Oxford - The City of Dreaming Spires

We spent Saturday afternoon in beautiful Oxford - on the student's graduation day! What an experience! We toured Christ Church College - the inspiration for both Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter. For me, as both an Elementary Education and an English major, this was a dream day!

Christ Church College. Ross and I joked that it looks like I am jumping up, trying to stick my head in this picture. I really wasn't! :)

The Famous Dining Hall. Inspiration for Hogwarts, Harry Potter's wizardry school. The movie was not actually filmed here, but every detail was re-created on a separate set for the movie. However, you walk in and can just hear the theme song (do, do, do, do , do, do do) and see the floating candles!!

At this point the hair does channel Hermione Granger, yes?

The Dreaming Spires!

The Sighing Bridge. Wardens of the school keep watch up here to catch all those students breaking curfew! It's called the Sighing Bridge as the students sigh (Ugh!) upon being caught!

Warr's Harley Davidson, Imperial War Museum, Picadilly Circus, Leicester Square, and Covent Garden

We found Europe's oldest Harley Davidson dealer!

The Imperial War Museum had fascinating exhibits concerning both World Wars and an extremely moving Holocaust exhibit. It was an incredibly informative and emotional day!

A section of the Berlin Wall.

Picadilly Circus and the Statue of Eros.

We did a lot of walking on Sunday - but had a great day enjoying the sights and sounds of London. What a city!

The Eiffel Tower - The View from the Top!

Just one of the amazing views from the Eiffel Tower.

Champagne lunch in the Eiffel Tower. Yum!

C'est Magnifique, no?

The newlyweds!

After a quick bus tour of Paris to see the Champs Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe, we then arrived at the Eiffel Tower. We had a wonderful lunch inside the Tower and then walked the calories off as we made the trek up 688 steps to the middle deck. Whew! But what a view...

Scenes from the Seine River Cruise

Notre Dame Cathedral

The most romantic bridge in Paris. As you go under, close your eyes and make a wish!

The river cruise gave us some great views of the City of Lights. We cruised along listening to La Vie en Rose. Paris is truly just how you picture it!

An afternoon at the Louvre

The famous glass pyramids. Designed by I.M. Pei.
Winged Victory

Venus de Milo


Mona Lisa (smile!)
It is behind glass, so it was tricky to get a picture without a glare.

The day in Paris concluded with a whirlwind trip to the Louvre. The glass pyramids are so beautiful! It was incredibly crowded, but our tour guide got us in quickly and navigated us directly to the most famous pieces. Winged Victory, Venus de Milo, and, of course, the Mona Lisa. It was amazing! To stand and see some of the most beautiful pieces of artwork is awe-inspiring. This is definitely on the agenda for next time. As our lovely tour guide, Charlotte says, "Next time, you spend zee week in Paree and only one day in London!"

It was a wonderful week in two of the most beautiful cities in the world. We were blessed with traveling mercies the whole way and are grateful for such an amazing honeymoon experience. We are already talking about heading back over soon! These are just a few of the hundreds of pictures we took. We can't wait to catch up with all of you!

Greetings from London!

It is hard to believe but we are nearing the end of our "brilliant" honeymoon. The week has flown by! We have some great pictures to add to the blog when we get home. Highlights so far: St. Paul's Cathedral (where Princess Diana married Prince Charles - I stood on those same steps!!!), Tower of London, Althorp (27 Diana dresses and the wedding gown - Ross was a trooper!), Imperial War Museum, navigating the Tube with ease, Picadilly Circus, Leicester Square, Covent Garden, Warwick Castle, Stratford, Oxford, Big Ben , Parliament, the London Eye - whew! Tomorrow is Paris and Tuesday we arrive back in the states. We are already planning the next trip back and Ross admitted he would live here! He also ate a tomato! Who knew? See everyone soon!

Countdown to the Big Honeymoon!

After a little bit of passport drama (it seems I legally changed my name on every document except my passport) which allowed me to spend a beautiful day at the Philadelphia Customs House (think MVA on steroids), we are now just days away from our long awaited, much anticipated trip. A little last minute change will enable us to spend the final day of our honeymoon in Paris with a champagne lunch at the Eiffel Tower (oh la la!). ;) The summer is flying by and we enjoyed the Bel Air Fourth of July parade and seeing the fireworks from our backyard! We are hoping to be able to update the blog while we are away...stay tuned. Cherrio!