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British Isles

August - September 2015
We will spend about one month exploring England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Perhaps we will discover our roots. Read more
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  • British Isles
    Day 1

    Starting in Charlotte

    August 19, 2015 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 84 °F

    Our flight out of Charlotte has been delayed for more than one hour so far. A severe thunderstorm has closed the ramp numerous times, and now we just were connected to the fuel truck. So in maybe half an hour or so we will be moving.

    It is now 8:40 pm. There was miscommunication with the fuelers. We have sat in the airplane for two hours and forty minutes. It looks as though we are ready for push back now.

    We sat on the airplane for four hours, and finally took off at 10:00 pm.    Read more

  • British Isles
    Day 2

    First Views of London

    August 20, 2015 in England ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F

    We arrived in London some three hours late, not landing until about 10:30 am. Then we had to go through customs and passport control. We were obviously not going to meet our appointment to tour Kensington Palace. We initially did not see the representative from British Cars, but after just a few minutes he showed up and took us from Heathrow Airport to the Kensington Olympia Hilton Hotel. Although our room was not ready, we were allowed to check in and to store our luggage with the concierge. He advised that the fastest way to the Globe Theater was by taxi. We caught one in front of the hotel, but the traffic, according to his own admission was worse than usual. He attributes the problems to the current mayor's efforts to turn every major highway into a bicycle path. We passed Buckingham Palace, as well as the site of the Blackfriars abbey on our way, arriving at the Globe shortly after 1 pm. We bought a sandwich, which we split, and a small salad. Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” was hilariously funny. We decided because of Glenda's arthritic hip, not to walk up to Trafalgar Square, but to take a cab back to the Hotel. Besides, it had started to rain lightly, and all of our rain gear was still packed up and locked in the offices of the concierge. When we got back to the hotel our room was ready, and we again enlisted the services of the concierge to reserve tickets for a tour of Buckingham Palace on Saturday. Instead of dining in the expensive restaurant at the hotel, we walked back down toward Hyde Park and found a wonderful, inexpensive Thai restaurant called the Blue Lagoon. After our meal we just went strolling back down toward the memorial for Prince Albert, and we decided to stop into a little shop owned by a young Egyptian from Alexandria to buy bottled water. I had a short conversation with him, then we continued our walk. Almost back to our hotel, even though she was holding my arm, Glenda's hip seized up on he and she dropped like a rock onto the sidewalk. Bystanders stopped to assist. They were very kind and concerned. She was all right except for skinned knees and elbows. We came back tot the hotel and settled in for the night. At this point we have been awake for over thirty-six hours. Sleep will come easily tonight.Read more

  • British Isles
    Day 3

    A Day on the Town

    August 21, 2015 in England ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

    We mastered the bus system in London to arrive at St. Paul's Cathedral and took an excellent tour of that wonderful building given by a guide who obviously loved the place. The tombs of Wellington, Nelson, John Donne, and Wrenn are there. I feel as though I am in the place that actually formed the world in which my parents and I lived our lives. We saw Churchill's underground bunker, the home of Baden-Powell, the site of Blackfriars. On the way back to the hotel, I took a seat in the front of the top level of the double-decker bus, and got some acceptable shots of London street scenes. Note that the shot taken at 1:05 pm is a picture of the Admiralty Arch just west of Trafalgar Square. The bus brought us back to the hotel precisely in time to start the C. I. E. Panoramic bus tour of London. We stopped on the South end of the Tower bridge for photos. Since we had already visited the Globe Theater and St. Paul's, we were starting to feel as though we know our way around. At 6:00 pm we will go downstairs for a complimentary drink before dinner. I think the main purpose of this gathering is to let our guide David learn our names and to give us some common information for the rest of the tour. At 8:25 pm we just returned to the room from a supper of shepherd's pie, cod, and chicken. We met some of our fellow travelers and received further information from David. It will be good to get to bed early tonight.Read more

  • British Isles
    Day 4

    London in Depth

    August 22, 2015 in England ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F

    Much of the morning was spent visiting the Tower of London with new friends we met on the trip. In the afternoon we took a boat ride from the Tower to Westminster. On the Westminster Close we grabbed a hotdog from a street vendor, then started the walk to Buckingham Palace for our appointment there. We had planned to take the Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus back to our hotel on Kensington High Street, but found that they stopped running at 5:30 pm. We tried to catch the No. 9 city bus, but found that the buses do not accept cash, only Oyster Cards. A kind bus driver saw our plight and let us have a ride back to the hotel.Read more

  • British Isles
    Day 5

    On the Trail of Shakespeare

    August 23, 2015 in England ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F

    At 7:30 am we had breakfast and our suitcases were retrieved. By 8:00 am we will be rolling toward the Cotswolds.

    At about 9:00 am we arrived at the little town of Bladon, which is adjacent to Blenheim Castle. There were viewed the lovely little churchyard where Sir Winston Churchill is buried. The little parish of St. Martin was just about to begin Sunday services, so without disrupting them, I popped inside to take a quick photo just as the procession was about to begin.
    At 11:30 am we arrived at Stratford-upon-Avon, took a quick photo stop at the home of Anne Hathaway. Just before the rain started we had a wonderful visit to the birthplace of Shakespeare and a walk through the lovely town. There was a craft fair on the riverside, and lovely half-timbered houses scattered throughout the town.

    At 5:30 pm we arrived at the Marriott Hotel in York. Rain all day. David pointed out the ruins of the castle built by Bess of Hardwick, the second wealthiest woman in Elizabethan England, and other points of interest along our route. I was surprised at our rest stop around 3:45 pm to find a Krispy Kreme Doughnut shop. Supper is at the hotel tonight at 7:00 pm, and tomorrow we will enjoy a walking tour of the old, central part of the city and a guided tour of Yorkminster.

    At 9:00 pm we returned to the room from supper. Guests in the dining room next to ours had to scurry quickly when a sudden downpour sent streams of water cascading through a skylight and onto their table. Glenda and I ate with Dana and his wife Carol.    Read more

  • British Isles
    Day 6

    Yorkminster

    August 24, 2015 in England ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

    We just finished fantastic tour of York and its cathedral an hour ago. Betty's Tea Room was frequented by GI's in WW II. Lovers carved initials in glass with diamond rings. Saw Roman wall. Saw Yorkminster and the Roman foundations. Now headed to Hadrian's Wall for a pit stop.Read more

  • British Isles
    Day 6

    Heddon on the Wall

    August 24, 2015 in England ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F

    At 2:00 pm. We just left the lovely village of Heddon, where we saw a piece of Hadrian’s wall, and had a good lunch at a pub called the Swan at Heddon. Glenda had fish and chips and I had soup and sandwich with Newcastle Brown Ale. The view from the back yard of the pub is sensational. One can see for miles. A church across the street was founded in 640 AD. Now we will drive through Northumbria National Park.
    At 3:10 pm we stopped briefly at the Scottish Border for photos.    Read more

  • British Isles
    Day 6

    Melrose Abbey

    August 24, 2015 in Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F

    We stopped to tour the ruins of Melrose Abbey, one of the largest and most powerful centers of Christianity in the twelfth century. Glenda happened to meet one Doris, who invited her in for tea and showed her the hydrangeas.Read more

  • British Isles
    Day 6

    Arrival in Edinburgh

    August 24, 2015 in Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F

    At 6:00 pm we arrived at the Novotel in downtown Edinburgh and had an hour to refresh before our departure for a song and dance show called the Spirit of Scotland. Kathy and Gil Dickson met us at the hotel just before supper. Gil had to delay his departure from North Carolina because of emergency gall bladder surgery two weeks ago. This show was accompanied by a meal in which I sampled haggis and actually found it delicious. At one point, one of the dancers invited me to come up and do a Scottish dance they taught us. We came back to the hotel, did our laundry as we showered, and got ready for tomorrow's tour of the city and visit to Edinburgh castle.Read more

  • British Isles
    Day 7

    Edinburgh Castle and Downtown

    August 25, 2015 in Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F

    We had breakfast in the hotel with Kathy and Gil, then went on a panoramic bus tour of Edinburgh. Our city guide Jackie was amazing she is a remarkably intelligent woman, very entertaining, witty, and funny; yet she has bright scarlet hair, wears crinolines under a full, low cut dress and pink high heels. She gave us a thorough look at the history of Edinburgh Castle that was in no way boring or pedantic. Afterwards, Glenda and I had lunch at Howie's Pub on Victoria street on our way to the Museum of History. The city is packed with people because the International Art Festival, the Fringe Festival, the Book Festival, and eight other festivals are going on simultaneously in the city. When we arrived at the museum we were told that the section on the Kingdom of the Scots was closed because of an "industrial action," that is, a strike. Jackie's explanation of the strike held that the workers are striking for pay on Sundays, even though the museum is closed on Sunday. We came back to the hotel, organized our gear and rested up for tonight's presentation of the Military Tattoo at Edinburgh Castle.Read more

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