Last night, Carlos, Mike, Reed, Yoshiko and I went into London to a very posh sushi restaraunt called Nobu. I, of course, had beef teriyaki and it was excellant. They all had sushi and seemed to think it was excellant. Oh well, to each his own! We then went to Waxy's for a quicxk drink and walked back to Victoria Station. I think that is one of the first times I have gone out last minute into London on a weeknight. It was very nice! The weather was cool but it made for a nice walk. We have a 3 day weekend, so I won't be updating until Tuesday. Don't expect anything exciting. I plan on sitting around and doing nothing! I can't wait!

I received a wonderful present yesterday that I can share with all of you!!! Sossi sent me pictures of Hrag and her new son Vahag. She actually was in the process of scanning Hrag's birthday pictures for me when she went into labour. (I don't think I can actually take credit for making her go into labor though!) Anyways, I think these pictures are great and wanted to share my 3 favorite with you (Sossi said it would be ok.)


This one was taken at Christmas time of Hrag. I think it is such a sweet picture.


This one was at Hrag's birthday party. He's 2!!!


I had brought home matching shirts for Hrag and his new brother, Vahag. Here are both of them wearing the shirts.

It's amazing how fast they grow up. It seems so short a time ago that Hrag was as little as his new brother.

I talked to Jamie last night and he was putting ice cubes in the cat's water bowl because it is so hot. Meanwhile, back in bad weather land, I was woken up at 6am by a loud boom that sounded like a bomb going off. About 2 minutes later there was a flash of lightning and another boom. Then came the rain again... It is going to rain the rest of the week and it is back down to the mid 50's. But (and I know you aren't supposed to start a sentence with but..) BUT!! I would actually rather be here in the mid 50's and rain than back home in 100 and putting ice cubes in Nicki's bowl!

Well on with my story... I woke up at 6:30 on Saturday and got ready. It was cold out but beautiful. It really is an amazing feeling to arrive in a new city at night so you don't see anything and then wake up to it in the morning. I had about a 20 minute walk to the meeting place for my tour and fortunately my map got me there in time. The tour was fantastic and took us to both the castles and the town that I took pics of. The tour guide was very nice and as we drove up these windy mountain roads in the rain, I was especially glad I had taken a tour instead of driven myself. I had made friends with 2 men named Jay and Brent on the tour and the three of us went to dinner right after. Jay had to be up by 4am to catch a plane so he left right after dinner and Brent and I went around the corner to the Beer house that is also in my pics. That was great fun to walk into. There are about 100 long tables and people singing, eating and drinking at all of them. Everyone smiling and happy, it was great! We were there for a couple of hours talking with some english guys at our table and then I finally went back to my hotel around 12.

I slept in on Sunday as I was still tired from coming home from LA the week before!!!! I got up around 9:30 and spent the rest of the day walking around the city. I took the tube up to the Olympic area and wandered around the BMW museum (how could I miss that?) Then tubed back down to the English Garden on the way back to my hotel. One of the best things was those surfers on the perpetual wave. That was fantastic! It sure looked like fun!

By the time I got back to Croydon, it was about 7pm and gorgeous outside. I walked from the train station to my flat in this wonderful sunshine and didn't even put my jacket on. I got to my flat and opened all the windows and enjoyed it. On Monday we all went to the park at lunch time. Here is a pic of Stephan that day (just in case you don't believe me that there was sunshine here!)

It was very strange leaving here on Friday night all by my lonesome. I kept having this weird feeling like I wasn't supposed to be going and that something would go wrong (not like my plane would crash or anything) just like I would miss my flight or I was showing up on the wrong weekend or something. Well I had an uneventful trip to the airport, got all checked in and went to the BA Lounge (I now have silver status and can go to the lounge without a Business Class ticket!!!!) Gotta tell you though that the lounge at Gatwick is not as nice as Heathrow, but who would expect it to be? Well anyway, got on the plane and ended up next to 2 business men who were German. The one by the window was sick so he promptly fell asleep. The one in the middle, realizing he was losing his chatting buddy decided to talk to me the entire time. I don't know what my aversion is to talking to people on planes but I absolutely hate it. One reason I love business class (there are lots of reasons, of course) is that you have a little divider between you and the person next to you so you don't have to talk to anyone. Even if I am travelling with someone I like, I don't like talking..... oh and the torture of talking to someone you don't know or care about for 2 hours and then you will never see them again!! What hell!! I think it has to do with the lack of oxygen on planes (I blame that for most everything) so I am tired and just want to read. On top of that you are in an uncomfortable seat that forces you to sit straight ahead so if you are talking to someone you have to turn your head to do it. This gives me a sore neck very quickly. Now if I were on a plane where you faced people I don't think I would mind talking to them as much. So I kept rubbing my neck and turning away, trying to make it clear that I didn't want to talk. When he would stop talking for a minute, I would pick up my book to read and after I read one sentence he would start up again!!!! He wouldn't get the hint! Finally I picked up my book and stated that I was going to read and wow didn't his book look interesting and I was sure he wanted to get on with it! So about 20 minutes before the flight landed I finally got to just sit and read my book and rub my neck.

We landed about 10:30PM and I knew I needed to take the train to the main station in Munich so I followed the signs with the little pictures of a train on them (since I read German about as well as I speak it.) Ended up at a line of ticket machines that were all in German. I stood and stared for a couple of minutes and looked around and saw an English couple staring at me to see how I would solve this dilemma. Finally a German couple came up to buy tickets and asked if we needed help, the three of us said yes, please!!! Well it turns out that we were all going to the same place and you can buy a family ticket which covers 5 people and it is a ton cheaper so not only did we get an escort into town but it was only €3! Now I didn't mind chatting as we were seated around each other and I didn't have to turn my neck and everyone was sooooo nice. After about 20 minutes the train stopped and everyone started getting out of the train. The overhead system was saying something in German so me and the English couple patiently waited for our nice new German friends to tell us what to do. It turns out that there was construction going on so the train stopped there and we had to switch to the underground to get to where we wanted. Thank goodness we were with them or I would still be sitting on that train!!!! It really worked out well because once we got on the underground, my stop was first so they were able to tell me where to get off. I took out myu trusty map and found my hotel within minutes. I was pleasantly surprised as the hotel and room were very nice and I had gotten a very good deal on them. I got ready for bed, read my book a couple of minutes, checked the time (it was about midnight) turned off the light, rubbed my neck some more and fell asleep.

Fantastic weekend in Munich, Germany. Here is the reason I went, to see Castle Neuschwanstein.



I'll write more about it tomorrow, spent all my free time today loading the pics....

mmmmm.. we just got back from lunch. we stopped by the park and sat in the sunshine for 10 minutes or so.... it was soooo nice.

Good morning! It is a beautiful day here! And why shouldn't it be, I'm leaving for the weekend!!! It is supposed to rain and be cold in Munich. Oh well, I will enjoy it today while I can. I even wore sunglasses on my walk to work and had my jacket unzipped and no scarf! Most of you don't realize what a big deal this is!! I am really looking forward to this weekend as it is my first big trip all by myself. I am really looking forward to the castle and my hotel is supposed to be right near the biggest park in Munich. I am leaving directly from work tonight and should arrive there around 10:30. Should be great, can't wait!!

Mike and Reed were over for dinner last night and at 9pm, Reed looked out and noticed there was still some light left! I guess by June, it should stay light until 10pm or so... I wonder if I am already getting used to it though? I woke up at 7:30 this morning instead of 6 so the sunrise didn't wake me up. Unfortunately it was too late to call Jamie but at least I was able to catch up on some sleep!

It may still be raining here but it is getting brighter! I keep waking up at 6am because it is so bright out. I think the sun is rising around 5:30 or so. It is really nice after work though because the sun is still setting at 8PM. So even if I leave work late I am still seeing some sun. And it's not even summer yet!!!

I booked my hotel for this weekend last night and looked into visiting Castle Neuschwanstein.
It looks like that will take an entire day since it is a couple of hours away, so I have to do it on Saturday. Sunday everything will be closed so I am pretty much going there to see the castle. What an expensive trip just to see a castle! It better be worth it!

When I was home, Renee, Gen, Angie and I went Bridesmaid shopping. It was a very surreal experience. At one point they all came out of dressing rooms right after each other in the most hideous dress (not the one above)!!! It was like a bad Twilight Zone! We had alot of fun though and even found a dress that might work. The one above was a nice dress on it's own but just didn't really work, but the picture is cute!

On Easter Sunday, Jamie, my mom, Grandma, Grandpa and I all went to the location that I found for the wedding and we all loved it!!! So it is now booked! The biggest and hardest part is now done. (Actually I think Jamie might argue that getting the ring was bigger!) I guess this was the biggest part for me. and to think, the wedding is exactly 10 months from today!!!

On another note, as I walked to work today, I noticed that all of my trees in the little park have some sort of leaves growing, not just buds anymore. Looking at the weather forecast, it should hit 60 by Thursday! Break out the shorts and sandals!!!!

Well I am back. It was pouring rain when I arrived but this morning it is bright and sunny! I already miss home. :( I had such a good time and it was hard to get back on that plane!!! Well I will be back in June and have a jam packed schedule between now and then so the time will fly by for me! Very busy here at work today after just getting back...

Well I have to say that the re-do of Terminal 1 here at Heathrow is quite nice. I left my flat at 12 and Alex got me here around 1:30. The Biz Class and higher passengers no longer have to check in with all the "regular" people. We go through some special doors and into a special area to check in and go through our very own security gate. I went directly to the lounge and checked in. My biggest concern about moving from Terminal 4 to Terminal 1 (LA flights used to go through T4 and just changed a week ago) was that they might not have the Molton Brown spa. Back when Gen and I flew to London for a weekend, we accidentally got bumped up to Biz class and when we landed in England were able to go to the special Arrivals Lounge. It had a Molton Brown spa where we were able to take a shower and get refreshed. Well if you arrive early enough before a flight you can get a complimentary massage or facial. (Much better than sitting in the hard grey chairs out in the regular areas!!!!) Well to my amazement, they had a 2:00 opening and I got myself a massage!!! It was lovely! I then went into the rest of the lounge and found some lunch and am now in the Biz area at the complimentary internet access!!! I am going to finish up here and head on down to the international wine bar and then go relax in a LaZboy!!! Woo-hoo I LOVE BUSINESS CLASS!!!! See you all very soon because I am on my way home!!!!! Love, Diana

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO REED EDWARDS TOMORROW!!!! (I won't be here to write it!!)

I had trouble sleeping last night... probably will tonight too, but that is good because then I will be even more tired and will sleep tomorrow night!!!! In warm, sunny California!!!

I paked last night, so I am all ready to go.

There won't be any more blog updates until I get back on the 19th. See you all soon!!!

OK, so here are the pics from this weekend London Walks. Here is my favorite, it is from the Japanese Garden in Holland Park.



And here is another pretty one. It is from St. James Park by Buckingham Palace



So today has been very interesting weather wise. Woke up this morning and it was sunny. Went to lunch and it was starting to get a little gray. Came out of the restaraunt and it was pouring!! Around 3 it was raining, lightning and thundering. Around 4:30 it was hailing.

Can't wait to be in LA!!!

I had a great weekend doing a couple of walks from my famous London Walks books. Walked around Kensington, Notting Hill and Whitehall. The pictures will tell the story! Lots of weather changes, beautiful flowers and even some spring baby ducks! I'm sorry but I don't have time to put the pics up now, hopefully by tomorrow. Things are a bit hectic with working a short week!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SOSSI ON SUNDAY!!!!!!

I can't wait to see you in person to wish you a happy birthday!

One week from today I will be waking up at home... what a lovely thought. I will spend this weekend relaxing and walking around London. I got a new book called Secret London that has walks that are in non-tourist areas that people don't really know about. Hopefully it won't rain the whole weekend!! I am looking forward to it though. One good thing about the weather is that I can start packing this weekend because there is NO FEAR of me packing something that I might want to wear here!!! Shorts and T-shirts right!!!???

Anyway, have a good weekend all and I will see you soon!

Can you believe that I have been gone for 6 months and only been home once? WOW, time is flying by.... just 10 months left.. seems like a lot but at the rate it's going, I'm going to be home with all sorts of places that I missed going to! That is my biggest fear that time will go too quickly... but also something I look forward to.... how can that be?

I had a major accomplishment yesterday! I moved on to the 3rd week in the running program that I have been limping along at. I walked for 2.5 minutes then ran for 5 and did it 4 times! That is a total of 20 minutes of running!!! I truly felt like I was going to die but I just kept telling myself it would be over soon.... My face stayed bright red for at least 40 minutes afterwards...

Jamie and I have an appoitment with a photographer next week... but if any of you know a very good wedding photographer, please let me know!!!

1 more week.....