Our Last Weekend-The Cotswolds and Kedleston Hall

For our last weekend in England we decided to stay busy again. I am going to miss all of our adventures exploring new places. I have definitely learned a lot on this trip. It has been a rocky road but I would not change the experience. I am so excited to be home but there are little things about being in England that I will miss.

Saturday we drove out to the Cotswolds. This is an area in England that is known for its natural beauty. Our first stop in the area was the Gloucester Cathedral. We had to have one Harry Potter stop on our trip and this was it. For those of you that do not know, Mark and I are not very into the whole Harry Potter thing. This cathedral was used in filming the first, second, and the sixth Harry Potter movies. We did enjoy walking around but did not enjoy the rest of the town. So we were on the road to our next stop.

Our next stop was a little town called Birdlip. I read that there is an area that has amazing views. We were very lucky because there was a sign that said scenic route so it was very easy to find. The view was great! I will definitley miss the English countryside!!

The next stop was the little town of Burton-on-the-Water. It was such a cute little town. There was one main street lined with shops and cafes. There is a river running through the town with little stone bridges. The weather was nice so all of the kids were playing in the water. We had lunch and shopped around. After that we called it a day and headed home to the "new apartment," as Andrew likes to call it.

On Sunday we stayed in Derby and visited Kedleston Hall which is really close to our apartment. I wouldn't mind living in this house. The grounds were beautiful. Andrew liked running around outside and seeing the sheep.

Andrew's favorite part about the house!

 

Airplanes, a Bridge, an English Breakfast, and a Brewery

Last weekend we decided to stay pretty close to home. We went out to see the Royal Air Force Museum because I knew Mark and Andrew would enjoy it. I figure, we have seen trains and boats so we might as well add some airplanes in there. I don't know who enjoyed it more, Mark or Andrew? We walked around and looked at all of the airplanes. There was an area for kids to teach them about how airplanes fly. Andrew loved that part!

Mark in jet engine heaven

The RB211 made by Rolls-Royce. With Mark's new position at Rolls-Royce he works on the fan blades you see in the picture. He used to work on the turbine which is at the back of the engine.

After the museum we headed over to the Ironbridge. This bridge is the first cast iron bridge and it is considered the "Birthplace of the Industrial Revolution." After looking at the bridge we decided it was time to find a place to eat. We picked a random place across from the bridge called Darby's and this is where we got to experience our first full English breakfast. It was more like a brunch for Mark. Mark got the breakfast and really enjoyed it. He did try the black pudding but wasn't a big fan. Otherwise, he finished everything on his plate.

Sunday was kind of rainy so we took a trip over to the National Brewery Museum. It was pretty interesting to go through and see how beer is made. The weird part about this museum is that we were the only people touring the museum. Must not be a very popular place to go. Andrew enjoyed it too. We got to see some huge horses and trains so that made Andrew happy. We ate at the restaurant attached to the brewery and experienced our first Sunday Carvery. It is basically turkey and beef that they slice for you at a buffet. It was pretty similar to a Thanksgiving dinner. It seems like all of the pubs around here advertise a Sunday Carvery or Sunday roast.

The shire horse was huge!

A steam engine used at the brewery

We found another Rolls-Royce engine.

The samples

That was pretty much it for that weekend. This weekend is our last weekend and then we are headed home!!! Can't wait to be home. We have had a lot of fun here, but nothing can compare to being home.

 

The Better Halves Club

Last week Andrew and I went out to lunch with The Better Halves Club. This is the group that I have been meeting up with for lunch every other week. They are my life savers!! I found out about the group some time in June and I have not missed a lunch since. Everyone in the group is in the same situation as me. All of their spouses work and they are here temporarily. It is so nice getting together with them!! They all have been so helpful. Last week was Sarah's last week. We will definitely miss her, but I am excited that we are not far behind them. Andrew had enjoyed playing with Sarah's daughter, Anna. The next lunch will be our last lunch!

Andrew checking out the goat

Andrew and Anna

 

Lincoln

We were all pretty tired on my Mom's last Sunday but we still went out for a shorter day in Lincoln. I had to take my mom to a castle. Lincoln was not a very long drive and it has a castle that Mark and I have not seen. Oh yeah, and they have a pretty nice Cathedral ;) We left a little later in the morning, stopped by Starbucks, and we were on our way. I didn't really no what to expect from this town. I was pleasantly surprised. It was such a cute little town. We started at the Lincoln Castle, built in 1066 by William the Conqueror. When we arrived they were having a reenactment of a battle. Andrew loved it!! He thought it was so funny. We watched that for a little while.

Then we went to see an original of the Magna Carta from 1215. Of course, no pictures allowed. In the same building was the prison. It was kind of creepy. We also got a chance to see the prison chapel. The prisoners had to stand in the cubicles for the church service and were not allowed to converse at all. They had to wear masks and were only allowed to take them off when all of the prisoners were in their cubicles. This kept them in isolation.

Mark with a prison door.

A typical prison cell.

My mom and I took a walk up to the castle wall walk so we could check out the view. It was pretty nice.

After the castle we headed over to the Lincoln Cathedral. I thought it wouldn't seem as nice after seeing the Liverpool Cathedral but I was wrong. There was a choir practice going on while we were there. Again, the choir singing made the Cathedral experience pretty nice. Here are some the pictures. Just my luck that the good camera ran out of batteries so all of these pictures were taken with my iPhone.

For some reason my mom and Mark think it is fun to try and figure out every roman numeral they see.

We grabbed a late lunch at a cute little tea room. The food was pretty good. Mark enjoyed an English afternoon tea with his lunch. After we ate we headed back home. That concluded my mom's small tour of England. Too bad she didn't make it to London. We heard from a lot of people that live here to avoid London during the Olympics so we did. I am pretty sure she enjoyed all of our sightseeing!