not just another wedding

 what is a wedding without the bride and groom

               (they come  later with permission )

A church..

Pretty pews 

Rings and bearers of rings 

Music and musicians 

   

Espresso in  classy glasses

And more beverages

A band that plays on and on 

Table placement  

Shoes for dancing, maybe

and for tired feet   

Roses, and more roses 

Menus and magic 

Pillows of deliciousness  

Gelato with many toppings
and/or
Chocolate dipped shortbread

Picture booth 

Powder room sparkle 

A little hide and seek 

and dancing and dancing

and

And the band played on...til the dawns early light.....  

                 but we missed out.... sparklers for the get-a-way 

I live an exciting life 

California here we come

Landed ... John Wayne 

First stop, a parking lot
Took a different "exit" and just in and out
But, she made us pay $1.00  

Next Stop..dinner ..and good coffee
Then, phone died.... 

Phone woke up
and so did the sky 

Waking up to mickey and good coffee
( thank you Bonnie )

Hot Spring
Murietta
105 °

Always good treats 

The bluest skies you will ever see are in Seattle
and
sometimes Murietta Hot Springs 

Final shot with Juliana
then phone died
and so did my other shoe




So, just a little evidence that we went away for a few days in December

Happy New Year !   

Changes

Life is full of changes 

Like downtown Seattle !


I drove downtown today ( Seattle will always be downtown, even though I live in Bellevue, and it is growing and growing ) 

The first change.... my old favorite parking lot, across from Macy's, now has the first three floors for rental cars.   And the price increased.  OK, so I didn't make the early bird  for $9.00... but for less than four hours   $19.00.
That is one reason I will not be returning.

The sky bridge to Macy's leads to an elevator that takes you down to the 3rd floor.  What happened  to  all the other 4 floors of shopping ? 

And what happened to what used to be the most beautiful ladies room in downtown Seattle? The airport has more appeal

First happy encounter... meeting my friend MaryAnn.  Planned.  On time.   

No star on Macy's...but I heard it is coming. Even though Macy's is closing, Amazon is going to take over the building and the tradition.

Primary mission: lunch and conversation. So we head out of Macy's and down Pine 

There is always a carousel for the holidays.  But it was still in pieces.  We keep walking 

Next stop Nordstrom.  
 This is the old Frederick and Nelson store.    Eight floors of everything you might ever need. The door man, and a row of elevators with people who operated them.  Sales people, who helped you.  Paul Bunyan Cafe in the basement.  Upstairs, 8th floor sit down restaurant ..The Rhododendron Room ?Also a little child care, while you ate...they make little necklaces out of straws..

Back to the real world.  It is now Nordstrom's and only 3 floors of goods...
We pause on the first floor..handbags. We chat with the salesman about the robbery in Bellevue Nordstrom.   He showed us the type of handbags that had been "lifted"  $4,000 and up.  They are real animal skin.  They are Gucci Zumi.   Now I know and now you know. 

That is the Gucci display on the far wall. I touched a bag, it had a $10,000 price tag. 

On to the 2nd floor   

The black for MaryAnn,  the pink for me.  

By the way.. those are real flowers  in the ladies room at Nordstrom's  



Final stop at the Cafe.   The food is always good, but I have to say,  the service is just not like it used to be.  Oh well.  MaryAnn and me, we just wanted to talk  ( the pumpkin pecan dessert was delicious)


All good things come to an end.  
But wait...is that piano music, live piano music?
Yes !  And wait, is that Joe Rojo, the pianist who played for years at Nordstrom in Bellevue?
Yes!   He told us that he was the first and now the last to play the piano for Nordstrom.   He still looked the same.  Well, he said, I am 58.  

My trip downtown was now worthwhile,  very worthwhile.
Hearing a favorite, Joe,
and being with my friend MaryAnn

Shameless selfie...


By the time I got back to my car it was raining and then hail ... lots and lots of hail... then sunshine and home.


I live an exciting life.

London page two.

London 

On our way to the Churchill War Rooms

some of you will know  why I took this picture 

You can google Churchill War Rooms and get the full story
BUT 

You will not see this lady flirting with a soldier 

Or this lady trying on hats

Rooms with stories of Churchill years 

We are heading toward the 11:00 changing of the guards

getting closer 

And this is about as close as we got

Church at Trafalgar Square
St. Martins in the Fields 

and then....

Street entertainment 

You want souvenirs ? We got em !

We are approaching the
Victoria and Albert Museum

Recognize our Northwest Artist ? !

On the right: our tour guide . Very valuable ( and free)  Gives a brief history of 5 or 6 exhibits.
On the left: Ann. A helpful tourist who had been to the V & A many times and encouraged us to get in line for a tour and she also  came along with our group, until Margret and Colin were missing. So she went looking for them.
Darrell found them at the end of the 45 minute tour.

Even the tile floors are  Art !

The tiger lifts and there are details about this mechanical animal that you would not know if you did not have a guide or guide book ( a take the time to read it ) 

This is the famous  fig leaf that was designed to make David  presentable to  all viewers.   

This special exhibit had lines that were huge.
There was a cost and I chose the Shoe exhibit.
You can google Alexander McQueen, if you dare. A very disturbing biography.
No surprise when you see his picture and  read the introduction as pictured above .

I live a protected, somewhat innocent, life.
I have so much to be thankful for.
Blessed, because of Jesus. 

No pictures allowed inside, but a fun exhibit
and while I was enjoying shoes, Darrell took Margret and Colin to the exhibits they missed.
He gave them
a fine introduction to some exhibits , I am told. 

Always hungry, always a Cafe, or vendor 

Having fun ? 

Having fun ! 

A final stroll to the exit
Next time, someone tell me to fix my hair 

Margret and Colin








And the next stop is a Palace