A Trek Thru the British Isles

My First Visit to England, Ireland, Scotland, The Channel Islands and Paris, France

5.23.11

A few months after my Sailing Through History tour of the Eastern Mediterranean (see earlier Blog Post for details), I felt it was time for another trip to Europe. My personal preference for doing long vacations (12 days or more) overseas is to travel by cruise ship if there is a suitable itinerary. The benefits are being able to visit lots of ports and only having to unpack once and having just about everything, accommodations, food, entertainment, included in one price. Taking a cruise of Australia and New Zealand and the Eastern Mediterranean had worked out fabulously before, so I was very excited about seeing the British Isles in the same fashion. Princess Cruises had a ship, the Crown Princess sailing a 12 day itinerary of the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scotland, the Channel Islands and France that looked wonderful so I booked it right away.

Why the British Isles you may ask? Well for one reason, it is a part of Europe that I had not seen before and second, living in the steamy hot and humid southern United States, I was looking forward to spending some time some place cool and green in the middle of July. So once again I called my Mom and asked her if she was ready for another all girls cruise adventure and she said yes! My husband was left to hold down the fort at home this time, so the second week in July 2010 we flew off to London, England, United Kingdom to begin our trek through the British Isles.

The flights from Montgomery, Alabama to Atlanta, Georgia and Atlanta to London were especially comfortable. Being the determined traveler that I am and doing diligent research on air fares scored us 2 Business Class tickets on Delta for an unbelievably cheap price. My Mom had broken her leg and had surgery some months before and I was worried about her comfort on such a long trip, so getting some good seats on the plane was a major goal of mine in planning the trip. I was also very diligent in picking just the right hotel for our pre-cruise stay in London. Princess had several pre cruise hotel packages to choose from and I wanted something close to Buckingham Palace. The Crown Plaza St. James fit the criteria perfectly!

Crown Plaza St James, London, England UK
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Crown Plaza St James Guest Room
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The Crown Plaza has a luxury spa and courtyard garden, offers 4-star guest rooms and 3 restaurants. Buckingham Palace is just a few blocks away and Victoria is a 10-minute walk. The spacious guest rooms at Crowne Plaza St James have flat-screen TVs and luxurious beds with air-conditioning, a minibar and a modern bathroom that come with bathrobes and slippers.

Arriving at the Crown Plaza early in the morning after a long flight to London were pleasantly surprised to find that our room was ready for check in, so we headed up stairs to relax before heading out to see the city. I loved our room. It was large, bright and spacious with high ceilings and the windows looked out into the courtyard where there was outdoor seating for one of the restaurants and bars. The weather was cool and pleasant and promised to warm up later in the day. Lunch was had from room service, and then, feeling excited and antsy about being in London for the first time, I set off on foot alone headed to Buckingham Palace. Mom decided to stay in and rest as the time difference took some getting used to. The cheerful doorman pointed me in the right direction and before I knew it I was standing in front of the Palace, thrilled to death to see what I had only seen before on TV. It was just 1:00 in the afternoon so I took my time and lots of photos and video, trying to take it all in. My trek was just beginning and I could not wait to see more.

Buckingham Palace
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