July 11 - Back to London

(John) Well, we are back in London, and the car rental phase of our trip is complete. We had a Ford Focus in Ireland and a Renault Scenic in
the UK. I preferred the Ford, Gene liked the Renault. Driving was easy, though some roads proved to be very narrow - especially in Ireland. The truly negative side of car rental was the expense - four times the cost in the States.

My favorite tourist stop yesterday, as we made our way from Bath to London, was Blenheim Palace - home of the Duke of Marlborough. The money it took to build the place in 1709 was obscene!

The palace is so large that the current duke can't afford repairs and maintenance, so he charges for tours. The interior of the house and the art make it a world class museum - and the gardens too are shockingly grand and beautiful. Unfortunately, we only saw a small portion of the grounds before we had to drive south, return the car at Heathrow and ride the express train into Paddington Station.

We are in a new hotel which I prefer over our last London basecamp. Today we will see the Tower of London, St Paul's and the British Museum. Cheerio!