Touring the Countryside

After our return from London on Monday night, I have spent the days this week with Scott's parents and we have toured many sights and attractions in the English countryside. On Tuesday they toured Warwick Castle; on Wednesday we went to Oxford; on Thursday we saw Kenilworth and then Stratford-Upon-Avon; and today we toured a number of villages in the Costwold's. It has been a packed week of driving, sight seeing and of course shopping in each of these destinations (my father in law is a VERY patient man!). It has been nice that we live in such a central location to be able to use our home as a base in order to explore all of these great areas and attractions that England has to offer.

Warwick Castle and its grounds. 

Cassie & Craig in front of Christ Church College in Oxford.

Craig inside the Dining Hall of Christ Church College. This room was the space used for filming part of the Harry Potter movie. It was the Hogwart's dining hall in the movie. 

The quad at Christ Church's College at Oxford. Christ Church's is Oxford's largest college and has seen 13 of Britain's prime ministers as students prior to their days in office. 

Craig & Cris in front of William Shakespeare's House in Stratford-Upon-Avon. 

The streets of Stratford were each decorated differently with lights and decor...very festive!

The main round-about in Stratford's town centre decorated and hosting a street market on Thursday.

Our first stop in the villages of the Cotswold's....Bourton-on-the-Water. It is often referred to as "the Venice of the Cotswold's" because the River Windrush runs right through the centre. 

A cute sweet shop in Bourton. There were quite a few sweet shops and bakeries in each little village/town.

Craig & Cris on the bridge over the river in Bourton-on-the-Water. 

The second village we visited was Stow-on-the-Wold. We visited Ann Willow's Tea House to have a bite to eat. It was adorable! 

Inside Ann Willow's Tea house - very quaint, charming, and a delicious serving of food and drinks!

In Stow-on-the-Wold - the Royalist Hotel which is the oldest INN in England. It dates back to 947 A.D.

A shop in the village of Morteon-on-Marsh. Notice the Christmas Treet hanging out of the flag stand out of the side of the building. We saw these all over the Cotswold's and though they were quite amusing. 

A final stop in a town called Shipston-on-Stour. It may not actually be an official town of the Costwold's but it was on our route home and was quaint and lovely all the same. 

The Lights of London

Scott's parents are here for a visit with us right now. They arrived last Friday after a short stay in Ireland. On Saturday, we all headed to London for a long weekend. The highlight of London for me was seeing all of the Christmas Lights lit up throughout the city. It was magnificent. This trip is Craig & Cris' (Scott's parents) first visit to England and so we took in as many sights as possible during our stay in the city. 

Scott, Craig & Cris at our train station waiting to board the train to London. 

After we arrived in London and checked into our hotel in Trafalgar Square, we wandered across the Thames river (near the EYE) and found a German Christmas Market.

Oohh....the sweets at one of the food stalls at the market! Yummy.

Scott with his parents with a view of Big Ben, Parliament and the River Thames from the area by the German Christmas market. 

We then made our way closer to Big Ben and the rest of the attractions.....I was trying to add historical tidbits with our London guide book! 

In front of Westminster Abbey before a tour of the inside. 

Walking en route from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace, we encountered a large parade of protesters....I think these protesters follow us - ever since 40,000 of them showed up next door to our wedding, we get caught up in these parades more often than expected! 

Craig & Cris in front of Buckingham Palace. Sadly, Liz did not greet all of us. 

Saturday night, we enjoyed traditional English pub food and then went to see a musical. 

Scott, Cassie, Cris & Craig dining pre-theater....

A stop before the theater to see the light display in Covent Garden.

We went to see Billy Elliot! It was very neat....

The next day, we traveled around more of the city (by foot), did our fair share of shopping, and saw lots of Christmas decor....

The Christmas decor inside Harrods. (Plus HUGE crowds). 

A side street off of Oxford Street lit up with snowflakes.

The Christmas Tree in Trafalgar Square very close to where we stayed for the weekend.  

Regent Street lit up with nets of lights in the shape of stars. What a pretty sight at night! 

Great big festive snowmen balloons and snowflakes floating all over Carnaby Street. 

Craig and Cris riding the Tube. (Giving our feet a rest after a long day on them!). 

On Monday we had a bit more breathing room, as the weekend city crowds seemed to go home. We toured the Tower of London for a few good hours and did not even face any queues there! 

Scott in front of the Tower of London.

The "White Tower" which was the central tower inside the tower of London. It was built by William the Conqueror and was where the medieval kings of England lived with their families and their court.

Listening to the audio commentary as we tour the Tower grounds....

A reenactment of Edward II and Isabelle in Edward's bedroom at the Tower. The neat part is that we believe Edward II is Scott's 22nd or 23rd great grandfather! 

Scott trying out the bow and arrow that the English army men would have used to protect the Tower. 

Would he have made a good English solider????

Craig, Scott, Cassie & Cris at the Tower of London - London Bridge in the background. 

Victorian Christmas Evening

The crowd near the town centre tree, after the "switch-on." Note all of the umbrellas...

Last Thursday evening (Thanksgiving night in the US) was the Victorian Christmas Evening in a near by town, Warwick. It is a yearly event that takes place in their town centre and it is a festival type event featuring rides, food booths, a visit from Father Christmas, children dancing/performing on stage, local BBC celebrity hosts, and the big "switch-on" of the Warwick town Christmas lights. The festival also had a carousel, traction engines, classic cars, horses and carriages, and many town people dressed in traditional Victorian period wear. It was quite a quaint little celebration and a charming way to kick off the holiday season. 

There is another American family who moved at the same time as us with Scott's company. Since our husbands frequently work late, Lauri and I decided to take their daughter, Emma, to see the festival prior to our husbands getting home from work. And since it was Thanksgiving day (due to the time change) back in the US, the boys really just had an interest in watching those Thanksgiving Day football games on the tv instead! 

The festival was nice, although the weather was not. It rained (go figure!) the entire time we were there, and we had chilled hands and toes by the time the lights switched on at quarter past seven o'clock. After the festival, we headed back to Lauri and Jason's house and had our own version of Thanksgiving dinner - pastrami sandwiches. We did have pumpkin pie for dessert but it did not feel like an American Thanksgiving evening. We were thankful to at least spend the evening with some new American friends here. 

Emma & Lauri at the festival. 

The craft fayre stalls/charity booths at the festival.

A Toffee & Homemade Fudge vendor - looked delicious!  

An antique train engine on display. 

Kate, Emma, and Lauren ride the twirly carousel. WHEE!!! They all loved it! Kate & Lauren are daughters of American friends here in the area. We saw them at the festival and they couldn't have been more excited to take Miss Emma on a ride with them. 

A little horse walking through the festival. 

The three girls - Lauren, Kate, and Emma, with the Snow & Ice Fairy from Warwick Castle. 

Lauri takes Emma to see Father Christmas outside his Igloo. Emma stayed about that far away from Father Christmas (Santa) the entire time. She saw just enough to check out his house and wave at him from a distance. 

Hot chocolate was in order for the adults. We even got Cadbury Flake bars sticking out of each of our cups. I have found a new love in Cadbury chocolate here.  

CANDY FLOSS for sale at a market stall. I bought a bag and ate the ENTIRE bag after I got home from dinner that night. :)

With Miss Emma right after the tree lighting. Can you tell how soaked we both are from the rain??