England and Scotland

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Well, everyone, it must be June and the Farina Family is off to Europe. This time we are heading to England and on to Scotland. As usual, we are using Trafalgar as our tour operator (trafalgar.com). Our tour is called Best of Britain and it is a doosey! We start in merry olde London for two nights. We will tour Big Ben, House of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, and of course castles, and the Tower of London. We have a half day on our own so we plan to use the on/off sightseeing bus for a personal tour of London.

From here we head off to Stonehenge and Bath in Exeter for two more nights. On the way through rolling plains, we pass through time and enter the realm of the druids and pagans for a tour of my personal bucket list spot STONEHENGE. I hope to get some amazing pictures and touch the Saracen stones. Then off to BATH to see the Roman influence and tour the most complete Roman Bathhouses.

Then we are off to Plymouth and see where the Pilgrims departed for the new world. A true connection of the old and the new as I lived near Plymouth Massachusetts as a youth. I will have come full circle. Next stop, the artist colony at Polperro. After a brief tour, we head to the moors and Dartmoor to tour the Benedictine Abby at Buckfast. A busy day for sure.

Our next day we head again through the mythical countryside and arrive at Glastonbury to visit the ruins of the Abby made famous by King Arthur. Here we will visit the grave of the once mighty or mythical King. Next, we visit a local family dairy farm for lunch with the locals. Finally, we leave England and head to Wales for a much-needed rest.

Tudor history at its finest will be next on the list as we visit Ludlow and Cardiff, towns made famous by their black and white half-timbered buildings. Here we will visit the wharves, the medieval city walls and of course, the cathedral at Chester.

The evening will be spent in Liverpool where we will raise a glass to the Beatles at THE CAVE where the fab four got their start.

From rolling pastures, we now head to the lake district an inspiration to poets and artists for centuries. Lake Windemere, Gretna Greens, and the Castle are all on the itinerary. Tonight we sleep in Glasgow and enjoy the warm Scottish hospitality.

Another spot on my bucket list is Loch Lomond, which is where we begin the next morning. From here we pay honor to the MacDonald clansmen who died in the 1692 massacre at the 'Glen of Weeping.' We climb into the highlands and visit Ben Nevis, Britain's highest mountain. Tonight we stay in a castle within the Cairngorm National Park in the Scottish Highlands.

Next morning we board the ferry for the short hop to the Isle of Skye. We view the heather fields of the highlands and visit Eilean Donan Castle. Then on to another bucket list entry, Lock Ness where I will keep an eye out for Nessie.

Dropping out of the highlands we return to the lowlands and visit Pitlochry, then off to St Andrew's to see where Golf began in the early 1400s. Next, we cross the Firth of Forth to enter into the Scottish capital of Edinburgh.

In Edinburgh, we will visit the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh Castle where Mary Queen of Scotts fled from France. This evening we will enjoy song, music, and food at a traditional Scottish pub. We will also stop in at Rosslyn Chapel, another bucket list entry, and marvel at the architecture fabled to reveal the location of the Holy Grail as told by the Knights Templar.

Next on the list is the town of Alnwick and the home of the Duke of Northumberland. We travel on to the city of York and marvel at the magnificent cathedral and enjoy an afternoon of leisure to explore and sit in the pubs.

As the tour winds to the end we leave York and head back to London. On the way, we stop at another bucket list stop, Stratford upon Avon and the realm of William Shakespeare.

On our final night in London, Cathy and I will enjoy a very special treat. I bought tickets to the opening of a new London Play at the Old Vic Theater. Andrew Scot, a heartthrob of my bride, is starring in Present Laughter and we have tickets in the second row. She hopes to meet him at the stage door after the play.

So all in all a marvelous trip and I will be blogging as time allows. I hope you follow along and enjoy the trip along with us.

Phil and Cathy

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