House of Lloyd

I almost laughed when the security agent at the gate to my flight from London asked me, “Do you have anything in your bag that could be used weapon?” What kind of stupid question is that? Is there a right answer to that question? The following is a list of items in my bag that could be used as a weapon but I was permitted to board with all of these dangerous items.

Monday came all too early. I rolled out of bed around 6 am and had a quick breakfast with David at the hotel restaurant. I was in a cab by 7 am and at the airport by 7:30. Then the crap began…

After the very long day we had had in Paris we slept in a little on Sunday. We decided to spend the day in London just wondering around and seeing where we ended up. We only had one stop in mind and that was Harrods.

Once we made it back on the bus we got a break from the scams. Our next hop off was at the Musee du Louvre. WOW! This place was awesome. I am not really an art person but I had an appreciation for this building and all of the wonderful works of art that were displayed. We spent several hours exploring the art. I am sure we did not see half of what the place had to offer.

We did see the Mona Lisa. I have always thought this painting was over rated. I just don’t get it, after seeing the painting I still don’t get it. I am sure that some of my art friends will be able to enlighten me.

We saw everything from sculpture, paintings, drawings, tapestry, poetry you name it we probably saw it. The religious paintings were something to behold. Many of them were twice the size of my living room walls. They had so much detail and so much going on in the painting.

The problem with some of the art work was that the placards were not written in English, so we did not know what the descriptions of most of the paintings said. So David and I made up our own descriptions for some of the artwork.

The Louvre closed at 5:30, so we did not get to see as much as we had wanted to see. We decided that we needed to find a snack and do a little shopping before heading back to the train station. We found a quiet little cafe and order chocolate crepes and coffee. The crepes we quite good. We then walked around the city looking for a doll for Madilyn. We thought it would be nice for her to have a doll from our travels. Doll in hand we made it back to the train station around 9 ready for the return trip to London.

I have always wanted to see the Eiffel Tower. It always looks so romantic in the movies and on TV. Well our experience was anything but romantic. However, I did enjoy that David and I got to see this piece of history together.

Once we got off the bus we were immediately inundated with street merchants trying to get us to buy over priced merchandise. I would not have minded if it were just 3 or 4 but we must have been approached to make a purchase by at least 40 different wondering vendors as we walked through the park at the tower.

We also encountered many people trying to pull scams (Descriptions of the scams) At least we were smart enough to know the people were trying to scam us so we just kept walking. I however, did think that David might loose it and pop someone in the face.

The 1st incident happened as we were strolling under the Tower. A man grabbed David’s hand and tried to put a loop of string around his wrist. David jerked back and told the guy NO- but he tried to grab his hand again. Later I researched this and found that once they get the string on your wrist and then demand payment for the present. If you refuse to pay they follow you and continue to harass you until you comply.

The second incident happened after lunch it was the golden ring scam, using a gold ring. We told the man several times we did not want the ring he “found.” But he continued to follow us and try to get us to take the ring. Lucky for us a local was jogging in the park and he yelled “Bull Shit” and told us not to listen to the man. Well we had no intention of listening to the man or taking his ring, or giving him anything. But the mere fact the the jogger had yelled “bull shit” drew the attention of others and the scammer decided to leave us alone and go find other prey.

Through out our walk around the tower and the park we were approach by many asking us if we spoke English. We just ignored them and continued walking because we had already been harassed by others at the train station with the same Question and the same piece of cardboard with the sad sob story of needing money to help their family.

As soon as we left the Eiffel Tower area we did not see or hear anymore scammers. It was stressful just to walk through that area.

We did find a nice cafe a few blocks from the tower to enjoy a scammer free lunch. But in order to catch our bus to continue the city tour we had to run the gauntlet again. I was glad to be back on the bus. I left the Eiffel Tower area thinking how can anyone think this is one of the most romantic places on earth.

David and I decided that while we were near Paris we should take a day trip to see the city and some of the sights that it has to offer. It’s not like we get to go on these kinds of trips everyday or anything.

We woke up early and made our way to the Eruostar train station. The train was very nice and offered a smooth ride and a tasty breakfast of an omelet, bread, yogurt and hash (mashed potatoes with carrots and peas). The ride was just over 2 hours long. During the ride we were able to see a lot of the county side between London and Paris. We saw so many little communities, with old homes and churches. It was nice to be able to sit back and enjoy the ride.

Once we arrived in Paris the day got a little confusing and hectic. The train station was full of beggars, and con-artist. One girl followed us for a long time begging us to do what was right. The problem with the beggars was that there were so many of them, and you really could not tell if they were truly desperate for money or just hanging out in the train station to see what heart strings they could pull.

The station in Paris was not as well designed or set up as well as the stations in London. It could have been that we did not speak French, or it could have been the station set up. It took us quite a while to find our way out and to find our next destination. We had decided that an open air tour bus would be great for the day, since we only had 1 day to spend in the city. In my mind I was also thinking that at least on the bus we would be out of the reach of the panhandlers and beggars.

We found a bus tour called L’Open Tour. This was a hop on hop off tour like the one we did in London. We were able to see a lot of landmarks and learn a lot of the history of the city. While the city had great architecture it just did not seem as nice as London. We enjoyed seeing the sites and enjoyed being together in the City of Love. Our 1st hop off was at the Eiffel Tower. So much happened at the stop, I think I will do a separate blog post.

After leaving Westminster Abbey we took a short walk and looked at Big Ben and the London Eye. While we did not go into these landmarks it was interesting to view them up close.

Once we were exhausted we headed out in search of something to eat since it was dinner time and we had skipped lunch. We ended up at a local pub- I had the traditional London dinner of Fish and Chips with Mashed peas. After dinner we made our way to Hamleys Toy Store to find a doll for Madilyn. We made it back to our hotel early enough to order some dessert and wine from room service. All in all Day 2 of our trip was pretty awesome.

Started the morning with a breakfast buffet in the hotel. The food was fresh and pretty good. We decided that we would make the most of the day by seeing as much of the city as possible via a “Big Bus Tour.” This was a hop on hop off tour, that allowed us to pick and choose which landmarks we would like to visit for a longer time. The tour also offered a water cruise that allowed us to see all of the landmarks along the river banks.

Riding through the city on top of the open bus was amazing. The buildings were so beautiful and artful. We have nothing that compares to them here in the states. Our first hop off was at Westminster Abbey. It is unfortunate that photography is not permitted within the Abbey so I can not share with you the beauty that lie within its walls. The artifacts within the building were created by craftsmen and artist from many generations. It was amazing to me that so many artist contributed to the creations that are housed at the Abbey. The building is designed in the shape of a cross which makes it even more interesting to tour. Through out the buildings and on almost every tomb you can see relics of religious beliefs.

The building itself was a marvel to behold. The rich history that the building contains is also amazing. So many leaders entombed there, so much has survived for generations. We were also able to view part of the Abbey that was damaged during WWII.

I was glad that an audio tour was provided so that we would know what we were looking at along the way. We were also able to see the Coronation Chair that has been used for every coronation since King Edward the II in 1308. The chair is no longer ornate and beautiful but it is still a site to behold.

As I wondered the building and the outside grounds I wondered if the “locals” have an appreciation for the beauty that surrounds them or if it is a point of frustration in their lives because of all the visitors the area brings. I could spend days in Westminster alone and probably continue to discover new things each time I visit. This was David’s second visit to the Abbey and he seemed to enjoy it even though he had already “been there and done that.”

David and I got up early and were in the car headed to the Atlanta airport by 4 am. We arrived early and went through check-in and security in a fairly painless way. However, as usual the TSA uneducated bully employees ticked me off. I was wearing a pull over sweater and they made me take it off. I saw many other walk through the check point wearing hoodies, muslim robes and other baggy clothing items and NOT 1 of them were required to remove the “baggy” garments. I did not let it get to me because I did not want to ruin the trip at the very start.

We had a short flight to Washington, DC where we switched planes for a 8 hour flight to London. Once arriving in Washington we found our terminal and relaxed during our 2 hour lay over. About 30 minutes before boarding the flight the gate waiting area was over run with TSA employees. It seems that our flight to London was tagged to have additional searches of passengers prior to boarding. Lucky for both David and I we were not tagged for the additional pat downs and carry on baggage searches.

Our flight to London was uneventful. They had a very good movie selection so we watched “The Invention of Lying,” “Up in the Air” and “The Box.” We missed the last 5 minutes of The Box because they cut off the movie system so that we could prepare for landing. We did notice that 1st class passengers did not have their video systems cut off. Guess that’s one reason they pay more for their seats.

Upon arriving in London we had to go through customs. Since we arrived around 10 pm London time the airport was not very busy so the security checks and customs went very quickly. Our hotel was a 15 minute ride from the airport. We passed by Windsor Castle- Which by the way was able to be seen from our hotel window. With it being so late London time, we crashed as soon as we got settled into the hotel. We planned it that way so that we could make the most of our time in London on Friday and it worked out well.

However, I must say I passed through the ATL airport with an ILLEGAL item in my book bag. The items were then again missed at the New Jersey Airport and again in London. So it makes me wonder what are we paying these people to do? I went through security at 3 airports and no one questioned the larger bottle of liquid I had in my bag. According the the TSA rules on 2oz bottles are permitted. My bottle was 6 ounces and was missed by all three security checks. I guess it is a good thing it was contact solution and not some kind of poison. Guess its a good thing that I am not a terrorist. I will say that this item was not packed on purpose. It was in a side pocket of the book bag, and I simply forgot to remove it when I unpacked all of my school stuff. I always carry extra contacts and liquid contact cleaner because of all of my allergy issues.

I was scheduled to go to the doctor for a recheck and ultrasounds next week. However, I called and made an appointment for today because I can tell the infection is back. The doctor was able to fit me in and was surprised to find that the infection was back. The ultrasound shows that there is nothing left from the D&C, so that is not the source of the infection. The lab work that was sent off two weeks ago all came back normal. Additional samples were taken today and will be sent to a different lab for analysis. Between the infections and other symptoms I think I may go crazy. I am trying to go on about life, but sometimes all I want to do is crawl in bed, but it won’t help so I just keep trying to truck along. Don’t get me wrong, I am resting more and taking it easy at home and at work (don’t tell anyone).

After David and I get back from London I will have another appointment to see what our next steps should be in trying to get answers because the current situation is NOT WORKING for me or my doctor.

I just want all of this to be OVER. I am so done with these problems.