England day one: London! After our long flight, it was nice to walk out of our tube station which was right next door to our hotel! After some freshening up we walked through Hyde Park, past the Albert Memorial and Albert Hall, to the Victoria and Albert museum.
London!: I climbed to the top of St. Paul’s Cathedral then we made our way to Tate Modern. There we saw two infinity rooms by Yayoi Kusama and an exhibit of work by Yoko Ono.
London!: We saw so many famous paintings at the National Gallery and had afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason department store. I love the scones with clotted cream and jam.
More London!: Today we went to the Tower of London and got a guided tour from a very amusing Yeomen, or Beefeater. They are the royal guard for the King of England and they live at the Tower of London. We saw the Crown Jewels, but we weren’t allowed to take pictures. We also saw where Anne Boleyn was held and beheaded. Next was the Tate Britain for rooms and rooms of Turner paintings. And finally we made it to the Royal Academy of Arts for their group exhibit in which my very favorite artist, Sandy Hester, had 2 paintings!
Still in London: We walked past Buckingham Palace and saw the royal horses on parade. Then off to the Queens Gallery for an Holibine exhibit which was freaking amazing!! Then a tour of the Royal Mews, which is where they keep the royal carriages and horses, this one didn’t make it into the parade. Then off to Westminster Abby for some creepy tombs. Finally we made it just in time to see Kensington Palace before it closed. What a busy day!
London to Bristol to Cardiff: We got to the Science museum and saw an enigma machine, then we were off to Bristol. Not much exciting happened on day six. Day Seven we took the train to Cardiff, Whales. We went to an open air museum, and to Cardiff Castle. We must have offended the Royalty because we got put in shackles!
Stone Henge!: Another busy day! We started the morning with breakfast at our hotel in Bristol, which was in an old glass kiln. Then was our Mad Max Tour (highly recommend) to Stonehenge, Avebury, and the Cotswolds. I took a million pictures of stone henge. It was so magical I don’t even know what else I can say about it. The big hill is Silbury Hill, a man made hill built by Neolithic people 2400 bc. Avebury is another Henge that is much bigger than stone henge, it takes up 29 acres and has a town in the middle of it. Next we were off to a village in the cotswolds where scenes from Downton Abby, Poldark, Harry Potter, and my favorite Cramford, were filmed. You can see me taking a selfie in front of the house where Judy Dench liven in the charming series Cramford.
Oxford! We made our way to Oxford by the Great Western Rail. David made us take a tour of the Bodleian Library. The oldest library in the world. Just kidding, the oldest library in England, maybe? Finally all his years of “shushing” people paid off. The main room of the library was originally used for debating and had a beautifully carved ceiling, then we made our way up to the rare books room where scenes from Harry Potter were filmed. We walked around Oxford taking in all the sights, like the plaque that marks the spot where some bishops were burnt in the street, and the round building is the Radcliffe Camera, and the Pitt Rivers archeology museum. David also made me take a Morse, Lewis and, Endeavour walking tour. We got to see all the spots where those detective series were filmed. I spotted an ancient relic of times past but not forgotten, and STA Travel (I used to work there in the early 2000’s). Then finally David took me to a proper Afternoon Tea.
Back to London!: We landed back in London at Paddington Station. A short trip to Harrods, the most luxurious department store with an Egyptian themed vestibule. Then off to Kings cross station where they have the 9 3/4 Platform. Right across the street is the Francis Crick Institute. He discovered DNA, and I know his granddaughter! Shout out to Kindra Crick!!!! A short walk to the British museum with all its “acquired” artifacts. I love the Neolithic pottery from England (artifacts not stolen) especially the ones from near stone henge. We spotted a rare Leslie Green tube station with its Oxblood tiles and finally went to the LIberty, a fancy department store in an old Tudor Building. Possibly my favorite spot of all!
