Home 2008 - Washington DC 2010 - Cuba 2011 - DR, Bermuda, & Cruise 2012 - DR & Costa Rica 2013 - Cruise, CR, & USA 2014 - SE Asia The Year Off 2015 - 2016 -  Preamble -  Thailand & Malaysia -  Italy -  Germany, Belgium, & Lux -  Czech, Poland, & Germany -  Austria, Slovakia, & Hungary -  Slovenia, Croatia, Austria & Germany -  England & Scotland -  Turkey -  Colombia -  Peru: Lima & Amazon -  Peru: Cusco & Inca Trail -  Peru: Cusco to Lima -  Mexico, Guatemala, & Belize -  New Zealand -  Australia & Thailand 2017 - The Balkans 2017 - Hungary, Romania, & Switzerland 2018 - New York 2018 - Amsterdam, Poland, & The Baltics 2019 - Costa Rica 2019 - France 2020 - Thailand 2023 - Mexico 2023 - Iceland & Cruise 2024 - Philippines 2025 - Japan 2025 - Iceland Short Trips Lists Links	July 26, 2015 - Sunday London England I flew in to Heathrow airport and took the train into London. London is a very expensive city and to save some money I stayed at the student housing at the London School of Economics, which was a pretty good location just south of the river in the middle of the city. I also had a rail pass that I used to travel around England and Scotland. July 27, 2015 - Monday London England Visited Westminster Abby, Churchill War Rooms, and the Imperial War Museum. The Imperial War Museum was also okay but not great. While in the Westminster area I did a Rick Steves audio walking tour. July 28, 2015 - Tuesday London England Visited St. Pauls, and the Temple Church. Also did another audio walking tour of the main city of London. July 29, 2015 - Wednesday London England I went to the British Museum which was okay but not great, partly because it was extremely crowded. It has the Rosetta Stone and a bunch of ancient stuff. The British Library was also disappointing. In the afternoon I took the train to the Greenwich area and saw the Prime Meridian and the Old Royal Navel College. There was a massive line to take pictures at the Prime Meridian so I skipped that. July 30, 2015 - Thursday London England I took a half day trip to Windsor and toured the Castle, which was excellent. I walked around the Tower of London but did not go inside since it was stupidly expensive. I also got some great pictures of Tower Bridge while walking along the river. The past few days I have done a ton of walking and tube rides. July 31, 2015 - Friday Edinburgh Scotland From London I took the train up to Edinburgh Scotland. I really liked Edinburgh. I took a guided tour of the castle which was very well done and walked the Royal Mile, including an audio walking tour of the Mile. August 1, 2015 - Saturday Edinburgh Scotland The day was jammed with activities. First I toured the Royal Yacht Britannia, which was the Queen's personal ship for many years. I really liked this and it was probably the highlight of Scotland for me. The audio guide was excellent and I got to see not only the Royal family areas (bedrooms, offices, dinning rooms, etc.), but also the crew areas. I took the bus out to Rosslyn Chapel (from Dan Brown's The Divinci Code) which was alright. I did the Scotch Whiskey Experience which was kind of fun, and then in the evening walked to Arthur's Seat, a hill overlooking Edinburgh. August 2, 2015 - Sunday Aberdeen Scotland I took the train to Aberdeen. Not much to do here. Back when I was planning on stuff to do I just picked it because it was a decent sized city with a train connection. In hindsight I would not have done this, it would have been better to rent a car and gone to some other places. Oh well. It was cold windy, but I still saw people playing at the beach. Too cold for me! August 3, 2015 - Monday Glasgow Scotland I left Aberdeen and went to Glasgow for three nights. Glasgow was okay, but Edinburgh was much better. Today I did some planning for the South America portion of my trip. August 4, 2015 - Tuesday Glasgow Scotland I did the Kelvingrove museum and the Transportation museum. August 5, 2015 - Wednesday Glasgow Scotland I took a day trip to Sterling to see the castle and William Wallace monument which was pretty mediocre. August 6, 2015 - Thursday Carlisle England I left Glasgow and headed to Carlisle for one night. I wanted to see some of Hadrian's Wall but there was not much here. Another thing I could have planned better. August 7, 2015 - Friday Newcastle England I left Carlisle and stopped at Durham to see the cathedral and then went onto Newcastle. Another stop that was pretty mediocre. I really should have spent more time planning out the England/Scotland portion of the trip. August 8, 2015 - Saturday Newcastle England Didn’t do much. Still in Newcastle. August 9, 2015 - Sunday York England My next stop was York. I went to the train museum which was good (although the one in Germany was better), walked around the town, and took in a movie (MI: Rogue Nation). August 10, 2015 - Monday York England Saw the York Minster. On the grounds there was a guy with a falcon, so watched him for a few minutes. August 11, 2015 - Tuesday Cambridge England I arrived in Cambridge by train. Once again to save money, I stayed in the student housing for two nights, this time in Christ's College. I walked around the town today. August 12, 2015 - Wednesday Cambridge England I toured several of the college's here, including King's, Queen's, and Trinity. I also went to the Fitzwilliam Museum. Cambridge is a very nice area. August 13, 2015 - Thursday Portsmouth England I took the train down to Portsmouth at the southern edge of England for two days. As a military fan this was a hit. The Historical Dockyard has a museum, several ships you can tour (including the Victory - Nelson's ship), and a harbor tour that takes you around to see several modern warships from a boat. August 14, 2015 - Friday Portsmouth England So much to see here I needed the second day. I toured an old diesel submarine (have to be short to serve on that thing!). A ways away from the dockyard is the Royal Marine Museum, which was also pretty good. August 15, 2015 - Saturday London England I returned to London for another four nights, this time staying in a reasonably priced hotel near Hyde Park. Today I did the portrait museum which was okay and the National Gallery, which unfortunately was half closed due to strikes. August 16, 2015 - Sunday London England I did a day trip to Oxford and saw the Pitt and national history museums. I didn't spend too much time in Oxford, but I found Cambridge to be better. Back in London I walked around Hyde Park. August 17, 2015 - Monday London England The V&A museum was outstanding, one of the best museums I have been to. They have everything here, from copies of famous statues, to furniture and porcelain that was beautiful. They also had some clothing, including a pair of pants worn by Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. The waist/legs on those was tiny! I also did the Natural History Museum which was way too crowded.  August 18, 2015 - Tuesday London England Went to the Tate museum and the Wallace museum which were okay but not great. Tried the National Gallery again, but it was still half closed due to strikes. August 19, 2015 - Wednesday Heathrow England I went to the Royal Air Force museum which was okay (better ones in the US). I tried to take in the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. This was crap, unless you are right against the fence you can't see anything because of all the people. I then took the train to Heathrow and stayed at a hotel before flying to Turkey early the next morning. A note about the England/Scotland portion of the trip: Overall this was good and I am glad I did it. However I should have done more planning for this portion as several days in both Scotland and England were kind of wasted. I had a rail pass - which was good - but I should have rented a car for 5-7 days (especially in Scotland) to see things that were off the rail lines. Guess I will have to come back.
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