Thursday Doors – London 2
London was the first stop on our Europe trip. We bought the Europe land tour package from a travel company and purchased air tickets separately because we wanted a flexible flight schedule.
We arrived in London five days prior to the tour so that we could visit family and friends. After that, we joined our tour for the resting of sightseeing. The tour bus drove us around London to overview the major attractions, then took us back to the hotel. Some people elected to visit places on their own, but we paid for the excursion for the guided tour. On the last day of the tour, we took the cruise around the city on River Thames.
Windsor Castle is in Berkshire, England, and was built as a motte and bailey castle by William the Conqueror (r. 1066-1087). Converted into stone by Henry II of England (r. 1165-1179), the shell keep tower was rebuilt by Edward III of England (r. 1327-1377). The castle is the largest inhabited castle in the world and the official residence of Queen Elizabeth II (r. 1953-).
As part of the admission, we received the audio device for the self-guided tour. It is available in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and Mandarin. When we key in the room’s number or place where we were in, we could hear a full commentary.


Framlingham Castle was built during the 12th century and maintains much of its original features, including its incredible stone architecture and many features that were classic of that era. It is here Mary Tudor, “Bloody Mary,” was crowned Queen. Queen Mary I made no secret of her religious beliefs and she was a devout Catholic upon taking the throne in 1553. To convert England to Catholicism, she would persecute over 300 protestants in the name of religion. This reign of religious terror earned her the nickname of ‘Bloody Mary.’


Buckingham Palace is the London residence and administrative headquarters of the monarchy of the United Kingdom.

Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is a large, mainly Gothic abbey church in London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United Kingdom’s most notable religious buildings and the traditional place of coronation and a burial site and 17 royal weddings.
The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the striking clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London.

The Tower of London, officially Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London.

Tower Bridge is a combined bascule and suspension bridge built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones and engineered by John Wolfe Barry. The double-leaf bascule, movable bridge raises to permit passage of a ship having masts too tall to pass under at this point.

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Your pictures brought back a lot of memories from my visit to London. Such huge places. It makes my head swim.
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Lovely photos, Miriam. I’ve been to some of those places and your photos brought back fond memories.
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That’s wonderful, Debra! I’m thankful for the digital photos especially the last two years when I looked at my photos for my virtual travel. I’m sure you have many precious memories of those places. Thank you for your comments. 😊
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I do have amazing memories of London and actually lived there for six months. This was many years ago, before iPhones, so I used a little instamatic camera. Still have the photo albums 🙂
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I know, Debra. I still have boxes of negatives waiting to be converted to jpegs. I waited for years before getting a cell phone. I used digital camera before the phone. But photos before 2000 are not digital. 😊
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I haven’t been to England yet, but I hope to one day. Great post, Miriam! 😊
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There’s a lot to see in England, Yvette. We’d like to see the castles in Scotland. 😊
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Ah, London. One of my top three favorite cities in the world. I’ve visited it four times so far, and the visits all went too fast. Thanks for bringing me back there. I hope I’ll be able to return sometime. It’s such a walkable city! GREAT photos, btw.
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Oh wow, you’ve been to London four times already, Pam. Our frequent visit is Maui, hubby’s favorite vacation spot. I think we’ve been there five time, I lost count. I would like to see the castles in Scotland someday.
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Hi Miriam, thank you for these great pictures. If we go to the UK in December, we will visit Windsor Castle.
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I really like the grounds of Framlingham. But not so much the history! (K)
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What a fun post and tour, Miriam. I have a secret infatuation with castles and their histories, so this was right up my alley. I can’t wait to head to Europe and indulge. Great pictures too. Thanks for sharing your visit to London! Hugs.
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Me too, Diana. I can’t wait to see the castles in Scotland. I’ve been thinking about that for many years. There are only 150 people living in Windsor Castle. Imagine the upkeep goes into it for a small number of people. Perhaps the admission fee covers it. 😄
I’m packing. 😂
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Packing for Portland? Safe travels, my friend.
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Yes, our flight is at 6:00 am on Thursday. Will get up around 3:30 am. 😁😂
See the aerial view of your house 🏠, my friend! 😍
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🙂
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What a trip! I’d love to see all of these places but particularly Windsor Castle. I think self-guided tours with a listening device are often the best way to go. I’ve enjoyed Alcatraz that way.
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I like the self-guided tours, Pete. I tend to read the tags for the displays and take photos if it’s allowed. Photos are not allowed in Windsor Castle, but I took two without flash, couldn’t help it. 🙂 🙂
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Looks like a wonderful trip, Miriam 🙂 I hope to get there someday.
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I surely hope to do international travel again soon, Denise. We’re planning a trip for 2024. 😊
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Greta pictures of London and area. I love London and have visited a few times. I especially love Windsor Castle and included it in Amanda in England: The Missing Novel. Did you see Queen Mary´s Doll House when you were there? I found it fascinating.
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We saw Queen Mary’s Doll House. Photograph is not allowed. I wish to have taken some indoor photos. I love the ideas of your Amanda books, Darlene!
The glare on the computer/iPad screen bothers my eyes. I’m ordering some anti glare glasses so that I could read for longer hours without having blurry vision.
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The last time I got new glasses they suggested anti-glare and they made a huge difference.
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I’m sure they do, Darlene. I haven’t gotten new glasses for years. I’m sure for new glasses though.
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Great photos of iconic places, Miriam. I like tours also, but husby prefers doing it his way. Luckily, we don’t trvel much together!
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When we started traveling, hubby and I didn’t agree on where to go. Eventually we settled with taking turns to choose. It works for you also not traveling together, Jacqui! When hubby didn’t want to go to certain places, I said I’d go by myself!
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My favorite part of the tour approach is you’re sure not to miss anything important.
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Personally, I like to do sightseeing at my pace without the tour herding us. I always left the tour feeling I want to go back on my own to see the details. Our next trip to Melbourne and New Zealand may be different. My sister-in-law contacts an agent who will make arrangements but we’ll have a car to go places at our pace.
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Thanks for bringing us on the tour with you, Miran. Your photos are wonderful, and you included the right amount of information to make me feel like I know what I saw.
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Thank you, Dan. Yeah, it’s a highlight, enough to identify the locations.
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Magnificent tour! Thank you, Miriam.
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Thank you for your comment, Mark.
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So neat! Thanks for sharing those terrific pictures. 🙂
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Thank you very much for your comment! 😊
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My pleasure, Miriam!
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Have a wonderful weekend, Betsy!
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Thank you! You as well! 🙂
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Thank you! 😊
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Love these clicks.
Wonderfully you narrated the background story.
Thank you.
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Thank you for your reading and comment, Philo!
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You are welcome Miriam Hurdle.
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😊😊
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Thank you so much for sharing your trip with us, Miriam. I feel like I’ve taken a little vacation. Your photographs are beautiful!❤️
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I took a mini virtual vacation by doing this post also, Jill! I would like to visit Scotland to see more castles. ❤
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thanks for that tour of London; brought back so many good memories…
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I can only do virtual travel these days, Jim. I’m glad you have wonderful memories of London. Our next international travel may be in 2024.
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2024 will be here before you know it!
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I know, Jim. I still remember March 14, 2019, when CA Governor announced the lockdown. The schools closed on the following Monday, March 18, exactly 3 years ago.
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Didn’t it all that happen in 2020, not 2019?
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I think you’re right. I cancelled the flight to the birth of my younger granddaughter born in March. She’ll turn two next week.
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hopefully covid will be part of ancient history when your granddaugther is older
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I should write a few stories about her during Covid for her to read.
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that would be a wonderful present to give to her when she is older…
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I wrote a few in the first year of pandemic. I have to write a few more. 😊
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it will be interesting to read in a few years…
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What fantastic photos, Miriam – I can’t wait to visit again, I hope. Toni x
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I hope you can visit again, Toni! It would be wonderful.
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Those are amazing sites/sights, Miriam. I can only imagine how stunning they must be to see in person. Beautiful photos and fantastic share!
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They are magnificent, Mae! They look indestructible to me. I love castles. I would like to go to Scotland one day to visit more castles. Thank you for your reading and comment.
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You really showed such rich English history and beauty in this post with doors and more!
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I’m glad we got there 5 days early to visit family and friends and see some nearby sights. The sightseeing with the travel tour only gave us time to take photos! Thank you for your comment.
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The five days early seems like a gift indeed ;$
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Sorry that dollar sign was supposed to be a happy face
😉
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I like the dollar sign, Yvette! $ 🙂 $
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Hahaha
🤑
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😁
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A great tour of some fantastic doors Miriam. Thank you.
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You should be my tour guide, Peter! Thank you for reading!
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I’m glad to see you had a great time in London, it’s such an amazing city to explore and photograph with wealth of history and amazing attractions 😊 thanks for sharing and have a good day ☺️ Aiva
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Thank you for stopping by, Aiva. We had a wonderful time in London to absorbing the sights and sounds and learned about the rich history. Have a wonderful weekend! 🙂
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So much history behind all those London doors!
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One thing I like about going to Europe is the history, Liz. They have thousands of years of history.
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The US is a mere baby in comparison.
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You’re right. The civilization didn’t start in the US.
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Fabulous photos, Miriam. What a wonderful adventure! I am loving the Thursday Doors celebration because I travel the world from my kitchen table!! Sending hugs!
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These posts are the treat for my virtual travel also, Rebecca! We may not do international travel until 2024. Thank you for traveling with me! ❤
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So lovely to see you enjoyed the city of my birth and Berkshire the county where I live now 💜💜💜💜💜💜
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I’m jealous of you, Willow! What a blessing to live in such a marvelous place! ❤ ❤ 🙂
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Thank you Miriam but I am sure your home is also a wonderful place to live 💜
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I live in the “sunshine state” and it doesn’t rain as much. 💖
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Lol we do get lots of rain 💜💜
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It rains half a year where my daughter is. 💖💖
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Lol 🤣🤣
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those are awesome photos! I love london! 🙂
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Thank you so much, Carol Anne! London is a great place to be! 🙂
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This back memories of time there . Such great images Miriam. Thanks Anita
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I’m glad this reminds you of your wonderful trip, Anita! We had a wonderful time there also!
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