Christmas in the Cotswalds

So we spent Christmas in England with Elise and Adrian. And although it was cold at times, we enjoyed the opportunity to see family, relax with some great books and movies and most importantly stuff our faces with fantastic food.

It was Keith's first time in London, so we tried to hit all of the major landmarks including the Westminster Abbey, where we found the oldest door in London below. We were speculating that the door looked like it opened into a broom closet when one of the staff of the Abbey came up behind us and politely let us know that it actually was the door to his office!

In addition to poking around the tombs in Westminster we walked to Buckingham Palace and heard carolers in Trafalgar Square. To top off our day in London we went to dinner and "Priscilla Queen of the Desert" with Elise and Adrian.

The majority of our visit was spent in the Cotswalds, which really does look like all of the paintings and post cards you see. The cottage we rented was fitted out for Christmas already and we were able to relax and take walks along the public footpaths that surrounded the area.

As we drove and walked around the countryside the two most common sites were sheep and pheasants. Regardless how Keith tried to bond with them, they must have known that we ate both during out time in the Cotswalds.

Keith and I went into London for a second day and took a walking tour of London proper, this is the square mile that is actually London. Greater London is made up of many smaller cities including Westminster, Chelsea etc. The Square Mile is actually where most of the financial district is now and includes Lloyds of London. The picture above is the remains of a church that was bombed out during the blitz but the walls have remained and the inside has been turned into this lovely park. It is a hidden place of beauty surrounded by modern buildings and sky scarpers.

After our tour we continued on to the Tower of London and saw the crown jewels.

The guards at the Tower of London actually live on premises in houses in the outer wall like these. They have a curfew of 10 o'clock each night before the gates close and they can't get home!

On our last day of site seeing we went to Hampton Court and indulged ourselves in the architecture and history and Henry VIII, all his wives.

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