globus – My Scottish Adventure With Ewe

Not bloody likely! She wasn’t at Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle, I wasn’t expecting the royal red carpet, or anything, but a wave would’ve been nice. The views of both weren’t bad.

Buckingham:

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Kensington:

No matter, I would much rather a cuppa with Kathleen Meehan, the best sweater knitter in Ireland! She knows hospitality, the queen could learn a thing or two from her.

It was quite a busy day, up at 6, breakfast and first a tour of St. Paul’s Cathedral where the royal weddings and coronations are performed. I stood in the spot where Charles married Diana, where Elizabeth (the queen to you) was coronated and where Winston Churchill’s funeral service was held. When Churchill was asked if he wanted to be buried at the church his response was: ‘No, I do not want to lay in eternity with people I couldn’t stand when I was alive’! Ha ha! It is a marvel of architecture, not just for the worshippers, but for masterpiece that it is.

This was outside the cathedral, a golden statue of the ‘town crier’. Before newspapers, this was how people found out the news of the day, they would gather around to hear what was going on.

Finally!! Sheep!! Made of metal, but still….sheep! ‘A shepherd and his flock’ also outside the cathedral.

No pictures inside, I cannot describe it’s magnificence. Yes, that’s right, a statue of Queen Anne in front of the cathedral. So for those that know me as MiLady, here’s why!

I thought this was odd:

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Hmmmm…….not sure what they are saying.

Also…..as you enter the castle grounds and when you leave there is shopping, kind of takes away from the history of the castle.

First stop on our Taste of London tour, a traditional pub:

Julie, stop giggling!!! Fish and chips, Amstel beer?!? Vanilla Cheesecake with fresh cream to pour on. Thank goodness it was a lite beer!!!! Great table mates:

C98869D8-4544-4023-B57E-8735301DF350 — From the left and around: Carol, MiLady, Alan, Chris, David and Kean

From the Thames at night, the London Eye and the Tower Bridge are among the most amazing views.

I’ll get to the wink wink…..

After a very safe flight to Heathrow, weaving through the airport to ‘border control’, you know, they don’t let just anyone in….I was asked my plans…’I’m meeting a tour’ oh? He asked, where are you going in London? My response ‘I am drawing a blank!’ Sleep deprivation and cramped seats for 7 hours, worked on the memory (ha ha, he still let me in!)

Another hour to the hotel, looking forward to stretching my legs! When I arrive at the hotel I am greeted by the Globus staff, very welcoming I must say! They asked if I was interested in an afternoon tour…..sure, I say! The lovely tour guide told me to check in, maybe my room would be ready. (Anyone who knows me, knows there is NO CHANCE my room would be ready.) The receptionist says, ‘oh, miss Welsh, your room……….wait for it……………..is ready! In my best American accent I say ‘no shit?!?!’ No, I really didn’t say it, I acted like that happens all the time!

wink wink time…….

‘So, you are in room 1509 welcome to London and enjoy your stay.’ At this point I looked at my watch (yikes, it’s 12:45 and my tour starts at 1:05). Ok, I can drop my bags, refresh for two minutes and meet the tour to the Tower of London.

Off I go to my room, my key works (always a good start) and low and behold I’m greeted by a man laying on the bed, on his phone, watching TV, ‘oh, hello there’ wow, the London Hilton goes above and beyond. Well, he was just as surprised as me!!! He was ever so nice, his checkout time was 1:30, he extended his time so he could pray at 1:05. I told him I would go downstairs and check my bags, he said ‘no’ he would go because he could tell I had just arrived after a long flight (oh my gosh! How bad do I look!). I said, what about your prayers? he said ‘I can do that anywhere’. He left, I dropped my bags and had 3 minutes to get to the tour!!! No rest for the weary traveler.

Off to the Tower, much better than back in the day; it was ‘off with your head…at the Tower!

Well, before we get to the Tower there’s this building. It’s the tallest building in London, it’s made of 8 acres of glass and it’s called ‘The Shard’. Odd name, but if it comes down the name wouldn’t change much, just add an ‘s’ on the end! Our tour guide said it was designed by an out of work glass cleaner (bwaaaaa)!

It was changing of the guard at the Tower, not the usual looking guard, these scots were out in their kilts. If I had hit record on my phone I could be sharing that with you, but I didn’t (ugh).

It was quite the rainy day here, still enjoyed though! I saw the Crown Jewels…they were ostentatious. A 503 carat diamond on an elaborate stick, so The Crown!!

The Ravens:

So, it is said, that the ravens have been on the property since the beginning. It is also said that if the ravens would ever leave The towers would fall, the monarchy would end. So what do the British do? They take very good care of these birds, feeding them seed and biscuits soaked in blood (yep, blood). Oh yeah, and they clip there wings so they can’t fly away, oh my!

Until tomorrow…..

Tag: globus

Do you fancy a cuppa with the Queen?

London reception….one of a kind (wink wink)