I have this great job, every few years they have a business retreat.
This year it was in London.
They boys were busy with school.
Mike was busy with work.
So lucky for me it turned into a fabulous Girls Trip.
I flew to Detroit and met my "favorite daughter"
We sat and knitted and waited for our flight to London.
The plane was not very full, we were lucky to be in the back and each had a row in the center section.
We slept great!
We checked into our hotel and decided to take a stroll around to see where we were.
We found Westminster Abbey ...
Big Ben
The London Eye...
Katie was a pro at navigating, the National Gallery was a short subway ride.
We saw fabulous works of art!
We whirled thru the National Portrait Gallery,
then ended up at the Churchill War Rooms.
There was a fabulous park across the street!
It was a gorgeous day!
The next morning we walked the other direction from the hotel
and found Buckingham Palace.
It was packed with people, the changing of the guard was an hour away
and they were all setting up camp.
Katie found a policeman and got the scoop.
The guards are back by the palace not in front of the gate any more.
We decided to skip that event.
We went to the Guard's Museum instead
This was the only guard we could get close enough to for a picture.
Next thing not on our list but was fabulous,
we found The Royal Mews Museum.
I loved the streets of London.
That afternoon we had a tour scheduled for Stonehenge.
We had a lovely bus ride.
The bus driver got lost and we had to back track,
Took three hours instead of two, we got there in time to take lots of pictures and take it all in.
Next day we were off on a Hop On Hop Off bus tour.
The first stop off was Kensington Palace
I loved the "toilet" signs with crowns.
We saw some cool old gowns.
Hyde Park was gorgeous.
Next stop - The Tower of London
They had these crazy tortures they had done there.
We saw the Crown Jewels!
Amazing...
For Dinner we took a train to a cute town for "gluten free fish and chips"
I love trains!
The town was darling and the fish and chips were tasty!
To top off the day we headed to the London Eye
for a ride and view of the city lights.
New Day a New Adventure -
We are off to see Westminster Abbey
with a few photo ops on the way!
I was amazed at all the history that took place in the Westminster Abbey.
A reminder that they drive on the wrong side of the road...
We headed to Piccadilly Circus...
It was a lovely fountain and shopping.
We found Trafalgar Square and took a few pics.
We had a reservation for "Gluten Free Tea:
Katie had found a great place.
I have loved the No. 1 Ladies Detective Series.
They had "Wild Red Bush Tea" at the restaurant.
I don't remember the last time I had Herbal Tea,..
I am not a fan of tea. I loved the scones and sandwiches,
I can skip the tea. I was hoping they had some lemonade!
On our way back to the Hotel, we stopped by Buckingham Palace.
It was not very crowded this time.
The guards were still marching...
The next morning we were off for an adventure.
Katie had a surprise.
We got to ride a train so it was going to be a good day!
Katie had contacted an artist who is living in London,
we went to her flat and sat for a portrait.
We had a delightful visit, and left with a
darling watercolor.
It was a wonderful surprise!
We went to Camden Passage in search of a knitting store.
We also found an antique Tea Cup store and I decided to collect tea cups!
I will be ready for Tea Party's with those future grandchildren.
Lemonade or Chocolate Milk!
They have the longest escalators in the subway.
I was just grateful it was not a flight of stairs!
We found the British Museum.
They have the Rosetta Stone,
and lots of cool stuff!
I had two things I wanted to do in London:
Go to a Cath Kidston Store and
See Wicked!
We did both and I was happy.
They were both very delightful!
Our last morning we took a boat ride down the river.
We saw lots and lots of bridges.
St Paul's Cathedral
We crossed this bridge saw the Globe Theatre redone and the Tate Museum.
We bought the London Pass and it was perfect.
It worked for almost all the museums and attractions we went to.
We were walking to the market and came across the original Globe Theatre sight.
We found Borough Market, it was packed.
They had lots of food.
Not much gluten free.
We found a nice little pub for a calm quiet lunch.
The trip was fabulous. Katie was a delight!
It was a work retreat.
I did have a meeting every morning.
I work for a great company and have delightful coworkers.
