Friday, June 24, 2011

England Adventure with the Mason's - Part II

Our England adventure continued after we left London. We headed to Bath where the boys got to see the Roman Baths, while mom and I did some shopping. We showed them the main sights in Bath and then headed to Stonehenge from there. We just saw Stonehenge through the gates, but it was still really fun - we took lots of goofy pictures and tried to stay dry when it started to rain (of course).

After Stonehenge we headed back to our house and spend the next couple of days exploring in and around our town - we went to base, walked all around Ely, went into Cambridge, saw some Harry Potter sights, and hit up one more beautiful castle before they left. It was hard to see them go on Sunday, but we had such a great time :)

The Roman Baths
Bath
My handsome little brother in Bath
Stonehenge!
The fam at Stonehenge
Dad, Mom, and Max at our house
Ely Cathedral
They had the coronation chair from the King's Speech there (because those scenes were filmed at the cathedral), so we all took turns being King/Queen ;)
Ely Cathedral with the gloomy skies - it was pretty rainy weather while they were here!
Ely Riverfront - I love our little town!
Thomas and I on base - had to show them the local Taco Bell ;)
Lavenham
Dad driving the British car
Had a lovely dinner with the family and the Gerwicks in Ely
Mom, Drew, and Dad at Nando's in Cambridge - mom's favorite food place of the whole trip!
Me and Thomas in front of King's College, Cambridge
Punting on the River Cam, Cambridge
Dad, Mom, Drew, and Thomas in front of the River Cam, Cambridge
Warwick Castle

Dad, Thomas, Mom, and Drew at Warwick Castle
They had an awesome "Birds of Prey" show at Warwick, here's the Bald Eagle!

Peacock! Thomas didn't get bitten by any peacocks this time ;)
Beautiful grounds of Warwick Castle
Uh-oh, looks like Dad and Drew are in trouble!
Mom and Dad at the rose garden at Warwick Castle

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

England Adventure with the Mason's - Part I

Mom, Dad, and Drew came to visit for a week and we got lots of sightseeing in! We had an itinerary we tried to follow to maximize our touristy needs, and we did pretty well in getting it all in :) Here's an overview of what we did!

Trafalgar Square
Dinner at The Portrait Gallery's Restaurant
Mom and Dad at dinner - aren't they cute?!
View from dinner - good choice dad!
Day 2
Tower of London


Inside Tower of London - I loved the blue doors :)
Royal Mews
The carriage Will & Kate used on their wedding day!!
We went on a trek to find Platform 9 3/4 from Harry Potter! It wasn't between platforms 9 and 10 like we thought, but we found it ;)
Harrods
Mom in chocolate heaven at Harrods
London walking tour - this is a private gambling club, even today!
Note the Royal "Seals of Approval" above the store 
Dad in front of St James Palace - he kept motioning for the tour bus full of people to take a picture of him, and they DID! So funny :)
Part of the Changing of the Guard
Mom and Dad on the Mall in front of Buckingham Palace
More Changing of the Guard
Horse Guards Parade
Changing of the Guard at Horse Guards Parade
King Charles I was executed (beheaded!) on the middle balcony! 
Dad in front of Parliament
View from the London Eye
Dad, Mom, and Drew on the London Eye
Hyde Park
Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens on the other side
The dog mom found to play fetch with :)
Princess Diana's Memorial in Hyde Park
View form dinner at the Bluepoint Cafe
Me, Dad, Mom, Bill Miller, and Drew at dinner - Drew's best friend and her dad were in London also, so we met up with them for dinner!
Westminster Abbey
Gardens at Westminster Abbey
Tomb of the Unknown Solider in Westminster Abbey
Windsor Castle
Mom at Windsor Castle
Dollhouse at the Castle
Part two to come! :)