London

The National Gallery Museum.  This museum houses "Sunflowers" by Vincent Van Gogh.

In front of Buckingham Palace

Changing of the guards

Brad and Big Ben

Tower Bridge and the River Thames

9/8/08

Today was a whirlwind day of sightseeing in London.  We were able to see a ton of important buildings and monuments.  One of the highlights was visiting the London Dungeon, which was a unique feast of fun with London history's horrible bits (Jack the Ripper, Sweeney Todd, Great Fire of 1666).  To top the evening off we got to see a West End musical, "The Sound of Music."  

Stonehenge & Bath

9/7/08

Today we made the journey to Stonehenge, which is about 2 hours outside of London.  We were able to see the massive stones up close and learn about their history as we listened to an audio guide.  We were able to see the remains of  prehistoric monument that was in use thousands of years ago.  After Stonehenge, we traveled another hour to the city of Bath.  Bath is famous for its Roman Bath, Jane Austen and Georgian style homes.  We toured the ancient Roman Bath and we learned about the purpose it had many years ago.  

Once we returned to London,  we freshened up and headed over to Jess and Alex's flat for dinner.  They made a lovely English meal of lamb, potatoes, green beans and yummy apple turnover for dessert. What a great evening!!

Our European Adventure Begins...

We arrived at London Heathrow on September 6.  From the airport we hopped on the Tube (London's subway) to our hotel.  After getting settled into our room, we met up with Jessica (Lauren's good friend that lives in London) and her boyfriend, Alex.  We rode a double-decker bus to Notting Hill and walked the Portobello Road.  What a quaint area with crafters and shops lining the street.  We ate lunch in a traditional English Pub.  :)

Rhode Island

For Labor Day weekend we took a road trip to Rhode Island.  Lauren and Adam joined us!  We stayed with my Aunt Cely and Jim in Charlestown, RI.  My mom and dad were able to fly up for the weekend as well.  :)  It had already been a month since we left Tampa, so we were excited to see them!  We made it to RI around 1 pm on Friday.  We took a tour of Cely and Jim's house (it had been totally remodeled since I had last been to visit).  They have a hot tub and an outdoor shower (which is amazing).  Friday night we had a yummy seafood dinner of King Crab legs and sweet corn on the cob!  On Saturday it was cloudy and rainy, so we decided to hit up the Foxwoods Casino in nearby Connecticut.  The place is huge!  Lauren and I were the big winners on the slot machines  (L-$15 and D-$6.75).  We had another seafood feast on Saturday night with delicious lobster.  We made a huge mess, but the lobster was worth it!!  On Sunday we drove to the adorable town of Newport.  We toured the Newport Mansions on Bellevue Avenue.  These mansions were unbelievable!  The largest home was owned by the Vanderbilts.  It was built in 1895 and it was a staggering 138,000 square feet.  This home was used by the family for only 2 months out of the year!!  

We had a great Labor Day weekend in Rhode Island!!