I ordered two Rick Steves travel DVDs to help get you all excited about the trip.  We can take turns passing them around so that we can all see them. 

Rick Steves’ England 2000-2007 DVD:
All 8 half-hour “Rick Steves’ Europe” TV shows on England and Wales, filmed entirely on location and produced from 2000 to 2007, are together on a single DVD.

London: Mod and Trad — London is quintessentially English…yet cosmopolitan. We check out the new — the Millennium Bridge and the British Museum’s Great Court, and admire the old — well-wrapped mummies and a rare Leonardo. After bantering with Beefeaters at the Tower of London, we do some riverside beach-combing. Strolling the trendy South Bank of the Thames takes us from the Tate Modern to the dizzying London Eye. (WS)

London: Royal and Rambunctious — We whisper secrets across the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral and eat our way through Soho. Then we check out the treasures of the new British Library, roll with the drums at the Changing of the Guard, and cruise the Thames to Kew Gardens.

Great Side Trips from London — After starting with a double-decker bus tour in London, our camera zooms in on Cabinet War Rooms where Churchill plotted against Hitler, the Tate Gallery and the reconstructed Globe Theatre. With London as home base, Rick and his family take day trips to Stratford — Shakespeare’s birthplace — Warwick Castle and Cambridge before moving on to York. Then, Gothic architecture is the topic as we wander through York Cathedral. Along the way, we stop for traditional English tea. After a steam engine trip through the moors, we board the Eurostar to zoom under the Channel.

Northwest England — Rick brings his family along to enjoy the diversity of north England. They visit Ironbridge Gorge — the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution — and Blackpool, a high energy beach town with neon night life, vintage trolly cars, ballroom dancing and a world-class roller coaster. A scenic drive takes us to the calm Cumbrian Lake District where we enjoy B&Bs, Wordsworth’s cottage, hearty walks and sheep shearing. Finally, we explore the Norman cathedral at Durham for its magnificent architecture and Evensong service.

South England: Dover to Lands’ End — From the white cliffs of Dover to Land’s End, we ponder Roman, Norman, and Nazi invasions. After exploring Admiral Nelson’s flagship, we chase wild ponies across the moors and discover an ancient stone circle. For refreshment, it’s cream tea and Cornish pasties.

Heart of England and South Wales — After King Arthur country at Glastonbury, we go back in time to prehistoric Stonehenge. We sample hard apple cider in Wells, meet an eccentric lord in the Cotswolds, and visit an evocative ruined abbey in South Wales.

North Wales: Feisty and Poetic — From towering Mount Snowdon, to evocative medieval castles, to sweeping Victorian promenades, North Wales is a poem written in landscape. We’ll climb a mountain aboard a steam train, learn some Welsh, follow a miner deep into a slate mine, herd sheep with a very clever dog, and work in a pop pilgrimage to the Beatles’ Liverpool. (WS)

England’s Bath and York — Medieval York and Georgian Bath — easy side-trips from London — pack an exciting pair of sightseeing punches. We’ll explore Roman hot springs, cruise quiet canals, marvel at England’s finest Gothic church, and get a surprising dose of Viking history as we enjoy England’s easy urban delights. (WS)

Rick Steves’ Ireland & Scotland 2000-2007 DVD:
All 6 half-hour “Rick Steves’ Europe” TV shows on Ireland and Scotland, filmed entirely on location and produced from 2000 to 2007, are together on a single DVD.  Only two episodes are about Scotland:

Scotland’s Islands and Highlands — In Scotland, legends of Bonnie Prince Charlie swirl with pipers and kilts around crumbling castles. After tossing a caber (log) at a Scottish clan gathering, we remember Highland massacres. We play hide-and-seek with the Loch Ness Monster, tour a whiskey distillery, and take a ferry to sacred Iona. (WS)

Edinburgh — Edinburgh is the historical and cultural heart of Scotland. We’ll explore the castle, peek at the new parliament, dabble in the local literature, sip a little Scotch, get wrapped up in a kilt, and then stow away on Her Majesty’s Yacht Britannia. (WS)