We pulled onto a ferry taking us to Scotland just after seven, and a after a smooth ride, a great breakfast and several games of battle between Alexa and I, we arrived in Scotland. We knew we wouldn't have a lot of time to explore everything we wanted in Scotland, but took the opportunity to spend some time in the gorgeous country side. Everything is so lush and green, the people friendly and of course, there were plenty of castles to spot along the way.
It was a long but wonderful day on the road. We started telling Alexa stories that would make the sights we were to see in London come alive a bit more and she grew more and more excited about the days ahead. We also played games like pictionary and charades!!! Yes! In the car. We laughed and giggled and sang......basically drove Rick crazy, which was a special treat for me!
We had booked our London hotel through Priceline and actually were a bit worried, Though highly rated, it seemed awfully cheap by London standards. It was a little south of the city center, but that was going to work well for our plans.....and when we arrived, we were in for quite a surprise! The Selsdon Golf Resort and Spa is an old manor estate built in the 1700s....and it might as well have been a castle to this group of Texans. The golf course was built in 1920 and the fact that the rooms hadn't been remodeled (other than really nice bedding) didn't bother us at all. It was a gorgeous spot...and the surprises just kept on coming when the first morning we discovered that full breakfast was included in the price....and it was delicious!
Sometimes, we just seem too lucky for it to be fair!
After our breakfast yesterday, we headed out on our first day of only two in London. We've found that the best way to get an overview of London for first time visitors is to do a double decker bus excursion. That way they get a little taste of a lot that the city has to offer and can make plans to see what really interests them on their next trip. Since this was both Rick and Alexa's first time in the city, that's exactly what we did.
Alexa especially loved the Tower, the crown jewels and Buckingham Palace, of course.....but was amazingly attentive to almost everything we saw and did.
As fascinated as she was with the changing of the guards, it really struck me this time as well. The guards just seemed so young, and the fact that, more than just guards, these were young men in military service, was just hard to grasp. Just look at these two faces!
The funny thing, the one on the left, cutting his eyes, just couldn't keep his attention off a group that were just inside his periphery. It was a group of cute young girls, and his distraction with them just further illustrated that this was just a typical young man, with big boots to fill.
After exploring all day, we had tickets to see Charlie and the Chocolate factory in the theatre district last night. Alexa loved her first taste of theatre when we were in NYC earlier this summer and so We credited the fact that she was with us as our reason for fitting in a show....but the fact was we all enjoyed it. It seems like theatre just never fails to exceed all expectations! And a historic London theatre....even better!
After a long day that included a train ride, a ride in a real London taxi, off and on several double decker buses, and a boat ride on the Thames, we were all tired. But not too tired to spend a little extra time taking the "tube" back to our train station. By the time we got to our hotel after midnight, none of us needed any encouragement to go to bed.
Today started just as early....and we planned just two stops, but both were going to take some time.
Our first stop was Hampton Court. I had been telling Alexa stories about Henry VIII and his 6 wives, and seeing where they lived was exciting to her. They do such a great job there of bringing this historical castle to life....we even got royal robes to wear over our clothes! Rick opted out of that activity.....guess the royal purple robe clashed with his black windsuit....but that was okay, we three girls loved wearing our robes through the 15th century halls.
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I even got a special "prohibited" photo of Alexa and Mom saying a prayer in the Chapel at Hampton Court. It was well worth the stern look I got from the Chapel docent!
After we left, Alexa wanted to know again the names and fates of Henry's 6 wives. I was lucky Cait had taught me a little rhyme about them, "Divorced, beheaded died: Divorced, beheaded, survived" which helps me keep them straight. Funny, but I think she especially liked hearing about Ann of Cleves, who I like to suppose only kept her head because she was a good card player! We each add our own spin to history I guess!
After Hampton, we headed to Windsor to see if we might catch the Queen there for a cup of tea. Unfortunately she was off in Balmoral....I guess no one let her know we were coming. We did the castle tour, Alexa taking special note of where Henry VIII is buried there. She loved that despite his orders to be buried in a large ornate crypt guarded by a stone stallion, he is actually buried in a previously unmarked (and now marked only by an understated brass plate) grave under the floor of the chapel. Goes to show if you want to be loved after you are dead, you better be nice before you die! Probably didn't help that he had so mistreated the mothers of his two daughters who got to make decisions about his burial.
Compare that to some of the other crypts in St. Geoge's Chapel and you just might be a little nicer to your children AND to their "other" parent!
As a special treat for Mom, we planned our day to end with the Evensong Service in the Chapel at Windsor. The chapel was beautiful lit up for the service. It was surreal to be in that centuries old place, surrounded by all of the history and history makers inside those walls, listening to the angelic voices of the Chapel Choir and to do so, sitting beside my Mom. It was planned as a treat for her, but I found myself lost in prayerful gratitude for another opportunity to experience the wonders of the world with people I love.
After dropping Mom and Rick at the hotel, Alexa and I had one more errand to run. We were off in search of "strumpets". Which means something entirely different to the rest of the world, but to Alexa it is synonymous with crumpets! As much as I know I should correct her....it is just too stinking cute for her to talk about her love of strumpets, so for now, they will be strumpets to us. Happily, we found them....10 packages of them...for her to take home, freeze and take out now and then to remind her of our trip to Ireland and the UK. Maybe she'll even share some with me when I'm around and we can remember together.
Tomorrow we head home.....we are ready, we are tired, we are nearly completely sated. But we will plan another trip soon. There is too much of a big wonderful world out there not to grab every chance to see and explore.
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