November 25, 2014

London and Wales ~ Part One

As was mentioned in my last post, going to Britain
was not on our radar in a serious way until it was booked
and we were making preparations for our departure only one week later.
We hit the ground running and didn't stop until it was
all over and we were back in our own beds.  Yes, crazy!


We just about forgot to take a *farewell* shot and then,
just as my brother and mom were about to drive away,
we flagged them down, and gathered for the photo above.  
Anticipation ran high.

Our flight was AC 854 to London ~ see it listed below?


We had a little time on our hands once we were through security.


Calvin took the opportunity to have some fun with his camera.


After a nine hour flight through the night, we arrived.
Calvin snapped this shot as we were descending into London.
If you look closely you can see a square of red around the Tower of London
directly below the wing beside the Thames ~ those were the poppies!


Before we left the airplane, we visited with the captain of the flight.
Howie got to take a turn in the right seat.  :)


After leaving the airport, we got a rental car and proceeded to drive to
our friend's mom's home an hour away.  

Side note ~ driving on the wrong side of the road on the wrong side
of the car with left handed shift was interesting, to say the least.
I kept having to look away ~ Howie was doing the driving.
He did very well and overall, we only had a few *colourful* moments.
We logged over 1150 miles on our rental vehicle ~
all things considered, I would say it was a great success.



We got ourselves settled and the next afternoon,
we ventured into the city.  Emma noticed the *little* things ~ 
like the lettering (above) on the pavement.  Oh, so British!
We took a train and then the underground and arrived one hour later.




First stop ~ Tower of London and the Tower Bridge.
It was afternoon, so we opted to save the Tower of London for
another day when we would have more time to explore ~ wise plan.




We took a Thames River boat ride from the Tower
to Westminster and saw sights like these ~
The London Eye on the left, and the Parliament Buildings on the top right.
See the Big Ben clock tower?  We did ~ up close and personal for well over an hour.  
Our Calvin is a photographer ~ we happily indulged him.
Big Ben at dusk was a *must do* for our young man.



While Calvin was shooting Big Ben, Emma shot people (pun intended).
(After she captured Big Ben on its own first ~ of course.)




See?  People are in this shot ~ any guesses who they are?




We had time for silliness, too.




Actually, we had LOTS of time for lots of things.
Calvin was busy, busy, busy.  He got some amazing shots
which he agreed to allow me to post...see below.



The next five shots are Calvin's ~ yippee for the tripod!


Big Ben on its own ~ he used HDR imaging for this shot...


...and this one.
Both were taken on the same night with varying exposure
times and techniques.  The differences are interesting, don't you think?


The London Eye ~ opposite side of the bridge
and opposite side of the river...kitty-corner from Big Ben.


Another of Calvin's shots ~ an iconic London image.
Looking toward Big Ben...


...and away from it.


After Big Ben, we walked in a big circle around the downtown area.
Along the way, we enjoyed some of the sights of London at night.


Buckingham Palace was gated and guarded (of course) ~
but, that didn't stop us from peering in and wondering.
(There was someone sitting in a front window on the lower level ~
who was it?  Couldn't say...but, we were intrigued by it all.)




Calvin set up his tripod and we got a family photo ~
this is Emma's photo of the set up.




Here is Calvin's photo of us all ~ in front of Buckingham Palace at night.



We ended the night in Trafalgar Square ~

See Calvin with his tripod and me watching him?



We arrived back at our lodgings late and went to bed.

It messed with my brain a little when I thought of what time
it was back home ~ around 4pm BC time.
We were all restless at about 2am in our new locale ~ 
a little mixed up.  Nothing new, really.
It took a few days, but, we got sorted out ~ mostly.

More to come...ready or not.

Many Blessings, Camille

*Posts in this series ~ IntroductionPart OnePart TwoPart Three
Part FourPart FivePart SixPart SevenFinal Installment

**All photos in this post courtesy of our two photographers ~

Emma and Calvin.  Thank you, my loves.  xoxo

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Those were amazing and beautiful! I ALMOST felt like I was there!

Debbie Harris said...

Oh Camille, this was so much fun looking into your trip! Thank you for sharing with us.
Your two photographers are wonderful!!
I look forward to more. :-)
Bless you sweet friend.

Charis said...

looks like a delightful trip! I would love to visit England someday. What a gift of memories for you all!

Ann at eightacresofeden said...

So my little birdie was right about Calvin's photos! I love the one of the London Eye - something which was built after I left London so have yet to see for real. The phone box is such a familiar image. We never had a home phone growing up .. always had to go around the corner to use the telephone box. 9 times out of 10 though the phone had been vandalized which was always frustrating or there would be a long queue waiting to use it so you could not make any long calls! What do you mean you had to drive on the wrong side of the road! I always thought the left hand side of the road was the right one to drive on! I actually learned to drive in London and passed my test there. Not sure my children believe me as I hate big city driving now and don't do any driving if we go to Sydney or Melbourne - except on the freeway on the way there. Can't wait to see the photos from Wales. Talk about diversity of landscapes for Calvin to photograph!

Anonymous said...

Wow! Great pictures by Calvin and Emma. I especially loved the two of Big Ben with the different effects. Very cool!

Grandmabeckyl.blogspot said...

How fun for all of you! Now I know where you were awhile back. Sneaky! London is a nice place to visit. It was great to see Big Ben, Parliament, Tower Bridge in real time, not just from books. The Eye, a new addition. Calvin is a pretty good photographer. Tell him to keep on snapping photos ad creating. Tripods a must. Thanks for sharing.

Katy said...

Wow!!! What an amazing experience!!! I am so glad you and your family got to do this! What wonderful pictures that Calvin and Emma took! I am so glad you shared them with us, as I will probably never venture there myself! :)

Esther said...

I had so much fun looking at your amazing pics!! Great job Calvin and Emma! So happy for you that you got to go!! :-)

Stephanie said...

My dear Camille, what a blessing for you and your family! I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the photos and the smiles on your faces :)

Love and hugs to you!

Jennifer Jo said...

INCREDIBLE photos!!! I am super impressed.

Patty said...

What fun! The pictures are wonderful. What a wonderful trip for your family. Thanks for sharing with us.

Hopes Handcrafts said...

oh what a wonderful blessing Camille and (Im' sure) time of refreshing for you all. I love love LOVE Calvin's photos! He sure has an eye for it..may the Lord continue to bless him and use him in his journey of capturing precious and beautiful moments!

May the Lord bless each and every one of you. Lots of love, Julia xo

Camille said...

Dear Nikki ~ You make me smile...thank you! :)

Dear Debbie ~ It's sweet of you to enter into our trip with us...thank you for your kind words. :)

Dear Charis ~ The Lord has been so very kind to us. Thank you for stopping by and for your sweet words. :)

Dear Ann ~ Haha! We drive on the right side of the road at home...so, I think it is correct to say that the left side is the *wrong* side. I enjoyed learning just a little bit more about your life before Australia and NZ my friend. Hmmm...no phone in the home?! Wow. :)

Dear Anonymous ~ Thank you for your kind words to my budding photographers. :)

Dear Becky ~ Yes, that's where we were for part of the time. But, I sometimes take breaks from blogging when I am home as well. Thank you for your encouragement to our Calvin. :)

Dear Katy ~ You are a sweet blessing to my heart, you know that? Thank you for entering into our joy with us. :)

Dear Esther ~ Aww...thank you so much my friend. I am excited for you and all the happenings in your family these days as well. How good the Lord is! :)

Dear Stephanie ~ Thank you for rejoicing with us...you make me smile. :)

Dear Jennifer Jo ~ I told Calvin you were impressed and he smiled. Thank you for your sweet encouragement. :)

Dear Patty ~ Thank you for stopping by and for your kind words. :)

Dear Julia ~ Aww...you are sweet to encourage our Calvin in his photography...thank you! Hugs to you my friend. :)

With love,
Camille

Maryann said...

Some amazing photos Camille, your photographers did an incredible job. I love the idea that you guys did this last moment, it makes it feel like an adventure. What wonderful memories you have made.
Love and hugs to you

Camille said...

Dear Maryann ~ It was quite the adventure for us!! I didn't expect that we would do it quite so short notice...but, you are right...that was a fun aspect of it all. Thank you for your kind encouragement to our budding photographers...you are sweet. :)

With Love, Camille

Unknown said...

So great to see you all looking so happy on your adventure!!! Love Calvin's photos--their absolutely stunning!!

Camille said...

Dear Lisa ~ Thank you for your sweet encouragement to our budding photographer. You bless my heart. Love to you! Camille