We're back in England, and it's as green and lush as we remember. We've had such a busy week that I hardly know where to begin to tell you all about it. We arrived at our beautiful apartment last Monday after a very easy trip by plane and train. We're staying in Dani and James Jarvis' apartment (http://www.vrbo.com/1386780ha) and we love it. If you ever visit London, this is the place to stay. It's about a 20 minute train ride into the city but we're living in the beauty of a small town on the Thames River. We can walk to everything we need--pubs, restaurants, parks, and the river, our favorite walk. Neda, Dani's mother, met us at the apartment with homemade blueberry bars and several bottles of wine and champagne to welcome us. We chatted a while about Croatia as we had just come from there and Croatia is her homeland. She was kind enough to invite us to her home for Sunday dinner next week so we'll have a chance to get to know her and her husband better. We're looking forward to it.

We've settled in after visiting the local market for food and a trip to find a new HDMI cable because we left the last one plugged into the TV in Dubrovnik . We have English language TV now, a real treat after two months of not understanding a word on the TV. We need our HDMI cable so we can watch English language shows from our computer on the TV. Wouldn't want to miss an episode of Game of Thrones! Ha, ha, ha.

Later in the week, we went on one of our favorite walks along the Thames path by the river. The Thames path is a well-loved British walking path that extends for hundreds of miles starting north in the Cotswolds and winding along the Thames through villages and London all the way to the sea. The Richmond area is particularly lush and full of rolling green gardens and huge, hundreds-of-years old trees lining the path. We walked one side of the river a couple of miles, took the little ferry boat across the river and walked back on the other side. Along the way we passed Marble Hill house, the estate of the mistress of George II, and wandered through the Marble Hill gardens. We always seem to end up at the White Cross pub on the river for a refreshing drink after our walks . We love sitting on their outdoor terrace and watching the river and the boats as they go about their business. Today we even saw a wedding on a river boat with bridal party and friends celebrating as they floated past. 

Another day we discovered a real gem of a Thai restaurant just around the corner from our apartment. We love Thai food, with its healthy offerings of vegetables and slightly spicy sweet chili sauce. I think England has the best selection of ethnic food restaurants of any country I've seen. The Indian food here is wonderful, also, so we're going to the local Indian restaurant very soon!

On Friday, Justin and Lorraine Robinson drove down from Cambridge to spend the weekend with us. We met Justin and Lorraine on the Epic transatlantic cruise last October, and they are just the sweetest people in the world. We took them on a walking tour of downtown Richmond, stopping by the White Cross for a very English jug of Pim's . This is a delicious pitcher of some sort of fruit juices and alcohol with bits of strawberries and cucumber floating in it. Very refreshing! After a French dinner of steak and frites at Cote, we settled in for an evening playing the very funny game of Cards Against Humanity.

 Saturday morning we set out in Justin's new Range Rover to explore Hever Castle, a couple hours drive from Richmond in Kent. Hever Castle and Gardens is the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, the 1000 day queen of Henry VIII, tragically beheaded by him. The castle is very old with a moat, crenelated towers, and all the features of a fairy tale castle. The interior has been restored to its Tudor style over the last hundred years by William Waldorf Astor with an infusion of $10 million. He also built the magnificent gardens and the Astor village behind the castle, where you can spend the night if you like, We toured the castle, explored the yew maze and the water maze and wandered through the rose garden, the Italian garden, and the extensive lawns . We even had a go at archery! 

Still in the mood to explore, we decided to drive to Brighton, a seaside town about 35 miles from Hever Castle. Brighton Beach is a popular seaside vacation spot and everyone was out enjoying the sun, the Brighton Pier and the beautiful day. We walked through the arcade, played a few slot games, and enjoyed fish and chips on the pier. After a wonderful day, Justin drove us back to Richmond. Thank you, Justin and Lorraine, for showing us half of southern England! We loved our time spent with you both.

 The best part is that in two weeks we are traveling by train to Cambridge to spend another weekend with Justin and Lorraine in their home town. I'm looking forward to seeing the university at Cambridge and lunch at the 2 Michelin starred restaurant, Midsummer House. Justin knows the chef and was able to get us very coveted reservations so he's the hero of the moment! I'll post all the wonderful details afterwards. Enjoy the pics!