19 Wales, Glyngarth and into Dublin

We left the lovely Cotswolds and took a scenic drive through Wales, unbelievably beautiful!

Signs are in Welsh and English here, interesting.

We stayed overnight in a lovely B&B in Glyngarth with great scenic views from our rooms.

Nearby is a lovely chateau which is now a hotel, quite toney!

Found a local pub for a Guinness on the beach, wonderful!

Off bright and early for Holyhead, where the team loads onto the ferry and onto Ireland we go😎 Safe smooth crossing, 3 1/2 hours in total. Quite a ferry, nine story’s high. Movie theater, 3 restaurants and of course several Pubs, quite the ride.

Easy drive through Dublin to our Airbnb, quintessential Irish 👍

Off to explore the neighborhood and buy a few groceries. Of course we found a neighborhood pub🧐🍺

Off today to explore downtown Dublin and take a few tours. We are staying right by the tram.

Leannna, that’s cheers in Gaelic👍

7/27/19 The Cotswolds

We’ve had a wonderful, relaxing time in the lovely Cotswolds. It’s famous in the UK as a health and rest area and we used it just for that, a little rest, a little fun🧐

The areas rolling hills and picturesque countryside are beautiful.

Cindy enjoyed the cows owning the road.

We enjoyed hiking the areas trails, fun but hilly.

We visited many villages and towns the last several days. Very fun, but some were overwhelmed by tourists. So glad we have our car to get off the beaten path.

Bibury

Bourton-on-the-Water, (or, as I call it, bourbon with water) 😜

Fun time. Today, some farmers markets, a long walk through a huge meadow area and then a beer at the local Pub😎

Tomorrow, a drive through Wales and an overnight at a traditional Welsh B&B then the ferry to Ireland. Could be a Guinness in our future. ✔️

PS, it looks as if the weather has changed and we have cooler temperatures and possibly rain headed our way. Summer in the jolly old UK🧐

7/25/19 Bath England

Into the trusty Peugeot with the GPS guiding us on an hour trip to the historic city of Bath. Bath is one of three city’s in the entire world in which the entire city center is a UNESCO site. (Vatican City and Venice, Italy are the other two.)

Bath has a long history as it was the most northwestern major city developed by the Romans. The Roman Baths are still in place in Bath and are the most visited sight in Bath.

The baths were originally built in 60AD and have led many, many lives as the Vikings and the Germanics ruled the area after the Romans. There are many places in the city where the public can enjoy “The Waters”, us not so much. There’s a reason the waters green🧐 The River Sulis runs through the area and was a major trade route.

The revival of the city to its current grandeur started in the 1600’s as making Bath a center of leisure😳 Healing waters, gambling and dancing 😜 made Bath the Las Vegas of its time. The rich Gentry poured into Bath allowing the city to expand in the Georgian style.

Jane Austin based many of her books from here, Cindy loves Jane Austin. This walk is from Sense and Sensibility.

The Brits love British architecture, but somehow an Italian bridge was built in the city. They are still mad about it😡

College graduation again today, lots of proud graduates and family’s out and about.

We used the Park & Ride from the car park into town again. Brilliant ideas those (that’s my British accent). Lovely city, just the right mix of locals and tourists.

Off to Bibury and Bourton-on-the-Water.

By the way, it’s been a cooker here, 100 with 78% humidity yesterday, supposed to be getting cooler now😓

Jolly good show 😎🍺✔️

7/23/19 France Lynch and the Cotswolds

We left Amersham and the London area with fond memories of people, places and adventure. We aren’t planning on visiting this part of Europe again, so some things are difficult to say goodbye to.

With a short travel day planned, (three driving hours), Tour Guide Cindy made plans to use the GPS and take us on a small tour of the Cotswolds.

The Cotswolds are in southwest England and are in the hill county, famous for its yellow Cotswolds stone which everything is made of, and thatched roof homes , which you still see on homes today.

The other main industry was sheep herding. You still see wagons used by herders in the country.The sheep are name Cotswolds Lions and are famous for their wool and delicious chops😳

The area is quite lovely, with small narrow roads leading to small villages.

Lavender fields in Snowshill.

Snowshill is a lovely village.

Broadway.

Stanton.

Finally, our new home, French Lynch. It’s a small village in the middle of The Cotswolds where we will visit neighboring areas, including Bath.

Cute place, very quiet and English. Summer is back in England. It was 92 yesterday with 80% humidity😳 Massive lightning and rain storm last night, knocked out all the power for three hours😳 More heat and humidity forecast for the next several days. No AC in jolly old England, so keep up the stiff upper lip and carry on Chaps🧐

7/19/19-7/20/19 Windsor, Eton, Oxford and Cambridge England

With the help of tour guide Cindy, the trusty Peugeot and GPS, we visited the neighboring city’s of Windsor, Eton, Oxford and Cambridge on two day trips from Amersham. Easy drives and no tolls!

Windsor is the home of Windsor Castle and one of the Queens favorite homes. She spends quite a few weekends here as does the Royal family. The forecast was for heavy rains, so we passed on the tour and walked around the castle.

Lovely place. We think we saw a Royal out for a pony lesson.

Eton is a neighboring city, separated by the River Thames. Very exclusive🧐

Oxford, but first outside of Oxford is the only American cemetery from WW2 in England. Over 8,000 buried here and a memorial wall for over 5,000 MIA.

FYI, freedom don’t come free🇺🇸

In Oxford we parked out of town and road a shuttle in. Beautiful city but swarming with tour bus crowds.

The next day, Cambridge. Again, we used the shuttle into town as it was graduation weekend and packed.

This is our first time visiting Europe in the summer, always spring or fall before. The crowds can be a little overwhelming, but we try and hit the big stuff by 8:00 am to avoid the tour bus crowds.

Going back off the beaten path tomorrow, to the Bath area and the Cotswolds😎🍺 Today will be an R&R day, and enjoying our little village here and the surrounding villages.

God save the Queen, God save the King. There will always be an England 👍😎

7/18/19 & 7/21/19 London England

After a safe arrival in jolly old England, we spent two days in London. This is our fourth visit to London and it’s one of our favorite city’s in the world. As you know we are staying in Amersham, outside of London, so onto the tubes we go. We love the tubes in London. It’s a combination of regional trains and subways, and it’s huge. It’s layout is simplistic and easy to navigate. We love it!

First up, one of our favorites, the Tower of London.

Tower tour with the Beef eaters!

White tower where ten generations of royals have lived.

The Tower Green where 5 queens have lost their heads and the church, we also saw the Crown Jewels but photographing them is forbidden. Chapel Royal, where they were buried in the background 😳

Next door, London bridge.

Today, took the tubes back into London. Walked to the Memorial for WWI, hero’s of Briton.

Big Ben and Parliament under retro fit and updates.

Westminster abbey.

Then, Buckingham palace and the changing of the guard.

Harrods department store where I thought I’d buy Cindy a silk nighty, €2500, I’ll pass.

Last stop, Notting Hill.

Good bye London, we love visiting you! Tomorrow, a post on Oxford, Windsor Palace and Cambridge. Bye the way, my Chivas Jersey from Mexico got wildly recognized her in England😜

God save the Queen, God save the King. There will always be an England 😎👍🍺🧐

7/17/19 English Channel crossing / Amersham England

We left Senlis, France on the 17th of July and drove the short two and a half hour drive (on tolls,€22 ) to Calais, France to take the ferry to Dover, England. We had heard horror story’s about the traffic on the ferry’s in the summer so we were almost two hours early. We drove in with our trusty GPS leading the way with no issues. Went to clear customs in France, then enter and clear customs in England, easy smeasy. Then drove to the ferry check in, “Mrs Trafton, would you like an earlier ferry?” sure we said and so we set sail one and a half hours earlier and ahead of schedule!

Easy crossing, quite a ferry, lounge chairs, coaches and 4 restaurants. Showers for truckers, quite the operation. Then the dreaded event, driving on the left side of the road in England! We’d practiced in the car before but now it was here😳 Right off the ferry, a roundabout, traffic comes from the right, not left🧐 we almost get run over by a truck, but survive😜 Our new motto, drive left look right👍😎

Ok, two hour drive to Amersham where we are staying to visit the London area, lovely. Our Airbnb.

Lovely, lovey Airbnb. Our hosts are true Brits, very very nice👍

By the way, the rain has returned, must be England in the summer 😜

The town of Amersham, right on the Metropolitan line of the tubes, with easy London access. Also centrally located for visits to Windsor Castle, Oxford and Cambridge.

Lovely city,. We’ve been to London one day and two days in Windsor, Oxford and Cambridge areas which I’ll cover on a later post. But, I must share a picture of me at one of our favorite restaurants in the world, The North Sea in London, enjoying Cod fish and chips, unbelievably delicious 😎🍺

Love England, gas €2 less a gallon and no tolls. Lots more coming.

Cheerio, Tally ho the fox, golly good, 😜

7/16/19 Versailles France

Versailles is located on the opposite side of Paris from where we are staying, so into the trusty Peugeot and the GPS directs us successfully to the Palace of Versailles.

The palace started as a hunting lodge in the 1600s. King Louis loved the area so much he bought the sounding farms until he owned the entire area. It was good to be king then😎

The area was such a favorite with later kings, they decided to make it into a castle and residence. Being the King of France meant lots of people traveled with you, up to 9,000. So that is why the size of the Palace is so large, as it had to hold the government of France.

The French Revolution brought an end to the palace as an official residence of the royal family as they were no longer with us😳

The furniture in the palace was auctioned off and basically it’s a shell of what it was, quite a shell however.

The most famous room is the Hall of Mirrors.

I personally enjoyed the south wing which features huge, unbelievably beautiful paintings of Frances most famous battles (the ones they were victorious in). The Battle of Yorktown is very prominent 🇺🇸

The real star of Versailles to us are the gardens, forests, walking paths and lakes, huge and beautiful ✔️

Off to the ferry today, Calais to Dover, and then to London, where we will drive on the wrong side of the road! Wish us luck😎👍

7/15/19 Paris France

As you know, we are staying outside of Paris in the village of Senlis. We decided to visit Paris on Monday, the 15th, day after Bastille Day, thinking the city might be a little hungover and quiet, wrong.

It’s simple to get to Paris from here, quick regional train trip to Gare du Nord, then a metro to Gare de Lyon and 45 minutes later we are walking the river Seine!

Tour guide Cindy planned a walking tour along the river Seine, 15 miles in total. Away we go! First stop Plaza de Bastille, it’s under renovation but still lovey. Than the Place des Vosges.

Next stop the Hotel de Ville, city hall.

Next stop, Notre Dame cathedral which is being quickly rebuilt after the devastating fire. It’s closed to the public, but construction is proceeding rapidly.

The Louvre is always a favorite and was packed with tour bus people 😏

Next up my favorite bridge, Pont Alexander III, it’s stunning!

Now a long walk to the Eiffel Tower, the Paris landmark! It’s now fenced off and you must have a ticket to access. We went to the top in 1986. Once is enough for us. Stunning, even from the ground.

Walking up the hill past the Palais de Chaillot, through a back access to the Arc de Triomphe.

Stroll down the Champs Elysees to a metro station which we took to Gare de Nord, and a regional train home to enjoy a glass of vino on our patio.

Lovely weather, mid 70’s, crowds very heavy, but we missed the worst by starting at 6:30 AM.

Cheers, Au revoir😎👍🍷

7/14/19 Senlis France Bastille Day

After a slightly longer than planned drive from Vougécourt because of road closures, we arrived in Senlis. We are on the northeastern side of Paris. As we were driving in we both said, my gosh it’s lovely here.

A walled city established by the Romans, Senlis became the home of French royalty in the 900s. It’s risen and fallen many, many times over the last 1000 years or so, and is currently an upper income city which commutes to Paris, with a small tourist destination.

We checked in to our Airbnb with a friend of the host (who had to leave town). She walked Cindy around the village as I unpacked, awesome.

This is one of the best Airbnb’s we’ve stayed in!

As I said, today is Bastille day, or French Independence Day. French pride is on display in most city’s, certainly in Senlis.

I’ve told you before, Cindy and I are very fortunate. We’ve spent over three months in France since we retired seven years ago. We enjoy rural France very much, the scenery, the language, the people and the food are wonderful.

However, Senlis might be our favorite city in France, wonderful.