• Lori Hoppe
  • Karl Hoppe
  • Lori Hoppe
  • Karl Hoppe

25th Anniversary Trip

A 13-day adventure by Lori & Karl Read more
  • Trip start
    July 17, 2023

    On our way!

    July 17, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Left the Hoppe house at 6:25 p.m. in the rental car. (Kyle had given Karl a ride to the Rochester airport at 12:30 p.m. to pick up the rental car.)

  • Hotel in Elgin, IL

    July 17, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Lori got up to take a shower at 4:30 a.m. as we are leaving for the airport af 5:00 a.m. After she gets out of the shower, Karl tells her our flight departure has been delayed until 4:35 p.m.!

    Karl, Lori & Kyle ate breakfast at the hotel restaurant.Read more

  • Changed flights!

    July 18, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    While trying to figure out if our plane was going to actually take off or if they would get another plane or what, we ended up being able to get switched to the place boarding at the gate across the aisle. They were giving the last call announcements as we were getting our boarding passes and closed the gate shortly after we got on. Unfortunately, that means our bags won't be with us, but we will hopefully meet up with them again in London! Flight scheduled to leave at 7:16pm.

    When we walked up to see whether or not we could get on that flight, the gate attendant wasn't sure about booking us. Kyle showed her the app, as it was giving him options to change his flight & that flight was an option. (Note: None of the rest of us were getting that option on the app.) She then happily booked all 4 of us on the flight in the same row. We couldn't get seats together on our original flight!

    Karl sat next to a young man from Birmingham, Alabama. He and his brother were flying to England to watch their cousin play in the British Open. The young man had discovered his passport was expired just 2 days before the flight. (He and his siblings had gotten passports at the same time, but he had only been 15, so it was only good for 5 years.)

    Upon discovering that, he and his mom got up early the next morning and drove to New Orleans to see if they could renew his passport. The only appt available was 8 a.m. the next day in Minneapolis. So, he flew to Minneapolis, renewed his passport, and then flew to Chicago to hop on the flight to London. His brother had taken the original flight they had booked, so he was already there.
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  • And we've landed

    July 19, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    We actually made it! Landed at about 8:23 local time, so 2:23 CDT. No idea where our bags are, the app is giving conflicting information. Hoping it can get delivered to our hotel.

  • CitizenM hotel

    July 19, 2023 in England ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    After taking the Elizabeth Line to Liverpool Street and then transferring to Circle for two stops we arrived at Tower Hill station which is literally in the basement of the CitizenM Hotel we are staying at. Can't check in yet but the hotel can hold the bags we have until we can check in.

    Not sure when our luggage will arrive. Hopefully overnight sometime.

    Quick change of clothes in the basement where the toilets are and then off to do some exploring.
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  • St. Paul's Cathedral

    July 19, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Purchased the London pass online. This allowed us to get in at St. Paul's a little bit faster since we didn't have to buy a ticket.

    The Whispering Gallery was closed, but we walked all the way up the stairs to the 2 galleries above.Read more

  • Shakespeares Globe Theater

    July 19, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    Toured Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and learned some of the history of theater in the 1600s in Britain. They have one of about 250 copies of "the first folio" on display which is going to turn 400 years old next year I believe.Read more

  • Checked in at hotel

    July 19, 2023 in England ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    Tiny room but we knew that coming in. We absolutely love the location and the common spaces, though losing one night (and a night of sleep) will mean we miss out on some common space time. Definitely interested in utilizing CitizenM in other metropolitan locations if it's just Lori and I traveling. The Tower Hill tube stop is literally underneath the hotel.Read more

  • Swingers (for food and mini-golf)

    July 19, 2023 in England ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Had a discount from the London Pass at a mini golf place that ended up being a trendy bar and restaurant with mini golf and drinks. Also the discount was only good until 5pm so we missed that, but played mini golf anyway. It was a blast and just the thing we needed to keep us awake a little longer before crashing for the night.Read more

  • Luggage arrived!

    July 20, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    They called at midnight, indicating our luggage was delivered! After Karl went and picked up the luggage, he had no problem getting back to sleep.

  • Tower of London

    July 20, 2023 in England ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Spent the morning touring the Tower of London, going to the Crown Jewels display first. The displays and exhibits seemed to have changed a lot in layout since Lori and Karl were here last.

    Had lunch at the cafe here. Made a 4:30 p.m. reservation at The Drawing Room at Browns Hotel for afternoon tea prior to theatre tonight.Read more

  • Leicester Square

    July 20, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    We then walked through Picadilly Circus to get to Leicester Square. Karl and Lori went to the LEGO Store, the world's largest LEGO Store. (We didn't purchase any LEGO as we want to buy some in Denmark!)Read more

  • Breakfast at Bonne Bouche

    July 21, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    After realizing we couldn't ride the Thames Clipper with our City Pass until 10 a.m., we took the Circle Line train to St. James's Park and walked to Bonne Bouche, which Karl thought was Bonne BRIOCHE while looking at Google Maps the day before. But we got there in the end.Read more

  • The British Museum

    July 21, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    We saw the Rosetta Stone, stone carvings from the Parthenon, etc. While there, Karl & Kyle ordered tickets for Hamilton so we weren't at the Museum for long before we had to head to the theater!

  • Day at Sea

    July 22, 2023, North Sea ⋅ 🌧 14 °C

    Woke up on time to shower, grab breakfast at the buffet, and go down to dinner talks about the ports we will be visiting. After the presentations in the theater, Karl took a power nap while Lori did some jewel scavenger hunting with Mandy. Then Karl and Kyle went to the Crown Grill, where they host board games during the day, and we played three games of Akropolis while the ladies relaxed outside. A lady from the UK was excited we let her borrow our copy of Splendor as it's one of her and get husbands favorites.

    Weather was overcast but pleasant. The ship says low 60s but seems much warmer than that. Karl and Lori went to the hot tub on the deck for a bit and then sat in lounge chairs on the deck before heading down to tonight's formal dinner.
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