Jeff and I flew to South Hampton England on Friday May 2nd and spent two nights there. We toured around the city until Sunday when we got on our cruise ship.
We found this little bar not too far from our hotel. We had lunch there a couple times. They had great fish and chips!
We went to the Bargate and Guildhall. It was a neat old building - - small, but really neat.
On Sunday afternoon we set sail. As we were leaving England, we cruised past this castle. I took this picture out on my balcony.
I wonder what it was like living in this castle......
Our first stop was Ghent, Belgium!
It was a beautiful city.
We walked ALL OVER that place!
The architecture is so unique.
Jeff's nose led him to a waffle house!
It was fun watching him make them. Our group was needing to leave but there was NO rushing this guy! He was going to cook this waffle to perfection!
Then we got back on our tour bus and drove to Brugge.
There were so many canals and rivers that people traveled by.
It was such a pretty place!
When in Belgium........
We had to get some chocolate of course!
and some more waffles!
They were oh so good!
But hey, Belgium is know for their chocolate and waffles!
Our next port of call was Normandy and Paris, France.
The region we ported into was Le Harve. Jeff, his parents, Uncle Gary, cousins Amberli, Julie & Scarlett, along with the Bradley's, all toured the WW2 sites and the beaches of Normandy.
While there were at the memorial site, Taps started to be played. They said it made everyone cry.
Pictured left to right are: Scarlett Gustin - Gary Gustin - Julie Gustin - Amberli Nelson - Julie and Duane Higginson - Jeff Higginson
The rest of us took a 2 hour bus ride into Paris! I was so excited to be there!
Our first stop: THE EIFFEL TOWER!!!
I love the Parisian style of building. I love the ornate gates and the flower boxes.
Everyone wanted to go shop around except for me and the camera guy, Zach Helm, who works for Agel. We took off together and saw some fantastic sights!!!
Our second stop: The famous LOCK BRIDGE!!!
They say you and your loved one are supposed to come here and place a lock on the bridge. You make a wish and then throw one of the keys into the river below. Then a year later you come back and find your lock, open it up with the other key and your wish will come true.
Its crazy to see how many thousands of locks are on the bridge.
Our last stop: THE LOUVRE!!!
This place is so huge, it would literally take you 4 weeks to walk through it and see everything.
Zach and I also stopped and bought some crepes that were filled with Nutella and strawberries. They were fabulous!
Our cruise ended and we ported back in South Hampton. We took a long bus ride to London where we stayed for the next 3 days.
We went to the world famous Harrods Department store.
We went to Hyde Park. Oh my it was beautiful! And huge too.
I absolutely loved seeing red telephone booths around the city!
Trafalgar Square
We were walking down to Kensington Palace when the police whipped in blocked the road off in two seconds and I look back to see this motorcade.
See that little bit of red in the back of the car? Yeah, that's Prince Charles arm. No big deal.
They pulled him right directly into the gates of his home! The tour guide guy who was doing a tour to some people next couldn't believe his eyes. He said in the 4 years that he's been a tour guide that he's never been so lucky to have that happen in front of him. Notice the red and yellow emblem on the roof of the car........
Pulling into the gates of Clarence House.
And leaving Clarence House. Notice the red and yellow emblem on the roof of the car is now covered......
We continued to walk down the street to Kensington Palace.
Pictured left to right: Brad & Shannon Hales - Sam & Whitney Higginson - Larry & LeAnn Hales - Abbie & Jeff - Julie & Duane Higginson - Jessica & Scott Higginson
I took this picture from a bridge. So pretty huh! I loved the boat in the Thames River. It's design is the English flag.
Westminster Tower
Westminster Abbey
Big Ben!!!!
The London Eye
I'm completely in love with English taxis!
Although most people think that this is London Bridge, it's actually Tower Bridge. London Bridge is pretty plain and simple.
Driving across Tower Bridge.
We went to the Tower of London
This is where the crown jewels are kept. Whenever the royalty are going to be needing to wear them, they have to get them from here.
There used to be a prison in here and a torture chamber.
I wish that we could have taken pictures inside of the crowns and tiara's but we couldn't. There was also a museum of armor that was pretty cool.
A red double decker bus - another symbol of London.
Jeff and I in front of Westminster Abbey.
We went into the Natural History Museum.
It was SO COOL inside!!! It looked just like the set from the movie "Night at the Museum".
I had to take just a few pictures of my fish and chips. I find it funny that they serve peas with most meals. I don't know why, but they do.
It rained a lot. We would walk out of the hotel to a beautiful blue sky, sunny day and we would all pack our umbrellas. And you know what...... we used them EVERY SINGLE DAY.
Sunny one hour and raining the next and then sunny again. Crazy weather! We had the most delightful trip! We had the best company with us and we toured the best sights! It was a fantastic trip!
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