Another beautiful day in London Town and I’m off for a two-hour walk around the Palace area and the West End. We started out at Big Ben (St. Stephens Tower) and headed off through St. James Park towards Buckingham Palace. We hurried along so that we could see the guards. The park was filled with people enjoying the great weather, reading, playing with the kids or their dog, the ducks, geese and swans honking. We found a great spot along the Mall just around the corner from St. James Palace. The New Guards paraded by, band playing, scarlet coats brilliant in the sunshine. These soldiers will replace the guards currently on duty. After they passed we followed our guide through the park and to the area where the old Guards were guarding. There are five groups ... read more

Slept in this morning. The alarm went off at seven and I snoozed till 8:00. Boy did that feel good. Hives gone. Following a quick breakfast, cereal, fruit, juice and coffee I caught the tube for the Barkerloo Line and got off at Charing Cross Station. It was a short walk to Trafalgar Square and the National Museum. Dingbat left without replenishing the cash supplies so I was lucky I had enough for the Audio Player. If I weren’t old I wouldn’t have. I love those senior discounts. The museum is fairly small compared to the Metropolitan in NYC but has an astounding number of masterworks. It is limited to European art from the 12th to the 20th centuries. I took the docent tour where a group of us were led to a few important paintings ... read more

New York to London I swear it will be the VERY LAST TIME that I get carried away with luggage. I seem to over estimate my hauling capabilities and the availability of skycaps and just get myself in trouble. From door to gate took exactly 3 hours. Would have taken longer if a nice gentleman at the airport hadn’t taken pity on me and hauled the bags to the check in counter bypassing the lines. I thought he was a skycap but it seems that he was just a Good Samaritan and would not take a tip. The security line itself took almost 45 minutes but once the bags were checked it was a smooth trip. Enjoyed a salad before boarding. It was a full flight and for some reason I was unable to get much ... read more

It is now Friday, 6/17, and I’m back on the blog. Just going to hit the highlights and hope to remember all the wonderful sights we have seen. Tuesday Tuesday morning we left beautiful Granada for Seville with a stop in Cordoba to see the Mosque and the old Jewish Quarter. Our guide, Carmen, lives in Cordoba and loves the city with a passion that infected us all. Our first stop was the Jewish Quarter. Prior to the reconquesta by the Catholics from the Moors, the culture lived peacefully together with three religions, Islam, the official religion, Christianity, and Judeism. Once the Catholics gained control the Jews were restricted to living in a particular area, basically a ghetto. During the Inquisition, the Jews either had to convert or were expelled. Those who converted were never really ... read more

this is just a test... read more