Category: My Trips

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Tower of London–AMAZING!

Our second full day in London was reserved for the Tower of London and its rich and diverse history, as well as the hop-on, hop-off bus tour. It was so cold that day we pretty much stayed on the bus, but we did get off at Buckingham Palace. We started the day with a “Full English” Breakfast and it was more food than we could eat! No “continental” breakfast at the Doubletree!

The Tower of London is the oldest fortified castle in Europe! The very first fortress at the site was built by the Romans, and you can still see portions of the original Roman wall. The White Tower dates back to 1078 when King William used it as his castle. King Henry III used it as his castle starting in 1240, making extensive additions and renovations. Over the years, the complex has been used for many different things–palace residence, prison, royal mint, treasury, and zoo!

There were so many amazing pieces of history at the Tower that I could have spent the entire day there and it could fill several blog posts, but I realize not everyone is as much of a history nerd as I am, so I will spare you! I was particularly interested in the ravens–Legend has it that if the Tower’s resident ravens ever leave the Tower, the Kingdom will fall. I was lucky enough to snap a photo of one of the ravens close up!

My favorite pictures from the Tower are the raven and the one in the previous group that shows the Shard in the background–it is an interesting juxtaposition of old and new!

The rest of the day was spent on the bus that went EVERYWHERE, and a short stop at Buckingham Palace. Sadly, the Queen’s Gallery was closed as it prepared for a new exhibition. We were able to decide which places we wanted to return to later in the week! I did take a couple of really cool pictures from the bus, though!

It was a cold day, so the only time we hopped off the bus was to visit Buckingham Palace and have lunch. We didn’t go INTO the palace, but enjoyed the lovely area outside! We found a great little place called B-bar. I had a grilled chicken Cobb salad and Seth had chicken curry. For dessert we shared some delicious honeycomb ice cream!

That night we went to a pub called Cheshire Cheese. I had a “Pie and a Pint” while Seth had a “Three-Way Chicken Sandwich”. It was crowded and boisterous and felt like a true British pub experience!

Well, that was certainly a FULL day!  Stay tuned for highlights from the rest of our London stay!

 

 

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Our Introduction to London

Our first full day in London started with a Tube ride to pick up our London Pass. As we walked to the area we stopped to pick up a quick breakfast at a little take out place between the Tube station and Trafalgar Square. The place we had to pick up our London Passes was about a block away from Trafalgar Square.  The National Gallery was on our list and it borders the square, but we opted out of going there. We overdosed on art in Paris and were much more interested in history and palaces while in London!

After Trafalgar we walked about 10 minutes to Piccadilly Square with its iconic statue of Anteros atop the monument to Lord Shaftesbury, a famous philanthropist during the Victorian era. Most people believe this statue is of Eros, Anteros’ brother and the god of love. It is also referred to as the Angel of Christian Charity. The rest of Piccadilly reminded me of Times Square in NYC.

We found a great souvenir store off of Piccadilly Square where Seth scored a lot of things he was looking for! I saw a great Union Jack beanie that Kendyl would have loved, but I figured I would find something similar later (I never did, sadly).  From there we walked to Covent Garden, an amazing area that has been a marketplace for centuries. It has evolved over the years and now has a multitude of shops, restaurants and craft vendors. We had lunch here at Punch and Judy’s Pub and had our traditional British fish and chips!

Near Covent Garden is the British Transport Museum. It was full of historical vehicles and information. I was surprised to find out that London built an underground railroad before New York did! I thought I had taken pictures there, but I cannot find any. I will check with Seth–sometimes during our travels my phone died and he became the photographer!

After the day of sightseeing, we took the Tube back to the hotel and had dinner at the hotel restaurant, Natural Kitchen, like we did the night before. I had the lamb again (love that mint pesto) and Seth had a rib-eye steak. We again enjoyed cocktails at 2 for 1! Life is good!

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Hello, London!

On Monday, May 14, 2018, we took the Eurostar Train from Paris and said, “Hello, London.” It was such a neat experience. It has been a very long time since I took a real-life train! My only disappointment was not actually getting to SEE the English Channel. The train goes through the Chunnel, but the entrance and exit of the Chunnel are too far from the water to actually get a glimpse of the Channel! Oh well, still pretty cool to think that we went under the English Channel!

Accommodations

By the time we got to our hotel, it was late afternoon. We stayed at the Doubletree by Hilton, Tower of London. Like our hotel in Paris, it was a wonderful location. It had a great little restaurant called Natural Kitchen that we ate at a few times! On that first night, we ate there and they had some specials on cocktails (2 for 1) and steak (10 pounds off). I had a wonderful lamb chop dish with the most delicious mint pesto! I need to make some mint pesto! It was so good! Seth had one of the steak specials. I had 2 Cosmos and Seth had 2 drinks called “Penicillin”. Both were REALLY potent!!

Dinner and Drinks

Seth had the steak which was on special, and it was cooked perfectly!
Seth had a delicious steak at Natural Kitchen.
For dinner at the Natural Kitchen, I had a deliciously tender lamb chop with a fresh sweet mint pesto.
My lamb chop with a delicious mint pesto!
Our drinks after dinner in London--a potent concoction called "Penicillin" and a classic Cosmo. It was 2 for 1 night!
“Penicillin” and my Cosmo–it was 2 for 1 night and we had 2 each!

Getting Familiar

After dinner, we took a walk around our immediate environs. We found a Tesco (a supermarket) which became our go-to for things we needed during our stay!

Tomorrow I will share our experiences from our first full day in London! Click here to read that post!

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West Midlands Wrap-Up

The purpose of this post is to give you a wrap-up of our West Midlands adventures. I have to apologize for my absence over the past week and a half. On the second to last day of our vacation, I suffered a fall in Dublin. My glasses broke and cut my forehead, and I fractured the radial head of my left arm. Fortunately, I did not have to seek care overseas. I just need to keep it in a sling for a few weeks. It hurts like crazy though, especially with certain movements, so typing is not real comfortable. I’m going to try to post an installment each day until I get caught up on our whole trip.

Further Travels in the West Midlands

This post will cover the rest of our stay in the West Midlands with my family. I previously posted on our visit to Ludlow Castle. On that same day, we visited Croft Castle. Unlike Ludlow, which is in ruins, Croft is still occupied! The first floor and part of the second were open to the public, as well as the little church and the gardens. I greatly enjoyed its beauty and history!

Approaching Croft Castle in the UK with my son Seth in the foreground.
Approaching Croft Castle in the UK.
Beautiful gardens on the grounds of Croft Castle.
The amazing gardens at Croft Castle.

Dinner at the Salway Arms

After the castle we had dinner at a lovely place called the Salway Arms. Seth had roast pork with real life Yorkshire Pudding! The top picture shows  his dish with the Yorkshire Pudding on the upper left. I had pan-seared cod with a lovely white wine sauce. Most important was the wonderful company of Linda and David!

My son's meal at the Salway Arms, roast pork with Yorkshire pudding.
My son’s meal at the Salway Arms, roast pork with Yorkshire pudding.
My meal at the Salway Arms, pan-seared cod in a white wine sauce.
My meal, pan-seared cod with a white wine sauce.

The Black Country Living History Museum

On our last full day with Linda and David we enjoyed the Black Country Living History Museum. It is a lovely area that is like a little period village from the past. They have moved buildings there brick by brick! There have been many things filmed there, the most famous being Peaky Blinders. We also got to watch them make nails and links of chains by hand! The women of the area made nails in sheds behind their homes while many of the men (including some of our ancestors) forged chains. It was so incredibly interesting and educational!

One of the quaint streets at the Black Country Living History Museum in Dudley, UK.
One of the quaint streets at the Black Country History Museum.
An historical plaque describing a Backyard Chain Shop at the Black Country Living History Museum.
An historical plaque at the Black Country Living History Museum.
A man at the Black Country Living History Museum demonstrating how links of chain were forged.
A man demonstrating how links of chain were forged.
An old-fashioned fire truck at the Black Country Living History Museum.
An old-fashioned fire truck.

Canal Boat Tour

We also enjoyed an incredible canal boat tour which is part of the Living History Museum. It meandered through tunnels that used to be part of a limestone mine. It was fascinating!

Seth and I on the canal boat tour at the Black Country Living Hsitory Museum.
Seth and I getting ready to embark on our canal boat tour.
A mine shovel that serves as a memorial to all those who have died in the limestone mines in Dudley, UK.
A memorial to all of the people who have died in these mines.
A beautiful wall covered with vines, a part of the canal boat tour at the Black Country Living History Museum.
A beautiful wall covered with vines that was part of the canal boat tour.

Afterward we enjoyed the most delicious fish and chips I have ever tasted! Even better than those we had in London! The little shop did it all the old-fashioned way!

Fish and chips done the old-fashioned way at the Black Country Living History Museum.
The most delicious fish and chips ever!

West Midlands Wrap-Up

That evening we watched the Royal Wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle–Linda had recorded it for us to watch. I really enjoyed it, and couldn’t help wondering what those royals thought about that sermon! We also did FaceTime with a couple of our cousins from Yorkshire. I look forward to getting to meet them during my next trip!

One of my favorite pictures is this one of Seth with Ben, Linda and David’s black lab. They got on fabulously!

A picture of Seth with Linda and David's dog, Ben. They unfortunately lost Ben in July 2019.
A picture of Seth with Linda and David’s dog, Ben. They unfortunately lost Ben in July 2019.

So that wraps up the Midlands leg of our European trip. Tomorrow I plan to move on to London and Dublin! Arm permitting, I intend to write daily until the full trip is documented!

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More West Midlands Fun!

We had a lot of West Midlands fun when we spent two full days with my cousin Linda and her husband David! They were generous and gracious hosts and took us to see some marvelous sites, as well as places my ancestors lived and worked. In addition, they taught us so much about the area. For instance, did you know the anchor and anchor chain for the Titanic were both made in Netherton, W Midlands, UK? This is one of the towns of my ancestors, and some of them worked forging chains! This is a replica of the Titanic’s anchor!

A replica of the anchor from the Titanic, forged in Netherton, UK.
A replica of the anchor from the Titanic, forged in Netherton, UK.

Places of Ancestral Interest

Some of the places of familial interest included the cemetery where Joseph Darby (the jumper from my last post) is buried and the church where my great-grandparents got married–Christ Church in Oldbury.

The headstone of my ancestor, Josiah Darby, who was a famous Victorian spring jumper, and who won a world championshiip!
Josiah Darby’s headstone
The church in England where my great-grandparents got married.
The Church where my great-grandparents got married!
Another view of the church where my great-grandparents got married.
Another view of the church.

Castles and History!

We also visited two castles–Ludlow and Croft. On the way to Ludlow we passed fields where sheep just roam free–no fences or anything! Some were marked with a colored stripe and this signified that they were pregnant. In the picture of the sheep you can see the hills of Wales in the distance. Ludlow castle was important in the defense against the “savage” Welshmen. Read more about it here. It is mostly ruins now, but an incredible piece of history.

Sheep just roaming the countryside on our way up to Ludlow Castle.
Sheep just roaming the countryside on our way up to Ludlow Castle.
The ruins of Ludlow Castle, with my cousin Linda in the lower left!
The ruins of Ludlow Castle, with my cousin Linda in the lower left!
More ruins of Ludlow Castle, which was important in the history of the British vs. the Welsh.
More Ludlow ruins.

The town of Ludlow is rich in Tudor architecture which I love!! I took way too many pictures but will share a couple.

Examples of Tudor architecture in Ludlow, UK.
The Tudor architecture in Ludlow, UK.
Other examples of Tudor architecture in Ludlow, UK.
Further examples of the Tudor architecture in Ludlow, UK.

Well, I have gone on for too long tonight! I will cover Croft Castle, our foodie adventures, and the Black Country Living History Museum tomorrow! I will share even more West Midlands fun! Thanks for following our trip! I can’t believe that we will be coming home on  Sunday! But do not fret! I will continue posting since I have to cover our London and Dublin legs of the trip!

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Skipping Ahead

I have had so much fun hanging out with my British cousins that I haven’t posted since I have been here in the beautiful West Midlands of the U.K. I appreciate the hospitality of my cousin Linda and her husband David. They have been generous and courteous hosts and have introduced us to many extended family members, as well as shown us places our ancestors lived, worked and married! We also got to see castles and museums and sheep just roaming around! There is even a statue and museum display honoring my great-great uncle who was a world famous Spring jumper in the late 1800’s!

On the first night we had a dinner with several of Linda’s extended family at a quaint and delicious pub called The Barnt Green Inn. Meeting everyone was lovely, the food was amazing and our server was so much fun! He was from Portugal and getting ready to return there next week.

Seth got a ginger carrot soup as a starter then finished with lamb shops over a pea and potato mash. I had pork belly with scallops over a squash purée. Some of the party got a cool chocolate dessert called a Chocolate Bomb where there is ice cream inside a chocolate ball. The server pours hot chocolate syrup over the chocolate ball and it melts dramatically! It was fun to watch!

Well, we are getting ready to leave for the airport for our flight to Dublin. I will add more Midlands later then try to catch up on London. It is hard to believe we are starting the last leg of our journey! Thanks for coming along!!

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The Last of Our Sightseeing in Paris

Today I will finish up describing our Paris sightseeing fun! On Saturday we started out at the Louvre. I had been there before, and we were pretty museum fatigued, plus it was pretty crowded. We checked on the ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman exhibits, then took the Metro to the Arc de Triomphe.

We walked up to the top of the Arc–that was exhausting! You see, I am on a medicine for my heart that keeps my heart rate from increasing much (I can’t seem to get it above 104), so I get short-winded more easily than I should. So the walk up was killer, but worth it!

After that we walked down the Avenue de la Grande-Armee (a continuation of the Champs Elysees) to the chocolate shop I mentioned in a previous post, A La Riene Astrid. We then had lunch nearby at L’Escale which I wrote about earlier. We took the Metro back to our hotel and rested for awhile–my feet were dead!

Later the same day we went up to one of my favorite places in the city–Montmarte and Sacre Coeur Basilica. More steps!! AND it started to rain! The view from the top is amazing, though my pictures  were no good due to how foggy it was! When we got to the top we discovered we could have ridden up on a Funicular!!! We did ride down though!

After descending we escaped the rain in Cafe Chappe, which I described previously, and took the Metro back to the hotel. I was a bit sad we missed the Place du Tertre where the artists hang out and peddle their wares. We figured they would have escaped the rain too!

Well, that finally finishes Paris. Chronologically, we have been in London for 3 nights. I am going to try to combine our cultural and culinary adventures for our time in London over the next few posts.

Thanks for reading my blog and keep visiting!!

 

 

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Au Revoir à Paris!

I will try to sum up the rest of our Parisian adventures here. I am excited to start sharing the London leg of our trip!

Day 2 in Paris was museum day. We started at Musée Orangerie which borders on the Jardin Tuileries. It is dedicated to impressionist art which is my favorite type. The main level is shaped like an infinity sign with large Monets curving around each oval!

Next we went over the Seine to the Musée d’Orsay. This museum was huge and varied with quite a collection of sculpture, paintings and other media.

We were hungry after all the art and we found a lovely café right across from the museum. I previously posted about the Tabac d’Orsay and our wonderful lunch!

That night we had a premium wine tasting at Les Caves des Louvre. Our guide was a young very knowledgeable wine maker and I learned so much! Afterward we walked to the Palais Royal though only got to see the outside and gardens. We stopped for dinner (already posted pics of that) and Home to crash!

Well I will need to post our next couple days after we return from today’s adventures.

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Paris in Review

I am writing on the Eurostar train between Paris and London. Au revoir Paris! I thought I would take this opportunity to add some of my sightseeing photos and remarks so we start London with a clean slate!

On our first day after our rest we took the river cruise to see the sights along the Seine. I definitely recommend this early in any trip to Paris! It is a great way to “get your feet wet” so to speak.

Well apparently there is not enough bandwidth on the train to add my pics so I will do those later.

When viewing the wall around the Île del Cité I can’t help but think about the episodes of Vikings when they attacked Paris. I was envisioning this as we sailed around the original heart of the city.

After the cruise we walked to the Eiffel Tower. The lines were too long to go up, but it was just amazing being there and seeing it close up. Seth took a cool picture from the ground looking up !

On our walk back to our hotel we passed the place where Princess Diana was killed. There are tributes there around the replica of Lady Liberty’s flame.

Well I will catch up with the rest of Paris tomorrow and start with London! Night all!!!

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Another Day of Great Food and Sightseeing!

I almost didn’t have a chance to post tonight. We started the day at the Louvre, then the Arc de Triomphe/Champs Elysees. After that we went to a chocolatier recommended by one of Seth’s customers. It is called A La Reine Astrid and was amazing! We then had lunch at a cute little brasserie named L’Escale that was near the chocolate shoppe. I had a planche de fromage and Seth had a Croque Messieur. Everything was amazingly delicious! I have fallen in love with French cheese and wish I could take it home with me!!! It is so much better than anything else I have ever tasted!

I was pretty exhausted from all the walking, and especially the STAIRS, so we went back to our hotel for a break. I ended up falling asleep! I never nap! After that, we took the metro up to Montmarte and the Sacre Coeur Basilica–more stairs!! This is my favorite part of Paris! Unfortunately, it started to rain pretty hard, so there was no reason to go to the Place du Tertre, where all the artists are–we figured they wouldn’t be there in the rain. Instead we found a cute little cafe up there called Cafe Chappe. Seth again had duck (he loves duck and it isn’t easy to find in restaurants at home). I ordered the Salade Campagnare–a delightful salad with toast points covered with 3 different kinds of cheeses as well as little roasted potatoes that were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside!

This cafe had Kronenbourg also so that is what we had to drink. It was very refreshing after all of those stairs!! We ordered nutella crepes for dessert, unfortunately, they looked so delicious we ate them and forgot to take a picture!! Sorry about that!

I promise I will post sightseeing pictures also! I’m just more obsessed with the FOOD here in Paris!! Tomorrow is our last day and that makes me sad! But I am excited to see London and to visit my cousin Linda and her family next weekend!

Bonsoir!