Blimey...

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Excuse the deceiving place. That's not actually where we are. It's a wild guess and is around 100 miles off I believe.

Sorry, also, for the long wait. It's been a while since we had internet, and when we did I squandered my time...

So here's the story.
Tuesday, July 19. Our campground ordered us a taxi to a train station, and we took the train into London to the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. We spent nearly 3 hours inside the Tower of London, looking at the different exhibits, along with various armour pieces and torture devices. Once that was done it was past lunchtime, so we got ourselves some fish and chips from a stand. It was absolutely fantastic. I hope the fish&chips trend catches on in N. America. We catch a subway to Big Ben; it's really nothing to write home about. Though, technically, I suppose I am writing... people home are reading... Anyway, twas just a cock on a tower. We went to Westminster Abbey, which was closed (I saw it on TV for the Royal wedding). We went over to Buckingham Palace which was also closed, but we got to see some fancily dressed people leaving from what we suspected was a garden party of some sort. We walked to the Princess Diana Memorial fountain in pouring rain, only to find it was just a river thing in some granite. Next we headed to King's Cross station. For all of you Potter fans, that is, of course, the one Harry departs from for Hogwarts. I'd been told there was a platform 9 3/4 sign between 9 & 10 platforms, but we discovered that because of construction it had been reconstructed outside. On a wallpaper brick. With a much different sign. Ah, well. Last we headed to an area called Covent Garden- an open square with restaurants and street performers. We watched an absolutely hilarious magician do a magic trick- most I've laughed in ages. We ate supper at Pizza Hut and went back to the campground. (I realize it sounds like the day had a bunch of... disappointments, but it really didn't. It was fun, and they were more facepalms than anything.)

Wednesday, July 20. We went to Windsor Castle and looked through the state apartments, which were lovely, and St. George's Chapel. We even got to see Henry VIII's grave. No pictures of the inside stuff, though.
After that, we drove to Stonehenge, and, instead of paying 40 lbs to see them 20 feet closer, we looked through the fance, which made for a more fun experience as we also got to look at the sheep. Stonehenge was really just one of those places that the only reason we'd went there was to say we've been. It looks exactly like the pictures. Trust me.
Next, we headed to a campround near Oxford, which had an operating farm, and spent a quiet cold night there.

Thursday, July 21. We went to a park 'n' ride and caught a bus into Oxford. We headed first to the Christchurch Chapel- part of the University and an Anglican church also. It was beautiful with stained glass in teh chapel itself, the grounds were well tended and beautiful. The neatest part for me, however, was seeing the dining hall, where Great Hall scenes from the 1st 2 Harry Potter scenes were filmed.
We walked along the streets and had tea and pastries in a cafe. No crumpets to be found. We looked quick at a castle-turned-prison-turned castle briefly before heading back. We headed to Manchester, found a campsite, and headed to town for supper with the Breems from Sioux Center, who are living there now. We had a fun time talking to people we knew, and Shauna slept over there. We headed back to the campground.

Friday, July 22. We got groceries then went to pick up Shauna. We headed North to the Lake District of England ( guess we're not in Wales...) and did some hiking with some beautiful views of rugged hills. The weather stayed nice, but we're really tired- we haven't done and uphill walking since Switzerland. We're in a campground near there with a beautiful view, trying to figure out what to do tomorrow.

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