Cheltenham Trip

Devin's work trip to Cheltenham + Clara's school break = One fun & busy week exploring.

Day 1: It started with an early morning drive to Cheltenham, Devin going straight to work and the rest of us making our way to the hotel and relaxing for the afternoon. We ended that day with a Cadbury Cream Egg McFlurry from McDonalds. So delicious!! Why can't McDonalds in the US do something tasty like that I wonder?

Day 2: I learned that I don't really want to be at a fancy hotel by myself with my kids ever again. After Devin left for work and we were all set and ready to go, we made our way to the restaurant for our complimentary breakfast. No high chairs, of course. Only well set tables and well dressed people were in this restaurant (that were looking but not smiling at us). As I bent down to set Jonas on the chair next to mine, my huge-antic (word borrowed from Clara) diaper bag fell off my shoulder knocking silverware and a plate off the table. I was so embarrassed. Now everyone was looking and it wasn't even my children that had caused the commotion. Once we were settled, we went over to the food table to pick out what we wanted to eat. Of course I was carrying Jonas so I only had one free hand. With this hand, I had to assemble Clara's breakfast and try to pour milk into her cereal while holding it in one hand (no room to set the bowl down) and NOT let any get on Jonas. She wanted toast, cereal, fruit and juice. This meant 4 trips back and forth to our table to get her breakfast ready. Next came Jonas. Fruit, cereal, juice. By the 7th trip I literally felt like a circus and had about lost my appetite. I decided I'd be fine with just a yogurt that morning and I'd share Jonas's drink. I must say that the yogurt was the best yogurt I have ever had and was served in a clay pot - it almost made the entire ordeal worth it. Half way through the meal, Clara announced that she wanted more cereal and more juice...so I did the whole thing over again. Then the same lady who seated us came back and asked to see my room key. I finally found it in the depths of my bag (you know, the one that had been tipped over earlier) using one hand since the other is constantly making sure Jonas doesn't fall off his chair. She seemed satisfied and left but I noticed she never did this to any other table. I even asked Devin later if he had ever been "carded" and he hadn't. Hmmm... We finally finished and made our way back upstairs and I felt done for the day. Thankfully, the day got much better and turned out to be so much fun. While Devin worked, I was able to meet up with Angie and her cute kids. I had such a great time talking with her, walking around the town

...and playing with the children at the park.

Day 3: I learned from my mistake and we went down early to eat with Devin (and no, we were not required to show our room key this day...I guess I didn't look like I had wandered in off the street with my kids for a free breakfast with Devin there). Breakfast was delightful and easy. After checking out, I headed to Angie's and camped out at her place until Devin was done with work. It was another great day with her and her children. By mid-afternoon we were on the road and drove to a beautiful, quaint, picturesque village called Buron-on-the-water and spent the early evening walking around, eating and getting some ice cream.

Day 4: After a morning trip to the Commissary where we bought a 3.5 pound bag of Swedish Fish (you know, completely justified since it is one of the few candies Jonas can eat...great rationalizing, right?) we were off to Avebury. It is similar in concept to Stonehenge but on a larger scale. There are stone rings built around this town that are apparently about 5,000 years old. It was impressive but so COLD that it was hard to stay outside long enough to enjoy it. We managed for a while but finally gave in and drove to Stonehenge. This I loved! What an amazing experience to see first hand and realize what an incredible feat it must have been to build.

Our whole family had a great time walking around listening to the audio tour. After grabbing some hot chocolate and scones, we drove to Bath.

It was beautiful and I had a great time visiting the Jane Austen Center. This picture is for Mayka...

I could have spent more time here, that is for sure. We ended up eating at a delicious Indian restaurant and Jonas left with a bright yellow stain all over his mouth and chin. When he woke up the next morning, it was still there.

Day 5: We had plans to meet Allyson in London to collect her bags before she travels Europe. We headed to Oxford first and on our way saw this house that had been built on top of a river. I am just so amazed by it, it seems so romantic to live in a house like this:

On our way we stopped in Oxford. We needed change to park the car so of course this candy store seemed like just the place to get some.

The kids had fun picking out a sucker and even more fun eating it throughout the day.

Jonas couldn't seem to keep his out of his hair. We walked through Christ Church and it was beautiful.

We then ate at a place that claimed to serve Chipotle style Mexican food. My last attempt, I tell you! I won't be fooled again. England does many things well but Mexican food just isn't one of them...and I thought the East Coast was bad. After lunch (even though Jonas was still demanding more food) we were on the road to London. We got there a little earlier than we had planned so we spent that time eating delicious gelato and wandering around Notting Hill and the Portobello Road market. I found my new favorite store of all time. The window display alone was amazing. Hundreds of old Singer sewing machines in all windows and inside.

We went inside and laughed because there were three other couples/families that had also just walked in and each woman was admiring the clothes and each man (Devin included) was taking a picture. After an adventurous walk back - Clara kept asking me if we were lost and I wasn't quite sure what to tell her - we met up with Allyson. She was finishing up her study abroad program and we were able to see her one more time.

She is such a fun, beautiful girl. We had such a great time and Clara just adores her. It was sad to say goodbye but I am excited for her adventures.

Day 6: There were a few sites we wanted to see on our way home. But before we got started, we had to have a good pouting session...nothing a quick stop at the playground couldn't fix though.

Once we were officially on the road, we headed for Stratford-Upon-Avon which was the birthplace of Shakespeare. We saw his wife, Anne Hathaway's, cottage where she grew up. We then saw his birthplace and childhood home with flowers everywhere.

Much of it had been preserved which was really impressive to see.

As much as I liked this visit, Devin decided he didn't like the city at all when we got back to the car and noticed a parking ticket because we were a few minutes late. He wasn't very happy. In fact this picture was taken just to prove something...but I'm not sure what? That yes indeed, we were late?

Our last stop was Warwick Castle. It has been built up kind of Disney-style and we were warned about that, but we still had a great time.

My favorite was the peacock garden.

Clara's favorite was the princess tower where she could dress up. Devin's favorite was surely carrying Jonas up hundreds of stairs to the top of the watch tower. Thankfully the view was beautiful and I am sure Jonas loved it and appreciated it. We left at closing time and headed home. It had been a long week but it was great to have seen so much.

And we still had at least half the bag of Swedish Fish left...success in my opinion.