AND SO IT IS

Marcy, Al, Zan & Becca finished their last full day in London together with Elaine, Howard and Reno, and new friends Lydia, Maximillian and Luciana with a visit to the "Buck" house. Every year for only 8 weeks, the Queen throws open her doors (19 of them to be specific) so that the commoners have the opportunity to see what it's like behind the gates of Buckingham Palace (sorry no pictures allowed inside the palace.) So after experiencing the changing of the guard, we entered into the palace, and it was truly awe inspiring and extraordinary, the art the architecture and you wouldn't believe where Liz hid the secret door. Our last evening found us seeking re-entry as we dined at Orso (the London branch and another d.i.s.h. worthy meal) and then it was off to see Oliver as Elaine and Marcy re-lived their elementary school thespian moments. Elaine was the Artful Dodger and Marcy a member of the ensemble. Yes, they sang every song along with the extremely talented cast. As we write this we have just bid farewell to the Behnken clan who will stay an extra day to help celebrate Claire's birthday, we are zipping up the suitcases and preparing for our 6:45 am trip to Heathrow. Wow what an experience we have all had. In addition to our new friends, new food, and airport frisking, we learned so much. We each in our own way have a new appreciation for what we have in our lives, and know that as we close this chapter, a new one begins! And so it is.

Back to Visit the Queen

We have left Africa having experienced tremendous exilheration and witnessed remarkable beauty and awesome experiences. Flew all night and hit the ground running. Elaine and Marcy couldn't pass up the opportunity to cross the most photographed crosswalk in all of Europe so off to Abbey Road we went. They met London P.D. Officer Andrew who shared the address and locale of Sir Paul's digs. Unfortunately he is out of the country touring or they would have showed up at his door too. Next the London Eye and a bird's eye view of the entire city and all of the most famous sites that London has to offer. After touring us around the city our driver Howard introduced us to the greatest beigel with salted beef and hot mustard (d.i.s.h. worthy), followed by a visit to the oldest pub in London. We can't be too far away from our Jameson. This evening was a chance to visit with family and friends. Howard, Elaine and Reno are staying in Canary Wharf with Claire, while Marcy, Al, Zan and Rebecca had dinner with cousin Amalia an ex-pat who is spending time with her beau Florian in London. Tomorrow we have our appointment to visit Buckingham Palace to see what all the hoopla is about. Till then....cheerio and mind the gap.

We Have Made it Out of the Bush

We are writing to you from Cape Town having finally gotten back on the grid with reliable internet connectivity. We successfully negotiated our way to Pretoriuskop Rest Camp where we stayed in a compound that could accommodate 16. The hippo's kept some of us awake at night and we succesfully braai-ed (pronounced bry) our version of a bbq. From there to Olifants a 7 hour drive where we witnessed our very first dazzle of Zebra. Two days of baboon road blocks, Africa's version of a sig alert on the 405, and then back down to the airport in Nelspruit for our flight to Cape Town. Wow, another international incident when Elaine asked Zan to carry the cooler thru security which just so happened to have a long sharp object not to mention a cork screw. Even in a third world country they don't take kindly to carrying concealed weapons. Howard sang them a song, received marriage proposal #2, and off we flew to Cape Town. Re-entry into civilization took us from Shanty Town near the airport where a 5 x 5 corrugated steel building with no power, water or sewage is considered home to a family of 10; to our digs, which could only be described as over the top by our standards. With views of Table Mount on one balcony and the waterfront on the other, we are surrounded in beauty which helps soften the blow of re-entry into civilization. Spent Monday with the penguins on the way to Cape Point, who knew that you could see penguins and not be cold. We are here in Cape Town till tomorrow evening and then overnite to London. Today we shop and walk and.....???? and come what may we hope that we can stay clear of another international incident, and oh by the way... the men all have their passports, or at least we think so.

Magnificent 7 Find Big 5 & More... All is perfect

Saturday we arrived at Lion Sands and met our ranger Talley, tracker Levi (yes the beloved Levi was indeed with us) and our personal butler Norman. We experienced a total of 6 drives and each one turned out to be more spectacular than the last. It is almost impossible to describe in words, no consonants, only vowels - iiiiiiiieeeeeeooooooaaaaaaa. Our stay at Lion Sands appropriately enough ended with tracking and finding the 5th of the Big 5.... The LION. Wow, we drove over trees, thru shrubs, bushes and hills up & down & up & down & up and then sideways because Levi had seen fresh tracks. The pictures will speak for themselves and we all including Talley and Levi were overwhelmed and exhilarated by the experience. At that moment our Magnificent 7 became 9. Not only did we learn and saw many animals, we are now walking encyclopedia's of flora and fauna and dung. (Ask Howard about his giraffe poop incident of 2009, and let him show you his trophy). After being spoiled with a total of 8 meals per day, including 3 breakfasts we are now blogging to you from Lower Sabi where we have begun our own personal journey with Howard as our Ranger and Al as our tracker. You should know that after picking up the rental 10 seater, and getting the perfect direction (go straight) we figured out that here in Africa in the southern hemisphere everything is upside down and after a 10 minute consultation at our first intersection, we decided to head to the main town just in case we were not heading in the right direction. Naughty baboons visited Elaine, Howard and Reno this am as they prepared to leave. The only casualty a fresh bag of sugar in the raw. So we prepare to head to Pretoriuskop as we search for the next 5 on this journey.

The Ridiculous to the Sublime

Wednesday night we had Rock and Sole Fish & Chips - yummy.  We had to "mind the step" even to the Loo! On Thursday, we went to Harrods (the ridiculous).  At first, we were trailing the Wellands on what felt like a road rally.  "We're in Pet Kingdom, on our way to Denim," texts Al.  "We're in Pet Kingdom now, we're oh so close to you," texts Elaine...and so on and so on. 3 hours of viewing the most ridiculously priced items. Look, it's Elton John's red player piano! And Howard purchased a 4 mil year old nautiloid for $999,999, but when they said it would cost $100 to ship, he politely passed.    On to the sublime, Hyde Park, so lovely. And finally, a BBQ with friends. James, Lydia, Maximilian and Luciana opened their home and hearts to us all. The food was superb. We had a Pims or 2 or in some cases 3....slept until 11:44 the next morn. Watch out Africa, here we come! Love to you all....

London Day 3

We began the day at the greatest shopping experience in the world... Harrod's. What a merchandising extravaganza, from fossils to food, from caviar and oysters to kittens and gerbils. There is nothing else quite like it. From there to the Queen's house where apparently she forgot our 3:30 invitation for High Tea. They said she was packing as she is getting ready to leave on holiday. We did confirm our appointment for the 7th of August when we will have the opportunity to actually get inside the palace and visit 19 rooms. Watch for the pic's. Then onto Queens Park and the beautiful home of James and Lydia, fabulous hosts, where with Bobby Flays assistance via the i-phone, Howard and Al bbq'd for the brit's. Anywhere, anytime we are ready to grill and chill, Pimms and Tequila who would have thought. We've taken our first malarone pills and are ready for the overnight flight to Johannesburg, we hope that South Africa is ready for us. Until next time.... Mind the Gap! All our love Marcy and Al

Yes It's Still Wednesday

We finally arrived on Tuesday morning and made our way to the hotel. Upon arrival they inquired whether or not we might do them a favour and change to a sister hotel (and at this point they had never met us before). They offered an upgrade so off we went by taxi to the Radisson Bloomsbury. A lovely ride with the only jewish cab driver in London who somehow managed to out us. Now we know where the best Kosher meal in London is, but can't seem to find the fish and chips. Spent the day with Henry learning about his misadventures in marriage at the Tower of London. Marcy always looking for referrals found the greatest need in London (see photo's not in intended order after several tequilla shots). Joel what can you do with this one? Heading out for grub since many of us will begin the malarone pills in the am. Cherrio for now, or as Max the cab driver would say, Shalom, next year in Santa Monica.