July 20-21- Sunday and Monday- Kathy Peterson joined us at the airport. It was raining hard as we unloaded luggage at the airport in Des Moines. The weather calmed down by the time we left for St. Louis. At St. Louis we had to ride a hot bus from one part of the airport to the international flight section. I did not get the exit seat on out flight to London but I did get two seats to spread out in. “Globus” was there to great us. I was gland to have them in charge of our trip. I did remember how to get around Gatwick airport from our last trip to Europe. We had a 1 ½ hour bus ride to our hotel. It was fun seeing common London on the way in. We stayed in the Park Court Hotel next to Kinsington Park. We had a fun shopping walk and ate in a restaurant owned by a girl from Hungary. I walked through Kinsington Park with Judy and Kathy in the evening. We went to bed at 10 that night after our two day adventure in travel.
July 22- Tuesday- Got up at 7 and ate breakfast at 9. We had a pretty simple breakfast-cereal and breads. Becky and I then went to Kew Gardens on the subway. The gardens were very large and well cared for. Pretty good blooming gardens. We used a wheel chair for Becky. At 6 be went for a very nice dinner of chicken, vegetables and other god foots and then we took an hour boat ride on the Tames river. I went for a Pub beer when we got home with Judy and Kathy. Got to bed at 12.
July 23-Wednesday- Got up at 6:30, ate at 8:30 and got to the British Museum by 10:20. They had a great Egypt and Greece section. They had sections from the Parthanon. We saw the Magna Carta, the Guttenburg Bible, and Rosetta Stone. We got a book and we went through all the museum but the basement. We ate a lunch around 2 in front of the museum. We then walked about a mile down to Oxford-Circus street. Becky got a blouse. We got some nice things at the museum-mummy, book bag, neck lace, scarab. We had pizza and salad for supper. I went out walking to Hyde Park and back to Oxford-Circus. There are such a variety of people in London.
July 24-Thursday- For the rest of the trip we got up at 5:30, ate breakfast at 7, and left at 8. We had a bus tour about town and we had a tour through West Minster Abby-beautiful church. Learned many things about English Kings and Queens, saw markers for Handel, Britton, Chaucer, Wordsworth, Olivie, Dickens, and many others. In the afternoon Steve went to Wensor Castle. Magnificent rooms and beautiful gardens. We ate Chinese for supper. Winsor Castle was the best kept of all the castles I have been to for it is owned by the queen of England. On our tour we saw changing of the guard at Buckingham palace also.
July 25-Friday- Today we started out at Hampton palace. We went through the beautiful gardens on the front lawn. We next went to the Salisburg Cathedral. Beautiful old church and town. Stonehenge was one of the stops I was really looking forward to. It was inspiring and very creative for the people of those ages. When we came upon Bath it was breath taking. The buildings are all made from a beautiful stone-the same as Buckingham Palace. We saw the ancient Roman Baths that have been recreated by a dig. The Romans were able to construct very nice buildings. I took long walks around the town and river. The whole town looks like a fairy tale. We had a very nice dinner together at the hotel and formed some nice friendships. I took a 10 pm walk with Judy Bethmann. It was Friday night and the town was alive. I would love living in this town!
July 26- Saturday - We woke up to the sounds of sea gulls at 5 and really enjoyed the ambiance. I really liked Bath lots. We wen to a little town called Stow-on-the-Wold. We bought beautiful pillow cases and doilies. We then went to the home of Shakespeare's birthplace in Stratford on Avon. There were lots of people there. Very colorful town. We got stuck in traffic going through Burmingham. We got to Llungollen Wales about 4, bought local carved wooden love spoons. We also bought ear rings, wood carvings, and pottery-all local made. We then went on a 1 ½ hour canal boat ride-it was very scenic and interesting to learn about canal boat industry in late 1800's. the bridge and canal were build by Sir Thomas Telford. Our hotel was old, local, and quaint. We had a great meal together and sand Happy Birthday to our friend Judy Bethmann. I had a great walk about town and an evening drink with Paul Nevara. His wife might also have MS and he also teaches band in Iowa. Small World.
July 27-Sunday- Woke up at 5 to the sound of river running water. Good sleep. Today we left at Chester. It was a beautiful drive coming out of Llangollen valley. We saw high bluffs of sheep and heather. We then took a walk through the old Roman Fortress of Chester. This was also a Medieval Walled City. I bought a street painting from a local young artist for 12 pounds. We then rode through the poet's lake district. Saw Wordsworth's graves. Stopped at a woolen shopping center and bought coat and skirt for Becky and a vest and hat for me. Glasgow is a modern industrial city. Stayed in a very nice 4 star hotel. I swam in pool before dinner.
July 28-Monday- Got up at 5:30 and drove to Loch Lomond Lake. It was foggy and mysterious. We stopped at Stirling where the movie Braveheart took place. We took pictures of the William Wallace castle on the hill. At Edinburgh we shopped and ate 2 hours and then went on a tour through Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Castle-home of Queen Ann. Our hotel is very nice again. Our room overlooks a great hillside garden. I took a walk up the Parthanon hill. We ate in a small pub for lunch and we had an Irish waiter. Small world now days. We ate Haggas for supper. We had two hours of Scottish folk songs and bag pipes entertainment. Very fun and entertaining.
July 29-Tuesday- Got up at 5:00 and left at 8:15 for Sir Walter Scott's Abbotsford House. Same Jean Maxwell-Scott helped drive Becky down and back from the hotel. His home was full of the things he liked to collect. Beautiful home. We next walked through the medieval city of York. York Minster was a large impressive church-good windows. We then went to Harrogate. Very pretty gardens. We took a long walk together to the gardens. We had a nice room and meal in Harrogate. I also took a long walk about town with Kathy Peterson and we went through the gardens again.
July 30-Wednesday- Got up at 5:30 and left at 8:15 for Belvoir Castle. It was very grand and big. We ate dinner at Cambridge. We ate our lunch near the mathematical bridge. We had a sndwich and cake from a local bakery. We got to London at 4 p.m. Becky and I ate Italian. We stayed at the very nice Metropolitan Hotel new Marble Arch. I went swimming at 7 p.m. and we both went to bed early to get ready for our trip home the next day.
July 31-Thursday- We got up at 5:00 and ate at 6:45 and left for the airport at 7:45. I thought this was an awful early leave time for a 12:00 flight departure but it ended up being just the right amount of time. Our friend's Kathy Peterson's tickets were not registering in the TWA system, Judy read gate 21 as gate 12-things got hectic. We learned that you should get your return tickets confirmed on departure as a trip safety precaution. Our plain got of the ground at 12:40. It was a two hour bus ride our to the airport. We had a good trip home. All of our trip went very smoothly.
Email: sharbaugh@hlv.k12.ia.us
