Back in the U.S. of A.

We’re back! After almost six months in the mother land, we returned to U.S. soil on June 20th. Some of us (guess which ones) wanted to stay in London a lot longer, but our visas were set to expire and a couple of us wanted to get back to the (natural) beauty, not to mention the dry heat, of Utah.

Here we are in the resettlement station of the Cincinnati airport after our eight hour flight from London. As far as we know, the airport agents left our laptops alone. Not that there was anything new on them, except for the more than 3,000 photos we took while we were away.

Trooping the Colour & A “Friendly” Football Match

Our last big London event before returning to the states was the annual Trooping the Colour, which is held once a year to celebrate the Queen’s birthday. Actually, her birthday is on April 21st, although her husband’s is June 10th, so we won’t quibble. Traveling between Buckingham Palace and the Horse Guards Building at Whitehall, it is full of various battalions of soldiers on horses, synchronized marches, and patriotic music. Brian captured these images along the parade route.

There’s the Queen and Prince Philip!

This is Brandon. We think he trooped a bit too long.

Here’s a picture we forgot to post. Christopher and a few of the students went to Wembley Stadium to see a “friendly” football (soccer) match between England and the U.S. They had to sit in the England section and were told not to cheer for the Americans. That was easy to follow since it was a convincing 2-0 victory for the home team.

Paris in the Springtime

Brian and John went to Paris for a quick, one-day trip. It was an early start to catch the first Eurostar train from London to Paris. We then caught the last train in the evening to return. John spent much of the day on a boat that circled from the Eiffel Tower to the eastern side of Notre Dame. Brian was off with students enjoying several tourist sites. We saw some places we had seen during our last trip (Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower) as well as some new places (the Catacombs of Paris, the Luxembourg Gardens). The city was in all its spring glory. The French Open was also in full swing, although we didn’t bother going to Roland Garros Stadium (there’s simply never enough time!).

Here’s a shot of Notre Dame from the opposite side of the Seine (the famous Left Bank near the Latin Quarter).

John arrived at the Eiffel Tower just as the sun was breaking through the morning clouds.

Brian and a student went to the spooky Catacombs of Paris with its thousands of skulls and other skeletal parts.

The Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Gardens) includes many varieties of flowers, a palace built in the 17th century for Maria de Medicis, several fountains, and numerous statues.

This odd head sculpture faced the center of the gardens.

Warwick Castle & Samuel Johnson’s House

We had two interesting adventures in the last few days. Last Friday, Lynn took Brandon and Curtis to Warwick Castle, which is located northwest of London about eight miles from Stratford. The original building was built in about 914 on the order of Alfred the Great’s daughter. Later, William the Conqueror had a fort built on the location and named Henry de Beaufort as the first Earl of Warwick.

Lynn and the boys had a wonderful time seeing the heraldry and jousting exhibitions. They saw eagles, falcons, vultures, and peacocks.

Brandon and Curtis dressed up in period costumes. Brandon seems to have his friend James a bit frightened.

Brian and John spent a recent afternoon touring Samuel Johnson’s house in central London. Samuel Johnson created his famous English dictionary while residing in this house during the 18th century. Here are Brian and some of the students dressed up in period outfits.

An interesting piece of artwork we saw in the house was a portrait of Samuel Johnson and his biographer, James Boswell, visiting with our Macdonald ancestor, Flora Macdonald. Flora is famous for hiding Bonnie Prince Charlie when he was fleeing the English troops after his failed coup attempt in the mid-18th century. Johnson described Flora as having “soft features, elegant manners, and a gentle presence.” He also said she would “be mentioned in history, and if courage and fidelity be virtues, mentioned with honour.” Here’s a picture that Brian took of the portrait.