The Adventures of Mr. Bear Continue...

NEXT STOP: India!

To follow my future travels, you can find my new blogs here...

http://travelsofmrbear.wordpress.com/

Happy Travels!
~Mr. Bear

Farewell to the UK!

It has been an amazing experience in England!  Thank you for following my adventures as I traveled this beautiful and exciting country!  Here are a few last photos... looking forward to sharing my next journey with you! :)

Signing off for now, safe travels!
~Mr.Bear

British Museum

Today we finally made it to the British Museum, and managed to pick a perfectly rainy day to spend indoors.  This museum has an incredibly massive collection of artwork from all over the world... there was no way to see it all in a day!  We spent a lot of time in the huge Library section and also the Asian art section.  The Rosetta Stone is kept there, of course there was a crowd gathered around, but once we got through, it was pretty amazing to see up close.

~Mr. Bear

City of Bath

Last stop on our tour was the City of Bath.  The architecture is absolutely beautiful here and we stopped in a square where we saw Bath Abbey.  Also in this square is an old Roman open-air bath house that uses natural hot spring water.  We were advised not to touch the water, but I did hold my paw over one of the small streams and I could feel the warmth.  The steam coming off the pools made it look like a very relaxing place for a bear to bathe.

 

There was a lovely display of poppies outside Bath Abbey and we also noticed one at Westminster Abbey this weekend.  You see many people wearing poppies on their coat to honor the veterans.  November 11th is the official Remembrance Day, but we saw poppies everywhere the whole month of November.  It is a really beautiful tradition to honor the soldiers who have been lost during their service.

Stonehenge

This circle of mysteriously stacked rocks is a popular tourist attraction.  We spent most of our time just staring at these big rocks and trying to fit all of them in a photo.  The animals hanging around this spot seemed to stare at us like they didn't understand what was the big deal.  There are ravens that perch all over the rocks and make nests in the cracks.  The fields surrounding the stones have herds of sheep that work all day to keep the grass nice and trim.  The thought of these stones just standing there for thousands of years and the nice cloudy day made for a peaceful reflective experience.

Next Stop: City of Bath

Windsor Castle

We took an all day bus tour to fit in all the sights we still had left on our list to visit.  First stop was Windsor Castle where Queen Elizabeth II lives when she is not at Buckingham Palace.  Windsor Castle is the world’s largest and oldest castle. We visited the State Apartments and saw all of the old furnishings that have been used through generations of royalty. We walked through large rooms still used for royal events today and got to see collections of world famous artwork and photographs of the royal family. The gardens outside the castle are beautiful and we also saw St. George’s chapel, where the tombs of numerous kings and queens reside, including Henry VIII and his third wife Jane Seymour. One of our favorite displays was Queen Mary’s Doll House.  The house was as large as the whole room it was housed in and had so many rooms to look at.  The rooms were all completely decorated with furniture, artwork and all the intricate details you would find inside the castle. We could have spent hours looking at all the little details of the house, from the throne room to the outside gardens. Unfortunately, no photography allowed inside. :(

Next stop: Stonehenge

It's a Duck, It's a Bus, It's a Boat!

While we had some extra free time, we checked out some of the train stations we hadn't stopped at before.  We stopped at Notting Hill and then Paddington of course... a classic stop for bears!

We went on a Duck Tour through London on a duck-shaped bus that turns into a boat so it can go along the River Thames.  There was a large pretty bus and then our bus was the old beat-up one called "Mistress Quickly."  The tour guide said it wasn't the prettiest bus in the fleet, but was very reliable. :)

That evening we went to the London Eye and rode in one of the pods that goes around like a Ferris wheel.  What an amazing view!

~Mr. Bear