Johannesburg, Fri. Feb 5, 2010

Gabriel took this photo of the sunrise as we were flying to South Africa

We had an uneventful flight other than Sarah getting sick.  She had some kind of a stomach bug for just under 24 hrs, but she is an otherwise healthy kid and she bounced right back.  Probably was something she ate...

We left the Ross family in London on Wed night for our flight to Jo-burg.  They arrived this morning safe and sound and spent the day touring Pretoria with the father of one of Debbie's patients.  We hooked up with them tonight and will spend tomorrow with them at the Bar Mitzvah.

Rory and Jordan with the Torah scrolls opened to their Bar Mitzvah readings.  A gift made by Jonathan.

It was so lovely to see Jonathan's sister, Kerry, her husband Harry, and her two boys, Jordan and Rory!  It has been almost 2 yrs since we last saw them at Gabriel's Bar Mitzvah.  We have also had the wonderful opportunity to spend time with Jonathan's niece, Lianne, and her father Yitzak (Jonathan's uncle by marriage) who flew in from Israel for the big event.  It has been great catching up with them.  The kids spent the day playing, swimming and jumping on the trampoline.

Lianne, Jonathan and Yitzhak catching up.

Lianne and Sarah enjoying a cuddle.

In the afternoon, there was a violent thunderstorm that moved through.  The lightening was so close and the thunder so loud, you could literally feel it.  My kids were shocked and amazed!

It has been interesting driving on the left side of the road.  Jonathan offered to do all the driving, since this is where he learned how to drive... needless to say, some things can be unlearned!  Fortunately, it seems to be coming back to him.  Still, we spend a lot of time telling him to move over, or "wrong side"...

Services at the Chabbad Shul were interesting, to say the least.  I could barely tolerate the whole sitting apart thing... ach, I could go on and on, but will leave my ranting for another time.  We shared a lovely Sabbath meal after services and the big day is tomorrow.

London and flight to South Africa, Wed. Feb 3, 2010

Sarah writes:
Right now I'm on the plane to South Africa! :)
I'm SOOO happy because I HATE the cold weather!  Today we went to The London Dungeon.  It was pretty much like a haunted house.  First we took a picture of Gabriel, Alex and I getting our heads chopped off by my mom and Alex's mom, then my dad and Alex's dad were strangling the moms.  After the picture we went through the labyrinth maze with so many mirrors.  I think we just went in a big circle until someone let us out.  Then we learned about Sweeny Todd and got a hair cut from him... really scary man!  Then we learned about Jack the Ripper and his victims.  Then we went to the court room where Alex was found guilty for pinching lady's bottoms and Craig was found guilty for loving a horse! :)  Then we were sentenced to be hung.  The hanging was one of those drop rides and then we were done and left for the airport.

At the London Dungeon gift shop on their spooky chair!

We returned to our hotel via the Tube and everyone was excited about that.  We ate pasties on the ride and were a bit sad our London visit was over.
Now we are flying to South Africa (in coach class the rest of the way, boo hoo), but the plane was so empty we each have our own row of seats to stretch out over and sleep.

London, Tues. Feb 2, 2010

Sarah writes:
Today we went to the Westminster Abbey where we did a scavenger hunt.  We also went to "We Will Rock You" and saw it with my god-sister, Lisa.  The street that the theater was on was Totenham Court, just like Demeter sings in Cats.  Today the weather was light rain and cold!  Can't wait until tomorrow when we leave for Africa and warmer weather! :)

Everyone got to ride the Tube.  The kids were shocked at how long and steep the escalators were.

I couldn't get over seeing all the places I read about in my favorite books!  Drive down Fleet Street, Haymarket, Mayfair, seeing where Tyburn Tree was, etc... Loved it!

Went to visit the Tower of London, this lovely shot is from the tour bus.

Even though it was freezing, the kids insisted on sitting on the top of the bus, outside, in the cold!  The views were worth it, I might add.

We visited the Tower of London, saw the Crown Jewels (no funny ideas here!) and got a great history lesson.  Did you know London is more than 2,000 yrs old?  Originally founded by the Romans.

Outside Westminster Abbey.  No photos allowed inside.  Spent hours looking at beautiful, ornate and awe-inspiring tombstones.  Can't believe how many kings, queens and famous people that I am familiar with are buried here.  I guess I didn't understand that it was a church and a burial site.  They had a great audio tour to point out highlights and they gave the kids a "treasure hunt" type paper to complete with questions like "What is so-and-so's first name?" or "How many statues are in this area?"  Some of the questions were way tougher than you would think.  Kept the kids interested and excited to find the next answer.

This is a very big deal for Gabriel.  This is an English mailbox.  This is important to Gabriel because his favorite person, Mr. Bean, gets stuck in one while trying to retrieve a letter.  If you are not familiar with the character Mr. Bean, look him up.  The actor's name is Rowan Atkinson.  Gabriel loves all the old episodes of his from a British TV show.  Mr. Bean also drives an old Mini with right-hand drive, which Gabriel also saw while in London.  Too bad he didn't see Mr. Bean...

We finished our day off by having dinner with Lisa Hack who is studying Law in London and missing the Winter Olympics in her home city of Vancouver, BC.  She is the daughter of Jonathan's very good and long-time friend, Larry.  After dinner, we all went to see "We Will Rock You", a musical that incorporates the music of Queen.  The music was fantastic and fun to see the whole audience getting into it.  Story was really weak and boring, but if you know that ahead of time, like we did, you wont end up disappointed.  Kids loved it!!

London, Monday Feb. 1, 2010

Sarah writes:
Today we went to Westminster Abbey, but we couldn't go in because it was closed.   We crossed the street to go to the the bridge over the Thames river ("the terror of the Thames" from Growltiger) and I got lost.  :(
I couldn't find my parents, so I just went to the police then my mom found me and we went on.  We saw Big Ben also!  My parents are seeing Billy Elliot tonight and tomorrow night we are seeing "We will rock you".  Did you know there is a Starbucks, pizza Hut and McDonalds in London?  The weather today was cloudy in the morning and sunny in the afternoon, but of course COLD!

On the bridge over the Thames with the London Eye in background.

We arrived to hear Big Ben (name of the bell, not the clock tower) chime 12 noon exactly - quite an impressive tone!  You can pick out it's sound easily compared to other bells.

Parliament building with double-decker bus in foreground, Big Ben behind.  We turned to go to the bridge and Sarah went straight and she quickly became lost.  I found her in the guard hut for the Parliament Police.  It was a scary 5 minutes.  We didn't have a cell phone and no way for her to contact us or vice-a-versa.  Fortunately, she did the right thing and stayed put with someone safe, but it just about sent me to an early grave!

Bangers and mash (sausages and mashed potatoes) for dinner was a favorite of all.  Also, several meals of fish and chips.

Sarah and Marci after reuniting outside Parliament building.

Took a city tour on a double-decker bus and saw many amazing sights.  The kids liked the statues of famous people they knew.  Sarah and Alex liked this one of Isaac Newton.  

Jonathan and I went to see Billy Elliot and had amazing seats.  The show was just fantastic!  Almost half of the cast were children and we later found out that they get NO money for being in the show.  They cannot get paid until they are 16.  The music and dancing was fantastic and we are so happy we went!

London, Sunday Jan 31, 2010

In front of Buckingham Palace

Sarah writes:
Today we didn't do much because our flight only came in at 2:30pm.  We went to Buckingham palace and walked around in Green Park.  Then we went out to dinner and had a "Big Ben burger", which was a hamburger but had an egg on it.  Our hotel is very nice.  The Ross' (the family we are traveling with) have a view of Big Ben and the London Eye.  Today was great, but I can't wait till tomorrow.
PS.  I rode in a taxi for the first time!

Quite cold in London, notice the rosy cheeks!

We are all bundled up against the cold!

It was around freezing the entire time.

Gabriel, Sarah and Alex crammed into a red London phone booth.

Finally on our way... Jan 30, 2010

Enjoying first class with Virgin Atlantic

We are finally off on our big trip!!  I can't believe it is finally here after 2 years of planning and saving!  We are traveling with another family, the Ross family.  We have traveled together before and really enjoy each other's company.  I work with Debbie, who is also a midwife with Kaiser.  Debbie, her husband Craig and their son Alex are already in London.  They left yesterday.
Getting out of town was not without it's stresses!  First we were doing great on time, then Gabriel discovered that he left his retainer at home.  This caused us to return home to get it, since he has only had his braces off for a few days!  So, now we are running 30 min late and I am stressing.  We swing by the theater to pick up Sarah, who was watching her fellow cast members in "Cats".  We barely slowed down and she jumped in the car, and off we went to the airport.
Fifteen minutes later the cell phone rings and we discover that we had another mom's keys in a gift bag that was given to Sarah.  After much discussion, we sorted out how to get the keys back to her and arrived at the airport without further ado.
Fortunately, the airport gods were with us and we breezed through check-in and security with 2 hours to spare before our flight.  We spent this time in the Virgin Atlantic first class lounge, since this was our only first class leg.  It was lovely!!  We have an over night flight and tomorrow we will be in London!

Off we go... Sat. Jan 30, 2010

Wow!  We have so much luggage, but small suitcases.  First Class is amazing!  The bed folded completely down.  I had a TV in front of me that has movies, audio, games, TV, news, map and communication.  It is awesome!  You get great sleep in First Class on Virgin Atlantic.  :)  The beds are really cool... the whole plane is awesome!  We only have 2 more hours till we are in London.  I can't wait!!

Sarah