My Love for London

Greetings friends - we are now past the halfway mark of my most recent travel blog (don't worry, I will be back in a few short days with more stitching, sewing and finishing content!). When we last left off, we had finished our travels in Paris and were ready to make our way to London. 

I have to admit - I've never been a croissant person, but then again, I had never been to Paris before - most mornings with my breakfast in France, I had a croissant...and our last morning was no different...we thoroughly enjoyed our last breakfast at our hotel (they had the most quaint dining room), before our driver picked us up and we headed to Paris Gare du Nord (railway station) to get on the Eurostar (train) to London. A few details...for those who don't know, the Channel Tunnel (often called the 'Chunnel' for short) is an undersea tunnel linking northern France and southern England. The Eurostar travels at a speed of 186 miles per hour, except when traveling through the Channel Tunnel, where it travels at a speed of 100 miles per hour. The tunnel is is 31.5 miles long, with 23.5 miles under the English Channel, making it the world's longest undersea tunnel...and at its deepest, the tunnel is 246 feet below the sea level. It took just two hours and 16 minutes to travel from Paris to London and (bonus) we had a lovely meal on the train (you can see a video of the train and a photo of our meal on my London story highlights on Instagram).

After arriving in London, our driver took us to the Bloomsbury Hotel (a stylish, luxury hotel in London's city centre), that would be our home for the week. I also have a photo of the one of the restaurants in our hotel, Dalloway Terrace, a charming all-season restaurant resembling a secret garden. Our rooms were not quite ready yet, so we stored our luggage and walked to the British Museum for the afternoon. I really enjoyed this time with my second dad - he is an ancient history enthusiast and he made this visit extremely entertaining - we had a lot of fun searching the extensive museum for their most famous artifacts (like THE Rosetta Stone). Afterwards, we stopped at a local pub for fish and chips...

The following day, we had an early morning alarm, as we made our way by subway and train to Windsor for a wonderful tour of Windsor Castle (no photography inside). A highlight of this destination was viewing Queen Mary's Dolls' House (I was disappointed that no photos were allowed, but visit this link to see). Walking from the train station to the castle, we passed the Royal Windsor Pub and it had a dog friendly menu (which I thought was amazing!). Then, after a train ride back to London, we found a lovely local cafe called Salt and Pepper and enjoyed a nice lunch before taking a bus to Green Park and walking to Buckingham Palace. We had a very interesting tour of the palace (again, you cannot take photos inside)...I found the tour quite captivating, but I really fell in love with the Royal Gardens (where I took a very favorite photo - shown at the top of this post and below). We followed up a long day with room service (which was delish!).

It was another early morning the following day, as we made our to Stonehenge (via two subway trains and a 2-hour bus ride). It was a COLD and rainy morning at Stonehenge - but we arrived early and were able to see and walk the grounds with our tour before the major crowds arrived. I not only found the bus ride commentary by our guide engaging, but the the Stonehenge history was fascinating. I also found it quite delightful that Stonehenge was surrounded by fields of grazing sheep.  After traveling back to London we made our way to the Waterloo Pier for a Thames River Cruise, followed by a ride on the London Eye (Europe's tallest cantilevered observation wheel). Both the cruise and the London Eye were excellent ways to view the city! It was another busy day and after returning to the hotel, we (once again) opted for their wonderful room service for dinner.

The next busy day found us visiting Westminster Abbey for a tour (incredible!) and more views of Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster. Then a lovely walk through St. James Park back to Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guard. My momma and I had a late lunch at Salt and Pepper, then we all made our way to the Tower of London. This was another intriguing place to explore with my second dad...and I was thrilled to see the Crown Jewels on display (again, no photos allowed). I loved seeing the ravens throughout the property and enjoyed hearing the rich history...plus the view of the Tower Bridge was spectacular.

Personally, I found London to be a beautiful and captivating city - I definitely wanted to take in more of the historic sights and culture. I really hope my future finds me in London again, as I feel like we barely scratched the surface of this vibrant, authentic city... 

Stop back tomorrow for my final travel post - a few more photos from northern Illinois, before I headed home to Kansas City!

Maison et Jardins de Claude Monet

As promised, I am back today to share about my visit to the house and gardens of Claude Monet in Giverny, France. If you have ever wondered what it would be like to step into a fairytale, you are here on the right day. For me, this was more than I could have ever dreamed...and I am still pinching myself that I was able to visit this place of magnificent beauty and inspiration...and to be able to share this experience with my momma and second dad was priceless. My parents had already visited Monet's Gardens a few years ago, and I was entranced as I heard all about their visit, never imagining that I would have an opportunity to visit with them in the future. If you are not very familiar with Claude Monet, this is where he lived and painted for 43 years. Monet was truly inspired by his gardens and spent years curating them - planting thousands of plants and flowers. He painted outdoors, surrounding himself with the gardens and nature that he cultivated and nurtured. His paintings showcased his breathtaking gardens and art lovers will recognize his pond with water lilies and the Japanese bridge (which was covered with people then entire time we were there, so I didn't get a good photo). Monet lived and painted in Giverny from 1883 until his death in 1926 and The Foundation Claude Monet (a nonprofit) manages the house and gardens today. While it was a crowded, Saturday visit, we arrived right before opening and had tickets to skip the line and were able to easily walk the entire estate, taking in all the gardens and the home (still painted in Monet's color choice of cherry pink and emerald green to blend with the gardens). I won't go into more history here, but if you feel inclined, there is much written about his full and artistic life. After touring his home and gardens, we walked the quaint town of Giverny (where I wanted to find available real estate and plan my move!) and took in the historic church and Monet's resting place. This day was much more than I could have dreamed and was everything I wanted it to be and more! I left feeling inspired, enriched, and incredibly blessed. 

I am not exaggerating when I say that I took almost 1,000 photos and videos...I did. These gardens were infused with magic potion - it is really the only explanation for such beauty. It is not possible to share all of them on my blog, but here is a very minute selection. I have good intentions of making a video for my YouTube Channel, combining all the media I recorded, but currently, time is not on my side...maybe in the future...

After a magical day, our driver took us back to Paris, where we had an early dinner and my second dad celebrated his birthday with a crème brûlée. I enjoyed a tasty espresso, then after a short rest, my momma and I took an evening walk to the Tuileries Garden where we passed a charming bakery with lovely macaroons (I was looking forward to taking a few back to the hotel with me, but a very grumpy woman behind the counter yelled at me for taking a photo, so I declined to make a purchase - it was the only disappointing moment in Paris - but the picture turned out!😊).

The journey will continue in my next post - where we travel from Paris to London via the Channel Tunnel. Our days in London were filled with wonderful destinations and I can't wait to share them with you!