European Adventure | Day 12

I've been putting off writing this post since this is my last one for our European trip. It's hard to believe four months have passed since Mom and I returned from Europe. Our last full day in London was a busy one, but we definitely made the most of our time there.

After eating breakfast that morning, we headed out to the Churchill War Rooms, which were truly fascinating. These were the rooms where the British government strategized and coordinated the Allied Forces during World War II. The museum has carefully preserved how things looked back then, so it was interesting to look around and think about all of the history that had taken place there. The War Rooms also included a special museum on Winston Churchill that we both enjoyed visiting.





Our next stop was the London Eye, so we walked across the Thames to get in line. It took well over 30 minutes to board, even though we had tickets for a specific time. Once we made it on board, we went around one time and gained an interesting perspective on the city below. I loved taking pictures from the different angles. After we finished the ride, we decided to share a waffle covered in cream, chocolate sauce, and strawberries for lunch. Yum!




Once we finished lunch, we tried our luck with the Tube. We first went to King's Cross Station so I could see Platform 9 3/4 (Harry Potter pilgrimage complete!) and then rode on to Old Street Station to visit John Wesley's Chapel and the museum attached to it. As Methodists, it was very special for Mom and me to visit the birthplace of Methodism, and it was nice to go somewhere nice and quiet (especially compared to the rest of London).

Unfortunately, I began to feel a little sick at this point (tummy and back, I'm looking at you), which made it difficult to enjoy the last few things we wanted to see. It didn't help that we had trouble finding the British Museum — we think we completely circled it one time — and had to wait in a long line for the restroom once we made it in. Since we were both tired, we found the Rosetta Stone and some Egyptian art and decided to say we had seen the British Museum. Maybe I'll make it back someday.



Since it was getting later at this point, we headed back toward the hotel and decided to eat dinner at Pizza Hut of all places. It actually ended up tasting pretty good (or maybe I was just tired and ready for American-style food). Afterward, we walked back to the hotel, where we were able to rest.

And with that, our two-week European adventure came to a close. It really was a dream trip, and I'm so glad I was able to spend it with my mom.

European Adventure | Day 11

Mom and I spent our last two full days of vacation exploring London. On April 16, we took a bus from Oxford into London. It was definitely more eventful than it should have been — we missed our first stop in London and the handle on Mom's suitcase broke — but we still made it to the hotel in one piece. We both enjoyed the cab ride to the hotel since our cabbie was an avid bird watcher who had visited Texas before.





Once we arrived at the hotel, we left our bags in the room and set off exploring again. Our hotel was located near Green Park, so we walked through it to get to Buckingham Palace. We enjoyed looking around the palace, but the area was definitely crowded because of the Easter holidays. We took a few pictures and then headed to St. James's Park, where we both had hot dogs for lunch.





Our next stop was Westminster Abbey, which was one of my top places to visit in London. Fortunately, the line to get in wasn't that long, so we made it in quickly. We saw a lot of churches during this trip, but this one was by far the most impressive. I had to keep pinching myself to believe this was the place I had seen on TV during Will and Kate's wedding. The Poets' Corner at the end was one of my favorite spots, and I was able to find the plaques for Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters.




After we left Westminster Abbey, we walked over to the London Eye. We had hoped to go up that day, but the earliest tickets were for 9 p.m. Instead, we bought tickets for noon the following day and decided to do something else. Since most of the museums were already closed at this point, we just walked around, visiting the Horse Guards Parade, Trafalgar Square, and Piccadilly Circus. We ate dinner at a place called Garfunkel's and then walked back to the hotel, stopping at a bookstore along the way.

European Adventure | Day 10

Even after all the beauty of Paris and Normandy and the fun of the English countryside, today was the day we had been looking forward to the entire trip. We were going to Highclere Castle that evening!

In the morning, we took a guided tour of Oxford with Alistair, one of our guides. During our tour, he explained how the college system works (students apply to one of 38 colleges and attend weekly one-on-one tutorials with their professors) and took us to several of Oxford's most famous sights, including the Saxon Tower of St Michael at the North Gate (the oldest building in Oxford), the Martyrs' Memorial, the Bodleian Library, the Radcliffe Camera, the Covered Market, and the Ashmolean Museum. We also toured Trinity College, where a black cat came out to greet our group.





After the tour, Mom and I ate lunch and then split up for the next few hours. I toured Christ Church College, where many of the scenes from the Harry Potter movies were filmed. The most famous locations are the grand staircase and Dining Hall (Hogwarts' Great Hall). The Dining Hall was fascinating to explore as the walls were covered with portraits of famous alumni (including John Wesley), royalty, and other English greats. My time alone was also remarkable for another discovery: my first Dr Pepper since leaving the U.S. a week and half earlier. I definitely savored it.





Around 2:30, we boarded the bus for Highclere Castle, and you could just sense the excitement in the group. Before we went to the Castle, we stopped at Bowdown House for tea. Bowdown is still a real home owned by a couple who are friends with the owners of Viking. It was amazing to look around the house and think about all the history that had taken place there.



After we left Bowdown House, we were on our way to Highclere Castle. We arrived there around 5 and had time to explore the grounds and visit the gift shop before entering the door at 5:30 (after the guests for the day had left). They served us champagne and then took us on a tour of the home. It was amazing to see all of the rooms I had watched on TV so many times. While we were touring the upstairs, Lady Carnarvon, the current owner of the house, came out to greet us with her dog Bella. She talked with us for a while and even allowed us to take a few pictures downstairs. It was quite a treat.




That evening we ate dinner at a local pub called The Yew Tree. I had fish and chips for dinner and a chocolate brownie for dessert. It was our last night with the Viking group, so it was time to say goodbye and remember all the good times from the last week and a half. After dinner, we came back to the hotel for our last night in Oxford.

European Adventure | Day 9

Monday, April 14 marked our first full day to explore England.* Our day began at Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Winston Churchill. It was a majestic place, almost rivaling Versailles in France. My favorite room in the entire house was the library, of course. After the guided tour, we explored an exhibit on the estate during WWI and looked around the gardens, which featured some beautiful red tulips.




After leaving Blenheim Palace, we drove through the Cotswolds. It was beautiful country with rolling hills, grazing sheep, and more fields of yellow rapeseed flowers. We arrived in a small town called Burford around 1:00 that afternoon. Mom and I ate lunch at a bakery (we split a Cornish pastry and quiche) and then enjoyed looking around the town's many shops. We even had the opportunity to look through the wares at a local bazaar.




We drove on to Bampton that afternoon. Bampton is a small village with one really big claim to fame: It's the shooting location for many of the exterior scenes in Downton Abbey. Our guide Sally walked us around the village to many of the locations, including the hospital (library in real life), Mrs. Crowley's house, the pub, the post office, and the church where Mary and Matthew get married.






Once we left Bampton, we came back to Oxford for the evening. Mom and I soon set out again and walked over to Blackwell's, a wonderful bookstore located close to our hotel. We both enjoyed looking around, and I purchased two Jane Austen books as well as a Pride and Prejudice print. After visiting a few other shops, we ate at an old pub that now served Thai food. We were thrilled to discover that Pad Thai and fried rice taste delicious on both sides of the pond.

*Unfortunately, our day got off to a stinky start when a dog left us a "welcome to England" present on the bus. We had to wait until arriving at Blenheim Palace to take care of it, but even once it was removed, we kept smelling it whenever we passed certain members of our group.

European Adventure | Day 8

On Sunday, April 13, Mom and I said au revoir to France as we took the Eurostar train to England. We left the boat at 7:45 that morning to get to Gare du Nord (North Station) in Paris. Once there, we checked our luggage and went through customs to gain entry into the United Kingdom. Our train left at 10:09, so we were soon on our way.

The Eurostar train is extremely fast, and the scenery outside, while beautiful, just whizzes by. The journey under the Channel was also so quick that Mom didn't realize we had gone under (I remembered a little bit from last time). We gained an hour along the way, so we arrived at St. Pancras Station around noon. After a little confusion, we found our Viking guide and made our way to the coach for the London city tour.

The London Marathon was taking place this Sunday, so we weren't able to see as many things as usual. We did get out around the London Eye, where we had a good view of Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, and Westminster Abbey on the other side of the Thames. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and Mom and I had to keep pinching ourselves to believe we were actually in London together.






After leaving London, we drove on to Oxford, our home base for the next three days. We stayed at the Old Bank Hotel, which was quite nice. We spent a little time enjoying the fast internet (Instagram didn't freeze! Blogs came through with images!) before going out to explore. Since we hadn't eaten since breakfast, we decided to try a pub called The Crown. We had some difficulty ordering since they were out of so many things, but our main dishes (fish and chips for Mom, chicken burger for me) were really good. Afterward we stopped in a few of the little shops then joined the Viking group attending Evensong at Christ Church Cathedral.



This Sunday was Palm Sunday, so the Evensong service was especially meaningful. The music was absolutely gorgeous, and I loved gazing at the stained glass windows and the sanctuary as a whole. I would definitely have trouble concentrating on the service each week when surrounded by such beauty.

We came back to the room afterward and turned in early. Our first day in England was definitely a memorable one.