To the west

Last Friday we drove to western England to see Stonehenge and Bath. We had a great time!

The next morning we woke up to a fire alarm and had to evacuate the hotel (base lodging at a base in the west). It turns out someone was cooking bacon and created smoke. We were (mostly) in our pajamas, it was raining, and we were greeted by these guys...

We intended to go to Wales first-thing Saturday morning, but the weather was horrible; we opted for a very delicious indoor activity instead--we toured Cadbury World! You may remember my blog post a few months ago when I mentioned that Cadbury was only my second-favourite chocolate in England. But it was SO MUCH FUN touring Cadbury world, and we got lots of yummy chocolate!

Here's what Jacob and I would look like molded in chocolate.

East to West

It's been another busy week, so I'll just go chronologically, beginning with this photo of Nick operating a cannon in the Medieval Tunnels at Dover Castle on Monday. The weather was CRAZY that morning--lots of wind and rain.

Later that day we went to Walmer Castle, and the weather wasn't crazy anymore, but we did have to evacuate the castle and wait for the Deal Fire Department to let us back in!

Tuesday we went to an old mansion house, Kirby Hall. It's partially roofless, but it was beautiful. We especially loved all the peacocks wandering around.
Wednesday we went to Stonehenge, then to Stockton (where our ancestor was a vicar in the church there in the 1500s), then to Bath. It rained heavily all day Wednesday; we got soaking wet early and didn't get dry until we got home at 10:30 PM! This is the heel stone at Stonehenge. I think it looks like a thumb. (Notice my umbrella going crazy.)

Here Nick is standing in the Bath Abbey--amazing ceiling! We've alreay mentioned Audley End house a few times on the blog, but Nick and I went there Friday. It was beautiful! Saturday we went back to London and visited many cool sites, including the grave of Karl Marx. We also visited the British Museum and saw the Rosetta Stone and other great art and artifacts.

Stonehenge, Bath, and other Auds and Ends

We had an action-packed weekend, and this entry can only be a partial accounting because we can't possibly fit it all in. Our trip began with a visit to Stonehenge, and let me be roughly the 80-trillionth person to say that Stonehenge rocks! It was amazing, and we had a great time. It's such an iconic place, and it was incredible to be there.

We also made a brief stop in a tiny village called Stockton, which is near Stonehenge. This is a picture of me in front of a church where my ancestor (John Terry) was a vicar in the 1500s! The church was locked up, but we enjoyed visiting the quaint village where my ancestors once lived.

Then we went to Bath, a place I've wanted to visit since I was 15 and began reading Jane Austen. The visit did not disappoint--it's an incredible place! There's definitely not enough blog space to show all the photos of everything we saw and did. (We took 210 photos this weekend.)

Here are the 2 sides of Pulteney Bridge, which crosses the Avon; you can tell why the side on the right is generally the one shown in photos, but we thought the "back" was cute too. Pulteney Bridge is one of only a handful of bridges in the world with shops built on both sides of it.

The Roman Baths were the most amazing part of Bath; they were built there by the Roman Empire about 2000 years ago. This photo also shows the beautiful Bath Abbey above.

This is a photo of the Circus, an example of the breathtaking Georgian architecture. The Roman Baths have been attracting England's elite for hundreds of years, and they've built gorgeous homes for their stays in Bath.

Below is a garden with the Royal Crescent (more Georgian architecture) in the background.

We also discovered this tasty beverage (Belgian chocolate milk), which Jacob described as "liquid awesome." We hope to find it again a little closer to home. We also enjoyed another fabulous pub meal; so far the food here hasn't failed to impress.

On our way home Saturday we made a couple of stops. The first was at Costco, which we've been excited to check out (yes, Dad/Garth, we made a Costco run). We thought they had lots of great products, but it's too far away to make our continued membership worthwhile (not to mention the unfavorable exchage rate).

We also stopped at this house: Audley End House and Gardens. During the winter months they give a special tour of the servants' quarters, which we took. The house was built in the 1600s and includes gorgeous Jacobean ceilings and other great artwork and architectural features from the time of King James. The grounds are extensive and beautiful! We will definitely return to this house (only about 30 minutes from our place) when more of the gardens are blooming this spring. Sometimes the house's reflection can be seen in the Cam, but I love this photo because you can see a beautiful black swan in the Cam instead!

I think this hedge is one of the more amazing garden features at the house.

Below is the view from the back of the house (notice the fountain).