Category — Guests' Posts

For those of you who don’t know, Simone is one of our dearest friends. She went to college with Tiff and then lived with her in NYC before departing on a world traveling adventure (girl LOVES an adventure). These days, she is busy being very smart and working on her PhD. Anyway, she came to see us a little while back, and HERE is her guest blog . . .

Three months have passed since I visited Tiffany and Andy in London (and since they asked if I would write a guest blog about my time with them). While I may not be prompt, I pride myself on being at least somewhat insightful and observant so here goes:

. . . Subway smells just as disgusting in London as it does in the states. Really. Tiffany doesn’t agree with me on this one, and I can just see her hovering in the doorway of one of the many Subway restaurants, breathing in the mingled scents of freshly baked bread and cleaning products just to remind her of the good ol’ USA. Seriously though, I was saddened to see so many Subways - they are everywhere! Why, when you could go to a pub or chippie, get anything you want on toast, or grab something from your neighborhood Waitrose market, would you ever choose to go to Subway? It baffles me. I must admit, at 5 am, as I was wandering to the bus stop to head to the airport for my weekend in Germany with the family, the smell of Subway did remind me of home and was, on some level, a comfort. Maybe Tiff isn’t totally crazy . . . well, never mind.

I had a wonderful time visiting and the McNeils were lovely hosts. We saw all the usual neighborhood and tourist sights but on a slightly different schedule than their other guests, I think. I was technically in London on a grant to do research for my dissertation at the archive of the National Portrait Gallery. It sounds horribly dull and boring when I write it out like that, and I myself thought I would be holed up in a basement somewhere digging through dusty boxes of paper. Actually the archive was recently renovated, thanks to her Majesty [I know this because there was a sign], and the interior is reminiscent of a beautiful old library, complete with wood paneling, tall stacks of books and huge windows. The atmosphere alone made being inside from 12-5 every day much more bearable.

My time at the Heinz Archive was incredibly productive and the staff was knowledgeable and always willing to help. If you suspect you are of British descent, have a portrait you need help identifying or just have a hankering to learn a bit more about those pesky Brits, I highly recommend a visit. Just watch out for the taxis barreling around a sharp curve on the one-way street that you have to cross to get in the door. I nearly perished in the name of art history on a daily basis.

Anyway, back to the schedule . . . I did my best to sightsee in the morning hours or directly after the archive closed. It is also closed on Mondays so I had two full days to explore London. Tiffany and Andy joined me when they could and in the evenings we either cooked a fabulous meal at their flat or went out in search of fine [and cheap] cuisine. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect combination of time spent out and in, working, playing, sightseeing and relaxing.

Of course the highlight of my trip was reconnecting with dear old friends. Tiffany and Andy were such a large part of my life when I was living in New York, and staying with them for two weeks brought back all of those wonderful memories. Kermie and Toby have grown from rowdy kittens into quite lovely & refined cats (OK, maybe Kermie more than Toby) and Tiffany and Andy, while only marginally more respectable than before [kidding, of course], have settled nicely into married life and become quite the world travelers. Tiff pointed out that it was comforting for her to see me making my coffee every morning. Somehow, for her, that was an indicator that although years have passed, some things stay the same and can always be counted on. For me it was a feeling of total comfort from the instant I arrived that stayed with me through the entire two weeks. I had a fabulous time and am so grateful to my hosts and friends. Thank you and see you soon!

Simone might send some pictures if she gets a chance, but in the mean time, here’s a picture of Tiff & Simone on Primrose Hill . . .

250,000+ steps in the UK! Yes, we did a lot of walking on our trip while visiting Andy and Tiffany! My pedometer kept track of our steps as we toured the sights of London from August 1st through August 17th! It was a ritual to check the count at the end of each day as we shared our day’s activities. We also conducted an experiment and noted that our meandering steps such as museum walking didn’t always register on the counter…so who really knows how many steps we actually did but I can tell you we walked our tooties off each day!

When left on our own (without our trusty A&T guides!) we were able to travel without too much confusion around the city once we figured out which side of the street was the correct side for the bus that we needed and which underground lines went where! There were maps for everything…underground maps, bus maps, block by block city maps, and self guided walking tour maps! And if we had a question about anything we could just ask the web!

Most mornings we stopped by the grocery store to pick-up our picnic lunch! We found lots of pre-packed sandwiches that were really tasty and also fresh fruit, such as raspberries or strawberries packaged with the name of the grower and the location! One could find a picnic spot anywhere from the underground seat to a bench in one of the many wonderful gardens around the city or at a museum when the lunch hunger struck! And of course at the end of the day we found a pub (easy to spot with the beautiful hanging flowers baskets) to have a pint or two!

Photos of pubs visited.

We would head home either to pick up groceries for dinner or to figure out where to go for dinner or where to have a picnic dinner! My, my…such decisions to make when on vacation! One evening Tiffany and I were the pasta makers and we did a superb job making roasted red fettuccine pasta!

I guess you can gather that we had a great time…our B&B provided all the comfort of home plus more! Two hip Londonites, two meowing cats, great coffee and with breakfast yummies of scones upon our arrival and other wonderful breakfast treats through out our stay as well! Make your reservations quickly! We had a wonderful time exploring the city and “burbs� of London with great trips to Greenwich, Cambridge, Windsor Castle, Hampstead Heath, and all the wonderful market places filled with all types of foods, antiques, and clothing. We had the opportunity to watch a cricket game as Andy explained the rules and regulations of protecting those silly little wicket sticks! What didn’t we do…oh I am sure there are plenty of places we missed! So you may be asking… are we planning another trip to the UK…you bet! And hopefully with a side trip to the Highlands of Scotland!

This is Andy’s father with some great stories about our 17 day visit to Andy and Tiffany’s in London. We did not stick to the regular London attractions. Sue and I had visited London during the summer of 1977 (BC - before children). As a result we told Andy and Tiffany before we arrived that we wanted to explore outside the box. We did see many of the tourist attractions and we also did many things that were not the norm. We went to 5 museums, 3 castles, 4 gardens, 7 parks, 4 markets, 7 restaurants, ? churches and 8 pubs. We visited with 4 relatives besides Andy and Tiffany, climbed several towers, watched a cricket match and rode the London Eye. We traveled on boats, trains, buses and the underground. We walked a lot too. Sue’s pedometer count totaled over 250,000 steps.

The entire visit was wonderful because Andy and Tiffany are such great hosts. In spite of the saying that ‘dirty laundry and house guests begin to smell after 3 days’ we were having such a great time that we anticipated each day’s adventure with the same spirit that we had on the first day. What I would like to do now is to relay several stories about situations where things were not looking as good as they could have been and yet a combination of chance and our hosts’ good planning created a truly wonderful event.

One morning early in the trip Sue and I were on our own and planning to take a double-decker bus to the Westminster area. This was our first attempt at riding a bus without the help of Andy or Tiffany. Let me remind you that traffic drives on the ‘other’ side of the road in the UK. As we were waiting for our bus, Sue asked, “Which way do we want to go?â€? I responded, “That way.â€? Sue then said, “Shouldn’t we be on that side of the street to catch a bus going that way?â€? I responded, “Oops! There’s one now!â€? The stop on the other side of the street was about a half a block away and we had just missed the bus we needed. Note: Things were not looking good to me right then. We crossed the street, walked to the other stop and waited. Another double-decker bus picked us up several minutes later and we found seats in the upper deck near the front of the bus. While riding the bus near Trafalgar Square we noticed escort cars with flashing lights approaching and then saw the Queen’s Guard on horseback coming towards us on the street. I was able to get a good photo of them through the bus window and pointed out to Sue that the people on the bus that we missed could not have seen the same sight. A simple mistake on my part had led to a ‘We’re really in London now.’ event and a great photo.

Queen’s Guard on horseback.

Our first train trip out of London was with Andy to see Cambridge. We got to the station later than we had planned and Andy sent us directly to the platform and ran to buy the tickets for the three of us. Sue and I got to the platform on time and waited for Andy. He rounded the corner to the platform just as the train was pulling out. Oops! While we waited 30 minutes for the next train to Cambridge we were able to buy coffee and lunch supplies for when we got there and we also got a photo of Andy doing the Harry Potter train platform trick at the station where it was filmed. A sign for Platform 9 3/4 was mounted on a brick abutment with the back end of a luggage cart mounted against the bricks. In a Harry Potter film, the students that were heading to whizard school pushed their carts forcefully into the brick abutment to get to the platform 9 3/4 and board their train. Our misfortune of missing the first train gave us time for coffee, food and another great photo.

Andy going to whizard school.

Another train trip that we took was to Windsor to see Windsor Castle. The line to get into the castle was so long we decided not to go inside. Oops! We took a walking tour of Windsor instead. One of the out of the way places on the tour was a very old church that was quietly nestled in an overgrown churchyard that was full of grave markers. We walked into the churchyard and wandered through the quiet setting wondering what the inside of this very old church looked like. Along came a local man and his wife and I thought that maybe we should wander out of the churchyard in the opposite direction. He told us that he and his wife were there to remove flowers from a wedding that had happened and offered to show us inside. While his wife took care of the flowers he spent about 15 minutes discussing the history of the very old church, the architecture, the refurbishing that has been done and their plans for the future. They do not plan to spend the 100,000 pounds it would take to repair the beautiful pipe organ. They decided to buy an electronic organ last year. One interesting fact is that the very old church had often taken in women of the oldest profession to rescue them. Many of these women are buried in the churchyard. They usually did not have last names because of their profession so their markers all have the last name Magdalene. I got a photo of one marker that had the names of two of these women.

A grave marker with two Magdalene’s.

The last story I have for you shows how Andy and Tiffany can make a visit truly special. Sue and I had visited several museums that day and were headed home with heavy feet. Sue wanted to stop on the way home for food to prepare a dinner for the four of us. I felt like taking the underground for a quick trip home. Then we could get to the store and home to start dinner in no time. Sue wanted to take double-decker buses so we could see the sights. I didn’t tell Sue but for me the bus idea was just asking for another Opps! The underground beats the buses every time. Buses seem to stop every couple blocks for pick-ups and drop-offs and then they have to pull out into traffic. I prefer the underground because there’s no city traffic and I’m a point A to point B kind of person. We found a bus that was headed to Oxford Circus. From there I knew we could transfer to a bus that would take us home. The traffic was horrible. Oxford Street, which is a busy shopping street with sidewalks that are full of pedestrians, is closed to all traffic except buses, taxis and bicycles. It was still very slow going. Just after we got started on the second bus headed back down the same street we got the regular ‘end of the work day’ call from Andy. “Where are you guys?â€? …. “OK, Are you on the upper level of the bus?â€? …. “Which side of the bus are you on?â€? …. “See you soon.â€? I was watching the pedestrians below in order not to watch the traffic. Two stops after the phone call from Andy I spotted Andy and Tiffany waiting to get on our bus. They waved, got on the bus and came to the upper level. A person volunteered to move when she saw us talking so we could sit together. With Andy and Tiffany along to keep us company the bus ride was no longer an Opps! for me. We all shopped for dinner and prepared dinner together. (I opened the beverages.)

The wonderful hosts pose with a statue of Peter Pan.

Click the photo of us at a cricket match below to see photos of the trip.

And now . . . Barcelona.

Goodness we really WERE busy while we were not blogging. Here’s the co-wrote guest blog from Melinda and Kate . . . (Katie and Steve, you’re on deck!)

Our trip to Barcelona was awesome partly due to our guide book, ‘Top 10 Barcelona.’ In the spirit of the book (which basically tours Barcelona in a series of top 10 lists), we offer you the revised version (the better version) of the Top 10 things about Barcelona:

1. Garlic Mayo – A potent mayo/garlic combo that the Catalans practically lick off their plates. Its fine to dip your fries in it just a little but they slather it on.

2. Sangria – Cheap, tasty, and perfect at anytime of the day.

3. Barcelona Bread – Served with most meals, this one was genius. Baked bread drizzled (sometimes drenched) with olive oil and then rubbed with tomato.

4. Rat Tails – Not just an American thing anymore. Common folk and the uber fashionable sported this look all over the city.

5. Street Escalators – Barcelona is pretty hilly and to get to some the best views and/or places, you actually had to use outdoor escalators to reach your destination. Parc Guell began with a near vertical hike up to the first of three escalators.

6. Hot Girls on Motorcycles or Mopeds – Kate pointed this out and we all followed suit. These chicks looked so awesome carrying their helmets and riding their hogs.

7. Gaudi - Gaudi is Barcelona.

8. Mosaic Stuff – Partially because of Gaudi, Barcelona is absolutely COVERED in mosaic stuff. Benches, walls, columns, buildings, lots of Barcelona tchotchkes in all shapes and sizes . . . you name it, it comes in mosaic.

9. American Section – Almost every time we went into a cute little restaurant, we were escorted through a kitchen or other narrow passage – or three – back into an unknown and empty corner of the restaurant that we decided was the American section. VIPs only. From here, Andy consumed massive quantities of chorizo.

10. Phil and Jackie – A very nice couple from the Lehigh Valley. We met them in the line for the taxi in the middle of the night, and then we met up with them at the Palau de la Musica Catalana and then at the Picasso Museum, and THEN, they took us out for lunch. They were outrageous.

A bit more about Phil and Jackie. They were married and then divorced and then married again, and they do not – shall we say – get along like peas in a pod. They get along likecucumers in a pod, or something otherwise uncomfortable. This was very clear when Phil spilled his glass of red wine and a few droplets found their way to Jackie’s blouse. She looked like she might just punch him. Or maybe throw hers at him. Oh yeah – that would have been funny. Instead she just yelled at him and made him feel really bad. This only got worse when he accidentally started drinking HER wine while she was trying to clean up. Oh Phil. Poor fella probably didn’t have a good night.

One story that didn’t quite make the top 10. One day while we were sipping Sangria in a little plaza, the oddest family (La Prima Loco Familia) in the world appeared. They pulled up in some broke down looking hatchback, on a road that’s not meant to be driven, sat down at one restaurant but tried to order from another – ordered drinks from the right restaurant but pulled food out of their car (still parked on the curb), and pumped music from their car stereo while people were trying to enjoy a quiet lunch. Only they couldn’t seem to get the music just right so the teenager had to keep going to the car to change the music. And to top it all off, they had the tallest hair in the universe. The tallest-haired family in the universe. Find another family with taller hair - go ahead, try.

Finally, we should mention how we spent our time in Barcelona. We ate and drank a lot, but other than that, we went to the Sagrada Familia (to the top even), walked up to see the view from Montjuic, looked at the sea glass on Barceloneta beach, checked out La Pedrera – an apartment building designed by Gaudi, strolled along Las Ramblas, did some shopping, went to Parc Guell, another Gaudi masterpiece which contains his former home (now a museum which we also went to), explored Josef market, the Palau de la Musica Catalana, the Picasso Museum, and that might be just about it. But that’s a lot for four wonderful days.

Have a look at the pictures.

And look how quickly we’re catching up . . .

Quick intro - Todd came to visit recently, and he just sent over his post. Here it is. . .

My visit to the McNeilorama headquarters was nothing short of spectacular. On my first night, I suggested we go to a play. Not just any play, but one that featured Neve Campbell and Matthew Modine and was written by Arthur Miller. Sounds promising, right? Since Tiffany had a marketing class, it was just me and Andy. The show was called “Resurrection Blues” and there were two things we didn’t realize going into it that might have been good to know: 1) It was the last play that Arthur Miller wrote, so it was probably written when he was senile and coasting on his reputation as a great American playwright. 2) It was only the third night of previews, which explains why someone in the crew was loudly feeding lines to one of the leads. Andy, thanks for being a good sport and indulging my giddy tourist inclinations.
One English staple that I highly recommend is tea and scones. Andy and Tiff made reservations at a fantastic little place called the Muffin Man. We met Mark, Caton and their adorable baby Anna there after strolling along the Portobello Market for a couple hours. I think the English are onto something. I’m going to start lobbying my office here in the States for a daily tea break. I’ll let you know how my crusade goes from the comfort of the unemployment line, where I’m sure one can have tea and scones whenever he bloody well pleases.
Another night of my trip saw a McNeilorama first: a foray into the London indie rock scene. I am a huge music fan and after reading about a concert in TimeOut London, we ventured out to a club called Metro. Soon after entering the tiny dark underground lair that is Metro, Tiff ran into one of her co-workers. She noted that her presence at the show would do wonders for her street cred among her office mates. During the first band’s set, Tiff asked me if I had heard of Morrissey. After telling her I had, she pointed out that he was about 10 feet behind us. No sooner had I turned around, then the man himself was walking right by us. I proceeded to enter fanboy mode and contemplate trying to get my picture taken with him. Fortunately, Tiff had the good sense to steer me away from this course of action and leave the poor guy alone. Nonetheless, it ranks up there as one of the coolest rock star encounters of my life. All in all, we had a great time and got to hear some brilliant bands (forgive the British expression, but it seems appropriate). I was pleased when Tiff said that they should go to more club shows, though next time they will go prepared….with ear plugs.
One last highlight that I will share before I shove off and hand you back to your rightful bloggers is of the chippy. First, I must explain that a “chippy” is what the British lovingly call an establishment that serves fish & chips. Not only did they take me to their favorite chippy, but it was a kosher chippy, which I would guess there aren’t many of in London. I was pleased to know that our food would all be fried in matzoh meal. Much to my delight, it didn’t disappoint and I have gained newfound respect for that most English of delicacies.
For the unititiated, I would be remiss if I failed to point out that Andy & Tiff’s air mattress is extremely comfortable and one of the million reasons to visit the McNeilorama braintrust. I can’t thank them enough for opening their home (and their blog) to me. Cheers!

Before we begin our second and final blog, we’d like to give thanks to our loyal fans, Patrick and Whitey. Now, on to what we’ve been doing for the past five days. We’ll keep it short and sweet, highlighting the funniest stuff.

We spent Monday through Wednesday in Paris doing the typical touristy stuff and here is what we learned about the French:
1. They LOVE assigned seating- On the Eurostar train to Paris we were kicked out of our seats THREE times because we didn’t know that there even was assigned seating.
2. Much like the English, they hate doorknobs.
3. Paris is the sleeping capital of the world- We slept 14 hours in one night
4. They hate sneakers- We were literally the only ones wearing sneakers in Paris
5. They make excellent croissants and the same goes for all their pastries.
6. La Bon Marche- maybe the best thing Parisians have to offer. They were having a huge sale, we spent 2 out of 3 days in the department store and got GREAT deals on purses.
7. They have more cafes than ATMs.

Since we’ve been back in London we’ve eaten leftover croissants, shopped “in� Oxford Street, discovered Bershka (great store), saw Tiffany’s office, went to Windsor, ate some Indian food and enjoyed a fabulous Quiz night at a pub.

Quiz night was so great that it deserves a small explanation. We showed up late to Quiz night, but only missed one round. We were quite surprised to see how old some of the people there were, because we thought it would be a bunch of young drunk people, but it was a mix of young and old drunk people. Quite a few of the questions were specifically related to the U.K., so with the exception of one that Tiff could answer we struggled with those. Then, along came the Family Fortune question (much like Family Feud) and the category was “five other words for cry�, well we got four out of five and since a few other teams also got four out of five, we elected Andy to answer the tie breaker question. He of course answered it correct and our team, the High-5ers, (named that because Tiffany’s co-workers seem to think American’s high 5 a lot) won a bottle of wine! Quiz night was so much fun and we are trying to bring quiz night to America.

Our flight leaves tomorrow and we are not ready to leave. According to the law, we can stay in the U.K. up to six months and we are not allowed to work, so that sounds pretty good to us… look forward to our blogs from London in the months to come!

Cheers! The long awaited blog from Melinda and Brooke is finally here! We have arrived in London! After less than 24 hours with the McNeil’s, we have been declared their Favoritest Guests Ever (and forever and ever) and no one will ever compare. We won’t bore you with the details, but we’ll briefly tell you about our trip thus far.

Our flight from Newark (shout out to Dirrrty Jerz) to Heathrow on Virgin Atlantic (the best airline ever) was excellent, partly due to the OREO CHEESECAKE we were served for dessert. This was a fantastic start to our carbo-loading vacation! Upon arrival, we went though customs where we were threatened to be “sent back to the States this afternoon� for not knowing Tiffany and Andy’s address and/or phone number. Relieved at the fact that our trip could continue, we went on our merry way to meet the McNeil’s.

We went back to their flat for some delicious breaky made by Andrew McNeil (almond brioche, if you want the recipe we’ll be happy to email it to you) and a shower! Then, we were on our way to Camden Market. It pretty much looked like the East Village- complete with Mohawk wearing Punkers and a giant flea market, which was overwhelmed by the smell of incense. Realizing how overly tired we were, we decided to go to Kensington for tea and scones at The Muffin Man (thanks to Sharon Light’s brother for the suggestion). After a delightful snack, we decided to head home for some celebrating. With the Celebration Light illuminated and matching champagne glasses, we toasted to our trip and our friendship. It’s time for dinner (Tiff is making Chicken Divan- yum) so we’ll write later.

Welcome loyal blog readers near and far. First, let me say it is an honor to be able to post my very own entry. Missy and I would like to share a few tips of valuable notes from our 8-day adventure. Eu não estarei escrevendo este no português como pedido por Patrick e por Phil.

Tips for travel to the McNeils’ . . .
1. Mind the gap – This term can be confusing. It means not to trip when entering the Tube but can be applied to many aspects of daily travel.
2. Look right whenever you think to look left – British traffic officials apparently recognize that this is a problem and conveniently label the ground at the crosswalks for you.
3. The signs of camera pictures on highways do not mean tourist photo opportunities – Contrary to what one might think when driving through the streets, a flash shortly following these signs means that you can expect a picture of your speeding and a souvenir ticket in the mail (or two).
4. American coffee (a.k.a. Café Americano) is not what you think, unless if a glass of watered down espresso is your thing – Be forewarned. The funny thing is that you can find a Starbucks on every other corner.
5. The exchange rates are deceiving - Prices appear to be inexpensive. Remember it is double.
6. Litter cans are hard to come by – I advise swinging by a local hardware store and bringing your own. Rubbermaid makes some excellent handle locking and rolling models, which will closely match your carry-on luggage.
7. Train tickets – If you plan to travel any long distances by train, buy tickets at least 7-days in advance. We learned this one the hard way.
8. Beans, Beans, Beans – They are everywhere on everything!
9. Change purses for men are cool – You don’t have to consider yourself a metro-sexual to appreciate this handy accessory for all seasons.
10. Be prepared when you ask for directions – There will be terms that require more thought (i.e. “Follow that lorry, you’ll come to a roundabout and have to take a left (a right is not possible when in a circle) then you’ll see a flyover that you should not take then go to the … )

Our accommodations . . . nestled in the mist of a peaceful yet lively West Hampstead you’ll find Chateau McNeil. This cozy and charming 16th century castle gives the ambiance of a home away from home. We stayed in the Orange Light Room, the most luxurious of the guest rooms. The personable Innkeepers exemplify the word hospitality. We were unable to confirm if they had a TV license (pronounced TEE-v) and fear this may put them out of business in the future if the authorities catch up with them. One slight adjustment was the lack of a shower curtain, Showering requires an certain confidence in your backside.

Our super ambitious planning for the trip somehow turned out resembling a script to a season of the Amazing Race, which got Missy a little frustrated at my repeat jokes of quoting the show at every leg of the journey. The good news is that each time we were the first team to arrive! Day 1 started out with us hitting the ground running. Once landing in Gatwick we dropped off our luggage and headed to Central London, after a stop in a local pub for fish and chips, of course. We took a neat ride on the London Eye, a sort of tourist Ferris wheel, to get a good lay of the land. Next we hiked to Westminster Abbey only to find out it had just closed. We then ran to Buckingham Palace for our next clue (sorry, I couldn’t resist). We suspect the queen was in because the flag was flying. Unfortunately, we had hoped to visit Hampton Court to get our first taste of a castle but found out before arriving that it is closed this week. Later that night we met Andy and Tiffany back at their place and probably looked like zombies.

My sister is studying in Oxford for her last semester and we met up with her and her boyfriend for Day 2 and decided to visit Stonehenge and the ancient city of Bath. Stonehenge was surprisingly easy to get to as it is literally right off the highway. Seeing a wonder estimated to be 5000 years old in spitting distance from a major roadway was somewhat unexpected. The neat thing is that most of the British tourist sites have this personal audio guide/tour stick thing that gives you information at stations as you tour the site. Bath was an amazing little city and we toured the Roman Baths. The excavation site was discovered under some of the city buildings and depicts much of what Roman times were like. Allegedly 80% of the Roman ruins still remain untouched. Amazingly, while the water was green from algae, the springs were still warm to the touch and bubbling from the gasses (oops, I mean Roman Gods). The day ended with a late Italian meal and I experienced perhaps the best tasting calzone I have ever had.

Day 3 we rented a car drove to the southern coast to the city of Brighton, which was an event in and of itself. Driving on the left side of the road and the right side of the car was not the problem, nor was the stick shifting with the left hand. The roads and signs were the most challenging obstacles to overcome. This was also where I learned, the first time, that the camera signs do not mean that you have reached a tourist photo opportunity. We drove throughout Brighton and found a parking deck and could not find the Royal Palace, expecting to see field of grass in front of a massive yard and palace in the distance. Convinced we were totally lost we continued to follow the signs and found out that the Palace was right in the middle of the city! The Palace was impressive with many items on loan from Her Majesty the Queen (probably the 300 year old stuff that just didn’t match her decor). Our original intention was to spend half the day in Brighton and the other half on the Isle of Wight, but sadly we did not anticipate the roads being as indirect and the travel to be as long so we missed the Isle of Wight.

Day 4 with the rental car was a little easier given the roads and direction we were traveling. Unfortunately, we got a later start (probably having the sleep and southern slow pace lifestyle we have become accustom to catching up with us). The plan was to tour the little towns in the area known as The Cotwolds. Each town, with its own unique character, could have been a few days of touring and will definitely be a potential vacation destination in the future. One of the more interesting street signs shown here shows the hustle and bustle of the English countryside lifestyle. The other part of our touring that day involved an unfortunately very quick tour of Blenheim Palace. Because of our late start, we had less time to spend there but did not want to miss it. This Palace was amazing! The countryside surrounding the Palace was magnificent and the interior of the birthplace of W. Churchill was perhaps even more impressive. We definitely could have spent more time.

Later that night, we joined Andy and Tiffany for a very delicious Indian meal. Usually not a fan of very spicy foods, I still enjoy flavor, which this meal had. If you are in London, the Indian restaurants are definitely worth the stop. We also had a brush with a celebrity as we walked into the restaurant just as Stephen Merchant, a writer/actor for the British comedy sitcom “The Office� was just exiting. We suspect he may be stalking Tiffany, as this is the second happenstance encounter. A point to mention if you do find yourself visiting the McNeils, don’t let them walk behind you. Expecting to get direction if we strayed from a more direct path, we later found out that we were part of a sociology experiment (kind of like rats in a maze) whereby Andy and Tiffany wait to see if you figure out where you are going or are simply get yourself lost.

Day 5 was a Saturday. Our original plans involved taking a train to either Scotland or Wales, but alas we planned too late. We highly advise buying tickets for the major city trains at least 7 days in advance but definitely not after 1800 the day prior. Seats are limited and the few that are left end up jumping in price significantly. Well, Scotland will have to wait for The Fro! Our alternative idea was just as enjoyable — we headed to Windsor/Eton to tour the Windsor Castle. This massive structure is a current residence of Her Majesty and home to the largest working Barbie house ever! While there Tiffany requested that Andy and I stand next to a guard and get stiff, I requested that that she never make that request in any other circumstance.

We wrapped up the week around London touring with Andy and Tiffany on Day 6. We visited the British Museum of stolen goods and saw half of Greece and Egypt. From what we understand, the other half remains in Greece and Egypt repectively. St. Paul’s Cathedral was our next stop followed by the Tate Modern Museum.

Day 7 included a trip to the Tower of London, which was surprisingly a very comical and informative tour. Who would have thought the spot of so many beheadings would end up being a tourist filled vacation destination?

The eight days flew by and we had a great time! Thanks Andy and Tiffany for hosting us!

Pictures from our trip…

Well, this week we have our first guests*. As a result we now have an air mattress, guest sheets and guest towels. Consider this an open invitation to our numerous readers to come sleep on our new bedding and dry off with our new towels (as long as we know you, creepy internet stalkers need not apply). Pretty tempting, right? Hold on to your hats, it’s about to get tempting-er…

WHEREAS, guests are fun to have and something to be celebrated; and
WHEREAS, making the journey is worthy of a reward; and
WHEREAS, we have a blog; and
WHEREAS, we are in constant need of content for said blog.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that guests shall be entitled to turn on and off the celebration light at will.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that guests shall be granted the opportunity to make an official post to Mcneilorama.

Official Rules: ‘Guest’ is defined as someone whose journey was at least a 100 miles and has slept at least one night in our apartment. Inebriated London friends who pass out on our couch do not count. The post must be made before the guest completes their stay. Mcneilorama management retains editorial rights over topic and content of all guest posts. Offer void where prohibited. Actual cash value 0.00001¢.

*Not including Papa Mac who stayed a few nights with us at the corporate flat in Dorset Square and would be considered our actual first guest. In addition, Brooke and Melinda will be considered our first “real” guests for reasons that aren’t fully understood.