arms of the buildings wrap around, as if they are 2 arms hugging you.  I did not make that up--our guide told us that was the idea of the Pope when the buildings were commissioned.
     Dad was overwhelmed at how big the buildings and square are.  Massive, would not even cover it.  He has seen the Pope speak from St. Peter's Square, but he says he never realized the size of it.  He said every part of the Vatican was way past his expectations.  He was very interested in learning about the Popes over the ages and the history of the church.  All of us had loads of questions for Piera, and she could answer all of them.
   At lunch, Molly asked Dad-- of all the places we've been, which city or sight stands out the most for him.  He said seeing the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica.  Next was the joy of traveling with his 2 wonderful daughters!  Okay, maybe he didn't actually SAY that, but I'm sure he was thinking it.  Or not?  :))
   Dad and Molly went to church at the Basilica of Santa Maria del Angeli.  The hotel helped us find a mass in English.  And why didn't I go?  Last night I rammed my toe into a chair leg.  I am limping, due to a bruised, swollen toe.  Molly says she is traveling with two gimps!  But she is kindly helping me to stay off it unless it is necessary.  There might be a bit of guilt there.  After I rammed it, the middle toe is now leaning to the left, leaving a gap between my 2nd and 3rd toes.  Her comment was--Live Long and Prosper.
   Signing off with birthday wishes for our sister in law--Happy Birthday, Sylvia!
amy

Dad at the alter of Pope Pius X.

Outside the gates

St. Peter's Basilica in the back.  Hopefully you know who's in the foreground.

The Belvedere Courtyard.  Note the Pine Cone coming up from behind the big red flowers.

Tapestry on the wall.  Dang these are really big.  They take 4-6 years to weave one. 

Another tapestry--this one is the biggest one in the Vatican. 

Hah!  I bet you think this is 3-D.  It's actually a flat painting. 

This is the Gallery of Maps. There are 40 maps dating back to 1580-85, representing all the land that the Popes owned.  As far as I could tell, that included most of Italy and Sicily.

This is the entrance to where the Pope should be living.  But he chose a different place in the Vatican.  According to one of the guards, he keeps them on their toes because he doesn't want to follow the usual pattern of the previous Popes.

Dad and Molly outside the Sistine Chapel.

One of the galleries we walked through to get to the Sistine Chapel. 

St. Peter's Basilica.  We think . . .?

The Piata

St. Peter's Baldachin.  I think that Italian for Alter?  It's made out of bronze.  (says Molly)

Piera/guide, Dad and Molly

My favorite Pope--John XXIII (23)  Taking a little nap?

One of the maps in the Gallery of Maps.  I recognize the boot--must be Italy!

Another shot of St. Peter's Baldachin

Being gimpy myself, I understand completely how St. Peter feels.  These are his feet, but note that the foot towards the back has no toes.  Yes, another statue that gets rubbed for good luck.  Now he has no toes on his right foot.   

One of the domed ceilings in St. Peter's.

Can you see the writing near the top?  Those letters are 9' (3 meters) high.  The words are "You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church."  His name was Simon, but in Greek, Peter means 'rock' so Jesus changed his name.  

Vatican guards.  They still wear the original costume.  They are on guard, in the sun, for an hour.  Hot. 

Pano of St. Peter's Square.  We thought this looked way bigger than the Winter Palace Square in St. Petersburg (hmmm, there sure are a lot of Peters).  Molly looked it up.  We sit corrected--Tiananmon is not the largest square in the world.  Red Square is not even on the list, We think this one is plenty big.  Dad took this pano.  He is becoming quite talented taking photos with his iPhone. 

It's hard to see here, but the curve of the columns is mirrored on the other side.  They look like 2 arms hugging someone.  Yes, that would be my thumb in the corner.  

This is the same curved row of columns as the previous picture.  This is 'inside' the curved row of columns.