The Kookaburra's Kackle

Saturday, October 22, 2016

London and beyond

Tuesday, Oct 4th: The morning was full of beautiful art. When I was in London the first time I had not taken any art history classes and wasn't sure what to look for. This time I was laser focused on certain works that I had been itching to see at the National Gallery (Da Vinci's Virgin of the Rocks and the Burlington House Cartoon as well as Bronzino's London Allegory), the Courtauld Gallery (Manet's A Bar at the Folies-Bergère and Van Gogh's Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear), and a few iconic images at the National Portrait Gallery, though I must admit I was mostly interested in these because I watched Elizabeth on Netflix just before the trip ;o)

Progressive green crosswalk symbols right by Trafalgar Square.

After the museum extravaganza we toured Westminster Abbey (a bit overwhelming and extremely crowded), passed Downing Street, and since we missed the overly popular Changing of the Guards, we made a point to see the Dismounting of the Horse Guards.

Mom fits right in with the Horse Guards

The rest of the afternoon was spent at the Churchill War Rooms, which was really intriguing, but we were so wiped out after such a long day I don't think either of us were able to do it justice. It was time for a River Cruise!

Seth, does this look familiar?

Thames Cruise at sunset, the prettiest time of day!

Mom was getting swept away by the wind!

Some of the best Laksa outside of Penang is just across from our hostel

Wednesday, Oct 5th: It was finally time to slow down a step and take an excursion just outside of London, to Windsor Castle.

We didn't plan it but we ended up seeing the Changing of the Guard here. Too many people with stupid Selfie Sticks...

Off to see Queen Mary's Doll House. The craziest doll house ever. It even has tiny vacuum cleaners that work!

St George Chapel was really exciting. It is ground zero for the Order of the Garter, of which there are always 24 knights. Since it was established in 1348, Prince William was made the 1000th knight.

It is fascinating that people actually live inside the castle walls.

We zipped back to London in the late afternoon. Our final stop was the British Library, which is only two blocks from the hostel.

King George IV's collection. I appreciate that people actually use this library for studying!

And by the way, London has really great grocery stores. They even have massive boxes of tea for only $3!

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

London

There haven't been many blog posts over the summer, mostly because I prefer to save my time to travel and do interesting things for the Fall (aka the Best Time of Year). Recently Mom and I hopped across the Atlantic for our first ever trip together as just the two of us!

We had both been to London before; I was there for a week during Spring Break about 11 years ago with Seth. It was time to revisit some sights but also get introduced to new attractions, this time with the use of a London Pass. It made for a blurry, whirly week, and here are just a few of the highlights.

Sunday, Oct 2nd: After taking the red-eye flight and eventually finding our way to our hostel in King's Cross, we spent the rest of the afternoon taking a long walk through the city. Our first stop was the the British Museum (I finally got to see the Rosetta Stone!) then we headed down to Leicester Sq and meandered around the West End and Soho. It was a brisk welcome to a wonderful city!

Spotted near the West End. The funny thing is that I don't think this was a costume!

Chinatowns around the world are all pretty much the same, and they are all colorful.

Stunning Piccadilly Circus

Monday, Oct 3rd: I think this day set a new record for my pedometer! We essentially walked along the river, in both directions. St Paul's was our first stop (it was viewed only from the exterior, unfortunately), followed by a good walk east to the Tower of London. We could have easily spent the entire day here but we pushed onward to the other side of the river and as the day progressed headed back westward along the South Bank.

Jogging along the canal was the only opportunity to escape the crowds.

Cozy canal boat with books.

Our Beef Eater friend at the Tower of London.

One of the famous ravens came to say hello (sounded like "nevermore").

We crossed the river via the Tower Bridge Experience. This pretty much sums it up.

The Old Operating Theater's collection of old medical supplies. I am surprised anyone even made it through the Plague!

The Globe was setting up for the next performance.

Sunset view at the top of the OXO Tower.

The Thames by night, lit up by the London Eye and Parliament.

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Weekend at the Cape

This weekend I joined Bo, Leah, and their friend, Brian, for a little getaway at the Cape (Leah's folks have a house in West Yarmouth). Despite the nasty heat, it was a refreshing change in pace. Some highlights include cheering Bo and Leah through their Insane Inflatable 5K, meeting their friends from work and taking a riding in their boat, and having a cookout with some more new friends. Oh, and no trip to the coast would be complete without a seafood lunch and mini golf!

Leah and Bo, before the Insane Inflatable 5K

Bo flew up this thing like a pro!

...and the "after" picture (I was glad to not have to be put through all that unnecessary excursion!)

What!? Chicken of the woods! One of the only batches I have seen so far this year, but too old for eating...

Jogging around Long Pond

What a weekend!

Sunday, June 26, 2016

Ngo Family Reunion!

Mom finally organized our 1st Ngo Family Reunion in Denver, CO. There have been other, less formal family gatherings, of course, but the t-shirts made this one official!

One thing I had to do while in Colorado was meet up with Danielle and Kyle! Nice tan, D ;o)

This was a really great brewery we tried out--I love the attention to detail, such as the hard candies in glass dishes on every table! However, my Grandma's House never had N-64...