london

We flew over to London and booked into our hotel in Notting Hill just up from Kensington/Hyde Park.

The Caesar Hotel - http://www.derbyhotels.com/en/hotel-the-caesar/

We landed in the clouds, but by the afternoon the sun came out and stayed out for the entire 8 days we were in England.

So thankful!!

 

 

London Bridge

 

Big Ben

 

Our late night cafe stop
http://www.lepainquotidien.co.uk/

 

Fish and chips at a pub in the Old Bank of England building on Fleet Street
http://oldbankofengland.co.uk/
LOVED it!

 

 

 

Don't get it....everyone stands outside of the pubs even when there are seats available inside.
Yup, I just don't quite get it.

 

 

We were in London the week before the Diamond Jubilee....there were flags flying and bunting hung everywhere

Covent Gardens...we ate here a couple of nights....made reservations at toptable.com and got 50% off our tab....SWEET!
http://www.boulevardbrasserie.co.uk/

Tower of London tour....amazing...great tour guide...fun and informative

 

 

Now it was time to "get outta town"
We took a cab to Slough, just outside of London and rented a car to begin our road trip through the English countryside.

5 Days in the English Countryside

We started our counrtyside tour by visiting Windsor

A gorgeous hot day in a lovely village

 

The flag was changed while we were there....so the Queen was in residence.

Too bad we didn't have time for tea....I'm sure she would have been tickled to death to see us!

  

A knight was buried here....I just can't believe the history!

 

This building was built in 1423

 

The vicar of Windsor riding by

 

We drove on to our night's lodging, Shillingford Bridge Hotel.

Our window view looking out onto the River Thames....wow!

After settling into our room, we went out for a drive up to Dorchester...
another quaint village on our "must see" list

 

We went into Wallingford for dinner...ate at the Old Post Office...NOT your traditional Brit food

Delicious!
http://www.opowallingford.co.uk/

Standing by the Shillingford Bridge

 

Old tinker-built on the River Thames
Another of my fav photos

Our mission for this day was to find "Downton Abbey".
Actually it is filmed at Highclere Castle, so we climbed Beacon Hill to get a treetop look.

It's not called Beacon Hill for nothing!
It was a good climb, and well worth it.

The scenery was spectacular and the view of the castle was amazing

We lunched at Carnarvan Arms.... http://www.thecarnarvon.co.uk/
the Dutchess of Carnarvan lives in Highclere Castle.
The area surrounding the castle is beautiful farmlands

We happened upon Avebury....on of the many stone circle sites.

Amazingly old town surround by lush green pastures

 

By late afternoon we arrived at our bed and breakfast....the Old Joinery
http://www.oldjoinery.co.uk/ 
It was an actual joinery shop (carpentry) behind a 200 year old house.
Our view from our window was pastoral, the room was appointed with comfort and style, our host was attentive, and the other couple staying along with us were a delight.

 

 

 

An delightful experience!

Our next day of adventure was to have lunch at Lord Poulet Pub
http://www.lordpoulettarms.com/flash/
in Hinton-St George.

The pub was in a wonderful, older-than-dirt building...the lunch was

And then there was the spectacular cathedral path leading out of the village 

We drove the afternoon to Porlock Weir on the Bristol Channel

The town is on the edge of Exmoor National Park

 

Cream tea in the afternoon in a cafe by the sea
Oh. so. special.

Our hotel was right in the harbor of the village
http://www.thecafeporlockweir.co.uk/home

We ate at the hotel next to ours (they had free wifi)
http://www.millersuk.com/anchor/page/restaurant/126.html
It was a delightful experience....they ushered us into a parlor, took our drink order; came back with our drinks, then took our dinner order...all the while we were seated on overstuffed chairs in a cozy nook overlooking the sea.
They then took us to our table, where our delicious dinner was served.  After dinner we returned to the parlor to enjoy our coffees along with a few sweet treats.

It felt like we were in someone's home....a different experience but very relaxed.

 

Sunset by the sea