Father's Day in London

My parents and DH met me in London. This is truly my parents' trip of a lifetime. In preparation, they applied (and received) their first passports. They also obtained their first ATM card. I don't think my Dad will use it again once he's back in the states.

My parents like history and enjoy British comedy. They've never been out of the US (except for Canada and when you live a few hours from the border that doesn't count) so London seemed like the perfect introduction.

This was a bit of a different vacation for us. If my parents were not along, we would have covered more ground, more sights, and used the trains as our main means of transportation. But accompanying people who are not as mobile forced DH and I to slow down and savor the trip.

The first full day in London we took the hop on-hop off bus tour.

Caught part of the changing of the guard.


Trafalgar Square set up for World Cup viewing.


More Trafalgar Square.


St. Paul's Cathedral.


Royal Courts of Justice.


Tower of London.


Westminster Abbey.


Big Ben.


Scenes from the river cruise.




This was a highlight for DH who loves cannons. We were in London for the Trooping of the Colour. When we were about to enter the Tower, military vehicles pulled up with 3 cannons, and we watched as they set of a 62 gun salute for the Queen's birthday.


The Tower after the Ceremony of the Keys. They don't allow photos to be taken during the ceremony. As the guards are armed with machine guns, I thought it wise to comply with the policy.




We had a wonderful weekend. I left a day before DH and my parents to head back to Germany. On the way to the station, I stopped and shopped here. You can view Persephone's catalog here and they do ship to the US.


St. Pancras Station.


In retrospect, I think the most moving part of the weekend was attending Evensong services at St. Paul's and Westminster with my Dad. Each Christmas, he watches the broadcasts of the Festival of Nine Lesson and Carols. To be able to sit with him, in the magnificence of these buildings, listening to the organ and the choir...it's humbling and awe-inspiring. I never thought I'd have the opportunity to show them the city I've come to love.

Farewell, London.

I'll be back.

I Love I Knit London

After my 2nd week of working in Germany, I headed to London to meet up with DH and my parents for a long weekend of sightseeing before returning to Germany.

Knowing the family would be extremely jetlagged, I made arrangements with Yvonne to meet up at I Knit London on a Thursday evening. I'd been to IKL back in '07, but they had moved to a new location.

I made it to the shop just before closing. But, as we all know, it's hard to get knitters out of a LYS, and the local knitters here are no exception. So we were able to chat, have a drink, and exchange gifts before leaving close to 10 p.m. and walking to the station. It was SO lovely to see Yvonne in person again and meet the knitters at IKL.

(I'll have pictures of the swag from Yvonne when I get back to the states as I shipped a couple of boxes home a week ago.)







Yvonne may have been a bit too enthusiastic about showing me the local fiber. I think a skein fell into my bag.

Thanks, Yvonne and I Knit! I hope to be back again soon!

Amsterdam

Canals






Old architecture (see how they get furniture into homes? Hint - look at the top of the roof.)



Memorial of a heroic naval captain.


Lunch


Amsterdam has the best public library. Free use of computers (both Mac and HP) for internet.


The cafe on the top floor has the best views of the city.


I also found some fiber shops. De Afstap carries Rowan, Lang and other brands. It is also carries needlework supplies.









Nearby is the Otherist - which used to be called the Egg Mercantil. They have a small cupboard of mainly Manos.







Even gravestones provide pattern inspiration.



My room - with its own little balcony overlooking a garden area.



Supper one night. Very delicious! Meatballs and gravy with mashed potatoes that had broccoli in them.



While they don't have peanut butter, you can get fruit flavored sprinkles to put on your toast.

Knitter's Utopia

Leaving Köln on Friday, I arrived in Gießen in the morning and in the afternoon left again, heading south to Munich. I didn't do much sightseeing as I arrived late and headed out early on Saturday.

This looks like a typical small Bavarian town.

Nice station...



with a nice town square...



that has a market on Saturday mornings.





But I wasn't here to buy fruit and vegetables.

I definitely was here for fiber...

but not the edible kind.



The shocking thing is...this is their local yarn store for some lucky, lucky knitters. When the shop is open, knitters come in, chat, drink coffee, etc.







I was able to do that only after about an hour (OK, maybe longer) of going around the room, feeling up all the yarn. When I was asked if I needed help, I was close to blurting out, "I'll take ten of everything...in every color." It's one thing to see the colors over the internet or to see the colors of the one or two precious skeins you may have been lucky enough to buy over the internet. But to see it all jumbled together in one place!

While there, I met Claudia, who owns Wollmeise, and Sheri, who owns the Loopy Ewe in St. Louis, MO.

They are both camera shy - with their backs to the camera, Claudia is on the left and Sheri on the right.


I also met Arlene - as in Arlene's World of Lace. You should see the samples of her lace knitting patterns in person...I think I've queued every single one of her patterns that I found on Ravelry.

She is also extremely camera shy - and was standing to the right of Claudia - I promised not to take her photo.

If you're ever lucky enough to get there, don't leave without using the bathroom. It is Pepto Bismol pink and there are permanent markers provided so that you can write on the walls.





This is what one gets when they bring their spouse along.


Obviously, some knitters do not believe that ignorance is bliss, especially regarding spouses and yarn purchases.

Did you know that the Hermitage's collections are so vast that they can only show about 5% of their collections at a time?

It's the same with my purchases.

This is a small representation of the my entire collection.



These are from the "Nobody is Perfect" collection. Claudia calls them this as they've got one knot in the skein. I call it a bargain.

L to R - Luscious purple laceweight, green Twin, black/brown/red 100% merino, and Twin Wild Thing in the color "Amazonas."

Mission accomplished.

Now, to get it all home...