Looking autumnal

I walked through the village over the weekend enjoying views of autumn: colourful flowers and leaves. It's all very beautiful.

The other thing that goes along with this seasonal change is spiders. In addition to appearing in my house in all their massiveness, the spiders also spin beautiful webs in the windows and everywhere else they can. Due to a constant mist that fell all day today, the webs were more easily photographed. I hope you find the next few photos as beautiful as I do (and not creepy).

The Woman in Black

A few months ago my friend Hannah recommended a book called The Woman in Black, which is basically a spookly little ghost story set in a foggy English town. I loved the book because it was the perfect curl-up-on-the-couch book.

Friday night Hannah and I went to London to see the stage version in London's Fortune Theatre. It was so scary!! But such a fun way to spend a Friday evening.

The Potteries

Monday we visited Stoke-on-Trent, the home of the pottery industry in England; simply known as "The Potteries." We saw pottery by Port Meirion, Spode, Aynsley, Wedgewood, Royal Doulton and Burleigh. Beautiful stuff.

The Beatles

In 2008 I took a Liverpool Beatles tour with my brother Nick. Monday morning we took a different one. The above mural was actually in the lobby of our (fantastic) Liverpool hotel, and it got us in the spirit.Above, the grouting on this building is immediately across the street from Ringo's birthplace, which is actually about to be torn down. :(
In the below photo we're holding a picture of the Quarry Men's performance on the day John and Paul first met. The performance took place on a stage in the exact place we were standing. (You can see photos of us on the tour company's facebook page.)

We saw basically the same things I saw in 2008, but it was fun to see it all again and listen to the songs as we arrived at the important Beatles places.

Manx experiences

We spent this past weekend on the Isle of Man. Last year when I went with my Grandparents it was really fun because it's my Grandma's side of the family that comes from the Isle. This time it was just as cool to be there with my Mom and uncle, also from that line of Cannons. But my Aunt Nancy is the one who knew the most about the family history even though she's not a direct descendant. :) We hiked the shore around the Calf of Man, a little island off the south coast. It was so gorgeous (see first photo above), and we even saw seals swimming around the islands!Since I gave family history and island details last year, I thought I'd just post a few shots of the strip (photos by Nancy & Don), along with the above shot of the Manx lamb I ate. (They assured me it was really a Manx lamb.)

Travel update

The past couple of days have been great. Tuesday morning we started at the tea room, which is always a happy time. I don't think I've ever posted a photo of the outside, so here's one of me and Nancy. Then Wednesday was our London day. First we picked my Mom up from the airport; then my Mom, Nancy & Don toured Buckingham Palace, and we watched the changing of the guard (photography courtesy of Don). We saw the major London icons throughout the day; below is a gorgeous rainbow over the Church of St Martin in the Fields (photography probably by Nancy, maybe Don). Thursday we visited Burghley House, one of the more beautiful houses I've seen. It was Lady Catherine's house in the film version Pride & Prejudice version where Dame Judi Dench was Lady Catherine. (photography by Nancy)

Fun in France

Saturday we drove to Paris, which was Nancy and Don's first time in France. We did separate things on Sunday: Nancy & Don explored Paris while Jacob and I visited Versailles (Jacob's first Versailles experience). Then Monday we drove up to Normandy to visit the World War II D-Day beaches. We got home super-late Monday night exhausted but had a great trip!

(Photos: Versailles; uncle & niece in a bunker at Pointe du Hoc; all 4 of us at Omaha Beach; Nancy and Don at Pointe du Hoc; Don, Jacob, & Rachel in a bunker at Pointe du Hoc)

Windsor

My Aunt Nancy and Uncle Don are the family members who have most consistently promised to visit us in England, and we're super-excited they're here! They arrived this morning and haven't showed any signs of jet lag as we toured Windsor Castle today. I toured the castle before, but today was also Jacob's first visit to the Queen's other London residence. It's the largest inhabited castle in the world.