A storybook trip - complete with Shakespearean theatre, cottage gardens, tea & biscuits, cathedrals, country lanes, and unknown relatives! We took a ramble in the beautiful Lakes District, explored castles and stone circles, shopped in Harrod's, and drove through LOTS of English villages. We saw Churchill's grave, Beatrix Potter's neighborhood, Wordsworth's church and garden. We visited Oxford and Cambridge, and attended worship with the locals. My favorite village was "Stow-on-the-Wold." 17th Century buildings! We drove on the left side of the road, rode the London underground (The Tube), took a boat ride down the Thames, and toured the city in a double decker bus.
We met relatives who live in a 450 year old house and are antique dealers. Their place looks like a museum. Their son is also in the antique business & owns an Egyptian mask from 400 B.C.! The other 2nd cousin lives in a 500 year old manor house with the 91 year old cousin of Gram L's. She remembered writing to Mom during World War I. Her daughter, Shirley and husband, Richard served us a delicious supper and entertained us for the evening.
George saw Hadrian's Wall, built by the Romans in about 600 A.D., I think. Joe enjoyed the hike through Sherwood Forest among the 500 year old oak and birch trees, Carolyn loved the tea rooms and meandering through the villages, and Joanne simply turned into a Brit. She claims she's moving there. Everything about the UK appealed to her.
After driving somewhere around 2,000 miles, we had bought too much bone china, suffered flat tires, walked too far, and ate too much. All the elements of a fine vacation. The time share, the Mariott Hotels (thanx, Laura) and the B&B were supurb - each a different flavor of accommodation.
I, for one, need a vacation from my vacation! And someone needs to help me get the pictures off my digital camera and onto the blog.
