Europe - Day 1

So Erik and I went to London and Paris a couple of weeks ago and I'm just now getting our pictures (there are at least 400) loaded onto the computer. I'm just going to take this one day at a time and try to give a quick overview of our trip. First, though, I should just mention how indebted we are to my mom, who came and stayed w/ Sophie while we were gone for 8 days. I know she was exhausted when we came back, but she did a fabulous job and Sophie still wakes up some days asking for "Gan" or "Gra." I don't think she was too thrilled when we came home and things got back to boring old normal.

So anyway, these pictures are from London. We arrived on a Friday afternoon and were so exhausted, but managed to see a bit of the city (Harrod's, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square) and to see a show that night.

Erik at Piccadilly Circus

So excited about our trip!

St. Martin-in-the-Fields church in Trafalgar Square

The National Gallery - we had a bit of time to kill before our show, so we went in for 20 minutes to see some of the most famous pieces, including "Wheatfield w/ Cypresses" and "Sunflowers" by Van Gogh. I'm always amazed at his works when seen in person. The God-given creativity that man displayed in his art is incredible.

We ended our first day with a performance of "On the Waterfront." This production is just running for a few months and was adapted from the movie, which is one of Erik's favorites. It was a minimalist production, so few props and a company of 11 actors (1 actress) played several roles. It was really well-done and the theatre was small so it was very intimate. The best part was when the main character, Terry Malloy, goes up to his roof to check on his pigeons, played by members of the cast. Erik has been imitating this ever since, so if you want a re-creation of the performance, just ask.