Northern Wales...

I finally got the pictures attached to this post so here is the entry I wrote in July--We're home after a whirlwind vacation so I'll try to update on the last few weeks of our travels before we take off again. Our last jaunt in the UK was to Northern Wales, it was a beautiful area that was very different from many of the other areas we'd visited. It also felt much more foreign with many of the signs written in Welsh. Some things were obvious to figure out like bws and twnnel (bus and tunnel) but other words were much more difficult. Our first stop was at Conwy castle on the northern coast of Wales. It was pouring rain when we arrived but luckily let up after a while as the castle ruins don't provide much shelter from the elements. It was interesting to climb the towers and look out over the river and walled town that sets adjacent to the castle. This castle was built by King Edward I during the 13th century along with other castles in Northern Wales in order to establish a continued presence in the area during his campaign.

We then headed to Snowdonia National Park to check into the British military lodge we were staying at. If you look closely in the picture below you can see the gray lodge at the base of the mountains. It was located in a beautiful valley inside the park.

The next day we headed out in the occasional drizzle to hike to Idwal Cwm. A cwm is a glaciated valley. The 3 mile hike was beautiful along a river flowing down through pastures from the lake that was surrounded by beautiful mountains with waterfalls flowing down them. Whitney did an excellent job hiking the entire distance.

We then took the scenic route driving through Snowdonia National Park with it's amazing vistas up to Caernafon which is also on the northern coast. Caernarfon is another castle that was built by Edward I during his campaign. This is also the castle where Prince Charles was invested as the Prince of Wales in 1969.

We then enjoyed another beautiful drive through a different part of Snowdonia back to our lodging. The next morning brought pouring rain but that didn't deter us from another 3 mile hike to some beautiful waterfalls however we were soaked to the bone even with wearing rain gear by the time we returned to the car.

On our way back to the base that day we stopped at Ironbridge gorge which has the first iron bridge ever built and is credited with the birth of the Industrial Revolution.

Oh what summer it has been!

We are alive but busy! We just returned yesterday from a trip to Arizona and southern Utah. I'll post some pictures of that trip along with our last two weeks in Europe. I have the posts drafted but I need to get a hold of J's laptop that has all the pictures downloaded onto it. It's been crazy the few days we've been home with our dishwasher breaking and the A/C drain pipe being crushed by a tree root causing water to back up into the house while we were gone. It sounds like the downstairs will continue to be a mess the next week or two while we get it all cleaned up. The joys of home ownership!

Cambridge and Thetford Forest Park...

This last week we checked out the areas nearby. Tuesday, I took the girls to an indoor pool/waterpark. Unfortunately we went at the wrong time so the wave/zero-entry pool and water slide were closed. However they had a learning pool that was 2.5 feet deep the entire length which was perfect for Whitney to swim in. Maren enjoyed playing on the steps and swimming with Mom. Wednesday, we went down to Cambridge. We spent the morning at the Funky Fun House. It's a big indoor play place with a 3 story playground with all sorts of fun elements to climb and play on. The girls loved climbing to the top and racing down the slides. They provide the parents with a free hot drink so I enjoyed sipping my hot chocolate while watching the girls play. Unfortunately both of these places didn't allow photography so I couldn't get any great pictures of the girls. Afterwards I took the girls to downtown Cambridge for a picnic lunch where we watched people punting on the river while eating and to meander down the streets past the various colleges that make up the University of Cambridge.

Thursday, Jim joined us on a trip to Thetford Forest Park. This park has a lot of hiking and biking trails along with an adventure park including a high ropes course you can pay to go on. We enjoyed playing in the adventure park and then hiking the squirrel's trail with stops at the various play structures that are each shaped like a different animal along the way. Our favorite part was playing on the zipline.

LONDON

We had previously scheduled this trip to London for Jim's 33rd birthday, thanks to the free room we got from British Airways. It's a good thing because London is one expensive place to visit! We thought Manhattan was expensive but it seems downright cheap in comparison to London. We drove to the closest Tube station and caught the train into town to avoid the traffic and all the extra fees of having a car in the city. After dropping our bags at the hotel we headed first to the London Eye. It's a huge ferris wheel with enclosed pods that give you a great view of the city. It was a novel thing to do but next time we'll just enjoy the view from St. Paul's and save our money.

Then it was over to the Parliamentary buildings to see the clock tower that houses Big Ben and watch some debates in the House of Commons. After, we headed across the street to Westminister Abbey to see the thousands of memorials and burial sites that are packed into that place.

From there it was a walk to the National Gallery with a stop to peer through the gates at 10 Downing Street. We did a quick tour through the gallery to see many of the highlight paintings- Van Gogh, Monet, etc.. By then the girls were getting close to their limit and we were all hungry so it was off to get some dinner. The next day we began with a tour of St. Paul's cathedral that included a climb into the dome with it's amazing acoustics and to the top with a great view of the city. Some worker left a door open on the way down and we unknowingly followed some other tourists into some of the behind the scenes areas of the cathedral with some unique views of the nave.

From there we headed across the Millenium bridge that spans the Thames to the Globe Theatre. We enjoyed the museum and a tour of the theater.

It would have been grand to catch a play there but with little ones it was not possible.

After our picnic by the Thames we hiked further down the river as it began to drizzle towards the Tower Bridge. We checked out the museum in the bridge before crossing over it to the Tower of London.

The highlight of the Tower of London was seeing the crown jewels. Quite an amazing spectacle! Whitney was even in awe and we had to go through the line twice so she could see the main ones again. We then boarded a boat for a narrated cruise down the Thames. The last day we did a 4 hour bike tour of the city which was our favorite part of the trip as it traversed many of the royal parks and stopped by many of the major sites.

We then stopped by the British Museum to see the Rosetta Stone and the amazing Egyptian and Greek artifacts they have. It was an exhausting but fun trip. Next time maybe we can catch some musicals on the West End or a Shakespeare play at the Globe.

Happy Independence Day!

It is interesting being in the country that we declared our independence from on this day. As expected things are fairly low key here. However it gives us a chance to reflect on the reason we celebrate this holiday beyond the BBQ's and fireworks. Jim and I ran in a 5K race this morning at a nearby base and then they have a festival with fireworks over there later this evening. We're going to go to a church BBQ this evening that is within viewing distance of the fireworks but is in no way an Independence Day celebration due to the majority of British citizens in the ward. We hope you all have a wonderful day celebrating this great country of which we are citizens and the freedoms we enjoy!

The white cliffs of Dover...

We had a free day so we headed to the southern coast to see Dover Castle that is perched above the famous white cliffs near town. The view from the castle is beautiful as you gaze out across the English Channel to the shores of France. This site is interesting as it contains structures that have been used from the first century by the Romans to the underground tunnels used during WWII and for multiple battles in between.
We began our day by getting an overall feel for the place and going through a audio-visual dramatization of the French attempt to siege the castle. They made it through the first set of walls but the English were able to fight them off. It was one of only two castles that Prince Louis VIII and the rebel barons were unable to seize from King John in 1216. We then headed to the secret wartime tunnels that were used first during the Napoleonic wars as barracks and then later expanded during WWII to include an underground hospital and headquarters.

We then headed back to the top of the castle to explore the three story keep which included the throne room and king's private quarters. We found it interesting that you had to cross three drawbridges to reach the king's residence.

Later we headed to explore the medieval tunnels and walk the outer walls before heading back to the car. All day W had been asking to go to the beach so we headed there afterward and hung out for a little while. It was a rocky beach so not much fun for playing on but Whitney did enjoy wading in the water for a bit.

Rosslyn Chapel and York....

The next day we awoke and decided to head just outside of Edinburgh to check out the Rosslyn chapel of "The Da Vinci Code" fame. It is a quaint countryside chapel (especially compared to the many large cathedrals we've been visiting) with a lot of hidden symbolism in the carvings throughout the church. I don't have any pictures as the outside is covered in scaffolding right now and no photos were allowed inside, but go here for some pictures of the detailed carvings inside the church. After a short tour, we were unsuccessful in locating a nearby glass factory so decided to head on our way down to York. The drive took us along the eastern coast of the country with some beautiful views out across the water. We made a short detour to drive by Sir Lancelot's castle on the way down.

We arrived in York in the pouring rain and head to the B&B we thought we had reserved for the night. Well they hadn't received our email with necessary information and we hadn't been able to access our email to check for the confirmation and they had just rented the room to someone else before we showed up. However they were able to direct us to another place just up the street that had a room. Not the best night sleep with no black out curtains, an old metal spring mattress, and no crib but it worked for the night. Once we were finally settled and the rain let up we walked into York. Most of the tourist stuff was getting ready to close but we were able to tour the town and walk the walls that surround the city with a stop at a pub for a cheap dinner. Some of the streets remind me of Diagon Alley from Harry Potter.

The next morning we had breakfast and then enjoyed the beautiful riverside walk into town. First stop was the York Minster, the largest Gothic church north of the Alps. We took turns touring the crypt and nave of the church while the other enjoyed the climb to the top of the tower for the panoramic view of the city. In the crypt we were able to see the excavations of the Roman city that once stood on the site including the spot where Constantine was crowned emperor. Later a Norman church was built on top of the Roman settlement and then the larger present day minster was built on the foundations of the Norman church. This large Gothic church has many beautiful stained glass windows throughout including the largest medieval glass one in existence, unfortunately that one is currently being restored so it was covered.

Next we headed to the National Railway museum to check out the exhibits. Whitney' favorite part of the day was playing on the playground there and the miniature train ride we went on. We then had to head home for Jim to make his night shift at work.