My tips for visiting the Tower of London

Like anyone who's lived in London for a few years I have my own list of things you Must Do if you're visiting.  You should do a walking tour, visit a museum and a park, take a boat trip down the Thames, check out the views from on high at the Shard or London Eye, enjoy afternoon tea, see a show in the West End, visit a market and walk the South Bank.  

Also on that list is the number 1 tourist attraction in London.  Many people will suggest that you avoid the tourist spots and focus on seeing the "real" London.  But, tourist spots are tourist spots for a reason and the Tower of London is the epicenter of London and British history, it is real London. 

Our Family Road Trip Wrap Up

I can't tell you the number of road trips I've taken with this guy.   Philip is younger than me by four years.  We would pile into the car and spend the next 8 hours playing "Mom, he's looking at me!", "Her foots on my side!", "Dad, are we there yet?", "I have to pee!" and that old classic "She's touching me!"   We were always pretty adept at tormenting each other.

Our road trip from the UK to Ireland, Scotland and back last year was much of the same.  This time I got smart and claimed car sickness which meant I got the front seat!  It brought back so many memories of traveling together as children.  It was so great to spend a whole week with my brother, my dad and my husband.  My three favorite guys.  Im certain they all still love me, in spite of putting them through that road trip.

I don't have my UK drivers license, so Matt had to do all of the driving.  It was a lot of driving.  (What was I thinking?)  Matt loves my family, but we're a pretty odd bunch which I'll be the first to admit.  After a week in the car with the three of us, he took on this stunned expression. 

I'm sad this is my last post about our epic Too Much Road Trip with stops in Dublin and the Great Mounds in Ireland,  Belfast and the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland, then over to Scotland and the Trossachs, the Highlands, and Balmoral Castle. 

Of course we had to visit Loch Ness, we grew up on those legends. The freshwater loch extends for about 23 miles so we drove along it for quite awhile.  We were in search of the perfect place for my brother to jump in.  He really wanted to swim in the loch, but it was a cold, rainy day.  He was easily talked out of taking a dip. Alas, no sign of Nessie.

As we were driving along, I shouted "Castle!"  Matt knows it's futile to resist.  I can't pass up a castle.  This one was the Urquhart Castle in Drumnadrochit.  It was built between the 13th through 16th centuries and the ruins are now one of the most visited in Scotland. 

We bypassed Inverness and turned South towards the Cairngorms National Park.  We spent a memorable night in Aviemore at the charming Cairngorm Hotel.  There were bagpipes, live Scottish music, whisky and a ton of laughter.  The next day we continued south driving through the Cairngorm National Park which spans over 1,500 square miles in central Scotland.  Hours and hours of spectacular views, although there may have been a few naps that day.

Scotland is breathtaking.  I just sat back and took it all in.  There is no chance that I was going to capture it with a camera.  But all I have to do is close my eyes and I can see it.  The clouds move slowly across the landscape changing the light which reflects off patches of color.  It's like looking through a kaleidoscope.

I'm just dying to know the stories behind this house with the star shaped wall surrounding it. You get the sense that Scotland is just full of stories.  You can almost feel them swirling around you, stories of heroes and battles, intrigue and love.  I've obviously spent too much time reading the Outlander series.   

In the afternoon, we came across a guy paragliding.  Or he attempting to paraglide but things were not going his way and he had to keep starting over.  We drove a little further along the valley, pulled over for a stretch and to see if he would make it.  (He didn't.)

Somehow one of us saw some deer hiding in the brush on the other side of the valley.  Can you spot two of them in the photo above?  It was taken with the telephoto lens, I can't believe we spotted them.  Matt took the camera over to the ledge to get a few more photos when he gestured for us to come look.  We had almost missed these beautiful creatures down in the valley. 

They were a distance away and not too disturbed by us.  I think they are red deer.  There is something so exciting about spotting and photographing animals in the wild.  Oh, to be a wildlife photographer.  I could have watched them for hours. 

Our last night on the road was spent in one of my favorite cities, Edinburgh.  Matt and Philip went to explore the castle, while dad and I took a bus tour of the city.  My dad fell in love with Edinburgh, too.  He could quickly imagine himself living there. 

I love the feel of Edinburgh and the people are so open and friendly.  There is a lightness to the city that is a nice change from London. 

Dad then went in search of a nap and I went in search of the guys who were on their way to a whisky tasting. 

I think Philip loved Scotland. The chance to travel with him again like we did when we were kids was a highlight of my time in the UK.  From the day that I arrived on this side of the pond, I've been dying to share some of this with him.  I'm ready for them to come back. 

The next morning it was time to head back to London.  But not before we fulfilled one of Philip's bucket list requests. He wanted to drink a beer on Hadrian's Wall.  So that's exactly what we did.  Cheers, Bubba.

I'm so incredibly thankful to have had that week with my three favorite guys doing what we all love to do... explore.  It was a week of moments that I will treasure for the rest of my life, peppered along with moments of "Dad, he's looking at me!!!"

Who are your favorite road trip companions?

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Lilypads at Kew Gardens

Founded in 1840, Kew Gardens in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is the world's larges collection of live plants.  It's also been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.  It's a massive park and needs many trips to actually see everything there is to see.  I've mentioned before that is a magical place for a camera lens.  We spent a leisurely afternoon there last fall capturing all of the colors and textures. 

The Waterlilly House had to be my favorite place in Kew Gardens.  It's a warm and humid iron and glass building with a large shallow pond as the centerpiece.  I loved the way the iron work reflected on the water, the perfect circles and straight lines of the ironwork were mimicked romantically and softly by the circular lilypads and the stalks of the plants. 

I've said that in everyone of these photo essays from Kew, but these are some of my favorite.

 

We're back from the most amazing week in Egypt.  Probably one of our top three trips.  I can't wait to tell you all about it.  But, first I have some catching up to do with Norway and Nice.  No more trips on the near horizon so I'll have plenty of time for blogging and editing photos.  

Have you been to Kew Gardens with your camera yet?

 

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