...Hello, my name is Maria and I'm an anglophile!!!. I visited England in the summers of 1996, 1999, and 2001. It was there that I fell head over hills in love...with England that is!! I love EVERYTHING about England. It's hauntedCASTLES and beautiful cathedrals. The wild barren moors scattered with heather and ABBEY RUINS. Those incredibly spooky cemeteries filled with elaborate and ornate TOMBSTONES surrounded with black wrought iron gates, amidst a profusion of wild floweres and unkempt grass. The dark dismal dungeons and towers where hundreds of thousands of people were imprisoned, tortured, and finally excecuted. Her museums and art galleries, her bright red double-decker buses and phone booths, as well as the guards in their splendid uniforms, the bright red British mailboxes, the underground tubes, and last but not least the pubs. I LOVE it all!!!
Click on my banner below to see photos of Durham Cathedral.
My favorite pub was THE ALMA PUB which was located at 41 Spelman Street in The White Chapel District of London's East End. It was the White Chapel District where, in the autumn of 1888, JACK THE RIPPER murdered at least 5 women. It was to the Alma pub we went when we finished our Jack The Ripper Tour. In a back room there at the Alma the walls were painted with murals of the victims and the suspects. There was this one SIGN on the wall that I really liked. Our guide ISABELLE was a wonderful story teller as she finished up our tour there by educating us about the suspects. The major portion of our tour was devoted to the victims. It was one of the most facsinating tours I have ever taken. Alot of the buildings, such as this ROW OF BUILDINGS on Fournier Street, and the streets in the White Chapel District are exactly as they were in 1888 when Jack the Ripper stalked his victims. Isabelle was not only very gifted at story telling...she was also very knowledgeable about Jack The Ripper.
CLICK ON THE ANIMATED SNOWGLOBES BELOW TO SEE THE SITES THE GLOBES ARE OF.
AND WHO AMONG US CAN THINK OF ENGLAND WITHOUT ALSO THINKING OF PRINCESS DIANA? CLICK ON HER GLOBE TO SEE MY MEMORIAL PAGE TO HER. AND ON THE BANNER BENEATH IT TO VISIT MY PRINCESS DIANA QUILT.
The transportation system in England is better than any where else in the world. I especially loved riding the bright red double-decker buses, the British Rail and something they call the underground "tube".
BUT JUST IN CASE THE "TUBE" EVER GOES ON STRIKE WHILE I"M OVER THERE, MY DEAR FRIEND CATHERINE WHO LIVES IN ENGLAND GAVE ME THIS WONDERFUL CAR TO DRIVE AROUND IN!! AND NO, THAT IS NOT ME AT THE STEERING WHEEL!!!LOL
THE ONE PLACE I VISITED THAT REALLY REALLY FRIGHTENED ME WAS
I REALLY WANTED OUT OF THERE, (THAT'S HOW GOOD THE EXHIBIT WAS) BUT OF COURSE I COULDN'T LEAVE UNTIL THE END OF THE TOUR WHICH TOOK AN HOUR AND A HALF. THAT WAS AN HOUR AND A HALF TOO LONG! THE WHOLE EXHIBIT WAS JUST TOO REAL FOR ME. I FELT LIKE I HAD LITERALLY BEEN TRANSPORTED BACK IN TIME AND PLACE. I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO HAVE THE POWER TO TRANSCEND TIME AND SPACE, BUT THE LONDON DUNGEONS IS NOT THE PLACE I WOULD CHOOSE TO BE IF I DID HAVE SUCH A POWER. This horror theme park situated on London's South Bank gives visitors the opportunity to explore the darker side of British and European history. The London Dungeon, which opened in 1975, is a creepy recreation of many of history's most gruesome events. Visitors can go on various themed rides, which are based around historical murders and executions; they can explore the streets of Victorian London that were home to the serial killer Jack the Ripper, relive the Great Fire of London and take a barge down the River Thames to Traitors Gate, where they are sentenced to death by an 18th-century judge. The London Dungeons are patrolled by scary characters, dressed in gruesome costumes, who wait in dark corners and jump out at unsuspecting tourists.
A PHONE BOOTH BY ANY OTHER NAME IS STILL A PHONE BOOTH. UNLESS IT HAPPENS TO BE IN ENGLAND, THEN IT BECOMES A WORK OF ART. A THING OF BEAUTY. SOMETHING THAT EVERYONE WANTS TO HAVE THEIR PICTURE MADE STANDING BESIDE OF. WE BUY POSTCARDS OF THEM. AND MINATURE CAST IRON REPLICAS AS SOUVENIERS. WE HAVE THEM STUCK ON OUR REFRIGERATORS AND HOMEPAGES!!CLICK ON THE SNOWGLOBE TO SEE A PAGE I MADE OF ALL THE DIFFERENT PHONE BOOTHS I HAVE!! AND CLICK ON THE PHONE BOOTHS AND POST BOXES BELOW TO SEE MY PHOTOS AND POSTCARDS OF THEM.
AND THE POLICE IN ENGLAND WEAR THOSE DARLING LITTLE HATS AND DON'T EVEN CARRY A GUN!! THEY ARE CALLED "BOBBYS" OVER THERE AND THEY ARE SO NICE!!! CLICK ON THIS CUTE BOBBYS GLOBE TO SEE ME LAUGHING WITH ONE.
AND THEN THERE'S BIG BEN!! THIS IS LONDON'S MOST FAMOUS HISTORICAL LANDMARK. IF YOU'VE BEEN TO LONDON, YOU"VE SEEN BIG BEN. IT'S NOT SOMETHING YOU GO IN SEARCH OF. YOU DON'T HAVE TO LOOK FOR IT. IT'S JUST THERE. WHETHER YOU'RE SAILING DOWN THE THAMES RIVER OR WALKING TO HARRODS, YOU'LL SEE IT. THE BELL ALONE WEIGHS 13 TONS!! AND EVERY 15 MINUTES YOU'LL HEAR IT. THE CHIMES ARE BEAUTIFUL AND SO CLEAR. I HAVE A BIG BEN THAT STANDS 4 AND A HALF FEET HIGH IN MY HOME. (IT'S A 3-D PUZZLE MY SON AND I PUT TOGETHER!!) BE SURE TO CLICK ON MY BIG BEN SNOW GLOBE TO SEE MY PAGE OF PHOTOS OF THIS REMARKABLE BUILDING AS WELL AS THE PIC OF ME STANDING BESIDE MY 3-D PUZZLE OF IT!!
IF YOU'VE NEVER BEEN TO A BRITISH PUB, YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT A GOOD TIME YOU'VE MISSED. I VISITED A NUMBER OF THEM IN LONDON AND YORK, AND OH ! THE LAUGHTER, THE JOKES SHARED WITH STRANGERS, THE FRIENDLINESS OF THE BRITISH PEOPLE, STILL LINGERS ALL AROUND ME AS THOUGH I'M STILL THERE. IF YOU CLICK ON THE "PUBS" BELOW, YOU CAN SEE THE ONES I VISITED.
I HAVE A FEELING THERE AREN'T TEN PEOPLE IN AMERICA WHO DON'T KNOW WHO OUR PIPE-SMOKING FRIEND ON THE LEFT IS!! FOR THE NINE OF YOU WHO DON'T, IT'S SHERLOCK HOLMES. MOST OF US GREW UP READING HIS BOOKS AND WATCHING JEREMY BRETT ACT OUT HIS STORIES ON T.V. AND YES VIRGINIA, THERE REALLY IS A SHERLOCK HOLMES. HE HAS LIVED IN THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF CHILDREN AND ADULTS ALIKE FOR OVER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY YEARS. HIS IS THE SPIRIT OF JUSTICE FOR ALL THE VICTIMS OF CRIME THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. IN HIS HOME TOWN OF LONDON IN ENGLAND, A RESTARAUNT, MUSEUM, AND MEMORABILIA STORE HAVE BEEN NAMED AFTER HIM. AND THERE IS A HUGE STATUE OF HIM ON BAKER STREET. THOUSANDS OF BOOKS ABOUT HIM LINE THE SHELVES OF LIBRARIES AND STORES IN EVERY CORNER OF THE WORLD. YOU CAN EVEN PURCHASE BOOKS, VIDEOS, CLOTHING, JEWELRY, GLASSWARE, STATIONARY, GAMES, TOYS, BOOKMARKS, PENS, PENCILS, MAGNETS, STATUES, BOOKENDS, AND DOZENS OF OTHER ITEMS OF MERCHANDISE THAT BEAR HIS NAME AND LIKENESS. IF YOU CLICK ON HIS IMAGE ABOVE YOU CAN READ ABOUT HIM AND SEE PHOTOS AND POST CARDS OF THESE PLACES.
THIS IS MY BRITTANIA BEANIE BEAR I BOUGHT IN LONDON ON MY 1999 TRIP.
THIS IS MY NEW FACE COVER FOR MY DIGITAL PHONE!! (TOLD YOU I WAS AN ANGLOPHILE!!)
<"center"> MARIA GOES TO
, amidst a profusion of wild floweres and unkempt grass. The dark dismal dungeons
and towers where hundreds of thousands of people were imprisoned, tortured, and finally excecuted. Her museums and art galleries, her bright red double-decker buses and phone booths, as well as the guards in their splendid uniforms, the bright red British mailboxes, the underground tubes, and last but not least the pubs. I LOVE it all!!!
A PHONE BOOTH BY ANY OTHER NAME IS STILL A PHONE BOOTH. UNLESS IT HAPPENS TO BE IN ENGLAND, THEN IT BECOMES A WORK OF ART. A THING OF BEAUTY. SOMETHING THAT EVERYONE WANTS TO HAVE THEIR PICTURE MADE STANDING BESIDE OF. WE BUY POSTCARDS OF THEM. AND MINATURE CAST IRON REPLICAS AS SOUVENIERS. WE HAVE THEM STUCK ON OUR REFRIGERATORS AND HOMEPAGES!!CLICK ON THE SNOWGLOBE TO SEE A PAGE I MADE OF ALL THE DIFFERENT PHONE BOOTHS I HAVE!! AND CLICK ON THE PHONE BOOTHS AND POST BOXES BELOW TO SEE MY PHOTOS AND POSTCARDS OF THEM.
AND THE POLICE IN ENGLAND WEAR THOSE DARLING LITTLE HATS AND DON'T EVEN CARRY A GUN!! THEY ARE CALLED "BOBBYS" OVER THERE AND THEY ARE SO NICE!!! CLICK ON THIS CUTE BOBBYS GLOBE TO SEE ME LAUGHING WITH ONE.
AND THEN THERE'S BIG BEN!! THIS IS LONDON'S MOST FAMOUS HISTORICAL LANDMARK. IF YOU'VE BEEN TO LONDON, YOU"VE SEEN BIG BEN. IT'S NOT SOMETHING YOU GO IN SEARCH OF. YOU DON'T HAVE TO LOOK FOR IT. IT'S JUST THERE. WHETHER YOU'RE SAILING DOWN THE THAMES RIVER OR WALKING TO HARRODS, YOU'LL SEE IT. THE BELL ALONE WEIGHS 13 TONS!! AND EVERY 15 MINUTES YOU'LL HEAR IT. THE CHIMES ARE BEAUTIFUL AND SO CLEAR. I HAVE A BIG BEN THAT STANDS 4 AND A HALF FEET HIGH IN MY HOME. (IT'S A 3-D PUZZLE MY SON AND I PUT TOGETHER!!) BE SURE TO CLICK ON MY BIG BEN SNOW GLOBE TO SEE MY PAGE OF PHOTOS OF THIS REMARKABLE BUILDING AS WELL AS THE PIC OF ME STANDING BESIDE MY 3-D PUZZLE OF IT!!
I HAVE A FEELING THERE AREN'T TEN PEOPLE IN AMERICA WHO DON'T KNOW WHO OUR PIPE-SMOKING FRIEND ON THE LEFT IS!! FOR THE NINE OF YOU WHO DON'T, IT'S SHERLOCK HOLMES. MOST OF US GREW UP READING HIS BOOKS AND WATCHING JEREMY BRETT ACT OUT HIS STORIES ON T.V. AND YES VIRGINIA, THERE REALLY IS A SHERLOCK HOLMES. HE HAS LIVED IN THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF CHILDREN AND ADULTS ALIKE FOR OVER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY YEARS. HIS IS THE SPIRIT OF JUSTICE FOR ALL THE VICTIMS OF CRIME THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. IN HIS HOME TOWN OF LONDON IN ENGLAND, A RESTARAUNT, MUSEUM, AND MEMORABILIA STORE HAVE BEEN NAMED AFTER HIM. AND THERE IS A HUGE STATUE OF HIM ON BAKER STREET. THOUSANDS OF BOOKS ABOUT HIM LINE THE SHELVES OF LIBRARIES AND STORES IN EVERY CORNER OF THE WORLD. YOU CAN EVEN PURCHASE BOOKS, VIDEOS, CLOTHING, JEWELRY, GLASSWARE, STATIONARY, GAMES, TOYS, BOOKMARKS, PENS, PENCILS, MAGNETS, STATUES, BOOKENDS, AND DOZENS OF OTHER ITEMS OF MERCHANDISE THAT BEAR HIS NAME AND LIKENESS. IF YOU CLICK ON HIS IMAGE ABOVE YOU CAN READ ABOUT HIM AND SEE PHOTOS AND POST CARDS OF THESE PLACES.
