#12: London

Aside from a one-night layover in 2004 (when I saw Windsor Castle in previous post), I have been to London only one other time, in August of 1999. I went on a 2-week European trip with my friends Monique and Kelli. We started our trip in London. Here I am with Monique in front of The Parliament.
Westminster Abby

Buckingham Palace

Big Ben

And no trip to London is complete without a shopping excursion to Harrods!

We spent our last night in London seeing CATS. It was fabulous! I still have my ticket stub. We saw it New London Theatre on Drury Lane and paid 19.35 pounds.

Verdict: It's expensive and a little gray, rainy and overcast. But if you can look past the cost and the weather, it's an absolute must before you die! I mean, it's LONDON after all!

Addendum:  I just returned from another trip to London.  My verdict is the same (it's a must do!), but my pictures are better!  We stayed in London for five nights (at the St. Ermin's hotel - I highly recommend!) and packed in as much as we possibly could including....

Westminster Abbey (where every coronation since 1066 has taken place).

Parliament and Big Ben

The Millennium Bridge with St. Paul's in the background.

Borough Market

Superbloom

Tower of London (which houses the Crown Jewels)

Tower Bridge

Platform 9 3/4 at King's Crossing train station

Dinner at Circle Popolare (highly recommend!)

Wimbledon! (This deserves it's own stand a lone post!)

Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace

Exploring the grounds of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, including the new (dedicated by her sons just last year on her birthday July 1, 2021) Diana statue.

And toured the inside of Kensington Palace as well. 

We went to the British Museum (Rosetta Stone!)

Saw St. Paul's Cathedral (where Princess Diana and Prince Charles were married)

And went inside for Evensong.

We wandered the streets and neighborhoods

And had tea at the Ritz!

So glad I could re-visit London after so many years and hope I get to do it again and again!

#11: Windsor Castle

So, it all started out that my friend and I were on our way home to LA from our trip to Spain. We had a brief layover in England and ended up missing our flight. We couldn't get a flight out until the next day. So, why not check out Windsor Castle? Here we are arriving in Windsor.
It was really cold, rainy and overcast, but all my luggage was en route to LA, so I was stuck wearing a light windbreaker and light spring pants. Regardless, we had a fabulous time touring this beautiful castle.

Windsor is the oldest and largest castle in Britain with ~1000 rooms. It is the largest occupied castle in the world and the present queen, Elizabeth II spent much of her childhood here.

Royal families have occupied this castle for the past 900 years. Charles II, George III and George IV all lived here.

Here is my ticket stub. As you can see, it only cost $12 for admission (in 2004 anyway). Some other fun facts of the castle is that the Order of the Garter was founded here in 1348. St. George's Chapel is located here, which is the burial site of 10 monarchs. The Queen Mother is also buried here as well as Henry VIII. We not only walked around the grounds, but also went inside and walked around the State Apartments, Drawings Gallery and Queen Mary's Doll House room. Verdict: Definitely a must if you find yourself in England. It really is something to see!

#10: Pennsylvania Dutch Country (pg 699, 2nd Ed pg 860)

A couple weeks ago, a friend came to visit me from Seattle. As I was telling her about the sights to see in the area, she immediately got excited when I told her I lived within driving distance of "Amish Country." I had been here once before, but it was over 10 years ago, so I was excited to go back! The Amish live all over Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, but we spent the bulk of our time in 2 towns: Bird-In-Hand and Intercourse. Here we are about to take a ride in an Amish buggy throughout the Amish farms and land. These are available for $10 per person.

And what trip to Amish Country is complete without a visit to the actual phone booth used in the famous scene in Witness (with Harrison Ford and Kelly McGillis)? This is located just outside Zimmerman's General Store.

A word to the wise. Don't buy it. We got so excited when we saw this sign for home-made rootbeer since we both love it. But, turns out, they use sassafrass root and yeast to make it instead of dry ice and store-bought rootbeer flavoring and it tastes, well, like yeast.

It is so fun just to see the Amish tilling their lands and working their fields.

We came across this incredible sight: 33 buggies in a row. It turns out, they were on their way to a funeral, so out of respect, I didn't take any more pictures than just this one. But it was very neat to see.

And this is what I call my "National Geographic" picture.

VERDICT: Go, if you can. It's very inexpensive and you get to view beautiful land and people along with eating some very yummy home-made goodies. We ate at "Bird-In-Hand Family Restaurant." I wouldn't do that one again - too touristy. But there are plenty to choose from!