Jake was off work last week so we got to do a little traveling!
First up on our little getaway was Stonehenge. The kids will agree that rocks aren't the most exciting things to look at, and that outdoor activities in England in December are freezing! The history of the place is pretty neat though. Just the fact that the beginnings of Stonehenge started around 3100 BC, and the part still standing today was most likely completed around 1500 BC is pretty cool.
So, here it is. Looks just like it does in the textbooks...
Some nice guy there offered to take a picture of all of us. The kids were frozen by this point and my eyes are shut. Oh well.
Cool painting on the wall of what the place looked like long ago...
After leaving Stonehenge, we took off for Salisbury to see the cathedral. It was quite the feat getting there since our phone gps systems stink and weren't working. Once we got there it was easy to spot the cathedral though! Here's what it looks like when you first drive into Salisbury...
The Salisbury cathedral from the motorway (freeway)...
A picture from up close. More history... this cathedral is home to the best preserved original Magna Carta.
We wanted to get to Bath to check into our hotel, so we didn't stay in Salisbury for long. Sitting in the passenger seat of the car there's only so much to do, so I took some pictures out the window on the drive. Supposedly "it doesn't snow in England." Due to a crazy phenomenon caused by global warming though, it has snowed the past 3 years, and each winter has gotten colder. Hot talk radio topic around here! Anyway, I think England looks pretty in the snow.
Almost to Bath...
Bath is so cute and old. It's has a lot of hills too which is unique around here. It's a really European looking city and most of the buildings look a lot alike. Here's when we first drove into town. It took us forever to find our hotel once in Bath since our GPS wasn't working! More pics from the car while we were trying to find our hotel...
We finally found the hotel. Jake got a great deal on our room at the Windsor and we stayed for two nights.
We ate dinner at Sally Lunn's. The oldest house in Bath. It's famous for buns! We tried a cinnamon one. I tried ratatouille for the first time too. People back in the 1400s must have been so much smaller. Super narrow hallways and low ceilings in there. A fun place to eat! Ella noticed the mirror behind our table and stood up to check herself out and said super loud, "Hey! There's a beautiful pwincess in there!" Cutie. I love her hat hair :)
There's some great shopping in Bath. Lots of little shops everywhere. Streets were pretty busy since Christmas was coming!
Ella couldn't get enough of the pigeons. She would have stayed there all day to bird watch.
We went to the Roman Baths. The Romans occupied this area around AD 43 and believed the hot springs here had healing powers. They built a temple at this location and these baths. Most of the stones on the ground and the stones in the baths are the old Roman ruins. You can see other baths like this one there that are just the old ruins without the hot springs running through them. Guess I didn't take pics of those.
The stone mason told us some cool stuff about the area and the baths. Here's Ella yelling a loud cheese! and Luke loved listening to the audio guide. As long as there were buttons and those audio things at the museums he was happy.
Some cool old gems and money that have been found in the baths...
Random tourist picture.. Phone booths are everywhere and everyone that comes to England gets at least one picture in one!.
After the Roman Baths we went over to the fashion museum. I wanted to see Diana's dresses. They are on display there until mid January. So fun to see!
They have clothing in the museum from every decade, and some really old pieces that are centuries old. No cameras allowed in most of it though.
Biggest let-down of the trip would be the Jane Austen center. I really like her work, but this place was pretty boring and over priced. Just a little place where you listen to her history and information about her family life, and mannequins are dressed as characters in her novels. Jane lived in Bath for a while, and in her novels the characters come to Bath on occasion to socialize.
A picture of the back side of the Pulteney bridge and the river Avon. The bridge was built in 1773 and is a national monument.
That wraps up the Bath excursion! We had a great time despite the freezing weather, GPS not working, Luke getting sick, and Ella's eye infection coming back! I would like to go back sometime in the summer months.
Next up: Warwick Castle. Its history goes back 1,100 years.
I knew it would be cold so I bundled up the kids really well! Thought that we would be set. They both managed to set down their water bottles upside down with the lids open in their car seats though! So, they both had wet bums and pants from the time we left the car to walk up to the castle. Ugh.
The castle is full of cool old weapons, uniforms, and creepy wax figures. There's a dungeon but I guess it's too scary for kids so we didn't do that.
Bedroom in the castle...
Me and Miss Ella! Overlooking the courtyard...
Cool view from the towers... The gardens in the spring and summer are amazing I hear.
Luke riding the Helter Skelter...
And that concludes our Christmas time travels this year. Phew! This post has taken forever! Good times. Next post will be Christmas.
