We headed north on a Friday, stopping at the market in Stamford (a personal favourite), then through the beautiful Yorkshire Dales to 'the Angel of the North' in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
We stayed overnight in Newcastle, then visited a portion of Hadrian's Wall and a fantastic Roman museum before departing for Scotland.
Roman Bath House - any guesses what room this is? The Romans were a very public people!
Hadrian's Wall - the original foundation. Built to keep out 'the barbarians to the north' of England. A full-size replica of the original was also on-site (pictured on the left).
With only a few days left for touring England, we decided to re-visit some old favourites. First stop - Cadbury Chocolate Factory in Birmingham. Plenty of free tasting along the way and we learned a thing or two about how those delicious Easter eggs are made.
Cambridge is always a fun place. The colleges were closed for student examinations so we focused our energy at the outdoor market, shops, and viewing a few unique landmarks along the way... like the Cricket Clock.
The next day we drove to the Norfolk coast and took a Seal Boat Tour at Blakeney Quay. The seals were very large this time of year and many were swimming in the sea right up next to our boat.
The afternoon was sunny and the beach seemed very inviting even though the wind was a bit cool - not too cold that the girls weren't willing to get quite wet though! We enjoyed building sandcastles, flying kites and searching for shells on the beach.
We still haven't explored everything London has to offer. Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle & Auntie wanted to tour Westminster Abbey but we've toured the abbey 4 times already. So we got them to the abbey and then walked a few blocks - across the Thames - to the Imperial War Museum instead. Matt had to work in Peterborough so it was just us girls for the morning.
Like most of the museums in London, the War Museum is FREE! And was probably the best museum we've seen yet. It was full of real wartime tanks, submarines, missiles, etc. and plenty of hands-on activities. Our favourite (but also scary!) adventure was trying "The Blitz Experience" which is a realistic simulation of what it was like to be inside an Anderson Shelter during the German bombing raids in London. It was complete with sights, sounds and even smells!
There was a special exhibit on display titled "Children at War" and featured stories and real people on site to talk about what WW2 was like for children. We met a lovely old man who was evacuated out of London as a child. Amy and Emily asked him lots of questions. Lots. He was very kind and interesting. We also toured a life-size replica of a house from the 1930s as well as a school. I love the poster (above right). I think it's still good advice.
After a lovely picnic lunch in the sunshine, we met up with the relatives set off for the Tower of London. We saw the crown jewels and plenty of Henry VIII's armoury as well as the torture chambers and London's famous Tower Bridge.
We spent an enjoyable evening in Covent Garden - eating at a lovely pub and watching street performers - before finding a train back to Peterborough... after a short diversion to Hogwarts.
Greenwich is a beautiful suburb of London with plenty of green space, museums, and fun shopping.
The Prime Meridian runs through the courtyard of the Royal Observatory dividing the eastern/western hemisphere. Here we are - in two places at once!
Inside the museum we learned all about navigation, time and telescopes. No photos were allowed inside, but it was truly a fascinating museum.
Another fascinating museum is the National Maritime Museum - only a short walk through the park. We enjoyed a lively tour with a costumed Neptune character and plenty of hands-on exhibits including a real maritime navigation simulator.
We ate lunch at the market - Italian, Portuguese, British and Ethiopian food and loved it all. A little shopping topped it all off before heading home to P'boro on the train.
Matt's been working in Nashville for 3 weeks. We flew my mom here to the UK to babysit the kids and then I flew to Nashville to join Matt - and do some househunting.
Our new home:
I flew back to the UK and took my mom and the kids to Legoland Windsor (courtesy of Tesco clubcard points!). We drove down on Friday, stayed overnight in a hotel, and then spent the next day at the park.
After the Star Wars Lego Laser Show we got the kids changed into their pajamas and drove home.... arriving at midnight.
The last few days have required a lot of work regarding our current housing and our new house in TN. Signing paperwork, arranging insurance, selling UK electrical stuff (and a bunch of other stuff too), getting the house ready for check-out inspections, setting up air shipments, sea shipments, hotels, rental cars, and one-way flights (SAD!) back to the US. Then there's the usual tasks: school projects, playdates, housework, church callings, etc. Oh, and did I mention we've got house guests from Canada and the USA for the next 2 weeks? I've been planning and booking daytrips and other outings throughout England and Scotland for all of us. (It will be a very welcome break!)
It's good that I'm keeping up with it all so far... and anxiously looking forward to things settling down. In a few months.
Amidst all this excitement, the 'new' (now old) blog has filled up (I know... I need to adjust photo quality on uploaded photos...) My plan is to have this blog serve as a temporary fix to keep the postings up to date until we get settled in the States and I can broaden my technology skills to the point of creating something more lasting.
