What a journey! I had such a wonderful time in the UK and Europe. Each place I visited holds its own special memories for me, but when asked what was my favorite, it was Scotland, the Highlands in particular. You know me, I love it out West in the US, mountains, blue skies, not a lot of people, and that was the Highlands. I still can’t believe I was gone for a month, the time really did fly by so quickly. Towards the end, I was running out of steam, that is why this post is so late, I just didn’t have the energy in the evening to post anything. I am going to post a recap of each area over the next few days, I have over 1,300 photos, so it will take awhile to select the ones to post, hope you enjoy them.
England – visited Gill and Jon for their wedding on April 5th. I have known Gill since 1995, we met the first time I traveled overseas for a tour of Europe and we have kept in touch ever since. This was the first time I met Jon, he is absolutely wonderful. Did I mention that this was the longest and I think coldest winter the UK has had in 100 Years!!? See my earlier post for the details on my first week. Below are the pictures from that week that I was unable to post while I was there. Enjoy!
Me at Windsor Castle – yes, it is freezing
Jon and Gill at Windsor Castle
Jon drove Gill and I around Surrey on my first day. It is a very beautiful area, I saw many wonderful places, Windsor, Shere, Boxhill and lots of roundabouts. The village of Shere was my favorite, a quaint, quiet village. I loved it! I am told it gets very crowded during the summer, so I was happy to be there during the winter (allegedly it was spring).
Hampton Court is just incredible. Unfortunately you could not take photos inside the various rooms. Marcus and Bridgette are in the photo with Gill and Jon. They are from New Zealand, they met Jon back in 1994 while traveling and have stayed in touch. Super nice couple. I must say, King Henry was very intimidating and Ann Bolelyn was not putting up with his demands. 🙂 And yes, it was freezing on this day. I do not miss wearing layers, a coat, scarf and gloves.
Take a closer look at the walls, those are swords, knives, guns, etc…… Odd but interesting and amazing how they were used.
WEDDING DAY!!! Yes, that is snow on the ground. Again, it was freezing on this day, about 40 degrees and very windy. Gill and her wedding party made the best of it. They took the group photos outside, I don’t know how they did it. As I said in my earlier post, the wedding was right out of Sense and Sensibility, it was amazing. Gill had an afternoon tea for all the guests (160), then a dinner reception for about 60 guests. The afternoon tea was delicious, sweets, sandwiches and of course tea! The dinner reception was so nice, wonderful meal and really enjoyed meeting everyone. Jen is Gill’s longtime friend, she lives in Edinburgh, so you will see her again later. Marty is also a longtime friend of Gill’s from Australia, they met while traveling. So glad I met them, they were both delightful! Wish I had better pictures of the inside of the church, it is so pretty!
Phillipa, and her mom and dad, Geoffrey and Julia. They are the in-laws to Jon’s sister Jane. Geoffrey and Julia were so kind, Gill and her wedding party stayed at their lovely home and they included me and Marty for delicious dinner in their home. It was wonderful.
Jon’s sister Jane and her daughter Heidi.
Jon, Gill, Julia and Jessica, Phillipa’s daughter, very sweet girl.
Me and Jen – no, these were not the shoes I wore to the wedding.
Me and Marty
Gill and Jon, Fiona and Jen, friends from Scotland
Rebecca's Journey 