Diagon Alley

Baked beans for breakfast. The Queen's stunning coach. Cliffs and castles. Sheep, sheep, sheep. I’m getting ready to head out to the Texas Book Festival this week, but I wanted to post some shots of our time in London, Edinburgh, Dublin and Galway. The trip was a feast for the eyes, particularly volcanic Edinburgh, my favorite, which looks and feels like Diagon Alley from the Harry Potter series. We always talk about the influence of place on an author. I can't think of a better example than J.K. Rowling and the world she created for us. We stayed in 700 year-old Dalhousie Castle, just outside the city, which has been restored to a hotel and spa, complete with the dining room in the dungeon.    But really, there were treasures in every city. Some highlights: We stayed in the Kensington neighborhood at the Ashburn Hotel, a 38-room boutique hotel around the corner from the Gloucester Road underground station, which made getting around the city very easy. On our first outing, we emerged at Parliament Square to find hordes of people. What was happening? London was was waiting for Queen Elizabeth II to ride by on her way to Parliament as part of the Brexit discussions.  Like most tourists, we cued up for the Churchill war rooms and the next day at the Tower of London, with all its chilling history which our tour guide shared with relish. (I kept dreaming about Anne Boleyn's lips moving after she was beheaded by…