All Things English

Tom & I recently returned from a two week Mediterranean cruise.  We had a *fabtabulous* time!  We cruised on the Celebrity Eclipse.  The ship left from Southampton, England.  We flew into London's Heathrow airport a day early.  Upon arrival in London, we took a bus (also known as a "coach") to Southampton where we had a little bit of time to explore.  This was our first time in the United Kingdom and we would love to return some time. 

The majority of our fellow cruisers were English folk on vacation (also known as "holiday").  We found them to be quite charming.  Our conversations ranged from Elvis (did you know that he never performed in England?) and US national parks to the Royal Family and the English countryside. 

Here is a photo of the hotel where we stayed in Southampton.  It was also the site of Jane Austen's 18th birthday party (go figure!). 



By the way, did you know that Southampton was the port that the Titantic sailed from?  Oh, but, I digress.....back to charming English things.  How about this mailbox? 

Wouldn't you be writing letters to your friends *everyday* just to walk down the street and drop them in that charming mailbox?  And the telephone booths................. I love how they match the mailboxes!

Fast forward to the day we disembarked from the ship.  Our plane did not leave Heathrow until late afternoon so we signed up for a post-cruise excursion to Royal Windsor Castle.  I hate to keep using the word "charming" but.........................look at the lamp posts! 

................and the men in uniform

We enjoyed touring the castle.  I was most excited about seeing Queen Mary's Dolls House.  Pictures were not allowed to be taken of the Dolls House so you *must* click on the link and check it out.  I did find a postcard pack of the Dolls House in one of the Royal Gift Shops so I do have "pictures" to put in my scrapbook.  Here's one more website that describes the Dolls House .  Isn't it charming???

After touring the castle, we ventured across the street to Maud's Ice Cream where we each had two scoops of incredibly charming delicious ice cream before heading back to our "coach".  We could have spent lots more time in Windsor exploring the quaint (notice I didn't use the word "charming"....although one definition of "quaint" is "charmingly old-fashioned") shops.  Maybe next time!