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

The Best of Britain and Ireland: Day 1 & 2

Our trip started on Saturday, April 24th when Erin and I drove from Sierra Vista to Phoenix to catch a direct flight to the London Heathrow Airport. While we were waiting to get on the plane in Phoenix, the crowds around our terminal started to grow. Eventually about 6-8 security guards showed up to make sure there wasn't going to be any problems. Apparently, people affected by the Iceland volcano were flying to Phoenix from bigger cities in the hope of getting on the plane. I was amazed at just how many people were in the area so I stealthily tried to take a photo. Can you find Erin in the crowd?

Unfortunately the photo doesn't do justice to how many people were there. For some reason no one listened to me when I tried to tell them to stand all together and say "Cheese!" Suprisingly, most if not all of the people were able to get a seat on the plane. We were definitely packed in there like sardines.

Our flight was just under 10 hours long and we arrived in London in the afternoon on Sunday, April 25th. Because we booked our trip with a touring company, we had a driver waiting to pick us up. Erin and I were excited to see that he even had a sign with our names on it. I guess I was too excited about it to actually take a picture so you'll just have to imagine the scene. Our driver drove us from the airport to our hotel, The Kensington Close. (Just a note...if you ever travel to London, make sure that you exchange at least a few dollars to pounds at the airport or you will have nothing to tip the driver with and you will end up looking like a miserly scrooge...poor driver!) We checked into the hotel and went up to our room. To say that our room was TINY would be simplifying things a little bit. Our room could have fit in my garage (with room left over for my car). Okay, now that might be a little bit of an exaggeration but the room was very small.

There was no rest for the weary on this day because we only had a few hours to freshen up and wander around the shops located near the hotel and then it was time for our first London experience. We boarded a bus with other travelers and went to dinner at a historic pub, called The Prospect of Witby, right on the river Thames. Both Erin and I decided to have a real London experience and order Fish and Chips. I've only recently started eating fish so I was a little skeptical but it was actually really good.

After dinner we went on an evening river tour of the Thames. The night was cold and threatening to rain but Erin and I decided to sit outside on the upper deck of the boat. Unfortunately I couldn't figure out how to take night shots with my camera so here are some of the pictures that Erin took.

I took this photo of the upper deck of the boat with the London Bridge behind it.

I don't remember what building this is but I thought the picture looked really nice.

The London Eye. As a big Doctor Who fan, I was excited to see this.

Big Ben

The Parliament Building

The London Bridge

After our dinner and tour, we got back to the hotel around 10pm. We were really tired so we got ready for the next day and promptly fell asleep. Uncomfortable beds couldn't even keep the sleep away, thank goodness.

Next up...Day 2 (more London and Wicked)

Brand Spankin' New

TA DA!!! I have a new blog. I decided that I needed to start from scratch because I was having such a hard time with my old blog. I don't know why but I started really disliking the old one. Everytime I would go to post something I just couldn't do it. Of course I could have just changed the name and look of the old blog and deleted everything but something feels very liberating about just starting fresh.

So here I am. I'll try to be better about updating this blog, using it as a journal. I can't guarantee that I'll post something every day because sometimes I just don't have anything to say.

The next several posts will be a breakdown of my trip with my sister Erin to the British Isles. It might take me a little while to get it all posted but I'll get it done eventually.

So the moral of the story is that everyone should watch out...because I'm blogging again. :)

The Big List (I wanna...)

This is an ever expanding and updating list of things I want to do or accomplish.

Things I've Accomplished 
Things I'm working on

1. Visit Ireland (April/May 2010)
2. Be Credit Card debt free
3. Pay off Student Loan
4. Lose 50 pounds (14 out of 50)
5. Buy a brand new car
6. Go on a Disney Cruise
7. Have fun at a waterpark wearing a bathing suit **gasp**
8. Visit England (April/May 2010)
9. Go on a tour of Anne of Green Gables locations in Canada
10. Go on a Pride and Prejudice tour in England
11. Kiss the Blarney stone (April/May 2010)
12. Get married
13. Have a child
14. Go on a hiking tour (all the way down and all the way back up) of the Grand Canyon
15. Have an 6 month emergency fund
16. Train my dogs to behave when people come over to the house
17. Visit New York City
18. Stay in a Bed and Breakfast
19. Visit a haunted location
20. Be able to play 5 church hymns on the piano
21. Be able to fluently sign 5 church hymns
22. Go cliff diving
23. Explore a ghost town (Fairbank: Feb 2011)
24. Learn to play the guitar
25. Project: Finish scanning all family photos
26. Project: Finish 2 jean blankets
27. Own a vacation home
28. Go on an African safari
29. Drive across country, site-seeing along the way
30. Go water skiing
31. Learn to snow ski
32. Learn to scuba dive
33. Take a creative writing course
34. Attend a live comedy show
35. Own a home
36. Own a home outright (no mortgage)
37. Run a half-marathon
38. Go to a three-ring circus
39. Take a Bikram Yoga class
40. Visit the Mall of America
41. Take a CPR class
42. Attend Comic-Con
43. Be an extra in a TV show
44. Go indoor sky-diving
45. Visit all 50 US States (not just drive through them)
46. Live in a house with a wrap around porch
47. Visit Chernobyl
48. Go on an extreme Zip Line
49. Spend Halloween at Dracula's Castle (Bran Castle) in Romania
50. Write a book