Blogs from England, United Kingdom, Europe

We woke up Saturday morning and were VERY sad that we didn’t see the Northern Lights, but we did get to see the White Cliffs of Dover. You can’t see them from a plane or from land, but you can see them from the water. They are beautiful and so tall. Our excursion isn’t until the afternoon, but they have a shuttle that goes to town and to Dover castle and got inline for that. We waited and waited but that might have been good because one of the security personnel started talking with us and told us to skip the town as everything has moved out to a local shopping center. So, we went to the castle. Unfortunately, since the shuttle alone was over an hour round trip, we just took the 10-minute stop at ... read more

From Interesting Facts: Travel opens our minds, exposing us to new cultures, cuisines, and breathtaking landscapes. But with countless “must-see” destinations heavily promoted in the media, it’s easy to get swept up in the hype, sometimes leading to disappointing or overpriced experiences. This list isn’t about bashing any place; it’s about encouraging a discerning mindset. Some of these destinations are beautiful, but it’s essential to manage expectations and be aware of potential pitfalls like crowds, inflated prices, or misrepresentation in that heavily filtered social media feed. Unfortunately, I have been to my share of over-hyped places. I will list just a few of theirs, along with my comments. The classic whitewashed villages, blue-domed churches, and dramatic sunsets are postcard-perfect. However, astronomical prices and battling Instagram crowds... read more

After we left Lisbon we had a 2 day voyage to London. On the Friday most of the day was taken up by rehearsals and the final choir concert. We had had an extra practice after we had left Lisbon on the Thursday, so Friday morning at 11am we did the final rehearsal. We were not sounding too bad!! We did a sound check in the Palladium, then had lunch and at 2-30 were back for the show. As before, the Ukulele band went first. I liked their name, A Band on Ship!! Then we joined them to sing We'll meet again. Then it was our turn. I sat in the second row as the weather was not good and the ship was rolling. Overall we did well. The song we were most worried about, The ... read more

Is one day in London enough? No but you can get a good taste if you pack a lot in and start early in the morning. London is also really expensive. I stayed at the Club Quarters Trafalgar Square. The only reason I was able to stay in such a great location is because I had CC points to cover the entire cost. Otherwise I would have been looking further out which would add travel time to get to the heart of all the main tourist stops. On that note, I didn't have any trouble navigating the tube the two times I used it. There are signs showing where the line goes and each direction is well labeled. You can use a contactless payment method to tap in and out and there is a daily limit ... read more

When you only have one day in London and want to cover as many sites as possible, the hop on hop off bus seems to be the way to go. I booked a ticket for the Big Bus and it included a one-way boat ride on the Thames as well as a trip on the London Eye, which I did not end up using. First, I found some breakfast at Café Concerto, just a short walk from one of the bus stops. Their garden breakfast was filling, fried eggs, and avocado on toast with hash browns, a cooked tomato, fried halloumi cheese (this seems to be everywhere here in the UK) and baked beans. I ate everything except the beans. This was a good choice as I did not need to eat again until close to ... read more