My Copilot Is A Troll

You may think it's odd, that I wanted to spend my 50th birthday at Kew Gardens. In fact, it was my only real request for the entire 2 weeks. But keep in mind, my greenhouse is my happy place, and I spent my 40th birthday on a group mushroom foray! Who knows what I will do for 60! I was surprised to see roses blooming this late. Yellow roses always make me think of Mom. She had yellow roses in her bouquet and I picked out a yellow rose bush for her when I was little.  Passion flower Herb bed in the kitchen garden  Bee houses in the kitchen garden  Those are some seriously big beans. Almost twice the length of Mom's hand! Alpine House Alpine House The grounds have so many paths and trails that wind through the gardens. It's so lush, and the trees are so big, that you wouldn't know a huge building is there until you turned a corner.

The second half of our walking tour was to the Tower of London. We could have easily spent an entire day here. There's so much history, so much to see, and so much cobblestoned ground to cover (13.5 acres!) I used to think the Tower was just a prison, because famous prisoner and execution stories are what you hear of the most. I watch a lot of documentaries and learned it was so much more. That's what put the Tower at the top of my "must see" list. Fortunately, it was the top of Mom's too! William the Conqueror built the White Tower as his palace and fortress in 1066.                                      Crossing the moat                          To get into the Tower, you have to cross a moat, now empty. Thank goodness, since it was a medieval sewer, as well as defensive structure. Then you pass under a 13th century portcullis, held up by it's original 13 century rope - don't dawdle! Hundreds of years ago, it wasn't uncommon to present royalty with ex

We booked a day tour through an app, Get Your Guide, which I've used a few times. I've always had good luck with it. Our bus tour didn't include any London sites, and there were a few we didn't want to miss. This particular walking tour checked off much of that list. Westminster Abbey There is a series of statues above the main entrance, dedicated to people who died for their beliefs from modern history. These include a man who stood up to Hitler, a teenager who was killed by her parents for converting to Christianity, and Martin Luther King. We started with a couple hours at Westminster Abbey. The burial place of kings and queen, as well as scientists, writers and composers. We saw tombs for Elizabeth I, Charles Dickens, Issac Newton and Stephen Hawking. It's the place of royal weddings and coronations. It's a massive structure and an architectural wonder. The difference between a gargoyle and a grotesque, is that