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Click HERE for a very brief slide show of the trip
Me, my cousin Chris, Jamie, Phyllis, Chris's wife Jane; my cousin Martin, his partner Rob, Jamie, Phyllis (July 2015) click on the image for a larger version
We went to the United Kingdom; but we stayed in England the whole time. We were there for three weeks in June and July of 2015.
We took the direct Delta flights from MSP to LHR, and they were great (leave MSP at 10pm, try to sleep, arrive London at midday; leave London at midday and arrive home in the late afternoon).
Our first few days were in the Fairway Hotel in King's Cross. It was a good, basic hotel, and our room had three beds which helped us sleep. It was very hot in London; but we had a fan. We ate at a local Indian place most nights (King's Corss Tandoori), with what we later found out were extraordionarily low prices. The local corner shop, 2 minutes walking from the hotel had everything, including reading glasses, a cell phone shop where I was able to set up my simcard phone in about 10 minutes for 20 pounds(!), food, drinks, alcohol, the Oyster cards for the tube. We also ate at a good local fish restaurant: The North Sea Restaurant, where Jamie discovered English fish and chips (and the rest is history -- he pretty much ate fish and chipps for the rest of the trip!)
Our first stop in London was the Tower, where we viewed the crown jewels and Phyllis and Jamie toured the White Tower. (I was having shoe trouble and a sore foot; luckily, the hotel was able to provide an ice pack that set me up in a couple of days.) We then walked along the Thames and viewed the Tower Bridge. Next stop was a boat tour on the Thames. We've been taking boat tours whereever available - a great way to see a different side of a city.
Next it was off the LHR to pick up a car. At the car rental, they said, "would you be OK with a slightly larger car?" "Sure." "Well, we're right out of Ford Focuses at the moment, we've got you in a BMW 330 turbo diesel, will that be alright?" "I think it will do!" It was a great car for touring the countryside and spaceous.
First stop: Matlock in Derbyshire, where we stayed at the lovely Allison House Hotel, a classic English country hotel. From there we visited Chatsworth House, the Blue John mines, Arbor Low neolithic sight, and various drives through the coutryside.
Next we drove way down south to Lyjme Regis on the Jurassic Coast along the English Channel. Here we stayed at an old, thatched hotel, dating from the 1700s, the Kersbrook Hotel. It was great, especially the breakfasts (smoked haddock for breakfast!); but it turned out to be on a busy street and the street noise was a bit of an issue. It was also a tiny room and Jamei slept on the floor. From here, we went to Stonehenge, the beach, around Lyme Regis, and the highlight of Jamie's trip: The Tank Museum at Bovington in Dorset, close by.
Then it was on to Westerham, Kent, where my cousin Martin and his partner Robb live in a lovely little row house. Aside from enjoying Martin and Robb's company, we visited numerous pubs, attended the Fourth of July Picnic on the village green, visited Down House, Charles Darwin's home, Dover Castle, Eynsford, and other lovely local spots. We had lovely dinners prepared by both Martin and Robb. We also took a nice walk around the neighborhood, which quickly becomes countryside, just behind their house. Amazingly, I had never met my cousin Martin before and thoroughly enjoyed finally meeting him. Each time I'd been in the UK previously, he'd been outside the country; and when he visited my parents in Minnesota in the 1980s, I was in Seattle. It was hard to leave.
We then drove to Thame in Oxfordshire to visit with my cousin Chris and his wife Jane at their beautiful manor house, Copcourt Manor. It even has a moat (with fish)! We had a lovely time visiting with Chris and Jane, eating amazing dinners prepared by Chris, drinking lots of ale and wine, visiting the local pub, Oxford, Waddeston Manor (the manor houses are unbelievably thick on the ground in England!) One of the highlights of the entire trip was the private, one-on-one horse riding lesson that Jamie recevied from Chris and Jane's horse handler, Zoe, who was gracious and generous with her time. Their home is quiet, surrounded by enormous trees, cool, and very inviting: It was hard to leave.
Then is was back to Lodon for a few more days. The second time in London, we stayed at the luxurious Rembrandt Hotel in Kensington (very expensive neighborhood). It was very nice to have that comfortable room to return to after a hot day seeing the sites. We visited the Imperial War Museum (another of Jamie's asks), the Vistoria and Albert Museum and the Natural History Museum, both of which are right across the street from the hotel. We made our obligatory pilgrimmage to Harrod's which I found very different from 20 years earlier: Full of loud speakers blasting thump music and big screens flashing at you. We didn't stay very long. We also visited Hyde Park and sat by the Serpentine for a while, very peaceful. We also did a lot of car-spotting, which Kensington is great for. I'm sure we saw the most super-expensive sports cars in any one day than any of us had seen before in our lifetimes. Jamie loved this. We ate at some very good restaurants, which we can recommend: Khan's of Kensington, La Brasserie, and the Admiral Codrington's Pub, all within short walking distance.
Then, finally, our three weeks were up and it was back to LHR, MSP, and then to work for me. It was a great trip.
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