Phase 3 On Our Own in Paris

 July 1 - Canada Day! A new month, and for us, another adventure to a new country! "Phase 3" of our trip, and we were about to find out if my months of researching tips and refreshing my French skills would be worth it. No more following someone else's instructions on where to be and when!

We had booked our Eurostar tickets months ago. There was (is?) exactly 1 train from London to Disneyland Paris that day. I knew that the train company would not even let us begin lining up more than 90 minutes before departure, so there was no point in arriving much earlier than that. However, we also were hoping to get just a bit more "touristy" stuff done, and see the actual King's Cross Station of Harry Potter fame. So, I made the family get up and pack in time to meet our pre-booked taxi at 7:30am.

As we stood outside waiting, just a minute before 7:30, the app notified us that there were no drivers available to pick us up. 🙄 This was the second time this had happened, so my advice to people now is to not bother pre-booking a ride. It's useless. I "canceled" the request, went to the main page, and requested an immediate pickup. We had a reply within 1 minute, and the car arrived about 5 minutes later, and off we went.

Once again the naming of streets and destinations in London almost had us taken to the wrong place (King's Cross station is on Euston Road, but there is also a Euston station which is nowhere near Euston Road...because sure, that makes total sense...and the app's display of names apparently is backwards to what my brain intuitively thinks it should be. I actually have no idea what went wrong. I could've bet a million dollars I picked "King's Cross Station" as the destination. The driver's app said otherwise.).  Luckily we had a chatty driver who understood where we REALLY wanted to go, and got us there with no issues. We just had to pay him the difference in fare between what the app charged and what we really needed to pay. I waited for him to punch in the amount on his card reader and watched him hit the "no" response to the question of whether I wanted to tip. I was a bit sad by that because we had no cash and I really DID want to tip him! I hope he got a bunch of generous passengers the rest of the day to make up for it. 

We arrived with enough time to visit the photo op and store in King's Cross:

From here, we walked across the street to St. Pancras (which Curt and I will always and forever pronounce as "pancreas") Station, and figured out the lay of the land there. We got our first "Pret" breakfast, and ate while we waited to be allowed to line up. Our train departure time was a few minutes later than scheduled, but we didn't wait terribly long. The line to get through security and customs/immigration was long and stressfully slow  (I think this was the only time I was completely stressed on this trip, because there was no "Plan B" if we missed this train). We first had to show our Covid vaccination cards, and then go through security bag scanners like at the airport. On the other side of that, we had our passports stamped for exiting the UK, and then another line to get stamped to enter France. It seemed like it took forever but in the end we made it on the train with time to spare.

We had another meal on the train, as we traveled at just under 200 mph (300 kph). Every time we went underground or through a tunnel, our ears popped like taking off in a plane. It was pretty awesome, if rather uncomfortable at those times!

We got off the train at the Disneyland stop, and followed the crowds out to the street exit. There were shuttle buses, but not free - and our hotel was less than a mile walk. So we took our suitcases through the park security and found our way through Disney Village to our hotel, Newport Bay Club.

Walkway to our hotel in the distance.

Hotel lobby and gift shop

We got to the room, dropped the bags off, and changed into "park clothes" (it was a good 15 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than London here!).

View from our balcony

And we headed off to Disneyland!

Disneyland Paris, Day 1

We had no plans for tonight, other than to try to dine at Annette's Diner (which does not take advanced reservations) and try to stay up late enough to see the fireworks at the castle (scheduled at 11pm). 

We took our time approaching the park. The entrance is actually a hotel (that is currently closed for renovations) surrounded by winding pathways, lovely gardens, fountains and of course the iconic Mickey Mouse garden. 

As soon as we entered, we took our special castle selfie of the day.

And then right around the corner, we caught a parade! 

We stood and watched that, and then proceeded directly to the family's #1 priority ride: Hyperspace Mountain!  This was their version of Space Mountain, but had a Star Wars overlay temporarily. It was a great ride, we all loved it, and it was the first coaster Curt's been on in at least 4 years. He survived! 

We got off this and decided to do Buzz Lightyear Laser Blast which was almost identical to SpaceRanger Spin in WDW. 

After this we were hungry and made our way out of the park, along with what felt like every other person in the place. I was very concerned that we were going to be fighting crowds for a table, but it turns out that most of them were leaving the park entirely. We made it to Annette's Diner, and had a lovely meal.

We went right back to the park after dinner, and explored Frontierland, through to Adventureland, making our way over to Pirates of the Caribbean. 

Pirates was amazing, and so much better than the one at WDW! We all loved it! We also explored the caves, the fort, made our way over to Fantasyland (mostly for the bathrooms) and then decided to live some nostalgia and ride Snow White and the Seven Dwarves - the Florida version of this closed 10 years ago and S has no memories of it. After this, we did a family ride on the carousel, because yes - me and carousels!!

Then the girls rode the Tea Cups.

Then we made our way to Big Thunder Mountain as our last ride of the night. (S fell in love and declares this now her favorite ride.) We made it from there up to the front of the castle to get a spot to watch the fireworks and drone show. 

Yes, this is 11 o'clock at night!

After the fireworks the parks were closed, so with nothing else to do, we headed back to the room to end our long, and totally amazing day.

More pictures: https://link.shutterfly.com/zkxv2ayA9rb

Return to London

 Our final day of this phase of our trip was short and sweet. It's funny, but when I ask my family what they remember about this day, it's "not much". We were all really looking forward to getting back to the Park Plaza County Hall hotel where we had stayed in London at the start of this trip, just for something that felt "familiar" for a change!

The drive through the Costwolds was as picturesque as I'd ever heard it was, and though we didn't get off the coach at any time, we did get to drive slowly through delightful little towns. I still adore authentic thatched-roofs!!

To break up the trip from Stratford-Upon-Avon to London, we got to spend a few hours exploring Oxford, and Oxford College. We left the hotel at 8am, after breakfast of course, and arrived in Oxford shortly after. Darren once again gave us a walking tour to orient us to the city, and to pick a place to meet up when it was time to go.

Darren waiting for half the group to cross the road.

We were left on our own just outside a little market that reminded me very much of the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia. We shopped around and grabbed some food from a couple of the vendors, and then headed back outside towards the Oxford University campus. 

They were holding some kind of Open House day, and the prefects kept asking us if we were part of the tours...which, honestly, we really looked like all the other families with University-aged kids wandering around! LOL 

N looks like she belongs here, doesn't she?

The campus is full of stunning buildings and beautiful architecture. I didn't know where to look, first. 

Shortly after this, we managed to gather for a group shot. I just remembered I never got that picture, and just emailed our Travel Director to bug him for it! Watch for that, later!

Bored of looking at old buildings, and some of us needing a bathroom, we made our way over to the Ashmolean Museum, just a short walk away. Luckily, museums in Oxford are free to enter! We made a small donation, found our way to the loos, and then spent the rest of our time wandering through the displays of some of the collection. I was stunned by the fact that some of the marble statues were dated back to 800-300 BC...rocks that were shaped into art by humans literally some THREE thousand years ago! 

At 12:30 we were all gathered again (in front of yet another Harry Potter store!) and made our way back to the coach.

One final stop to learn and see more "historical crap", with a brief visit to the grave of Winston Churchill. The girls didn't even get off the bus for this one - they were so done with seeing "rocks, and more rocks, and oh look - another rock". And yep, I get it, kiddos! But still, I couldn't pass up the chance to stretch my legs, and pay homage to this formidable man whom I deeply respect, based on all I've read about him.

There were some much, much older graves here, too. It always saddens me to see how many children's graves and memorials there are, but they are beautiful, and remembered.

Finally, we arrived back at our hotel in London. We said our goodbyes and got our hugs from Darren and Gary, and took our bags and belongings (no more porter service!). We checked in, grabbed dinner with some of the other tour group in the hotel's restaurant and discussed our "going home/elsewhere" plans. We made sure our train tickets were all set for the next day, and consulted our concierge for the best way to get to the train station. I'd planned to use the Underground, but was talked into getting another cab to make it a bit less stressful. I put in the order for a "seats 6" cab on the Freenow app for the following morning pickup time, and we retired to bed.

The rest of the pictures: https://link.shutterfly.com/Pmtkm49x4rb

A Day of Shakespeare

This leg of our trip was winding down, and we could really feel our enthusiasm flagging. The family discussion on the coach to York yesterday revealed that only N was really eager to visit any of the Shakespeare sites, or do the optional schoolhouse tour. (Until Darren announced there'd be scones at the end of the tour...then I perked up.) However, we were really determined that everyone in the family should get to see and enjoy whatever part of the trip they could, and so we all agreed to go along with N. Boy howdy, we were glad we did in the end! This day brought several pleasantly unexpected memories!

We had an earlier-than-usual start to the day, with our "bags out and breakfast" scheduled for 7am, and the bus departed York at 8am. The trip between cities was fairly short, and I don't think we even stopped for anything...maybe there was a quick bathroom break at a rest stop but nothing picture-worthy. :)

When we arrived in Stratford-Upon-Avon, we were given a brief walking tour so Darren could show us where we had to meet to start our tour of Shakespeare's home and gardens, and then we were left on our own to shop and explore. 

We wandered up and down the quaint town street, reading menus on restaurants (and finding even more Harry Potter themed stores) until we settled on a place where we could all find something to eat for lunch. We chose an outdoor table to soak up the sun and ambience. Zero regrets.

I didn't realize the clouds looked so ominous in this picture. It was sunny most of the time, I remember!

After eating, we met outside of Shakespeare's home for our included tour. Without a castle on the schedule today, we got a "really old building" selfie instead!

We worked our way through the outside garden, first.

Right before entering the house was this really old and "delicate" tree with such an interesting trunk that I had to take a picture to share. The sign reads "I am old and fragile, please do not shake my branches." Same, tree. Same.

Inside the building we got to see how the family would have furnished their home, and how they joined together what was originally 2 buildings into one. I didn't realize we were allowed to take pictures until the second-last room. 😝 

I'll bug the rest of my family for more pictures, if they have any. Check the link at the end of this post!

Immediately after finishing this tour, a small section of our tour group proceeded to the optional tour of the schoolhouse where Shakespeare studied as a boy. We watched a short film about the society that preserves the location, and then were taken upstairs to "meet the schoolmaster", and sit in the very room where Shakespeare and his contemporaries sat for lessons.

Then we moved next door to where the "younger" students were taught, and had our snack of scones and champagne. We got to try on clothes from the era - or as we call it, SCA garb - and try to write calligraphy with quills. 

Then we got to explore one or two final rooms in the building, which were used as town meeting rooms as well as a school.  Here again I got to see the remnants of painted walls that just continue to amaze me.

The actual wall shown in the paintings above.

We finished up all our touring around 4:30pm, and then walked the block or two over to our hotel. This building itself was over 400 years old. Curt and I absolutely loved the whole place. It had such fabulous details, and the rooms were spacious and clean, and really modern despite the age of the building!

N, however, has the exact opposite opinion. She was certain that there was a "spirit" in her room, watching her sleep all night, and she did not enjoy that experience at all!! LOL Who can blame her?

But ghosts or no, the building itself was really cool. Here are a few highlights of the lobby, hallways and rooms.

We say farewell to Trafalgar

Our evening ended with the formal "Farewell Dinner" of the tour. We got a delicious 3 course meal, with 2 free beers each, to say our good-byes to our travel director and tour companions. I can't say we made any fast friends out of this group, although I believe that S did connect with the other two "under 20's" on Instagram. Nevertheless, it was a nice time, and I just realized that we never got the group photo Darren took of us and I need to bug him for that!

If I get more pictures, they'll go here: https://link.shutterfly.com/SegVo4dy4rb

York and a Ghost Walk

Want to hear a confession? I briefly considered telling the travel director that I'd tested positive for Covid, just so I could be left behind in Edinburgh.  LOL! But, there was so much more to see and do on this trip, that the thought was only fleeting, and onward we went!

The morning started with the now-familiar bright-and-early routine:

• 7:30am bags outside the rooms, and breakfast in the hotel
• 8:30am we were on the bus, rolling out of Edinburgh

The trip between Edinburgh, Scotland and York, England is not short. We had a few stops on the way to break up the drive, stretch our legs, and grab some lunch. The first stop was in a town next to yet-another-castle, both named Alnwick (prounced: al-nik)

This one was used for the outside shots of Hogwarts during the quiddich games in the Harry Potter movies, so, that was kinda cool! This wasn't a tour, though, it was just a place to grab a snack, take a bathroom break, and putter around the town for about an hour. On our explorations, N and I found a back entrance into the castle grounds, and made our way around some gardens and a mini-golf course before we had to get back to the coach. We even met a mamma duck and her babies taking a lovely stroll. 

We would have loved to play this course!

From here, we stopped in another local pub for lunch of soup and sandwiches, and afterwards we were given a tour of a small church across the street, St. Andrew at Heddon on the Wall. The church's caretaker was quite proud of the building, and clearly loved to talk about it! We adored the unique bits of architecture here, and the old graves. 

And finally, just before arriving in York, we got to see the "Most Viewed Art Installation" because it sits right next to a gigantic highway and anyone driving past really can't miss it:

I think it's supposed to be an angel?

An Evening in York

We arrived in York right around 4pm, dropped off and taken into the center by Darren.

This...this is what I always believed that all of England looks like. 

Once again, we found out we had arrived too late to get to tour inside anything, like York Minster, which made me a little grumpy. But, we took a (long) walk around just 2 sides of York Minster, which is just *gihungous*...and by that I mean, the word "gigantic" doesn't quite cover it. This building took over 250 years to complete - meaning it took longer to build it than our country has been a country. 🤯Currently there is scaffolding around a section where they are putting a statue of the queen! That's pretty neat!

(Play the video to hear the bells!)

And from here, we entered "The Shambles", the oldest original medieval street in England, and supposedly the inspiration for Diagon Alley from Harry Potter. 

We also found out that the Ghost Walk portion of the evening's "Optional Dinner and Ghost Walk" had to be canceled because the guide had Covid. Our family elected to skip the "Optional Dinner and...", and explore York on our own. We left the tour group and did a bunch of shopping in The Shambles area. There were a ton of Harry Potter themed stores, as you would expect!! A lot of "similar" items, but we realized there's basically one UK-based company that makes aaaalllll the Harry Potter merch...and they sell online. Saved us some suitcase space, and now we have lots of gift ideas for later! After shopping ourselves out, we went back to see more of the York Minster Cathedral, and then finally decided we were hungry. We wandered past this restaurant, which turns out is on the shortest street in England (with the weirdest name!) 

We ate at trio

When we told Darren about this, he informed us that the street is best known for smelling like urine! LOL We didn't notice any such thing, thank goodness!!

After dinner, we knew our rooms would be ready at the hotel, so we made the 1-mile walk. On the way, our bus driver passed us and we gave him a wave. Arriving at the hotel, the bus driver managed to meet us in the street right outside...he had realized when he saw us in town that he had our room keys with him! He handed them over to N, and we went in to find our rooms and bags. 

N and I still had energy and the desire to walk some more. The trusty internet told us that there were several options for ghost walks around town that did not require tickets or reservations in advance. So, we put on our Brave faces, and ventured out to see if we could find one of these tours on our own in a completely unfamiliar city.

We backtracked through many of the streets we'd wandered before, somewhat losing our way, but always able to see the ginormous cathedral to keep our bearings. Finally, we made it to the steps of the cathedral, where we thought there was at least one, maybe two, ghost walks meeting. 

However, we saw no signs or indication of exactly where to go. N noticed someone sitting on the steps of the cathedral. Her observation: "He looks ghosty." She suggested we - meaning I - go ask him for help. 🙄 I worked up the guts to go over, and said "Hello there. We are tourists, and we were hoping to find a ghost walk tonight. Do you happen to know of any?" 

He gestured to himself, and replied "You've found one"...turns out, he was indeed ghosty. 🤣

The tour was just over an hour long, and utterly enjoyable. The gentleman, Ghostly Graham as it happened, was funny, and spooky, and a great story-teller, and N and I had a blast. Completely worth the £20! Plus, it was even cooler to see the buildings with less crowds:

And let me remind you, this picture was taken around 10pm!! It was just so odd going back to the hotel around 10:30, with the sky making it feel like late afternoon. Luckily, all the walking we did today made me exhausted enough that sleep was easy.

More pictures: https://link.shutterfly.com/NE5T4Jod1rb