Places we've been

Well, as usual, I had great plans for keeping the blog updated each week but it just hasn't happened.  Pesky little things like parenting and sleeping kind of got
in the way.  But in between moving into our new house and getting settled, we've taken a few weekend trips to see some of the nearby sights.  Here's a little rundown of the different places we've visited so far, and a few pictures (even though I'm not much of a photographer!):

WARWICK CASTLE



 Clint's a fan of pano shots.

Most surprising thing about exploring this castle? Climbing winding towers while carrying kids on an empty stomach makes you a little shaky/dizzy. Eat a good meal beforehand! We really enjoyed the visit, though, and bought a year pass because there was too much to see in one day!

KENILWORTH CASTLE

We just snapped this pic from far away, and right afterward Cbear got carsick, but we are excited to check out these ruins soon.


 STRATFORD-UPON-AVON

Somehow I can't find any pictures of Stratford, even though I know I took some! This is the birthplace of Shakespeare, and you can do a whole tour of his house, and his wife's, and his mother's farm or something, but we haven't done that. There's really cute shopping/dining areas, a canal where the girls love to feed the ducks and geese (and chase pigeons...Jellybean's fave pastime), a butterfly farm, and of course, the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. I hope to catch a play there sometime!

OXFORD

The "Bridge of Sighs"

We spent an entire day just walking around looking at the amazing architecture of the university, museums and churches.

LONDON

Big Ben!

The Eye

We took a train (side note: I love train travel! Except when it's crowded and you have to stand...not fun.) to London one Saturday morning and did an open-top double decker bus tour to see the highlights.  Then we walked through Hyde Park while the girls picked every flower they saw, and then trekked back to Marylebone Station...walking was probably a bad idea at that point.  We didn't bring a stroller and both girls fell asleep while we carried them.  We were all very glad to get home!

The sights were awesome...but London is a bit of a crash-course in overcoming germophobia.  Taking the girls to the toilet in the Underground, then eating pizza from a tiny questionable shop nearby, public transportation, etc. was all a bit icky.  And I am left with the burning question: Where do people in London use the bathroom? Seriously, there are like zero public toilets. After searching and searching, I finally changed Jellybean's saggy diaper in the dressing room at TopShop, and the rest of us just held it until we got back on the train.

After visiting London, I have a list of places I'd like to go back and see in-depth.  On the top of the list are the National Gallery/Trafalgar Square, the London Eye, the Tower of London, and Buckingham Palace.

BLENHEIM PALACE

 Pano shot again!

 Gardens designed by the famous Capability Brown...I told Clint there's an idea for a name if we ever have a boy!

Blenheim Palace has been our favorite place to visit so far.  It's the birthplace of Winston Churchill, but we only got to breeze through his exhibit (the girls weren't impressed, but Clint and I were!).  We spent just a little time inside (it was gorgeous).  We ate at a cafe outside overlooking the gardens (while Cbear tried to throw sticks and rocks into the gazing pools...it was super classy) and then spent most of our time exploring the grounds and we didn't even get to see half of it.  We learned as we were leaving that there is a little train that takes you to a children's playground. I guess it's a good thing we got the yearly pass for Blenheim also, so we can go back and see the rest of it!

We have some exciting travel plans coming up, and I hope to be able to share updates soon! Cheers.