When we visited Salisbury cathedral it was pouring rain and the building seemed dark and gloomy. Therefore, our appreciation of that remarkable building was somewhat diminished. Not so with Winchester Cathedral. The day we visited was sunny and warm. The drive was pleasant. We found a parking place fairly easily as we had chosen a weekend when no big art, food or music event was taking place there. As we approached the cathedral the song, "Winchester Cathedral" kept going through my head. You know the one. The lyrics go: "Winchester Cathedral You're bringing me down You stood and you watched as My baby left town You could have done something But you didn't try You didn't do nothing You let her walk by Now everyone knows just how much I needed that gal She wouldn't have ... read more

Americans who have only heard the British speak on television and movies may have been led to believe that there are only two British accents - one is the way the Queen and Prince Charles speak (officially known as Received Pronunciation or RP) and Cockneys like the actor Michael Caine (with Hugh Grant somewhere in between). So far we've heard a hundred different accents of native English speakers and that is not even considering people from India or other former colonies- like America. Jay and I thought you might find it interesting to read a few examples of words that have different meanings in British than American English: 1. Subway- In England it is an underground pedestrian passage or an underpass. Our concept of a subway is called the "Underground" officially, but commonly called "the Tube" ... read more

This morning our plan was to see the famous British Museum. It's called British, but actually contains some of the best sculpture, murals, mosaics, and artifacts from ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, Etruria and Assyria. There are many galleries devoted to China, Japan, India, and the South Seas. I was eager to see this museum because I know it houses more of the famous art I'd talked about in art history class- the Elgin marbles from the Parthenon, the great gate guardian beasts from Assyria and of course, the Rosetta stone (key to the translation of Egyptian hieroglyphics). The museum exterior looks like a soot smeared faux Greek temple dropped into a London courtyard, but the great hall inside is glorious (photos). I loved the spiral pattern of the skylights and the striped shadows it cast the ... read more

Our first weekend in England was spent taking the train to London for touristy stuff. We took the train to Victoria Station and boarded the "Original Tour Bus" to see the sights. Much to our surprise we were there for the start of the Tour de France bicycle race so many streets and sights were blocked off. We were able to walk across Westminster Bridge and around Parliament to Westminster Abbey dodging biking enthusiasts among the tourists. a truly eclectic crowd. We boarded a boat at the bottom of the London Eye (the Ferris wheel) and had a very enjoyable trip up the Thames, or was it down. This was the first day without rain since our arrival so we were really enjoying the nice weather. The boat trip went by many famous and not so ... read more

Guess what huge event occurred the same day as our first visit to London during this trip?Only the opening ceremonies of the Tour de France! Let this be words to the wise who plan to visit London in the future - check and see what events are planned in the city on that day. Actually it wasn't bad. Although the city is congested, crowd control is great. We took the train from Basingstoke and transferred at Clapham Junction to go to London Victoria Station. Victoria Station is like Grand Central Station in New York City - packed with people heading in various directions. If you read Sherlock Holmes stories, Victoria Station will seem quite familiar to you. It took about 20 minutes to get out of the station, but from there is a short walk ... read more