English countryside near Geoff's Uncle Brian and Aunt Rosemarys


Kim and Aunt Rosemary


Bledslow Church, very close to Uncle Brian and Aunt Rosemary


Gravestones


Flint and Mortar construction at Bledslow church


Lord Carrington's Gardens


Uncle Brian and Kim on a bus tour of Oxford


Oxford


Oxford


Oxford


Oxford


Geoff and Uncle Brian in Oxford


Oxford


Oxford


Kim in a traditional British phone booth


Kim in Oxford


Kim and Geoff in Oxford


Geoff's Cousin Martin, his wife Emma, Kim, Pat, Geoff, Uncle Robert, Aunt Rosemary and Uncle Brian (L-R) . Martin and I hadn't seen each other since we were young teenagers.


Buckingham Palace, London


Being Touristy at Buckingham Palace


Changing of the Guard


Changing of the Guard


Welsh Guards at Buckingham Palace


this guy made us chuckle. Riding round London in a suit and tophat


Buckingham Palace


There were a lot of overt signs that many British are not happy with Blair and Bush. Protestor with Big Ben


Westminster Abbey


Kim


Westminster Abbey


Westminster Abbey


Kim in the restaurant in the Crypt beneath St. Martins-on-the-hill, a church. We sat upon grave markers.


Kim in London's China town. We walked all over London this day


Kim and I at night in London


London


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A cafe at night


Even the Mac store in London is gorgeous


Big Ben at night


Tower Bridge


Tower of London under red lights


Kim asleep on the Train. We stayed with my Aunt and Uncle for several days, and rode the train into London for several of those


Kim and the Tower of London


The union Jack flying over the tower of London


Kim and a Yeoman at the Tower of London


Kim and a Welsh Guard


Chapel in the White Tower, the central building of the tower


Tower Bridge


Tower Bridge


British Museum - This place had an incredible enclosed courtyard and the most amazing glass roof


British Museum


Rosetta Stone


The view out the window, guest room, Uncle Brian and Aunt Rosemary's home


Their home was covered extensively in architecture magazines when it was new


Aunt Rosemary and Uncle Brian in their Kitchen


Cutlers Orchard


Uncle Brian in his home


Cutlers Orchard


Cutlers Orchard


Their Orchard/front yard


The end of the house and green house


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Aunt Rosemary and Uncle Brian


Geoff, Kim, Aunt Rosemary and Uncle Brian


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In the Cotswolds


Cotswolds


A steak and Kidney pie in the public park in the Cotswolds. After 12 years of not eating meat (other than seafood), I fell off the wagon, and am now eating meat again.


Cotswolds


The Cotswolds are a group of anchient villages that have maintained much of their classic style.


Traditional stone fences with no mortar


Our B&B in the Cotswolds. Just another 400 year old building.


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Funny signs


Thatching roofs is still a goo trade in England


Cotswolds


Bath - the city of Bath was stunning. One of the highlights of the trip, we loved it.


The Royal Crescent in Bath. These are a series of homes


More amazing buildings in Bath. Pictures don't do this stunning city justice


The roman Baths, with the Abbey behind


Roman Baths that made the city famous


Drainage in the Baths


Baths


Baths


Tourists


Roman Baths


Roman Baths


Geoff


Canal Boats in Bath. Canal boats are now a popular form of recreation. Sort of like RV's for the canals


England was crazy expensive. With the exchange rate, even a simple pub meal worked out to be $35-40. At times we economized with picnic style meals.


Inside Bath Abbey


Drinking Bath water is supposed to be good for all kinds of ailments. It tastes horrible.


Stonehenge


Stonehenge


One of my big goals for the trip was to see my Grandma and for she and Kim to meet. Here we are having dinner in Dartmouth


Dartmouth is cool port town near where my Grandma lives


Dartmouth


Fish andChips near the water


Kim likes pickled onions


Dartmouth is very much a small town


Dartmouth


Outside my Grandma's house


The water in front of my Grandma's house


The house


We had a lovely time visiting my Grandma. Hopefully it won't be so long before we see her again.


In Exsmouth, there are funny little cabana/storage things on the beach


Kim at the window of our B&B in Topsham


We stayed here, it's also the home where Princess Di's lover lived during their affair


We had an awesome dinner at this Pub in Topsham. Fish Pie.


Sunset in Topsham


Dublin


Dublin


Buskers in Dublin


Firebreather


Irish Countryside. Down there in the mist is the home of one of the Guiness family


Ireland


It was cold and wet. Welcome to Ireland


Rain


Glendalough, Ireland


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Ireland


Glendalough


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Bank of Ireland


In Scotland we visited Aunty Jean ad Aunty Marjorie. Not actually Aunts, but they ran a daycare when my mom was little, and have remained close


Grey Friars Bobby - This little dog sat near his owners grave for 14 years after his owner's death


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“New Town”


We loved Edinburgh Scotland. Very cool city


Edinburgh Castle


The Royal Mile. We stayed near here


Organ in the church. It was being played, and had an incredible sound


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In scotland


This was the street we stayed on


Kim


Edinburgh Castle at night


Hamish, the Highland Cow.


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Scottish Highlands


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In the highlands


Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness. No sign of Nessie


Loch Ness


Kim


Urquhart Castle


Kim hiding from the sun on the boat ride up Loch Ness


Loch Ness


The chips “crisps” were flavored with the name “Slow Roasted Chicken with Rosemary and Thyme”. They tasted like that, but not in a good way. Gross. We didn't even eat 3 each.


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The boat we rode on


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Kim bouldering in Edinburgh


Geoff and the statue of my Great-great-great Uncle in Edinburgh


We discovered a beer in Scotland even Kim likes! Belhavens Best. We tried haggis while in Scotland. Not horrible, but far from good.


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