Tail camera during departure

Tail camera as we prepared to land.

After landing we grabbed an Uber from the airport to the hotel. Since we arrived at the hotel at 10 it was too early to check in so we had them store our luggage as we went on with our day.

The only “hard ticketed” event we had for today was a tour of the Globe Theater. So we took advantage of the free time to just wander around the areas between our hotel and The Globe.

We started by jumping on the tube and headed to Bermondsey Street. So adorable and we stopped at Fuckoffee Shop for a caffeine jolt.

It was so eclectic…I loved it. And the coffee was top notch and hit the spot.

From there we continued to wander…and break the law.

We found our way to Borough Market, or the largest collection of cheese shops as I called it.

From there we walked along the Thames and over Millennium Bridge or “That bridge the dementors destroyed in Harry Potter” as it was explained to me.

We finally ended up at The Globe but we’re early for our tour. Conveniently there was a pub attached. So we felt obligated to stop for a pint and a cheese platter.

After our snacking and imbibing we took the tour of The Globe Theater. I was like a kid at Disney. It was so exciting to see this and to listen to the guide as he was talking and telling so many of the same stories that I tell my students.

After The Globe we knew we were starting to crash…so we took the bridge over the river and jumped on the tube to head back to our hotel.

When we arrived at our hotel we got our room keys, collected our luggage, and retired to our room. We opened the door and discovered they had completely decorated our bed for our anniversary and the staff had written a note wishing us Happy Anniversary.

We ordered room service from an outstanding Indian restaurant attached to our hotel and are ready to pass out from exhaustion, but we wouldn’t change a thing.

After Buckingham we walked along Queens Walk down to Westminster Abbey which we discovered is closed on Sunday’s. Luckily Elizabeth Tower and Parliament are also right there. “Look kids; Big Ben, Parliament.” There just so happened to be a delightful pub at the corner also. So we stopped for fish & chips and a pint.

After the pub break we continued our trek and went down back to the Thames and walked along to London Bridge, Tower Bridge, and all the sights in between.

A tribute to those lost in the Great War.

Inside of the dome.

Imagine if a church in the USA tried to build a tribute to those lost to Covid-19. The members of the church here not only believe it’s real but also believe the news reports of how many people this disease has killed and want to build a memorial to them.

The organ and choir.

Considering everything currently going on with Russia I thought this memorial was very prophetic.

Michelle got to sit in the steps and feed the birds.

After spending hours taking in the beauty and history behind St Paul’s we toddled up the street to the oldest pub in London, Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese.

Look at these glass panes. You can see the old time craftsmanship in them.

My new and improved moustache.

Don’t mind us. Just enjoying our pints and the wood burning fireplace next to our table.

My first Sheppards pie of the trip.

Michelle answering the call out for Smith’s.

And also questioning the old ways.

After topping off at the pub we decided to tour the historic shopping districts of Trafalgar and Piccadilly.

The courtyard area of the Courtauld Gallery. Look at the flag. So many places here are showing their support of Ukraine.

Michelle found her spirit topiary.

An art installation outside of the National Gallery.

The Marble Arch…which we heard an amazing story about later in the day.

The Rose & Crown pub and it’s manager.

The OG that started it all.

We got to tour the vault.

The one and only one Jimi played himself.

So our Tourguide Ash told us this is the vault Princess Diane tried on her wedding dress to avoid the paparazzi.

That big building on the right is called The Gherkin. Before finding that out we called it “The Pickle Building”; so we weren’t far off.

Michelle had the banana walnut waffles with caramalized bananas and ice cream.

I had the namesake dish, fried duck and duck egg on a waffle with maple mustard syrup.

They surprised us with chocolate truffles.

After breakfast we headed over to visit the Tower of London.

Along the way we stumbled across the oldest church in London. Three digit date ladies and gentlemen.

Part of the exterior wall of the White Tower at the Tower of London.

Interior courtyard at the tower.

Traitors gate which was formerly the Water Gate. Ironic considering our Watergate was involved with a traitor.

The entrance to the Crown Jewels is under the clock. I guess in case you leave your watch in the vault. #DadJokes

Our brilliant BeefEater guide who told us that the guards live in the village with their families. So when they went into lockdown he experienced what it was like to be a prisoner in the tower. LoL

One of the famous castle ravens. Legend has it that when all the ravens leave the tower that it will crumble as will the empire. As such they have four keepers for the eight full time ravens to ensure they are happy and healthy.

Discussing the finer points of Poe’s writing with a distant relative.

A prayer for Ukraine in St Peter’s Chapel on Tower grounds.

Classic guard. I also think he was barely 15.

Michelle ready to go shopping at the Crown Jewels tower.

Found this in the gift shop and gifted it to myself.

Just outside the tower walls. \240

Ready for battle…or shopping.

Well…it’s a thought.

Standing guard and making sure we leave since Michelle dropped her phone over the rail at the raven enclosure and Eric climbed the fencing to get it. So we left on our own before being asked to leave; or worse…to STAY!!!

Figuring we needed some redemption we headed over to Westminster Abbey.

The quire area.

Inside the chapel they have tombs and memorials to so many great people of history: Newton, Hawking, Joule, the Bronte sisters, CS Lewis, and Shakespeare…just to name a few.

After the Abbey, Eric decided to head over to another famous Abbey in London…

We ended the day over at the Abbey Road crosswalk. We had heard it was nearly impossible to get a picture on the crosswalk without upsetting traffic…challenge accepted. We must have been there at a good time because there was barely any traffic and Michelle was able to get this great picture of Eric.

We finally got our ride in a traditional London Black Cab…ours was electric.

Prepping to land in the Emerald Isle.

A proper greeting for us at the airport.

After we landed we headed over to our hotel for the duration of our trip to Dublin…The Schoolhouse Hotel. How fitting that the teacher on spring break stays in a Schoolhouse that dates back to the 1850s that’s been converted into a hotel.

Even the “Do Not Disturb” door hanger brings in the personality of the place.

They recently rennovated the hotel and we are actually the very first guests to stay in our room since it was renovated. It’s amazing and so much of the old school charm (literally) is still here…down to having actual metal keys to get into the room.

The Cadbury Egg is there for size comparison of the SOLID brass keychain for our hotel/room.

After we got cleaned up and took a 30 minute Power Nap we headed out to see the town. We headed towards Trinity College to see the Book of Kells.

Along our path was the statue of Molly Malone which is something I believe you’re legally required to see when you come to town.

If Michelle wasn’t already enamored with seeing The Book of Kells, she found out there’s a cat in it.

The Long Library. A bibliophiles dream.

After Trinity College we tried to go to the Irish Whiskey Museum but their elevator was drunk and the door kept randomly opening and closing. So we decided to not tempt fate and moseyed along down to St Patrick’s Cathedral.

I think this is unfortunately an all too common problem with religion.

The altar was draped in purple for Lent.

The quire.

After the Cathedral we went back to our hotel to get ready for dinner.

Our hotel had a gastropub attached which also has a unique outdoor dining experience called The Dome. We had a private dome with a speaker the we could connect to our phone to play whatever music we wanted. Besides the sounds the sights were amazing too as we had great views of the sunset as well as the stars and sky after it got dark. It also had a Dyson heater which kept it at 29 Celsius as opposed to the 4 Celsius outside.

For an appetizer we got a black pudding Scotch egg. OMG!

Eric ordered a burger with bacon…checkout that SLAB of bacon they put on it.

Michelle ordered a chicken Confite and it was delightful.

Our dome lit up at night.

From the outside of the dome.

We had a long day and know tomorrow is going to be quite the adventure so we called it an early night.

The Oscar Wilde statue at Hyde Park.

In the courtyard outside of the cathedral.

The streets were blocked off for the parade and the grandstands had full access.

The theme for this years parade was coming together and the had Ukrainians leading the parade.

After the parade we went to wander before our schedule tour of Christs Church Cathedral.

We found a hotel we believe should become the name for our friend Mollys house. LoL

We got to Christ’s Church only to find out it closed for the day. Which was weird because we paid for tickets through their website for a tour 30 minutes after we took this picture. Not sure what happened as their offices are closed through Monday.

So we continued our journey walking around Dublin headed towards Jameson Distillery.

We of course had to stop at a pub for a proper pint.

We got a custom bottle of Jameson Distillery Edition for our anniversary.

After our tour/tasting we had 30 minutes to get back to our hotel to drop off our packages and then get to dinner. We had 3 drivers cancel on us while trying to get back to the hotel. We ended up getting to The Black Forge Inn 30 minutes after our reservation. They had given our table away by the time we got there but we still managed to squeeze in.

Giving Conor McGregor a hug.

Conor introducing Eric to the head chef.

Mugging it up.

We ended our night meeting Conor McGregor who stepped out of his VIP area to talk with us and introduce me to the head chef of his restaurant.

After a brief 2 mile walk we made it.

The St Patrick’s Festival in Dublin runs through the end of the weekend.

It tastes better at the Gravity Bar on top of everything.

Notice the two tanks towards the bottom left of the picture…they’re painted to look like pints of Guinness.

Love that at the brewery they call water “Guinness Clear”.

Before heading back to the hotel to pack and head to the airport we stopped by a pub for a pint and a bite. I ordered a breakfast sandwich. When I ordered I didn’t realize they put everything on the sandwich roll. That’s Irish sausage, hash browns, fried egg, thick cut bacon, garlic aioli, and tomato on a fresh brioche bun. I could only eat half but it was amazing!

The skylight at the pub.

Back at DUB and waiting for security. We arrive back in London at 20:40 and will start again tomorrow.

Boarding the plane. I’ve never, that I can remember, boarded a plane using the steps on the tarmac. It was actually better and faster than the gangway because they board from both the front AND back of the plane.

At our station there’s a poster for the show we’re seeing tonight: “The Ocean At The Wnd Of The Lane” which is based on a hook from one of Eric’s authors, Neil Gaiman.

Churchill had these special typewriters imported from the US because he hated noise.

The more things change the more they stay the same.

A cutaway in the ceiling showing the steel Reinforced concrete ceilings of the bunkers.

After we finished the tour we walked across the street to the park where the daffodils were in bloom.

After our time in the park we decided to wander since we had nothing until our theater show tonight. We wandered around and the took a turn and found ourselves in Chinatown.

Of course we had to have lunch so we found a wonderful restaurant and shared a few dumplings and Bao buns. During lunch I get a text. Our show for tonight was cancelled as a number of the cast tested positive for Covid. Ugh! Heartbreaking because we really wanted to see it but I appreciate the precautions needing to be taken.

We just looked at it as a chance to see more of the city.

So we headed into King’s Cross station and found a familiar looking platform.

What better way to end our adventure than visiting a place that has brought so much joy to our entire family for two decades.