I'm not a fan of driving when we travel abroad but using public transportation from Liverpool to Lanchester was so complicated, we had little other choice. In addition, since Lanchester is only a small village, the nearest train station or bus depot is in Newcastle. We would have to figure out a way to get from Newcastle to Lanchester. Thaat made the four- or five-hour journey via train or bus seemed out of the question especially when we could get there by...

Liverpool May 18-19, 2017 Things I've heard, seen in Beatles documentaries, in Peter Pan, Charles Dickens stories, and in old Hollywood movies, led me to expect Liverpool to be the sad step-sister of London. I thought we'd see a city filled outdated, smoke-stained buildings with little style. I thought we'd see a slower-moving city with people with a slight down-cast demeanor. I thought we'd see dingy pubs where the city folk gathered to escape their tiny...

The Cotswolds - May 16, 17, 2017 Just open any illustrated book containing a story or poetry in a country setting in England. It is likely to have a drawing or photo of a spot in the Cotswolds. This area is just to the north and west of London, and has a long history of sheep husbandry and very prosperous wool trading business going back to the middle ages. Thankfully, throughout time, many of those Middle Ages structures made of Cotswold limestone were t...

The University of Gloucester is here in Cheltenham. I cannot picture a more idyllic place to study. The land here is relatively flat so biking is a simple and quite an expedient affair. There is a paved walk/bike-way that runs about 2K from just north of the University to the rail station in the south where everything, trains and some buses come together. The path is like a walk in the woods, except it is paved. Students and locals alike use this path to rea...

Whirlwind! Absolute blurr! How fast these three days have gone by, and what an experience! The bad news is our time together with Greg and Mary in London is done; the good news is we confirmed once again that we are good travel partners and plan to make many more trips together. We got along famously, we laughed until we cried. We found wonderful places to eat that offered things we all like which proved to be a little challenge since Mary, Stan and I wil...