Grange Rochester Hotel | London, England

While I was in London I stayed at the Grange Rochester Hotel. 

Hotel front door

Back of the hotel

Westminster Abbey, Tate Britain, & London Walks Jack the Ripper Tour | London, England

I began my day by visiting Westminster Abbey. 

Flying American Airlines Business Class | Dallas, TX to London, England

If you ever have the opportunity to fly business class for a long and/or over night flight (especially if someone else is paying for it) DO IT!!! It's so worth it! I may be ruined for all other forms of flight travel. 

Tower of London & Aladdin on the West End | London, England

When L and I visited the Tower of London in July 2014 it was hot, crowded, and had huge lines. I wanted to visit the Tower again and I'm so glad that I did! 

Victoria & Albert Museum Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams Exhibit | London, England

I normally wouldn't create a separate post for one of the many adventures I underwent in a day. However, this exhibition is absolutely worth it. The "Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams" exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum is incredible! 

London Eats | London, England

London food is always an adventure :)

I took a Van Gogh painting from Oklahoma to London | Norman, OK & London, England

I went to London with an older man. 132 years old to be exact. 

Recently I was the courier who took Vincent van Gogh's painting Portrait of Alexander Reid from Norman, Oklahoma, to London, England, for an exhibition at the Tate Britain. It was awesome!

Condition reporting the painting

New England Road Trip: Days 15-16 Driving from Connecticut to Oklahoma, Breakfast with a Friend, & Hershey World | CT, NY, NJ, PA, MD, VA, TN, AR, OK

I began my two day journey home by meeting up with a friend for breakfast at The Cure Cafe in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. 

New England Road Trip: Knoxville Lodgings | Knoxville, TN

I stayed at the Quality Inn in Knoxville, Tennessee. It was nicer that I expected. The room was huge, clean, and had a refrigerator with a freezer, microwave, and a super comfy bed (even though I didn't get to sleep in it as long as I would have liked, lol). Breakfast was descent; nothing to brag about but it got the job done.

New England Road Trip: Olde Mystick Village & Mystic Seaport | Mystic, CT

After my late night last night, I started my morning a little later than usual. I began the day by going to B.F. Clyde's Cider Mill for some cider donuts. I arrived around 10:30 am and the Mill was packed! Because it was so busy, it was difficult to find a parking spot. However, the donuts were absolutely worth it and they were as good as I remembered :) 

New England Road Trip: Lockwood Matthews Mansion, Yale University Art Gallery, & Les Miserables at the Shubert Theatre | New Haven, CT

I began the day by driving to Norwalk, Connecticut, and touring the Lockwood-Matthews Mansion Museum. The house is so cool!

New England Road Trip: Lighthouse Cruise, Lyman Allyn Art Museum, & Visiting My Old Stomping Grounds | New London, CT

I started the day by having an early lunch at Captain Scott's Lobster Dock (it has one of my top two lobster rolls of the trip!!). After lunch, I went on the Classic Lighthouse Cruise with New London's Cross Sound Ferry. It was so good!!

New London Ledge Lighthouse

New England Road Trip: Mystic Eats | Mystic, CT

Connecticut's food does not disappoint!

Captain Scott's Lobster Dock in New London, CT

New England Road Trip: Mystic Lodgings | Mystic, CT

After I finished shopping in Newport, I had dinner, drove to Mystic (in the dark, through the pouring rain on two lane highway roads), and checked into my hotel. I stayed at the Quality Inn Mystic. 

You never know what you will discover in your hotel parking lot. Historic bell anyone?

New England Road Trip: The Elms, Servant Life Tour at The Elms, & Shopping Downtown and at the Wharfs | Newport, RI

I began the day by going on the "Servant Life Tour" at The Elms. It was amazing!!! If you are at all curious about the people behind-the-scenes who kept the house running (aka the real life Anna and Bates types from Downton Abbey), go on this tour! 

A few of the male servants

New England Road Trip: Newport Historical Society Walking Tour, Chateau-sur-Mer, The Breakers, & Beneath The Breakers Tour | Newport, Rhode Island

I started the day by driving from Melrose, Massachusetts, through the crazy Boston traffic, to Newport, Rhode Island. Tip: the areas around Boston have an insane amount of traffic so make sure you include plenty of time to navigate it. 

New England Road Trip: Newport Eats | Newport, RI

Lobster macaroni and cheese...my new comfort food favorite!

America's oldest tavern. Established in 1673.

New England Road Trip: Newport Lodgings | Newport, RI

While I was exploring Newport, I stayed at the Yankee Peddler Inn. It was so cute!!

Sorry for the night time pic!

New England Road Trip: National Park Service Freedom Trail Tour & the Boston Harbor Cruise | Boston, MA

Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market

Because I was out late the night before, I started the day later than usual. I went on the 11 am National Park Service Tours of the Freedom Trail: Meetings, Mobs, & Martyrs. The tours are free but you need a ticket to attend (they don't hand out tickets until 30 minutes before the tour begins). 

New England Road Trip: Beacon Hill PhotoWalks Tour, Boston Public Gardens, Boston Tea Party Museum, Faneuil Hall, & Quincy Market | Boston, MA

I began the day by going on a PhotoWalks tour through Beacon Hill (a historic and super cute neighborhood). The tour group was small and Saba, our tour guide, was nice. She lead us through Beacon Hill and showed us historic and current places of interest in the neighborhood. She also suggested camera angels and shots to consider and helped people choose the correct camera manual setting without being pushy.