London!

We saved London for last and it was wonderful. We had booked a hotel well in advance of our arrival, but two weeks before our trip, Jennifer mentioned that a couple in their ward who had recently relocated to London on business had offered us the use of their spare room. And what a spare room it was! Their flat was in Eaton Square in the heart of the posh Belgravia neighborhood and it was such a commodious and comfortable place to come home to each evening after a day packed full of sightseeing!More views of Eaton Square -- the home of the family in the British series Upstairs Downstairs. Neville Chamberlain lived in the square during his Prime Minister years. Two doors down was the flat where Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier lived. Margaret Thatcher lives a few blocks away. We couldn't believe our luck!

In the park of Buckingham Palace after taking a tour of the state rooms -- amazing art, and of course, Kate Middleton's wedding dress, veil, shoes, jewelry . . . So fun to see!

We celebrated Jennifer's birthday with High Tea at Fortrum and Mason's

Outside of Westminster Abbey

More Westminster Abbey

Having a picnic lunch in St. James' Park

Jennifer and I enjoying a rickshaw ride after a night at the theater. We saw Wicked (loved it), Billy Elliot (amazing dancing, terrible language), Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap", and Mama Mia (off-puttingly raunchy).

We loved browsing through the opulent Harrod's department store

And finagled permission to pose in some designer fascinators

Munched honey-roasted peanuts while crossing the Millenum Bridge from St. Paul's Cathedral

Climbed the dome at St. Paul's to view a spectacular panorama of London

Took in a production of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" at the Globe Theater. One of the biggest highlights of the entire trip!

Saw a different view of London from a late afternoon Thames River cruise

Took a (disappointing) Harry Potter walking tour which stopped at this traditional sweets shop -- apparently the type of shop that J.K. Rowling might have envisioned when she came up with Honeydukes

Got well-acquainted with the London Underground

Posed with the Horse Guards

Chatted with some friendly coppers

Toured the Tower of London

And its torture chamber

Visited the National Gallery, the treasures of the British library, and then gave in to museum fatigue by eschewing most of the treasures in the Victoria and Albert Museum in favor of an evening picnic in the V&A courtyard and impromtu wading in the pond.

and were inspired by the exhibits in Churchill's Cabinet War Rooms

The Cotswolds

One of our must-dos was to spend some time in the English countryside -- we've just watched too many Masterpiece and BBC productions to be able to pass up the opportunity to see some quaint, quintessentially-British villages. Our base was the charming town of Chipping Campden and we enjoyed exploring the area until we suffered a "double puncture" (two flat tires) and were grounded. Even that, though, was somewhat delightful in that we met a lovely elderly man (who reminded us of Cary Grant) who lived in the cottage across from where we were stranded. He not only took us for a guided country ramble in the neighborhood, but then graciously drove us back to our bed and breakfast on the winding country roads at breakneck speed in his sports car.

We all loved the little village of Snowshill and visiting the Snowshill lavendar fields . . .

where we stopped for a cup of tea and lavendar scones slathered with jam and clotted cream

Mourning our double puncture

Sampling some delicious wild blackberries we found while on our country walk

Posing with our benefactor's dog, Bertie

Bath and Wales

We loved our afternoon in Bath -- Jane Austen country, after all. It was so beautifully charming. We re-enacted the scene from Persuasion when Anne is chasing after Captain Wentworth (pictures too ridiculous to post)

Experienced a little Bath ennui

Toured the fashion museum housed in the Assembly Rooms.

Ate dinner at the Pump Room

Took the waters at the Pump Room

And toured the Roman Baths awash in torchlight

We spent the night in Bristol, which we discovered was a mere 20 miles from the Welsh border. With all of our Welsh ancestry, we couldn't come so close and not visit, so we decided to attend church the next day in Newport, Wales. Of course we got lost and so didn't make it until the closing prayer, but the church members were so nice to give us the sacrament anyway and to tell us about the largest medieval castle in Wales that was another 20 miles away. Again, we couldn't pass up the chance to visit and made our way to Caerphilly Castle.

Oxford and Blenheim Palace

The next day we, gulp, rented a car and set out for Oxfordshire to see Blenheim Palace and stay the night in Oxford. Driving in England was not quite as easy as we had supposed it would be and after a hair-raising morning, we finally arrived at Blenheim -- home to the current and past Dukes of Marlborough.

After touring the palace and roaming the expansive gardens (so easy to imagine being in a Jane Austen novel), we made our way to Oxford. After dinner, we stopped by the Eagle and Child pub -- a favorite weekly haunt of the Inklings (a group of intellectuals that included C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein). Fortunately, we brought our own dessert of caramel digestives and sparkling elderberry juice as they were only serving alcoholic beverages by the time we arrived.

Cheers! Elderberry juice in shot glasses.

Christ Church College, Oxford

Oxford Dining Hall -- also known as Hogwarts Dining hall in the HP movies

Having a cup of hot chocolate at the White Horse Tavern, Oxford -- another favorite of the Inklings.

Cambridge

Last January my youngest sister, Miffy, applied to a summer program at Cambridge University. When I told Mark about it, knowing it has been a life-long dream of mine to go to England, he said, "If she gets in, I'll send you over there." Fortunately (and not surprisingly), Miffy got accepted and at the end of August, my older sister, Jennifer, and I went over ot pick her up and travel around a bit. It was a trip of a lifetime and so wonderful to spend time with two dear sisters!

I've been wanting to post some of the pics since I returned and will have to do it piecemeal whenever I have time. Of course, no one really loves travel pics and commentary as much as those who took the trip, so if there are any who still read this blog :), please bear with me.

We arrived on a gloriously gloomy morning (I love the rain!) and I was captivated by the accent, the quirky signs, the helpfulness of all those we met, and the mere fact that I was at last in England!

Jennifer and I miraculously met up in the airport after arriving 30 minutes apart, made our way to Kings Cross Station (hello Platform 9 3/4!), and transferred to a Cambridge-bound train to meet up with Miffy.

She welcomed us at the train station with breakfast pastries in hand and we were off to Kings College Cambridge (Miffy's assigned college for the duration of her program). The ornate entrace to Kings College, Cambridge

A forbidden picture of inside Kings Library

Inside the amazing and imposing Kings College Chapel

Sampling fish and chips at the Eagle Pub where the discovery of DNA was announced. Being such an over-the-top Anglophile, I was sure that even though I have heard much about how bad English food is, I would like it. Um, not so much.

Giddy arrival at Kings College.

The grand and majestic Kings Chapel

The delightful morning drizzle turned into a perfectly sunny, breezy, day. Here we are posing with the Bridge of Sighs in the background -- a view Queen Victoria dubbed the most beautiful in Cambridge.

At the entrance to Trinity College. We spent the early afternoon touring some of the other colleges that are part of Cambridge -- all were beautiful with perfectly-manicured lawns. There was a quiet calmness around the entire university that made it seem as if we had stepped into another time. Trinity is considered the most elite and we enjoyed seeing the treasures on display in the library -- a lock of Sir Isaac Newton's hair, a first folio edition of Shakespeare's work, original manuscript notebooks and sketches for Winnie-the-Pooh . . .

"Reading" in the Kings Library

Cam-bridge

An afternoon punt on the River Cam. Miffy checked out a Kings punt and gave us a lesson. We had so much fun!

I deftly steered straight into a willow

A view of Kings Chapel from the river bank

That evening, was the last formal hall of Miffy's program and since some of the students had already left, we were able to sneak in. It was magical -- one could almost imagine being at Hogwarts :) -- with only candlelight on the tables and the echoing Latin blessing on the food sung a capella from the balcony.