A boat ride down the Thames River. (Taylor was in the Navy- hence the pose.)

“London Bridge Is Falling Down” is the popular song and game I think everyone played at least once as a kid. Apparently, it deals with the attempts to destroy, as well as direct attacks on the London Bridge. The song then goes on to explain all the different ways you can repair it. If you look up the words on-line, there are a bunch of verses you’ve probably never heard before.

I learned this on a boat tour down the Thames: Big Ben is actually the nickname for the huge bell of the clock in the Palace of Westminster. Many people use the name “Big Ben” to refer to the clock and the clock tower.

While living in California, we met the most wonderful Bennett Family! Their twins, Georgia and Francesca, played soccer with Emerson when they were about 5 or 6 years old. Their little brother, Robby, and Maddux became best buds! Angela then became one of my favorite friends! (She’s the lady who opened up Fit On Studios in Manhattan Beach where I joined the staff to teach barre classes.) In Taylor, Jesse found a silly, fun Southern guy who is always up for a good laugh!
The Bennetts rented a flat in London and invited us to stay. We gave Samuel and David a break for a couple nights and had a blast with their crew. We rolled deep- with our group of ten people with quite lively personalities! We explored the city together and had a Prince Charles sighting while waiting to cross a street! Cheeri-o!

This photo was taken at The British Museum.

While in London, we stayed with my amazing, wonderful, loving, effervescent friend Samuel and his partner David. They welcomed us with open arms and tons of love and lots of laughing. Samuel and I met while working at a rehabilitation high school in Chicago. We became fast friends -he continues to be one of my best friends to this day. He is silly and gross and is never afraid to speak his mind- he’s perfect for me!

At the Victoria & Albert Museum they had lots of casts of historical sculptures, crypts and monuments. It is as close to the real deal as you can get if you can’t travel to see the real thing. Most were formed in the 19th century. We liked the soldier crypts a lot and the humongous pillars.