London

 We had a few days in London while checking out the new Four Seasons Park Lane. I've been to London a few times but there are still so many parts that I hadn't seen.

We finished off our Beatles tour with a little Abbey Road.

This was embarrassing but necessary. I took a really authentic photo for another group stopping by. Theirs was real good. Looked just like the album cover.

Unfortunately Josh and I can't walk very natural, and my mom was having a rough time with the camera. So ours are terrible... but so funny.

I'm walking really bad, but WHY is Josh walking like this?

Or like this? This photo is priceless. Please zoom in on his face. Thanks.

This was  one of my favorite stops. Amazing shopping and amazing people watching. Seriously. I found a ton of great clothes (which I didn't have time to buy). It really brought me back to being 17 and walking through the halls in all black with my hood on and head phones in.

Luckily I was kinda dressed the part and wore all black that day. I just wanted to fit in.

I didn't do super well with taking photo's in London, but just know I really enjoyed myself. I found some really great things for my house at antique shops, to bad carrying them home seemed like a hassle. I wish I had.

Josh and I went to Billy Elliot one night while our parents were in meetings. It is so great. I know you can see it in other places, but if you're ever in London, I'd really recommend it. It's super funny. They are much more crude than they could be in the U.S. making it twice as funny. Their accents I think really add to it as well. Broadway's would still be a good option though if you can't make it to London.

After the play we went and met our parents and some of their new friends at Hard Rock Cafe because they were all still hungry after their dinner. Loud drunk American's can really lead to an entertaining night. One of my dad's buddies can be quite the character with a little alcohol in him.

Well, that was London in a nut shell. Don't worry only one more Europe post left.

Hampshire

 More Europe. A little late I know.

The reason we went to Europe is because my parents had business meetings there. Four Seasons was opening a new hotel on Park Lane and my parents were invited to the grand opening. They also aloud them to stay in any other European Four Seasons the two nights before the meetings and the two nights after. Since we'd already be in England my dad chose for Four Seasons Hampshire first. 

On the way to our hotel we stopped in Oxford. I would absolutely love to have gone to school there. It was the best campus I've been to. There is so much charm and history walking through the streets. Its a really really unique city, and I would feel super smart from just spending time there.

Couldn't you imagine me walking to class everyday down this road?

Afterwords we headed to the estate. Yes estate. It is on a about 500 acres. Do you know the movies where they wealthy families horse back ride, hunt, shoot birds, play croquet, and pretty much wear white while admiring the land surrounding their estate? Well those were all the activities that they offered to their guests, straight out of a movie from 1920. Real classy.

The hotel really was beautiful, the style was what you'd expect out of a manor from the early 1900's with beautiful white trim and cool chandeliers.

They also had a different treat for you every day, and they'd get pretty creative.

And I got a pedicure, might have been my first ever. The lady asked why my toenails were so short. She apparently had never worn ski boots or climbing shoes.

The flower arrangements were amazing! They were some of the coolest arrangements I've seen, very elegant and creative.

We also took a little tour of Windsor castle while we were there, who doesn't love a good castle. One of the things I found interesting is in the center of the castle they have a well (not to be confused with having a whale in the castle, that would be weird), for when they are under siege and have to spend an extended period of time within the castle.

There also is a doll house for the queen because she liked miniature things, everything in it is real and working just miniature, even the plumping.

If you are a knight and you commit treason, instead of having your coat of arms taken down in the great hall, they just white it out. That way you are publicly shamed forever. 

So humiliating.

What I don't understand is that the queen lives here on the weekends and they have so much of the castle open to the public. If I were the queen I'd really want to be able to roam free at least part of the time throughout my entire castle. Otherwise, what really is the point of having one?

Beatles

We are big Beatles fans (along with the rest of the world), so we went on a little Beatles tour in Liverpool. 

Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields.

Elanor Rigby + Father Mckenzie.

John Lennon was slightly crazy, but he had some real great things to say.

"When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life."
Here is where John Lennon first met Paul McCartney

"I get by with a little help from my friends."
—John Lennon

 Schools and Pub they went to.

 

"I used to think anyone doing anything weird was weird. Now I know that it is the people that call others weird that are weird." -Paul McCartney
"It's weird not to be weird." -John Lennon

Paul and John's childhood homes.

 

"Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted."

-John Lennon

Isn't it true. As Americans we are always worried about what we are doing next and what it will do for our future. I love the feeling of accomplishment but I think its really important to appreciate wasting time with friends and family, because sometimes, its the best.

  Thanks Beatles. Your great.

Ancestors

I'm trying my hardest to keep these short, and my photo's limited.

It's tough. I really enjoy photo's.

Many of my ancestor's are from England. We went on a little ancestral tour.

Our first stop was to see where an ancestor on my fathers side died and was buried. He died in Somerset, near Bristol, England.

His last name was Woodland. We found the only grave site in the city but weren't able to find his grave because the graves from back then were to old to read.

 

It was cool seeing the village where he lived and died.

 

Then we went up by Manchester, England to find one of my mothers ancestors. Hers was Sir Alexander Barlow and he was a knight. Which kinda makes me a lady since its passed down.

So please call me Lady Jelissa.

For my mothers we were able to find Barlow Manor which is now a PGA golf course but once was my ancestors home.

It still had the family crest in it, and we found initials in the old windows and fireplace.

There was also a plaque that showed a family tree, on which we found our ancestor and who he was knighted by.

There were also old photos of the Manor and how it looked back in the day.

History's cool.