Day 9 England 2015: Departure Day

Pub, pubs, and more pubs.

Nell Gwynn, actress, prostitute, and long time mistress of Charles II of England and Scotland. She died at the age of 37.

Pub really stands for Public House. Pubs nowadays serve more than beer and bangers with mash. We had some pretty good lunches in them. Vera even had wine, but switched to lager and lime in our later visits. Although we took loads of pictures of pubs, we didn't actually eat and drink in all of them. We just liked their colorful and descriptive signage.

See you soon!

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Day 8 England 2015: Churchill War Rooms and 'The Lion King'

Based upon Mark's suggestion, we checked out the Churchill War Room. What a great piece of WWII history. After that we stopped at a local pub for lunch and then went on to the Lyceum to watch The Lion King. Beautifully staged and fantastic costumes. Getting ready to depart for Seatac tomorrow.

Outside the map room of Churchill War Rooms

Chemical toilet in the CWR.

This was the general impression of Churchill by people who worked for him.

Big Ben hardly noticeable in background.

Pub of the day.

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Day 7 England 2015: Happy Birthday Queen Elizabeth

Unbeknownst to us, Queen Elizabeth had a birthday today, and we walked right in on the festivities, including a 21 gun salute and RAF fly-over. Aside from that, we visited the Science Museum and the Wellcome Collection, a museum of medical oddities. Both are worth your time if you're ever in London. The Science Museum highlights a lot of technology pioneered by the British in the 18th and 19th centuries.

21 gun salute. Very loud!

The Queen and her entourage, complete with Prince William, baby George and the rest of the crew.

Old locomotive at Science Museum.

19th century lawn mower, British style.

Carpets for drapes in our pub.

Pub of the day.

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Day 6 England 2015: The Tower of London and The National Gallary

We started early today at the Tower of London; a good thing as the crowds grew and grew as the morning progressed. Another must see in London. Tower is a misnomer, as it is more a medieval fortress with many towers and associated structures. It has had many uses through the years, including an early castle, a zoo for royalty and the public, and of course, a prison/execution site, among others. We then made our way over to the National Gallery to enjoy some beautiful art. Our feet are doing better, but there were lots of stairs today, especially in the Tower. Thank goodness for the tube.

Escalator at the tube. It's not even the longest.

'

London skyline from the Tower.

The Tower view as you exit the tube.

Sprinkled throughout the Tower are these wire sculptures to remind you of the menagerie that used to be kept here.

The Tower Bridge from the outer wall of the Tower complex.

"The Ugly Duchess" at the National Gallery. Not necessarily representative of the rest of the artwork.

The daily pub.

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Day 5 England 2015: Piccadily/Oxford Circuses and the British Museum

Today we started out with a little shoe shopping for Vera to cure some very sore feet, plus made a short stop at an upscale department store that happens to carry their own brand of fabric. We made our way from Piccadilly Circus to Oxford Circus, not unlike walking down 5th Avenue in New York City. The new shoes are helping a little, and the fabric store gave Vera a chance to pick up a small amount of quilting fabric.

It was then off to the British Museum. Both our feet were starting to hurt, so we stayed for only a few hours, viewing artifacts from ancient civilizations in Egypt, The Sudan, Syria, Iraq and Iran. Good thing some of that stuff isn't over there right now. We'll be back tomorrow, feet willing. The place is a must see! And, of course, free.

Inside Liberty Department Store, 140 years old.

Busy tourists waiting for Vera to take a picture of the British Museum entrance.

Artifacts from ancient Syria/Iraq, I think.

From ancient Egypt.

A massive collection, wherever it's from.

Pub of the day (near Liberty Department Store and Oxford Circus)

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Day 4 England 2015: Bath to London

Today we took the train to London, with a short detour to a quilt shop in Bath. With the purchase of an "oyster" card and multi-day pass, we now have unlimited use of subways and buses in the central parts of London. After a brief stop to purchase "Lion King" tickets, the rest of the day was spent touring the downtown area. We stumbled across the Portrait Gallery, and stopped for a quick look. What a great museum, much more interesting than the name suggests. By the way, most of the major museums in London are free! What a great bonus for our trip.

London Eye from Westminster Bridge. The line to take a ride was way too long for our patience.

The obligatory picture of Big Ben

The Eye from St. James Park (near Buckingham Palace). Our feet were killing us, or we would have stopped by and had tea with the Queen

Still near the palace, but limping back to the subway

Pub of the day (near Parliament, and packed with bureaucrats)

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Day 3 England 2015: The Henges and Cotswolds

The weather turned cold and windy today, especially around Stonehenge. Stonehenge is the more famous of England's henges, but we actually enjoyed Avebury Stone Circles more. Smaller stones, but spread out over a huge area right in the middle of farm country and the small village of Avebury. And, unlike it's more famous cousin, you can touch and walk among the stones. By the way, stone is not a good description; these are massive rocks. In the case of Stonehenge, some weigh over 40 tons and were transported over 100 miles almost 7000 years ago for reasons still not understood.

Then we drove back to Bath via the Cotswolds. The villages look like something right out of "Harry Potter"; in fact, parts of the movies were filmed here, as was "War Horse" and "Dr. Doolittle", just to mention a few.

Tomorrow we're off to London.

Stonehenge

A very small section of Avebury Stone Circles.

One of the Wiltshire chalk horses etched into the countryside. Only about 300 years old, less than 1/10th the age of Stonehenge.

Typical house in Lacock, a National Trust village in the Cotswolds.

Castle Combe, another National Trust village in the Cotswolds.

Dave observing trout taking mayflies. Where's a fly rod when you need it?

Pub of the day

Little League, English style. Parents in the background watch their kids play cricket.

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