So, I made it through the first day with the car and managed to stay on the correct side of the road (left), turn into the roundabouts correctly (clockwise) and 3 out of 4 times got into the car on the correct side (right). Of, course I was a wreck most of the day but all in all I did okay. I missed 2 of the turns in roundabouts, though. One of the times we almost ended up on the ferry to Calais, but I saw a turn called “emergency escape” just in time to avoid that disaster.
We are settled into our lovely flat in Kent but before I get into that let’s catch up with yesterday’s adventures. We took a Viator tour that started in Warwick Castle, a medieval castle built on the site of a fort originally built by William the Conqueror. It was owned by the Earls of Warwick until 1978 until it was sold and turned into an amusement park. It’s mainly for kids but we enjoyed touring the main home. It was staged as if it were a holiday party in the early 20th century.
Then it was on to Stratford-upon-Avon which was very crowded with tourists. We had a little time to walk around the pedestrian street before meeting our tour guide, Godfrey, for the tour through Shakespeare’s birthplace.
Our last stop before heading back to London was Oxford. We did a blitzkrieg walking tour (about 45 minutes) through town. Godfrey told us what the buildings were but without taking notes there was no way to remember. There are 38 or 39 colleges at Oxford, each with their own building(s) and libraries.
We didn’t get back to our flat until almost 8pm, so it was a very long day. But we spent a good portion of it in the bus so it wasn’t too bad. Even though we wished we had more time in Oxford, we still enjoyed the day.
Luckily, I had done most of the packing on Sunday evening so all I had to do yesterday evening was put the final bits into the suitcases for our 7:45am car pickup back to Heathrow to pick up the car. More on today in the next blog, which should be up soon.
I love the ” Beautifully scrolled headboard” in the Prince of Wales room. And the gloves, gorgeous! I also love the color of the stones used for the castles and other structures.
Aren’t they beautiful If those were the men’s gloves, I’d love to see the women’s. Thanks for following our travels.
Love Warwick! When my parents visited I took them there! Got both Mom and Dad to the top of the tower! Mom was sure she couldn’t do it but I kept telling her it was just another 20 steps! When they got to the top, she hugged me! She was so glad they did it! The views are spectacular!
Unfortunately, we don’t climb to the top of anything. I went to the roof of Sudeley Castle the other day but it was only 3rd or 4th floor. Even I can’t get up 250-300 stairs. Well, I could but it wouldn’t be fun and my knees would hate me. If you think about it, we’re older than your folks were when you lived in London. I’m about the same age as my parents were when they came to Italy when I lived there and I remember how slow they were. I totally get it.