Well…just got into Manchester and have a very nice hotel room but there is construction going on and it is a bit annoying….but we won’t be here much over the next two days so it should be okay since they will quit before 5

Well…had and okay day yesterday with a  tour out to windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Oxford but it was the worst for of travel on a tour bus…and we didn’t get back here til late so no dinner last night…and I don’t mind that at all…today we leave for Manchester for a tour of Old Trafford and then a Man U match tomorrow night…then on to Inverness after the Liverpool tour Wed and then I think we may be able to take a breath after that…will try to come back for another one later today after we get settle in Manchester….more later…

Well…it’s an early morning today with needing to get on the bus to Oxford in a little while so this one will be a little short…I’ve had so much here in London that I’m kind of sad that it is over but I am looking forward to whirlwind of a trip to Manchester tomorrow where we’ll tour Old Trafford Monday and then take in a match Tuesday…wed will be the tour to Liverpool and then the flight out to Inverness Wed night…then I’m going to need some rest…slept okay last night and I’m really on UK time now but I understand going west is easier when we head home…still have lots of days here and I am looking forward to them….have been pretty sore and have blisters on my toes that I hope will go away soon…my feet are better and I had easy walks yesterday…had the best pizza I’ve ever had last night at this little Italian place in the neighborhood and I ate a whole 12 inch…more later….

Well…it was an easy day today with only going out to Abbey Road on the agenda…got out there after a leisurely morning and it was pretty cool…my daughter took a photo of me doing the Beatles walk across the crosswalk and got a photo of the studio and then went down into the gift shop and got myself a keychain and a coffee mug that says “Abbey Road Studios” on it and it will be my new favorite one when I get back…after that we took a run into the market in town but finished up before noon so I had the afternoon to myself…couldn’t just sit here so I took a walk down the street looking for an English pub to have that experience…found one called the “Green Grapes” and had a couple of their house lagers that were really good and got photos of it and me in it so that was cool…now were getting ready to head out for our Italian restaurant reservations in a bit…..

Well…running about on time this morning…it’s 6:43 here in London and we have an easy day planned…just the trip out to almost the suburbs to see Abbey Road and then just fooling around the rest of the day…went back to the Japanese place for dinner last night and had a curried chicken and rice dish that was so damn good…I am really getting to like the taste of curry and am going to make some chicken Masala when I get home…it has rained a lot here since we arrived but today is going to be sunny and in the 60′s which will be perfect for walking around…I really do think that everywhere should have undergrounds to get around…it makes it so easy to get anywhere…we were in Kings Crossing station yesterday and the span of the train shed was really cool….I saw a tv show about how the station was bombed in WWII and it was so cool to see the arched glass roof held up by cast Iron ribs…my feet still hurt but I am managing it with ibuprofen and tape on the blisters on my toes but yesterday felt like I was turning the corner and my feet are getting tougher…managing the pain has become almost a full time job but I can’t let on to my daughter that I hurt so much…she’d feel bad and I don’t want that…need to get moving since we’re meeting downstairs at 9 for another big breakfast…tomorrow is the bus ride to Oxford and Stonehenge that will last all day…then I’ll need to pack for the train to Manchester…more later…

Well…had another good day today and took the train out to Canterbury…120 miles and it only took us an hour…the Cathedral was cool but the rest of the town reminded me of Mackinac Island…very touristy and not a lot to see so we bailed on it early to come back and see Picadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square that were much cooler…just can’t believe the scale of the buildings there an all of the people…but it’s not too busy just humming with activity…my feet held up today with bandaging my little toe and the worst may be over…going back to the Japanese place again tonight for dinner and I’m looking forward to it…tomorrow is our last free day here in London since we have an all day tour to Oxford Sunday…going to see Abbey road tomorrow and then just fool around the rest of the day…

Well…finally got some sleep last night and I feel okay this morning…need to get moving soon sine we need to be out on the underground by 8 to catch our train to Canterbury…this is going to be an all day trip and I’m really looking forward to seeing such an old town and looking around a bit….looks like it’s going to rain again…big surprise…so I’ll have to bring the umbrella and raincoat…I am so surprised at how well the phone works fora  camera and I’m happy with how the photos are coming out…my feet are pretty sore and I’ll need to tape up my right small toe since I have a blister on it from walking…but I’m doing okay and the biofreeze is helping my back and neck…and ibuprofen…lots of ibuprofen….it has been a fun trip so far and we still have two weeks to go and I’m still excited about what we still have to see…going to have another big English breakfast this morning to fuel me for the day…they make really good coffee here so I’ll need at least two cups today….more later….

Well…tomorrow is the day trip to Canterbury to see the most original medieval town left in the UK and that should be cool…we’re going to see the cathedral there where Oliver Cromwell was killed…the odd thing was we saw his gravesite at Westminster Abbey this morning along with Charles Darwin…and that was cool…we have been getting the most amazing food on the trip with Japanese last night and the best Indian food I’ve ever had tonight…and the restaurants are these tiny little places that hold maybe 20 people that are all over this part of town…no chains or the like that we have in the US but good food made by families trying to make a living…we were able to dash out tonight in between waves of rain that have been coming through the past couple of days…I am getting used to the big city pace and only have a couple of blisters on my toes so far but we still have more than two weeks left to do that damage…

Well…darn, another busy day here but with lots of fun packed into it…didn’t sleep for crap…went to bed at 10 but woke up at 1:30 and couldn’t get back to sleep until almost 4 and was up for good at 6:30…and that is a little strange after going over 40 hours with no sleep the previous two days…at least I don’t have any jet lag and feel pretty good with another day with a lot of walking and sightseeing…started out the day with going to Westminster Abby and the architecture was just stunning and the scale of the building was breathtaking…and the coolest part is all of the people who are interned there…I got to touch the crypt where Richard the 2nd was buried…you know, Richard the Lionhearted of the robin Hood days…and there was Charles Darwin and TS Elliot…who was Laurence of Arabia…and all kinds of authors and poets that were just really cool…then we went to see the Churchill war rooms over by 10 downing street that he used to run the war in WWII…lunch, and then a walk over to the Buckingham Palace…then it started to rain again and we were done anyway so we came back here a little after three…and now I need to rest my feet since they hurt again….more later…

Well…have been awake since Tuesday morning and it is now Wednesday evening here in London and I still don’t feel too badly so I guess I’ll keep going until I go to bed later today…had a good day today but walked 10 miles and did and saw a lot…went to do the Tower of London tour and the first thing I notice is that it is not a tower at all but a fort that is made up of towers…the building was started there in 1066 and they still have buildings there that were built in the 1220′s…and, of course I had to touch them…it was a very interesting tour and then we saw a bunch of sights like the Tower Bridge that is right next to the tower…I am damn sore and we have another day just like it tomorrow…the wind was gusting like crazy but the rain held off until we were almost back here but it looks like another rainy one again tomorrow but we have raincoats and umbrellas…going to see Buckingham Palace tomorrow along with Big Ben and Parliament and anything else we feel like…