Merry Old England - Take 12

Our first stop in the Cotwolds was the medeieval town of Burford. I wouldn't have gotten a picture of this winery/abbey but for the gates being opened to let a van in and out....*snap*...Ma, the paparazzi!

A brief stop in Bibury to take pictures....

....because it's picturesque, people!

These wonderful stone walls were everywhere

Seriously, I would be willing to sweep the streets if I could live here.

The town of Bibury is quite literally where the term "cottage industry" originated. Folks realized they couldn't make a living farming, so they developed other means of making money, out of their homes. You heard it here, people!

Here I am with daughter, Sharon, without who's company the trip wouldn't have been half so fun (that may not have come out right, but you know what I mean...) That's me on the right, in case you are having trouble figuring out who is older, ha ha (does this wall make me look fat?)

This is a continuation of day six (two pictures at the end of yesterday's post were of the village Burford, as is the first one of this post). We had the best of bus drivers, Alan, who hailed from near Scotland and basically spoke like Shrek. But he clued us in to many odd bits, here and there along the way. The college crew asked if he could come back to America with them...alas, no. Anyway, he got us the chance to take a picture of the abbey (above, first photo). Also, the public restrooms at Burford cost 5 pence (seriously fun to operate :-) and he readily pulled a coin out of his pocket to help one of the kids. He was the best!

Everywhere we went the scenery was gorgeous, even though the trees were still in bud. Flowers up, green grass....it was the typical English countryside one imagines, everywhere we looked.

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Merry Old England - Take 11

What does that name plate say...."The Kilns"...hmmm, who lived there? C.S.Lewis, that's who!

So we're outside Oxford, and one of the tour guides for The Kilns was a guy who was living and studying there for a year or so...hailed from Warsaw, IN, the same city (basically) where the college students were from...what are the odds?!

Besides learning many cool facts and anecdotes, here is the original sign for "The Eagle and Child," the pub where Lewis, Tolkien, and the other Inklings met, ate, and shared their work with each other. At some point during a renovation, the sign was set out on the sidewalk, marked for trash pickup, BUT, someone asked if the Kilns' caretakers wanted it....presto!

Here's the pub now, in the heart of Oxford.

Traveled out into the beautiful English countryside, called the Cotswolds.

Picturesque stone house and buildings, one after the other...everywhere in the towns.

Originally we were scheduled to eat supper in The Eagle and Child, but it was too full the first night. The second night they were closed due to a gas leak in the kitchen, and the third night it was too full, again. That was a little disappointment, but, you can't have everything. Plenty of other cool pubs and eateries in Oxford.

The last two photos were taken on the morning of the sixth day. We stopped for a bit to take pictures, take in the scenery, as well as a bit of shopping. Basically, it's the kind of place you could stay all day, walking up and down the streets and drinking in atmosphere to your heart's content.

Speaking of the cars, I did not see any old or any large cars in England. Granted, we didn't go all over, but almost every car was pretty small and nice looking. London is such a congested area that drivers have to pay extra to drive in the city.

You know those idyllic book illustrations one sees depicting England's countryside? Pretty much spot on.

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Merry Old England - Take 10

Walking up to Christ Church College, at Oxford

It's the only Oxford college open to the public, and has its own chapel.

Memorial floor stone. This is not where the Wesley brothers are buried, but it commemorates them as former students.

One of many extraordinary and gorgeous displays...basically I've run out of adjectives for the stained-glass windows.

Christ Church dining hall;  medieval in design. This served as a model for the Harry Potter movies

There are 39 colleges associated with Oxford University. Driving (and walking) around, one gets the impression the university never ends! Here's an aerial shot....it's like being plopped down in another time in architectural history. You have the feeling that if you studied here, you would try very, very hard to live up to the excellence of the institution.

Even though the London hotel had lots of outside panache, it was pretty old inside. Here in Oxford (outside the city, to be exact) we stayed in a lovely Holiday Inn Express. As in, the free wifi really worked. Elevators never broke down. Showers came on instantly to the perfect temperature. Breakfast fare was 3 steps above the other hotel....everything was just lovely. Travel to Oxford marks the latter half of day five.

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Merry Old England - Take 9

Oh look...I found a few of my ancestors! Or, these could be gargoyles on the outside of....wait for it.....WINDSOR CASTLE!

Yeah. I could totally live here. Though I wouldn't want to mow the lawn...

Part of the Changing of the Guard ceremony.

Seriously, can you ever have too much of cool hats?

That's me, shortly after "Liz" asked for my personal advice on how to handle Prince Charles. "Dump him!" I told her. Alright...of course I didn't say that. I did, though...I mean, totally...that's what I said

This marks the fifth morning in England, when we left London to head for our new base of operations, Oxford. Along the way we stopped at the queen's weekend residence. Another mind boggling exhibition of room after room; hall, after hall of magnificence.

One that particularly left Ma agog was the King's Drawing Room, wherein hung huge paintings by Rubens and Van Dyke....well, words escape me. And y'all know how I can drone on :-)

*sigh*

For lunch I had sweet potato soup, unexpectedly seasoned with a lot of pepper....SO good! Wasn't sure how that would sit with the ol' gizzard, but....nothing happened.

New experiences can be very, very good, methinks.

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Merry Old England - Take 8

This was taken at the home of Charles Dickens.  Throughout the rooms were costumes, on loan from a movie (I think).

Oh hey...does going through this brick wall make me look fat? Yes. Yes it does.

221B Baker Street. "Home" of Sherlock Holmes. Ran across Benedict Cumberbatch and hob-nobbed concerning investigative techniques. Or not.

Character memorabilia

This is still the fourth day. As part of our trip on the Tube, we made a stop at King's Cross Station, a train depot that is mentioned in the Harry Potter series. It's quite a large underground station, and they have a special place, labeled "9 3/4" where one can get a picture taken as though you are running through the wall to go to Hogwarts. There are guys there who will give you a scarf and wave it in back of you to have that "running" effect.

Of course, it's pretty mortifying to see this picture and realize, "That's how I look? Time to lose more weight!" (actually, the pants are too big. Not that I really care....)

But part of having fun is not concentrating on one's appearance, overly much. I had a great time even if the pictures aren't flattering. And I would go back again, especially if it would be a smaller group with not so much packed into each day.

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Merry Old England - Take 7

Still smarting from the Westminster Abbey miss, we heard tell of an M&M store in Leicester Square. And here it is! The basement, anyway; four floors in toto. Observe the awesome caches of candy goodness. One could have a custom mix assembled. And how to identify the components?

Via the periodic elements, of course. All through the tour of England I kept my eyes open for educational insights that would be helpful to the college students. This picture is for my two chemistry majors, Melinda and Carolyn :-) No  no, don't thank me....

Moving on to Day Four, here is Kensinsgton Palace, home to Kate and William! Also the birthplace of Queen Victoria. Interesting doll house, dress collection, historical memorabilia. Sharon and I had a fascinating interaction with a very knowledgeable attendant concerning Queen Victoria. Let's just say, a somewhat dysfunctional family....

Interesting clock above a fireplace. Most of the palaces we visited exhibited this kind of lavish decoration.

A book that caught my eye: the King's Favorite had several duties listed, and notice that bottom line concerning his pay: "And a bowl of chocolate every 2nd Tuesday." Personally, I would have negotiated for "every other day."

In retrospect, I could have taken more pictures. But at the same time, I didn't want to feel pressured to take pictures of everything. Then too, I spent a fair amount of time just gawking in palace entrance halls. Wish we would have had more time....

By now we were becoming more familiar with the various Tube lines and stations. We had a card that was good for seven days, riding anywhere. We were only in London four days, but we still put them to good use. However, there were several times during rush hour that we had to wait for the next train, as they were jam-packed with humanity.

The M&M store was not a fair trade for Westminster Abbey, but it was interesting. Apparently there are only four in the world. 

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Merry Old England - Take 6

Parliment

Big Ben! But of course you knew that :-)

The London Eye :-D (and cool adjacent building...but then, it seems that practically all the buildings in London are cool)

Looking back over the bridge we crossed to get to the Eye. To the right of this picture is Big Ben.

This is still part of Day Three. Whoo-ee I get tired just reminiscing.

After the Westminster disappointment we walked across the bridge (it's amazing how many places you can see by taking the Tube and walking a bit) to check out this novelty. I didn't go on it (costs 25 pounds, which is close to 50 US dollars, but a few of the gang did. They saw a double rainbow while up there (takes about 30 minutes) and really enjoyed the experience.

The rain clouds weren't as threatening as they looked, but it was drizzling quite steadily. That was one of the reasons I didn't come back later in the evening. After supper some of the crew returned to see the parliament buildings all lit up, but I was still cold and decided to crawl under the covers and "chill."

Also in the building beside the Eye, there had been a film museum, which included a special Dr. Who section. But, as luck would have it, that had closed down 3 weeks earlier, and would open again in one month. Boo! Another change from the scheduled itinerary...oh well. Still lots of good sights.

We went over to Leicester (pronounced Lice-ter) Square for supper; a place with many stores, eateries, and a large casino. This was where I saw a family ride by on bikes, in the rain, in the middle of traffic, two parents (with a baby in a back seat) and two or three more kids on separate bikes, with helmets, in the dark, in a VERY CONGESTED part of the city. I thought "Whoa, those people are determined." And it wasn't at all unusual to see people sitting at outside cafe tables, having a drink or a sandwich, in misty, 45 degree weather. These Londoners are tough!

Also observed, a cab dropping off a gentleman and lady. She was dressed to the nines in heels and a fur coat; they headed for the casino. People watching from a window seat can be great fun in Leicester Square.

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Merry Old England - Take 5

The remains of an actual Roman wall....it's HISTORY, people!

Tower of London. I wonder if they take boarders...

Tower Bridge. Imagine having this scenery on your morning jog.

Inside White Castle, built by William the Conqueror in 1066, I spied something distinctly modern. Had a great chat with a Beefeater guard. They are stationed various places and are founts of knowledge. This structure was built out of replica weapons as a statement piece. The dragon is a symbol of London.

One of the trademark ravens. Legend says that if the ravens ever leave, the tower will fall. I guess that's why their wings are clipped.

We are finally into the third day of the trip! I was probably over the jet lag, by now.

Originally we were scheduled to see Westminster Abbey in the morning, but they contacted us saying an event had been scheduled; we could come at 2:30  for one hour. So we hit the Tower in the a.m. I had not realized it was like a little city. Besides holding prisoners, they coined money, made armaments, posted letters, all kinds of stuff.

Oh yes....also saw the crown jewels! Naturally we couldn't take pictures. And I was surprised to discover they comprised more than "just" crowns. The punch bowl was extraordinary.

Most unfortunately, when we got to Westminster that afternoon, the sign said "closed." I guess since they'd already had a function that day, they simply decided to keep her closed all afternoon. Well, I'm not over here every day :-(  Something of a bitter disappointment, since there are several famous people buried there, but I reminded myself of the many sites we did see. At present I am only the teensiest bit bitter so I have made progress.

More stuffs next time on Ma's whirlwind tour :-D

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Merry Old England Take 4

Walking through St. James Park (the Queen's park) we took in the wildlife.

And at the other end of the park...oh say, where can this be?

Buckingham Palace! Yes, that's the balcony where Kate and William appeared after gettin' hitched.

Fairly glam gates. I think we'll use something similar as an entrance to our driveway when we get the house finished.

Part of Queen Victoria's Memorial, outside the palace. Naturally, I neglected to take a picture of the other side that had her statue.

Walking back down the other side of the mall, towards Trafalgar Square, we had opportunity to see various guards.

This is still part of the second day. I'm still not sure how I survived the pace. But anyway...

There was a folk/rockfest in Trafalgar Square proper, so we couldn't go through that section. Had to walk around various sidewalks to get to the National Gallery (Art, people!). And aside from the rain and not getting to see T. S. we only had one hour...that's ONE HOUR to see one of the best art collections in the world. I started out with the Dutch Masters and ended up with Impressionism. Oh my....Monet, Manet,  Cézanne, Degas, Gauguin....I about fainted! Actually, I wasn't feeling well, but mainly I was awed by the art.

Of course we couldn't take photos inside, BUT, I did run across a rather graphic and extraordinary work by the Dutch painter van Haarlem. My plans are to obtain a cheap copy, hang it in the boys' room with a bolded subtiltle: "This is what happens to boys who don't obey their mother."

Yeah, that should work.

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Merry Old England - Take 3

The cool just kept comin'.....the war room where Churchill et al conducted WWII for Great Britain

The Room

British Museum. Contains the history of the world, basically. No way could we see everything...

...but here's the Rosetta Stone! (autographs available upon request)

Some gal named Cleopatra. There were other mummies but this was the only one I figured most people would know :-D

This unusual piece was in the Clocks and Watches section. An Automaton, used to announce dinner. Which it did by firing off the little canons. And suddenly my life feels drab, though if my boys had this they would never actually eat, just fire those babies around the clock.

These pictures are taken on the second day. The second insanely packed day, of which I will have to continue in tomorrow's post

The British Museum is filled with historical treasures. Free to the public. There were huge columns from Greek temples, Assyrian statues of large proportions that took up two floors in height....Ming vases that went on forever....it was mind boggling.

I was fairly sparse in my pictures taking; sometimes due to prohibitions (such as castles and the art gallery) and sometimes it just made sense to stop, stare, and take it in, rather than go clickity-click everywhere.

Which brings to mind most of the students in the group; they were snapping right and left, every little plaque, every side of a statue, snapping as they walked along the sidewalks. Stopping outside buildings to get multiple pictures while Ma is thinking to herself, "C'mon....lets go in!!"

'Twas amusing :-)

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