England

Who came from or spent time in London?  We found a few likely suspects at Madame Tussauds, Sherlock Holmes address, Abbey Road and a special exhibit of James Bond vehicles.

Queen Elizabeth II has surpassed even Queen Victoria, her great great grandmother, in the length of her reign.  To celebrate the Queen's 90th birthday, Buckingham Palace displayed 65 years of her royal wardrobe, including hits and [...]

Stratford-on-Avon is the birthplaceof the world's most famous playwright, William Shakespeare. We were delighted to meet Falstaff, one of Shakespeare'sbest comedic characters, during the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Henry IV.  He's a liar, a braggart, a glutton and a coward, [...]

Inside Christchurch cathedral lies a sepulcher (fancy name for a stone coffin) of an actual knight.  He was huge, 6ft. 6 in., especially by 14th century standards. His pillow is an ox head - for Oxford? His trusty pet dog is curled up [...]

Christchurch is not known for its religious or racial diversity.  In 2011, the British Prime Minister said his alma matter'sadmission figures were "disgraceful".Christchurch in Oxford, England is both a cathedraland a prestigious college, producing no less thanthirteen British Prime Ministers.John Locke, [...]

A graceful black swan sets off the view of ArlingtonRow.  Built in 1830 as monastic wool stores, thesewere later used as weaver's cottages.  Henry Fordonce tried to buy then entire row and have it shippedto [...]

During the Roman occupation of Britain, in 60-70AD,the natural hot springs under the city of Bath were harnessed.The Roman Baths included the calderium (hot),tepidarium (warm) and frigidarium (cold) baths.Romans used them not only for bathing, [...]

Stonehenge is in the middle of nowhere, in a grassy Wiltshire countryside about 90 miles from London.  Sheep were peacefully grazing around, stopping to chew their cud occasionally, and stare at the monument. About 1.3 million visitors a year make the trek [...]

Wow - the actual Rosetta Stone, inscribed in 196 BC is a decree on behalf of Egyptian King Ptolemy. Written in three languages (Egyptian Hieroglyphics, Demotic and Ancient Greek) it was studied for decades after it was [...]

For over 350 years, different Punch and Judy showshave performed puppet anarchy, in front of delightfully squealing children whose parents laugh in shock at antics involving losing children, mocking authority and lying to each other.  Audience participation is a part of [...]

Serpentine Bridge at Kensington Gardens, with seagulls standing at attention. Along the lakeshore at Kensington Gardens,mama duck was protecting her fuzzy ducklingsfrom some aggressive swans.  Quite the outburst!Kings Staircase at Kensington Palace, wheretromp l' oeil (fool [...]

Larger than life Winston Churchill, Prime Ministerof the UK from 1940-45 and again 1951-55.Widely regarded as one of the great wartime leadersof the 20th century, he's the only British PM towin a Nobel Prize in [...]