Happy New Years......Three Weeks Late

Hey everyone!

Well I first want to say thank you to everyone who reads this because I just recently hit over one thousand views on the blog. When I started this I never thought that I would hit this many readers so I just want to say thank you all and I hope the new years will bring more stories that you want to read about.

Now that's out of the way I need to address something else I haven't posted anything for a bit. Well more like three weeks and it's because of a massive travel spell, so now it's time to update you all. I hope to not leave so much of a gap from when I post. So thanks for not getting on my case for an update, so for now on I'll try and make then a regular thing.

So the last time I wrote to you all was christmas day, so I'll pick up from there and see what I can fill you all in on. I guess this post will start on Boxing day and again we ventured out into the city, Mama Liz, Ed, and myself. We took the tubes from Greenwich to all the way to Westminster once again, but this time we ended up getting off at a different stop. And after a short walk we ended up in front of one of the most noticed buildings in the UK as well as the World, Buckingham Palace.

It's amazing to see something that has so much history as that Palace has in the scheme of things. That building is older than my country! (I've found myself saying that time and time again since I've been over here.) But once we say that Mama Liz was on a mission to see Harrods, so we made the walk from Buckingham Palace to the famous Harrods, seeing embassy upon embassy on the way there and not to mention a Ferrari dealership. But we made your way there, but when we got there no one cared to tell us that Boxing day in the UK is like Black Friday back in the US. Needless to say it was a madhouse, but we managed to fight the crowd to get the the Tea Room that Mama Liz wanted to eat at. We had some great tea's and then we headed back to Greenwich to call it a day.

The next day we ended up seeing Trafalgar Square, and we began to go through the museums. First it was the National Gallery where we saw some Van Goghs in person, and sat in front of the same painting that Bond did in Skyfall. (For those Bond fans you know what one I'm talking about.) After that we made our way to the British Museum to see some really amazing artifacts, but before we did that we found a restaurant that I haven't seen since I left and we stopped right when I saw the words "Chipotle", on the door. Once we were filled with mexican food we made our way to the British museum and then made our way back to Greenwich, but not after having a pint or two along the way.

  The next day all three of us were up early and we made our way over to see the London Tower, and for those of you who don't know that's where the Crown Jewels are, but with the line so long we didn't get a chance to see them. But we did manage to take a boat cruise of the Thames, but not after seeing Tower Bridge and all of its glory. But after our cruise we wandered around Westminster till we got tired and then we headed back to Greenwich.

Again the next day we all got up early to get our day off on the right foot. As Mama Liz and Ed got breakfast, I went to a local barber in Greenwich and got my haircut, which was probably the best cut I've gotten so far since I've been here. But then once again after breakfast we went back into the city. This time we ended up going to see Churchill's War rooms, which was a very interesting experience to learn the history of the UK from that time period. We also saw 10 Downing street, but didn't get a chance to see the Prime Minister though. But after all the fun and games in Westminster we got back on the tubes and headed to West London to see Fulham FC take on Rotherham United in a league fixture. It was Mama Liz and Ed's first proper football match and it didn't disappoint at all. it was a five goal thriller seeing Fulham come out on top. At the end of the match we saw how close the stadium was to the Thames and it was beautiful. We hurried back because the next day I had to get up super early to pick Haley up from the airport.

So I got up at the crack of dawn and made my tube journey to Heathrow to get Haley, and once I got her we headed back to drop off her stuff to head back into the city to explore. We went back to see all the places that I had seen earlier in the week, but I didn't care because Haley loved every minute of it. But we headed back to Greenwich and called it a night. The next day was New Year's Eve Day, so we went back into london (see the theme here), and we ended up in King's Cross Station and got a little wizardly as we saw platform 9 3/4, and from there we went to Piccadilly Circus so Haley could get her Hunter boots. But we walked around the Piccadilly area for a bit, then headed back to Greenwich where we had dinner and went out to celebrate the New Year. We went to the bar called the Gypsy Moth and right before 12 we went to the Thames and saw the London sky light up with fireworks.

The next morning Mama Liz and Ed flew back to Florida and me and Haley made our way down to Plymouth. Needless to say my time in London was great, but there was still more trips to come which I will get to those in my next post. But that was the holidays here in the UK. It was a lot of fun and I hope you all had great holidays as well. I will keep you all posted on the rest of my adventures as the following weeks progress. But as always have a great day, and keep smiling!

-Tucker 

 
 

Happy Christmas

Hello Everyone,

So since I last talk to you all I have since moved from the Waggett's home in Bristol to a Hotel in London with my Grandparents. I made the 3 and 1/2 hour journey from Bristol to London on Tuesday to meet my Grandparents in their hotel in Greenwich. I had to get off my train straight onto the tubes and that to be honest was quiet easy with an oyster card to be honest. It was a good move to get an oyster card before coming into the city. But I made it to Greenwich in no time in the under ground and then I met my grandparents in their hotel. We ended up getting dinner that night, where I stood true to my word were the first round was on me, and well I got dinner as well, which they yelled at me for but I was glad to buy it.

So after a first quiet night in London, we got a nice fry-up in the morning and then we headed into the city. Once Mama Liz and Ed figured out how to get an oyster card it took no time to get onto tubes and into the city. Once we got onto the tubes the decision was made that we were to get off at Westminster, and see Big Ben. For me and Ed since it was the first time we were in the city we finally got to see Big Ben for the first time. But I didn't realize that Big Ben was right outside of Westminster station. So you know that scene in movies where the actor was blind when they got off the plane or train then got to see where they were, that is what I experienced when I out of the tube at Westminster, and it wasn't until I could finally see after sun blindness, Big Ben and it was a moment I could never forget.

But the three of us made our way around Parliament Square seeing Churchill and the rest of his gang of statutes that were in Parliament Square. We made our way over to Westminster Abbey, and Saint Ann's Church, both even more beautiful than I could have even imagine. The Abbey itself was simply a piece of beauty and is something I'm so glad I got to see in person.

As you can seem to tell I got a chance to be a bit of a tourist after living here in England for about 4 months almost, and it was nice to be that with my Grandparents. But we finished off our day was a way across the bridge to see the Parliament Building across the River Thames, and of course the London Eye which I hope I get to go on later this week. But we ended up walking along the Thames and through a Christmas market to make our way over to Waterloo station to get the tubes back to Greenwich.

   

The next day after a slow start we ended up braving the rain and seeing what Greenwich had to offer. All three of us journeyed out to see what we could, but one of the first things we had to do was eat, and so as pictured above is the Greenwich Tavern where we all had lunch Christmas eve day. Myself and Mama Liz had the Classic meat pie, and Ed had Fish'n'Chips which is an instant classic here in Britain. From there we walked up step hill seeing nothing but the London skyline, and the old naval college, and of course Greenwich University. All thought the Greenwich observatory was closed we went on a hunt to find the Prime Meridian, which we found and got a chance to stand at zero degrees longitude. After standing on a line I only know because of Mr. Nekton's Geography classes, we managed to walk into the downtown part of the city. After seeing the Cutty Sark, I wandered off into the University. I know great minds were molded here, far more sophisticated than mine, but I know if I pushed myself I could sure past the those minds as I stood on the middle of the University.

 
We finished that day after our tour of Greenwich we head back to the hotel, and we got ready for the holiday today. We managed to get to fine a fine wine shop before they closed Christmas eve day, and I got a 2011 French Malbec from Chateau Croze De Pys and to be honest it was so good my uncle Daryl would be proud. But we had our Christmas dinner accompanied by our Christmas crackers, (Flatmates: Thanks for showing me these I made sure to pass on the tradition!) and it was great.

But being away from home though it is tough it makes me a better person seeing how another culture celebrates a holiday, and England surely did that. But I want to thank again everyone who helped me get here, and pushed me to get here otherwise I wouldn't have gotten here. So from the Moss's here in London, Tucker, Liz, and Ed, we all wish you a Happy Christmas, and a great Holiday season!

    Merry Christmas!

-Tucker