"You don't have to tell me twice!" is how Hannah responded to Melanie when Melanie said the weather was hot.  Melanie looked so surprised and asked Hannah if she had already said that before.  I had to explain through my fit of laughter what that expression means.  I'm having great fun teaching them Americanisms like, "Dead serious!" and "What the heck?" They're teaching me expression and sayings too which is especially hilarious because I can't even remember sayings in my own language.  Roschti est ta groschti = potatoes are the best.  That's the only one I can remember, and that's because it rhymes.  That's not how it's spelled by the way, but I wanted all of you to be able to say it, so you can enjoy it as much as me!

The bed and breakfast, B&B Zaubernuss  we're staying at is really nice.  Like typical Swiss  we don't see the owners often.  The Swiss are much more private than any American I've ever met.  If you smile at someone on the train or bus they will smile back, but only after a second or two, as if they just remembered that's what you're supposed to do when someone smiles at you.  Everyone seems to know I speak English.  When I go somewhere I try my hardest to speak in Swiss German, but everyone responds in English to me.  I ask Simone, or someone in her family, how to say something.  Sometimes I say hello (Grottsi) instead of thank you (Danke) accidentally.  I'm sure I will not leave Switzerland in the state I found it in.

We went to a farm just a mile or two up the hill. Claudia, a dear friend of Simone's, has a farm and a cow had a baby just hours earlier.

We learned that they name the baby something that has same the first letter as its mother.  The mother's name is Arizona.  I cannot tell you how hard I laughed when they told me that.  First I suggested Arkansas, then Alabama, then aardvark. They really really didn't like aardvark, which I think sounds really German (say it aloud.  Now say it again, but this time as if you are angry... see, doesn't it sound German?) Then I suggested Ariel (my daugter's name), and Claudia said, "Oooh".  (Ariel, don't be offended that there is a cow in Switzerland named after you.  I'm sure somewhere in the world that is a great honor.)  "Steak" is a universal term, by the way.

Yesterday I went into Zurich alone.  I felt like a little kid, whose parents finally trust them to venture into the wide world.  Simone wrote what to say to the bus driver, and I was on my way.  I walked around a little bit, bought some postcards, then made it to the central train station for the 1:00 walking tour of the Old City. Hannah and Simone's girls met me there, and Hannah and I took the tour.

Zurich has something I think is fabulous: fountains.  They have over 1200 fountains around the city, and they are safe for drinking, all of them.  The children play in the fountain itself, adults use the cold water to refresh themselves on hot days, and the water that flows freely from the tap is super clean and safe for drinking.

 Each one looks different.

Ever notice that no matter where you are in the world, the old native America Indian chief always represents tobacco.

Last night we went to Rapperswil, which is the southern point of Lake Zurich.  They had a huge festival, or night party, that promised Groschti lasershow en Schwiez,  the greatest laser show in Switzerland.  They also had a fireworks show at the same time.  Now I have to tell you, I was a bit prejudiced going in, because I thought, how can anyone do fireworks better than Americans?  After all we get to practice it every single year.  But I realized that since the Swiss don't spend so much money and effort on defense, they get to spend it on firework displays.  This was  die groschti fireworks I've ever seen.  It was at least a half hour long, and was choreographed to music.  At the very same time was a laser show across the lake.  They had pumped fog across the lake so it could be seen really well, and was wonderful.

While watching the show, Hannah accidentally sat in a puddle, so we needed to get something for her to change in to.  There were no stores open, but there were vendors up and down the lake side, and one was selling women's shirts.  I got one for Hannah, and she wore it like a dress.  It was cold enough for us to wear leggings last night, so she just slipped her skirt off, and the woman's shirt on over her shirt, and voila! she was dressed in dry clothes again. 

Then we went into a bakery and got something warm to drink.  After sitting there for a little while the place filled with firemen.  There must have been about twenty, and Hannah fell asleep.  I suggested to Simone that we tell the firemen we need someone strong to carry Hannah to the train station, but she wouldn't translate that for me.  We didn't get home until almost 1:00 this morning.  We fell into bed and slept late. 

Today there is a huge parade in Zurich, but neither Hannah nor Simone want to go.  I couldn't care either way, but I promised to take Hannah to a playground around the corner.

Yesterday I downloaded an app onto my phone that would translate English and Swiss German.  It is worthless.  It does not have "help", but it has "Santa Clause's helper" "Schmutzli" and "to slap somebody in the face" "ohrfiege e Flattere ga"  I'm sure I'll have lots and lots of opportunities to say those while I'm here.

Oh my gosh, I almost forgot.  I told you we're staying at a bed and breakfast.  Our hosts are Maja (Maya) and Stephan.  When we first got here they showed me around, and they have a Nespresso machine.  It has little pods of coffee that look A LOT like something I've had sitting in my bathroom for nearly a year because I think it is so funny.  I started to laugh when I saw the coffee pods and realized they were coffee, and not what I shockingly thought they were initially.  I explained through my laughter what I thought they were, but they didn't understand the word.  Andi translated for me, and then we all laughed while Stephan explained that they don't rent by the hour.  You decide, which is coffee, which is a condom?

8 August 2013 Zurich

First, I left out some important details about Make Diana Cry Day.  When I first got on the train to Hannover a man was sitting in our seat.  I kindly told him I had reserved it, and he said it wasn't reserved, pointing to the monitor as proof.  I said my tickets showed those seats, regardless of what the monitor said. He argued with me until a woman spoke up saying an announcement had been made earlier that the monitors were not working properly.  He said, "Fine!  If you need to sit in your "special" seat," and got up.  It made me angry enough to reply, "I don't need "special" seats, I need to sit beside my daughter." He sat in the seats right beside us, and no sooner did the train start moving that an announcement was made that there were many reserved seats, and please get up if you're sitting in one.  

When I ordered the tickets online the website showed we would have internet, but we didn't have it.  When we arrived in Hannover I had to rush around looking for internet access to email Simone, to let her know I would be late.  Because I was only in Amsterdam for 2 days I only got a few Euros and I was quickly running out.  I could buy disgusting crap food on the train with my credit card, or real food at the station with the ten euros I had left over.  When we were on the train I ordered a cheeseburger for Hannah.  Hannah's face upon seeing her cheeseburger:

Once we got on the train to Basel, as I mentioned, we had to sit on the floor.  We sat beside the doors and each time we arrived at a station I would have to see which side of the train the platform was on and that would determine whether or not we just remained sitting, or if we had to stand and make ourselves as small as possible while people entered and exited the train.  We did that for 5 hours.

So all of that, combined with the late arrival of our train in Hannover, not being able to speak the language, a train station employee who was abruptly UN-helpful, hardly any food, and all the other things that happened, THAT is the reason I cried when I finally found myself safely in the arms of a friend.

Our first day we climbed that mountain/hill, remember?  On our way up we could hear music playing.  I wonder how many of you thought the same thing as me.  Hike faster, the bugles are getting louder!

 In the middle of no-where was a band playing typical Swiss music.

Now... onto more current stuff.  Let's all be happy this isn't a scratch and sniff email.  We went to the Zurich zoo. Zoos smell.  There were all the animals you'd expect in a zoo, and there was a rainforest area.  We felt like we were back in hot, humid, sunny Florida.  After the zoo we visited Simone at work, and then later we took boat back home.  

The town we are staying in is Uetikon Am See.  It is south east of Zurich, right on Lake Zurich.  I have learned that Lake Zurich flows north, so I spend a lot of time confused when people refer to Zurich as the bottom of the lake.  Andi, Simone's husband, doesn't use north, south, east, or west.  He uses top, bottom, right, and left when using directions.  You all know how easily I got lost.  This is not helping.

Tuesday we did very little.  We made the decision to make it a day to rest.  Simone and I took a casual walk up to the store to get some milk and things like that.  She showed me around this beautiful village.  I wish pictures could do it justice.  

Yesterday Andi had a tennis tournament an hour and a half away in Klosters, a small village in the Alps.  Again, there are no pictures to describe what I saw.  The mountains, streams, trees, the snow on the mountain peaks far off in the distance that seem so near, they are all breathtaking.  

The mountain on the right is Austria, and if you look very very carefully, you can see the Von Trapp family climbing down.

While Andi played we visited a museum called Nutli-Huschi, it a is a home that was built in 1656, and still has many of its original furnishings, including a huge loom, and cheese making equipment.  They have a common term here in Switzerland, Typical Swiss, meaning, well that it's typical for the Swiss.  Andi has used it many times, like when we saw a family who set up a small camp fire and roasted sausage on the end of sticks, and lots of food are labeled typical Swiss.  In the museum they had a pot with corn meal in it, and Simone told me this was typical Swiss.  I asked, "How it could be typical Swiss if corn comes from America?

This is the biggest loom I've ever seen

These are animal bones, that served as children's toys.  Next time your kid asks for that new video game give them a gift that will last instead.  This is a gift they'll NEVER forget!

 

Hannah and Melanie at Klosters

Afterward Andi won his tournament we went to a restaurant high up in the mountains, Berghaus Sulzfluh.  We had a typical Swiss meal of macaroni, with cheese, pancetta, and applesauce.  This restaurant had cows all around with cowbells, it sounded like music.

This neat fountain was right outside the restaurant.

5 August 2013, Zurich

Friday, in Amsterdam, we did so little because we were just so darn tired.  I did manage to mail more stuff home.  I learned at the post office that it didn't matter if I sent 2 kilos, 5 kilos, or 10 kilos; it would cost the same.  My stuff came to about 5 1/2 kilos, so I went to the cheese shop next door and bought a big old hunk of cheese to send.  I forgot to claim cheese on the customs form, but I did claim clothes.  When the box arrives in the US some poor customs agent is going to get that box, smell some stinky cheese, and wonder why someone would mail such stinky clothes across the world.  

We were going to Our Lord in the Attic church, which is near a bunch of head shops... er I mean coffee shops, but I didn't go in.  You get to decide if I went to the red light district or not.

After a visit to a park we returned to the house and I fell asleep around midnight.  I set my clock to go off at 7:00 AM, the problem was that was EASTERN STANDARD TIME!!!  I woke up on my own at 7:30 and started running around like a crazy person, "HANNAH get up!! We're going to miss our train!!"  Our host Marta ended up driving us to the ferry station and we made it on time.

Saturday was European Make Diana Cry Day.  It started when the German train crew were an hour late arriving and our train arrived in Hannover German an hour late; a half hour AFTER our next train departed.  They dropped us off and said, "Good bye and thank you,"or rather, "Auf wiedersehn und danke schoen."  I stepped off the train, looked around, found some police, and tried unsuccessfully to hold back my tears.  I had no idea where I was going and how I was going to get there.  They helped me, and sent me in the right direction.  I learned that the next train was full so they could not give us exact seats.  After my fiasco on our way to Harwich I was not willing to leave my luggage, so we sat on the floor for five hours.  Then onto the next train in Basel (rhymes with dazzle, and Hannah likes to call it Basel Dazzle) where we accidentally sat in first class until someone came and made us move.  I dropped my heavy luggage on my toe which made me shout in pain.  I dropped it again on my toe which made me curse out in pain.   An hour later we were in Zurich.  We stepped off the train, I saw my friend Simone, ran to her arms, cried and cried, and wouldn't let her go.  For those of you who know me well, believe me when say that was only one of a few hugs I've ever really needed, and boy did I need it.  

We hiked what I call a mountain, and Simone calls a hill yesterday, went to two old churches, and swam in Lake Zurich yesterday.  More to come, I promise.  Her wonderful daughters are with me in Starbucks, waiting patiently for me to finish this email.  We are staying with Simone for a few days and she doesn't have wi-fi, so my internet usage is limited.  I tried to send photos with this, but it just didn't happen.  We will be moving to a bed and breakfast soon, where there is wi-fi.  I promise to send photos.  

Update:  The package from Amsterdam arrived three weeks later with moldy cheese.  My toe had a huge blob of blood under the nail from dropping the luggage on it.

2 August 2013 Colchester/Harwich/Amsterdam

We bought our ferry tickets in Harwich, and then headed to Colchester for the day.  I was delighted.  As I mentioned the other day, this is the oldest Roman city in the UK, over 2,000 years old.  On the site of where the Roman temple had been, the Normans built a castle 900 years ago.  The castle has been sitting there for 900 years, they decided to close it for renovations while I was there.  But they couldn't cover up that 2,000 year old wall that dots the Colchester landscape.

 The Public are earnestly requested to assist the owner in protecting the Ancient Roman Wall by checking children whom they may see climbing upon or otherwise injuring it and by giving notice to the police of any wilful damage to it or which they may be witness.  By order of the trustees of the estate.  (Translation: Narks wanted.)

  

Just past the wall was the most massive playground I've ever seen in my life. I'm not kidding.  Hannah played on the zip-line for about half an hour.  Check out this nifty contraption.  It's soap, water, AND dryer all in one.  

Check out this nifty contraption.  It's soap, water, AND dryer all in one.  

 

Then it was time to go home.  We had to pack up for the ride the next day.  Oh, this little building is in Harwich.  I'm not exactly sure what it is, but it looks like a church that was converted into a store front.  Each time I passed it I longed to go inside, but I think it's a residence now.  I guess I could've just knocked on the door and asked to see the place, but just in case anyone was in their skivvies, I saved us all from embarrassment.  This is not one building in front of the other, it is the same building.

There was the horrible coffee encounter you all read about yesterday.  I'm still shaking from that horrible and frightening experience.  We got on the boat at 8:30 yesterday morning and immediately went to our cabin.  I looked out the window and bid a farewell to the country I'm really falling in love with.  Next time I going back during the winter (not THIS winter).  I figure I love it so much, but maybe it's because I've only seen it, and its people, at their best, and it's time I see them at their worst.

While waiting to get on the boat there was a young family right behind us; a mom, two little girls and a little boy.  Turns out, their cabin was just down the hall from ours.  The kids played together most of the 6 3/4 hours of the trip, with we mothers taking turns watching them.  We ate lunch together too, and I learned that the mother is Colombian, but raised in The Netherlands, and now lives in China.  

When we entered England they asked where we were staying, when we were leaving the UK, when we were leaving the EU, and what city we were departing from.  That's it.  When we entered Holland, the customs agent wanted to see my return tickets.  RETURN TICKETS???  Who has those anymore?  How does one even get them?  I print my boarding pass while at home, and when I'm returning home I get the boarding passes from the ticketing agent.  I told him I didn't have the tickets in my possession.  He said he needed to see them before he could let me in the country.  Here's where my first goal would be accomplished. 

Ever since Snowden was holed up in the "transport area" of the airport in Moscow, I've been wondering what the heck that even means.  Where's the transport area?  I asked a man as I was boarding the boat if I was in England or Holland, and he clearly knew I was still in England, so I wasn't in the transport area.  When I got off the boat, but hadn't made it through customs yet, THAT must be the transport area.  I considered asking for asylum, but since I haven't really committed any crimes, well other than crimes against good humor, I didn't think I would be granted asylum.  My goal was to find out where the heck the transport area is.

He let me use his computer to access my email so he could see that I actually had a return flight booked.  I asked if he wanted me to leave my email open so he could read it later when he was bored.  

We had to take a train to Rotterdam, where we transferred to a train to Amsterdam, and then a bus to the neighborhood.  Then we walked a short distance to the house.  Guess who got lost?  Go ahead and guess, you know you want to.  I saw a woman and asked if she spoke English, and she indicated that she kinda/sorta did.  She looked at the address and got all excited because she knows exactly where that is, the problem is that she couldn't really tell me how to get there.  She called a man over and told him in Dutch, who told me in English. 

When we got off the bus an Asian family got off as well.  They were looking around for something too.  While approaching the house (but not finding it, of course) we saw them again.  I had a sneaky suspicion...  I found the place eventually, and guess who was there.  The Asian family!  She rents out 2 rooms.  We have the upstairs room, they have the downstairs room.  We got the better room.  Marta, our host, asked if we had eaten yet, and offered to take us someplace.  "Us" being Hannah and me.  She drove us to an area that looked to be behind abandoned warehouses, and I recalled the man who helped us find the boat, whom I was sure was going to hack us up and turn us into fish food.  She pulled up to what looks like an old airplane hanger, but is a restaurant/bar.  They have a large grassy area, and live music.  Hannah ran around chasing Marta's dog, while Marta and I talked and laughed.  

I know I keep saying that our hosts feel like old friends, instead of hosts, but that's because they really do.  We stayed up until 1:00 chatting away about silly things like ugly animals that live in Florida.  This morning we were served a huge breakfast of ham, cheese, fresh yogurt with fruit and granola, fresh bread with an assortment of things to put on it, and best of all REAL coffee!  Woo hoo!

Today I'm taking Hannah to some old places.  She doesn't know it yet, and so help me, if any of you tell her...

Oh yeah, Hannah was shocked to learn we had to pay to use the toilet in Rotterdam, and remember those told towel hand dryers, where you pull the fabric towel out of the machine and the used part gets pulled into it?  I had to show her how to use it.

Instant Coffee

In what turned out to be some sort of sick twist of fate, or the universe playing a cruel trick, the last cup of coffee I had in the beautiful country was INSTANT!!! Who serves instant and calls it coffee? What kind of sicko does that? I think this is just one way the Brits try to stick it to us. They just haven't gotten over the fact that we won the war. For crying out loud, it's been over 200 years! It's time for them to move on! 

On to Amsterdam. Hmmm... I did a miserable job of completing my goals in England. what should I try to complete in the Netherlands? Remember— this is a family friendly show. My only goal right now is to not get lost, and to keep hold of my possessions and kid. I think that's a worthy goal. 

I never even found the Ecuadorean embassy, but I did find the San Salvador one. it was in the most unassuming home. I walked past it a few times in disbelief because it looked like every other home on the block, except for the flag waving outside.

31 July 2013, Harwich

Yesterday we visited the queen, or at least that was our intention.  She was not at home, apparently she was on holiday!  I had made reservations to see her at Buckingham Palace, one would think she would've let me know.  Oh well.  We checked out the place anyway.  Unfortunately, pictures are strictly forbidden, and there were employees EVERYWHERE making sure no one was sitting on the royal throne, or hugging the nymph statues.

One reason I love travelling with Hannah is because she not only understands my sense of humor, but she shares it.  I spent most of our time there trying to figure out where the queen naps, and where she sits while watching tv.  Hannah spent most of her time trying to figure out which tables the queen dances on, during her wild parties.  

We did got to take some pictures of the garden, but you all know what a wooded area with birds looks like, and frankly, it just looked like your average park.

We left there, went to our hotel, got a taxi, which got us to our train with four minutes to spare.  We took the train to Manningtree, where we were to catch another train to Harwich.  No problem.  Ok, one small problem. Ok, one huge, gigantic problem.  When we boarded the first train we put our luggage on and then tried to find a seat.  The first two seats we found beside each other were four cars away from our luggage.  When we arrived in Manningtree I was so frantic that the train would leave before I got my luggage that I sent Hannah off with some small bags, while I literally ran through four cars to get my luggage.  I got off the train with moments to spare.  It wasn't until I got home that I realized I should've gotten to the car our luggage was on as we approached the station, then we could have departed like normal people.  Instead I LITERALLY saw people pull their arms into the seat as they heard my feet pounding on the floor of the train as I ran like a banshee. 

We got onto the next train and this was when I discovered my problem.  In my haste to get the luggage, I forgot my wallet on the train.  It had my money, my ID, my credit cards, and my train tickets.  Problem.  I contacted the conductor who was empathetic, and called the station, and unsuccessfully tried to call the other train.  He told me to stay on the train and return to Manningtree.  Once there it was learned that my wallet had been handed over to the good people at the Norwich train station and placed in lost property.  It was then placed on the next train back to Manningtree, where it was returned to me, unharmed. Two hours later we were on our way to Harwich.

The B&B is clean, and in a beautiful home.  The owners, Debbie and Tony, have a lovely garden out back, and two cats that Hannah loves.  She served us a gigantic full English breakfast, which we could not finish.

Today we are on our way to Colchester to see some ancient sites.

Oh, when we first arrived I bought loads of postcards, and 20 postcard stamps.  With all the moving around I forgot all about them.  I have one day to use them.  The first 20 people to send me their physical address will get a cool postcard from the Hunterian Museum or some other neat place in England.

28 July, London Rain

What interesting days we've had since returning from York.  The first two days, we were so utterly exhausted, we did little more than eat and sleep, but the second night was action packed!

But first, around the corner from the boat is one of the touristy restaurants where people dress in period costume and do period appropriate things, such as joust.  They have this neat knight outside, and we were just mesmerized by the feet.  How on earth could anyone walk in this?

Because of some reservation confusions before even leaving for our vacation, we were on a different boat after we returned from York.  The boat is larger, and in many ways, much nicer than the first boat.  It has 2 bedrooms, and one is lower than the rest of the boat keeping it nice and cool even during the hottest part of the day.  The kitchen is larger and has a refrigerator that's much larger.  The first one only had enough room for one day's worth of food.  It's just nicer all around, sort of...

The weatherman promised rain, and boy, did he deliver.  The rain started about 9:00 PM, first on the outside of the boat, then on the inside.  Why limit a good thing to the outside?  First into the bedroom where it was pouring in so fast I had to place a large bowl under it, then the "living room" (if a boat has such a thing), then the kitchen, bathroom, dining area... you get the picture.  Did I mention the windows were closed?  Before I went to bed I covered everything in plastic bags.  In the morning I sent an email to the woman I was renting from, informing her.  I got an email back that led me to believe (incorrectly) that someone would be by to do something.

We went out in the morning to look and see and do, but after museum overload in York, I had to be extra careful how I presented things to Hannah.  We bought our train tickets to our next place, Harwich.  The ferry station, where will catch the ferry to Amsterdam, is in Harwich, and rather than arrive at the train station in London at 6:30 in the morning, I've made an executive decision to stay overnight in Harwich so we have plenty of time to get to the ferry station.  I love the King's Cross train station in London.

Hannah was extra hungry and wanted pizza.  She wanted me to ask everyone we saw where a pizza place might be.  Instead we found a dreaded McDonalds.  That's what Hannah wanted.  Please don't tell anyone we ate at McDonalds.  I'm only sharing this with you because you are a dear friend.  While eating, the sky was turning grey and we were worried it might start raining and all our things might get wet, so we hurried back to the boat.

That night brought... you guessed it.  More Rain!  In the morning I sent this email:

I hope you slept well last night.  I thought of you both, as I was up at midnight covering my things in plastic garbage bags again.  As I was laying in bed, trying to fall back to sleep I was thinking about practitioners of feng shui, who suggest we have some sort of running water in our home, to allow our ch'i to flow better (or something like that), but I just don't think they would consider water running in from the ceiling, drip-drip-dripping into a plastic bowl.  I also thought about those new-fangled things they have for babies' nurseries that mimic the noise of the uterus, mother's heart beat included.  I wondered if the soft, gentle thud-thud-thud of the water falling onto the mattress just mere inches from my head, would work to sooth a tired baby.

When I received your email yesterday I erroneously thought you meant Mike would be by yesterday to assess the situation, I just couldn't imagine why you would be telling me what he would be doing after our departure.  After all, why would I be concerned with what is happening AFTER I'm gone, but after more thought, I realized I was mistaken.  I have to tell you both though, that I am surprised, perplexed, confused, taken aback, flabbergasted, or as the Brits might say, gobsmacked, that he did not show up yesterday. 

We promised to be out of the boat later.  Off we went to find a hotel, but in "Diana" style, of course.  This means we were taking the tube to Baker Street, where we were to walk to Gloucester Place, but instead I took the tube to Gloucester Rd and got all confused when the hotel wasn't where it should've been.  It only took me TWENTY minutes, in the rain, to realize my error.  Back on the tube, to Baker Street, where we walked, the wrong way OF COURSE, before realizing it, and finally found the hotel.  There were no vacancies!  London is full of hotels, but when I walked into one and they told me 220 pounds a night, I literally burst out laughing.  I almost asked if I get nightly massages and breakfast in bed by a beautiful man for that price, but I didn't.  Mostly out of fear she may have said, "Yes."  This little road the hotel is on is full of little hotels, so we popped into another one and they had a room.  The price is reasonable, and the room is roomy and very very clean.  We returned to the boat to pack our things, and got a taxi to the hotel.  I said to the driver, "Gloucester Place, NOT Road, like I went to earlier."  He laughed at me all the way to the hotel.

One of the cool things about London is that they have signs on homes where famous and infamous people once lived.  These signs were very near to where we were staying:

 H.G Wells, Author 1886-1946 lived and worked here 1930-1936

and Arnold Bennet Author 1867-1931 lived, worked, and died here 1930-1931

 But this next one is the interesting one.  This one is BLACK, for a reason, I'm sure.

Major General Benedict Arnold, American Patriot, resided here from 1796 until his death June 14, 1801.  Home of perhaps American's most infamous traitor.  "American Patriot"?  Huh.

Last night we went to Regent's Park, but on our way saw this sign at a pub right beside the Sherlock Holmes museum, which had a line a block long.  I like this sign, and if I ever get a restaurant, I think I'll have one similar to it.  

Number of days free of velociraptor attacks: 72

The park was wonderful and had paddle boats, which we did not take, and a great kids' playground.  If our experience at the playground is an indication of what the world will see with the next generation, there is real hope for our civilization.  Hannah was on a playset, that had a wooden platform.  A bunch of little girls were jumping off of it, but Hannah was afraid to.  She wanted to, but was having trouble getting over her fears.  The little girls surrounded her, encouraged her, gave her all sorts of tips on how to overcome her fears.  She asked if I would hold her hand while she jumped and three yelled, "I will," and scrambled to get to her first.  There was a lovely little blond girl, a dark skinned muslim girl, a  pale girl whose hair was nearly white, and my brown-haired American girl, all working together to accomplish a goal.  Our world leaders could learn something from the playgrounds of the world.

On our way back to the hotel we saw this outside the Opulence Hotel.  I told Hannah that if I ever own a hotel I'm going to name it the Fancy-Schmancy Hotel.  "Anyone can have a fancy hotel, but only I will have a Fancy-Schmancy one."

Today we are off to see the queen.  Then we will take a train to Harwich where will stay at a family run Bed and Breakfast, that is NOT called the Fancy-Schmancy Hotel.