London, Edinburgh, and Beyond

I forgot to mention that these two guys got their first European haircut in Madrid! Lookin' sharp!

We found it harder to find a reasonably priced AirBnB in London, so we went with a budget friendly hotel room. The Premier Inn worked well for our family. The room had 3 beds lined up right next to each other, so it was like one big slumber party (Amelia's dream come true!)

The biggest bonus about the Premier Inn is their full English breakfasts!

Also, from our trip to London two years ago, we remembered that Pizza Express offers great deals for families and that helped our budget in this expensive city.

Our hotel was out in Wimbledon. Someone told us it pretty much takes and hour to get anywhere in London and we found that to be true. We used public transportation whenever possible.

We entered the city at Waterloo station. Wow! Lots of people.

Excited to be in London!

We loved that this mural greeted us shortly after we exited the Metro. "Mrs. Brown says that in London everyone is different and that means anyone can fit in."

No regrets! Starting to feel that school stress melting away as the school year starts back and he does not.

The London Eye was having mechanical issues the last time we were in London, so we thought we would attempt it on this trip.

We came across a cool playground on the way there and stopped for a bit.

This summarizes Joshua's feelings about this playground. Haha.

Amelia, the gymnast, was living her best life.

The London Eye was open! The kids loved seeing across the city and we remembered to bring our binoculars!

Hello Big Ben and The Parliament Building!

We walked along the Thames as we headed down toward some famous bridges. Along the way we saw the Globe Theatre. We took a tour here two years ago- it was worth it! A fun way to learn some history about Shakespeare.

Clink Street tunnel under the railroad tracks.

The opening to Borough Market. I had no idea how far back the Market went. Thanks to the Watsons and Harbesons for some food recommendations here.

The Black Pig was a must-try sandwhich stop. Let me tell you, this place was crowded! But they also had this line down to a science and it went quick!

We went with "The Best One" which is described as "slow roast pork shoulder, honey truffle parm mayo, salsa verde, peperoncini sott'olio, fennel apple slaw & 30mo aged parmesan." These sandwiches were more delicious than I imagined! And so big that we split two!

When we walked around the corner from The Black Pig we saw Khanom Krok Thai and this dessert being prepared. We all love mango with sticky rice and when we saw them preparing it with "coconut ice-cream noodles," we were in!

Our final stop in the market was at the famous "Turnips" for their chocolate covered strawberry cup.

So many strawberries! If you look behind the man handing out the cups of strawberries and chocolate, you can see the spigots with liquid chocolate flowing out.

Yes, please! The chocolate was like magic shell on the strawberries! Delicious!

We wondered through the market looking at the rest of their goods, from breads and doughnuts to mushroom paella and lobster. So fun to explore. We walked across the street from the market to enjoy an afternoon coffee at Monmouth.

What a sweet little shop. We loved that they had different specially roasted beans you could pick from.

And while we had coffee, the kids enjoyed a Babychino of warmed milk with sugar on top.

London Underground and "The Shard"

Fancy renting an Uber Lime bike?

The London Bridge was really just a regular bridge, with nothing too exciting about it. However, the view across to Tower Bridge was great! And it took us to the other side of the Thames so that we could walk by some attractions on that side.

Looking at the Tower Bridge and HMS Belfast from the London Bridge

The Monument to the Great Fire of London was built during 1671-1677 to commemorate the Great Fire of 1666, which burned for 4 days and destroyed over 2/3rds of the city.

Flowers and lamps, so beautiful!

Fresh flowers could be found outside most pub windows

The Tower of London with the Tower Bridge in the background. We didn't stop at the Tower of London this time, but we have previously been there to see the Crown Jewels. William the Conquerer had this fortress built in 1066 and from then until the 17th century, it has been used as a fortress, as a prison, as a place of executions (i.e. Anne Bolyn), as a royal zoo(!), and for protected storage of the Crown Jewels.

Tower Bridge. Due to traffic problems in the 1870s, a bridge design competition was run in 1876 by the City Bridge Foundation. However, no design was selected until 1884.

The current gothic design was built from 1886-1894. The bridge is a combination bascule and suspension bridge, allowing ships to pass through, ease traffic congestion, and with a high-level walkway allowing for additional pedestrian traffic.

This is not a draw-bridge, but the road moves up more like a see-saw on each side to let ships pass through. In fact, the word "Bascule" means see-saw or balance in French! The bridge used steam to power the hydraulic engines to open the bascules until 1976. Now, the bascules are still opened using hycraulic engines, but powered by oil and electricity instead of steam.

Standing in front of one of the towers (no we didn't go across the walking bridge this time).

Chinatown!

Rosa's Thai! We ate here two years ago with my brother and we loved it so much that we found it again.

Pad Thai! Delicious!

Khao Soi Noodle Soup! Also, very delicious!

Joshua and Amelia entertained themselves with handgames whenever they had downtime. Train-time was the perfect opportunity!

Another day coming out of the Metro station!

St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel, right outside the train station, and look at that fancy car!

We'd never been to the British Library, but we heard they have an impressive display of original works (thanks Watsons!). So, we took a gander!

The British Library opened in 1998- noted here with a statue of William Shakespeare.

Welcome to the British Library...I'll share a few of my favorites. Not pictured: Beowolf, the Magna Carta, and Boston Massacre Newspaper. We did not even see all of the books!

Jane Austen! "Opinions on Mansfied Park" along with a pair of her spectacles (1814).

Monty Python's "Spanish Inquisition" sketch 1970.

Shakespeare's First Folio- published seven years after his death and containing 36 of his plays, many of them never published before.

What a cool seat! Are you a slave to reading? or is the ball and chain keeping you grounded on earth?

Both kids wanted their own picture on the creative bench!

As we left, we noticed another cool entrance to the library courtyard- picture worthy!

More beautiful flowers above pub windows as we walk along in town.

This became our museum day and we spent some time at the British Museum as well. We did not have a lot of time here, but moved around to find some highlights.

The Great Court at the British Museum- all the displays can be accessed from this center location. I loved the glass tiled ceiling and the shadows it created it.

Hoa Hakananai'a/Moai; Rapanui, 1000-1200 (Easter Island)

The Rosetta Stone. It was really hard to get a good picture because of the reflections on the glass, but this gives you an idea. The stone is a fragment of a larger piece that includes an inscription of the same message in three languages- Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics, Egyption Demotic Script, and Ancient Greek. This stone became the key to translating/deciphering hieroglyphics.

A closer view of the hieroglyphics.

King Ramses II (the upper part of a seated statue) 1279-1213BC.

The Gayer-Anderson cat, named after Major Gayer-Anderson, who donated the sculpture to the British Museum. The cat is a bronze sculpture dating back to around 600 B.C. and it most likely represents the goddess Bastet. The kids were reading through a description of scientific research completed with this statue.

What grand columns! We barely made it out of one section of the museum before they were closing. We missed so much, but are thankful for what we did get to see.

We entered through the back and exited through the front!

We took the Elizabeth line out to Ealing to attend an evening church service. What pretty houses out in this area with little front gardens and lots of windows.

We visited International Presbyterian Church in Ealing with the recommendation of our friends who used to live in London (thank you Thomaes!)

The church building is quite modern, but houses an older chapel inside (you can see it in this picture). We really enjoyed the service and were able to connect with the people afterwards. The kids also enjoyed a jolly game of soccer with kids they met.

Are you tired of all of my pubs with flowers pictures? I just think they are so lovely. This picture will serve as my transition to tell you about our day outside of London. We rented a car and spent a day traveling northwest to Oxford, then South to Highclere Castle, and then back East to London. It was an easy little loop.

John downloaded a walking tour and we went out on our own to see some of the important buildings related to the University or C.S.Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia) and J.R.R. Tolkien (The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings). Here is the Oxford County Hall- a court built next to the prison in 1840. Now it is the "Old County Hall" as a new one was built in 1974.

There are 39 independent colleges that are part of the University of Oxford. They are spread throughout town, so we only saw a few. This is the Faculty of History building located on George Street. The inscriptions read "Dominus Illumina Tio Mea" (The Lord is my Light), the official motto of the University of Oxford, and "Fortis Est Veritas" (Truth is Strong), which is on the Coat of Arms for the City of Oxford.

Balliol College was established in 1263 and is one of the oldest colleges part of the University of Oxford. I thought the ironwork on the door was beautiful.

Ivy and hanging baskets always bring a smile to my face!

Blackwell's Bookshop on Broad Street was often visited by Lewis and Tolkien.

The White Horse resides between the two entrances to Blackwell's bookshop. The White Horse is known to be the tiniest pub in Oxford. It dates back to the 16th century and was owned by Exeter College until 1980.

The Sheldonian Theatre was built in the 1660s and serves as the Assembly Room for Oxford University, including all of their public ceremonies. The building was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. It is said that he based it off the concept of a Roman theatre, but the weather in England required the building to have a roof, which became quite a feat.

The Kings Arms, known as Oxford's oldest pub, has been operating since 1607, and claims to have "the highest IQ per square foot." Apparently they attract a lot of adademics!

This building was originally the "Indian Institute," but now houses the Oxford Martin School (social sciences). It sits on the corner of Broad, Holywell, and Catte streets, near the center of Oxford. These old ornate buildings all along the curves roads were quite beautiful.

The Bath Place hotel is an historic set of 17th century cottages down a small lane that still serve as a hotel. It is believed to be at the base of the medieval wall of the city. We thought it looked just lovely.

My, oh my, how the architecture changes from place to place. No balconies, shutters, or flowers here!

1 Mansfield Road, right off of Holywell Street. C.S. Lewis arrived in Oxford when he was 18 years old (Dec 1916) and this is the first place where he stayed.

Of course we had to get a picture with a red telephone box. There were signs on these all around town asking folks to help preserve them (and not destroy them) for future generations.

The Magdalen tower was built between 1492 and 1509. It is the tallest medieval structure that still exists in Oxford and part of Magdalen College.

C.S. Lewis was a Fellow and Tutor at Magdalen College from 1925 to 1954. It was during this time that he converted from atheism to Christianity and wrote "Mere Christianity" and "The Screwtape Letters." He also co-founded and hosted meetings of the "Inklings," a literary discussion group, which also included J.R.R. Tolkien.

As an aside, look how dead the grass is. They have had such a hot summer in Europe. No rain means dead grass!

As we wandered around town, we noticed this pretty restaurant! We didn't get a chance to eat there, but still captured it's loveliness.

We decided to take a punting tour before we arrived and made a reservation with a group advertising that they were led by alumni from Oxford. While that was not the case at all, the punting was fun to see and we had a nice little rest time.

Our punting guide in the background explaining something about the colleges.

John and Amelia with the Magdalen Bridge.

Lots of ducks along the way. They entertained the kids greatly!

Punting boats beneath Magdalen Bridge

There is a famous bridged archway between buildings in Oxford called the "Bridge of Sighs," but this isn't it. Haha.

High Street Oxford.

We went to The Covered Market Oxford to find some lunch!

The Covered Market had lots of shops that were more like individual stalls.

We found a baked potato shop for lunch. Sweet!

The baked potatoes were really delicious. This one has butter, bacon, and cheese, and a side salad.

Quite satisfied! Indoor picnic tables were a sweet spot to sit and enjoy our lunch.

Leaving town and capturing the scenic views.

Rolling hills on the drive south.

First view of Highclere Castle. When John and I got married, Downton Abbey was at a high, and we watched through the first few seasons every night after work.

We even listened to the music of the intro on the long driveway to the castle. I know, we're cheesy, but it was fun.

View of the front where we entered.

No photographs were allowed inside the castle. There was history about the castle itself as well as information about the show. We enjoyed seeing displays of scenes from the show alongside the actual rooms where they were filmed.

They had a tearoom with scones, clotted cream, and jam. We enjoyed sharing with some hot tea!

Lovely tea time after our tour.

Additional seating for tea.

The rolling landscape is often featured in the show, so even the view was enjoyable.

Walking from the back around to the front.

Even though our kids have never seen the show, they enjoyed the tour and appreciate our love for the show now.

A close up of the front doors.

One final goodbye as we drove out.

Back to London and time for a quite mean at Honest Burgers. Great burgers! This was our last day in England before taking the train north to Edinburgh.

A view from the water- the Botanical Gardens of Oxford and in the background is another view of the Magdalen Bell Tower.

August 21-28

London, Oxford, and Highclere: revisit and new

Bilbao: From Gatztelegutxe to the Guggenheim

Bilbao: From Gatztelegutxe to the Guggenheim