Go Know!

The Magnificent Minster

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.

From New York to Old York

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.)

Another art outing

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.

And, it was great to be King

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’s favorite residence.

It’s good to be Queen

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.

We go down to the sea

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

In search of art

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

We meet again

London, England It’s always a thrill to connect with friends June and Alan when we’re here. Today was all about having a lovely lunch at The Ivy, and generally catching up.

Official England

London, England. We’re revisiting places we’ve been, this time in a little more depth.

Our first stop was Westminster Abbey, taking the Verger’s tour. Covering 900 years in 90 minutes, this was a perfectly curated guide to the royal and famous who have graced its halls and spend their time here post-mortem.