London - February 2025

We will be traveling to London three times a year to attend a UK-based Diamond Approach group.  London is a very easy direct flight from Porto to Gatwick that takes only 2 hours. Our friend Dasha has also joined the group. This was our first weekend retreat and we tagged on four extra days to explore London. I haven't been here since 1985 and don't really remember much at all about visiting here.

I think the Tube is one of the easier subway systems in the world. You never have to wait long for a train and can get most places without a lot of walking.

Our Airbnb is right across the street from the Barons Court Station.

The apartment was the top floor of the building straight ahead.

It was quite spacious and perfect for three people to share.

The only downfall was the train tracks were right outside this window. But since it's winter, it wasn't bad with the windows sealed.

I liked walking in the very old graveyard across the street.

The retreat venue is fantastic!

Our group has the whole top floor with those fabulous windows.

London has such diverse architecture.

We try to eat at as many food halls as we can. The Mercato Mayfair is in an old church.

St. Mark's Church was deconsecrated in 1974 and was included on English Heritage’s “Buildings at Risk” register for over 20 years. It was refurbished as a Food Hall in 2018 and now has nearly 20 food vendors.

I'm always happy to have Indian food!

We didn't know what to do on our first night in the drizzly weather. So we did something we rarely do - an open air bus tour.

The top flat at One Hyde Park was sold for £140,000,000 to a Qatari prince (about $181 million).

Harrods department store has 330 departments and 4000 people on their payroll. They also had the first-ever escalator (1897). People were afraid of the moving stairs so they gave them a shot of brandy to give them liquid courage!

Picadilly Circus is second to only Times Square on how expensive it is to advertise.

Brutalist architecture.

Probably our first and last open-air bus tour. It's hard to take a photo and we zoom by so fast. Oh yeah... $73 for two of us.

The London Eye will set you back £29 per person ($37). It's much better to take photos OF it than ON it.

Big Ben in the background. Everyone thinks Big Ben is the clock, but it's actually the bell.

The London skyline is very interesting in every direction. The building on the left is nicknamed the Walkie-Talkie.

Here is is from a different view, showcasing the old and the new.

More old and new - the London Fort and the Shard. The Shard is the tallest building in the UK open for guests to use as a viewing platform.

The Lloyds of London building is amazing except you can't get a photo of the whole building. Too many buildings around it.

This building in nicknamed The Gherkin.

Apparently, many Londoners hate the Minster Court building. It was used to portray Cruella DeVil’s office in 101 Dalmatians.

The Tower Bridge.

The iconic red telephone boxes were introduced in 1926. However, at the time they were green. People decided that the green blended into the natural background for people speeding by in their new cars. Obviously, London had way more trees then. So they painted the telephone booths red.

Wow ... $193!!

So... London Tea is a big deal. One of the cheaper places is The Fortnum's Bar & Restaurant at The Royal Exchange. It will still run you about $50 per person. The more expensive places can cost up to $240 per person!

After watching "The Brutalist" and learning about Brutalist architecture, we are spotting buildings everywhere. After the Second World War, London saw a huge amount of Brutalist buildings built. The use of block concrete is the easiest and cheapest way to build many buildings as fast as possible. But it was a short lived movement, and by the 1980s this style of building design had fallen out of favor completely. The buildings that remain help to tell us the fascinating history of London's post-war reconstruction. This is the Trellick Tower that has seen cycles of disrepair and revival since it's inception in 1972.

The houseboats of Regents Canal (8 miles long).

You can't walk far in London without ending up in a park.

Eating lunch at Ria's World which advertises that it's the "Home of Detroit-Style Pizza". I'm from Michigan and I didn't even know Detroit style pizza exists. But it was VERY good because the crust was also made of cheese.

We are walking to catch the Uber boat on the Thames.

Our friend James is taking us to a Greenwich Pub for pie and mash.

However, it was closed and we had to settle for this nearby pub.

Loving the Bangers and Mash! Three of us opted for Glamorgan Bangers (sausage) that were plant based.

We got the last three tickets to see Kyoto @sohoplace. It's billed as a "riveting, fast-paced political thriller about the Kyoto (climate change) Accords".

Our seats were great since the entire play was in this circle. The play was also excellent.

Our last day. I spent some time at the British Museum because I was heading to a movie theater to see a foreign film with English subtitles. I can't see any movies in Portugal in a foreign language because it's only Portuguese subtitles. Time to take advantage of speaking English!

I really liked the African exhibit at the British Museum.

I love that most museums in London are free!

A beautiful view outside the Tate.

It truly was London weather because it drizzled every day. I felt like I was in Portland again!

Salisbury - April 2025
We took an unexpected last-minute trip to visit Dasha who is petsitting in a small town southwest of London. 

We stayed at the Red Lion Hotel. It is Europe’s oldest purpose-built hotel, dating back to the 13th century when it was used to house the stone masons building nearby Salisbury Cathedral.

Cute...

... but dated and tired. The floors were slanted and very creaky.

Small town English charm.

Dasha was petsitting in a rural neighborhood.

So we took many long country walks.

Salisbury Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral and a leading example of early Gothic architecture. The main body of the building was completed between 1220 and 1258. It has the tallest church spire in the United Kingdom.

Flo (dog) was obsessed with playing ball.

On our way to Stonehenge and coming across some very unique country houses.

Instead of paying over $30 per person to see Stonehenge, we walked through large fields to see it.

Although the people you see paid to get in, they still aren't allowed to go inside. We saved nearly $100 (three of us) and saw it from slightly further away.

It really is gorgeous countryside!!