Day 7-King's Cross and Piccadilly Circus (Sept 22) Part 2

For the most part, Chris, Eric and Austin were just along for the ride in London whereas Jen and I had mapped out all the places that we wanted to see, but Chris did have a least one destination on his London list and that was a stop at Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station. 

Many people (including Eric) have no idea what Platform 9 3/4 is all about. But if you are, by chance, a Harry Potter fan, then you know exactly what I am talking about. https://youtu.be/KWcxgrg4eQI 

We made it to King's Cross Station and when we saw the huge crowd of people, we knew we had found the spot. Right next to the platform is a gift shop filled with all kinds of Potter merchandise. While the rest of us waited in the gift shop line, Chris got his "express" ticket to get his picture taken at the Platform. 

The shop was super crowded but Austin as able to find a great souvenir. He and my older son have both read all of the Potter books and seen the movies (as have I) and he bought a 20th anniversary edition of the first Harry Potter book. Good choice, Austin!

Chris' "express" ticket still had a wait of at least 30 minutes. So Eric, Austin and I went upstairs to Fuller's Parcel Yard Pub for a spot of tea and a pint. From upstairs we had a perfect view of Chris in line. When Chris reached the front of the line, he waved his magic wand and flew through Platform 9 3/4. 

Great job Chris! (Now just don't think about all the other people that put on that scarf before you, lol)

Once we wrapped up our time at Platform 3/4, Chris and Jen were ready to grab some dinner (as they had not had a late lunch like the three of us). Chris had mapped out a vegan restaurant in the Covent Garden area so we hopped back on the Tube in search of "By Chloe". 

Covent Garden is in the West End area of London, between Charing Cross and Drury Lane (home of the Muffin Man, lol). It's home to the Royal Opera House and is a very popular shopping area. We didn't get to see too much as it was already getting dark as we walked towards the restaurant. We did, however, find a fun little candy shop, called Sugar Sin, so we had to pop in there and fill up a bag with candy for later. So many great types of black licorice, yum!!

Great place to satisfy your sweet tooth!

So much black licorice!!

As we rounded the corner from Sugar Sin, we saw a row of the iconic London red photos booths, so Jen and I had to stop of a picture. 

Sisters in London

After getting a bite to eat, I suggested that we take a quick tube ride over to Piccadilly Circus as we weren't too far away. I knew that the best time to visit Piccadilly is at night, as it is a lot like New York's Times Square, with tons of video displays and neon lights. Piccadilly Circus is really just a road junction between the West End and the City of Westminster, however, it has become a very popular meeting place and tourist attraction. 

Piccadilly Circus Underground Station

There is a reason why they call the Tube, "The Underground" Every station that we went into was underground, but some were further underground than others. That was definitely the case with the Piccadilly Station. We arrived at the destination and were funnelled into a lift (that's Brit for elevator) that would take us up to the stairs or escalators and back up to street level. We crammed into the overly full lift (at this point, Austin leaned over at said to me, if any of us get sick during this  trip, I'm blaming it on this moment, lol), and the doors began to close. And then the "out of service" sign came on. I don't know if it was from too many people (though I think they are always that crowded) or just a malfunction, but what a bummer. 

We got back off the lift and were funneled again to a staircase leading to the top. Truth is that you don't really realized how far underground you are until you have to walk all the way back up. It was about 15 flights of stairs. Ugh! And we were already tired from so much walking. Oh well, what can you do unless you want to be stuck down there...no thanks! So we hoofed it back out (at least we weren't wearing high heels like a few ladies I saw) and were very thankful to make it to the top. 

We popped up out of the tube station building and into a world of lights, people, noise, music, cars, etc. A feast for the senses (or maybe a little overload after a long day). We decided to walk a few blocks to take in the sights. On one corner we saw a really amazing statue, known as the The Four Bronze Horses of Helios. The four horses appear to be bursting from the water fountain. 

The Four Bronze Horses of Helios

A little farther down the street with found the TWG tea store and decided to take a peek inside. So many different types of tea that all smelled wonderful. My favorite was the Moroccan Mint.

Google photo

It had been a long day of exploring and walking (and stair climbing), so we decided to head back to our rooms and call it a night.  

Day 7 On our Way to London (Sept 22)- Part 1

London~ the capital and largest city in England~also, the top destination on my bucket list, and we are on our way!
We had originally planned on spending our whole trip in London, but we decided to split the trip into two parts, countryside and city. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in the countryside and am soooo glad we stayed out in Rutland, but I have to admit, I was really excited to head to London and see this iconic city. 

London is considered one of the leading global cities. It is a very diverse city, with people of many languages (over 300 spoken in the region) and cultures. There are over eight million people living in Greater London. That is a lot of people!! It is a mixture of old and new, artistic, expensive, crowded and exciting. If you love big cities (like I do), make sure that London is on your bucket list. 

Since were were looking forward to a two hour drive, we hit the road pretty early. Our first stop would be Heathrow airport to drop off the rental car. We had made the decision to drop the car off at Heathrow for two reasons, a cheaper rate and also because we didn't want to drive in London (good decision)! After driving around the UK for a week, I have to say that it was a relief to drop that car off in one piece, whew! I think that Eric was glad to not be behind the wheel anymore. 

Once the car was dropped off, we headed over to terminal 5 to catch The Tube (also known as the London Underground). 

Terminal 5 Station

Is the train coming soon?

Ready to catch the Tube

There were a few things that we did pre-trip in order to hopefully make things go a little more smoothly. One of which as purchasing a visitor Oyster Card (pre-loaded). In case you haven't heard of the Oyster Card, here's a little info. The card was first introduced in 2003 and is a form of electronic ticket for all public transportation in Greater London. It's valid on about 7 different forms of transportation. It's credit card sized, contactless and can be "topped-up" online or at the station. It's super easy to use and makes travel around London so easy. 

Have Oyster Card, will travel!

Our train arrived right on schedule and we hopped aboard, headed for Paddington Station. It took just a few moments studying the Tube map to see that we needed to switch trains mid-way through to Paddington. Easy peasy. 

I'm tired but ready to see London!

Finally, someone else is driving!!

As we headed to London, I texted my sis, Jennifer, to let her know we were on the way. So excited to finally meet up with them (they had been in London for a couple of days already)! After less than an hour we arrived at Paddington Station. Thankfully, our hotel was only a few blocks away from the station so it was a pretty quick walk.

We've arrived at Paddington Station!!

It was early afternoon so we figured we would go check our bags at the hotel and meet up with Chris and Jen until our room was ready. We were pleased to discover that our room was ready so we were able to put our bags away and call Jen. We made plans to meet up with Chris and Jen back at Paddington (their hotel was just a few blocks in the other direction), after grabbing a sandwich to take on the road. We found a cute, little cafe just around the corner from our hotel, called "Mimo's Cafe". Great food and the prices were good too (we would return here a few times during the week). The cafe is run by an Italian family and it was fun listening to the brothers and sister bantering back and forth as we placed and waited for our order.  

Quick stop for sandwiches to go at Mimo's Cafe. 

  Sandwiches in hand, we met up with Chris and Jen. I was super excited to see my sis in London as we had dreamed of this moment for a long time. I couldn't imagine seeing this awesome city without her (my fellow Tudor fan). 

Their afternoon plan was to head to Buckingham Palace and Chris had mapped out the best way to get there via London's iconic double decker bus. One of the first things of note when you step on the sidewalks of London is that the traffic is CRAZY and there are double decker buses everywhere!! We were glad that Chris had already had a few days to get the lay of the land. 

First glimpse of the iconic double decker buses of London

Since the bus stop was a little ways away from the palace, we took a stroll in the rain. Yes, first day in London and it's raining! Oh well, we are from the PNW, so we aren't afraid of a little rain. We were super excited to see the home of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip. 

Buckingham Palace

Thankful for Jen's selfie stick!

This beautiful palace was originally built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1703 and was purchased by King George III in 1761. Since 1837, upon the accession of Queen Victoria, the palace became the principal residence of the Royal family. It is located in the City of Westminster, has 775 rooms, one of the most famous balconies in the world, and the largest private garden in London. We were not able to go in side, but were thrilled to at least get a look of the exterior of the palace. 
                                               

Day 6: Uppingham, Grantham, Stamford and Peterborough Cathedral (Sept 21)

I don't know about you, but I love a good farmers market. Eric and I go to our local farmers market just about every Saturday during market season and whenever we go on vacation I like to check out the local market of the area we are visiting. One cool thing about England is that they have been doing farmers markets for a couple of thousands of years and they are everywhere! It's a great way to check out the local fare like produce, meat, cheese and baked goods as well as handcrafted items.We were in luck as two of the nearby towns were having market day today (Friday)!

Our first stop was the little town of Uppingham. Eric and I had spent some time wandering around the village on Sunday and had an awesome breakfast and hot chocolate so we decided to head to their market with a plan to have our breakfast at Don Paddy's ( I just really wanted another hot chocolate). 

Uppingham has a distinct Market Square, which is pretty much the middle of the village. On non market days it serves as a car park, but on market days it's transformed to the market. It's a tiny market, but was filled with fresh produce, cheese, bread, eggs, fish, etc. Austin bought some local plums that were delicious.

Uppingham Market

We thought we might wander around before eating breakfast. We had parked just up the street from market square so we started out in the other direction to explore. We walked around several blocks, taking pictures along the way and then headed back to drop off our rain jackets (as it was just a drizzle) before breakfast. As we rounded the corner, we saw a parking enforcement officer standing by our car (uh oh). Right away Eric said, "oh no, what did we do"? It seems as though we had parked in a "permit only" spot. We didn't see any signs stating as much but we certainly weren't going to argue the point. The officer was super nice and apologetic. I could tell that he genuinely felt bad that we were tourists getting a ticket. I think if we had made it back before he had submitted the ticket he would have given us a warning. He said he had waiting a while to see if someone came back to the car. He said, "I'm sorry to ruin your day". More about the ticket later in the blog...
It was a bummer, but we certainly weren't going to let it ruin our day but it did ruin our desire for breakfast so we hit the road for our next stop (no hot chocolate, boo hoo).

Stupid tourists don't know where to park!

We continued on to the village of Grantham. There was a pretty steady rain happening so we did a little bit of walking around town and then stopped off in a little cafe for a spot of tea (for me and Austin) and a pint for Eric. 

A spot of tea on a rainy day

Since we only had a short amount of time on our parking meter (and were a little paranoid about getting a ticket) we decided to head on the the town of Stamford, which is a town on the River Welland in Lincolnshire.

All three of us absolutely loved Stamford and would say it was the favorite of all the towns/villages that we visited. Much of the charm of Stamford lies in the appearance of the very well preserved stone buildings and timber framed buildings and the architecture of Saxon, Danish and Norman influence. There are five beautiful parish churches and the town has become very popular with tourists as well as film makers. On the outskirts of Stamford you will find Burghley House, former home of Lord Burghley (William Cecil), chief advisor to Queen Elizabeth 1.

It was still sprinkling a little when we made our way into town, so we decided to stop in another cafe (such is the life of vacation, lol). The particular cafe just so happened to be a chocolate cafe, yum! Finally, I got my hot chocolate! And. it. was. delicious!!

Can you say marshmallow overload??

Decisions, decisions...I'll go for the Mintchievous please!

 Hot chocolate tooth satisfied, we ventured out into the town square for the market. There were all kinds of booths set up; food, plants, clothing and trinkets. Eric had been looking for a nice flat cap, so he was very excited to see a booth with all manner of sizes and colors. 

         

         

Aside from an awesome market, Stamford also had a downtown area with lots of shops, restaurants and cafes. I can see why this town is a favorite with tourists. 
We walked by a tiny bakery that had a pretty good sized line out the door so we had to pop in and take a peek and came out with a cute little gingerbread man. 

While in one of the shops, I got to chatting with a very nice sales clerk. Of course, she asked if we were on holiday (did my American accent give it away)?? We were talking about how busy the town gets on market day and the challenge of finding parking. I happened to mention our parking ticket. She told me that her boyfriend has received a ticket recently and when he called the court, they reduced the fine...ah, why didn't I think of that?? So, as soon as we left the shop, I called the court, only to find that my citation hadn't been entered into the system yet. Instead, I decided to send an email, explaining our ignorance (etc.) and I am happy to report that a few days later, I got an email back that they were dismissing our ticket! Woo hoo!!

After spending time wandering around Stamford, doing a little shopping and exploring, we headed out to our last stop of the day, Peterborough Cathedral. 

Since we had stumbled upon Worcester Cathedral, and were so impressed, I decided that I better take a look at where all the other cathedrals in England were located. I was happy to find that Peterborough was only about 30 miles from the town of Stamform and figured it would be worth the drive, and it was!

Peterborough Cathedral (also known as St. Peters's Cathedral) was founded in the Anglo-Saxon period and following a rebuild in the 12th century, it's architecture is mainly Norman. It is one of the most important 12th century buildings in England to have remained largely intact. It is known for its Early English Gothic West Front with three enormous arches and let me tell you, it is very impressive. 

Front of Peterborough Cathedral

Of course, I am always on the lookout for Tudor connections and I was excited to find that the first wife of King Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon, was buried at this cathedral in 1536. Catherine's story is a sad one, and her and Henry's divorce would rock the entire European world and forever change the role of the Catholic Church in England. In order to get his divorce from Catherine (known as the King's great matter) so he could marry Anne Boleyn, Henry split from the Church of Rome and created the Church of England, creating himself the Supreme Head of the Church. That way he didn't need the Pope's permission to get a divorce (after 24 years of marriage) he could just grant himself permission. Eventually, Catherine was banished from court, separated from her only child (Mary Tudor) and sent to live out her days at Kimbolton Castle. Until the end of her life, she would continue to refer to herself as the King's only lawful wife and England's only rightful Queen. 

Catherine's grave can still be seen and is still honored by visitors who decorate it with flowers and pomegranates (her symbol). It carries the legend, "Katherine Queen of England" a title she was denied at the time of her death. 

You can read more about the life of this amazing woman here, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_of_Aragon

After our visit to Peterborough, it was time to head back to the room to pack up...tomorrow will be a day of new adventures!

Day 5 : A visit to Melton Mowbray with Austin (Sept. 20)

Austin enjoying a pint

After a very long day in Worcester the day before, we decided to take it easy and do some puttering around the local villages.  We had really enjoyed the Anne of Cleves Pub in Melton Mowbray, so we decided to head back there with Austin (since he missed it the first time around).

This pub has such a great atmosphere (and history) and it was fun to watch Eric and Austin having an ale together in this place.

Dad and Son enjoying a pint at Anne of Cleves Pub

Since we had arrived at the cheese shop at closing on our last visit to Melton, of course we had to go back and spend some quality time. There were two people working in the shop (which is a hole in the wall shop) and they were so helpful and friendly. They asked if we were on holiday or had moved there (I wish!!) and asked us about our trip.

There was so much delicious looking cheese, it was so hard to decide. We still had some of our Stilton Blue Cheese left from our last visit so we settled on  brie and local Leicestershire Red (cheddar). The man in the shop said that the red cheddar is made with milk from cows that graze on the field where the Battle of Bosworth was fought. Of course, that meant nothing to Eric and Austin but I knew the significance of that field! Of course it doesn't really matter for the cheese but it's a cool piece of history as the Battle of Bosworth was the last significant battle of the War of the Roses, where Henry Tudor was victorious and so began the Tudor Dynasty. That's the amazing thing about England...history is all around you!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bosworth_Field

Eric also bought a bottle of local Gin but I was too busy sampling cheese to pay much attention to that! 

So much delicious cheese

After we left the cheese shop we did some more exploring around town and made another stop at the Melton Pork Pie shop for some dinner to go. All in all, it was a nice relaxing day. 

   

Day 4, part 2- Worcester Cathedral (Sept. 19)

After spending several hours at Madresfield Court, we headed back in the direction of our hotel (about a two hour drive). Since it was a little past lunch and we were hungry, we decided to stop at The Crown Pub, located in the pretty village of Powick. It's a traditional inn with a roaring fire and wooden beams. We were happy to see that they had a 2 for 1 special on all their burgers.

 

While on our way to Madresfield that morning, we had driven through the city of Worcester. It's located in the county of Worcestershire (you might be familiar with the name if you have heard of Worcestershire sauce). While driving through I had noticed a sign for the Worcester Cathedral so we wanted to make sure we had enough time to stop on our way back through.

With our bellies full of delicious burgers we were ready to go explore the cathedral. First things first, though, and it was time to find parking in the city. We found a car park (UK speak for pay parking lot), found a space and headed over to pay for our parking permit. We got up to the machine and realized that we didn't have enough coins (and they don't take plastic). Once again, we had an opportunity to see the myth of the unfriendly Brits be busted.

Swans in the Severn River

Walking along the Severn River

 There was an older lady standing behind us, watching our dilemma and she offered to give us coins for the machine. She dumped out her coin purse and counted out the necessary coins and it didn't look as though she had much left. I said, "we don't want to take all your coins, are you sure you have enough"? She said, "Oh maybe, but it's okay, take what you need". #britishkindnesstotourists. We offered to give her some paper money and she said "no, that's ok" but we insisted. Very sweet.Our parking spot secured, we took a walk along the Severn River towards the cathedral. 

Worcester is a city of about 100,000 people. This city has a very rich history, have been originally fortified by the Britons around 400 BC. Up on the banks of the River Severn, sits Worcester Cathedral. The Cathedral was founded in 680 and embodies many features that are typical of an English medieval cathedral. It is famous for its Norman crypt, and unique chapter house as well as it's fine woodwork. 

Having traveled a bit around the countryside, we had already seen some very impressive churches. That being said, I was not at all prepared for the site that we were about to behold! The exterior of the building is so beautiful and it just a foretaste of the magnificence that awaits once you enter the doors.

Exterior of Worcester Cathedral

Worcester Cathedral

Upon entering, we were immediately greeted by some very friendly and knowledgeable docents. They told us that we were allowed to take pictures as long as we got a "photo pass" which was only a few pounds and totally worth it. Eric and I stayed a bit with one of the docents while Austin began wandering around taking photos. 

Before I continue, I have to say that word cannot describe and photos do not to justice of how incredibly beautiful and breathtaking this cathedral is. I am sure that we looked completely awestruck. Our docent explained some of the history of the cathedral and pointed out how you could see the architectural changes while looking at the stone and wood work (it took centuries to build this place).

One of many beautiful stained glass windows

As the docent was talking, he nonchalantly said, "we have King John and Prince Arthur here". Well, to the average person, that might not mean much, but to someone who is obsessed with  Plantagenet and Tudor history, that is soooo exciting! Because it wouldn't be appropriate to run in a cathedral, I walked down to the end (near the altar of St. Wulfstan ) to the tomb of King John. On top of the coffin sits an effigy of the King.

 King John (also known as John Lackland was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He was the youngest of five sons of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine (my favorite English Queen). He was never expected to inherit the crown, but did so after the death of his four elder brothers. He was not very well liked as a king. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Phillip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empire (an area covering about half of France) and contributing to the growth and power of the French Capetian dynasty. 

In 1215, he signed the Magna Carta, a charter of rights between this unpopular king and a group of rebel barons. 

Effigy of King John

After checking out John's tomb, I headed over to the chantry of Prince Arthur Tudor. This prince, the heir uniting the white rose of York and Red rose of Lancaster, was born in 1486 in Winchester to parents, King Henry VII (first King of the Tudor Dynasty) and his Queen, Elizabeth of York. His parents had high hopes for him, but unfortunately their hopes were dashed when he died of illness in 1502, after a few short months of marriage to Catherine of Aragon (later to be the first wife of Henry VIII, but that's a story for another time, lol).

Prince Arthur was buried at Worcester Cathedral and two years later, a chantry (a place where prayers could be said for his soul) was built above his tomb. His tomb is made from Purbeck marble and decorated with the arms of England. The inscription around the tomb's edge reads that Prince Arthur was the first begotten son of the "right renowned" King Henry VII and that he popped his clogs (an interesting way to say "he died" in Ludlow (his castle) in the seventeenth year of his father's reign.  

Prince Arthur of Wales' (Tudor) Chantry

Final resting place of Prince Arthur Tudor

After spending some time checking out Arthur's chantry, it was time to explore the rest of the cathedral as we were quickly approaching closing time. Every bit of the cathedral was gorgeous and Austin spent a ton of time taking lots of photos. At one point I even looked over and saw him lying on the floor in front of the altar to get a good shot, lol!

 

Worcester wouldn't be the only cathedral we would see in England, but I think it was my favorite because of the fact that it was the first and I was so awestruck seeing one of these magnificent places for the first time.

For more information about this beautiful cathedral, check out the following link:
http://www.worcestercathedral.co.uk/