Mumsy and Guvna take on Europe: A 2016 Europe Trip Report! updated 5/29/2017

[missangelalexis]

Wow that's amazing! Congrats to Maddy!!

 

[annegirl]

Too cute! I'd go with the two recesses as well -she's already making good life decisions!

Haha. Yeah. She is loving it so far!

Wow that's amazing! Congrats to Maddy!!

Thanks! She was pretty nervous the first day but now she is so happy. She loves it so much! And has already made new friends but has to go say hi to her kindergarten friends at the end of each day as well. It's adorable.

 

[annegirl]

MORE change of plans!!!!

On the fifth day of our trip we were planning on driving from Canterbury to York, stopping at Sherwood Forest and Nottingham along the way. The plan was to try to get there early enough to see most of York that afternoon/ evening. The next day we would finish up anything we wanted to do in York, or if possible we would have already finished and we could head straight north to Alnwick castle and then down to the Lake district.
I was also not sure when, a few days later, we would be able to tour Highclere Castle (Downton Abbey) and was hoping that we would actually be able to get tickets.
They told me that the spring tickets would become available sometime in November and to check back often because they go really fast.

So, Sunday I checked. Nothing.
Monday I was online for a few minutes and then almost got off before I remembered that I wanted to check again.
So I quickly went to their site and WOO HOO! They were showing up.
The crazy thing was that they are only open for about a week the month we are going and for only four of the days we are going to be in England! I couldn't believe it and was so excited that we actually had a chance. But now I had to decided how to make it work.
So, we decided that the fifth day was the only day that it made sense. It requires a lot of backtracking (about 2.5 hours) but the things we were going to do on the way to Canterbury the day before would have been hard to fit in the next week so I felt like this would be okay. So I put in the time and day and I GOT THEM!! I am SO freaking excited. We got tickets to tour the grounds, the castle, and the Egyptian exhibition (one of the Earl's that lived there is the man that found King Tut's tomb. I read a book about the family that lived there at the time and about his experiences that the countess that lives there right now wrote. Very cool)
Anyway, so this will put us at Highclere until early afternoon and then we will still have a few hours drive to York.
So, I knew that we would not get there until late afternoon or early evening and that just wouldn't work to see all that we want to see in York and especially if we want to stop anywhere along the way.
So our plans are now to go to Highclere and then head straight to our B&B right outside of York.
Then the next day we can take our time in York and then we will go straight across to the Lake District.
This means we will probably have to skip visiting Alnwick Castle, HAdrian's Wall, and going to the Scotland border but we are going to keep them as tentative plans just in case we have any time to spare the next few days in the Lake District (long drive but if we have time we will totally do it).
So that's it.

I can't wait to see this place.....

​

 

[annegirl]

Today I am thinking through another big decision so it will be back to the actual planning soon!
I talked before on here about having to catch a train to Poole to catch our ferry and how we would basically have to leave in the middle of the night, catch a train, have a layover at a train station partway for a few hours and then arrive about an hour before ferry departure. We would probably be taking a cab from train station to ferry once we get there.
Well, after thinking a lot about it, I got the info for a car hire company and he just emailed me back this morning. To have the car pick us up at our hotel at 5am and drive us right to the ferry port, it would be about $400 which is only $200 more than the train which means it is only $100 more for each of us. That is a lot of money, especially when we are already paying so much for such a long trip but... I think it is worth it.
I called my mom to get her opinion and she said she will be okay with whichever decision and amount of money I think is best.
So now we are going to think about it for a day and then make our decision.
If any of you see this in the next couple of days: What would you do?
Do you think the convenience is worth the extra $? ​

 

[missangelalexis]

Hmm I would say it's probably worth the extra cost. It would save you a lot of time and eliminate the layover at the train station. It sounds like it would just be much more convenient and while the trip may already be costly, an extra $200 probably isn't much in the grand scheme of things.

 

[GAN]

I don't think I would even think twice about it ...for $100/person it is worth it. I love train travel in Europe, but for the peace of mind you will get having someone pick you up and drop you where you need to be is well worth the investment.

 

[annegirl]

Hmm I would say it's probably worth the extra cost. It would save you a lot of time and eliminate the layover at the train station. It sounds like it would just be much more convenient and while the trip may already be costly, an extra $200 probably isn't much in the grand scheme of things.

Yeah, that is how I am feeling too. Especially when it is broken up between the two of us.

I don't think I would even think twice about it ...for $100/person it is worth it. I love train travel in Europe, but for the peace of mind you will get having someone pick you up and drop you where you need to be is well worth the investment.

Thanks for your input! I am feeling that way too. I am going to talk to my mom this morning to see if she is still okay with doing it and then I will email the company to make the reservation!

 

[GAN]

It's really a no lose situation, if you're mom doesn't want to spend the extra...you get a nice train adventure out of it. I wish train travel was so convenient in this country.

 

[annegirl]

It's really a no lose situation, if you're mom doesn't want to spend the extra...you get a nice train adventure out of it. I wish train travel was so convenient in this country.

That's true! We will be using a few trains later in the trip in France/ Switzerland and Germany so we will definitely get some train travel in! I wish it was too!

 

[GAN]

That's true! We will be using a few trains later in the trip in France/ Switzerland and Germany so we will definitely get some train travel in! I wish it was too!

Don't forget the Man in Seat 61...

http://www.seat61.com

I've learned a lot from his site.

 

[annegirl]

Well, once again I made a change!!!
It's so funny. After asking your opinions I decided that I really did feel like we should do the driver to the port.
I asked the man how to make a payment and he told me to send him the card info in email or to his phone. I have to tell you that I suddenly felt very uncomfortable. On their website it said that they would never have your card info and that they used a secure system to process payment. I wrote back to him and asked about that. He said they didn't get enough use out of it so didn't use it anymore.
I really think this guy was probably on the up and up and a good company but I just couldn't shake the fact that I didn't feel right about it.
So, I went searching for other options again. I looked into doing Uber which would have been cheaper but we couldn't reserve until that morning. I didn't want to risk that.
Then Doug came home from work and said that he talked to a girl he works with that went to England last year.
She and her boyfriend wanted to go to on an outing that was a little out of London and they arranged it through their hotel. She said I might want to check with ours to see.
I hadn't even thought of that. What the?
So, I contacted the Phoenix hotel where we will be staying and asked if they had anyone they worked with or recommended.
They got right back to me and said that they do have a service they work with. After I gave her the information she quoted an amount that was 100 POUNDS cheaper than the other guy.
So if this price is accurate then we will only be paying about $50 more each than the train! Woo hoo! And we just set it up when we check in the weekend before we need it.
A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

So, next time I am on, I will be finally getting back to more of the fun stuff!​

 

[annegirl]

Ahhh. London.
I cannot wait to be there.
I have dreamt of going to London for so long.
I wish we could be in the city for longer but we will have only two full days here and the rest of Saturday.
So, like I said in my last post, we will arrive there on a Saturday. I won't know until that day what time it will be but it should be sometime in the late afternoon.
I don't know if we will have time to do anything that night but we really want to go to a show at the Globe Theater if possible.
If not, we will probably go out and see some of the sights.

On Sunday we plan on doing a lot of sight seeing.
I don't know for sure all of the things we will actually be able to do that day yet but here are the things we want to do if possible:

Tower of London

, see Tower Bridge

, go to a Sunday service at Westminster Abbey

, Churchill's War rooms

, the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace if they do it on Sunday (I think they do but haven't looked it up yet)

, maybe the London Eye

, maybe Kensington Palace and gardens

, , see the Parliament buildings and Big Ben in Elizabeth Tower

, perhaps peek in the British Library

and British Museum

, and Hyde Park

. That is a lot of stuff and I don't know that it will be possible to do it all but we are going to do as much as we can.
I also am hoping to have a Sunday Roast dinner in a pub.

On Monday we are hoping to do more of a shopping day.
We do however want to go back to Westminster Abbey at some point so we can tour the whole thing. (My understanding is that on Sunday's it is only open to worship services and if we go to a service we wouldn't be able to wander around.)
After that (or before it... whatever) the things on our wish list are:
visiting Harrods

, Hamleys toy store

, Tales on Moon Lane children's book shop

, Waterstone's

, Leadenhall Market

, visiting the real King's Cross station

, and some time in Notting Hill to go to the bookshop

that is in the movie and the the Biscuiteer

shop. So, like I said we are really hoping to see a lot of shops that I have heard about and visit a lot of book stores!! There are more to this list but I will just post these ones for now.
If there are any plays we want to see in the West End we will probably try to get tickets for a show.

The next day we will be leaving London (and England). ​

 

[missangelalexis]

I don't blame you for being suspicious of giving your card out. Such a good idea to contact the hotel! I'm glad you find a solution, and even better a cheaper one!

 

[missangelalexis]

Your time in London sounds like it's going to be a blast. A city I also dream of visiting one day, I can't wait to see your pictures. How fun it would be if you're able to catch a show in West End!

 

[GAN]

That's an awfully ambitious tour of London -I'm figuring that Tower of London and Westminster Abbey are pretty high on your list ...those are both solid half-day tours and we spent the better part of 6-hours at both and could have stayed longer so keep that in mind. For Westminster, I'd suggest getting a Verger Tour:

http://www.westminster-abbey.org/visit-us/guided-tours

Not only is it informative, but you get to go behind the nave and enter the tomb of Edward the Confesssor ...to me it was amazing. If you go to a evening/late afternoon service, arrive early -they may ask you to sit(or ask yourself)in the quire(choir) area -I'm not overly religious, but this experience was beautiful ...something I will never forget. If you do the tour, your guide should be able to fill you in with details.

 

[minneylovesmicky]

I had a hotel recommended to me that we will be staying at the next three nights. It is the Phoenix Hotel in Westminster.

​

Is that The Pheonix Hotel 1-8 Kensington Gardens Square? We are staying there for our trip next year.

Your trip sounds amazing, you are so organised. I usually organise my trips, but am just going to wing it this time, no plans, no organised tours....eeeekkkk!!!!!! We shall see what happens....lol


Edited - I tell a lie, we have tickets to Wicked....so we do actually have one thing organised.....lol

 

[Iamthequeen]

Your trip to London sounds awesome, but there is no way you can accomplish everything on your list. I would recommend, if you don't see a show at the Globe on your first night, to do one of the walking tours - we did the Jack the Ripper walk and the Alleys, Apparitions and Ales walk. Both were lots of fun.

 

[annegirl]

I don't blame you for being suspicious of giving your card out. Such a good idea to contact the hotel! I'm glad you find a solution, and even better a cheaper one!

Your time in London sounds like it's going to be a blast. A city I also dream of visiting one day, I can't wait to see your pictures. How fun it would be if you're able to catch a show in West End!

Thanks. Yeah. I am so glad we were able to find an alternative that will end up being cheaper.

That's an awfully ambitious tour of London -I'm figuring that Tower of London and Westminster Abbey are pretty high on your list ...those are both solid half-day tours and we spent the better part of 6-hours at both and could have stayed longer so keep that in mind. For Westminster, I'd suggest getting a Verger Tour:

http://www.westminster-abbey.org/visit-us/guided-tours

Not only is it informative, but you get to go behind the nave and enter the tomb of Edward the Confesssor ...to me it was amazing. If you go to a evening/late afternoon service, arrive early -they may ask you to sit(or ask yourself)in the quire(choir) area -I'm not overly religious, but this experience was beautiful ...something I will never forget. If you do the tour, your guide should be able to fill you in with details.

yeah. I know. Haha. It's definitely more than we will be able to do but I like to have a plan in case something doesn't work out or we end up having time that we didn't think we would have. We plan on deciding which things are the highest priority for each of us and then do those first and then anything else on that list will be icing on the cake.

Is that The Pheonix Hotel 1-8 Kensington Gardens Square? We are staying there for our trip next year.

Your trip sounds amazing, you are so organised. I usually organise my trips, but am just going to wing it this time, no plans, no organised tours....eeeekkkk!!!!!! We shall see what happens....lol


Edited - I tell a lie, we have tickets to Wicked....so we do actually have one thing organised.....lol

It is! I have heard good things so hopefully it will live up to it!!
Tickets to wicked! Cool!!

Your trip to London sounds awesome, but there is no way you can accomplish everything on your list. I would recommend, if you don't see a show at the Globe on your first night, to do one of the walking tours - we did the Jack the Ripper walk and the Alleys, Apparitions and Ales walk. Both were lots of fun.

Yeah, I know. Ha. I have pretty much made a list of everything we would want to do if we can. Then we will see how it goes. Some of them we won't be going inside (like the Tower Bridge and Big Ben) so we will pretty much see them and move on. But we definitely don't want to be rushed and want to be able to stop and enjoy things as much as possible. So we won't be disapointed if we only get to a few things. We just want to have a list of all of the things so that we don't ever get to a point where we do have extra time and then be like, oh what should we do now. If we have a couple of extra hours we can say okay, here are the other things on our list... which one should we see.
I am excited to do any of it!

 

[minneylovesmicky]

It is! I have heard good things so hopefully it will live up to it!!
Tickets to wicked! Cool!!

We are there in February, we are hoping it is good too, will give you a review upon our return if you like

Looking forward to wicked too, heard good things about it

 

[annegirl]

We are there in February, we are hoping it is good too, will give you a review upon our return if you like

Looking forward to wicked too, heard good things about it

Yes! I would love to hear your review of it!!