Day 14 - Quinlan Great UK Adventure

Back Home

It broke my heart to leave London again, and I was happy that Sean seemed to really enjoyed the city, too. 

But, before we left, we finally got to see Trafalgar Square without a soundstage and bleachers surrounding it!

Our flight home was uneventful and we were greeted by a very happy Remy the Rescue Mutt before we even put our bags down.

And thank you to Chris for the airport taxi service!!!

Last side note: I'm writing this blog several weeks after we got back, and while vacations usually fade away very quickly, this one has stuck with me. I just hope it isn't another 35 years before we make it back again.

Next year: Mainland Europe!

Day 13 - Quinlan Great UK Adventure

Back in London

We dropped the bike back off in Woking in the morning and headed back into London.

Big shout-out to RoadTrip MotorCycle Rental. The bike was great and the people there couldn't have been nicer.

Since we had a little time on our hands after we checked back into the hotel,

we headed back to Buckingham Palace to see if we could see the full Changing of the Guard. 

This day we weren't disappointed by the weather.

It's always fun to actually be somewhere when big current events happen - and the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was kind enough to resign while we were standing in front of Buckingham Palace.

The next stop was up on the Edgware Road and the flat I lived in most of my stay in London.

Back in 1986, what is now a Halal supermarket was a 7-Eleven. What is now a Ladbrokes was a women's lingerie store. We lived above the lingerie store. It was easy to describe to people where we lived when we needed to give out directions. 

The area, of course, had changed drastically. 

The Edgware Road Tube station, which was about 2 blocks from our flat, was rebuilt and modernized  after a terrorist bombing nearly destroyed it in 2005. 

There were suddenly really tall, impressive buildings across the street.

Some things hadn't changed. The Church Street Market was still just around the corner.

And the Green Man pub still had the same old charm that it has had for more than a century and a half.

A walk down Oxford Street completed everything on the Must See list.

We spent the evening saying good-bye to some of our favorite places. 

Amy Adams was still out in front of her Theater, signing autographs when we walked by. By then we'd seen so many impressive sights, we didn't even stop to watch.

After walking by it ten times a day for five days, we finally ventured into St. Martin's' of the Field Church.  This was another of my favorite, peaceful, places in the city.

We stopped one more time at the Princess of Wales. 

While we'd kind of become regulars during our stay a week ago, we were surprised to find the pub really crowded on this night. When we asked the bartender why, she just said "Wimbledon" and shifted her eyes to a tall, very fit man standing at the end of the bar, surrounded by a lot of people.

We believe this was Novak Djokovic, having a night off with friends. He went on to win the men's singles tournament a few days later. 

As always, it was hard to say goodbye to all our new friends, but we promised to come back again for a a pint soon.

Day 12 - Quinlan Great UK Adventure

Peak District to Oxford, England

In a quest to visit as much of Sean's hero, Winston Churchill's, province, we stopped at Blenheim Palace. Churchill's childhood home, . 

It was a beautiful building and after a week of exploring ruins, it was nice to see an intact building.

It was closed. 

Apparently they were filming a movie or TV show there. 

A lot of movies/series have been shot there, including Harry Potter movies, Downton Abbey, and several James Bond films.We don't know what they were actually filming on this day, but it was fun to see the preparation going on outside, at least.

Nearby was Churchill's gravesite, so we stopped to pay our respects.

Then headed on down the road to Oxford.

Another stop to do laundry, then we started exploring the 39 colleges that make up the University of Oxford.

And the part I was most excited to see: The Bodleian Library. 

If you want to research American History you go to the Library of Congress. If you want to research European History, you go to the Bodleian. 

Just more of my geekness spilling out.

We were headed back to Woking the next morning to return the motorcycle, so we had a fairly early night, but the town still pulsated with people, history and energy, long after we hit the sack.

Day 11 - Quinlan Great UK Adventure

Anglesey, Wales to Peak District, England

I'd planned to get up early and take some great sunrise pictures. I did get up early, but the weather had other plans.

We were sad to leave the chateau, 

but more Castles awaited us.

Our stop this morning was Caernarfon Castle, only about 20 miles away.

This one you may be familiar with. If you've ever seen the video of Prince Charles receiving his investiture as Prince of Wales in 1969, you've seen Caernarfon Castle.

This is where all the Princes and Princesses of Wales have been 'sworn in' since the early 1900s. Presumably, Prince William will receive his investiture from his father when Charles becomes king and appoints William as Prince of Wales. 

By the looks of all the construction going on, they must be speculating that the event will happen sooner rather than later.

Making our way back into England, we found our England and Wales border signs and stopped for pictures to prove we were officially in each country (never mind the several thousand pictures we took).

Back in England, we drove to the Peak District. 

Since it took a lot longer than we imagined to get to the hotel, almost missed out on dinner again, but the manager of the hotel's pub was kind enough to keep the kitchen open until we ordered, 

proving there is a lot of truth to the term 'British hospitality'. 

Day 10 - Quinlan Great UK Adventure

Carmarthen to Anglesey, Wales

 We started the morning out with a Welsh traffic jam,

but then made our way up the western coast toward Snowdonia and Anglesey.

Once again we questioned the intelligence of our GPS.

We made it to the beautiful mountains of Snowdonia 

and stopped to take in the beauty hidden in its valleys.

Then through Anglesey, 

to Conwy Castle.

If you know me, I'm a total geek about a few things, including the 1745 Scottish Jacobite Uprising - and the Revolt of the Welsh Princes in the 13th century. I was in my element, as Conwy Castle played a pivotal role in the Welsh uprising against the English. 

As I explained to Sean (who learned more about Welsh history than he ever could have imagined needing to know) this rendition of the castle was built by the English on the site of the previous castle that was built by the Welsh. 

English (actually Norman) castles are built of stone. Welsh castles were built of wood - which is why there really aren't any real Welsh castles that exist today. 

The English Parliament actually 'ruined' the castle in the 1660s, so the Welsh couldn't use it if they decided to revolt again.

After a lot of wandering around, we headed to our hotel on the Menai Strait for the evening.

As a girl I always dreamed of living in a castle. I was going to have to be satisfied with just one night.

OK, technically it's a chateau, but whatever. 

The Chateau Rhianfa was amazing, and so much fun to explore.

The gardens were beautiful.

The view from our room was amazing.

In the basement, there was a wine cave open to guests.

We were able to really relax and enjoy a few hours of down time before we hit the road again in the morning.