#14 Kew Gardens

A few weeks ago, we went to Kew Palace and Kew Garden. The gardens were beautiful, the palace not so much. Kew Gardens is the worlds largest collection of living plants.

It was really hot in the greenhouse and
Bob got a little silly, so I took a picture.

Kristen's Favorite Tree

Bob's Favorite Tree - Monkey Puzzle

See how much he loves it.

Chocolate sculpture? More like chocolate painted paper mâché.

Kew Palace

Chair Queen Charolette died in

View of gardens from Kew Palace

Treetop Walkway

Chinese Pogoda built in1761

Bob thinks this statue looks like Scooby Do

Passoni's in Paris

My Aunt and Cousin came for a visit, so we headed to Paris for a few days. Poor Bob had to work so he couldn't join us, but I think he secretly enjoyed his alone time. He could watch as much cycling as he wanted without being subjected to shows like Gossip Girl and Teen Mom 2.

We left on early Tuesday and returned late on Thursday. We arrived in Paris at about 10:30 and headed to our hotel to drop off our luggage. Despite my past adventures on the subway, I decided we should try it again. It was quick and easy. No pick pockets this time. When we arrived at our hotel, without getting lost once, the room was ready so we got to relax for a bit, before heading out.



Our hotel was right above a little boulangerie "bakery"



Comfy beds




View from our balcony




Lauren learning how to take pics with my DSLR.
Pretty impressive for a first try. Right?


After the we checked in we headed to the Musee d'Orsay. Unfortunately you aren't allowed to take pictures inside, but trust me it is beautiful. The collection is housed in a former train station built for the Universal Exhibition in 1900, so the building itself is a work of art. We saw painting by Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, Renoir, Gauguin, and Sisley. My favorite was series of paintings by Monet of the Rouen Cathederal in the late 19th century.



Statues outside the Musee d'Orsay


After the museum, we headed over to the Eiffel Tower.



Eiffel Tower


After we the Eiffel Tower, went to a fondue place for dinner. I didn't take my camera, but we ate lots of cheese and Lauren got yelled at by a Frenchmen for not correctly eating her fondue.

The next morning we headed out to see Conciergerie and Sainte-Chapelle. Conciergerie was built as a palace, but is famous for being the prison where Marie Antoinette was jailed before she was beheaded. The actual cell where Marie Antoinette was converted into chapel in her memory.



Staircase at Conciergerie

  

Conciergerie




Conciergerie



Conciergerie



Stained Glass in Marie Antoinette chapel


Sainte-Chapelle was built by King Louis IX in 1248 to house relics, such as the Crown of Thorns, he acquired during the crusades. There are 16 stained class windows illustrating biblical scenes. The final window tells how the relics came to Paris. One of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. The pictures don't do it justice. I could have sat in the chapel for hours.




Outside of Sainte-Chapelle



Outside of Sainte-Chapelle

Lower chapel for commoners



Stained glass in lower chapel



Look for Paris Continued to see the rest of our visit.

London Zoo

We decided to head to the London Zoo on Easter. It was packed but we still had a good time. I figured out my favorite zoo animals are birds, not mammals.  I was excited to see the owls and the penquins. Bob was excited to see nothing really, but he found a new friend in the Okapi, What is that you ask?  It looks like a cross between a horse and a zebra with a giraffe tongue and ears.


Okapi


We (Bob) took almost 400 pictures. The animals were so cute and taking pictures is fun. It was a lot like the Tulsa Zoo but no bears. They are building a new penguin exhibit, so a lot of the penguins were moved to another zoo, but I still got see a few.

Penguins

The Birds

Monkeys and Sloths

Otters

Giraffe

Baby Gorilla

Barnyard Animals



Lions, Tigers and No Bears






I got to pet a sheep so I was happy. Bob told me to get closer,
but the sheep didn't like it and tried to eat me.

 

I also got to pet a goat, but he was more interesed in
eating than hanging out with me




The White Cliffs

Whenever we have visitors, we like to take them to a place we have never been before. So when Aunt Debbie and Cousin Lauren came to see us we decided to take a trip to Dover to see Dover Castle and The White Cliffs. 




View of the Castle from the train station. We walked all the way to the top.

 
Dover Castle was built by Henry II in 1180-1185 to welcome visitors to England. During WWII underground tunnels were used as the Naval headquarters for the Dover Command. We took a tour of the tunnels but you couldn't take pictures.


 


White Cliffs of Dover




View from Admiralty Look-out



On a clear day, you can see all the way across the English Channel to France.



Can you see France?



View from the very top of the castle



Chapel inside Great Tower




Stained class in the Chapel






Last views of the White Cliffs from the train

 



Dover Castle




City of Dover



English Channel