Birmingham, England

Hi Everyone,
Thought I’d tell you about our trip to Birmingham, England. On Monday, 12/15 we started with a 2.5 hour plane ride to Kenya, and then an 8 hour layover in Kenya. At midnight, we took off for London—about a 9 hour plane ride. We got in there on Tuesday 12/16 at 5:15 AM due to the time difference. Then, we waited. And waited. And waited. Our best friends from AZ were meeting us in London, but their plane did not arrive until 2:00 PM, so it was a long wait. The kids kept themselves busy by running up and down the stairs to check the monitors to see if their plane was going to land early (it did—by about 30 minutes!). It was a joyful reunion for all, but it was short lived, as the next part of our journey was quite the ordeal.

We needed to get from London to Birmingham, where we were all staying. It’s about 2.5 hours away, and we needed to catch a series of subways and trains to get there. Imagine 4 kids and 4 adults, with about 15 pieces of luggage trying to navigate all these subways and trains. None of us really knew the correct subways to take, so we relied on subway personnel to direct us, but unfortunately, they did not always direct us accurately. Each time we got off a subway, we had to take a huge escalator up to the top of the station, and then another one down to catch the next subway. This would not have been such a big deal, but with all the kids and all the luggage, it made it difficult, as most of the luggage was too heavy for the kids to handle. I’m sure it was quite comical to watch all of us adults trying to manage all the luggage. At the time though, it was definitely not funny to us. I think we took about 4 different subways and one train, and we finally made it to Birmingham by about 6:30 PM on Tuesday. Our journey had started the day before at noon, so we were quite exhausted. I think we were all asleep by 8:30 that night.

The next day (Weds 12/17), we didn’t do much—just hung out in our guest house and explored the town a bit. We went to a small, local grocery store, and we were literally like kids in a candy store. It was so fun to see all the foods that we can’t get in the Congo. I was most excited by all the fresh fruits and vegetables, knowing that they were safe to eat without having to peel them first or soak them in bleach. We also got excited by the fact that we could just turn on the tap and brush our teeth with regular tap water, and not have to boil it first. Later, we went to a 400 year old pub called the Green Man, and we all had hot chocolate. It was your typical English pub. As we walked back to the guesthouse, we crossed over a bridge, and down below was water with ducks in it. We had bought bread at the grocery, so that went to the ducks! During the week, this was the kids’ favorite activity—feeding the ducks! Later, that evening, I got sick (vomiting) and was sick the whole next day. Nice way to start off the vacation!

We decided to move to a different hotel after 2 nights. The guest house we were staying in had no internet (even though they had told us they did have it when we made the reservation), and Bill had work to do, so we moved. We moved to a more typical hotel (Marriott), and this was much nicer, but also farther from where our friends were staying.

The next day (Fri 12/19) we did some shopping at a mall, and then took the kids to an indoor skating rink to ice skate. They also got a chance to play in some fake snow, using tubes to go down small little hills. The kids slept at their friends’ house that night, so Bill and I had the night off. I needed it, as my stomach still was not back up to par, so it was nice to just have the downtime to relax.

The next morning (Sat 12/20), before meeting up with the kids, Bill and I went to a store similar to Home Depot, called The B & Q. It was set up just like the Home Depot, and they even wore the same type of orange aprons! I think Bill and I could have spent all day in there. After living in the Congo for just 4 months, I can’t even begin to explain what it felt like to see so many products in one place, and to have so many choices, and to have so much space around you, and to have people there to help you, and to have people there that speak the same language as you, and to not have to wait in 5 different lines just to pay for your items, and to not have people eye you suspiciously, as if you are going to steal something, and to be able to come out of a store with exactly what you were looking for. I know I keep using this cliché, but we really felt like kids in a candy store. We were literally just grabbing stuff off the shelves. I said to Bill, “Do you really need all this stuff, or are you just buying it because you can”? He replied, “Because I can”! At the end though, before checking out, we re-assessed what was in our basket and did put several items back. One funny thing that we noticed at the store, and at several others as well, is that you have to pay if you want to use a cart. You can use a little basket for free, but if you want a cart, you have to pay for it. So different than in the US, where they want you to have a cart, knowing that you’ll load it up!

After our shopping trip, we met up with the kids and our friends. Bill and Dustin went to a football (soccer) match with the rest of the guys, and I went shopping with Jensen and all the ladies. Dustin and Bill had a great time, and Dustin came home with soccer jerseys from both teams. They put his name on the back of both jerseys, and he was able to choose the number he wanted. He chose number 14, as that was his classroom number from his second grade class at Hermosa Vista.

Jensen and I enjoyed our time shopping and with our friends, but I really felt overwhelmed at the mall. For the first time, I sort of missed the Congo, and its lack of consumerism and commercialism.

Sunday, 12/21 we went to Warwick Castle. It was a very cool castle dating from about 1000 to the 1600s. We had to walk up 530 steps to the top! Bill and the kids got to do some archery, and the kids got a picture with Henry the VIII (a wax figure). The wax figures were really life-like. They use real hair on them, and they said they have to wash the hair every 3 months. They only use straight hair (Dustin had offered some of his!), and then once it is on the wax figure, they curl it.

We were going to go to Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare, but we were told it was sort of boring, and that visiting the castle would be better. We were also going to go to a place called Star City, where there are movie theaters, bowling, and an aquarium. But, after the castle, we were tired, and decided not to go. We have not seen a movie since we moved to the Congo. In Congo, there is one theater. But their theater consists of you telling them what movie you want, and then they play the DVD for you. That’s their movie theater! No one goes to it.

Tomorrow, we leave England, and head to France. We are taking the underwater train through the North Channel. It is about a 2.5 hour journey. We will spend Christmas in Paris, and then head back to England for some sightseeing. I think I’ll post this now, as it is long already, and we still have lots more time on this trip.

Hope everyone had a nice Christmas!
Laurie