Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace

What could be more iconic than the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace?

It happens pretty much everyday at 11:30am and lasts for about 45 minutes.

Little did I know that half the tourist population in London would all be waiting at Buckingham Palace to view this with me.

Wimbledon... front row seats!

The name "Wimbledon" conjures up images of tennis balls, racquets, athleticism, drama, skimpy outfits.... oh wait, I digress... again....

Wimbledon is a town SW of London. It is also home, and much more renowned for, the internationally famous tennis tournaments of the same name.

Istanbul. FKA: Constantinople. FKA: Byzantium.

The flight from London to Istanbul is just under 4 hours. 

Istanbul is located on the Bosporus Strait, which is the link between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

The city straddles two continents with one foot in Europe and the other foot in Asia. This made it a strategic location as a transit for trade, commerce.... and a magnet for armies to conque

Scones and Clotted Cream

An iconic British staple is scones and clotted cream.

I don't know about you, but the term "clotted cream" does not sound appetizing to me. I have visions of milk or cream that has curdled and has lumps in it. Bllllggghhhhh.

Well..... after cautiously tasting it, I would have described it as light and creamy whipped butter. Actually, very delicious!

So being curious I had to look up "clotted cream".

Thanks to wikipedia, I now know: Clotted cream is a thick cream made by indirectly heating full-cream cow's milk using steam or a water bath and then leaving it in shallow pans to cool slowly. During this time, the cream content rises to the surface and forms "clots" or "clouts".

John gives it "Two Thumbs Up"!

The Cotswolds

Everybody kept telling us how pretty the Cotswolds are. So, we decided it was time to break down and rent a car to check it out for ourselves. 

 

(This was our first, and so far, only, driving adventure in the UK. The roads are still safe and we are still car-less and loving it!)