2ND TRIP....ENGLAND, WALES, SCOTLAND, IRELAND...

BEFORE I KNEW IT, IT WAS THE MIDDLE OF JULY 1978, AND I WAS READY TO HEAD TO GREAT BRITAIN!

WITH BRIT-RAIL PASSES IN HAND, WE BOARDED THE BRITISH AIRWAYS JUMBO JET-LINER...........IT WAS EVENING WHEN OUR FLIGHT LEFT NEW YORK CITY..............THE LARGE WIDE-BODY PLANE WAS SO BEAUTIFUL AND COMFORTABLE, AND I ALREADY FELT LIKE ROYALTY!  IN THE DARK OF THE NIGHT, THE BIG JET-LINER HAD ALL IT'S INSIDE CABIN LIGHTS ON, AND IT WAS SO PRETTY!..........IT WAS THE FIRST TIME I HAD BEEN INSIDE SUCH A LARGE AIRCRAFT, AND I WAS SO TAKEN ABACK AND AMAZED BY IT!

IN THOSE DAYS, FLYING WAS A PLEASURE!....WE HAD LOTS OF ROOM, AND WERE NOT CRAMPED UP, LIKE TODAY......AND THE FOOD WAS DELICIOUS, AND YOU WERE SERVED SEVERAL MEALS!......YOU WENT FROM MEAL TO MEAL, AND THEREFORE WERE NEVER BORED!

WE LANDED IN LONDON AT 6AM, AND TOOK A TAXI TO OUR HOTEL, WHICH WAS IN THE HEART OF LONDON.  IT WAS A BIG, OLD, POSH HOTEL, CALLED 'THE STRAND," AND I BELIEVE IT WAS ON STRAND AVE, AS I RECALL....LATER, IN THE FOLLOWING YEARS, THAT HOTEL WAS ONE IN WHICH PRINCESS DI AND PRINCE CHARLES PASSED IN FRONT OF, IN THEIR COACH, ON THE WAY TO BE MARRIED..........

LONDON WAS EVERYTHING AND MORE I EXPECTED IT TO BE!....I HAD ALWAYS LOVED THE BRITISH CULTURE, AND NOW I WAS ACTUALLY EXPERIENCING IT!

"TEA-TIME" WAS SOMETHING I JUST LOVED.........THE FORMALITY OF IT!.....THE TEA WOULD BE SERVED IN THE PARLOR OF THE HOTEL, EVERY AFTERNOON.........THERE WAS NOTHING LIKE THE RITUAL OF TEA-TIME....SIPPING IT FROM TEA-CUPS...EATING SCONES AND CLOTTED CREAM........EVERYTHING WAS "SO BRITISH!".....AND THE TEA ALWAYS TASTED SO GOOD!......AND WHEN I CAME BACK TO THE STATES, I CONTINUED THE TEA RITUALS I HAD LEARNED WHILE IN ENGLAND.........THINGS LIKE WARMING THE POT!..........AND SERVING AFTERNOON TEA........AND JUST RELAXING WITH THAT CUP OF TEA IN THE AFTERNOON!

AND SO, WE WENT AROUND LONDON, SEEING ALL THAT WE COULD SEE!............BUCKINGHAM PALACE AND THE CHANGING OF THE GUARDS.....QUEEN VICTORIA'S STATUE......LONDON BRIDGE, AND THE TOWER OF LONDON........BIG BEN...........WINDSOR CASTLE.....BLEINHIM PALACE.......LOTS OF WALKING, AND LOOKING!..........LOTS OF CULTURE AND HISTORY, WHICH I LOVE!

WE RODE AROUND LONDON IN THE RED DOUBLE-DECKER BUSES.........WE WENT SHOPPING, AND OF COURSE WENT TO HARROD'S!

TRAFALGER SQUARE, AND THE PARK..........YESSSSSSS, WE DID IT ALL.....AND I COULD NOT WAIT TO RETURN AGAIN!

BUT, OUR TRIP WAS NOT OVER!.....IN FACT, IT HAD JUST BEGUN!...........WITH BRIT-RAIL PASSES IN HAND, WE RODE THE TRAIN ALL OVER GREAT BRITAIN.............

THE TRAINS WERE SUCH FUN TO RIDE IN ENGLAND AND EUROPE........VERY DIFFERENT THAN AMERICA.........EVERYONE SEEMED TO BE GOING SOMEWHERE ON A TRAIN!...........

AND SO, WE WENT TO "STRATFORD UPON AVON," THE HOME OF SHAKESPEARE..........WE WENT INTO THE ROUND "GLOBE THEATRE."............WE WALKED AROUND OUTSIDE, AND DID THE USUAL "TOURIST THING.".........PICTURE TAKING, BUYING SOUVENIRS, AND JUST SOAKING UP THE "FEELING' OF THE PLACE................I WALKED ALONG THE THAMES RIVER...SO QUIET AND PEACEFUL!

WE STOPPED IN DIFFERENT TOWNS ON THE WAY BACK........WE EVEN GOT TO SEE WALES, FOR A SHORT TIME......

ONCE BACK IN LONDON, WE CONTINUED TO EXPERIENCE THE CITY!  DINNERS WERE OF BEAUTIFUL LARGE, JUICY ROASTS...............DELICIOUS DESERTS WERE ALWAYS SERVED FROM A TROLLY CART................I FELT SO PAMPERED IN LONDON!......LIKE THE QUEEN, HERSELF!....PEOPLE ARE VERY FRIENDLY AND CURTEOUS THERE!

I LEARNED ABOUT BRITISH PUBS, AND FISH AND CHIPS, ALONG WITH LARGE MUGS OF LAGER..............AND THEN THERE WERE "CORDIALS, " WHICH ARE DIFFERENT THAN IN AMERICA.

AFTER AROUND 1 WEEK OF THE "LONDON LIFE," WE DECIDED TO TRAVEL NORTH, WITH OUR BRIT-RAIL PASSES, AND GO AND CHECK OUT SCOTLLAND.

IN MY NEXT ENTRY, I WILL TELL YOU ABOUT OUR TRIP TO SCOTLAND.......TO THE MOORS AND HIGHLANDS!.....TO THE HOME OF SHERLOCK HOLMES!

FRAN