After a half day of acclimation and 12 hours of sleep, our first full day was delightful. We easily exceeded our 10,000 steps, which I have been monitoring with a pedometer. The weather has been lovely, cool with intermittant clouds and sun. London is lovely at this time and on our first half day we walked for 4 1/2 hours on a walking tour of Mayfair. Oh how the upper crust lives. The concept of the wealth of the 18 th. century nobility blows my mind. Buckingham castle was fabulous but to see Bleheim and how a Duke lived, Wow!! I find that I have much to aspire to.
And then there are the gardens. Although we are at the end of the season they are still beautiful, both formal and informal. Maybe if I had 300 years of succession with the building of the hardscapes and plantings I could come close. However, Bleheim required a staff full time of 75. Where is good labor when you need it.
Now we are walking through time in lovely, preserved, and spotless clean old English country villages, frequently only a couple of miles apart separated by beautiful rolling fields. I have had several pints and enjoyed how the current generation has improved on the classic Brittish cooking. I have enjoyed liver and onions, lamb shanks, braised beef and fish and chips in beer batter. Lovely!
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