LONDON TO LINCOLN
The best way to get to Lincoln from London is by train. It departs from King's Cross Station, and requires a change in Newark. Total travel time is around two hours. You can buy tickets from RailEurope.com (TIP: On RailEurope.com purchase a BritRail Pass. You can go all the way up to Edinburgh, or another place or two in the UK � it's a better deal than buying a point-to-point ticket). Like fools, my tour group decided to hire a van and a driver, and fight London's horrendous traffic. We lost. The 135-mile drive took 4 1/2 hours. Ouch! However, I did pass time savoring my delicious and surprisingly reasonably priced gourmet sandwich from Harrods Food Hall. Who knew Harrods could be reasonable? On top of that, our driver entertained us with his English humor. About 3 hours into the trip the driver got on his microphone and said, "We are going to take the next service stop for a pee and a sandwich." How funny is that?

WHY LINCOLNSHIRE?
Lincolnshire (Here's a map), Britain's fourth largest county, has been visited by kings and poets. It boasts ancient churches, country houses, lush farmlands and tradition. It's also where Ron Howard filmed a good portion of the Da Vinci Code movie. That followed London's Westminster Abbey rejection of the film's proposal (calling it "inappropriate"). I am sure Ron and his company were bummed at first, but this is a perfect example of everything happening for the best. Had it not been for the rejection, most people (especially me) might never have been exposed to this region, let alone visited it. That would have been a shame. As you are about to see, this area is full of allure and good times. We owe a debt of thanks to the DVC movie for putting Lincolnshire (especially Lincoln) on the checklist of thousands of travelers as a destination itself.

LINCOLN
Lincoln (Here's a map) was once a bustling port and a thriving commercial and trading center, with a population between 6,000 and 8,000. That made Lincoln one of England's largest cities. Long before that it was a Roman town (here's a list of Roman sites), and a retirement community for Roman soldiers. Today Lincoln is a town of 86,000 people � about the size of Norwalk, Connecticut where I grew up. I mention this because Lincoln reminded me a lot of Norwalk, probably for its energy as an up-and-coming town. When I arrived just after dark my first impression was of Nantucket (link to Nantucket story). I had no idea this place had cobblestone streets and so much charm. What a pleasant surprise! For more click HERE.