The best part of my UK vacation was spending time with some of my family. I hadn’t seen my son Irion & daughter-in-law Min since leaving for the Peace Corps in October 2017, although I was able to spend over a week with my granddaughter Hazel in Madrid in March. Peace Corps has been a great experience, but it also made me realize how much my family means to me, and I look forward to seeing everyone during the holidays this winter. I feel like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz: “There’s no place like home.”

I was very impressed with Stonehenge, especially because I had read a report that made it sound like it was completely fenced off with barbed wire, which was not the case at all. Yes, there was a low rope fence to keep the public from walking amongst the stones to protect them, but the audio tour stations with historical information was nicely done. The four of us choose to walk through the fields to access the site, instead of the paved trail most of the tourists use, and that gave us a better appreciation of their magnitude. Stonehenge is a ring of standing stones about 13 feet tall, constructed from 3000 BC to 2000 BC. There is still some mystery and speculation about the original uses of the UNESCO World Heritage Site that add to it’s allure. We were there in the late afternoon, and I personally enjoyed the cool weather with ever changing cloudy skies, since I currently live in hot muggy tropical environment.

Before arriving at Stonehenge our tour bus stopped at the English town of Bath and we spent time touring the ancient Roman ruins. Archaeological evidence indicates that the site of the baths may have been a center of worship for the Celts, and the springs were dedicated to the goddess Sulis, whom the Romans identified as Minerva. The Roman Bath is no longer used for bathing due to unsafe water conditions, although there are some modern spas resorts in the area that use water from recently drilled boreholes. There is also a safe source of water in the Pump Room for visitors to taste the water, but I was not interested is tasting water that is heavy with minerals.

When we were planning our UK itinerary I was asked what I wanted to do, and my top priority was to visit gardens and beautiful outdoor spaces in a temperate climate. I was not disappointed and the weather was perfect, sunny but not too hot, and we only saw a portion of the gardens London has to offer. At Kew Gardens there were Chihuly sculptures (a glass artist from Seattle) everywhere, in the greenhouses, by the ponds, along the walkways, and nestled in garden beds. It was a spectacular touch and not something I expected. It was a real delight to be able to visit many of the gardens with their profusion of flowers, green spaces, and water features with many varieties of waterfowl, since I currently live in the tropics.

We spent time in London walking around seeing the sights, although many attractions were under re-construction like Big Ben which was completely covered with scaffolding. Some of the sights we just viewed from the street, such as the London Eye, Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, Palace of Westminster, and Buckingham Palace due to long lines of tourists and our limited amount of time in London. We did visit the 1000 year old Tower of London Castle which is home of the Crown Jewels, displays of arms and suits of armour, dungeons, and many implements of torture. We also visited Westminster Abbey, the Sherlock Holmes Museum, the British Museum where we were able to see the Rosetta Stone.

Another top UK priority was to visit the many Harry Potter sites since Hazel is very much a fan, and after visiting these sites with her I have begun reading the books myself. While in London we went to Kings Cross Station & visited the the Harry Potter Shop & took turns entering Platform 9 3/4. The Warner Bros. Studio Tour was an all day excursion, and was very well done, helping me understand the Harry Potter story better. In Edinburgh Scotland we joined an afternoon walking tour with Alex, an excellent Harry Potter impersonator. He did a great job sharing trivia, and leading us to many of the significant spots where J.K. Rowling was inspired and wrote the seven books. While in Glasgow we took a Discover Scotland tour to see the highlands and many lochs. But the highlight of this tour was the Hogwarts Express train ride. Earlier on this tour we hiked a short trail near Glenfinnan to view the viaduct the train would be crossing later in the day. It was a wet day but our tour guide did a nice job explaining the sights we were visiting.

Castles were another highlight of our travels, some in England but we saw many more in Scotland. We weren’t able to tour all of the castles we saw during our travels, and the weather in Scotland was overcast and wetter than London. We did have to alter our plans in Oban, because it was too stormy to take a boat trip to three islands. The castles we did visit were all a fascinating historical experience and we were pleased with how well the tours and displays were done. Harry Potter is a very BIG part of the UK tourist scene and something we really enjoyed. Alnwick Castle was especially fun and Hazel got to be part of one of the Harry Potter and Dumbledore shows.

While in Edinburgh we hiked to Arthur’s Seat Summit, and it was a nice clear Scottish day. I admit that it was a challenge for me after living in a very flat country for the last two years, but well worth it. Hiking is one of my favorite activities and I look forward to returning to the Pacific Northwest where there are many incredible trails to explore.

In Glasgow we visited the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and enjoyed the city’s architecture. My family flew home to Oregon from Glasgow, but I needed to take the train back to London to catch my flight to The Gambia. This trip used up the last of my PC vacation days and I am grateful for all of the countries I have been able to visit while living in the Eastern Hemisphere – Greece, Italy, Spain, Morocco, England and Scotland. I have now developed a love for travel and have plans in early 2020 to visit India, Japan, Australia and New Zealand as I  begin my next career of World Traveler.