Well I must say it is not as bad as I thought it might be!
I have spent the weekend in London with Pete's family - staying with Cousin Sam. Aunty Ann and Uncle Al took me to Hampton Court for tea and scones and a look around the palace. The gardens are beautiful.
Mum, Aunty Chris and Aunty Linda arrived on Monday morning where I met them at the hotel. It took 2 hours for them to get from Heathrow to the hotel due to traffic. A good introduction to London traffic.
Much to their disgust the plane trip had given them cankles (Fat ankles).
We went out to the London Eye and a cruise down the Thames. Our culinary adventure began with bangers and mash for tea for me, scampi for Christine and Steak and Ale pie for Mum and Linda. Not surprisingly however it was an Australian pub - they are difficult to miss. It seems the holiday is mostly about all the foods we are tasting. Mum, Linda and Christine were still a bit jetlagged so it was an early night before the tour started at 7am.
Day 1 of the tour: London to Coventry.
We got on the bus and I wasn't the youngest! We were handed name tags but most people conveniently lost them. We drove out of London to Oxford for a quick tour. Next stop was Stratford-upon-Avon - Shakespeare's stomping ground. Lunch was our first traditional cornish pasty and a stop at the lolly shop. (Liss, you would've loved all the fudge). The highlight was a visit to Warwick Castle which was built around the 13th Century. It looked just like a Robin Hood movie set.
There was a beautiful display of a grand dining room with a model of the queen which had been roped off. Christine was keen to have her photo taken with the Queen to show her grandaughter. She jumped the barrier and snuggled up to the Queen. Next thing we know the alarms have gone off and we are making a run for it! Linda stuck around to see officials running from everywhere and panicking that we'd stolen the silverware. We tried to hide until the bus left.
Day 2: Coventry to Leeds.
The highlight was definitely York and the cathedral. Too hard to describe the cathedral and just how big and ornate and beautiful it was. It took 250 years to build.
Day 3: Leeds to Edinburgh.
Another cathedral today. This one built in the 11th Century. Amazing what they could mange back then. I am sitting on the bus at the moment on our way to Edinburgh. More later as I'm starting to motion sickness!
OK, back again - that night we went to a Scottish show and dinner. A lot of fun watching men dance around in kilts with little underneath. We got to taste haggis of course.
Day 4: Edinburgh.
We are staying in a castle and have spent the day touring Edinburgh. After some of the other beautiful cities it seems a bit grotty. We went to Roslin Castle which may or may not house the holly grail.
We also looked around Edinburgh castle. Castles and churches are quite amazing but we have had our fill.
Day 5: Edinburgh to Chester.
A day mostly of travelling. Stopped in a cute little town and went on a river cruise and train ride on Windemere Lake. I was surprised home much the trees and lakes look like New England (but a bit grander). We saw lots of sheep and cows. This evening we are chilling out. Have been to the pool and hot tub but there were too many budgie smugglers so we had to leave.
All in all we are having a great time. Probably feeling a bit rushed if anything. It is good to have everything organised so it is very low stress.
