Friday, October 26, 2007

Today is Friday, October 26th. These four photos show a changing sky during the sunrise sequence yesterday morning. Aren't the colors fabulous??


Four birds flying about over the water

A 747 on approach to SFO after a (probable) overnight flight from somewhere far away.

All in a day. :-) Oh, the beauty our eyes behold here in San Francisco on a daily basis....and this was yesterday beginning with sunrise, the tide going out later in the afternoon, the moon rising over the water (we were out for a walk), and the final picture, taken from the hotel room, of a full moon.





Phil and I left San Francisco on Thursday, October 11th, on a United 747 just like the one in the above picture. Once again, we were able to fly in the "upstairs" business class section, right behind the cockpit. It's so roomy in that area, and it's always great fun for us to fly on a 747.

Our flight was almost ten hours, and it was 6:51 AM Friday when we arrived at London Heathrow. The photo above: sunrise and one of the four huge engines on the plane.

Not one, but two, red phone booths. :-)

These street signs in London are helpful and memorable. :-)


Beautiful row homes called Hyde Park Mansions





We stayed at a the London Hilton Metropole. We've not stayed there before....and we won't stay there again! The bed was too hard! We didn't sleep well the entire weekend. As a matter of fact, our last night there, we were still awake at 3:00 AM, so turned on the television, had some tea, and watched "Monday Night Football." Yay for American TV!!! :-)

Red double-decker bus

Sea Shell Restaurant, which serves terrific fish and chips! We ate there in 2003 with some friends who accompanied us on a trip to England, Scotland and Ireland. On this trip, the hotel where we stayed was within walking distance of the Sea Shell. :-)

You wouldn't try crawling over this gated fence, would you? Not with those spikes! ha

Kensington Palace, with the rose garden in view. I'm certain the roses are beautiful in the summer, but the blossoms were basically gone in October.

Flowers growing in pots, Kensington Palace grounds, London


Variegated Holly, Kensington Palace grounds. Love it!

Grounds of Kensington Palace with interesting spheres. We wondered if the spheres might be lighted at night.

A beautiful white (marble, I'm assuming) statue of Queen Victoria out in front of Kensington Palace. You will recall that Kensington Palace was Princess Diana's residence. We toured the palace, but I'm certain that Princess Diana was housed in an updated and modernized portion of the building that we did NOT tour! As palaces go (we've toured a few), the inside is quite unremarkable....as a matter of fact, depressing.
Phil having fun with his camera at the edge of a small lake in the park adjacent to Kensington Palace grounds. (The photo he was taking is below.)

Adorable shot of a very relaxed squirrel, taken by Phil. :-)

I love holly! This is a huge holly bush/plant on the grounds of Kensington Palace, London.

This is the swan Phil was focused on.

Beautiful trees in park adjacent to Kensington Gardens, London

After leaving Kensington Palace/Kensington Gardens, we walked through the adjacent park where we were able to walk around the Prince Albert monument


One of the four sculptures located at the corners of the Prince Albert Monument


Photos taken while flying over Greenland on our way back to San Francisco from London.


The little "chunks" of ice are icebergs

I was fascinated by the swirl effect of the icy coating on top the water.

Brrrrrr!

The frigid surface of Greenland. I was intrigued by these "upshoots," wondering just how tall they might be. Remember, we were flying at 37,000 feet (over 7 miles up!), yet the landscape below was so clearly defined to me.

The one "upshoot," out all alone in the tundra. Makes me cold, just looking at the picture! :-)

Once we got over Canada, I saw these organized patches of farmland.

As we were descending in preparation for our landing at San Francisco Airport, the flight attendant seated facing us offered to take a picture of Phil and me. Well, as you can tell, it was quite turbulent! The silver streak by my left ear is my earring. :-)

After returning to San Francisco from our weekend in London, it was great to settle back in at our "home away from home," the Marriott SFO. I loved being able to watch out the window of the hotel, observing all sorts of flying creatures such as the little ones sporting feathers in the above photo and the really big ones with wheels in the next photo.


A beautiful sunrise photo taken by Phil