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Wednesday 15 September 2010

Off to London to see the Queen Part 1..........

As you know I wasn't around  on the weekend of the 3-6th September because we went to London.

We picked up the coach at 7.15 am and set off on our travels via the M62, M6, M42 and M40 motorways, stopping a couple of times en route, for comfort breaks, before arriving at Henley on Thames, where we had a couple of hours to explore.

Henley on Thames is a lovely place full of quaint buildings







and pubs with gardens like this





Then of course there's the river Thames





and the boats






We wandered round the streets enjoying the sunshine




We even saw a celebrity walking the same streets - Phillip Schofield off Breakfast TV, who lives near Henley on Thames.



Unfortunately he had passed us before we realised it was him or I would have asked him to pose for a photo.  He's much more handsome in real life than he appears on TV, though he's handsome enough on TV!

We called in another pub for a rest (and a drink) and enjoyed some more sunshine




before setting off back to meet our coach for the onward journey to The Holiday Inn, Reading, where we were staying for the weekend.

We arrived at the hotel with plenty of time to unpack and have a cup of tea before getting showered and changed for dinner.    After dinner we had a drink in the bar then retired to our room and bed, so we'd be fresh for our 9 a.m. departure for London the following morning .

I hope you'll join me next time for our first excursion in London 



30 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love the architecture there. It's real mice. And the pubs would be fantastic to sit and enjoy the sunshine. Of course I love all the pictures by the water. Thanks for skating. Can't wait to aer the rest. Happy Wednesday. :)

A Daft Scots Lass said...

Great update. I love London!

Valerie said...

Grand pictures. I love the quaintness of Henley. With so much sunshine it must have been a wonderful day there. Looking forward to the next part of the journey.

Flowerpot said...

What a great trip! I haven't been to Henley for about 30 years!

Akelamalu said...

What's happeningThom - you've done a few typos there? LOL Luckily I know what you mean, glad you enjoyed the pics.

Glad you enjoyed it Scots Lass

Henley was just lovely Valerie - I'd love to live there!

That's the first time I've been to Henley Flowerpot so I can't tell you if it's changed much. :)

Empress Bee (of the high sea) said...

oh how fun! sarge and i went to london way back in the early seventies and loved it. but never, in the whole week we were there, did i get warm! it was october and they told us to bring layered clothing. i did but it wasn't enough.

have a great day honey!

smiles, bee
xoxoxoxoxoxo

Finding Pam said...

Beautiful pubs with all of those flowers. What a lovely town. I hope you are having a great time.

Unknown said...

You always have just great adventures and you share them with us in a way that we feel we are there also/

Thank You

Richard Lawry said...

What a lovely trip. Thanks for letting us tag along.

An Arkies Musings

Ron said...

What an ADORABLE little town!

And it looks like you had PERFECT weather to enjoye your weekend!

As always, m' dear...I sooooooo enjoy your travel shares with us. Lovely photos!

Ooooo...and I'm so looking forward to London!

Thank you for sharing!

X

Daryl said...

What a lovely day ... what fun pix and dont you two look happy! Retirement agrees with you both.

Julia Phillips Smith said...

Now that was dream-come-true-y for me! That second shot - what wouldn't I give to be right next to that beautiful old building. You both look great, as always. What's your favorite thing to order at the pub? Or do you like to try new things?

nitebyrd said...

I would love to be able to actually join you! It's just beautiful. Things I only read about, for now!

Dan's Fi-ver said...

I think the bloke in the sunglasses is far more handsome than that Phillip Schofield oik!

Cloudia said...

so enjoyable- the place and YOU!



Warm Aloha from Honolulu

Comfort Spiral

Linda said...

Oh good, I didn't miss your posts on your trip to London! It looks just lovely on the first leg of your trip though I must say that your river Thames looks nothing like our river Thames! That's probably a good thing!

Looking forward to more, more, more!

secret agent woman said...

Of course, I'm always up for a good trip!

Donnetta said...

What wonderful pictures, "A." Looks like you had a great time. So glad you got the opportunity to do this! D

budh.aaah said...

I came across your blog by chance and its beautiful..the snaps and all the flowers, beautiful greenery..lovely snaps and river Thames well I think its one of the best pix I saw of the river.

G-Man said...

You sure are enjoying retirement

Akelamalu said...

It can be cold in October here Bee. I'm glad you enjoyed London despite the weather. :)

Henley on Thames is a lovely place Pam and we had a great time thanks.

It's my pleasure sharing our travels Dave, I'm happy you enjoy them.

So pleased you enjoyed it Richies :)

The weather was just ideal all weekend Ron, we were really lucky. I'm pleased you enjoyed reading about Henley.

Retirement is the best thing ever Daryl and yes you're right, we are happy. :)

You would so love Henley Julia. We like to go to pubs that sell traditional ales and try different ones - especially the ones with funny names like Old Peculiar, Black Cat, Piston Broke, Titanic, Dreadnaught etc. :)

I hope someday you will see all these places for yourself Nitebyrd, in the meantime I'm happy to share my travels with you. :)

Well you would think that Dan's Fi-ver as you look exactly like him! LOL

Thanks Cloudia x

Our River Thames used to be very polluted Linda, thankfully they've cleaned it up.

Glad to have you along SAW :)

We're happy that we have the opportunity to travel so much Donnetta, just hoping we stay healthy as there are so many more places to see. :)


Welcome budh.aaah, nice to meet you. I'm glad you enjoyed the post.

Oh yes we are G x

Maude Lynn said...

It looks like a lovely place!

Marshall Family said...

wow wee you met the scofe!! Thats amazing :) Shame you didnt get a pic with him but ce la vie! I love your photos of Henley on Thames, it looks lovely and deffinatly a place worth visiting for me in the future :) x

Unknown said...

Thank you, Akelamalu. I appreciate being invited to vicariously join you. I so love to follow folks on journeys that I shall never be able to make in reality.

CrystalChick said...

Looks like very happy times! I would love to see London and many other place in England I'm sure.
Fabulous pictures. Glad you had fun.

Around My Kitchen Table said...

What a great trip... and Philip Schofield too! Love your photos which show you had such a great day.

Around My Kitchen Table said...

What a great trip... and Philip Schofield too! Love your photos which show you had such a great day.

Anonymous said...

Stopping by to say "Hi" since I've see you so often at Miss Bee's and Linda's. Sounds like a wonderful day in London!

Travis Cody said...

What a lovely day!

Susan at Stony River said...

What wonderful photos!

London's so huge - I've only spent two days in it and saw almost nothing LOL but your trip sounds wonderful!