Welcome to England, Mom!

I felt a bit like a kid again as I awaited Mom's arrival at Heathrow. Watching all of the family reunions as the visitors stepped out of the baggage hall actually had me a bit emotional for my own mini family reunion! No need to point out that I may be a bit hormonal these days.

To break up the travel time I took her to Windsor Castle on the way home. Here she is with one of the guards! Thursday we woke up and headed for Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Winston Churchill. It is located about 45 minutes from here, just outside of Oxford. This palace is built on royal ground and was given to the first Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill, for his victory at the battle of Blenheim. This place is spectacular and the current Duke and Duchess of Marlborough still live in it! As I mentioned, Winston Churchill was born and raised here and there is an exhibit featuring his life and work, as well as an exhibit upstairs that walks you through the history of the palace and all of its occupants over the generations. Well worth the visit!

Friday I wanted to show her Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. I have already written about it so I won't repeat but we had a nice day, although I did have a few battles with my GPS system along the way! After two days of traipsing through grand houses with extensive grounds, Mom opted for a day of rest and relaxation today, Saturday. While she did that, Mike and I piled our bikes in the car and headed for Chiseldon to ride our bikes to Marlborough along the old railway trail - no cars!! It was fabulous. We had lunch in town before pedaling back to find that Mom did not exactly rest all day. All of my ironing was done when I returned!

Tomorrow we have reservations at a very popular Spanish Tapas restaurant called Los Gatos. Once a month on Sunday they serve traditional Spanish Paella for brunch so it should be a treat. Monday will be an early morning as we head to Heathrow to catch our flight to Dublin! I am really looking forward to 5 days of Irish travels. Stay tuned...