Day 6: Travel to Windermere

My poor sister-in-law, being pregnant, decided that it was probably not wise to head 6 hours north to Windermere. Windermere is in the lake district, towards Scotland. Luckily, a friend from my singles ward (pre-change) has been living in England for a year and so we decided to travel up there together. 

Because it's a 6 hour train ride with multiple train stops, it took most of the day to arrive and then everything closes around 6pm. So we checked into our bed & breakfast, went out for some dinner, walked around for a bit and then headed back in to just relax and get ready for the next few days.

So, the next few posts will be about the Lake district and the outdoorsy adventures I had there!

Day 5: Salisbury

Sunday began early as we had stake conference in Reading. Not only was it stake conference but Elder David A. Bednar was going to be there. And a couple of guys from work were going to be there. We had made some jokes that I would help them out since I just happened to be there, but deep down, I hope that I wouldn't be asked. It was my vacation after all. But I also couldn't deny that it was too coincidental that I was in the same place that they were going to be, when I had made plans 3 months before they had.

After stake conference, I ran down, discovered they didn't need me, and we drove back to Henley. J and I changed clothes and then started off (poor H gets car sick because of the pregnancy so she and Lil' H decided to not to join us). 

We went to the Wilton House in Salisbury. It is the home of the Earl and Countess of Pembrook. It was also the headquarters for the Allies when they had to move out of London and the D-day invasion was planned in that house. The interiors were used as Pemberley in the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice and in The Young Victoria. The house was okay. I mean, it's big, and there are lots of paintings, but I wasn't a huge fan of the house. But the grounds?

A river running through the grounds.

Huge trees that provide lots of shade and a good back rest.

Flowers.

Yep. I could live there.

After we finished there, Stonehenge was only 20 minutes back toward Henley, so we went. We had to pay 3 GBP to park and then we got it repaid if we went in. So, instead of taking pictures from the fence, we got tickets and walked around.

And a shot of the English countryside with a tractor (perhaps my nephews will at least enjoy it.)

Then we drove back to Henley and I tucked in for a good night's rest in preparation of my next adventure.

Day 4: Bath

I love Jane Austen.

If you didn't know that about me before, well... now you do. 

I love her writing. My favorite book of hers is: Persuasion.

A couple of weeks ago, I was driving out to the middle of nowhere for work with a guy I work with so we had a lot of time to talk. He asked me about my favorite books and then asked why I said Persuasion was my favorite. I told him it was because I loved that Anne was not the witty, beautiful Elizabeth Bennet, or the strong and stalwart Fanny Price, or any other natural heroine. She was good and kind and noticed things that others did not and tried to help other people, even when sometimes they didn't deserve it. And she got the handsome man in the end.

But you didn't come to hear about my thoughts on my favorite book . . . you want to know about Bath.

When I was planning my trip, I knew I wanted to take in some sites that neither H nor J had seen before. And since I'm a Jane Austen person, Bath was put on the list. So Saturday we packed up Lil' H and headed to Reading to take the train to Bath.

Bath was, unfortunately, rather boring. The Roman Baths were cool, but other than that, Bath didn't have much to offer us. When you bought your ticket, for a few pounds more you could go to the Fashion Museum. So that's what we did.

Yep. We let her play with the sword. She's totally supervised though . . .

After the Roman Baths, we headed to the Fashion Museum which was housed in the sameroom as the Assembly Rooms which I guess was where everyone went to chat it up. Got a pasty (basically like a pot pie but different) on my way and sat in the town square eating it and listening to a woman singing . . . and trying to sell her CD. I considered that for maybe a minute and then remembered that I'm not the best singer in the world. Not such a great idea. Oh, well.

The fashion museum was kind of cool. Got to see lots of dresses from long ago days. Did not like the new fashion looks (seriously? Who wears jeans that are completely shredded? It doesn't even cover you up!). 

We also stopped by the Jane Austen Centre. I didn't purchase tickets to go upstairs, but I did go into the gift shop and bought a children's version of Persuasion. I'm ridiculous.

We got some hot chocolate and some scones then walked across town to a restricted park. There were like 3 weddings happening there. 

The Union Jack . . . as a flower bed.

The random motorcycle that my bro wanted a picture of . . . here are your new set of wheels!

We got on the train and headed back. That night, J and I attempted to watch the BYU game. I lasted until half time and then decided I was tired and went to bed. 
And that was day 4 . . . Tomorrow I'll try and post my favorite day of my entire trip! Until then, cheers!

Day 3: London, London!

Day three began early as we wanted to get to London and through most of the stuff before Lil H's naptime. She's good, but she is still 18 months. That girl needs her naps!

We drove in with J to Reading where he works and then took the train into the city. The train ride consisted of such favorite songs as "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and a little English rhyme that now I can't remember. 

First stop was 221B Baker Street. 

I've never been a big Sherlock Holmes girl. I was more of a Nancy Drew mystery type of girl. But then the BBC came out with Sherlock a TV series that is Sherlock Holmes but set in modern times. And it works so well! So, we headed off to the Sherlock Holmes museum. I wanted to do some kitchy stuff. Lil' H wanted to be out and since we were basically going up stairs and then peaking into rooms, we let her roam and climb. She was pretty happy about that.

The place was cheesy, but it presented a few good photo ops:

See?

Told ya!

After Sherlock, we took the Tube over and went to the Victoria and Albert Museum. And it had started to heat up! It was 77˚F (thanks to H's iphone... that's the only way I knew the temperature!). Not what I was expecting, I'll tell you that.

Victoria & Albert was fantastic. We got through the silver and bronze rooms to get to the jewelry. After that, we got some lunch. 

My choice: a brie sandwich (loved it!)

With a Victoria sponge cake for dessert 

(so appropriate. As H said, you can't be at the V&A museum and NOT have a Victoria Cake!) 

So cute!

After that, we headed back in and found the 19th century room to wander through while Lil' H took a nap. I think it was one of my favorite moments because I got to talk to H about a lot of things that I don't normally share with my friends--not because I don't want to, but it seems like they're dealing with their own stuff or caught up in their own lives, and they don't have time or our schedules aren't matching up where I can share these burdens. Or we're just not those kind of friends, you know? We're the friends who laugh and joke together. Not the friends who cry together or get advice from one another.

Anyways, we had some time, so I suggested we walk a few blocks to Kensington Gardens after Lil' H woke up to just let her run around before we headed back. On our way, we found a phone booth, so I took another photo op (because let's be honest... I definitely never have enough pictures of me...)

We came to the entrance that was close to the Prince Albert Memorial. So we stopped for the photo op there, and then let Lil' H run after the pigeons. (Yes... that is a different outfit. She spilled. She had to change. Still cute!)

After that, we headed home and relaxed. I may or may not have tried to fall asleep on the ground. Lil' H may have also tried to feed me goldfish crackers. 

Dinner that evening was raclette. It's a swiss dish that involves raclette cheese, meat, scallions, and whatever else cooked and then put over potatoes or baguettes. Delicious. Perhaps one day I will buy my own raclette grill and make it. It's more of something you do for a party, and I'm not a party person so maybe I'll add that on the "nice to have but not really something I'd get" list.

Cheers!

London: Day 1 & Day 2

It began about 1:30 PM on Tuesday, August 30th. I arrived at the airport 3.5 hours ahead of my flight time because that's what the website said. I immediately plugged in the computer and went to work for a couple of hours, trying to stay on the clock so that I could work a full day. I had enough to do. Finally, an hour before flight, I shut down, went and got a pizza, then found a seat again, opened up my computer and tried to finish a homework assignment while checking in with work. 

When it was time to board, I was ready. This was it. No turning back. The plan was to read and watch movies on this leg of the trip, while finishing up Baby niece number 5's baby blanket. Unfortunately, my neighbor on the plane was from China and wanted to talk the whole trip after she discovered that I was Mormon. Don't get me wrong, I love a great missionary opportunity, but I also had a LOT of TV shows to catch up on... And now I think I'm a little selfish.

We arrived in Minneapolis and I walked through the airport to get to my next gate. I didn't use the moving sidewalks because all of the blogs I said to walk the trek to get your blood flowing. I went to the bathroom, took some Excedrin PM and boarded the flight to London at 8:45 PM. 

Upon sitting in my seat, I almost immediately fell asleep and slept for the 40 minutes it takes to take off. And then they woke me up to give me dinner. And that point, I really just wanted to sleep because I figured that it was better to sleep than eat, but I ate then went back to sleep. I ended up sleeping about 5 hours during the 8 hour flight. Pretty good.
Upon arrival at London Heathrow, I navigated Customs and then headed to a tram to take me to the next terminal over, where I caught the bus.

I took a bus from the airport to the Reading train stations where I met my sister-in-law and niece (H and Lil' H!). Luckily, the bus had free wi-fi so I could communicate with Brother and H and let them know where I was. I also took a brief nap.

After the bus, we had to take the train from Reading to Henley-on-Thames.

Please note the famous people who lived/are living in Henley-on-Thames:

George Harrison of the Beatles (picture of his house will come later...)

Dusty Springfield of the "Son of a Preacher Man" fame

Orlando Bloom (trust me... I looked for him. Did NOT see him...)

We walked from the train station to the house, which includes a rather steep hill.

And there I am... looking gross and feeling disgusting at this point...

My sister-in-law asked what I wanted to do. My response was simply: to take a shower.
So I did. I took a shower and then we went out and got hot chocolate and scones.

Then we took my niece to the park and let her run around for a bit.

And I have to say that I fell in love with this little girl right off the bat. I think it took some time for her to decide whether I was good or bad, but I like to think that she took a bit of a liking to me too. We started a game that we played over and over again that involved the two of us sitting and giggling with each other. She also helped me stay awake by attacking me with pillows or feeding me goldfish crackers. Such a good little hostess.

My brother came home that night and we had a delicious dinner and I made it to 10 PM before crashing for the evening.

Day 2 started with my adorable niece sneaking into my bedroom and stealing some yarn that was on the floor. It made me laugh! Later, H, Lil' H, and I went to Reading for a bit of shopping. I went to the street market in Henley and purchased scarves for myself as well as a few gifts for friends (and an adorable red and white polka dotted insulated lunch box). In Reading (pronounced Redding), I bought some clothes, and an adorable hat (that my friend Rach proclaimed was very "Audrey Hepburn-esque"... I can't wait for it to get just a bit cooler so I can wear it!), and some jewelry. It was fun and the perfect way to relax. 

Well, that's what I got for now... Day 3 will come maybe later this week? I have so much to update and say.... now if only I had the time to say it all!

Coming Soon

So... I'm back from England.
Recovering from jet lag isn't fun. I'm currently tired around 6pm and wanting to get up at 3 AM. Yesterday I was ready for the day at 2 AM, so hopefully in a couple of days I'll be on my normal schedule.
And I'm sure you're all anticipating the oodles of pictures taken while in England.
This is just a post to let you know they're coming. I just have to get on normal times and finish a school assignment by tomorrow night and get back into the swing of work. But here's a preview for you:

Cheers!