New Years Eve

Early in the morning on New Years Eve we traveled to Paddington Station to catch a train out to Windsor. The train took about an hour... just enough time to get bored enough to start taking train pictures!
We made our way up a hill to Windsor Castle, the Queen's main residence in the UK.
We took a tour of the outside areas to orient ourselves. Here's my mom being a brown-noser with our guide!

Oh yeah... it was freezing cold!These are some illegally taken photos from inside the Palace. We stopped for some photo ops on our way out...

and here's my hub being irreverent!

Brad caught some shut eye on the train home.

We had about 30 minutes at home to recoup and then it was time to go see Wicked!!!

We were in the nosebleeds but Wicked... on New Years Eve... was still a cool experience.

We let ourselves go a bit at intermission and each ordered a drink! We are so wild!

After the show we were supposed to go see a fireworks show on the Thames... but we got shut out by tube closures. We ended up back at our flat watching fireworks on the tele and listening to them from outside the window.

I can't think of a better way to have rung in the new year!

The Robins Leave... and the Cabinet War Rooms

Early on Tuesday Morning the Robins left. We got them on the train and then said our goodbyes. It was so nice to have them here and so sad to have to watch them leave. They were off to New York for New Years Eve and my mom was still here so we all had something to look forward too, perhaps that softened the blow!We let Brad have the day off to relax and recuperate from estrogen overload. My mom and I had a splendid day on our own!
We visited Big Ben and Parliament Square. It's odd because its just right outside of a tube stop so... you climb up some steps from the underground and there you are... standing in awe of one of the most recognisable structures of our time!We walked to the Cabinet War Rooms and the Churchill Museum. The war rooms housed Churchill and his men as they fought against Hitler and the Nazis.

The rooms were left exactly as they stood the day after World War 2 ended and are now an amazing example of the courage and dedication it took Britain to stand virtually alone against Hitler until the US joined the fight.

When we emerged from the museum it was twilight, which made for a beautiful walk through St. James Park on our way back to the tube.

Bath, UK

On the 29th we woke up early and got on a train to Bath! Most of us slept a bit on the way...Which lends itself to some really attractive pictures!

After 2 hours on the train we arrived in Bath and quickly sought out breakfast. We found this little place outside the Abbey and what it lacked in Ambiance it more than made up for in its food to price ratio! We jumped on 2 hour walking tour which was very informative but so cold it hurt... literally!

This bridge was built to mirror the Ponte Vecchio Bridge in Florence. It is gorgeous and definitely rivals its sister in Italy!

My mum, Brad and I left the walking tour a bit early to check out the Roman Baths. This exquisite chandelier was hanging in the ticketing area of all places???

These baths have been here for hundreds of years and were built by the Romans for their healing properties. Today they still pump out hot water from the earth.

We just had to test the water!

About 10 steps away sits the Bath Abbey.

After the walking tour and the Baths we were all exhausted... when when got to the Abbey, we took a moment to rest. Then we got down to business exploring the Abbey!

After the Abbey we went to an Antiques Book Store. It was very cool but not practical! We were not in the market for 3-500 pound books that are so old you don't dare read them!

We walked over to Sally Lunn's tea house, which is famous for its Sally Lunn's Bun- picture a gigantic hamburger bun that is a bit sweet and more spongy.

We all enjoyed our lunch/tea... and the warmth of the indoors!

We walked to Jane Austin's childhood home, took some pictures, and then found our way to the shops.

We killed some time shopping before getting back on the bus. Poor Brad, he never stood a chance travelling with 4 women!

We took the train home and then spent time at our flat swapping pictures and preparing for the Robins to leave in the morning.

A Library, A Palace, Tea, and School

We started our day at the British Library. It houses some of the oldest manuscripts in the world.

We saw Shakespeare plays printed in quatro dated from 1642... Gutenberg Bibles... original copies of Davinci's sketches...

and the Magna Carta!!!

After the library, we headed towards Kensington Palace, but we stopped at our favorite cookie counter first!

Kensington Palace was Princess Diana's home. It sits on the cusp of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens.

My Queen Mum-in-Law!

Bootleg photo from inside the palace... I just can't help myself!

Just a bit of bling from the gift shop!

We went to tea at the Orangery, which is connected to the palace.
Afterwards, we visited Brad's school, Five Bridges.

Finally, we tubed it home after a long day!