About Me

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Delta, British Columbia, Canada
I took very early retirement from teaching in '06 and did some traveling in Europe and the UK before settling down to do some private tutoring. As a voracious reader, I have many books waiting in line for me to read. Tell me I shouldn't read something, and I will. I'm a happy, optimistic person and I love to travel and through that believe that life can be a continuous learning experience. I'm looking forward to traveling more some day. I enjoy walking, cycling, water aerobics & and sports like tennis, volleyball, and fastpitch/baseball. I'm just getting into photography as a hobby and I'm enjoying learning all the bits and bobs of my digital camera. My family is everything to me and I'm delighted to be the mother of two girls and the Gramma of a boy and a girl. I may be a Gramma, but I'm at heart just a girl who wants to have fun.

Sunday, April 03, 2011

L is for London, Looe, and Leeds Castle

In keeping with my theme of "destinations," I was checking my photo albums for place names beginning with the letter L. There were so many that I decided to narrow it down to telling you about when I took D1 on a tour of England, Scotland, and Wales. This post will focus on a few places in England that we visited and really enjoyed. I'll save Scotland and Wales for another time. I also rummaged around for the journal I keep when I'm travelling and found the notes I made on that trip in August, 1998. I will ask you to forgive the quality of the photos as there weren't digital cameras then - these are all scanned from the photos I took with my old Ricoh. First comes LONDON, of course! We had a wonderful few days there touring around on the "hop on/hop off" bus. From my journal: A day in London showing Jamie the sights - we walked up to the Victoria & Albert Museum and got on the London Pride. We went up to see Madame Tussaud's, but there was a double line all the way around the block! So back on the bus and to Rock Circus in Picadilly. That was pretty good - then the Fashion Cafe for lunch...We got off the bus at Trafalgar Square and walked the Mall to the palace and then saw the Horse Guards on inspection... Here's Jamie posing in front of Big Ben. Next stop is LOOE, a small coastal town and fishing port about 20 miles (32 km) from Plymouth. "...very pretty with lots of seagulls and boats." Apparently, the village has a history of smuggling when Barbary pirates (Muslims from north Africa) swept in and captured 80 people from Looe and took them into slavery! Here's Jamie on the pier at Looe. The third spot, one of my favourites of the entire trip, was a visit to LEEDS Castle in Kent, southeast of London. We stayed a long time here, exploring the Aviary, the castle island, and the Maze (in which we got lost!) I would definitely go back to Leeds Castle on my own and take a picnic lunch to eat on the vast lawns. Here are some photos of us. I eventually gave up on the Maze, allowing the guide to help me through, but Jamie persevered and finally joined me on the Mound where the guide kindly took our photo. We weren't finished yet, though, because in order to get out, we had to find our way through the Grotto, which was rather dark, wet, and eerie. But we managed and had a good laugh afterwards. The last place I want to highlight is Coventry. I know it doesn't begin with the letter L, but it was the home of the famous, or should I say "notorious" LADY Godiva! "We saw the old and new cathedrals in Coventry and the statue of Lady Godiva..." According to legend, Godiva's husband would only reduce taxes on his tenants if she would strip naked and ride through the town covered only by her long hair. She took him up on it, issuing a proclamation that all villagers were to stay indoors with windows shut. One man (afterwards known as Peeping Tom) disobeyed the proclamation, boring a hole through his shutters and peeped at her. He was immediately struck blind! My best memory of the city of Coventry, though, is more about the old cathedral that was bombed on November 14, 1940, during WW2, leaving only a shell and the spire. The new cathedral, St. Michael's, was built immediately beside the original site and I took a photo of Jamie standing in front of the wall with the impressive sculpture of "St. Michael's Victory over Satan." I want to show you a close-up photo of the statue as well as the one I took of Jamie standing beneath it - it shows the Largeness of the statue...


















I hope you enjoyed this little bit of London, Looe, Leeds Castle, and the story of Lady Godiva from Coventry. When we get to the letters S and W, I'll tell you all about Loch Ness and Llangollen. Until then, remember to check out the other contributions to ABC Wednesday, the brainchild of Mrs. Nesbitt at this link.

31 comments:

Roger Owen Green said...

I would have definitely have gotten LOST in the maze myself. I'd better get cracking my post!

ROG, ABC Wednesday team

Anne in Oxfordshire said...

You have been to more places in England than me ... I used to live quite near to Coventry .. never been, passed through on the train and in the car.. not been to Looe either ... but of course I have been to London .. not Madame Tussaud's though .. we think it is a bit of a rip off.

Liz Hinds said...

Looe is lovely. But I like visiting London too. There is a famous name around every corner.

Sylvia K said...

Terrific post for the L Day, Leslie!! Love your photos! Always wanted to visit England! Who knows maybe someday! Hope you have a great week!

Sylvia

Jane and Chris said...

I was born and grew up in Coventry!
This was an especially lovely post for me.
Jane x

Cezar and Léia said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Cezar and Léia said...

Bonjour dear Leslie,
I love your post, your pictures are fabulous and I must say that I LOVE LONDON as well! :)
hugs
Léia

Cezar and Léia said...

Bonjour dear Leslie,
I love your post, your pictures are fabulous and I must say that I LOVE LONDON as well! :)
hugs
Léia

mrsnesbitt said...

Well next time you are over here we will have to go to the OTHER Leeds castle - here in yorkshire!

Hildred said...

Lovely post, Leslie, - you visited some wonderful places in London and area and thank you for sharing them.

Reader Wil said...

Thank you Leslie! This was a wonderful trip, very enjoyable!

photowannabe said...

Love your trip though London. I would love to go there one day. thatwall sculpture of ST. Michael is huge. Thanks for the comparison. Isn't it wonderful to travel with the kids and have such special times together?

EG CameraGirl said...

Thanks for the tour, Leslie! I LOVED LONDON when I was there. :)

Gerald (SK14) said...

You did well to miss Tussauds - I've heard about the maze at Leeds Castle, never been, nor to Looe either - looks a lovely place.

Meryl said...

Lovely look at London and its environs. The maze Looks Like a Lot of fun, and the hedge Looked Low enough to ensure not getting Lost...LOL

Amanda said...

Have been meaning to go to Leeds Castle for ages and your post has been a good reminder!

Gigi Ann said...

Lovely tour, thanks for sharing all the interesting places and info.

Carver said...

Great post Leslie. I enjoyed the places you took us. Some I've visited myself and they brought back memories.

Tumblewords: said...

Looe, Looe, I think I love Looe. I could hang out there until it was a little past time to go to the next Lovely place. What a fun trip...

Chubskulit Rose said...

Beautiful and LOVELY choice for L.

Paula Scott Molokai Girl Studio said...

WoW! What a tour!! Lots of things to see.

Shooting Parrots said...

Great photo of St Michael. He's my favoutite angel, more Rambo than cherub!

Su-sieee! Mac said...

Yes, I did enjoy your trip. Thank you very much. That statue is amazing!

Marana said...

Warm regards to Leslie from another LESLEY. Mine is up! ABC Challenge

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

I went to your Goodbye my love site. Did you finish your book project?

I too had to say goodbye, but to my baby 21 years ago. I just finished my goodbye book, and waiting the next stage to get it printed.

Joy said...

I'd always plump for a guide in a mazes, absolutely no sense of direction. Thanks for the guided tour, I always think visitors to a country see a lot more than the residents. I can only tick off London and Coventry on your list.

ChrisJ said...

Hi Leslie. I feel like saying, "Oh you're MY Leslie" because you have visited my blog and posted comments and I recognized you. You have done a great job on hosting this ABC Wednesday. Being a former Brit I found it most interesting. That sculpture of St. Michael is magnificent. I have never been to Coventry or Looe, but I have been many times to London.

Wanda said...

Boy, Leslie, YOU know how to travel. Loved all the pictures, and tht maze is something else.

Beverley Baird said...

What a wonderful tour of England. I was in London in 1973 and loved my trip! I wish I had been to a few other places. Look like you both had a great trip!

Berowne said...

Nice travel writing -- thanks.

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Thanks for the memories of home, Leslie.