Grandma and Grandpa have arrived!

a 'working' castle trip

the same expression

As previously mentioned, the Bird managed to open her car door on the motorway.  After we fixed the problem, we continued on our way to Warwick Castle.  It's still privately owned, but leased out to the folks that run Madame Tussauds as it was getting too expensive to upkeep by the private owners. Though fairly commercialized, we had a really good time there.  You can actually get a sense of what castles were actually like way back when, with courtyards full of people, story-tellers, vendors, etc.  Zoe got a real kick out of the Princess and the Pea tour, while I think Kyle enjoyed the joust show the most.

yumm - a feast!

can you find the potty?

on the playground with the big boys

wiped out after our castle adventure - which means we got a beer in the market!

 The most memorable part of the trip - finding a potty:

to York we go!

how they spent the train rides

We took the train with Omi up to York. It was miserably rainy when we arrived, and since our hotel wasn't yet ready we stopped off at the National Railway Museum. They have a super-fast Japanese train, model trains, Queen Victoria's train, science shows, steam trains, and probably most importantly - the train to Hogwarts. 

all aboard the Hogwarts' Express!

 The next morning we took a free tour of the city.  It was a long tour, despite the fact that our tour guide kept mentioning he was ill and was going to make it a short one due to the weather.  Ah well.  It was a good, and thorough, introduction to the city.

the best (and only) seat during the tour

The following day we went to the York Castle Museum and the adjacent Clifford's tower. Conveniently for Zoe there was also a merry-go-round, and Omi was more than happy to join her.

a happy Bird with her sugar mouse

Bird the Victorious Knight, her day job

returns to the lap of princess luxury

dethroned - the Bird and Kyle stuck in the Clink

looking down from the top of Clifford's Tower

On the last day we took a morning walk along the city walls, enjoying our last day in York and the beautiful sunshine.  This city is definitely one we wouldn't mind visiting again (though once was probably enough on the Jorvik Viking Centre).

resting during our wall walk

how the Bird spent a good portion of her time

how Kyle spent a good portion of his time

York Minster, where we enjoyed an Evensong

taking a snack break on the wall walk

goodbye sunny York!

back home after a long journey

Kent weekend for the big kids

in front of Leeds Castle

 Since Omi's here, Kyle and I took the opportunity to go to Kent by ourselves for a long weekend.  We stayed at a small B&B in the middle of nowhere, which had amazing meals.  Our first stop was the Shepherd Neame brewery in Faversham - they claim to be Britain's oldest brewery.

taking a business call at the brewery

a delivery motorcycle!

 The following day we were off to Canterbury.  We visited the cathedral, a ruined abbey (thank you, Henry VIII), and in general enjoyed wandering a town without a stroller.  On our drive back home we stopped at Leeds Castle in Maidstone.  It would actually make an excellent family trip - they had excellent picnic areas, a big maze and small maze, and two different playgrounds for different age groups.

in front of the cathedral on a gorgeous day

taking our time to listen to the audio guide at our own pace

black swans at Leeds Castle

Oxford day trip

Is just absolutely gorgeous!

The Bird, Omi and I went via bus for the day, picnicked at one of the colleges, walked along some canal with folks punting nearby, and went to a museum. Where the Bird proceeded to touch one of the paintings.  Yup.  Finger on paint.  A guard was on her like clotted cream on a scone.  Thankfully, we just had to sit on one of the benches and go over the rules again.  Stay behind the ropes. No touching paintings.  We left pretty soon :)

Bird's portrait of Owl

Z looking at photos of herself

a nice run

The Ladies head to London

While Kyle is off in Austin for a few weeks, Zoe and I headed into the big city for some touristing.  As a college friend lives there, we even had free housing, allowing us to stay for a few days instead of going back and forth to Newbury.  I did discover that buses are definitely easier with this age group, at least over the tube - too many steps and people shoved into tight spaces on the tube, while on the bus we can sit ON THE TOP! AT THE FRONT! Surely you can see what a highlight this could be for a young one.  Perhaps the highlight of the entire three days. 

The bus route from their apartment in east London into the center actually proved to be quite entertaining, passing by some pretty interesting sites such as St Paul's.

We did get to go onto the London Eye (the 'big ferris wheel' according to Z), but that wasn't very exciting, apparently.  About 5 minutes into the journey someone was asking when it would be over.  Hmph.  What is exciting, you may ask?  A playground next to the Eye.  THAT is exciting.

view from the Eye

not happy

pretending to be happy

 One day for lunch we met up with my friend in the park.  Zoe got him to run around in his suit over lunch.  I'm sure his co-workers were thanking her.

We also hit up the Transport Museum in Covent Garden area, as well as some other parks and shops.  London with a 2-1/2 year old is definitely at a slower pace.  Thoroughly enjoyed, and thoroughly thankful for our hosts providing a home away from home for a few days.

Yup, one more trip to Ikea

It seems we missed a few items last time, so Sunday it was off to Ikea.  Somebody had fun in the flooring department.

Windsor Beer Fest

Another weekend, another beer festival! This past weekend we went out to Windsor to enjoy their beer festival.  It was held at a small farm shop full of fresh fruit and veggies and fancy-made quiches, alongside a fancy cafe.  The tents were set up in the grassy area.  And, to Zoe's pleasant surprise, some of the beer was delivered via horse.

take that, Budweiser

The Cotswalds

On Saturday we headed up to the Cotswalds, near Chipping Camden, and also hit this amazing lavender farm. It was a nice leisurely Saturday driving around, with a few stops in some old towns, and a nice 'jaunt' at the lavender farm, which we were able to wander freely around and headed into the gift shop right as it started raining - perfect timing.  The farm was gorgeous, lavender stretching quite a ways, the smell absolutely amazing.  But the noise - I wish I had captured a good video of the noise, but it was just too windy.  The bees were everywhere, and quite loud. A bit freaky for me, but Kyle and Zoe seemed to have no problem at all. A very pleasant Saturday indeed.

hide and seek around an old marketplace

lunch!

I swear that guy in the blue shirt and sunglasses looked exactly like my Uncle Mike

Zoe the map reader

Kyle was super excited to find the entrance to the mines of Moria at a local church

lavender ice cream during the rain break