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Great Britain

April - May 2022
I’ve joined 2 Rick Steves tours and will be traveling throughout England, Wales and Scotland. Join me on my new adventures! Read more
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  • TravelerGreat Britain
    Day 11

    Keswick

    May 9, 2022 in England ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    Derwentwater is 10 minutes outside our door. We took a boat cruise on this lake this morning. It’s picture perfect with the its four islands and the mountains as a backdrop. I get a peak of this outside my hotel window.

    I enjoyed having a little downtime this afternoon. Three of us wandered to the town square and did a little shopping. I found 3 new tops. Spaghetti at Casa Bella’s was what I was in need of after all the English foods I’ve tried! We finished it off with my new favorite flavor of gelato called Honeycomb. The banks are closed 4 days a week here and the ATM wouldn’t work for me. Thank heavens for the Visa card! I’m almost out of British money.

    A few adventuresome people are doing the strenuous climb to see the Castlerigg Stone Circle. About 12 of us opted to take a cab! The circle is one of the oldest in Britain…about 5000 years old. The 38 stones are mysteriously laid out on a line between the two tallest peaks on the horizon and face north. The heavens opened up and the wind tried to take our umbrellas, but we got to see the site.

    Jamie, our guide, treated us to a cheese tasting happy hour. Since we had a big lunch, we skipped going out in the heavy rains. I really like this town and would happily spend more time in the Lake District villages and towns. We hit the road tomorrow morning and travel to York, the area where the show “All Creatures Great and Small” is filmed.    Read more

  • TravelerGreat Britain
    Day 12

    On the way to York

    May 10, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F

    Today we took a tour of the Roman auxiliary fort, Vindolanda, which is in northern part of England near the Scotland border. This fort was under Roman occupation from about 85AD to 370AD. It is an active archaeological site. Exceptional ground conditions have preserved thousands of items such as clothing, shoes, writing tablets, and tents. Quite an impressive site and museum.

    Close by is Hadrian’s ancient Roman wall. He was a Roman emperor who ordered it built around 122 AD. It’s 73 miles long. He wanted to separate the barbarians (people from Scotland) from the Romans. Well, in what I believe were hurricane strength winds, I climbed that darn mountain (seemed like one) to the top just to see a view of the wall!

    We arrived in York where we’ll be for 2 days. York is a walled cathedral city with Roman origins back in 71 AD. The city is also influenced by the Vikings presence who were here 1000 years ago. We took a short tour of the area with a Yorker and even climbed and walked some of the ancient 2 mile long wall. I’m looking forward to roaming The Shambles—the oldest shopping street in Europe. Once home to butcher’s shops, it’s now filled with many shops. The Shambles is also said to be the inspiration for Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley.

    The group ate at an Indian restaurant and though I did sample the many different foods, I did not like any of it at all…too much heat and spice for me.    Read more

  • TravelerGreat Britain
    Day 13

    York

    May 11, 2022 in England ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F

    Today was a more relaxing day which was greatly needed. We did a short tour of York Minster, the largest Gothic church north of the Alps. This cathedral took several centuries to build and was finished in 1472. The number of stained glass windows is amazing and some are from the 12 century. I think it’s the Church of England…Anglican, but it has Catholic heritage.

    Wendy, Rebecca and I had a late morning tea at The Earl Grey Tearoom and shared a Victoria sponge cake.

    The afternoon and evening were free time. We wandered the many cobblestone streets in the walled medieval town and had a wonderful lunch at the world famous Betty’s Tearoom. York has been famous for its chocolates and sweets since the late 1800s, and I had to buy a little box at the famous Monk’s Bar.

    We enjoyed an evensong service at the cathedral this evening. Evensong is a church service traditionally held near sunset and is focused on singing psalms and other biblical canticles. The choir was a group of young children, and they were excellent…sounded like the Vienna Boys Choir.

    Wendy, Rebecca, and I finished off our visit in York with a dinner at The Hole in the Wall, a York pub.

    Pictures are of the York Abbey Ruins destroyed on Henry VIII orders with the Reformation, Minster York, and street scenes from inside the medieval walled city of York. Oh, and last… a small chat with the Queen! Notice the types of sandwiches they have everywhere in England…not my choice!    Read more

  • TravelerGreat Britain
    Day 14

    London

    May 12, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

    Our group caught the train to London where we’re staying at the Mayfair Hotel which is a 5 star with elevators! No more trudging up with luggage to the 2nd and 3rd floor! All I can say is that a 5 star bathroom is over the top!

    We took a tour of Westminster Abbey. The current one was built between 1245 and 1272. There was 1 1/2 hours of fascinating stories…too many to remember. There are a lot of unsavory stories of the royalty through the ages.

    Entombed within the walls and even beneath the floor are thousands of bodies! I think that there are about 3,200 people buried in there. Many famous people in history, like Charles Dickens, Sir Isaac Newton, and Charles Darwin. Stephen Hawking is the most recent, I believe…even though he’s an atheist. It is also the final resting place of 17 kings and queens. The grave of the Unknown Warrior, is in the center of the nave, and no one walks on that grave which contains the remains of several unknown soldiers brought back from Flanders in World War I. The first king crowned there was in 1066…King Harold II. We learned that Prince Charles has selected the name King George VI for himself if and when he becomes king.

    Enough history! Wendy, Rebecca, and I attended “Come from Away” at the London theater tonight. It was a heartwarming, feel good musical and a perfect way to spend the first night in London.    Read more

  • TravelerGreat Britain
    Day 15

    London

    May 13, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

    Busy day today started with a 5 star breakfast buffet…truly the best I’ve had. We started our sightseeing with the medieval Tower of London where we joined a hysterically funny Beefeater (guide). The Tower, built for William the Conquerer in 1066, has been a castle in wartime, a palace where the royalty lived, a prison, and an execution site. It is also where the Crown Jewels are on display. The one diamond in the crown was over 500 carats! Kings, queens, and many others were beheaded here. Two princes in line for throne were murdered (by an uncle wanting the throne) and the bones were discovered 200 years later. Here’s something weird…Duke of Monmouth was beheaded, but they sewed it back on when they realized that he didn’t have a royal portrait. Imagine being that painter!

    After that, we took a short cruise on the Thames where we got a front seat at Big Ben, The House of Parliament, and London Bridge.

    Rebecca and I then walked to the Churchill War Rooms, the secret underground WWII headquarters of Churchill’s war effort. It has two parts: the 27 very small war rooms and a museum dedicated to Winston Churchill.

    Another picture perfect day, so we walked through St James Park. One thing about London is the fact that green space and parks are extremely important, and there are many of them throughout the city.

    We walked past Buckingham Palace which is being prepped for the Jubilee. Because of this it’s a maze of fences and construction for bleachers etc. I’m passing up going tomorrow to see the Changing of the Guard for this reason. I guess the Queen has said that she’ll never return here, but will stay at Windsor Palace the rest of her life.

    Rebecca was tired and returned to the hotel. Me? No! I took the Tube (subway) and visited Harrod’s, a luxury department store like none I’ve ever seen. I can’t even describe it. I walked through and left quickly! It looked like individual showrooms throughout the store.

    Today we had our farewell dinner with the group at the hotel’s restaurant. We’ll stay another day in London.    Read more

  • TravelerGreat Britain
    312
    Day 16

    London

    May 14, 2022 in England ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F

    Jamie, our guide, saw my email address and said that the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has the nickname, Boejo! Oh, dear…not sure that I want to share the name with him!
    Rebecca and I were on our own for today. We took off to Notting Hill to a very large street market. These markets are a part of the culture in Europe and can be found everyday in many towns. We got there early, but it became crowded rather quickly. The area is so charming with all the colored townhouses. We stopped in at the Travel Book Store from the movie “Notting Hill” with Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant.
    Our next stop was Kensington Palace and where we saw the Diana statue. William and Kate live there. We walked a little in Kensington Gardens.
    We had an excellent lunch and gelato at an Italian restaurant cafe… we were in great need to rest our feet!
    Our last stop was Trafalgar where we dropped into the National Gallery for a quick peek of some of our favorite painters’ works…Monet, VanGogh, Renoir, Cezanne, Seurat, Constable, and Gainsborough’s paintings including Blue Boy.
    We walked and toured nonstop for 8 hours today, so we returned to hotel at 5:30 and are in for the night. We both need to rest up for our flight to Edinburgh tomorrow where we will begin our Scotland trip.    Read more

  • TravelerGreat Britain
    Day 17

    Edinburgh Scotland

    May 15, 2022 in Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

    Well, today was uneventful as we had a travel day to Edinburgh where we’ll be staying a few days while waiting to join up with another Rick Steves tour at Glasgow. It won’t surprise anyone, but at the airport I had an small issue at security. Of course, I had to be searched…no big deal. But then I couldn’t get my electronics and purse because they were placed in another section. When I pointed to my unreachable items, the security person said that they were placed in the “I didn’t listen section!” There were a few liquids in my purse…sanitizer and lipstick!

    This B&B is an1825 garden flat that overlooks a small private patio garden. Across the street is also the private Dean Gardens, and we have a key to it. It’s a 2 bedroom suite and best of all there’s a washer and dryer!

    Our B&B is in the Stockbridge neighborhood and is a 15 minute walk to Edinburgh. We had dinner at the local pub, The Bailie, and took a quick peek at the neighborhood before settling in for the night.    Read more

  • TravelerGreat Britain
    Day 18

    Edinburgh

    May 16, 2022 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F

    We woke up to rain and it never really stopped until after dinner. I am still chilled to the bone. We had to readjust our plans. To stay dry and still see the city, we climbed on two different Hop On Hop Off buses today that went different places. It was a great overview and history of the city. The last 2 weeks have been filled with an unbelievable amount of fascinating history, and I’m on overload…it’s getting jumbled up in my head! Oh, I do remember one…There was a terrible problem with rats in the tenements so they had terrier dogs instead of cats to take care of the problem. They couldn’t use cats because if you had a cat you could be accused of witchery and burned at the stake! Strange what the brain remembers!

    We saw the statue of Greyfriars Bobby, a Skye Terrier, who was known in 19th century Edinburgh for spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner until he died. It’s sad that he couldn’t be buried with his owner because animals are not allowed to be buried there.

    There’s an Old Town and a New Town. The New Town is from 1700s! The fortified Edinburgh Castle (home of kings and queens for centuries) towers very high above the city on volcanic rock and is quite a sight. Then, there’s Holyroodhouse Palace which was the home of Stuart kings and queens and is also an official residence of Queen Elizabeth II.

    We did get off the bus and took a tour of the Royal Yacht Britannia which was the Queen’s floating palace from 1953 until it was retired in 1997. The yacht is incredibly huge and is a “time-warp look into the late 20th century lifestyles of the royal family.”

    Rebecca and I found a nice Italian restaurant here in Stockbridge where I enjoyed a little wine, spaghetti, and gelato…my idea of a perfect meal.

    Impossible to take photos from a bus and in the rain today…    Read more

  • TravelerGreat Britain
    Day 19

    Edinburgh

    May 17, 2022 in Scotland ⋅ 🌧 63 °F

    Today was all about the series “Outlander”. Rebecca and I joined an 8 hour tour that took us outside Edinburgh to the villages of Falkland, Culross, and Linlithgow. We also visited Blackness Castle, and Doune Castle. Most photos today are from these places. Marriage lintels were found above some doors and gave the initials and dates of marriages, when house was built, or when owners moved in. We saw several of these doors in Falkland.

    We walked for a short time on the Royal Mile and stopped for dinner at an Italian restaurant on our way back to the B&B to pack and get ready for our next tour, “The Best of Scotland” that starts tomorrow in Glasgow.

    We saw a sculpture Kelpies from the bus…They’re a 100 ft sculpture paying homage to the working horses of Scotland. We also saw the 3 bridges on the Forth River. They are close together and from 3 different centuries.

    Oh, I learned that it’s not only cat owners that were accused of witchery. If you had red hair or green eyes you were also accused. Oh, dear…that’s me in my younger days! What they did was through you over the top of the castle. If you floated you were a witch and they brought you back up and burned you at the stake. If you sunk, you were innocent! Many floated because of the clothes acting as parachutes. They actually found 400 bodies at the bottom of the lake when it was drained!

    Don’t forget to turn sound button on for bag pipes!    Read more

  • TravelerGreat Britain
    Day 20

    Glasgow

    May 18, 2022 in Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F

    We caught the train to Glasgow today and walked around the area of our hotel, the Adobe. We had a very nice lunch at the Mackintosh at the Willow, a tearoom. This tearoom was designed by Charles Ronnie Mackintosh, a famous architect and artist in the early 20th century and it has recently been restored to how it would have looked back in 1903.

    The city is crazy today because of a big soccer game between Glasgow Rangers and a team from Germany. Nigel decided to take us on the subway to our restaurant because it was supposed to be only one stop, but we took the wrong direction and ended up going all the way to the end and then going back in the right direction. Crowded is an understatement. We were like squashed sardines in a can. I had 3 very happy inebriated Glasgow Ranger fans against me, and the only way I could stand up was to wrap my arms around Rebecca’s waist! I just prayed that they wouldn’t get sick on me.

    Our group dinner was at Mharsanta which was an adventure for me…too far out there for my taste. I tried the lamb, but it was quite rare. I did enjoy the tomato basil soup and the sticky toffee cake dessert! Glad my lunch was fantastic!

    Police boxes were all over Scotland at one time. A policeman would be stationed there to keep watch over the neighborhood area.    Read more

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