Westminster Abbey and Parliament

Toured ...but couldn't take photos.  Tonight we head to theatre to see Les Miserables.  I can't wait 😊 

London swings...

We're staying in the Mayfair area of London thanks to our the very good advice of Ray and Patty Brubaker.  We love this area and it is very central to all the places on our to see list. Edit  We have walked some of the parks and enjoyed eating here.  We had a tour of Buckingham Palace and the BeefEater Tourof London.  We rode in a cab, a boat, and on a bicycle taxi!   My favorite was the witty tour of the Tower... even though we got rained on!

York tour

They have free walking tours of York.  We learned the history of the area from Roman times.  This was one of my favorite places on this trip. We walked along the top of the wall.

I've lost track of what I've shared with you!

We are in York now.  The last few days have flown by, and it's hard to recall what I've shared.  

In the Lakes District:

Wordsworth land was quite a memorable experience for us.  We had a tour of his Dove Cottage, etc.  

In Edinburgh:

We toured the queen's yacht... the Brittania.  We also took a tour of Holyrood Palace which is the queen's official palace in Scotland.  No photos allowed there.  

In York:

Unreal!  Gorgeous little town dating back to 69 AD.  We got here in time for Evensong.  Wow!  Wow!  Wow!  This is the biggest Gothic cathedral north of the Alps.

Wee bit o' Scotland!

Edinburgh is like a fairy tale...   so old, with nooks and crannies every which way.      We are staying directly behind the Old Tollbooth.  We went on a two hour tour of the Royal Mile and learned many interesting stories of the past.  At one time, Edinburgh was the most crowded city in the world!  Folks could never leave the inner city because they could not afford to pay the toll to get back in.  There's a street corner named the End of the World, because that's as far as most people ever made it.  The official royal palace is here... As well as a very fortified castle.  The home of many well known authors and poets and the famed John Knox, theologian.  Absolutely incredible.\

Street fair and stage play and relaxing

Very slow internet...so having a hard time uploading photos😐

In the land of the ancients

We walked the Castlerigg Ston Circle which dates back to 3000 BC.  We cruised Derwentwarer Lake in a historic touring cruiserwe visited Dove Cottage..William Wordsworth famed!

The Lake District

Today we drove from Wales to the Lake District.  We're staying in a really nice b & b....  you can see the view from our window.  Black sheep are everywhere.

Snowdonia

Our internet here is very slow, so hopefully I can upload photos.  Spectacular scenery!

Moelfre

Looking across the Irish Sea, we walked along the cliffs and supped on more Welsh food. (Not my favorite!)

Backroads of Britain Day

Today we followed a tour of Northern Wales in one of my tour books.  We first headed  For the Island of Anglesey.  Beaumaris Castle popped into view first.    Built in 1295, it was the largest and last of  King Edward I's Welsh Castles.  The moat around it was filled with water!   

Wales!

Today we arrived in Wales.  Check out the castle and view from the wall...  there's a cute old town here in Conwy.  We had Wales Rarebits for lunch and an afternoon tea.  Didn't get many photos since we forgot the camera memory stick.  Weather here is very blustery.  Rain is expected tomorrow.

One week down

`We left California about a week ago.  So much has filled our days that it's been hard to sit down and take a breath!  Since writing last we've enjoyed a Shakespeare play and walked the streets of Stratford Upon Avon which is the bard's home town.  We took a private tour of Oxford for three hours and learned a lot about the lives of CS Lewis and Tolkien.  We traveled to the Blenheim Palace where Churchill was born.  Today we dropped Brian off at the train station as he heads back to the states.  We'll miss him... and I really miss him riding shotgun!  I'm not so good at this British driving.