On our way!
17. juli 2023, Forente stater ⋅ ☀️ 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.)
Wal-Mart in Janesville
17. juli 2023, Forente stater ⋅ 🌙 18 °C
Also stopped at KT for food.
Hotel in Elgin, IL
17. juli 2023, Forente stater ⋅ ⛅ 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,Les mer
At the airport!
18. juli 2023, Forente stater ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C
On the flight and next stop: London
18. juli 2023, Forente stater ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C
Boarded the flight a little before 4pm in Chicago, current arrival time is estimated to be 6:12am BST, which would be about midnight at home.
Hopefully we will be able to sleep.
Changed flights!
18. juli 2023, Forente stater ⋅ ☀️ 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 theLes mer
And we've landed
19. juli 2023, 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
19. juli 2023, 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 areLes mer
St. Paul's Cathedral
19. juli 2023, 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 theLes mer
Ye Old Cheshire Cheese Pub
19. juli 2023, England ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
Fish and chips and an incredibly cool historical building. Rebuilt in 1667 we ended up eating in the basement but it was like you were from another time.
Shakespeares Globe Theater
19. juli 2023, 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 400Les mer
Checked in at hotel
19. juli 2023, 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. DefinitelyLes mer
Swingers (for food and mini-golf)
19. juli 2023, 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, butLes mer
Luggage arrived!
20. juli 2023, 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
20. juli 2023, 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 lunchLes mer
Afternoon Tea
20. juli 2023, England ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C
The Afternoon Tea in the Drawing Room was delicious! See photos for the menu.
Leicester Square
20. juli 2023, 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 inLes mer
Les Mis
20. juli 2023, England ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
We saw Les Miserables at the Sondheim Theatre (which had been known as the Queen's Theatre).
Breakfast at Bonne Bouche
21. juli 2023, 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 BRIOCHELes mer
St. James's Park
21. juli 2023, England ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C
Wandered through St. James's Park on the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Walk and then walked past Buckingham Palace.
Camden Market
21. juli 2023, England ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C
The British Museum
21. juli 2023, 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!
On the ship!
22. juli 2023, England ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
Alfredo's for lunch
22. juli 2023, England ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
Pizza for lunch, Karl had pepperoni, Lori had Hawaiian.
Day at Sea
22. juli 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 didLes mer




















































