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Environs of Grantham, England This morning we traveled to Woolsthorpe Manor, outside of Grantham in Lincolnshire. This was a pilgrimage to the home of Sir Isaac Newton, born here in 1643.

Stamford, England We left York this morning via what had been the world’s largest train station when it opened in 1877. Now it’s merely a very nice very large station, with elevators, which we appreciated.

York, England Our main focus today was the interior of the Minster, the crown jewel of York. It evolved from the city’s first church, which was built in 627.

York, England While so much of the past is gone. a tremendous amount has been preserved here. It was a Roman provincial capital in AD 71, an Anglo-Saxon capital, a Danish trading center when the Vikings took over, and then a Norman stronghold.

York, England Today we left London from King’s Cross to reach York, in the north. (Missed seeing platform 9 3/4, but we’ve seen it before.)

London, England A great thing about London for us is the opportunity to see good friends and laugh about ancient history. That’s what we were doing yesterday, and today we made one more excursion to the National Gallery and then on to the National Portrait Gallery.

Hampton Court, London Cardinal Wolsey made the critical error of outshining Henry VIII in constructing his palace just outside the city. People were starting to talk about how magnificent it was. Wolsey compounded this error by not managing to get Henry his divorce from Catherine of Aragon. Exit Wolsey. Hampton Court Palace then became Henry’sContinue reading “And, it was great to be King”

Isle of Wight When Queen Victoria wanted to get away, her favorite escape was to Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. It had a swimming beach, acres of natural beauty, miles of privacy, and a home renovated by dear Prince Albert.

Portsmouth, England This morning we took a train south to Portsmouth Harbor, encountering Nautical England.

London, England The weather is beautiful today, but we chose to spend most of it inside, catching up on our art history.