Locations Visited: London, Windsor, Stonehenge, Bath, and York, England.  Edinburgh, Scotland.
Languages Spoken: English
Words Learned: cheers (how many people in the UK say “thank you”)

Welcome back, friends!  One thing that I love about being American is that we all come from different backgrounds.  With the exception of the Native Americans, our families all came to the our country from around the world for all sorts of reasons- a new beginning, escape famine and/or persecution, for adventure, or because they were forced to, among countless other reasons.  For whatever reason, our families ended up where we now live today, but one thing we don’t do a great job of is looking more into how they got there.  I told you I had a special guest for this coming week, and there is no one better fitted for me to learn more about my heritage with than my very own fellow wandering Weavil- My mom!  

Having my mom meet me in London was such a wonderful change of pace.  It’s difficult being away from family and loved ones for so long, and just getting to see them again for even the smallest bit does wonders to help me keep pushing along on this journey.  My mom and I had a big trip planned for her short time with me, and I can’t wait to share it with you!  The best part is her family came from Scotland originally, and my father’s came from England, and we were on a mission to learn as much about our heritage together as we could.  So buckle up, and get ready for a wild ride across England and Scotland!

Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, and Bath (England)

My mom’s first full day with me was jam-packed with some of the best sights and places in England.  We got up super early to catch a full-day bus tour from London that let us see and explore Windsor Castle where the Queen sometimes resides, Stonehenge, and the city of Bath (A place that was recommended to me by a lot of people during my travels).  We were really excited, and it was nice to have my mom traveling with me instead of being on my own for such an awesome experience.

Our first stop was Windsor Castle.  One of the British Monarchy’s residences, people can take a tour through parts of it and see a bit of how the Royalty get to live.  I’ve seen plenty of castles during my time in the UK and Ireland so far, but it was a whole different ballgame when it was a castle that THE Queen herself actually still resides in and uses.  You can tell by the flag that flies above the castle if the Queen is currently there or not.  If it is the British Union Jack, then the Queen is not there.  If the Royal Regalia is flying, then she is currently in.  Check out the photos below and tell me: do you think she was in when we visited?  Unfortunately I couldn’t take any pictures inside to share.

We then had a long bus ride all the way to the mythical and mysterious Stonehenge- a circle of gigantic stones in the middle of a field in England whose use is still being debated as well as how it was even constructed.  These stones are huge, y’all, and the big debate is how they were able to get them lifted up on top of each other thousands of years ago without any type of modern technology to help.  Do you have any theories?

Our last stop of the day was the city of Bath in Western England.  Tucked away in the hills here is a natural, thermal spring that legends said had healing powers.  The Romans settled here during their conquest of the British Isles and turned this spring into a Roman Thermal Bath and people would come from around the world to be healed in it’s waters.  A bath like this isn’t like the tub you have in your house.  It’s basically just another term for a public pool, and in this case the water comes through an underground thermal spring that heats it and provides it with all sorts of minerals and such that are good for your skin and body.  Nowadays, you can go see the baths yourself.  Check out the pictures below and see all the beautiful Roman Architecture.  

Edinburgh, Scotland

My mom wanted to take a trip up here to visit because her heritage is Scottish, and she had never been to Scotland before.  Our goal was to learn more about her family name, Weir, and explore the city that I fell in love with on the first visit a few weeks before with Marie.  To get to Edinburgh, though, we had to take the train from London.  We were so excited because our train left from King’s Cross Station- the same station that the Hogwarts Express leaves from at Platform 9 3/4.  In fact, we found Platform 9 3/4 and took a quick break to go through the wall and see it for ourselves!

Once we finally got to Edinburgh, we put down our stuff and I took my mom on a walking tour of the city.  We made our way to this really cool Illusions Museum.  There were crazy holograms, rooms that looked like they had no end, and orbs of static electricity that I accidentally shocked my mom’s face with.  The best part was the mirror maze, though.  I ended up scaring myself when I saw my reflection inside!

The next day we got to go and finally visit Edinburgh Castle- an old castle that stands on the hill overlooking the whole city and home of the Scottish Crown Jewels.  It was here that we found a lot of cool information on both my mom’s family name, Weir, as well as my family name of Weavil!  They had this really cool research station inside the castle and you could search your name to get some basic info about where your family lived throughout history, the origin of the name, and interesting fun facts.  We found out all about the Weirs being Scottish and Viking (How cool!?), and that the Weavils were way more English than we thought!  We had always thought it was primarily German, so that was fun to find out!

The castle itself was amazing.  It was basically a small city in itself set inside the walls of a fortress since at least the 12th century.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t take any pictures of the crown jewels, but I managed to get a few of everything else!

York, England

Our next stop on our way back to London was the town of York, a city founded by the Romans back in 71AD.  York was considered the “end of the world” to the Romans back in the day.  The land further north was considered wild and untamed, and it was far from the warm Italian sun of Rome.  Mom and I only had a day to explore here, so we didn’t waste any time unpacking and heading into the city.  We were fortunate to stumble on a real 21 gun salute for Prince Charles’s, the queen’s son’s, 70th birthday!  It was really amazing getting to watch the soldiers shoot the cannons.

We walked and explored the town a bit afterwards.  Some of the streets here were the inspiration for Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter movies (can you tell I’m obsessed?).  Mom and I eventually made our way to this really cool viking museum that also turned out to be a small Disney World-esque ride that you could go on and learn more about the Viking population that lived in York following the Romans.  York actually was once a really popular viking settlement, and due to the extremely wet ground preventing decay, a lot of the wood and cultural artifacts were preserved and now on display.  We had a lot of fun here, especially after learning that we have a viking heritage!

We ended the night with a walking ghost tour of the city with our own private guide.  It’s always nice to take time to talk with locals to get a real glimpse at the true story behind a location!

London, England
Oh, London.  This city is MASSIVE.  I spent so much time here with both Marie and my mom over the past month, as well as a few days on my own, and I only scratched the surface.   For the sake of this blog, and the sake of not rambling on forever, I’ll limit this post to the adventures I went on with my mom in the city. But one thing we were extra excited about was the fact that the city was lit up for Christmas by the time we arrived!

We explored the city by foot, and I showed her all the popular sights.  We were excited because our first big stop was going to the a tour of the Buildings of Parliament, the buildings where their government is run from.  Despite having a Queen, The UK still has a government somewhat similar to our legislative branch back home in the states, and they have a Prime Minister who acts somewhat like our President.  They all work together alongside the Queen to make laws and decisions for the country.

This place is amazing.  I learned basics of the British Government in school growing up, but it was a whole other story getting to see where people work daily to change the world.  It looks almost like a palace from the inside.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t allow to take many pictures.

We also were able to see the Tower of London.  Another castle similar to that of Edinburgh Castle in that it was a strong fortress as well as a castle.  The guards of the Tower are called Yeoman Warders, but are commonly referred to as Beefeaters.  Mom and I took a guided Beefeater tour of the tower, got to see some really amazing pieces of armor and swords, and were able to get to even see the British Crown Jewels.  Again, I couldn’t take pictures of them, but you can Google them… and I highly recommend it.  They’re absurd how large they are, and mom and I couldn’t believe it!

We also found time while in London to explore the Natural History Museum as well as the Victoria & Albert Cultural Museum.  I love going to museums and wandering around.  I’ve learned some of my best new facts and information while in museums, and these two were some of the best.  Best part, though?  They were FREE to visit!

The last two evenings in London, mom and I also got to see a play that I’ve been waiting YEARS to get to finally see.  We all know the 7 Harry Potter books and 8 movies based on them, but did you know there is a play that was written after all of them that takes place 19 years in the future and is about Harry’s son, Albus Severus Potter?!  I can’t tell you the details as I’m supposed to #KeepTheSecrets, but what I will say is I’ve never seen a more legitimately magical show.  It was almost 6 hours long total split between two evenings, and I was entranced from the first second all the way through the last.  Mom and I couldn’t stop talking about it afterwards!  If you want to read it, but can’t go see it in NYC or London, check out the book Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.  Warning- it’s the play script, though.  It doesn’t read like a normal book, but it will let you know the story!  I recommend seeing it one day, though!

Unfortunately, my mom had to leave the next morning after the final night at Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.  I hated seeing her go- it was so nice getting to spend so much time learning, wandering, and exploring with her.  We often take things like family for granted when we see them everyday, and this journey has reminded me how wonderful it really is when you’re surrounded by people you love.  I hate knowing it’s going to be months until I get to see her again most likely (unless I can convince her to meet me somewhere else during this journey!), but I know it’ll all pay off in the end.  Sometimes, we have to make ourselves uncomfortable, challenge ourselves, and remove our safeties in order to really grow and learn.

For now, I’m back off to mainland Europe to a country called Hungary, before going to Poland to visit and learn more about something that will be a challenge in itself.  I’ll share it all with you next time. Until then,

Have Courage, & Be Kind

Mr. Weavil (and Momma Weavil!)