A few weeks ago I shared about our time in Paris on the first few days of our overseas trip. Ken and I traveled with his three brothers and sister and their spouses. I’ve known the Raney family for over 50 years now and these people truly feel like brothers and sisters to me. Even so, it’s pretty amazing when nine people can travel together for more than two weeks and actually miss each other when it’s time to part ways.
We traveled from Paris to London via the “Chunnel” on the posh, high-speed EuroStar train. It was so exciting to be in the Gare du Nord station in Paris, knowing I was just hours away from England, which has been a dream destination since I was a little girl.
Though we were barely in London for a day before we boarded our tour bus, we managed to see so many sights. I would have been disappointed if London had offered us any weather but rain, and the city did not disappoint. It was overcast and drizzly, and we were soaked by the time we got back to our hotel, but I loved every minute! We walked across Westminster Bridge and saw Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, the London Eye (though we didn’t ride), and I got a photo in one of the iconic red phone boxes, which was on my bucket list.
The next day we drove through the gorgeous English countryside to Stonehenge. A dramatic sky showed off mysterious Stonehenge perfectly! From there, we traveled to Somerset and Bath on the edge of the Cotswolds, which was just magical! Musicians sang and played in the Bath Abbey courtyard and we toured the fascinating Roman baths that gave the town its name. Ken and I strolled through a Topping & Company bookshop before we traveled on to Wales, where we spent a night in Cardiff.
From Cardiff, we boarded an Irish Ferry and had an adventurous four-hour ride across the channel (that is, if you like roller coasters!) before we boarded our bus again. The bus was luxury and our tour guide was a wonderful storyteller, but it was sometimes frustrating to be limited to the bus. Still, there were very good things about it too, especially since there were nine of us together. But we drove right by so many places we would have loved to stop and visit. (I guess we’ll just have to go again!)
Well, I still haven’t made it through the entire trip. I promise I’ll wrap it up in one more post. It’s been fun to relive our trip in sharing it with you. So many ideas for books are swimming through my head. (You won’t be surprised to learn that I’m sending my current hero and heroine to Paris!) Thank you for coming along on our journey. Next time, I’ll take you to Ireland and Scotland.
Speaking of my heroes and heroines, I’ll close with an offer for you: Today only, the e-book of Almost Forever, the first novel in my Hanover Falls series, is free. I hope you’ll grab a copy and maybe pick up the other two books in the series while you’re there! Just click on the book cover for more info.
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It’s fun to see you pictures. Reliving your trip with you brings mine to mind afresh again as well.
I loved seeing YOUR photos since you were a little ahead of us on your trip. I’m so grateful for the invention of cameras because how would I remember all the great things we did if not for the pictures we took! 🙂
Just last month I took a trip with college girlfriends, 9 in all. We all traveled other places first, but ended up together in Italy. It was so much fun! I was skeptical about us all fitting in 2 cars, all the different ideas of things to do, 9 little bunnies running in all directions. But it was a blast! We’ve had a hard time not being in each other’s hip pockets since we’ve returned home. Great memories!
Angie, that sounds like an absolute dream! I’m super happy I got to go with Ken my first trip overseas, but I would NOT be opposed to going with a bunch of girlfriends someday! And that’s encouraging that you fit in 2 cars. We talked with Ken’s family about doing Italy someday but would love to have the freedom of renting cars instead of being with a bus tour. Thanks for sharing! Now I’m all excited about the possibilities! 🙂
Loved seeing all these pics again and am still so happy you got to make this fabulous journey! What a JOY!
Thanks, dear friend! It truly was SUCH a joy! We’re still basking in the memories!
Thanks for all the great snaps, Deb! Isn’t the UK just beautiful? You saw some things I saw years ago so it was wonderful to see that not much has changed. Looking forward to the rest of the trip when you cover it.
It IS comforting to hear that not much has changed. Thanks so much for taking the time to comment.