MAMA goes to England...

...courtesy of Aunt Renee.

A mother/daughter trip...something we talked about for years, but... Yep, you know how that sentence ends. You talk, talk, talk and nothing ever happens. In theory, it sounds really good, but in reality, it just doesn't "pan" out for one reason or another.

That is, until you have a brother-in-law that took the initiative to do a father/son trip a few years back, learned the value in time spent with family (especially your parent), had a wonderful time and said it was going to happen for his bride.

And there you go. 

Last Fall, Chuck said it was going to happen.

And, it sure as heck did!

We decided on a Globus Tour and that was that. This proved to be extremely beneficial as me or my sister didn't really have the time to plan things. Globus did the planning for us - we just went along.

Leaving my littles was tough, so I made them a "MOMMY countdown" til I got home. Something to see everyday and be reminded that I love and miss them like crazy!

I flew from St. Louis to Chicago. Renee and Mom from Nashville to Chicago. And from Chicago...next stop: London!

We spent a couple days there before getting on the official tour. It was great to just explore. 

First stop: Abbey Road...Mom was DYING to go there. She was on Cloud 9....literally...

Then to eat the BEST fish & chips in London...and absolute MUST!

St. Paul's Church-Church of England

 Where Prince Charles and Princess Diana married...absolutely beautiful.

 Big Ben.

 Piccadilly Circus.

Changing of the Guard.

 London Bridge. For the record, it really didn't fall down (like the old nursery rhyme says).

Tower Bridge.

 Houses of Parliament.

 Westminster Abbey.

Double-decker Bus. Addy wants to ride on one SO bad - 

I told her one day she will...

Hampton Court Palace (Henry VIII)

Given to Henry VIII from the Bishop as a gift - because he was unable to grant a divorce to Henry VIII from 1st wife Catherine. They had one daughter, Mary (Catherine was later beheaded...because Henry VIII didn't want to be married to her since she didn't give him a son).

Runnymeade ~ where the Magna Carta was signed.

OXFORD

 One of the many Universities @ Oxford 

(over 20 universities & over 20,000 students).

 Lamp post: C.S. Lewis wanted to sneak out of court case without being noticed, went thru cloak room and out door & stumbled into lamp post on street. Where he came up with the idea of 

"The Lion, Witch & the Wardrobe."

Original cobblestone where 3 Bishops were burned at the stake by Queen Mary (aka: Bloody Mary) for not renouncing their Protestant faith and converting to Catholicism. She had over 300 people killed during her time as Queen.

Stratford-Upon-Avon

 Shakespeare in the Park...Shakespeare's birth home in the background.

Window inside home that visitors would etch their name to show they were here.

Cotswold...quaint little town with cute homes.

 And of course, tea and scones

@ The Anchor Inn.

Tintern Abbey. A monastery that was taken over by Henry VIII because he knew he could sell it for more money...crazy king he was, he was.

The Roman Baths.

Natural hot springs. Known for its healing powers.

Also where sacrifices were made to various gods.

Stonehenge: 3050 B.C.

All stones were at least 19 miles up to over 200 miles away. Mystery as to how they got them here during that time.

Salisbury Cathedral

Oldest working clock from 1386

More tea and crumpets...

Arundel.

  The Cathedral Church.

George IV Palace in Brighton, England.

English Channel.

Leeds Castle.

Where I believe Sting was inspired to sing "Fields of Gold"...

And a whole lotta pubs...

The Clarence.

The Red Lion.

Most pubs had names that ended in "ARMS" - 

made it easier to locate them! :)

Last night, a pub (of course). ;)

Truly, a trip to remember...