England

England was unique in our travels, in that visiting there involved a family tie (ie duty, obligation, but also unmerited acceptance), as Carolyn's uncle (Don) had married an Englishwoman (Leslie), raising a family of 3 in Exeter - a craggy, spectacular landscape near the high moorlands of Devon. The eldest, Naddie, was busy with legal work in Cambridge, but Max & Jake were home.

We flew EasyJet - the super-convenient, air carrier out of Geneva, leaving an unusually wet June behind. You pay a basic fare, then add on menu items: extra bag, speedy boarding, meal, etc. Michael relishes being served refreshments on planes (poor kid was born in the wrong era), and eats with gusto food he normally wouldn't. He declined our breakfast at home that morning, later saying, "I was waiting for the airplane." At take-off and landing, he grabs your hand and announces, "Hold hands!" Our little ritual on the tarmac.
Max & Michael, Jake & Jack in front of Exeter Cathedral, which survived the bombings of WWII (the city's architectural charm was targeted by the Germans). Having grown-up far removed from relatives in Japan, I felt a certain kinship with these adult children who had also lived their lives apart from the rest of the Soule family, save one member: Carolyn (who had visited before).

The English countryside was a lush, often hedged, landscape dotted with manor homes, thatched rooftops, and pubs - where the sides of a narrow two-lane road disappeared into field grass.

Aunt Leslie guided us towards neolithic rock formations (eg Stonehenge) in the high moorlands called Dartmoor,
where wild sheep and ponies ran, oblivious to roads, cars, and us.

Back home, Jack found a guitar and pic. Both boys will be registered for Suzuki (piano and violin) in the fall.

I was never so glad to turn in a rental car. I knew I'd be driving on the left, but hadn't foreseen a reversed steering column and using a stick shift with my LEFT hand. Multiple scrapes. UGH. Then we boarded a train to Paddington Station, London, for 4 days, traversing the children's book settings of Duffy Driver and Thomas the Tank Engine.

LONDON

After the double-deck bus tour... (photo by Michael)
we saw The Sound of Music at the Palladium; it was great for us to see Michael entranced by theater, hanging on every word and note. Both Carolyn's family and my parents really loved American musicals. I always thought it a bizarre form of entertainment, but it did give me a momentary chill being where Judy Garland gave her acclaimed performances.

Pouring over EVERY detail of the program.

The London Eye is a ferris wheel with large pods with half-hour revolutions.

from the Eye

The London Tube (subway) was entertaining and efficient, as we hunted down play equipment for the boys at Hyde Park (site of the Rollling Stones' memorial concert for member Brian Jones, btw).

Men on the whole seemed better dressed - albeit conservatively - than women and I confirm all reports of mediocre British food. It would be a real culinary disaster if not for the more modestly priced self-serve chains that offer fresh salads and sandwiches and drinks for people on the go. There just didn't seem to exist a cultural standard for a great $10-15 street meal. Brits seem to really love their sandwiches; virtually anything ends up between two slices of crustless bread. We did find one pub licensed to serve minors, enjoying our final dinner in their upstairs dining room.

London had all the advantages of a large urban center - great bookstores, toystores, and some of the grand, old retail institutions, like Liberty's, which was running its annual Arts & Crafts Exhibition with Japanese prints. Liberty's was a key importer of textiles and carpets from the Oriental colonies (paisley came from India), and continues to display an exotic array of beautiful fabric and goods in an open-atrium, Tudor structure.
The Movieum was a film exhibition complex, highlighting UK productions (included Star Wars).

And a Jedi took us in a corridor for a photoshoot.

A cheap Chinese buffet hit the spot, and Jack demonstrated his technique.
A swanky Japanese restaurant named after the modernist film master, Ozu, was part of the complex.
Michael made use of the digital camera we gave him for Christmas last year; he tends to do catalog and inventory:

We were inspired by the city and Pepperdine has a program there! As you may be aware, England is experiencing its own cultural crisis, as the rising Muslim population coincides with the existing population's secularism and low birthrate, leading to talk show discussions of "What do you think Britishness is?" As for touring, you can choose to explore historic, Christian London, colonial London, theater London, literary London, etc.

As for souvenirs, after 4 days, we came home with: