Had to get the laundry done again this morning to be ready for the next trip.   Also located another post office to get our souvenirs shipped off and any extras we don't need to be carrying with us.  We also had them stamp our passports to show we were actually in France, they didn't do that at the train station.  Checkout for the hotel was noon, and we just got that done in time.  We walked along Sebastabol and checked out some larger shops along this street.

Today was mostly a travel day unfortunately since we couldn't get the overnight train. We started the day early and checked out from the Reims. Rode by train through the French country side and finally crossed the Rhine into Germany. We had a train change in Mannheim in Western Germany, and took this new train from Mannheim into Munich. We had to stand for part of the way because it was so packed. When we arrived in Munich, we got a cab and took it to the Motel. Our motel/apartment is disconnect from the office building and was hard to find, we walked around our area for a while.

We learned about the subway system in Paris today.  It's a little more confusing than the system in London, partially because of the names are not familiar, but also because the stations don't appear very consistent, in either their entrances or signage. One of the stations along Le Chapelle, has a yellow M, for Metro, with a circle around it, while others have Metro spelled out in red letters. It still seems like a good way to get around the city.

Left early from the room as planned to try and get a full English breakfast near the Queensway Tube entrance. Unfortunately, it wasn't open yet so we went back to the room and decided to pack the remaining items up and drop off what we could with our bags already checked in at the train station. From the train station, we took a cab to the pickup point for the Stonehenge Tour, taking only a few items with us on the tour bus.

It rained most of the day but we did do some shopping this morning, then took a boat cruise down the river Thames (which was free because it came with our Big Bus Open Top tour we took yesterday) we took the Underground to the Marble Arch at the corner of Hyde Park, which has become our navigation landmark and used the same ticket to get a ride down to Big Ben on another tour bus with the same company, near where the boat cruise was docked. Seeing the sights from the water was a different perspective, but the rain made it a little harder to see out the windows.

Started the day getting some laundry done for the trip to Paris. Ate cereal and milk at the apartment.  We ran the dryer once but didn't get the clothes completely dry so we left them in front of the room radiator to finish while we left to do some shopping.  Headed out east first on Bayswater Rd for the Oriental Market, Russian Shops and some others; picking up some things.  It was raining really badly and the umbrella we bought for 5 pounds fell apart. Returned to the room with what we had then headed west on the same road.

Found the Indian food restaurant we'd seen walking up to the Apartment. No waiting of course after lunch rush, was really good, wanted to eat more of the rice and the currey Tandori Meat (Lamb) was tender and a mild type. We had time to ask the advice of the waiter since we were the only ones left in the restaurant at that time. Kristi really like the cooked vegetables that was our side. We had some really thin flat bread, cheese and mine was garlic.

Got a ride to KC airport from my cousin. Left for Chicago, O'Hare at 7:40 PM. Was raining in Chicago when we arrived, our plane from KC had to wait 20 minutes on tarmac before getting an open gate at O'Hare. They were boarding for the London flight so we had to hurry, left a message on Mom and Dads phone, and talked to Uncle Brian. The flight to London was only 6 hours (total time in air just around 9 hours, two meals; dinner about 10 PM, then Breakfast before we landed.

I remember as a boy, when the harvest came in.  In particular, one year I got to watch the soybeans and wheat get harvested and shot into a big hopper trailer.  I looked inside the hopper and to my surprise, there was the soybeans or wheat, but there was also all kinds of grasshoppers, bug bodies, weeds, and leaves.  I wouldn't have said then, that in a single harvest of soybeans, you would have got "only" soybeans or wheat, there was a lot of foreign matter.

This month's edition focused on beneficiaries. Thrivent Financial encourages us to consider these beneficiaries carefully, and review them regularly. Even if you're single you need to be considering this. I know before I was married, I made sure to list both my mother and father on any beneficiary role. A new product the Thrivent Financial Bank provides is Cash Momentum Life insurance is another major focus for Thrivent Financial. It's something they can provide to you in a bulk rate.