One of the funniest experiences we have had in our travels is to stand off to the side and watch tourists, especially children, stand in front of these guards and try to make them laugh or change their expression.
Kids will make faces,
"moon" the guards, any silly thing you can think of, but these guys do not flinch!
We first started traveling abroad in 1981. The first country we visited was England, and I was smitten with an overwhelming desire to be British! Their customs, their heritage, their
history all appealed to me so much, and I was in heaven.
That first trip, we explored what the English call endearingly call The Potteries, a collection of six small towns around Stoke-on-Trent. It is here that are clustered the producers
of the finest china and pottery in the world. Such revered names as Wedgwood, Spode, and Royal Doulton. As we toured through all the different companies, it was Nancy’s turn to be in heaven!
While we were there, Royal Doulton was completing an order for a china service for two hundred people, bought by one of the sheiks of some oil producing country in the middle east. It
may be my memory playing tricks, but I recall the soup tureen being so large, you could stand up in it! We asked the guide about its cost, but she said she could not reveal such information.
Neat story, but here is how our first trip outside the United States came to be:
One morning while driving to the office, we heard Barbara Streisand singing “Memory”. We learned it was one of the highlights from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s stunning new
musical, “CATS”, which had just opened in London..
Had to see it! I called the theatre transatlantic and made our reservations for the best stalls available.
The night of the performance, we left the hotel early and walked to Covent Gardens. Had dinner in some little café down a flight of stairs (this was 6 years before Nancy’s
strokes), had a Waldorf salad, then left for the theatre- a walk of about 15 or 20 minutes. | 
