Europe Photos

Ok, I said I'd put up some vacation photos. I realize that I didn't take a lot of tourist photos since I've been to England so often. But, here's a sampling...

Though we didn't go up the Eiffel Tower, we did mill about underneath it, avoiding the guys selling kitchy mini Eiffel Towers. How do they expect to sell anything when, literally, there is a guy every 10 feet selling the same junk?!

This is me in front of the Paris National Library. It houses the National archives, etc., which at the moment aren't actually in this building since it is being renovated.

We spent one day out at Hampton Court Palace, the home of King Henry VIII. It is so beautiful! Not really Palace or castle like, more of an amazing manor home that is HUGE! Gorgeous gardens, rich dark wood panelling, and interesting to see how they lived back then. This is my cousin Helen (no, our mothers were not original with name choosing) with me. Oh, there is also a hedge maze in one of the gardens. My daughter was worried about us getting lost and I said we'd just send up a red flair with our wands (please tell me you all got the Harry Potter reference)!

Along the way I pointed out great reading spots and this was one of them. This was a garden at Hampton Court Palace that was surrounded on all sides by buildings. It had flowers and herbs so the smell was subtle and flavorful! There was sun (which you can't really see in the photo) and I thought. Yes, this is where I would have read if I had been Queen or a lady in waiting....

This was another great reading spot. It's in the garden that runs along the Seine River in Paris and is adjacent to the Louvre Museum. Nice and shady with a couple cafes for a refreshing drink!