The Best of Britain and Ireland: Day 5

The first thing our tour group did today before leaving Coventry was to visit the Coventry Cathedral. There are actually two cathedrals side by side. One is an older cathedral that was bombed during World War II. Only the ruins of the old cathedral stand today. The other is a newer cathedral built in late 1950s and early 1960s.

A view of the newer Coventry Cathedral.

The spire of the old cathedral.

Another view of the Coventry Cathedral.

Stained glass windows and a beautiful pink tree.

An ornate door.

What is left of a spiral staircase in the old Coventry Cathedral.

Forgive the nudity here. :) There is a local legend in Coventry about Lady Godiva who threatened to ride through the town naked if her husband raised taxes. Well, her husband ordered everyone in town to cover their eyes while his wife was on her "joy ride". Everyone did that except for good ol' Tom who snuck a peek (and was blinded as a result). Now in Coventry, every morning at 9am the clock chimes in the town center and depicts this interesting event. I think it looks like Tom is giving Godiva two thumbs up but apparently that is him covering his eyes. Consequently, this is where we get the term "Peeping Tom".

After leaving Coventry, we drove a few hours to the town of York. York is the most complete midevil city in England. There were narrow streets, really old buildings, and a wall around the entire city. The above picture is the view we saw when we were walking into the city center.

Here is a picture of our tour group. Christina, our tour director) is the brunette with her hand in front of her face (sorry I didn't get a better picture). When we walked through different cities, she would often stop us and tell us about the buildings we were walking by and about the local history. I'm not sure how she kept all of this information in her head but she was amazing with all of the stuff she knew.

A pretty park in York.

The York Castle Museum

York Minster (the largest gothic cathedral in Northern Europe)

After we left York we drove to Newcastle for the night. I was amazed at the differences in architecture between Southern and Northern England. Northern England is definitely more industrial. I was reminded of one of my favorite movies "North and South". If you haven't seen it (or read the book by Elizabeth Gaskell) you should. And by the way, I LOVE MR. THORNTON!! :)

After dinner, Erin and I were still ready to explore so we walked from the hotel down a very steep hill to the Tyne river.

A bridge that crosses the Tyne river in Newcastle

A cool looking building in Newcastle.

Next Up: Day 6 - Scotland

The Best of Britain and Ireland: Day 4

Today was the first "official" day of The Best of Britain and Ireland tour. Erin and I woke up early in the morning, set our suitcases outside of our hotel room door (a porter came by and collected the suitcases of all of the group and brought them to the bus) and went down to breakfast. After that we got the rest of our stuff together (the stuff we were bringing with us in the bus) and we went down to the main lobby to meet our group. We weren't late or anything but there weren't very many people in the lobby. I was a little confused but it turned out that most of the group was already on the bus. This ended up being a trend with our tour group...always getting on the bus 10 minutes early. For someone who is ALWAYS running a little late I was a little worried about this but Erin and I managed to do alright.

Our group turned out to be a great mix of different people. We had sisters (us), friends, mother and daughter, father and son, and husbands and wives all traveling together. Most of our group was from Australia but we also had people from the USA, Canada, India, and South Africa.

Our first stop as we left London was to visit Hampton Court. This is one of the royal palaces but isn't actually inhabited by the royal family anymore.

Part of Hampton Court

Another view of Hampton Court.

One of the gardens of Hampton Court. There wasn't anything in bloom in this garden when we visited but I still thought it was pretty.

Awe...pretty flowers. :)


One of my favorite pictures from the trip. How much do you want to sit on that bench? I would love to just sit there for hours reading a good book. This was taken on the grounds of Hampton Court.

Our next stop on the tour was Oxford. I never would have thought to go visit Oxford but I'm so glad that it was part of the tour. The city and the college was just breathtakingly beautiful!! And Erin and I even had our brush with celebrity there. :)

Guess who? It's John Rhys-Davies from Lord of the Rings and Indiana Jones. During our tour of the city, our tour guide told us that we were about to go through the Bodleian Library and that we would have to be quiet and not speak until we got to the other side of the building. We walked through an open-aired courtyard and I looked to my right and who did I see? Gimli!! I was so excited I started snapping pictures (completely loosing the rest of my group). Erin was taking pictures of other things so I wanted to get her attention...but I couldn't speak. Well, being the rebel that I am, I said "Actor!Actor!" as quietly as I could and vigorously pointed in Gimli's direction. Erin got the hint and enjoyed the moment with me. :)


The view on the other side of the Bodleian Library. This is the Clarendon Building and surrounding grounds.


St. Mary's Cathedral. The Cathedral is located next to the Clarendon Building. Our short tour of Oxford ended in this courtyard and we then had free time to explore before we had to get back on the bus. Erin and I decided to climb to the top of St. Mary's Cathedral. I'm so glad that we did because the view was spectacular...and we got to climb up a tiny-tiny stone spiral staircase. How fun is that??

The view from the top of the cathedral. Look at those tiny people below.

The walkways around the top of the cathedral were really narrow. It was fun trying to maneuvre with other people trying to go the opposite way.

After we left Oxford, our next stop was Stratford-Upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare. This beautiful thatched-roof building was Anne Hathaway's (Shakespeare's wife) house.

We didn't have time to go inside for the tour but the outside was really pretty.

Next we drove to the center of town and were let loose to explore Stratford on our own.

This is the front of Shakespeare's birthplace.

A view of the back of Shakespeare's birthplace.

Next up, Erin and I walked through the town and to the river in search of the church where Shakespeare is buried. After getting a little lost and ending up on the wrong side of the river, we corrected our course and eventually found the Holy Trinity Church.

The graveyard outside of the Holy Trinity Church. I love old graveyards! And yes, I am one of those wierdos who would love to wander around them at night. :)

A couple of days before we arrived it was actually the anniversary of Shakespeare's death. The flowers on his grave are from that celebration.

After we left Stratford-upon-Avon we drove to Coventry for the night.

Next up: Day 5 - Coventry and Northern England

The Best of Britain and Ireland: Day 3

The first thing we did on Monday, April 26th was enjoy a guided bus tour through London. Our tour guide was a funny and very sarcastic lady. She had something funny to say for just about everything and she kept the whole bus laughing. For example, she called the bicyclists "voluntary organ-donors", and she let us all know how much she loved (very sarcastic here) the red double-decker bus drivers in town.

Speaking of the bus situation in London, I was amazed at the skills of these bus drivers. Buses would pass within an inch of each other on a very regular bases. At one point, I was sitting next to the window and I thought for sure that the buses would collide and that I would receive a glass shower. At least I wasn't the only nervous tourist at that moment. I looked over into the next bus to see the wide, panicked eyes of the person next to me.

And now, back to our regular scheduled programming. Just a warning, there are a LOT of pictures below. Also, you'll have to forgive the glare on some of the pictures as they were taken through a bus window.

This is a monument erected by Queen Victoria for her beloved husband Albert. There are monuments and buildings dedicated to Albert all over town.

A street view of the Parliament building.

A "Window Tax" was implemented in the British Isles around 1696 by King William III that taxed people depending on the number of windows they had in their homes. As a result, many families boarded up their windows to reduce the amount of tax that they paid. The building above shows some of these windows still closed up today. This is where the term "Daylight Robbery" comes from.


The pretty building on the corner is the Parliamentary Bookstore. The darker building in the back is the Portcullis House (or the new Parliament building).


The Admiralty House

The National Gallery located on Trafalgar Square.


The Royal Courts of Justice was opened by Queen Victoria in 1882. Today it houses the Court of Appeals and the High Court.


Beautiful flowers near St. Paul's Cathedral.


St. Paul's Cathedral


Erin and I outside of St. Paul's Cathedral. Here is a quiz for you. Is my hair a) messed up because of the wind, or b) doing its best interpretation of a bird's nest? Take your pick. :) ...no pun intended (as this is a classic up-the-nose shot)

The Changing of the Guard. As an "Army Brat" I found this pomp and circumstance really moving.

Cool buildings along the street in Windsor, Berkshire England. This street leads up to the Windsor Castle.

Windsor Castle...the Queen's Flag. They only fly this flag if the Queen is currently in residence at the castle. Sadly, she didn't come out and greet us personally but I'll try not to take offense. I'm just saying, I usually say hello to people who come to my house. ;)

Beautiful grounds at Windsor Castle. This is what they call their "Dry Moat." I think I'll build a dry moat at my house.

Another side of the "Dry Moat".

More beautiful grounds at Windsor Castle.

A "small" cathedral inside the grounds of the Windsor Castle.

Don't mess with him...he is fiesty. (One of the guards of the Queen's private residence)

The Queen's private residence in Windsor Castle.

Erin and I striking a pose.

Outside of the Apollo Victoria Theater. Don't I look like I'm about to start some trouble? Don't let the smile fool you.

I LOVED THIS PLAY!!!! ...yes I am shouting that.

Erin and I were singing songs from Wicked for the rest of the trip.

Next up...Leaving London, Oxford, and Stratford-Upon-Avon