England - June 20 thru 27

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We spent nearly one third of our time in England visiting the towns of Ambleside (up in the northern Lake Region), Oxford and London.  I wish we had more time here... there was so much to see and so little time.
Heading south on the M6 out of Scotland, our goal was to spend the night at the Waterhead Hotel in the very "touristy" village of Ambleside in England's Lake District.  This is a beautiful part of the country especially if you like scenic drives.

The next day we pressed on to Oxford.  It is here that I met (for the first time) Deborah Terry and her family.   I met Deborah while doing research for this trip on the Internet.  In the past year we have become very close friends.

We stayed with Deborah and her husband Chris for three days.  They were our private guides to all that's best in Oxford.  Taking a fantastic walking tour of the town, we saw more antiquity in 6 hours than I have seen in my entire life.  In addition, I saw my first cricket match and ate my first proper English meal (roast leg of lamb and Yorkshire pudding).   And no visit to Oxford would be complete without seeing Warwick Castle.  Since turning in our rental car in Oxford, we took the train to London.   What can I say about London that hasn't already been said.  OK, how about this... "New York City with a classy accent!"  Our hotel room at the Tophams Belgravia cost us £140 per night (roughly $250).  Perhaps the highlight of our stay in London was the night we bought two bottles of wine, a loaf of bread, some cheese and fruit and had a picnic in our tiny, overpriced hotel room.

Andy's Assessment: Beautiful up north, horribly expensive, crowded, mediocre food (except at Deborah's).


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