Europe Day 5--London

By the time we returned our rental car, I was so ready.  I was getting tired of all the stress involved with exiting traffic circles in the proper lane--ahh!  But trying to park the rental van in the tiny part of the parking garage where I was supposed to return it may have been the hardest task of all!!!  Little did I know, navigating the underground would be similarly as stressful.

Our hotel in London was just a single room; two double beds, two twin beds and a tiny bathroom that you could barely turn around in.  There were two long windows open to the street below where we could hear people walking and talking through most of the night. 

Our first day in London in POURED with rain.  We had tickets for Buckingham Palace at 9am, so we woke up early and walked 30 minutes in the rain...with 6 people, one umbrella, and 2 rain jackets (that we soon found out, were NOT water proof).  We did not look our best and were wet and cold the rest of the day (which is tricky when you have no plans to return to your hotel until dinner time).

Buckingham Palace was amazing, but unfortunately they didn't let you take any pictures inside.  They had a free audio tour, which was fantastic.  As I walked through the palace with so much history, it was hard to believe that the royal family actually still use/live in it.  So strange to have a home that is open to the public!  I loved how a lot of the rooms were named for their color (red room, blue room etc)....one of my favorite parts was seeing the room they used for the royal family photos.  

After buying umbrella's at the Buckingham Palace gift shop, we headed for lunch (where we finally ordered some Fish and Chips) and the off to see more sights.

Westminster Abbey

Big Ben

The London Eye

Piccadilly Circus

Trafalgar Square

Red Telephone Booths 

(which were everywhere, but also very dirty and usually covered in graffiti)

We finished off the day with dinner at The Hard Rock Cafe

(because it wa one of the only restaurants within walking distance that served either hamburger, pizza or chicken strips for Summer-ugh)

We did get to see one of One Direction's guitars and some other cool stuff though:)

Europe Day 4--Tottenham

Although there are so many amazing and fun things to see in England, the main reason I wanted to go is because my Grandma and Grandpa Winters grew up there.  Grandma has been gone for almost 21 years now and Grandpa many more, but I have such wonderful memories of them and their stories from England.  Oh how I wish I could have taken them with me and had them show me around the places they used to go.  I am grateful that Grandma left a personal history, with so many stories and details about her life in England.  

We spent about an hour searching the Tottenham Cemetery searching for Grandma's parents graves (or any of her siblings) with no luck.  I guess back in those days, people didn't keep very good track of who was buried where, and some didn't even have headstones if they were too poor.  I was hoping we'd be able to find something, but it felt like searching for a needle in a haystack.  It did however feel special being there...knowing that my grandma had been there long long ago.

Tottenham cemetery was so old and worn down.  A lot of the head stones were tipped over or illegible.  Even some of the stone was broken away and crumbling.  As old and creepy as it was, I was surprised to see many people walking through with their dogs or just by themselves...not visiting a grave, just going for an afternoon stroll.

We also went to the street my grandma grew up on (Tiverton Rd).  In her history she gives the exact address, but said that the house had since been torn down.  We mapped to her address and spent a few minutes just being there.  As I looked down the street, I realized it was just a short walk to the cemetery and remembered Grandma talking about how her Dad used to dig graves for extra money until her little brother died and then he was too sad to do that work anymore.  I imagined him walking that distance to the graveyard...such a special thing to be there.

I don't know how I managed to drive around these neighborhoods without hitting any cars!  The roads were so narrow and there were cars parked on both sides.

I miss my grandma and am so grateful for the heritage she and Grandpa have given me.  I can't wait to see her again some day.

Europe Day 4--Harry Potter

Harry Potter Studio Tour exceeded all expectations.  

By the end, Summer was sorting us all into Hogwarts Houses and declaring herself a Slytherin...although she also proclaimed she wanted to be Hermione for Halloween, so I'm not sure she gets it.

Europe Day 2 & 3

I'm not what sure what I was expecting, but Stonehenge was much more impressive than I expected.  Just incredibly fascinating and beautiful.

Dinosaur Footprints

How many miles did we walk to see a small dent in the ground?  Not much to look at, but when you think about it actually being left by a dinosaur, it was pretty cool.  I think I enjoyed the sheep grazing in the fields a little more though;)

Jurassic Coast

I think Mike oversold this one to me..."every rock will be a fossil"  I didn't find a single fossil.  But the coast was beautiful and I love that my feet were able to experience the Atlantic ocean once more.  Also, I'm not sure I can ever be unhappy when I am at the ocean.

Highclere Castle

I was the single reason we went to Highclere Castle.  It is the filming place for Downton Abbey (a British drama series that I love).  The castle itself is pretty underwhelming...it looked a lot smaller and less impressive than it did on tv!!  But, boy was it neat to be there.

Windsor

I wasn't really sure what to expect with Windsor.  It hadn't really been on our list because we knew the castle was closed on the day we would be there.  But it was such a neat place.  On one side of the road were souvenir shops and McDonald's and on the other side was this impressive stone castle wall!  We got as close as we could and wandered around the little town.  I think this is when the kids (especially Summer) started speaking in British accents:)