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.