European Trip - England

I have returned safely from my trip to England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland. I had a wonderful time visiting old friends and making new friends. The weather was less than ideal but my definition of ideal weather is much different than the people living in countries I visited. A dry, partly cloudy day with temperature around  60 is called ideal there. That day may occur once a week. The remainder of the week is cold, windy and wet. Not what I call ideal. The outcome from this is having to remain in San Diego for a few extra days after being diagnosed with pneumonia. Despite all of this I could have not had a better time.

I first stopped in northern England to visit a family that I met sailing in Costa Rica. Paul, Marisol, Seb and Jason and I found ourselves enjoying each other company as we continued  to meet along our sailing routes and a wonderful close relationship developed. They returned to the land so their boys could attend a normal school as I continuing sailing around the seven seas. It was great seeing them again. Their lives are very busy with keeping up with the kids needs and both parents working. Paul and Marisol worked hard trying to keep me entertained while still having to meet their normal demands.

The English landscape is beautiful. Green rolling hills and very large meadows with hundreds of grazing sheep and cattle. The cities I visited are rich with history that goes back hundreds of years that one can experience first hand as much of what was built then is still standing and in use today. The same is the case in the other countries I visited.

The English love their pints of beer. The Scots love their pints of beer and their whiskey. The Irish love their pints of Guinness and their whiskey. As the old saying goes, " when in Rome do as the Romans do" and I did with full enthusiasm.

I took around 1,000 photos all of which I can not all share on the blog. I will capture those that I hope you enjoy and I can provide a short summary of the scene. Send me your email if you want to see all of the photos and I can open up a link for you to Google+ where I stored all of the photos.

ENGLAND

This photo is of what is referred to as a full English breakfast and that is how it is listed on the menu. The round black object is call pudding and is made with blood. This I tried and quickly put aside. The pudding that is.

Paul and and boys look me along to their planned trip to the lake district where boys and Paul went sailing as I remained inside to club house all day trying to stay warm. The second trip up there had some more pleasant weather but I again stayed inside after taking the dog for a walk around the countryside.

The Brits love to garden. This is men and women alike. That is what many look forward to when they retire is having more time to garden.

This is where the four of us stayed while in the lake district over night.

Fish and Chips. A must while in England.

Paul, Marisol and boys along with good friends of theirs. Marisol's sister was also visiting from Peru.

They can't help themselves. Two admiring ladies.

Paul and Marisol's beautiful home.

The English countryside.

All churchs and many old notable buildings and built with these tall towers.

An old English pub.

I took many photos of churches in my travels. These cathedrals date back to the 12th century, some earlier of which many are still in use todays.

Now this is what I call a pipe organ.

Look carefully at the writing below the headless figure. This doesn't look good for my future.

 I can't spend too much time in churches. One needs to have pint or two.

One of many canals that flow throughout England when barges delivered goods inland.

Typical of the shopping areas.

This is a Cathedral in the city of York. It is very large and still in use. Can you imagine trying to find the money and talent needed to build something like this today?

I climbed to the top. 275 steps.

 This is where I landed to rest after making that climb.

I went to a couple of museums. Yes this is true. The second photo is an original copy of  Shakespeare's
first writing.

Canal and Canal boats. The boats today are used as houseboats.

Now we think the United States is one of the most civilized countries in the world. This is not true when you can find another nation that allows one to by 2 pints of beer 'TO GO'.

I visited a train museum which reportedly has the largest collection of restored trains in the world. This is the first train ever to run the rails.

More English countryside photos.

Many homes were and are still built from stones and are still standing and lived in after more than 200 years.

That is enough photos. They say keep it somewhat brief or they will get bored and not go beyond. So I am going to break up the blogs by country so it is easier for you to absorb.

Until the next blog, stay safe out there.