Merry Old England Part 2

    We spent our last couple of days in London which was not enough time to see everything we could of, but that just means we'll have to plan a return trip some day.  We visited Windsor Castle, the Tower of London, and we did an east London pub tour that was really fun.  We spent a week there in all, and I am ready to plan another visit. 

Windsor castle.  The flag that is flying means that the queen was there that day.  Several groups of small school children passed by and were very excited that the queen was there.

More Windsor Castle

Desert at The Cheese Bar at the Camden Stables.

Daryl and I

Big Ben just like you always imagined:  under construction.

Nellie, Ashlyn, and I

We then made Daryl and Paul take this picture.

We stayed right across the street from the Royal Courts of Justice in Covent Garden while in London.

I believe that this is Erin the raven at the Tower of London.  Legend has it if anything bad happens to the ravens there the rest of the country is screwed.

Tower bridge

This is the White Tower in the Tower of London of complex.

Daryl and I with Rudolph at the Mayflower Pub

The Mayflower Pub in London where the Mayflower took off from.

This is where the Mayflower set sail from right behind the pub.

Another Daryl and I picture

The queen's golden barge

Merry Old England Part 1

  A few weeks ago Daryl and I went to England with my sister Nellie, her husband Paul, and our niece Ashlyn.  We flew into London and rented a car.  We drove to Bath first off.  We saw the Roman Baths there and stayed right in the middle of the city pretty much.  We also drove around the Cotswold area and saw many quintessential English villages.  Daryl and I were surprised about how accurate Shaun the Sheep is.  We saw a lot of sheep, some pigs, and a car that just looked like Farmer's.  We also stayed in Oxford and toured around there and saw where a lot of Harry Potter scenes were filmed.  Of course we stopped by Stone Henge as well.   

Our view from the apartment in Bath.

Another view from the apartment in Bath.

The Roman Baths.  Apparently since the water is open to the sunlight now this causes the yucky green algae to grow.

Daryl and I in Bath.

Stone Henge

The Salisbury Cathedral

We saw a lot of cute little stands like this operating on the honor system selling honeys, jams, and whatnots.

Quaint village in the Cotswolds

One of the little churches we visited had a little bookcase with books and dvds for sale and we found Scrubs.

A Harry Potter filming location in Oxford

The bridge of sighs in Oxford

Our tour guide in Oxford inside the chapel there

A famous pub in Oxford with some famous guests and happenings that it can claim

Daryl and I in Oxford

Ashlyn and I in Oxford

Art Walk and Fun with Zander

   The other week was Avery and Harper's yearly art walk at their elementary school where we are invited to see all the beautiful art displayed through out the halls of their school.  It was a must go event, so I took all the kids by myself since Daryl was out of town for work.  Luke's friend Zander also came and visited that same week, and fun was had that day.

Luke and Emery impressed with the art.

This is Avery's portrait.  She kept telling me that it looked like the eyes would follow you.

Harper's interpretation of a Picasso piece.

Luke was really interested in this broom he found.

Harper's circles among her classmates.

Harper's poems in a pocket.

Harper with her poetry.  I believe they were about a cat and a giraffe.

Zander, Harper, and Luke playing with Mr. Bucket.

Zander not too sure about what was going on.

Luke and Zander being silly.

Take my picture Mom!  Apparently this a thing now.