UK & Eire – 2014 – Page 5 – A trip through the UK & Ireland

London Walkabout

October 10, 2017September 7, 2014 by Smith & Smith

After a fine breakfast at ‘Chateau McCafferty’, we head to London via rail.

What a great walking city. An early stop is the Tower of London where there is a moving exhibit, the ‘Poppies of Remembrance’. From July 17^th until November 11^th (Remembrance Day), they are placing ceramic poppies in the moat around the tower. When done there will be one for every British soldier who died in WW I (888,246). We wander past Traveler’s Bridge; Traitors Gate; Monument; caught a bus to Trafalgar Square; took Buckingham Palace tour; cut through Hyde Park; checked out Russell Square & Bloomsbury; rode the London Eye; walked over the Westminster Bridge to Ben, the Houses of Parliament; and dined at a Weatherspoon pub.

First class tour guides!

Maldon Time

October 10, 2017September 6, 2014 by Smith & Smith

Well, it’s clear we’ve made some special friends.

Carol has laid out a great breakfast and the two of them have planned a pretty cool day. First off is a visit to the ‘New Hall Winery’ festival just down the road from Maldon. Fun scene: good wine, stilted men, belly dancers, jugglers, local oysters! Later we take a nice walking tour of Maldon – up High Street to the ‘Blue Boar’, a 14^th century inn with angled walls & hunting trophies; past St. Mary’s church (Saxon, 1050?); by the All Saint’s Church (George Washington’s parents buried on the grounds); down to the waterfront with old rigged barges & the Queen’s Head Pub; and a romp through the woods & over fences to the Queen Victoria Pub!

Carol caps the day with a wonderful Thai Curry dish. Whew!!

London

October 10, 2017September 5, 2014 by Smith & Smith

Heathrow is huge, but we’re lucky – no issues with entry or luggage gathering.

Our friends Shaun & Carol pick us up at the airport. We share a great breakfast in Windsor at the Harte & Garter. Then onto Windsor Castle for a tour and got to see the changing of the guard. Our first brewery stop is at the ‘Windsor & Eton’ – nice! Cool to see some houseboats along the Thames.

Early crash for us tourists at the McCafferty residence in Maldon after a fine meal of baked salmon and Thai noodle prepared by Carol. With the time zone change and lack of sleep we are kind of out of it at this point.

Off to the UK!

October 10, 2017September 4, 2014 by Smith & Smith

At last, we’re heading out. After breakfast at ‘Bar Simon’ at PGH, we catch a prop flight to Toronto, our connection point for Heathrow. Flight to the UK was pretty easy – seat companions are a gentleman from Quatar & a retired teacher who was on a ‘world tour’. Maybe one day! Also traveling today are a group of Canadian women who drank wine the entire flight to London and never shut up, so no sleep.