Raven4

It may be a little late but here is our first time in Europe. My sister was traveling with me. We both like history, scenic nature, and anything royal.
Friday May 11, 2018, we left the USA for London arriving at Heathrow Airport the next morning. We got to our hotel Grand Royale London Hyde Park and was able to leave our luggage there since we was before check in time. We then walked down a couple blocks to Kensington Palace Gardens and took a tour of Kensington Palace. We spent a couple hours there and then went back towards our hotel. We stopped at a café and had some lunch and then went back to the hotel to check in. After we got settled in our room, since surprisingly, neither one of us was suffering from jet lag. We decided to get on a double decker bus and check out the area. We got off the bus near Buckingham Palace and walked to Buckingham Palace enjoying the front view and the look down the Mall. After about 30 minutes there, we went back to the hotel and rested and ate near by there .
Sunday the 13th, we went to Windsor Royal Horse Show and enjoyed a day there. Getting to see The Queen from a distance and other royals.
Monday the 14th,we did a day trip via train to Edinburgh, Scotland. We did the hop on hop off bus around the city and toured Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace.
Tuesday the 15th, we did a day trip to Bath. We toured the city and enjoyed the Roman sites.
Wednesday the 16, we took the train back to Windsor and spent the day touring Windsor Castle and the town. Windsor Castle was so far the most impressive and beautiful castle we saw.
Thursday the 17th, we went north via train to Staindrop , England and toured Raby Castle. This was an exciting day for us since our ancestors (the Nevills)at one time owned the castle. We loved it!
Friday the 18th, we did a tour of Warwick Castle, Shakespeare's Birthplace, and Oxford with a tour group. That evening we went to Piccaddilly Circus.
Saturday the 19th, we stayed in our hotel and watched the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. After the wedding , we took a train to Hampton Palace and toured it to celebrate the day. We had hoped to had gone to Windsor but, it was too crowded and the last train left at 4am that morning. Hampton Palace was impressive also. When we got back to our hotel, we went down to one of the street celebration for the royal wedding and enjoyed ourselves there.
Sunday the 20th, we was planning on a day trip to Cardiff, Wales but the train was down for the day so we went back to our hotel and rested since my sister ended up getting a cold .
Monday the 21st, was a day trip to Paris , France with a tour group, but we did the independent option of the tour. We did the hop on hop off bus tour around Paris and enjoyed touring Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre , and all the other iconic sites. We had a great lunch at a little café across from the Cathedral and both agreed one day isn't enough to fully enjoy Paris.
Tuesday the 22nd, we had planned on visiting Brussels, Belgium to see the city with my cousin who lives there, but he had a unexcepted business trip he had to take so. We decided to go to Cardiff, Wales instead. We toured Cardiff Castle and the city for the day .
Wednesday the 23rd, we spent the day at Westminster Abbey and enjoyed lunch at St. Stephan's Tavern near Parliament where we had fish and chips and Guinness beer. That evening we went to St. Paul Cathedral for the evening service. It was beautiful.
Thursday the 24th, we spent the day touring the Tower of London and the London Bridge.
Friday the 25th, we spent the day at the British Museum. That museum was impressive and we could have easily spent another day there looking at everything.
Saturday the 26th our last day in London , we went and watched the Major General Review of the Trooping of the Colour. That was great and after that we walked around St. James Park and Hyde Park for the rest of the day.
Sunday the 27th, we went to the airport and headed back home to the USA.