From London to Frankfurt

Saturday, though continuing to be cold, was sunny with no wind. Tim and I explored a very different part of London -- Notting Hill, just on the other side of Kensington Gardens, just up Queen's Gate and our flat. The market on Portobello Road is like no other: antiques, junk, vegetables, pastries, mulled wine, teas, souvenirs, books, clothes of all sorts. And people. People from everywhere. We indulged in a cream-filled donut-type pastry that was coated with real chocolate (I don't want to even think about calories/mouthful!). On Notting Hill Gate Road, we stumbled across a hair salon and each had a much needed hair trim.

We sent Abbey and Katie to the market. After visiting the big cultural marvels, they needed to see this part of London as well. They returned hours later with good market buys, having had a great time, and then proceeded to get ready for an evening out at a dance club nearby. After enjoying an exciting soccer game between Southampton and Manchester United, Emma, Tim, and I returned to the local pub for a warming meal of chicken pot pie, mashed potatoes, steak, and I forget what all else. That night, we again splurged on British tv, catching some excellent mysteries.

Sunday was the coldest day yet. Emma, Tim, and I went back to the Museum of Natural History for a wonderful exhibit on dinosaurs and another one on sea life. He and Emma then did the Science Museum, also near the flat. I took Katie and Abbey to Windsor to see the quaint town and huge castle which is the Queen's favorite. Unfortunately, we arrived too late to tour the castle inside but were able to get some wonderful pictures outside. Many lovely shops, including one with Scottish wool products, tempted us, and yes, we succumbed.

Monday morning came too soon. We hauled our baggage to Gloucester Underground station, a few blocks away, to catch the tube for Heathrow. (We had decided to fly to Frankfurt to save time and money). Getting off for Heathrow Terminal 2, we said good bye to Katie who would go on to Terminal 5 for her British Air flight back to the States. Lufthansa had easy check in and kindly turned an eye away from our overweight bags. Our 11:45 flight was delayed about 3 hours because of heavy snow in Frankfurt, so we ended up arriving around 5:00 pm, a little after the time that the train would have come!!! So much for saving time -- though we did save money! A taxi brought us quickly to the Heissischer Hof where the UD Winter Session students are booked. A 5-star hotel with impeccable, warm service and gigantic rooms, this hotel is incredible, and we are thankful to be here at the greatly reduced rate UD arranged for the study abroad program (otherwise, we wouldn't be here!!!!).

The students arrived this morning; Tim and the other professor are with them on a brief tour of the city. The girls and I are going to explore a bit on our own and then indulge in some pampering at the spa here. It's very cold here (as in all of Europe) with about a foot of snow on the ground. After some walking to the Romer Cathedral and the restored timber-framed houses of Romerberg (destroyed during WWII), we will probably welcome the spa's sauna!