SR goes UK

25-27 April 2012
After a 12 hour flight and 2 hours stuck in customs I was able to meet three of my Cali friends (Emily, Katherine, and Shelby) in London for a week long all girls trip! 

 After an hour and a half taxi ride from the airport to find our hotel, we were starving so we headed out to find some food.  We went to Leicester Square and Covent Garden and ate at a great pub followed by a stop at the Apple Store to use their free wifi.  We stopped for some hot chocolate before walking back to Trafalgar square then back to Piccadilly.  We called it a night and headed back to our hotel.

 The next morning we headed to St. Paul's Cathedral before heading over to Buckingham Palace for Changing of the Guard. 

 Katherine and me!  Bus rides never get old!

 Shelby and Emily!  Weather was hit and miss in the morning so we were hoping it would get better so they could actual have the parade.

 Well, it poured....

They didn't do the full parade, but we saw the new guards coming and the horse parade.

 

 Then the sky cleared and everyone left!

From Buckingham we walked past Green Park and Buckingham Gardens and ended up at Knightsbridge where we shopped at Harrods and had lunch.  After shopping we headed to the National Gallery and Shelby gave us a highlight tour.

We finished up the day by going to the Musical Billy Elliot. 

Last day in London and we went to the Tower of London. 

Tower Bridge

 

Shelby and me with a Yeoman Warder.

 

Outside the building that houses the crown jewels.

 

Replica of Henry VIII armor

No explanation needed!

We left the Tower of London and headed over to Westminster Abbey. 

 

We made it just in time to join a fantastic 2 hour Verger led tour. Totally worth the couple of extra $ to see St. Edward the Confessor's tomb and chapel, sit in the choir seats and learn of the history of the Abbey.  It was a highlight for all of us. 

 

That evening we took a train to Paris!

Show me a Scotsman who doesn't love the Thistle

18-21 April 2012
Chris' dad, Perry, was in Edinburgh, Scotland for a year while he was in the Air Force.  Chris and I had never been and Perry and Joan hadn't been back for many, many years.  What a better time to go then with them?!  So we left York and headed to Edinburgh by train. 

First bagpiper of the day!  We arrived in the late afternoon so we got settled and headed to a pub that would have the Chelsea-Barcelona game on .  We ate at the Bank Bar and had Haggis, Neeps, and Tatties and washed them all down with Irn Bru. 

Our hotel was a block from St. Giles Cathedral and right off the Royal Mile.

Next day we went to the National Museum of Scotland.

Well, hello Dolly!   First animal cloned from adult stem cell.

We all had a go in the F1 simulator.  We soon found out that you need awfully small shoulders just to get in the car. 

This little faithful Skye Terrier named Bobby stayed at his master's grave after he died until his own death and was buried just around the corner.  Thus the little monument and Greyfriars Bobby's Bar.

After lunch we hopped on a bus for a tour of the city just in time as the rain came down.

After a loop around the city we stopped at Edinburgh Castle for a tour.

While at the castle the Scottish fog set in.  Favorite part of the castle was seeing the Stone of Scone or Stone of Destiny. 

View of the parade grounds in front of the castle.  They were getting ready for the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.  Arthur's Seat and Salisbury Crags in the background.

Start of the Royal Mile next to the Tartan Weaving Mill where Perry dressed in a traditional Scottish tartan and had pictures taken just like he had 50 years ago!

The next day we all headed to the Palace of Holyroodhouse or the Queen's residence when she is in Scotland. 

Entrance to the Palace. The Palace is where Mary Queen of Scots lived until Queen Elizabeth ordered her execution. 

After the palace Chris and I took a long walk down Princes Street to the Mound where we ran into this great bagpipe player.  The Scott Monument is in the background in gardens.

We continued our walk around the castle and did a little shopping on our way.

In the afternoon, the fog lifted and it turned out to be a beautiful day and evening.  The next morning all of us headed to the airport.  Perry and Joan back to Santa Rosa and us back to Switzerland for one more month!

Show me an Englishman who doesn't love the Rose

13-18 April 2012
Once again I was able to travel with Chris for a conference.  This one is in London every year and this year his parents decided to join us. 

We arrived Friday afternoon and went to the British Museum that evening.

The next day Chris had to work so Perry, Joan, and I toured around London.  We went to Harrod's and had wonderful salads and sandwiches from the "food court".  Then we went to the Victoria and Albert Museum and had dinner at a pub close by the hotel. 

Sunday was good weather so the three of us went on a tour of Warwick Castle, Stratford-upon-Avon, the Cotswolds, and Oxford.  And Chris worked some more...

Perry and the oldest part of the Warwick Castle wall. 

Inside we found a dinner gong!

On to Stratford-upon-Avon...

William Shakespeare's home and garden.

Front of Shakespeare's home.  It was chilly but no rain!

The Cotswolds region was beautiful!  Thatched roofed and earthy yellow stoned houses lined little streets and rolling green hills filled with sheep were in between villages. 

Tom Quad and Tower at Christ Church College in Oxford. 

More of Oxford.  Such a beautiful setting for a campus... Would certainly have been my second choice after Utah State.


The next day we joined another tour that took us to Windsor Castle, Bath, and Stonehenge.  Chris worked again...

The gardens were beautiful at Windsor Castle and St. George's Chapel was a highlight. 

We even got to see one of the Queen's Corgis!

The weather was beautiful, but cold. 

Bath is a small city where hot springs had been built upon by the Romans and made into public baths.  Then in Victorian society the English would come and bath fully clothed and would then drink the water they had just bathed in for health purposes.  Glad I didn't live back then!

This "bath" is still fed by natural springs but you are told not to drink this stuff.  Would people really want to?

The Bath Abby.

The River Avon and old city of Bath.

I love this picture!  They grow a lot of rapeseed to make canola oil in this part of the country.  Most fields were this bright yellow color. 

Ah, Stonehenge...  It is as strange to see it in person as it looks in all the pictures.  Nothing but fields and a highway around it!

Everyone needs a picture like this!


When Chris was finished with work, we took a train north to York. 

Chris, myself, and Joan in front of York Minster.

Great pub filled with locals. 

Chris and I enjoyed a beautiful walk back to our B&B. This was a first for me staying at a B&B and I have to say it wasn't my "cup of tea", but it was in a great location.  The next morning it was pouring rain.  Chris and I started out with a walking tour of the city, but ditched out early since we left our umbrellas and we were drenched!  We toured the inside of the minster then hopped on a train with his parents to Edinburgh, Scotland.