LONDON, Oct
23, 2011 - Our last day in London was spent with the family,
watching the kids play soccer in the park, strolling around Hyde
Park and Oxford Street, and finishing up at a lovely evening
organ recital by James McVinnie at Westminster Abbey (see above
photo taken just before the concert started).
In a way, we closed loop
and came the full circle there, both literally and figuratively.
For, that's where Elizabeth and I stood when we started our
London pilgrimage on Oct 1 (see
London: Second
Ceremony).
That's also where her
remains from her lifetime as Queen Mary I are still entombed.
It had been a fascinating trip overall, but we were both ready
to go home.
And now, here are also some still pictures from our last
day in London...
London Encore Visit, Day 3 - Photo Album
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Isis sculpture in Hyde Park
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A beautiful oak
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Speakers Corner
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A Christian preacher
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And a Muslim one, side-by-side
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Near Marble Arch
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Selfridges on Oxford St
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Big Ben & Parliament Bldgs
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Westminster Abbey as seen from Whitehall
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Crowd waiting to enter the concert
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A composite view of the Abbey
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Tube station
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In the theater district
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We had dinner at a pub nearby
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Piccadilly Square
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Break-dancing on Piccadilly
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Finally, Back Home
HAIKU, Maui, Oct 24 - The two flights,
the non-stop from London to Los Angeles, and then on to Maui,
seem to take forever. I make it a point of NOT wanting to know
how many hours such long trips take. Let's just say that it felt
as if we had been traveling a full 24 hours.
When we emerged from customs at LAX,
the first sight was that of a Starbucks store. Elizabeth
took an immediate beeline for it. They did have Starbucks
in bigger cities in Europe, but none of them served her favorite
drink - a green tea frappuccino. I do believe that that's
when she really starting feeling at home. :-) The second shot
from the left was taken by our driver who met us at the Kahului
airport. He welcomed us home in a traditional Hawaiian way
- with pretty leis. The following day, we saw that Anuenue
("Rainbow" in Hawaiian), our Thailand-born horse (statue) was
also welcoming us with blooming Mums. And so was our
Rainbow Shower tree - still blooming well past its "normal"
period (summertime).
THE END
Love & Light and everything bright...
