Author: Laura Irwin

London 2016: Day 6

Laura Irwin

Rule Britannia!  Today was the Queen’s 90th birthday, and while there weren’t many celebrations in London to mark the occasion, I did get to hear the 41-gun salute in Hyde Park while I was touring Kensington Palace.  Today was also the day I decided I’m all set with the city and ready to go home.  It’s not that I’m ready for vacation to be over, I’m just tired of the crowds of people everywhere and city life in general.  I keep thinking back to last year’s April trip to the Cotswolds and wishing I had planned something similar this year…

Kensington Gardens
Kensington Gardens

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London 2016: Day 4

Laura Irwin

I spent the day in Cambridge today.  I was looking forward to a fun day out of London, but I hate to admit I didn’t love Cambridge.  What I did love was my afternoon tea in Grantchester (more about that later).  I left my hotel around 8:30 AM and got to King’s Cross Station around 9:15.  Plenty of time to buy my ticket and find the correct platform.  I’m not a Harry Potter fan, but I did manage to snap a couple of photos at Platform 9 ¾.  The train ride to Cambridge takes about 45 minutes on the fast train, and then it’s about a 20 minute walk into the city from the station.  (You may be noticing a theme of a lot of walking in this trip!)

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London 2016: Day 3

Laura Irwin

It was “freezing”, cloudy, and windy this morning, so I probably didn’t enjoy my walking tour of Greenwich as much as I otherwise would have.  Greenwich is one of the parts of London I haven’t visited before, and was on my short list of must-dos this time.  I decided to take another London Walks tour so I would be able to learn more about what I was seeing.  The tour didn’t start until 10:30, so I had some time to walk around Westminster and the Tower Hill area before meeting up with the tour group.

Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich
Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich

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London 2016: Day 2

Laura Irwin

Despite the 5 hour time change and jet lag, I woke up promptly at 5:15 AM (which happens about 360 days a year).  Breakfast didn’t start until 7, so I had some time to ease into the day.  After breakfast, I was out the door for a Sunday morning walk.  I meandered my way through back streets in the general direction of St. James’s Park.  Almost all of the flowers in the park were in full bloom.  I walked through the park towards Buckingham Palace.  Along the way, I found a group of large pelicans and a family of geese, perfect photographic subjects. As I was walking, I could hear a bass drum occasionally in the distance and decided to find out where it was coming from.  I discovered a whole group of what appeared to be “guards in training” going through training exercises across the street from the park.  Pretty impressive to watch!

St. James's Park
St. James’s Park

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London 2016: Day 1

Laura Irwin

If you know me at all, you know I am not a city person.  I hate the crowds, the noise, the fast pace… pretty much everything about a city.  So it may come as a surprise that I picked London as my vacation destination.  Especially since I was just here last year for a couple of days and spent a week here three years ago.  I know it’s a bit of a contradiction, but as much as I hate cities in general, I love London.  I think it’s the combination of history (I’m not a history person either, so another contradiction…), music, and culture that continues to draw me back.  The British scones certainly have a bit of pull as well!

St. Paul's Cathedral
St. Paul’s Cathedral

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Turks and Caicos 2016 – Day 6

Laura Irwin

A very windy final day on Grace Bay!  The waves were crashing this morning as I set out for my beach walk.  I didn’t make it as far as I have previous days because I couldn’t find much hard-packed sand to walk on.  Breakfast this morning was at Bay Bistro, located directly on the beach at the Sibonne resort, right next door to The Sands.  I walked over and enjoyed French toast while I watched the waves roll in.  Despite the winds, the water was still a beautiful green (with some whitecaps mixed in).  After breakfast, I quickly slathered on the sunscreen and made my way to the pool.  The beach was way too windy to be comfortable.

Grace Bay Beach at Sunrise
Grace Bay Beach at Sunrise

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Turks and Caicos 2016 – Day 5

Laura Irwin

My last full day of vacation (don’t worry… I plan to squeeze in a few hours of beach time before I leave tomorrow!) started with another long sunrise beach walk.  I decided to give Shay Cafe another try for breakfast, and I’m glad I did.  The breakfast sandwich was served on a huge, flaky croissant.  Together with the iced coffee, it managed to tide me over ‘til dinner.

Grace Bay Beach
Grace Bay Beach

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