Bev and Barb Take on London (Day 1)

London calling! Neither Bev nor Barb had been to London, so Bill and I got to showcase the best of London in 2-1/2 days. I think we tuckered them out, but we sure did see a lot! 

Barb atop a hop on hop off bus

From atop the big red hop-on-hop-off we got lots of great photos. Photos of Barb taking photos, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, a London lion, and Tower Bridge. 

Houses of Parliament and Big Ben

London Lion

Tower Bridge

Driving over Tower Bridge

We hopped off the bus to visit the Tower of London, and scoped out the Tower Bridge that we later walked across.

About to walk across Tower Bridge

And believe it or not, the Tower Bridge had to be raised while we were there! I've never seen it raise before. If you look closely, you can actually see a bit of the tall ship that's about to cross under the bridge. 

Tower Bridge is up! 

At the Tower of London, Bev & Barb got to pose with a guard, hang out in a guard box, and check out the site where Anne Bolyn (among others) lost her head. Not to mention viewing the crown jewels, Henry VIII's armor, and medieval prison graffiti. Everyone always thinks the Tower of London is just a tower, but it's a lot, lot more! 

Smitten Ladies

They're on duty!

Anne Boleyn (and others') execution site

Leaving the Tower of London we took some time to view the temporary poppy exhibit in honor of the 100th anniversary of WWI. Each poppy represents a British soldier who died during WWI (in total there are 888,246 poppies for 888,246 lost) and they're displayed in such a way as to look like blood flowing from the castle. 

Tower of London poppies

Poppies at Tower of London

Poppies at Tower of London

It was a beautiful and eerie sight and I am very glad we were able to see the exhibit as it will only be on display for a few more weeks.

Bev and Barb in Yorkshire

Bill's mom, Beverly, and her sister, Barb, came for a visit! Although Bev's been here before, she visited in the dead of winter when a lot of stuff was closed for the season, so it was a lot of fun showing both of them a lot of the sites around the UK. 

Skipton

After a brief nap after their long flight here, I took them to Skipton castle. They especially liked climbing down into the dark, dank dungeon! 

Skipton Castle's dungeon

After touring around Skipton, we headed over to Bolton's Abbey where they promptly Karate Kid'd their way across the river's stepping stones. Seriously, these two gals are a kick to hang out with!

Walking the stepping stones in Bolton Abbey

The next day we toured all around York, where they became members of the clergy and climbed all the way up to the to of Clifford's Tower. 

The new Archbishops of York

Clifford's Tower, York

The next day we spent the morning in town, enjoying a delicious breakfast at the world-famous Betty's bakery. 

Breakfast at Betty's, Harrogate

Bill came home from work early and we drove out to Masham to tour the Theakston Brewery. We got to learn how the cask ales are brewed, see it all in process, and then taste test the various beers in their pub. 

We got a kick out of describing the Bitters (the favorite type of beer in Yorkshire) to Bev & Barb and having them decide that bitters were exactly what they didn't like. Then at the tasting table, they both tried the XB and declared it their favorite. Bill and I chuckled when we explained to them that XB stands for extra bitter! :-) 

Theakston's brewery, Masham

Tasting Theakston's brew, Masham