mind the gap | travel blog

more from Thornbury Castle

This was our first Christmas spent apart from friends and family back in Michigan and, while we were releived we didn't have to depart from Heathrow in the throws of the big snow storm right before Christmas (ok, well, big from UK standards) and we didn't have the brutal jet-lag that comes after traveling back to London in the winter, we were still missing everyone back home.  To ease the pain over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we decided to head out from London and experience Christmas at a real Tudor-castle-turned-hotel in the western side of the country, just about on the border with Wales.  We enjoyed a formal Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas breakfast in our castle room while we opened presents and a traditional Christmas Day lunch with all the traditional trimmings (we loved the creamed brussels sprouts but were not fans of the Christmas pudding!)  Our favorite tradition...Christmas crackers before lunch!  I think we will be eating many a future Christmas meals with the funny paper crowns!

Here are a few shots from our 2-night stay...

 

adventures in punting...

Yes, the art of trying to gently float down the river while guiding a heavy wooden boat with nothing more than a long metal pole.  As Michael can tell you, not a easy as it looks...until you get the hang of it somewhere in the second hour.  We tried this for the first time in Oxford last summer and had a great time.  The route took about 2 hours with a 1/2 point stop for a pub lunch.  The river current is very gentle, so it's possible to go both up stream and down. We definitely want to give this another go this coming year...

 

 

 

and our

A look back...

Well, as I prepare to finally get our first year in London photo book to the printer I thought I should update the blog with a few of our more recent adventures!  It's hard to believe we have been in England almost 18 months. 

Going back all the way to last May, we had a weekend trip back to our favorite English Cotswald town of Chipping Campden (great for long walks) and a first visit to Shakespeare's birthplace in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon.

 

 

a few photos from a visit to Ann Hathaway's cottage, the wife of Shakespeare.

 

 

 

and in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon

and the weekend finished with a visit to a Tudor Farm and Warwick Castle (complete with archery lessons!)

 

 

With Nana and Grandpa in town for a visit, Michael and I had the chance to get away by ourselves for a quick trip to Santorini, Greece.  The island of Santorini is actually a volcanic caldera and we chose the beautiful town of Oia for our stay (and enjoyed some of the most amazing sunsets as the town faces west and looks out over the Aegean Sea)....and the food, delicious!  Thinking back over our trip makes me want to go back all over again next May.

 

and this is what the lobby of our hotel looked like, I kid you not!  Everything was outdoors and all views looked out over the Aegean.  If you find yourself in the Greek Isles one day, you must check out the Katikies Hotel.

I wish I could lay down on these lounge chairs right about now...heavenly!  This hotel was the most silent place we have ever experienced.  Maybe it was the lack of children as the hotel was 18 and older.

 

 

and the view from our balcony every morning...

 

{the english countryside}

We're looking into a weekend get-away this coming May and Michael has reminded me a few times that I have neglected to share the photos from our last Cotswalds weekend trip.  This past September we headed just about 2 hours outside of London to the area known as the Cotswalds.  Think of rolling hills, thatched roof cottages, endless pastures of horses and sheep...and the perfect place to take part in the #1 past-time here in England...the country walk (and not to mention the giant shrubs clipped into various animals and a street called Hoo Lane!).  Here are a few page layouts I have just created for our book.

We stopped in at the Cotswalds Falconry Centre during our stay to take in a bird show with Owls, Falcons, Vultures and various other birds of prey.  Definitely a highlight for the kids!  The birdman had a large bag filled with raw chicken legs and dead mice for the birds' delicious lunch...

While we did get to tour a few of the towns around Chipping Campden as well as a quick stop in Oxford on our way back to London, we actually missed a few highlights.  So, this coming May, were headed back to explore Stratford-Upon-Avon (the birthplace of William Shakespeare),  Warwick Castle and Winston Churchill's birthplace at Blenheim Palace.  Oh, and the kids have asked for a "really fun" English hedge maze so I'm looking into this as well!